Good morning

How nice to share so many Thanksgivings!

Ours was lovely, food came out beautifully, guests arrived safely and everyone had fun.

This morning I am in a bit of a funk. I had taken great pleasure in shopping, planning and preparing not just the turkey dinner, but supper Wednesday for 8, breakfasts, lunches and a big turkey pie last night for everyone plus a visiting friend.

This morning 3 adults watched and one slept while I cleaned up the last of the previous evenings dishes. 3 adults watched and one slept while I made the coffee, took orders and drove to the bagel shop for requested bagels. (*note* bagels I am unable to eat myself). On my return I left them on the counter, poured myself coffee and retreated to our bedroom. There I ousted DH from his slumbers telling him I was royally pi%%ed off and would like to savor my coffee on my own. Surely there is one day of the year when someone could offer to do something for me unbidden? I'd said no presents but surely this is taking it a bit far. Ack!!

Mary

Happy Birthday to Mary!

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Eden

We'r all sick with colds here.

Mary, just read your post and I hope your day improves. Knowing your family I bet it will.

Back to blowing my nose...

Eden

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Happy Birthday Mary!!

An English Rose for an English Rose.....

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Martie

Good sunny and bright morning! Mid-40's here today so might just get outside and hack down the rest of the stuff that just can't qualify as "winter interest." LOL

Especially for Cynthia, my beloved and devoted BIL who is always first up from the table to begin coordination of "leftover heaven". This is about half through the process. Everyone brings their own containers (have we been doing this for a while??????:-) and all but a tiny bit of this food was Gonzo within 5 minutes after the pic:

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I think it's pretty darn good that you can have weepy days and really not think twice about it, Marie. Sounds like healthy healing to me, and though weepy is not a preferred way to be, letting out is a whole heck of a lot better than keeping it in. Does Sarah need her pregnancy sweater you made, yet?

Got to name a cat yesterday. Violet was discovered in a "left off" litter that a friend is fostering. Friend thought this particular cat would be perfect for Cornfield Park. Actually took more than two seconds for Rich to kabash the idea, but she is so sweet and her face looks just like her namesake and Friend is going to keep her.

So, my mind goes back to "if he doesn't like cats why should I like him" and then I remember true war stories about all types of furred animals in buildings and for sale as food and realize where the feelings come from. One can't conquer everything, I guess.

Happier note: This season of giving will be entirely based on what can come from the heart, but was delighted when I found two perfect, big and heavy chowder cups 1/2 price at the grocery store this morning. My dads shakes so much now that big and heavy is mandatory, and he was saying at dinner the other day how much he misses his clam chowder on Sunday afternoons in his easy chair. Situation remedied~~~

Later, everyone, and waving --

Martie
Hopeful others can catch their breath and check in, soon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY !!!!

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Happy Birthday Mary !!!

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Happy Birthday Mary!
Sorry your day got off to a bad start. But knowing what sweet kids you have I bet it will pick up.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARY!

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V.

I think orange and purple will hit the spot:

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Mary, I can totally understand where you were coming from....hope it turned around for you!

Saucy

Martie. LOL about the things in the garden that can't qualify as winter interest. I have a lot of that .
We do the takasak home thing with leftovers too, but why didn't I send that last pumpkin pie along. It is my downfall and I eat way to much of it. We also had an anxious dog wandering about all day looking for handouts. DIL's chiauaua (you know what I mean, I can't ever spell that) will not stop eating as long as she can get scraps. Wyatt was happy to oblige her. Sorry Rich didn't go for the kitty. Bob used to be admantant about no cats, but eventually got overruled.

Eden , sorry to hear everyone has colds. I love the colors in your birthday card for Mary.

Kathy thanks for the info about the book. I am going to check that out. Right now I am looking a V's link to Spoonflower.

I am feeling headachy today,so not doing much.
Bob and I split the wood from a huge dead oak tree yesterday. We got a late start as he made three runs to town in the morning to get the right chain for the saw.
It made a huge pile of wood. Being someone who appreciates beautiful oak wood it seemed a shame that it was making firewood and not furniture. Rebel was so funny, as it was getting dark by the time we were finishing up and he thought we should be heading back to the house. He kept sticking his head under my arm and nudgeing me as if to say it's time to quit.

I think a nap may be in order to take the edge off this headache.

Have a good day everyone. Norma

Happy birthday, Mary! After all that cooking, you deserve a dozen of Bouquet d'Or

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Happy birthday Mary!!!

We had a nice Thanksgiving with my mom, brother and his family. I made a pumpkin cheesecake with maple bourbon sauce and hubby made parmesan yam puff. We took home lots of turkey meal leftovers.

V-love the pig.

