One more week.....

I can't believe Thanksgiving is just one week away. It will be here before you know it. I will be having my Thanksgiving family gathering on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. Since they go to in-laws on Thanksgiving day and Hubby did all the cooking for us in the past, we have a pizza bar for Thanksgiving and focus on the desserts which is my specialty. We also celebrate my daughter-in-law's birthday at our Thanksgiving gathering. I know the whole family will be happy with what she has chosen as her birthday dessert. The Reese-peanut butter-brownie trifle. My grandson Garret loves this but he won't be here for our party so I will have to make sure we send him some.

Thursday, I do have to work for part of the day. Just not sure what part yet but it won't be a full shift. Probably no more than 4-6 hours. But whether I am home for lunch time or supper time, I will still fix myself some of my homemade baked beans (one thing I can make good).

And I will make my potato salad. It's not Thanksgiving to me without baked beans and potato salad. I can handle missing out on anything else, but not those two things. (By the way note I even serve in my Pyrex bowls for myself.)

Instead of a big ham since I'm the only one here, I make ham and cheese roll ups for my Thanksgiving. I adore these things. They give us a whole ham at work for Christmas so I will fix my ham on Christmas.

Are you getting tired of me blogging about food? I can't help it. This is one of my favorite holidays to plan eating for. And I keep mentioning the Graham Cracker pie because I haven't had one since 2014 and I have missed it. I am going to make one this year no matter what. I'm looking forward to it so much that I almost did a test run on it the other day. But I didn't want to ruin looking forward to having a piece when I look at my Black Friday ads Thanksgiving night.

Black Friday is not as fun as it used to be because they started having the great sales and you find the biggest crowds on Thanksgiving evening. I refuse to go black Friday shopping on Thursday. So I will get up about 5:00 a.m. Friday and hit the stores for the fun of it. Just about everything I am looking for isn't going to be on sale anyway because they aren't "hot" or "big ticket" items. But I will go anyway just because I like the thrill of shopping that day. I won't be able to shop all day since I will be working on Friday, but I can shop until noon. So much to look forward to.

I couldn't be more pleased....

First off, I am happy that for once I didn't procrastinate when I wanted to do something. Second, because I actually had most of the stuff to do what I wanted. And third because my project turned out awesome in my opinion.

I stopped at Hobby Lobby to get the tier stand I mentioned yesterday. It was on sale for $14.99.

Everything Christmas was 1/2 off so I got this sign and cup in the ornament section.

A quick stop in to the KARM Thrift Store scored me this little cup for .50 cents. Total I spent was $19 and some change on all of this.

I slept my normal 6 hours last night, but since I went to bed at 10:30, it caused me to wake up around 5:00. So I got up. When I spotted the stand on the table, I decided to just get started on it with the stuff I had so I would know if I needed to buy anything else. Turns out that the swag I was going to use with the poinsettia and pine didn't need cut after all. It was actually a five piece swag that I had made many years back so I just took it apart to use the greenery. Here is the top tier.

And the second tier.

And the bottom tier (of course I had to put a cardinal in it.)

This is going to set on my bar so you will see all the way around it. Here's one view.

Here's another view.

But here is what I consider the front view. It will be turned so that you see this side the best. 

I couldn't be any happier. 

One thing leads to another....

After my blog yesterday, I was straightening up and decided to work on my little wreath I wanted to make. Didn't take long and I am happy with the result. I have about $3 - $4 in it. 

Then I was on Pinterest for awhile because I was feeling craft. When this popped up, I fell in love. 

So obviously I had to look at the tiered stand ideas.

And the more I looked, the more I loved them.

And it appears anything goes.

But it also appears it could get really expensive to do one exactly like any of these. But I was curious about the price of the stands at least. Turns out they are on sale at Hobby Lobby for just $14.99. Guess who is stopping at Hobby Lobby.

But before I jumped in and bought the stand, I wondered if I would have anything to put in it. So I just briefly glanced in the top two boxes of my Christmas decor. Without even unwrapping anything and only looking in two boxes, I found all this!!!! I think it is safe to say I am on the way to doing a three tiered stand. It is going on my kitchen bar so I am going to stop at Goodwill beside Hobby Lobby on my way to work and look for some vintage looking Christmas mugs or at leas some that are totally modern.

So as I was putting that stuff in my craft room in a box for next week so it is all together, I spotted the clothespins I sawed and sanded and decided I need to do a craft again this morning before heading out for the day. So I did it and I am very happy with my little nativity ornament.

As I was putting back the jute, I saw this little jar on my craft shelf. Bought it to cover with cinnamon sticks for a candle. It was a buck at the Dollar Tree. I didn't think to price or measure cinnamon sticks first. (Turns out no cinnamon stick candle holder at the price of cinnamon sticks). So I sat it on the shelf till I figure out what to do with it.

