Have a holly jolly Hodgepodge

I'm doing something fun this week which I'm sure I will tell you about in minute detail next week. It involves getting on an airplane, making a connection to still another airplane, followed by friends, fun, and foreign language. It also involves hubs keeping the home fires burning while he oversees a plumbing repair (yes! I get out of that most dreaded chore!) and also paints a bedroom. His weekend sounds like it will be fun, doesn't it? In the meantime, here are this week's Hodgepodge questions...y'all know I like to keep a little mystery going here, right?

If you're not sure how to play along click on the instructions above the button on my sidebar...post your answers on the link here tomorrow (Wednesday).

1. What is the most interesting thing you've done in the last year?

2. What is your most meaningful family heirloom?

3. What food festival would you most like to attend? If you're not sure click here to see a list of possibilities.

4. Snow...do you love it or is it considered a four letter word where you live?

5. Can you ski? Do you ski? Are you any good?

6. What quality in your spouse or best friend are you most thankful for?

7. Describe the coziest spot in your home.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

The Aftermath

A Monday morning blogging challenge-how to make a traditional Thanksgiving celebration sound like something new and different. Guess what? It can't be done. That's one of the things I love most about Thanksgiving...it's predictable. It is people across America sharing mostly the same meal with people they love. Or are related to and must put up with but still, deep down there is love. So instead of something new and different how about a play by play of our holiday weekend which was probably only slightly different than your holiday weekend?

We had such a nice morning Thursday. We all moved about the kitchen doing one task or another to the backdrop of the Macy's parade and snow falling outside. It didn't stick but it was beautiful to watch. We had our feast mid afternoon and we all agreed it was just right.

Dishes were done, naps were taken and phone calls were made to family scattered here and there...we were all so full we didn't even drag out the leftovers.

On Friday hubs transformed the turkey carcass into the worlds best turkey noodle soup while we waited for my brother and sister in law to arrive. Seriously delicious. Once they got here we had a repeat of Thursdays meal, except we did not use the china that doesn't go in the dishwasher and it was also minus the hours and hours of slaving in the kitchen beforehand. Let's all give thanks for the beauty that is Thanksgiving leftovers. After dinner we watched some football, played some pool, and just enjoyed hanging out together which we don't get to do nearly often enough.

My brother is a high school coach so they had a cross country meet to attend in New York the early part of Saturday. While they were out I convinced hubs we needed to drag out the decorations and try to stir up some Christmas spirit. He loathes putting the lights and garland up and around the banisters and here's what I want to know....why is it that it never fits the same way twice? And as long as I'm on the subject of Christmas decorating mysteries why is it there seems to be one stray box every year that doesn't turn up when everything is hauled upstairs from the basement? Eventually it does but it seems every year we finish the tree and say, where is that box with the xyz ornaments? Annoying.

My brother and sister in law returned late in the day Saturday and we decided we'd take a break from the turkey meal and have a fondue party instead. Good call. We sat around the kitchen table and it was delicious and fun and relaxed.

This was followed by a game of Trivial Pursuit which we discovered was purchased when we lived in the UK so my brother and sister in law were at a slight disadvantage in answering questions about all things British. Not a lot because to be honest it was hard for us too. And playing games makes for great family bonding. Just sayin'

Sunday morning daughter1 learned she would have Monday and Tuesday off this week so we scrambled around and changed her ticket to go home late Tuesday instead of Sunday. We take all the days and hours and minutes we can get. Daughter2 is a student and her schedule was not flexible so we all rode out to the airport to send her on her way. She'll be coming home in a couple of weeks for Christmas break so it wasn't quite as hard as it normally is...still hard, always hard, but at least her Christmas holiday is right around the corner.

