Thanksgiving....

November 27, 2013

Thanksgiving.....

Each year at this time... my mind goes back to Thanksgiving past.

Wish I had a picture of the other cook... My Uncle Tiny...

this one is of my Mom.

 Two of the greatest Thanksgiving cooks of the past....

My mother for the first 17 years of my life... then taken over by my uncle.  With a throw in of my mother for 4 years when I lived there with my kids and husband.

Mom's was great food for sure.. It was a 4 or 5 course dinner.. forgetting which.

There was the shrimp cocktails, after that was soup...usually clear onion soup with a round piece of toast floating on top.  Then came the main course. Turkey cut by dad,

just like the Norman Rockwell picture... with stuffing and gravy, mash potatoes, turnips, yellow squash, cranberry sauce.  With side of green onions and olives... oh, yea the rolls.

After that came hot pies.. at least 3 different kind... Pumpkin, of course, and a berry of some kind.. and mince pie.  With vanilla ice cream on top.

The table was dress to the tilt... There were the silverware...  shrimp fork, main fork, salad fork, desert fork... on the other side main knife, butter knife, regular spoon,

soup spoon.  Then there was the server dish which sat under the dish of the course. First the shrimp dish, then the soup bowl, the plate to have for the main part of the

meal... then the desert.  To the left water glass, to the right the tiny salt bowl and butter dish..(everyone had their own).  And we would have coffee after all the table was

cleared, unless you requested on with your desert.

My uncle's table was more like my own.. Simple... a dish with fork on one side, knife and spoon on the other. You took your plate up to the kitchen and walked around the counters and picked what you wanted... All of this, of course was after the cook served himself first.   On the table would be a roll's basket, gravy bowl, butter dish.. one on each end

of the table.  All that was passed back and forth as needed..  A more laid back. And when you were done, you went back up to the counter where the pies were, with a desert fork piled next to them. 

Both tables we waddled away from... after lots of conversation.

Also the difference was between the two was... my uncle's was all covered over so anyone could help themselves after.. if they so chose.   My mother's was all put into

containers, and put in the refrigerator.  And the dish washer, would wash the dishes, pans... and etc..  That dish washer was me...  For years by myself.. but when I was 15

along came an angel... name Jo. Who helped me all the years that followed... Even when I came back with my children and husband.

At my house.. after everyone has their fill. The women get out the containers.. and divide up all that is left. Containers for each family involved.. Because there is NO WAY,

that the King and I were going to have all that food left here...  lol

So as you gather around your table tomorrow... think of all the blessings you have been given over the year. Or even years.  Maybe say a little prayer for those who

are not as fortunate as you are.  Because no matter.. how your silly uncle or loud aunt, or grandma, and grandpa carry on... you are so lucky... because a lot of people

have no one.. For those with out family near by and only can do it by phone... may you have many friends at your table....

GOD BLESS.... and may your day be full of good food with lots of friends and family, with a side dish of laughter...     

Are we a morbid country?

After watching for about 10 minutes of the JFK Memorial service this past week, my husband said.....we must be the most morbid people.  And then asked.. do other countries rehash over and over these types of things?

I couldn't give him an answer, as I have not seen anything on the news about a yearly or 10 year services for a past tragedy.   I am not saying there isn't any.. just we, in the States, don't see it. Where as it seems a lot of ours is shown overseas. 

We have September 11th World Trade Center.  We have in November 22nd, JFK death and in December 7th we have the Pearl Harbor and then on January 16th we have the Martin Luther King Day.  With a parade and services. 

But then I got to thinking.. we have been morbid for a long time.. almost the beginning of time.. as we mourn the death of a man for 2013 years. Which kind of confuses kids...  They celebrate the great birth of Jesus in December... Christmas... kids really get wound up in that... but then

just a mere 3 months later.. they celebrate Easter with Easter eggs and candy... as they mourn the passing of Jesus.  I even had a kid ask me years ago...."didn't we just celebrate him being born? did he die as a baby?"