Well, gotta get outside with hubby to decorate our 4 front windowboxes, cement urn between the garage doors and the one pot on the deck. We bought some greens (cedar, pine, fur, juniper, and variegated holly) and will also use items collected from our yard (red + yellow twig dogwood, ornamental grass "flowers", pine cones, green holly, yellow Chamaecyparis, etc). Hubby is spraying all the greens with Wiltpruf first since they last a bit longer that way. I told him if there is any left over he should start spraying the broadleaf evergreens that he never got around to doing-especially the Magnolia grandiflora. It is looking gorgeous right now and I want to protect it as much as possible. I'm waiting for a frigid winter to come along and knock it back down to the roots.

Taking a quick break, after dispatching the zinnias and prior to moving base of operations from front yard to back

Monique, your casual mention of the Christmas décor project simply will not do, and I hereby impress upon all Idylls to join me in applying peer group pressure for pics of the results !

back outside

Kathy in Napa

Happy Birthday Mary!!

How about an island getaway after all the remodeling and cooking and gardening you have been doing? :-)

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(This picture was taken at the same Royal Botanical Garden garden/art show as the fish I posted earlier.)

I think we're back in business. Lots to catch up on, but wanted to say HELLO to all and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mary. :)

Marty, the only news (other than about x-wife) is that the midwife is optimistic that Alberta will cover the cost of her tending to Sarah as of April 1st. This may be a financial treat! Also, Skyler was very happy that he got to find baby's heartbeat last Monday.

And now off the reheat leftover lasagne. Blarghh!
'bug

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Mary...I've had days like that, but that should *never* happen on your *birthday*!!! So I thought I'd share a little print I have that always cheers me!

Happy Birthday Dear Friend!

Ei

Dear Idyll Friends

Your cards have cheered me no end. Thank you everyone!!

The day improved as it progressed. I announced I would like to read in bed rather than drive nephew to airport and another driver was found. David gave me a coupon book full of promises to such tasks as "emptying trash for one week". There were no presents but many phone calls which I much preferred. Annie baked me a wonderful almond and lemon curd torte that looked remarkably like a cow patty but tasted divine. DH made his mother's Beef Strogonoff which was also suberb. He and I are just heading out to the movies and life once again feels good.

Have a great evening everyone

Mary

Greetings across the miles, time zones and climate zones.

It was downright warm here today in mid afternoon, and as I was cutting back the felled foliage of various plants I noted a disturbing trend toward plants that should not, but in fact are breaking dormancy. We always expect the dutch iris, grape hyacinth, and freesias to poke up here after the first rains. They get to a certain point and then kind of hang-out till spring. I observed many plants today that usually disappear for the winter , such as my deciduous daylilies, Veronica Sunny Border Blue, Salvia patens, among others that are all throwing up new foliage. I did pull up all remaining zinnias today, but I still have Impatiens , tuberous begonias, and even an Aster frikartii that are blooming away.I am still harvesting tomatoes from Sungold. The Dahlias look like absolute crap , covered with mildew , but have not frozen back yet. 10 day forecast predicts no temps lower than the 40s. I fear I will be taken by surprise as I still have yet to bring in my begonias, and some of the tender succulents.

I wanted to mention to Julie how much I liked the pic of the front garden ( wine deck annex?) and that very cool boulder ! Was that there or did you move it to the site ? I believe one could easily set up a bar/ appetizer table on that puppy. Hope ypu will post more pics of your garden, as this was a very nice little teaser.

Eden, what in the world is the red-spikey thing in Marys card? Some sort of Salvia?

Denise, ahhh Bouquet dOr , covet, covet covet

Hoping Chelone got all the scheduled tasks completed, Deanne, Martie, Michelle, and others with large groups are in recovery, Marian is having a pain free day, Mary got to pick out the movie,Saucy got her paperwork done and bug is speedily catching up.

See yall on the morrow ..

Kathy in Napa

Oh for Pete's sake! ANOTHER birthday??

Well, OK then...

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May the memory of your birthday be as pleasant as the memory of these lilies, Miss Mary. :)

It's the first hore-frost morning; the trees are covered in white and the lawn looks like it snowed. Waiting for a glimpse of sunshine for everything to sparkle.

Belated response to Denise and of interest to all, I hope -- Yes, I both read and saw reports about the farm that opened up it's fields for post-harvest picking by anyone. The landowner was almost in tears during the interview when he realized how many people would plan, travel, follow instruction into the field, and be civil about free food. From what I understand, hunger groups were allowed in first and individuals after.

Our local plant-a-row-for-the-hungry group (who granted the eighth graders veggie garden for next year, again, third year in a row) did something similar with local farms. It wasn't well publicized, in a way thank goodness, and other than a few retailers showing up to grab what they could (they were grabbed first) the days went extraordinarily well.

I also just heard last night about a California woman who organizes picking parties for fruit trees being grown as ornamentals. Immediately thought of Marian when they focused on persimmons. Guess this movement has nationwide proportions, and it makes perfect sense when one thinks about all the fruit that lands on the ground is is considered a nuisance by homeowners. Several tons of fresh produce has been donated to hunger groups far and wide as a result.