Daughter1 and I spent the afternoon chatting and sipping hot chocolate in Christmas mugs while sitting in the sun room in front of one of our freshly decorated Christmas trees. Hubs watched football aka napped on the couch which is also an ideal way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

So today my plans change, they shift in a good way. I have a daughter home to accompany me while I do errands, shop, and prepare dinner. Just the usual Monday stuff only better. Today will hold an extra measure of sweetness which is the perfect way to head into Christmas.

This girl thinks so too.

While visions of her to-do list danced in her head

Who else opened their eyes at 6 am and saw their to do list complete with timeline flash thru their head? A lot goes into a single meal doesn't it? But of course at the end of the day we'll say it was worth it.

Yesterday the sun was shining so we drove up to Highpoint in hopes of taking a picture for our Christmas card. It was cold and windy up on the mountain and someone, not naming any names, wanted to chase birds as opposed to sitting still for a picture, so it was a little challenging.

We laughed a lot though and that's always good. fyi-that is not the picture going on our Christmas card. As soon as we got home the girls and I donned our aprons and started in on phase one of the meal preparation for today's dinner.

We also made spaghetti and meatballs for last nights dinner so the kitchen was a-hoppin. Daughter1 made the angel pie...

Daughter2 made the cranberry relish and then chopped a lot of celery and a lot of onion that will go into our dressing and then helped me finish up the meatballs for last nights dinner...

This child has focus. Just sayin'.

Hubs spent the afternoon getting our patio heaters working. Yes, just in time for winter but still, they are finally working. We got them in the UK and the regulators have a bayonet style connection which you do not find anywhere in the US. We know this for a fact because hubs has been on a mission for the past year and has spoken to no less than 827 propane companies, electricians, plumbers, hardware stores, and hearth and home shops. Finally someone directed him to a farm and tractor store and they had a solution. Hurray! Not that we will be sitting on the patio anytime soon because, hello, winter is looming, but by golly he was going to get those things converted or go crazy trying.

We had a nice dinner last night and it makes me happy to see my whole little family around the table. After dinner hubs and daughter1 were sent to the market for some vanilla ice cream. We decided our spaghetti feast would not be complete without one of our favorite Italian dessert concoctions...Affogoto. It is so easy and so delicious-

Make a pot of espresso or super strong coffee.

Put vanilla ice cream into a mug and pour coffee on top.

Fantastico!

And its even better if you eat/drink it while lounging in your pjs on the couch watching Beauty and the Beast with your family all around. It does not matter one iota that there is not a soul in your house under the age of 20. It is still sweetness and perfection.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday Hodgpepodge Vol 3-Don't be a turkey...come play!

Were you around when that expression, 'Don't be a turkey' was popular? I think it was the late 70's. The 70's were their own special kind of wonderful and if you missed them I feel sorry for you.

On to this week's Hodgepodge...a few people said they thought the questions this time round were hard. I like to say they make you think. It makes for more interesting reading to have a few questions with substance as opposed to the yes/no variety, yes?

Okay, here we go...don't forget to link your post where it say's "You're Next" at the bottom of mine today...

1. If you had known what they knew then, would you have boarded the Mayflower?

My friend Deb came up with this question and the more I've thought about it the harder it is to answer. I think the most likely scenario in my case would be my hubs would nudge and cajole and encourage and finally talk me into getting on board. I think we can all agree he would have been first in line when they asked who wanted in. I don't think I'd have gotten on the ship without some friendly family pressure. And I'd have been green around the gills the whole way to America. They didn't have Dramamine back in the day, did they?

2. How far have you traveled on a boat and how do you feel about boats in general?

Ships, eh. I've never been on a cruise partly because traveling with thousands in a confined space is not my idea of a holiday, but mostly because I have serious motion sickness. I know, I know, people say you don't feel the motion on a great big cruise ship but these are the same people who tell me I'll love roller coasters.

Now boats are a different story. I love to be out on the water in a boat and I'm okay on a lake or river. We owned a power boat before we moved overseas and I absolutely loved it. I would wear the accupressure bands if we were going to be in the Bay but if we were just out on the river I was okay. I like the beauty of a sailboat but what I really love is speed so power boats are my preferred method of travel on water. Oh, and I also like canoes. They're boats, right?