So my dear readers... who know about the many different countries.. is there a country that goes to the extent of having a day and moment of silence for

some one who was killed? Or an attack.. to the point we do.. Ringing the bell, calling out the names? And played over and over on television?

The King says we shouldn't forget, but do we

really need to wallow in the sadness? How do the families of the WTC deaths, get on with their lives we keep it an open sore each year?  We all have lost dear ones in our lives.. and we remember them on that day..

But we don't make a big deal of it.. like the Americans do.... so... is he right?   

East vs West

Easterners think westerners are crude. 

Westerners think Easterners are uptight.

Or is it country vs city?

Both have a hard time dealing and understand the other.

Country guys are hunters, get in the woods, walk miles up streams for fishing, fix their own vehicles.

A man's man, they say.

Country guy,  bar-b-que their meat on a cooker with wood or briquettes. And if they do cook with propane, it is the biggest cooker with warming plate, and some with small refrigerators.  And think nothing of throwing it in the back of the pickup to take to camp.  Or will be seen on their porches cooking in the middle of winter.  Even cooking their Thanksgiving turkey on it, if the power goes out.

City guys take the car to the mechanic and usually the car

dealership. Get their meat from the store, and when they get

home they flip the switch to turn up the heat or have it already programmed.  

City guy, when he does bar-b-que, does it with propane

gas, or electric.  Some times on a tiny cooker. And if the power goes out, they venture out to see if any of the restaurants have power.

Yep, two different breeds, for sure. 

Baby it's cold outside....

As I walked out to take the garbage to the street side of our driveway,the grass was crunchy as I walked across it.. and it wasn't even white yet.  And I was freezing.. even though I had my sweater on. See I figured I would just run out and put it in place quickly.. so who needs a jacket... right?  Well, I DO..  I was almost hugging the heater when I got in.

I have to admit, I have been putting off winter. I have my fall jacket, and not my winter jacket out. Even have not given much thought about winter boots.  Just having my hiking boots. 

I guess I figure if I don't think about it, it won't come.  Well, that didn't work well for me.. as we had an inch of snow a couple of days ago.. But still in denial, with it melting away by afternoon.

But after seeing the news last night.. I had to finally admit it.. Cold weather is here..  And if I take to heart the old tales of bees in the ground and twin fawns arriving.. then this is going to be a bad one. As we have seen both.

Now where did I put those gloves? Got my hat I bought a couple months ago.. 

And where did I put those winter boots?

Canada actually has out done us...

We all know about Spitzer and Wiener of New York.

There are many stories of Congress men, acting badly. 

Now we have a Congressman from Florida who was found on drugs. And of course the many, many Congressmen who have been found drunk over the years.  Even a local city south of us, had their own council person acting badly... and even to the south west of us. Our government officials have nothing  to brag about being squeaky clean. 

But believe it or not.. Canada has out done our government guys. Rob Ford, Mayor of Toronto. Stripped of his powers of Mayor, by a 34 to 5 vote. 5 people after hearing he does crack, buys crack by his own admission..... has the most unusual behavior.. and those 5 still thought

he should keep his powers of Mayor!!  He has refused to step down, and for some reason the council can't get rid of him until next fall when they have their next election. Or at least one of the councilmen told a reporter.

By the way, am I the only one who thinks he looks like Rush Limbaugh?

This buffoon, admits to doing crack, and so many other things.. and at the council meeting that was going to strip him of his powers.. he ended up running like a girl around a series of people in chairs, rounds the corner and knocks over a woman council person...  as the gallery yells

"shame, shame, shame.   And he is recorded at the council meeting while someone else is talking.. doing antics of a person driving and drinking drunkenly, not just once but several times...making fun of a fellow council person.. Like he a lot of room to criticize.  