Today being the last official day of my vacation means hanging out, quietly celebrating Rich's b-day (rather than cake he wants milk chocolate brownies with walnuts - easy!!) and reorganizing my mind away from serving platters and to year-end forecasting and developing relationships with new clients.

Let the New Year Begin as far as I'm concerned. LOL

Best to all -

Martie

Oh my! I see Mary was feeling a trifle downtrodden by the houseful... next time I counsel the following: You beam out at your guests in your own special way, pointedly looking at their wrists and forearms, noting the absence of casts or slings. Smiling still, you pointedly say (preferably with a really bad accent), "well now, since yer arms ain't broke let's put 'em to use roundin' up the dishes!". That oughta solve it pretty quickly. Somehow, though, I knew it would all turn out just fine.

Hoping that Marian's day was not ruined by discomfort, it will be fun to hear about the festivities.

It was beautiful here yesterday, cold, but that's right and proper for nearly December, so no grousing from me. The sun is now very low in the sky and even so, the light in the Salon was very pleasing all day long. It's important to be able to see and enjoy the sun easily at this dark time of year.

I spent the morning and afternoon in the Salon pickling ballusters. There are nearly 40 of them, 1 1/4" square and it was a thoroughly boring, time-consuming task. I did two facets at a time, then went back to the beginning and did the remaining two. Then I did the second coat and sanded them later in the evening, after dinner. Today I have to apply two coats of clear finish to them. Years ago, stitching in a factory setting, I learned how to send my brain to "another place" and just let my hands take over and do the work. It took some effort to do that (I'm rusty), but I spent a not dreadful day stewing about the decorations for the house, the window treatments for the Salon, some ideas for the floor in the Salon, and some activities for Idyll Camp, etc.. I'll be glad when this part of the operation is finished, though.

I see a hopeful 'bug has returned. That's good. I'll cross my fingers that the satellite connection remains viable for a long time to come.

Martie, I love the list posted in the kitchen, that's brilliant! And the crowd milling around the food was a great shot, too. There were multiple trips into the galley after dinner, mostly to do some careful picking at the turkey. ;)

Our kitchen is so tiny that it's really easier for me to do the KP thing alone. I have a system (shocking to many of you, I'm sure) and can pretty much breeze through it, calling on Wrecks to "help" with pots and pans as necessary. The helpmeet tends to be a little rough with stemware and doesn't really understand that you shouldn't use the abrasive side of the sponge on the sterling flatware and then just dump it into the drainage rack with all the other kitchen utensils. Besides, I do some of my best thinking and planning with my hands in warm, soapy water. Lol.

I got a laugh out of Popcorn attacking Nick; when our bird used to do that, the helpmeet referred to him as "Rodan", one of those monsters from late '50s Japanese horror films. :) And I think it's great that Nick "tucks" Jake in; what a perfect time to talk with kids... whatever the age.

I see Norma was busy with the "logging operation" yesterday. It's a lot of work, but you'll really appreciate it when it's cold and you toss another split in the stove! We split and stacked the best part of 5 cord over the summer, most of it oak, too. Properly seasoned it is great firewood. We have many oaks on the Compound.

Eden, I'm sorry the grippe has overtaken your household. That's a drag, but at least it's a nice long weekend to recuperate. Are you going to show us any of Bella's hand turkeys? You know, don't you? that I'd be up the creek without you to hoist the birthday torch aloft...

Well, today is nicely underway already. I'm coffeed up, helpmeet is "in the can, man", the dishes await, and the ballusters are "on deck". Time to fold some laundry and get to it. It'll be fun to check in later.

I was really hopping for some action shots from Deanne, though. :(

Chelone , those pink lillies are stunning against the color of your house.

We have a frosting of snow this morning. When I got up at 4:45 this am the door to the garage was standing open , AGAIN! and the furnace running away. DH has a disorder called , don't know how to shut a door, any door. If that door is not pushed until it clicks, it comes open. Instead of yelling this time (other than the well Sh#t, when I slammed it shut) I have posted a large note on the fridge ( a strategic location) to lock the door every night.

Nothing much planned for today.

Hope everyone gets some good rest before starting the weekly routine again.

Later Norma

Such a gray Sunday out there....good morning :-)

Everything seems back to normal here. Most of the leftovers are history. Turkey is about the only thing left and once the gravy runs out, not sure what will be done with that. Shaping up to be a quiet day again. Still not getting in a shopping mood yet, but my mind is fully turned toward Christmas as it always is the day after Thanksgiving. We don't find doing the holidays easy so we try to give ourselves a good lead time without resorting to thinking about it before Thanksgiving. With a little gentle nudging, DH and DD have started 'de-cluttering' areas of the house still in need of it in preparation for Christmas company. Getting an early start so none of it has to be too much on any given weekend.