3. What traditions have you kept, acquired thru marriage, and/or tossed? If you're single what are some of your family's favorite Thanksgiving traditions?

Thankfully hubs family and my family have always celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas in similar fashion. The very first year we were married we spent Thanksgiving with hubs family and it felt pretty much like home. Except for the dressing but over time I've successfully converted his family to my recipe so that's all good now. Hubs family makes a dessert called Angel Pie which I've mentioned a time or ten on my blog and that is one tradition acquired thru marriage that's a keeper. I also remember my mother in law asking me that first year if I wanted any particular dish that was traditional to my family Thanksgivings and I made my mom's fruit salad. I appreciated her asking and will file that away for my own future in-law children.

4. What time is your dinner and how many will be round your table? And what is the one side dish you cannot do without on Thanksgiving day?

It will just be our little family of four on the actual day but I'm still making my normal hundred and ten sides because leaving any of them out would surely make somebody unhappy. I'm planning to eat a little earlier than we normally do this year, somewhere between 2 and 3 PM, because I'm hoping we can all take a walk before dessert and also before it gets dark.

Friday my brother and his wife will drive up and spend the weekend with us which will be fun. I love the left over meal on Friday almost as much as I love the original meal. We will not be with my family for Christmas this year so I'm happy to have visitors over the Thanksgiving weekend.

The ONE dish I cannot be without at Thanksgiving is cornbread dressing. It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it and its my favorite part of the meal.

Go ahead and say it...you didn't think I could do just one did you?

5. Have you ever used a fire extinguisher? Do tell...

I guess all this talk about cooking brought the question to mind. I have never used a fire extinguisher although my sister and I did start a small fire in our kitchen when we were about 10 and 11 and a fire extinguisher would have been handy. My brother was supposed to be keeping an eye on us while my parents were out and he was on the phone when the 'incident' occurred. Since no real damage was done we put our collective heads together and decided it was best not to tell mom and dad. Hey kids! Parents know stuff! They just know. Especially when soot drops from the living room drapes and a certain pan mysteriously disappears. Tell the truth.

When we lived in the UK I was involved with Girl Scouts in our school and I had to be fire extinguisher trained. Sometimes we used candles and unless one of us went to the training we could not use candles. So I went to a half day workshop run by a company who dealt in fire extinguishers and I learned about all the different types and had to demo each kind.

In this house we have a fire extinguisher attached to the side of a kitchen cabinet. In our corner of NJ there must be smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and a fire extinguisher in the kitchen along with a certificate proving such before settlement on a house can move forward.

6. Tell about a situation that caused you dreadful trepidation and much feet dragging only to realize later it was a true blessing.

Did I ever tell you about the time I was going along happily thru life and my hubs came home and asked me how I'd feel about moving to England and a couple months later there we were? Living in England. I thought so.

7. Baked, sweet, mashed, hash browned, or french fried...which one's your favorite?

Mashed. But I rarely ever have mashed potatoes or potatoes of any type because they are not on my approved list of foods to eat when trying to look svelte. I actually love all of the above but mashed are my favorite.

8. Insert your own random thought here...

Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

A taste of Thanksgiving in the Hodgepodge

Today is the day my chicks come home to roost for a few days and I'm more than a teensy bit excited. I'm going to try really hard not to make my hubs wish he'd gone to work so he wouldn't have to listen to my incessant chatter because when I'm excited about something I chatter. More than my normal chatter I mean. See, I'm doing it now.

This week's questions are sponsored in part by my real life, but too far away friend Deb, who in the spirit of Thanksgiving, fed me many of these this week. If you're not sure how this works see the page with instructions in my sidebar.

