The Zoo

Thanksgiving Wishes

Nothing purchased can come close to the renewed sense of gratitude for having family and friends.   ~Courtland Milloy

This season, I am increasingly aware of the blessing of family and friends.  And you wonderful folks here are some of those I feel priveleged to count among my friends; though our connection is just a "cyber" one, I feel a kinship with many of you who are part of this little community. 

I received this little poem in my inbox from another dear friend, and would like to share it with you:

I pray you have a lovely Thanksgiving holiday, surrounded by the the blessing of family and friends, enjoying some of the bountiful harvest from your gardens! 

I will be back visiting with you on the Front Porch soon.   Our family is once again "on the move", so it may be a few days until the computer has a new spot in our little nest, and is set up and ready to go.  First must come other things...the kitchen, the bedrooms, the bathrooms (oh, they need some serious attention), and of course, a nice sunny spot indoors for my potted herbs. 

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!!!

Blessings to you and yours,

Catherine

CHRISTmas Memories

The holidays are near so I want to know...

1.
Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
 Hot chocolate!

2.
Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
 Nope, never did the Santa-thing.  Jesus supplies the gifts – that’s what we’ve always told them.

3.
Colored lights on tree/house or white? 
 White

4.
Do you hang mistletoe? 
 yes

5.
When do you put your decorations up? 
  always right after Thanksgiving :) 

6.
What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? 
My mom’s stuffing.               

 7.
Favorite holiday memory as a child: 
When I was about 11, I couldn’t sleep one Christmas Eve night and I had my radio on.  It was about 2a.m. and Nat King Cole’s “Chestnuts Roasting” came on while huge, fluffy snowflakes floated down outside my windows.  Ahhhh.

8.
When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? 
 2^nd or 3^rd grade.
9.
Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? 
Yes.  So that OUR family can make our own Christmas memories, we open our own presents on Christmas Eve morning so that it’s not interrupted by having to leave to go to someone’s house.

10.
How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? 
  We got a new Christmas tree last year that is very real-looking w/just a little ‘snow’ and pinecones on it.  We put away many of our more trendy ornaments for the girls to have one of these days and now only use the more vintage and backwoods-looking ornaments.  It’s very rustic and I LOVE IT!!
11.
Snow! Love it or Dread it?
I love snow...especially when I’m inside looking out!

12.
Can you ice skate? 
  That’s up for interpretation…I’ve roller skated all my life and only ice skated once.

13.
Do you remember your favorite gift? 

Christmas of 1998, Ty got me my hammered dulcimer!!

14.
What is the most important thing about the Holidays for you? 
Remembering God's gift to us in His Son Jesus and having my family all together for Christmas. 

15.
What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
 Pumpkin pie and red velvet cake.

16.
What is your favorite holiday tradition? 
The big family meal – everyone together and happy.

17.
What tops your tree? 
 A rustic star

18.
Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Definitely giving 

19.
What is your favorite Christmas Song? 
  O Holy Night and I Wonder as I Wander

20.
Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? 
 Yum.

21.
What do you want for Christmas? 
A digital camera

22.
Do you attend an annual Christmas Party? 
 Ty’s work and – if can call it a party – our annual Christmas Eve service.

23.
Do you dress up on Christmas or wear PJs? 

When I was little we dressed up for the meal.  Now we just wear ‘nice’ jeans and maybe a ‘dress’ blouse/shirt or sweater.

24. Do you own a Santa hat?
 nope – don’t do the Santa-thing here.

25.
Who do you normally spend Christmas with? 
Our family ~~ Christmas Eve day is for our own family; the weekend before Christmas day is w/Ty’s side of the family, Christmas Day is usually w/my side of the family.

Almost ready for Thanksgiving!

God must know I'm going to be eating like a pig cuz my workouts have been 'boot camp' style!LOL BUt that's good. Laundry is done and SHOULD be dry by tomorrow. The onions and celery are ready to saute for the dressing. The sweet potatoes are ready to boil as well. We'll get the leaf in the table and move furniture as soon as Mat is done w/school. I found all the paper goods (I bought Thanksgiving stuff in bulk one yearL!OL) and have plenty and will drag the crock pots out in a bit. I need to find out how many the rest of hte family is bringing so I know what can go where.

That leaves mainly peeling 10lbs of potatoes for tomorrow. DH does the bird so that's off my hook. The rest of the stuff is mainly dump, mix heat and toss into crock pots to stay warm until ppl arrive.;)

Recipe Hit List: 12 Homemade Bread Recipes...TIPNUT!!

Recipe Hit List: 12 Homemade Bread Recipes

Thanksgiving Trouble

Do you think a husband should talk to his wife about who is coming to Thanksgiving  dinner before anyone else(his mom)??    I found out from my mother-in-law that my husbands cousin , her hubby and 3 children are coming to dinner.   I asked hubby why did he not tell me me?   He told me I was making a big deal over nothing.   I said no ,but as your wife I should find out from you not your mom leaving a message as to who is coming to dinner.   As it is his mom is telling me when she will be here staying in a hotel , for how many days and when hubbies grandma will be here(our house) and how many days she will stay with us for me to care for !! 

  I can not care for his grandma by my self, the girls will have to help.  My leg is still broken after 11 months, I have to have more surgery, I walk with a limp and am not anywhere near as strong as I was.  How am I to pick up and carry his grandma in and out of the tub to giver her a bath and pick her up when she falls??    I love his grandma , and will do my best.

Oh well, God Bless, mj

cheeseballs, potatoes and bells

Ok, I managed to mop, workout, vacuum and shower. I attempted to try and clean the kitchen chairs, but it's useless. We'll just recover them this winter.

I also got the cheeseball made for Saturday. I ground up enuf green onions and beef to make 2 more next week. I have the cream cheese and just need to get a box of crackers. We're giving one to horseman. I even have a fall paper plate to give them to serve them on. I also have the potatoes sliced and waiting to boil for au gratin potatoes. I'm desperately trying to use all the potatoes before they go bad. They are not lasting nearly as long as they did last year. They were good until Feb, but taht doesn't appear to be the case. So we're having pork chops and potatoes for supper. I can just throw them in the oven when we get back from Joey playing bells.

I also got the rugs washed.

Great Quote...Benjamin Franklin

CHUNKY APPLE CAKE

Garden Jobs by the Month

I really enjoy my Old Farmer's Almanac newsletter and I have learned so much from it.  Today's newsletter offered and link to "Gardening Jobs by the Month," which is of interest to me as a novice gardener.  So many of those of you that I've spoken to lately are considering either planting a kitchen garden next year or expanding the one you already keep, so I thought you might benfit from this information, too.  Here's the link:

http://www.almanac.com/garden/jobs/index.php

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

Pumpkin Pie Coffee Creamer