I have committed to sewing some aprons and pot holders for gifts this year. DH took the sewing machine in to be evaluated and yesterday, they told us that it basically just needs a tune up and taking apart the bobbin assembly and reassembling it and then realigning the needle arm. Their fee will be $79. and will include a year of service for the machine. I had looked online and found a post that asked the question, what were people spending on annual tune ups and it was between $80-$100. all over the country. So it sounds like that price is in line. I wasn't sure if I should spend that on such an old machine. It is a Singer, purchased in the early 80s and I'm guessing may have cost about $150.? It has been in storage for the past twelve years until recently. I asked the person at the shop yesterday for any information that would help with the decision and she said I had a very good machine that was metal and no need to replace it. So I take it some of the newer models have some plastic parts. I appreciated her candor, seeing as they sell machines as well. So I will have my old machine, hopefully ready to go to work, in about a week. Feeling a little rusty, so any tips sent my way, will be appreciated. :-) That will give me enough time to collect some patterns and materials. I'm really looking forward to it!

No photos this year, so I thought I could at least post a photo of the turkey and a flower arrangement from last year....

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Marian....I was so sorry to hear your fibromyalgia is putting a crimp in your holiday fun. Having been diagnosed at one point with it, I have a lot of sympathy for you. I don't take medications, but I have been tempted to at times. The neurologist was recommending Neurontin at one point, but with the caveat that I could only expect about a 30% resolution of my symptoms at best and since I had known quite a few people experiencing unwanted symptoms on that medication it didn't seem worth it. What I did want to share with you, is that I have on two occasions found relief from at least the burning pain after making a point of getting more magnesium in my diet by eating a steady diet of nuts and seeds which are a great source of it. I found them easier to digest by grinding them into a powder with a coffee grinder and started to notice improvement within three days and the pain almost unnoticeable in three weeks. Very few times when things are that simple, I know, but thought it might be worth trying. :-) Hope you are feeling better.

Loving everyone's Thanksgiving photos and I will be back later...

pm2

I have the first half of the first coat of clear done. I've cleaned the brush, shovelled in some pudding (fought off Spencer who wanted the cream on top of it), and I'm ready to finish the first coat now.

Grey and dreary here, too. I may start a fire before going back out to the Salon...

PM, you and I have a similar approach to cleaning for Christmas.
Norma, Blushing Pink smells as nice as she looks, too. Does DH know how to turn off lights? (tough one for the helpmeet). ;)

Chelone....I don't envy you the task of finishing off ballusters....such a lot of work, having to prepare and sand and precoat and probably two coats of paint after that? I don't mind painting and actually enjoy the easy parts, if someone else takes care of finding the right materials and cleaning up afterward and doing the tedious window panes. I don't mind the doors or the larger trim but ballusters, and unfinished ones at that? LOL Your approach for using the time to think through other matters reminds me of what I do at traffic lights and other delays. DH just hates traffic lights and I keep trying to get him to reframe the experience. [g] I keep telling him, 'Love the Light'! But there is where we are naturally different, he is an action person and I am the thinker. :-) He keeps trying but ...

I was wondering how much of your machine maintenance you do yourself and do you send it out annually for attention?

pm2

Fixin to venture out to Whole Foods for some produce that could not be had at the regular grocery store.

PM , Im going to make a casserole thingy with my left over turkey, involving corn, celery, green onions, fresh Anaheim chiles, cheese, and after reading the label on Cream of Chicken Soup (and deciding to opt out permanently of that particular product) I will concoct my own liquid ingredient with some broth, milk, and sour cream. There will be noodles or some form of pasta involved as well. Casserole item two will involve rice, black beans, red onions and mole sauce, frozen for future use

Cheering Chelone on here as she applies herself to finish work in the salon, and nodding in agreement with Riches choice of brownies for the b-day.

Back later !

Since no one is posting at the moment, I thought I could add one of my novella posts... :-)

Woody...how did your apple strudel turn out?

Kathy....I liked your Thanksgiving menu...one DS and I are very much string bean fans and we all love yukon gold potatoes. We top our string beans with butter and grated cheese. Yum. Chocolate Cream Pie is my #1 favorite pie. Do you do something special to yours? We found an organic packaged pudding at Whole Foods that is SO good! No one here takes the time to make their own crust, sad to say. I haven't eaten pie crust for many years anyway. I eat just the filling...lol. What did Kyle get for his BD? Oh...and we used to listen to Alice's Restaurant every year, because DH really enjoys it, but the kids went from rolling their eyes to covering their ears in pain when it was turned on, so that is off the list of annual traditions. [g] One last thing...[g]...Eyeglasses....OMG....I just had to spring for two pair, for close up and distance and they are more than double since the last time I bought them about 3 years ago. I am treating them with kid gloves at this point.