As I was watching all of this on the news and later on the Daily Show, I thought how it looked like some bad comedy show.. and people were laughing on the Daily Show... and I am sure there were lots laughing in the homes who watched these antics...  And of course, those of us in the good old USA, laugh, and think.. wow.. and we thought our guys

were bad. This guy makes ours look like choir boys.  

GOING CASH...and the mystery....

In our local area, for about a week and half at least...

someone's debit card system has been hacked.

There are so many people's debit card/ credit cards, that has

been hacked thru this faulty system in this store.  And because this is a national big box store and only one of two... in our area..Needless to say, it is a huge problem...

So the King and I decided.. so far we have not been affected

by it, so we decided to go cash.   After all we are old enough to remember when there wasn't any debit cards.  So it shouldn't be a big problem.  Well, maybe...

We have found it to be inconvenient, at best.  Neither one of us likes carrying a large sum of money on our person.  So if anyone is going to rob us.. they would be sadly disappointed if they were figuring on cash.. Because we carry $20 or less..and most of the time, less.

So going cash means... carrying cash.. but also maybe you didn't bring enough.  Or you weren't planning on shopping or buying gas.. so you didn't bring anything.  But it also means if you want to pay someone with cash.. you can't go to the ATM machine to get cash.. Because when

the bank finds this fraud.. they cancel your debit card.. and you have to wait until you get the new card in the mail.  Which can take a week or so.  Which has happen here ... and it isn't just one bank, it is all of them in our area.  

The other option is.. taking your check book with you.  Which if you are going to use it in another town, other than your own.. maybe they won't take your check. Especially if it is a small business.  And now days, so many people do use debit card.. the business person looks at you, like what?

you don't own a debit card.. why??? won't the bank let you? Maybe I shouldn't accept your check.   So it is a hassle.

I have a friend who does not have a checking account.. by her choice.. She does not have a debit card or credit card.. she pays strictly by cash. Where she found it to be a hassle, is.. she can't rent a car... or make reservation at a hotel. Both want a credit card.  But I have to admire her,

as she doesn't have to balance a checking account, she doesn't have to keep track of all the receipts, so she can deduct it from her check book log.

She just takes out the cash and pays.

Might take a little bit to get use to it.. but maybe cash is the way to go. Just got to figure out how to carry enough...

Also the store that seems to be the target of this debit/credit card problem, also had a bomb scare over the weekend.. losing 6 hours of business... and this wasn't the only town that suffered that. Friday 3 in Maine, 1 in Florida and

on Wednesday,1 in Wyoming ..is what the newspaper said.  Wonder if that has anything to do with the hacking of the debt/credit cards... wonder if the other locations had the same problem before  their bomb threat?  

Happy Birthday...mm

my computer is once again..possessed

I was walking and minding my own business.

Well, actually I was sitting at my computer,

and some how.. some way... my computer

changed.  I don't know how.  But all of a

sudden, little underlining pops ups on my blog

and others as well.. and I can't figure out why.

Also my blog has an ad on it.. an ad I DID NOT

ok, as I like to keep my blog free of all ads.

But some how.. one has gotten a free ride.

Others, who do have ads on their blogs get a

kick back.. but I don't care to, nor do I want to.

So I have go back to my pea brain and think of

what did I do in the past 4 days, that would warrant

an automatic ad. And tag words on my blog and

others.

I did sign up for a Advent Calendar that my sister

in law sent me as a gift. Meaning she paid for it.

It starts December 1st.  And in order to download

that.. I had to sign up for ADOBE AIR.  I always

carefully read every thing and uncheck everything

I see for them to add to their "free" download.

but as we all know.. nothing is for free.  So don't

know how this happen.. and can I reverse it, or at

least delete the annoying pop ups?

I hate it when my computer does things without my

permission.. I mean, after all.. it always ask me other

questions... "are you sure you want to delete this?"

"do you want to automatic fill in these spaces" and

such.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. another thing to try

to figure out. 

Affordable Care and the Internet...