I never seem to put my jute back in the same place twice so I always have to search for it. On a whim, I stuck it in that vase.

But it looked blah. Then I thought, hmmm, if it was more vintage-y looking or something. So I stuck a large Mason jar ring on it and it fit. Well, who knew. I just invented the Jute Jar.

So that is two days in a row I have crafted. The next two things on my craft list are this little snowman, I already have the towel and thread and I think most of the felt. Just got to check the colors and see if I need any.

When I moved into my house last year, there were some weathered boards by my porch in really good sturdy shape. I didn't throw them away because you never know when you need a board. But I saw something the other day and then I noticed the board last night and inspiration stuck. Stay tuned.

Weekend wrap up.....

Let's go back to Thursday when I actually had one of my days off last week. A friend had called me last weekend. She was cleaning her house and had about 3 totes full of books she wanted to give me. So I ran over and got them. They weren't romance novels so I decide to take them all to McKay's for exchange. I figured I could get about $30 trade credit. But instead, I got $74.33. WOW! I love Christmas movies but don't have a large stock. I have to wait till they come on TV each year. But with the way I work they are usually on while I'm not home. So I bought 8 of my favorite ones along with 12 new paper back books and 2 new hardback books. And I still have close to $20 left on the trade credit for when I go back again.

On my way to work Friday, I decided to stop and do a little shopping. I have been seeing so many pictures of people decorating their banisters really cute and it makes me wish for a two story house. Walking up onto my porch it dawned on me that I have a banister...it's just outside. So I want to do something with garland but don't want to spend a fortune. So I stopped at Dollar Tree on a whim and found out I can get 15' of garland for just $1. So I picked up a few packs to do my banister and porch rails. Now to go to Pinterest to get ideas as to what I want to do.

You might recall that I am going to do a craft project with clothespins. But I needed stain. I hated paying $2 or $3 for a can of stain for just 2 1/2 clothespins. So I did what I do best...I Googled it. Sure enough I found a company called Defy Wood Stain where you can send off for 5 free samples. So I did. I had a couple of other small projects in the future so I picked some colors for the projects I'm going to do and they arrived on Friday. Took less than a week to get them. Here's the link for my crafty friends. http://www.defywoodstain.com/samples/ . I am going with the Natural Pine for my project.

The only hitch in my craft plan was I needed to cut one clothespin in half. I realized I needed something to to cut it with. So I got me a mini hacksaw for just $3.88 at Walmart.

I had some old vintage clothespins that were a little mismatched, which was perfect for my project. I had found a pack of wooden starts at A.C. Moore the other day and used a 40% off coupon to get them for just a little over a dollar. I just forgot to get some sandpaper to shape up the bottom of the 1/2 clothespin. Planning on doing that my day off this week. 

I also stopped into Family Dollar the other day for some storage containers. While there, I found these little Rubber Maid bowls for $1.00. Check them out. They look like an old Tupperware pattern.

I love the fact that they also have a removable tray so you can have two things in the bowls if you want. Can't wait to try these out. The lids screw on instead of snap and are easy to handle.

Saturday was crazy. I arrived at work at 8:15 a.m. and got off work at 9:30 p.m. That was over 13 hours. Talk about exhausted. But it was a blast since I got to greet 23 groups total throughout the day. Not to mention on 5 show days like that, I get to go upstairs and help them set up the tables for the next show after each show. That is always fun. I also got to meet the daughter of one of my good friends at work. Meet Nora, our newest Southern Belle. Isn't this dress gorgeous. She makes a beautiful belle. 

I was a little discouraged ever since last Thursday. I had ordered a new phone case since mine was getting rough looking. Unfortunately, the mail lady put it in the wrong box and I didn't get it until three days after I was supposed to, but it was worth the wait. I am loving it. It makes my phone look like a new phone. It is rose gold. So  happy.

Then Sunday, I slept in and skipped Sunday School. I needed the rest. But I did go to church. My daughter helped me in Children's Church as we let the kids packs shoe boxes with items donated by some of our church members. We broke down into teams of 2-3 and they went "shopping" at the various table to pack a box. We let them pick the age and gender they wanted to shop for. They were so excited and were very patient to wait for their teams turn.

We had a couple of brothers visiting with us yesterday. The oldest son volunteered to help put the labels on the boxes for us. He was a huge help.

Afterwards, we gathered over the boxes and prayed that God would go with each box to make sure it was placed in the hands of a child who needed to receive the particular items in that box. The kids were so excited to do this project. This is my last Christmas with Children's Church since I am retiring next September after 10 years of participating in it, with the last three years being the leader and back there every Sunday with the kids. Most of these kids have been in Sunday School, Children's Church and VBS with me for 9 years and it is going to feel weird, but I just feel like it is time to step down at the end of this church year.

So despite the fact I did nothing Saturday but work all day and fall in bed the minute I got home, I still had an amazing weekend.

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.