[Kathy---my mouth is watering reading the ingredients for your leftover casserole! We enjoy a good mexican style meal here. We have weened ourselves away from the Cream of Chicken soup awhile back but we still use Progresso once in awhile. But no help for casseroles. Yum. Let me know how it comes out. Thanks for the ideas]

Chelone....I forgot to say the photo of your pumpkin pie was mouth watering! Very pretty table and the white linen, freshly pressed is a wonderful tradition. Gorgeous shade of pink on those Lilies!

V....such a pretty living room. Why was I expecting log walls?

Saucy...such a pretty BD card to Mary. :-)

Everyone's BD cards have been very pretty this time around!

Denise....I liked that Thanksgiving picture and the story of the farm was very surprising, thanks for sharing that.

Julie..what a very pretty front garden you have! Lots of color contrast. Is that a Ninebark Summer Seward Wine in the lower right corner?

Cynthia....I wonder if diapers might be of help at least in the morning, to make your morning routine a little less stressful with the furry ones.

Martie...you are very organized and I love your 'list' idea. I found when I married DH that MIL would not allow anyone to help with anything. You could not lift a spoon or a plate without getting a strong reaction. I found that uncomfortable. I've always enjoyed helping and the feeling of camaraderie of the team effort and a sign of acceptance and welcome to be allowed to help. Very pretty kitchen and so clean! I like the border on your tile. Sorry you didn't get to keep Violet...what a pretty name choice though.

Norma...I have to agree, that little things do make a big difference so often. I can get such a kick out of something new especially when it is something that has been needed for awhile. DS has become the official kitchen shopper here. DH and I were getting pretty oblivious to updating items so he started bringing home Kitchen surprises. One day it was a new set of knives. Then one of those hand held mixers that are one single piece? Then a new toaster. So I got the hint and went shopping last year just before Christmas and bought a new set of every day dishes and a new cutting board and ordered some new glasses and wrapped them as our family gift and put it under the tree. Everyone got a lift, because we were really dealing with the mismatched and chipped dishes for awhile. [g] Norma, I think I would feel more than headachy if I split wood from an oak tree! Also feel the same way about pretty wood that would make good furniture going for firewood.

Hello gardenbug....imagine it is still snowing there! Very nice to hear some good news about the midwife for Sarah. Glad to hear a little happiness squeezing it's way in there for all of you. You sound better. :-)

Michelle...your shopping outing sounds like so much fun! Needing a whole bath remodel at our house too, last time around we just did superficial updates. It's time. Not looking forward to it.

Monique....love to see photos of your winter outdoor containers when you have some. I bought some Wiltpruf this year and hope to do a little of that too. Every year I say I will, maybe this year. :-)

Hi Ei...how was your Thanksgiving?

Mary....glad your BD turned itself around. :-)

Eden....So sorry you all have colds! Holidays have done that at our house once in awhile. Especially when the kids were small. Hope you feel better soon. :-)

Jerri...what did you do for Thanksgiving this year?

Wondering where Anita and Babs and Cindy are these days? Haven't heard from Drema or 't' in awhile. Brenda...hoping you are doing ok.

Enjoy your Sunday!

:-)

Gray skies and windy here, white and cold as well. Storm warnings in effect, anticipating 10 cm of the white stuff. No sun in the 5 day forecast for us!

This morning while walking Phoebe, DH saw a slight motion and then 4-5 deer leaving rapidly as they passed by. Phoebe was oblivious. Then he saw a muskrat on the footbridge as well. So far, unlike Ms Charlotte, Phoebe has killed nothing. I do think she deters critters though. Lately she has been "protecting" us from juncos! Silly girl!

Loved Martie's pot of cranberries cooking. They are a favorite here.

This morning I wrapped a few roses and clematis. After lunch DH helped me with 3 more. Phoebe was such a help, NOT. Many more yet to go, but I think time will not allow it. We will try again next weekend.

DS is off to Belgium on Dec 10th and has been also given a trip to Rome by a friend. (Yes, for those of you who remember, the one who knit the atrocious scarf that I had to finish!) Below is his Christmas message to all. He has been working so hard to keep this effort alive world wide.

Spoke to DD last night. She and DSIL have been participating in a retreat this weekend where people assist each other with various problems in their lives. DD feels it is OK but that there are better and faster remedies, yet she does not mind helping out others. DSIL spoke a bit about their loss as well. In particular DD spoke of a native woman who spent 11 years in a residential home. Although it was more recent than the ones I have read about and did not involve abuses of any kind, she grew up without family, role models for family living and child rearing, and lost native traditions. She did not learn skills such as cooking, socializing, etc. Actually, my mother went to boarding school and felt much the same way.