The Republican party has been trying for over 2 years

to destroy all or part of the Affordable Care... They have

tried .. what 39 times to put it to vote.. they have tried

blackmailing by holding up the government and letting it

shut down.. So much buffooning, and loud mouth, all for

what...nothing.. Nothing worked.

But what I find funny is that... what the Republican's

could not do.. the internet has done... stop Affordable

Care in its tracks.

I wondered why they did things like they did.. they

sure had a lot more confidence in the internet than

we all have.  After all, have you ever gone to order

something on the internet, that you just learned about

on television..  We did.. My husband wanted a Chord

Buddy after seeing it on the program Sharks.  It took

3 days and even then it ordered two for us... and the

company finally helped us get it all straighten out.

They had quite a mess, with everyone ordering after

the show... and the next day.  And that folks, was just

a small order.. ordered by what a few hundred or thousand.

So you can imagine having over half of the nation going

on to see how to order and get it down.. Millions and millions

of people..

What I couldn't understand is why didn't they dole it out.

Meaning.. the first week, have all those whose name starts

with A, and B the first week... and then the second week

have the C and D,.   the third week, E and F.. and

so forth.. that would have made more sense.. or breaking

it down even more.. but to tell everyone.. go on line,

today... that was crazy... at least to me.. in my humble

opinion. 

Kennedy.....

We will be thinking of the Kennedy tragic shooting.

It will be 50 years this year, this month...

Wow...  50 years since I ran out the front door, almost tearing off the screen door, screaming ...

"they shot Kennedy, they shot Kennedy".

To my husband and our neighbor who was sitting in

the yard.  And like everyone else, was glued to the

television for ...what 4 days? Watching the funeral proceeding .... Oswald being shot by Ruby... and wondering

when would it all stop.

There is a song about the day the music died... it is about

Buddy Holly .... and his death in a plane... but some of the

generation that loved JFK... feel that is the way it was, that

day when  he died.. Not that the music died...but innocence.

I not going to tell you that we lived in wonderful perfect world

before he died. But we were happier... There were jobs,

people were buying homes...and cars. There was great

hope. And 85% of the nation loved our President and his

wife, with their family.

Since then we have had bombings in the USA.. We had tricky Dicky... (Richard Nixon) the Clinton scandal.. the

do nothing Bushes, but get us in wars we should not

have gotten into... Carter and Ford who were weak.

There was the hippie generation, the protesters, the

Kent College killings, and so much more... kids killing

kids... Vietnam war, all showing up front on television,

while we sat to eat dinner. We are taxed more but see

our roads and bridges falling to disarray.  Politicians use

to meet in smoky rooms and come out with answers for the

country... instead of spouting off in front of the television

cameras.

We were proud of our flag and country.. and "we can do" attitude.  Now instead, we have tearing each other down. And people telling us we can't fly the flag or have it in certain places because it offends others.

We remember what things were like in the Kennedy days.

We know how things could be... 

And we fear we will never see those days again.  

Leaves...I love them.....

We have two trees in our yard.. use to have 3 different ones.. but the King cut them down as they were starting to rot..

We now have a non bearing cherry tree and we also have an

MacIntosh apple tree. Neither one of them are big and don't

have much for leaves.  So we don't rake them.

Our neighbor has a huge oak tree and it has lots of leaves..

It is beautiful in the fall with all its big yellow leaves... but

those too, are left to rot on the ground.  No one is bothered by the leaves.

The thing is all of these trees have been thriving wonderfully well.

I have always wondered why people rake the leaves. Maybe take some of them for the garden.. but I have to ask you....

Who rakes the leaves in the woods?

 I love the looks of it.. as it is like a big yellow blanket around the tree... and in the winter.. it is covered with snow.... letting the tree

getting its nourishment from the leaves...

The gift of Quince or the gift that keeps giving...

A fellow blogger offered free quince.. so I stepped up to the plate and said ... yes, I would love to have some.  I had not a clue what to do with them.. but what the heck.  I knew you could make jelly, because she showed a beautiful jar of Quince jelly.