1. If you had known what they knew then, would you have boarded the Mayflower?

2. How far have you traveled on a boat and how do you feel about boats in general?

3. What traditions have you kept, acquired thru marriage, and/or tossed? If you're single what are some of your family's favorite Thanksgiving traditions?

4. What time is dinner and how many will be round your table? And what is the one side dish you cannot do without on Thanksgiving day?

Yes, I know it goes against all I believe in to ask for 'just one', but I made up for it by asking three questions here.

5. Have you ever used a fire extinguisher? Do tell....

6. Tell about a situation that caused you dreadful trepidation and feet dragging, only to realize later it was a true blessing.

7. Baked, sweet, mashed, hash browned or french fried...which one's your favorite?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

See you back here tomorrow with my answers and the link to share yours with the great big world wide web.

It takes more than a village

Today is November 21st. November. Last night we looked outside and saw the tree in our neighbor's front yard all lit up for Christmas. And if you want to get technical yesterday was only November 20th. Is it me or is it all starting up just a little bit early this year???

Here's the deal...I am not in the Christmas spirit. There. I said it. I look around and see the lights and the decorations everywhere I go and I'm feeling sort of eh about it all. Our little town put up their lamppost wreaths sometime last week which look nice and add a little sparkle to the village but still. It's November. I can't decide if its me and I'm just not feeling it this year or if its because its way too early.

I did suggest to hubs that he put the outside lights on the trees this weekend because it was relatively warm and there was no precipitation. We won't be turning them on until after Thanksgiving though...doing so even one minute earlier is against house rules here.

Last year I hosted a big crowd of family for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year I am not. I'm cooking but it will be a much smaller feast. Last year was also our first Thanksgiving in the US in many years, our first Christmas in the states in three years, and our first Christmas in a new home, all of which helped fuel the holiday spirit. I think it kicked in somewhere around early September and was still hanging around mid January.

This weekend I tried to jump start things. I finished menu planning for Thursday, did a big shop to get most of the essentials for preparing the meal, ordered my fresh turkey from a local market, and I even set the dining room table with my china and crystal which usually makes me feel oh so happy.

Still... not really feeling it.

Sunday afternoon I decided to pull out my Snow Village. Some people leave pieces of their village out year round but I am not one of those people. The snow village only comes out around Thanksgiving (usually after) and gets packed up sometime in January. I have quite a few pieces and they're all in boxes within other boxes which are stored in the basement which means much lugging up and down stairs and also much unpacking and sweeping up of the Styrofoam storage mess. Just getting it out and ready to display is a big job.

I like to put most of the pieces on top of my kitchen cabinets but hubs had forbidden me from standing on the counters with electrical wiring and fragile ceramics without him there to act as spotter so I put it all on the kitchen counter until he was finished with the outdoor lights.

Here is most of my snow village...

Are you thinking what I was thinking? Because I looked at the table and honestly my first thought was, 'Why did I get all of this out today???' Now that its out of the boxes it pretty much needs to be put in place for the holidays.

And if I want lights in my village, which I do, then this must also be faced...

Let's be like Scarlett and think about that tomorrow shall we...

I was looking back at some of my posts from this time last year and there was one just before Thanksgiving where I listed all the things I was looking forward to in that next month. We had many things planned including re-visiting holiday traditions and decorations we hadn't seen since moving abroad, a show in the city, New Year's Eve in the city, and more. While this holiday season will be very different from the last there is still much to look forward to including...

daughters in the house, baking and eating an angel pie, cooking with my daughters, my brother and sister in law coming for the day after Thanksgiving meal, seeing the Smoky Mountains in all their winter beauty, a family road trip, corn pudding, the smell of turkey, a walk after the meal on Thanksgiving day, watching Elf, Home Alone, and White Christmas, daughter2 playing Christmas carols on the piano, cinnamon scented candles, cranberry bread, playing games, new pajamas, a fire in the fireplace, hikes in the woods, Christmas Eve, butter creams, and most especially, the story of a Baby who changed everything

So...what about you? Are you already playing Christmas music and decorating your tree(s) or are you still trying to figure out where October went? If you're like me and are feeling more of the latter no worries..I'm pretty sure there's still plenty of time to find your Christmas spirit.