I'm physically uncomfortable today...so no more sitting in this chair for me.
Later!
'bug

We're waiting for snow to start here... We just walked the dogs to get that done before it gets messy. (The big Copper beast has been here since Thursday and will be going home in an hour or two. She has really matured lately and is becoming a very nice beast :- ) It doesn't sound like we'll get a lot of snow - it's still mild enough that it's supposed to be at least part rain. Randy is out moving the strawberry and blueberry pots into the garage for the winter so the driveway is clear for snow removal.

I hope the forecast snow for tonight doesn't take out gb's Internet connection again!

PM2 - the strudel was less than successful this time! Spreadable butter was too slick and it made the stretching of the dough very difficult, so the crust came out too thick and not flaky enough. So it was sort of an apple pie roulade with a tough crust! But the whole thing disappeared in 24 hours so it was edible! (I gave half to Barb and her 17 year old daughter apparently rapidly consumed most of it :-)

My sewing machine is an old Singer portable. My sister gave it to me in 1975 when I was leaving for university. I've periodically considered getting a new one but this one just keeps on going and I don't do enough sewing to justify getting something fancier. I have it cleaned and regulated every few years. It's been a great machine!

Chelone - when do the balusters get installed and we get to see some pictures....?

Cynthia - it sounds like you need to do some renovations for the dogs' sake - and your's! Is there a ground floor room that you could turn into a bedroom (maybe swap an office downstairs with a bedroom upstairs)? It would sure be easier on your back not to have to carry the dogs up and down stairs! If you ever slipped on the stairs while carrying one of them, there could be some serious damage done all round :-(

Martie - that shot of your kitchen looks very much like my BIL/SIL's! And the little dog on the right waiting for treats to fall its way looks like a Misty relative! What kind of dog is it? Who does it belong to?

It sounds like a good time was had by all for Thanksgiving. All those turkeys inspired us to have roast chicken for dinner tonight :- )

I've cleaned my brush and am ready to embark on the final quarter of the clear coat caper. The helpmeet is going to install the posts and rails tomorrow. He will then mount the ballusters to two strips of hemlock and then insert that "unit" in between the rails. I am not sure how long that's going to take, but it has the hallmarks of something that could be both fiddly and frustrating. Pictures will follow, Woody, I promise. :)

PM, I do about 98% of the maintenance, basic repair, and adjustment to my machines. Over the years I've managed to accrue a certain level of competence... you pick it up with time and exposure and your fear of "going for it" tends to evaporate. I know the basics of what's required to "time" a machine, but have never been very successful at it. Anyway, my experience has been that most people are perfectly capable of routine maintenance IF they are willing to read the owner's manual. As for buying new machines... that's the biggest scam in the world, you guys. If you really want to learn to sew well the best thing you can do is work on a machine with only a straight stitch and keep a good basic sewing book next to you. It teaches you good technique and requires you to master the basics of solid construction. More cams, more stitches, more sensors are never going to be a substitute for strong theory and good technique. To quote "Pistol" Pete Maravich of the NBA, "you don't get there by wishin' it".

OK, well I have to haul my hindquarters back to the Salon and finish up my latest "sentance". :)

Well, the kids and the DH have all dispersed, leaving me home alone with a snoring dog on the couch. And it's kind of nice. :)

Snow is falling like crazy right now and they say we may get 6 inches by morning. Have I mentioned yet that I am going to Los Cabos on Friday? Is it Friday yet?

It was a long, busy weekend with a lot of wedding planning stuff on the agenda. Saturday we met with a florist, which was fun but the designer was a bit of a steamroller. She was not picking up on the fact that the bride to be (BTB) didn't always like her suggestions, but she steamrolled ahead and the BTB got quite nervous. So she will meet with a couple more florists next weekend. We also met with the stationer and the invitations are close to being finalized. The next step will be a mocked up sample to see if they are happy with that. The shop owner had pulled several more samples for them to look at, and they were very impressed with one. When I took a closer look, I couldn't believe my eyes - the father of the bride had been the soloist at my wedding!

In between these two lovely appointments, DH had me help him pull his duck and goose decoys out of the ice. Anyone want to guess what I prefer to do?

pm, you are right to expect log walls in my home. The photos are from my SIL's house.

Eden, I feel like I am part of your family now! Yes, I decided to come down with a cold late yesterday. I'm using up kleenex at a frightening rate.

I'm trying to distract myself as I wait for a phone call from DD. She had to head into some pretty serious snow on her trip back to school. I was glad that her cousin was riding back with her. I will be even gladder when I get the call that she is safe and sound. She even talked about waiting until tomorrow, but it's not supposed to get any better overnight.

V.