Marianne stopped by with promised quince... a box full.  You have to cook them for a loooooooooooooooong time.. she told me. Google them, you will find recipes.

So I googled them.. and found the process recipe.. Step one, cook for 5 to 7 hours...  So got the roaster pan out.. put in about an inch of water.... and quartered the quince. Put them in at 8am... About 4pm, after checking them several times... I took them out. They had turn their required red color.. dusty rose red.

I got out my grinder, that you throw the stuff in and grind to your hearts content, and it removes the skins and seeds.. letting the pulp go thru the holes.  Out came the cheese cloth. Put the pulp in there and let it drain for 4 hours into the bowl below. 

And there I was with 5 cups of juice.

I made the jelly.. put them in small jars.. so if it didn't taste good, I could get rid of it fast... :-)  and if it taste good, I could share them in my Christmas baskets.  It taste good.

Then I looked at that cheese cloth bag of pulp and thought there has to be a way to use this stuff.  I got out my zucchini recipe and

modified it.  I used 2 cups of quince pulp and left out the blueberries.

And 5 small loaves later.. I had some great bread. I have 2 more cups left, so will make another batch. It tasted great, little moist, but very good.  More Christmas basket fodder.  Also threw a cup full with a banana, milk and it made a great smoothie.

If you wonder what it taste like.. well, raw it taste like squash at first and then a rhubarb like taste comes.  

So thank you, Marianne.. great gift..

And to all those who have come before us... who have gone on beyond us, and for those among us, who have served so well.. THANK YOU... and hope you have an enjoyable Veteran's Day....the praises you so richly deserve.  

Happy Birthday, ch... 

NO RESPECT ... I tell you again..NO RESPECT...

Once again.. our sweet little town gets NO RESPECT...

The election was yesterday... and last night the media

was as busy as an one arm wall paper hanger...

Couer d' Alene, 43 miles south of us, was buzzing with news of a new council and mayor.. Washington state, which is where we get our television news out of Spokane.... and it was buzzing with the news of candidates and new laws to pass or not (they didn't)

Our surrounding towns, Sandpoint, was buzzing

along with their new council members coming aboard...  Ponderay, Clark Fork, even little Hope

got news worthy reporting...

But... little city that could... the city of Kootenai.. NOTHING.. 0... NOT A SINGLE WORD...

until this mornings paper reported in a single sentence.

Why?  Because we had two candidates... who ran.. again... with no one running against them.  

And only 17 people voted...  There was nothing else

on the ballot... No, county commissioners .. nothing..  So I guess the media figured why bother..

But we, at the council meeting last night.. us, the  public ... 4 of us... congratulated

Dave Sunquest and Crystal Collsom... on their win.. even telling them, we heard they won by a land slide...  and then they sat down with their fellow

council persons and the Mayor and got to business. Business of different things going on.. but most importantly, was the passing of the new Zoning

polices and city map...   All of this was hard work by the 5 of them with their clerk... and one amazing

Lisa Key, who worked for 2 years to update the zoning polices and bring them up to state code.  And it passed last night.

Another council meeting... well done... 

We might not get much respect.. and the townspeople take our council for granted... But we are mighty lucky to have them. 

GONE HUNTING...

This is the part of the year, when the King and I go

hunting.. he takes his gun, I take my camera...

With elk hunting he goes with the guys.. but deer hunting

he does by himself a lot.. which I am not fond of that.

So I volunteer from time to time to go with him.. and today

is one of those days.

I like going with him. I am not crazy about getting up so early. As we have to leave early to get to a good spot come sun rise.

But as the sun rises the earth is so beautiful.. even with the leaves leaving the trees.. and of course the fir trees are still green. And if Tuesday is any indication, there should be snow on the fir trees as well.. Looking like pillows left on the branches..

So I am off to see what I can shoot (with the camera) while he goes to see what he can shoot with his gun.

From what I hear, there are a lot of twins and a few triples out there in the woods.  And no, the King does not shoot them or their mothers.

