Memories...

As Thanksgiving approaches, I remember with fondness Thanksgiving from my childhood. There was always a turkey and a ham. Baked beans and mashed potatoes were a must. Pumpkin pie and graham cracker pie along with an assortment of cakes or cookies. Mom got up early and put the turkey on. We played around the house, but 10:00 found us glued to the TV to watch the Macy's parade. We didn't budge until Santa was done.

There were no newspaper ads to pour over for Black Friday sales. There were no cell phones or tablets. People didn't work on the holidays and nothing was open anyway. There was football. Then more football and then even MORE football. Daddy loved his sports. I am not into TV sports, but back then I would watch if my beloved Steelers played my brother Andy's beloved Cowboys. Thanksgiving dinner was around 12 or 1:00. Sweet tea and Kool-Aid were the choices to drink.

Later at night when you got hungry again, you helped yourself. Nothing like a ham and mayo sandwich with potato chips and graham cracker pie for dessert. Or maybe some no bake oatmeal cookies before bed.

As I became a Mom, some traditions remained the same, some changed. As I have gotten older and have a job that requires I work on Thanksgiving, traditions are changing again. I miss the old traditions and the ones I've had with my children and grandchildren. But you know what? It's not about where you eat, what you eat or when you eat. No, it's not the where, when and what....it's the WHO. As long as I am blessed to spend time with my family and celebrate another year of thankfulness for God's blessings, I will be happy for what time I can spend with them and not worry about what food is new and what is traditional. As long as we have family and no bake oatmeal cookies, it will always be Thanksgiving. I love my family and am so thankful and blessed to have them in the same county so we can manage to get together for the holiday.

My son and his wife.

My daughter and her husband.

My grandson, Garret,  and his girlfriend Hannah. I probably won't get to see them this Thanksgiving because she will be graduating basic training and Garret won't be home when we get together for Thanksgiving. I am going to miss them. But I will get to see Garret when he is home from college over Christmas and hope to see Hannah at some point while she is home.

My grandson, Caleb. 

And the three youngest Grands. (l-r) Shelby, Alexis, and Colby.

Can't wait to see what memories we make this holiday season.

Some of my favorites....

I've been spending some time yesterday doing menus and finding recipes for the upcoming holidays in November and December. I have also been planning some easy meals for myself on the few nights I am actually home to eat at a decent time. In doing so, I was going back through some of my old posts and found some food pics of things I've made before and I made myself so hungry I had to get up and get a snack. But here are some of my favorite food photos of actual stuff I have made here at home. I am not a great photographer by any means, but I do think I have a talent for "staging" my food photo shoots. The first category of pictures is actual meal food instead of junk food. This is my homemade vegetable beef cabbage soup (the kind you can get at Shoney's)

And my first time making homemade spaghetti sauce from scratch...no recipe. It was really good but I've been afraid to make it again. Didn't know if I could have two successes in a row.

My famous homemade pizza bread. This is something I have on a really regular basis and it never gets old.

I'm craving bacon. I don't know if I will have it as bacon sandwiches or grilled cheese with bacon or twice baked potatoes with bacon and cheese. Maybe just simple breakfast of bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy. But whatever I do, I will have bacon.

This is a school cafeteria soup recipe that I found online. It's my favorite veggie soup recipe I make.

Since I do eat out occasionally, I am planning to go to a local eatery, Frank Allen's. It's the best hot dogs and hamburgers in the world. I went with friends last year and this is a pic of what we all had. I usually get the hot dog with chili and mustard because I just love hot dogs.

My favorite is when I make them at home. I buy the Pepperidge Farm top sliced hot dog buns and then you grill the sides with butter in a warm skillet before putting your toppings on. I like these with Hormel chili with no beans as the chili and then add mustard and onion.

But my favorite thing to plan is desserts. I normally make oatmeal cookies many times in the winter. For awhile, I was just using my jelly roll pan and making them and cutting into squares like an oatmeal cookie bar. (I must have been working on my Thirty-One calendar when I made this picture.)

But most of the time, I make them in the normal "drop by a spoonful onto wax paper" recipe.

Last year was the first time in about 25 years that I did not make my orange cookies at Christmas. I am going to do it this year. The band was selling oranges so I bought a gift box set that has 8 oranges (to be used for my cookies and frosting) and a jar of marmalade (to be used to baste my ham at Christmas.) The recipe for these makes 72 - 96 cookies, depending on how big you make them. With orange juice and orange zest in them, the flavor is phenomenal.

I made these one time and they were delicious but time consuming. So the next time I made them in mini muffin tins as mini muffins. But the cinnamon sugar is to die for.

No holiday is complete unless I make homemade peanut butter candy and chocolate candy. Not to be confused with fudge because fudge is creamy and this is more a firmer-but-melts-in-your-mouth kind of candy/fudge.

A picture of my monster cookies I made that I had lost the recipe for. But thanks to my blog research yesterday, I found one in the Taste of Home recipe book.