Turkey Talk ala Flashback Friday

Today's Flashback Friday prompt is all about Thanksgiving traditions and memories. Thanksgiving is my favorite of all the holidays and I love everything about the day...the family time, the foods, the season of autumn, and the feeling of thankfulness that this day stirs up inside of me.

My mother has always been an excellent cook and I remember Thanksgiving as a happy day filled with wonderful smells and a delicious meal. My grandparents and other extended family lived mostly on the other side of the country so we typically didn't have relatives sharing the meal with us. And I don't think we ever traveled anywhere for the holiday. Quite often though, we'd share the meal with another family, longtime friends who also had four children like my parents.

One of the things I remember especially looking forward to on Thanksgiving Day was the shrimp cocktail. As a family we did not have a lot of meals in fancy restaurants or even a lot of meals out so many things were considered a treat to us kids that may not be perceived as a treat by kids today. Shrimp cocktail was one of those things. My mother made spicy cocktail sauce and mixed it with the shrimp and then put it all into beautiful long stemmed crystal glasses lined with lettuce. She set each one on a plate on top of our dinner plates and this was our starter. I remember feeling very grown up eating shrimp cocktail this way.

This picture is in a scrapbook my mom made for me. I guess my dad was taking the photo which is why he's missing. You can see the shrimp cocktail on the plate in front of my mom. Fyi-I'm the one on the left with the long hair. Growing up we always dressed for Thanksgiving dinner (no sloppy jeans or t-shirts at the table) and I've carried that tradition on in my own family too. Usually my sisters and I put on dresses and my brother and dad put on collared shirts and dress slacks. My mom also has a knack with flowers and she'd make a pretty arrangement for the table and light candles. It made the day feel extra special.

I have vivid memories of my dad making a production out of carving the turkey. He liked to save the carcass and make something called carcass soup the next day. The name lacks appeal but essentially it was a turkey broth soup and it tasted good. And my sister and I always got to pull the wishbone apart which was a big deal to us as kids.

I prepare a very similar meal to the one my mom made throughout my childhood. I think Thanksgiving dinner is one of those meals nobody in the family wants messed with too much. My mother's cornbread dressing is my favorite thing about the meal and that's the recipe I use. My own family would rebel if I changed up the dressing in any way shape or form. Our favorite sides are corn pudding, creamed onions and in recent years I've added brussel sprouts cooked with pancetta which are totally yummy. Dessert is pumpkin pie and fruit salad and I've added hubs family's angel pie too which I could personally eat in its entirety.

My mom always had a fruit salad as a dessert option on Thanksgiving Day. It consisted of red grapes, diced oranges, diced apples and crushed pineapple and was topped with whipped cream. That may not sound like anything really special but there is something about the combination that is just right. This is another tradition I've continued in my own family because sometimes a bowl of fruit really is better than pie after a big meal. As kids, my sister and I were given the task of pitting the grapes for this salad and I remember so clearly sitting at the kitchen table pitting grapes while my mom got the turkey ready to go in the oven. Nowadays I just look for them already pitted which is kind of a shame.

As a kid I might have watched some of the parade in the morning and we usually had our big meal in the mid-late afternoon. I like to do this in my own house now too because I love to drag it all out for seconds later in the evening. My dad always said grace before we ate and we always took a family picture somehow around the table. In my own family we also like to say some of the things we're especially thankful for each year before we say grace.

Thanksgiving feels like the hush that falls before December barges in with all her lights and colors and sounds and most of all, her expectations. Perhaps that is what I love best about Thanksgiving...it's a day whose only expectations are good food, sweet family, and a heart filled with gratitude for blessings too numerous to count.