But it makes me wonder about the old men's tales of twins meaning a bad winter.. God's plan to have plenty of deer for next year as there will be some who won't make it thru the winter.. Guess we well see what the weather will bring..

But for me.. I am looking forward to the view.. even if the road is bumpy.  



UPDATE..  foggy morning.. no pictures.. BUT ...the King got his deer. 

Maybe some peace and quiet?

Today is Tuesday... election day...

Which locally is almost non day...

We have two council persons running for office..

with no one running against them.  So it will be

interesting to see how many of the good people

will show up to vote.

And this is sad, as I don't know of anyone running on

the county election.. so will see what is on the paper when

I get there.  There was plenty of others running in the other

cities and a couple of close races..

We get Spokane channels for our television viewing...so

there is plenty to see, for who wins what in the state of

Washington... I don't recall who is running for what..

but there is one really high profile law that is going to

get voted on... 522... that is the number we have been

bombarded with commercials for the past couple of months.

That is one I am interested in seeing how it does.. The

committee for it.. have been way under funded compared to

those who don't want it... By a thousand dollars per one dollar that the yes people have.  It is the bill for the labeling GMO food...  The No people have been less than truthful.  And because of that, I am afraid it will fail...

The Yes people have brought out their guns in the past week.

But don't know if it will do any good.  The main reason it will

fail, is because many think it was poorly written.  And they

could be right..  If I lived in Washington state, I would vote

yes, and correct some of the exceptions in the bill later. 

But  I am afraid that the vote will throw out the baby with the

bath water..  Meaning rather than fix some of the exception,

they will vote no.. And why that bothers me is.. I am afraid

that other states will not try the bill, feeling the people aren't

interested.

I personally have been watching the GMO project. I have

heard some horror stories about people getting sick. I have

a friend who has family in North Dakota, where there is a lot

of GMO corn... and they have lost 1/3 of their bees in their

hives before they found out it was because of the GMO

corn.  

I want to know what is in my food... The company that is practicing this.. has spend an awful lot of money to protect

their products.. one such bill was to have it so people can't sue them if they get sick from it. I don't know if they got it passed yet. They pretty well have the federal  government sewed up with protecting their rights.

Yet there are at least 67 countries or more, that have made it where it has to be labeled... 67 countries can't all be wrong.

Some people have said... they figured what they don't know, doesn't hurt them... kind of reminded me of the old movie Stephen King movie Soylent Green.

But what ever the outcome.. we will have some quiet time after the dust settles.  And God help us next year... 

Winter is coming....

Winter is coming..

and I guess I am ready.. well, the yard is done and etc... but

mentally, I am not so sure about me...

As all of you know, the overcast and gloomy days take me down. This past weekend was a good preview of it.  Spent most of Saturday with Misty by my side, with a book and cup of tea.. with the television in the back ground..  Looking up when some thing of interest was on... Which on Saturday's that isn't much.

If the King was home it would be a marathon of Storage Wars, Pickers, Duck Dynasty and etc...  So I got 3 of my books out and finished two.. and drudging thru the 3rd one.   I also have two book cases of books that I was going to read "one of these days... and the way the weather is heading.. it looks like "one of these days"

is here.

Also I can start baking. I put my squash in the freezer in 2 cup containers.. so I can get started on my choc. zucchini breads and etc.  Which is good, as the kitchen has a great big light above and it looks like mid day sun..  Besides I need to start getting stuff ready for Christmas baskets.

Then if I get real bored.. I can clean out my file cabinet. Oh,

be still my heart... as that job I have shoved off for about 4 or

5 years..  I still have booklets for items, I no longer own... Yep, there is enough to keep me busy.

So while my project week got shot the hell out of, with the King coming home 4 days early... I still have enough to do.

Got the living room floor shampoo'd and changed the furniture around..  and two other small projects done.. so it

wasn't a total bust.

So winter come on...but please could you leave the sun out for me.