My first ever Bundt cake that I made that didn't stick to the pan. This was so good. I made a lemon pound cake mix but instead of the called for water, I used 1/2 Sprite and 1 /2 fresh squeezed lemon juice. Then the icing has lemon zest, confectioner sugar and lemon juice with just a touch of milk The whole thing was out of this world.

My brownie cookies I like to make. Just make brownies and spoon them out on cookie sheets. Easy peasy deliciousness.

One year, I even made some frosting and put sprinkles to make them festive.

Molasses cookies I tried a few years back. They were really good and I don't even like molasses. They were a store bought mix and I added some ginger to the mix.

Reese's peanut butter fudge. Four ingredients.....Carnation cream, sugar, Reese's chips and a stick of butter. This is so easy because it's a timed recipe not a "soft ball stage" type hit and miss fudge.

Graham cracker pie. I love meringue (a lot of people don't) and this is the only pie I will eat. Vanilla pudding inside a graham cracker crust and covered with meringue and graham cracker crumbs. This is a must have at the holidays. Hubby always made it and he's been gone two years so I haven't had one since. And my last two Thanksgivings I regretted not making it so I am going to make one this year.

Then of course there are those items I love around the holidays that are not food or homemade desserts. Once is hot chocolate with candy cane ground up on a nutmeg grater, mixed with hot chocolate and covered with tiny marshmallows. Top it off with some more of the ground candy cane sprinkles (I call it Peppermint Dust) and add a candy cane for garnish. I always make this in my favorite Hershey mug because it's a big mug and the drink is delicious.

Ever since I was a little girl I have malted milk balls at Christmas time. But not just any brand, they have to be Brach's. Well nobody has carried them around here for years. But two years ago, I found where you can buy them by the pound at a local hospital gift shop. So I go get a couple of pounds of them on Thanksgiving weekend and make them last through the holidays. One of my favorite things to do is to eat these and chocolate covered raisins, drink orange Crush and wrapped Christmas presents while I watch Christmas comes to Willow Creek on DVD about the middle of December.

I made myself hungry when I was looking up these pictures. And now I made myself hungry talking about them. Time for some lunch.

A new cookie a week

I have been looking at my Taste of Home cookbook that I bought last year and haven't made a thing from it yet. I found five recipes I want to try. I figure if I try one a week for the next 5 weeks, I can have some tasty new desserts to try and have something different to take to work dinners (which we have about once or twice a month). 

The first one is more of a bar than a cookie but it looks too good not to add to my list. It's called Chocolate Sauce Brownies.  

I used to have this recipe and made it one time and it was a big hit, but I lost the recipe. This is Giant Monster Cookies.

Next is the Ginger Doodle. It's similar to a snickerdoodle with a ginger twist. This should be divine.

I want to make some of these Molasses cookies as well. They look really delicious.

And then some Chocolate Reindeer to round out the testing. 

I will keep you posted on how they turn out. You can find recipes like this and more by visiting Taste of Home. Join me at Friday Foto Friends to see what others are sharing today.

Joy

Ms. Debbie at Breathing in Grace was doing a bible study about a month or so ago called Fight Back with Joy. During the bible study, she was posting on her Facebook page about unexpected, good things that happened to her. She called these "joy bombs." I am here to tell you that has really inspired me this past month and I have started looking for joy bombs everyday in my life. My day yesterday was filled with little joy bombs that might not mean a thing to somebody else, but they sure were fun for me. It started out by everything working out to where I could leave a lot earlier for work than I needed to so I finally got to stop at Waffle House for breakfast (which I have been wanting to do for over a week). Everything was perfect.

It was a misty, rainy cold day so it really got me in the Christmas spirit and I decided to stop at Walmart to do some looking around. They have their Christmas cookies out in the cute little tins. I like to decorate every room in my house for Christmas with at least a few little Christmas items. Well, these are the colors in my sewing room so it caught my eye. But look closely. Thimble on the snowman's head and needle and thread in the little brown bears hand. After seeing that how could I NOT get it for my sewing room. I let the girls at work eat the cookies for me. Joy received and joy given.

As I was walking back to see the Christmas decor I saw they had the new Soft Soap out for the holidays. Oh my gosh these smell so amazing. Got one for the kitchen and one for the bath. I thing the Santa is my favorite. It smells like the grape in Wild Berry Lifesavers.

I posted yesterday that I want a new angel for my tree. I do a lot of silver on my tinsel and stuff. I saw her and fell in love with her, but then worried if I was being too rash. I didn't get it, but I'm going shopping with my friend Sherrie today and we will be going by a different Walmart and if they have this, I think I will get it. I really, really love it. I think $16 is a good price, don't you?

You will recall that my tree drove me crazy last year. It was one I had to put every single branch in the hole it went it and then string lights. Took me about 5 hours to put it together and string the lights. I wanted one that was a three piece, pre-lit tree that you pop it together and you are ready to fluff. But I was waiting till Black Friday to try to find one at a good price, but the bargains went fast and cheapest I could find was between $129 - $179. So that's why I went with what I did last year. Made my mind up that this year I am getting one that is pre-lit and put together like this.

