Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving was a beautiful day in AZ. We had rain for a few days prior and then some sprinkles in the morning of Thanksgiving. But by the time the noon hour rolled around the sun was out and it was beautiful. Our Thanksgiving dinner included Aunt Gail, Mark, Marcia, Richie, Arne, Cindi, Cassie, Kirsten, Phil, Mike, Missy and myself. Uncle Dick wasn't up for the "big" day so Gail brought leftovers home to him. Julie came over after dinner and Cassie's friend Christian stopped by later as well. Before dinner Arne, Mike and the girls went to the park area behind our house and played Bocci (sp). There should be a story to tell about every big dinner and I have mine! My new flat top stove top does not take well to spill overs. I was making the gravy and turned my back when it started to boil. The house filled up with smoke in a flash. The odd thing is that it didn't smell like something had burnt, thank goodness! With all the doors and windows open it didn't take long for the smoke to clear before we were ready to eat. We all had a great visit with everyone! Love to all of you!!!

Baking the Dinner Rolls- Sunday

Today after breakfast, I started making the dinner rolls. I made about 9 dozen. The rolls freeze well and Phil loves having leftover turkey with mayo on the rolls! On one pan of the dinner rolls I mixed brown sugar and cinnamon and rolled them up. It satisfied the sweet attack that I was having at the time! After the rolls were done, I also made a double batch of Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip and Pecan cookies for the freezer and I cut up 3 loaves of bread for the stuffing on thursday. My knees are killing me about right now, bed will feel good tonight!

Beginning of Thanksgiving Prep- Saturday Night

Saturday night I made dinner roll dough that rises in the fridge overnight. I also made 6 pie crusts that I put in the pie plates and then into the freezer. Not all six will be for Thanksgiving though. Aunt Gail is bringing a mincemeat and I will make a couple pumpkin and one pecan. The other pie shells will be used at a later date. I figured that this would save time and I will making the filling Wednesday night and bake them then.

A Visit to Mike's Saturday

We were out shopping for Thanksgiving dinner Saturday afternoon and decided that it had been way too long since we had stopped by to visit Mike and Rocky. We sat back in Mike's back yard "oasis" and had a very nice visit!

Our House All Decked Out For the Holidays! (Nov 15-16)

We're having my side of the family (who are in AZ) to our house for Thanksgiving this year. For the past 30 years almost, we have switched off Thanksgiving between my Aunt Gail and Uncle Dick's and their two children- cousin Mark/Marcia and cousin Cindi/Arne. So every four years it is our turn to host! I was hoping to have Phil's family with us also this year, but their plans changed and are now unable to make it. When it is my turn, I like to make sure that the Christmas decorations are up and the house is festive, so up the tree went with the fake empty boxes underneath. The empty boxes get replaced with the real deal as I go out shopping!

Scottsdale Home and Garden Show

Saturday was a beautiful day for a drive and a visit to the Home and Garden Show. This afternoon we drove up to Scottsdale and kind of made a two in one trip out of it. Missy's second job, that she works on Wed evenings and Sat is walking distance from where the Home and Garden Show was, so we dropped her off at work. When she was through, she met us at the show. Our 3 1/2 ton air conditioner went out a few weeks ago, so we are in the market for a new one. Thank goodness, the 2 1/2 ton is working fine. We were looking for "deals"today! A number of dealers got our names, so we will be hearing from this week I'm sure. We took the scenic route home from Scottsdale through Fountain Hills. Beautiful drive, my pics do not do it justice!!!