Todays selection is Eye Of the Hawk from Mendocino brewing company, a good winter beer . 2 unscheduled Julie Jobs are completed, one involving baseboards and spider webs, and the other was the quarterly refrigerator purge and wipe-down. I found no mystery items in the fridge but did vacuum up two deceased June bugs from an obviously neglected corner. There is more clean up to be done outside , but I have filled up every yard waste receptacle I own, so that will have to wait till next weekend. The forecast right now calls for highs in the low to mid 60s, lows in 40s, no frost, no rain. I might actually have to do some container watering next weekend- dont believe I have ever watered in December since Ive lived here.
The 4 day weekend gig surely sped by.. I found myself sleeping 9 or 10 hours a night thinking I must have needed the rest and tried to talk myself out of feeling guilty about oversleeping every morning.

Pondering Marie wrapping her roses and clematis. What is used as wrap? Is a heavy layer of mulch involved , and are own root roses better able to withstand the winters ?

PM my chocolate cream pie is a from scratch recipe , no pudding but basically a homemade chocolate custard. I dont remember exactly where I got the recipe, but I think its from an old 50s era cookbook.

Norma, lol your posted reminder note for garage door closure. Im sure this personality disorder is related to the one that prevents people from turning off lights.

Pleasant Sunday evening to all, and a hopefully smooth return to the Monday grind

Kathy in Napa

Shrubs and roses and type 1&2 clematis are wrapped in wire "hardware cloth" or chicken wire to keep rabbits and mice away. I have not managed to complete the task of the roses. Mainly they need protection from temperature rises and falls which mostly occur in early spring. I do prefer to mound them with soil though, but haven't been successful yet this fall. Here roses die back to the ground pretty much, whether own root or grafted, but for some reason I keep trying to save more of the canes anyway.

Dinner was mango curry chicken with green beans, simple to prepare and easy to eat!

I'm nervous about V's daughter and am waiting for her to phone! Here the wind and ice are making fierce noises against the window panes. Yuck. Sorry Chelone, but I want sunny winter days.... Even Phoebe agrees with me today.

She made it safe and sound!

But she was wishing she had worn her boots, as they had even more snow than she was expecting.

V.

I think December first will be the day of our first snow plow visit...

Thanks V, I can relax now.

Woody...to me the filling is the best part, but having worked for a French bakery for awhile when I was young, I did come to appreciate their layers of buttered dough in their croissants. A little too much...lol. I wonder how melted butter would work?

Last night I realized, that my sewing machine is a Kenmore and not a Singer...lol. DH took the machine in so I hadn't laid eyes on it in years. I remembered buying it at Sears and that's when it dawned on me.

Chelone....I thought you were going to say that. :-) I got the impression from the repair shop, after describing the problem, that the timing is off on the machine too. My son tried using it and was having trouble with thick material. I was reading up on it and I didn't realize you could throw off the timing by just hitting a pin with the needle. Do you sew over needles or pull them out as you go?

Kathy....the refrigerator is a great winter job. We probably need to do ours before Christmas. Thanks for the reminder. NEVER feel guilty about sleeping 9-10 hrs a night. I would be so happy if I could sleep longer than 6hrs!

Happy Monday to all! :-)

Happy Monday! Like V kinda liking aloneness, I'm kinda liking the idea of going back to work. That feeling will be gone 10 minutes after arrival, I'm sure :-)

Woody -- The dog is my DsD's. Her license name is Winnie the Pooch, but we call her Winnie and various other things at certain moments. She is a cross between a Pomeranian (sp?) and a Shitzu and is the mellowist little dog I've ever met. DsD has her in training (thus the full body harness) to be a therapy dog, probably at a local physical rehab facility. Next to her is Murphy, my Mom's dog who we picked up at the Humane Society, a Cairn Terrier mix who thinks he's a German Shepard without the fear of biting. One canine extreme to the other in the kitchen!!

House is being prepped for the next round of Holiday finery, and because today is the first of December, the first decoration will come out. One piece a day for the next several days and then the whole shebang. Kind of an Advent calendar without the doors.

Sleep took up a lot of time here, too, Kathy. It's amazing that my body actually feels like it's caught up with the psychy. LOL

Everyone have a great day, keep warm and dry or cool and watered depending on locale.

Martie

One of my machines is a Kenmore, too, PM. It was a gift from a boyfriend and the only thing I use it for is making buttonholes. I oil it and clean it before using it as I don't haul it out very often. You can indeed knock a machine out of time by hitting a pin, but that's pretty unusual. Generally speaking, sewing machines are amazingly resilient and will suffer untold abuse without breaking down. The number one cause of failure is LACK OF OIL; coupled with accumulated fabric lint (which soaks up the residual oil robbing the moving parts of it) it can be really bad news. After that, the wrong needle is often used in a machine, or it's put in incorrectly (either will result in failure to pick up the bobbin thread, often mistaken for a timing issue). And then there is the often frustrating issue of properly tensioning the machine... which is covered in the manual and only takes some guts and some practice to master. In fact, when faced with a new hire, tension and proper needle installation are the first things I teach. To make sure the lesson is mastered I deliberatly monkey with the tension while the person is in the bathroom, lol.