After paying at Walmart, I was exiting through the tree area and decided to take a gander at what they had. OH MY GOODNESS! The exact tree I am looking for. It's 6.5 feet, pre-lit AND in three pieces. And the best part was it was only $39.00. And yes, it came home with me. I was ecstatic.

Now if that wasn't a wonderful enough day, I got one more joy bomb dropped on me after work. I got off about 10:30 and went and got gas and saw the Krispy Kreme across the road. They close at 11:00 and I thought a doughnut would be a good way to end a busy day. I ordered two so I could have one this morning with chocolate milk. I got a Coke to drink with it and the price normally around $3.80. I had my money in my hand and the young man working handing it back to me and said "Don't worry about it. We are getting ready to close in about 15 minutes so this is on the house. JOY BOMB!!!

God is still in the miracle business....

I have not updated you lately on my friend Stephanie who has cystic fibrosis. If you recall, in mid-July she had to be put on a transplant list for a double lung transplant since her body had gotten to the point that she was in the hospital for her lung problems more often than she was home. She has suffered from CF since birth and is not 31 years old and was facing a grim future. One month after she was placed on the list, she was called and told she had a set of lungs waiting for her and they headed to Nashville to start the transplant journey. They were told the surgery could be 8 - 12 hours depending on if the lungs worked with her body and how long it took to get each one in and breathing. Each lung went in perfectly and "pinked up" immediately and started working on their own. Long story short, about six hours after they started, she was already back in recovery. That was miracle #1.

Originally, the time frame was expected for a hospital stay of a couple of week if everything went okay. Then she could go to an apartment close to the hospital in case of complications. They were looking at about one year of staying near the hospital for constant supervision and watching for rejection. The doctors were amazed at her recovery. No complications. No signs of rejection and she was passing every breathing test with flying colors. So six days after her surgery, they released her to the apartment near the hospital. They told her that God was listening to whoever was praying for her and to tell them to keep up the prayers. They had never seen a recovery so fast that went so text book perfect. That was miracle #2.

That was in mid August. After just a few weeks of breathing therapy and physical therapy, she was out and about daily playing tourist in Nashville. Her breathing continued to reach higher and higher capacity as she learned how to breath regularly since she had spent her whole life never being able to take a deep breath. My mid September, the doctors announced that if she continued to pass all the testing as well as she was doing, they were going to let her go home around Thanksgiving....JUST THREE MONTHS AFTER THE SURGERY. Not a year, not six months but THREE months. The doctors continue to marvel at her recovery. Not complications. No signs of rejection. Nothing. So miracle #3 she will be home for good by Thanksgiving.  

Last week she posted that she and her husband went on a 2 1/2 mile bike ride. A bike ride!! She hasn't been able to ride a bike forever and ever due to her illness. Now to hop on one, ride 2 1/2 miles, not get winded and not start coughing. She is full of bubbly laughter every time she updates something new she gets to do and is amazed at what it feels like to be able to just breath without having to think about how to do it. That was miracle #4.

BUT GOD (I just love those words) had other plans. Last Friday she went for an appointment and they said she has done so good that her follow up testing can be done right here at home. So guess who came home this past weekend!!! That's right. God pulled miracle #5 out and sent her back here to be with her family. Happy, healthy and praising His name for all the blessings He has bestowed on her through this. So instead of a year away from her family and home, she was released two months and ten days after a double lung transplant. It's no wonder she always has a huge smile on her face. 

Not rushing it, but.....

I see people on my Facebook already putting trees up and that is their prerogative. But I for one cannot ever put my tree up before Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. The family gathering together. Good food and amazing desserts. No matter what we end up eating, we have so much fun when we all get together. And I look forward to the parade every year. It's not Thanksgiving if I can't see the parade and if I can't look at Black Friday Ads. 

I didn't make the traditional graham cracker pie last year that we always have at Thanksgiving. But I am definitely making one this year.

But I am also smart enough to know that I need to budget some Christmas into the November planning so I have what I need to get the Christmas decorating started. Last year, you may recall I went cheap on a new smaller Christmas tree. I was left in SHOCK when I got it out of the box and put it together. This was how it looked which was not at all how it looked in the store.

It took most of the day to get it fluffed and because I was trying to be frugal, I bought an unlit tree so I had to add my own lights and that was so aggravating. But the end result looked good to me. Yes, I am an old-fashioned tree decorator and love my assorted balls, tinsel garland and dangling icicles.

But I am not going to go through so much struggle to put a tree together this year. I sold that one earlier this year for exactly what I paid for it. This year, I want to find a fluffier fuller Douglas Fir Christmas tree. Hopefully, I can find what I want in one of those that you just stick three pieces together and not one you have to insert every single branch.

I also want to find one that is pre-lit. No way am I struggling with wrapping lights around the tree again this year.

I need a new tree topper. I would love to have a red and green Christmas angel. I love this one from Walmart. I may get it.

I am also old-fashioned and still wrap my Christmas gifts. I'm just not a gift bag person for what goes under my tree. I think it is because of all my memories of wrapping for my kids when they were little. 

I created me an Excel form for my Christmas list. So I have that started and I actually bought two Christmas presents already. So I'm off to a good start.