I do not sew over pins. I tend to use only a few anyway, but sewing over them is asking for trouble. You ruin the pins (they bend under the presser foot and are harder to use later), you can break them or your needle, and when broken they often fly away from the machine. Flying bits of broken metal near eyes is a fully avoidable risk, right up there with not putting your fingers directly in front of the needle. ;) "Safen up!".

More warnings for black ice this morning. And I instantly thought of V.'s daughter when I saw the cancellations at O'Hare. I always wear my boots, a holdover from living in the "boonies" and driving home in all sorts of weather, often not passing another car for the entire 20 miles. Best to be prepared for a long, cold walk. I have not left the Compound ONCE since last Wednesday, though today may break the run.

On my list of things to do this week is buy some greens for the decorations, and some wrapping paper and ribbon. We don't have our lists ready and they won't be long or particularly tough on our wallets. I VERY much want to see the decorations from Monique and Less!! I love varigated Holly and haven't seen it available in my usual haunts. I'm actually toying with the notion of planting a couple of them... what do you think, too flashy or pleasingly sparkley for a dark time of year?

Tales of layers of pastry and butter made my mouth water. I could almost feel my hindquarters spreading across the seat of my chair as I read... . Back to watery gruel for me!

I have to get a coat/two of pickling on one more piece of wood in preparation for the helpmeet's assault on the stairwell railing. I'd love to hear from ailing Eden about her present project and it's progression. You've crossed my mind periodically as I've plugged away on my own.

It was a whirl wind weekend. Thanksgiving at mom and dads on Thurs., shopping on Friday, Thanksgiving with DHs kids on Sat. and visitation this afternoon for Ricks uncle who passed away. Sorry no photo of the tables this year as the first guests were here already at 10:00. DHs son and grandson wanted to do a little hunting on our land before dinner.

I still need to spray some Wiltpruf thanks for the reminder Monique. I guess Ill have to do it in the dark one of these nights.

Eden, sorry to hear you are all under the weather. You had asked about what I was getting Kenzie for Christmas. DD suggested the FP Arts and Crafts Studio. It works with the computer. I ordered it off Amazon and was able to have it shipped right to them. I also got a Disney Princesses I spy book, her annual ornament and a matching game. I think Im going to have a puzzle made of her in her garden also.

Mary, how nice that your hard work in the bathroom now gives you such rewards of relaxation.

Saucy, I love the hostess gift what a great arrangement.

Chelone, LOL "performance anxiety" If I make pie the crust must be homemade.

Ei, the turkey "lamp" is great!

Julie, your front garden is fabulous. Love the rock. I want to see more (hint, hint)

Thats all I have time for now. Talk to you later.

Michelle

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Wow, can't believe how much has moved along here since I was able to post! Seems I'm a bad Idyller and missed some BDays! Without further ado!
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Hope everyone had a great day!

Deanne

Where're the pictures of the food, Deanne?

(welcome back, stranger!)

I was right. The snowplow came and left before 7am. PM2, I'm in the lucky to have 6 hours of sleep camp.

Later gators,
'bug

All the forecast snow came down as rain here. The lake is still too warm for much in the way of snow, or if we do get it, it melts quickly. Lake effect is very strong here.... The flip side to the late arrival of snow that stays is a late, cold spring because it takes so long for the lake to warm up. You win some; you lose some.... :-)

Martie - I though there must be some Shih Tzu in that little one! I'll bet it's a real cutie - any chance of a front-on, closer view? (I never particulaly cared for little dogs until Misty moved in; now I appreciate their finer qualities more - they all seem to think they are acttually big dogs!)

PM2 - I think barely spreadable butter would have worked better - not as slick as the 'spreadable' butter (which includes canola oil to make it spreadable when it's cold). I think the pastry needs the more solid fat in order to force the pastry layers apart in flakes when it melts.

I sorry, gals....I had a long newsy post typed up, and managed to wipe it all out!!!!! I am too discouraged to try again...maybe later....
I had worked on it for at least an hour!!!!!!

Your growing season is precisely what I experience here, Woody. It took me a long time to finally understand the subtleties of it. I am much more likely to lose things in a late spring frost; hydrangeas can (and do) disappoint regularly. But autumn is long, temperate, and delightful.

As you know, I hate all dogs. But it's not fair to discriminate against "big dogs" or "little dogs" for any reason. They're all just dogs (who wish they were cats). And size doesn't matter, it's the training that makes the difference.

Wonder when we'll get our first snow, 'bug? It should be cold enough later this week.

Back to painting and brush cleaning.

Chelone, yesterday we installed the last 2 storm windows. Today, as I was studying the satellite dish (covered in snow and therefor I was unable to make use the computer..) I observed the plane, a screw driver and a metal file all sitting in a pile of snow on our barbecue gathering rust. I should have left them there, but couldn't make myself...

On to the new threads!