Thanksgiving 2009

Well, it's over. And we did it.

We had mashed potatoes, turkey, pork tenderloin filets, sweet potatoes, corn pudding, green bean casserole, radishes and onions, and desserts that included cheese cake and tollhouse pie.

This is pretty much what we have every year but this year we changed it up a little bit. We went easy, breezy, and a tiny bit sleazy. The mashed potatoes were cooked, mashed, and seasoned when I bought them. So were the sweet potatoes (the best Mr. Right ever ate). I made the corn pudding from scratch but it was the best we'd had in years because I finally had the original recipe. (That page has been missing from my ancient recipe book for a long time but a few weeks ago I found a website that replaces missing pages at a very reasonable price and I finally have it back in its rightful place.) Beth brought the brown 'n serves, the green bean casserole, and the tollhouse pie. Amy made the cheesecake and was on hand to help with what little we still had to do from morning til night.

And we tried the 500 degree turkey roasting recipe. Two hours. That's it. While it rested and its carving process was begun, we heated the ready-made potatoes and casseroles. And it was golden. Perfection! Easy.

I intend to do this every year. Because Thanksgiving is about family and good eats and it doesn't have to include a solid day of back breaking, everything from scratch, labor.

Now I finally know that for sure.

You Capture - Food II

This week's You Capture assignment was FOOD. Yum. And it so happened that this past weekend I took a trip to Kentucky and had dinner with daughter #4 and she knows how to find the restaurants!

The entree:


That was good, and I enjoyed every single shrimp, but the dessert? The dessert was the best I ever had:

And this photo is just to prove that I did share it......or at least I let Sarah grab what she could between my lightning fast (while still savoring with eyes closed) bites:


For more food captures or to post your own, go to ishouldbefoldinglaundry.

500 Degrees and Roasting

Mr. Right and I were shopping Monday evening for our holiday feast. Previously we've tended to shop the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving but, now that I'm retired, I have to admit we're getting better!

Anyway, while we shopped, he mentioned that he had heard on the radio that many people are now roasting their turkeys at 500 degrees. According to these guys, the turkeys come out crisp on the outside and tender and moist on the inside AND they only have to bake for a couple of hours or even less depending on the size of the bird.

I'm going to try it for sure. I've often wished I had more than one oven especially on holidays like Thanksgiving. Since that doesn't seem to be an option, cutting the roasting time from 5 or 6 hours to 1 or 2 will definitely free up some oven time.

I promise to record how it turns out including pictures! No matter what.

My Eyes Really Do Deceive Me

Many years ago, when I was a bartender in a small neighborhood tavern, one of my regular customers told me he was overweight because he didn't perceive himself as overweight. Interesting.

Ever since I retired, I've battled, or at least sparred with, my weight. When I was working, I was walking about 9 miles a day and I could eat whatever I wanted to. When I retired, I didn't walk at all but I ate whatever I wanted to. I realized this was a problem so I started walking everyday (almost....when I felt like it.....and had time.....and wasn't traveling.....or feeling uninspired). And I started to watch what I ate. Really.....I watched every single bite that I put in my mouth.

And I gained weight steadily. I gained a solid 15 to 20 pounds in just a couple of months. I didn't like it and I was pretty self conscious about it but I didn't feel like I looked that bad.

Then, this weekend, as I drove along on my way to Kentucky, for some reason I happened to look down. And there it was. A great big entity bulging out of my seat belt. It was shocking. And in quick succession I had two other enlightening moments. Before I left on Sunday, Sarah took a picture of me with the kids. Unfortunately when I downloaded them, I let Mr. Right look over my shoulder to view them and there it was again. Where on earth did that come from?

Holy Cow! I didn't know.

Later in the evening, I was enjoying a few Quakes (you know, little cheddar rice cakes that are low in fat and calories unless you eat 5,000 of them which I habitually do). For some reason, I sat down at Mr. Right's computer and there in his monitor, which was off, was a reflection of my giant entity. And my big big shoulders. I actually felt kind of confused. Was that really me? And suddenly the Quakes didn't taste as good and I wasn't craving them like I had been.

So how do I deceive myself? I think that when I step in front of a mirror I subconsciously prepare myself. I look where it's safer to look and maybe I stand a little straighter, pull my stomach in a little, and try to put a pleasant look on my face.

It's just when I'm not prepared that I see what my eyes have been keeping from me. And maybe, if I would perceive myself as I really am, I could win this sparring match with my weight gain. And maybe even turn it into a battle that I could win.

Don't get me wrong. I still love being 63 and retired and life is still sweet. I'm just starting to realize it could be a lot sweeter.

Zoom Zoom

This weekend I got to zoom down to Louisville to spend some time with my youngest daughter. She's 36 weeks pregnant and, on her doctor's advice, stayed home while her husband and children visited his family about two and a half hours away.

Being "large with child" (this does not mean she is large only the part of her carrying the baby is large - she's still small) makes things more difficult for her which in turn makes things more sweet for me because I was NEEDED. I could be so helpful. This time could go toward making up for all the time that I can't spend time with her because she's 300 miles away. I could help her get ready for Christmas, we could shop together, and best of all we could have lunches and dinners together. It was the BEST!

Then on Saturday night and Sunday morning I got to spend some time with two of my precious grandchildren that I just don't get to see enough of.

So I zoomed down there in 4 hours on Friday and zoomed back in 4 hours on Sunday. I got to take advantage of the blessing of being retired and the 'new to us car' that we hadn't taken on a long road trip yet. I did it all by myself and felt good about every moment of it.

Life is sweet when you're sixty-three.

You Capture - Sunrise Sunset

I absolutely LOVED the You Capture subject this week because I absolutely love taking pictures of the sunrise and especially the sunset (you know, because it's so much more accessible). Anyway, unfortunately it's been one crazy week (think wedding, fake Thanksgiving dinner, etc.) and I didn't even look at the subject until Tuesday. And ever since, the weather in this area has been so dismal that I was lucky to get any pictures at all. They're not great but I got pictures that I wouldn't have gotten without this You Capture assignment so it's all good. Oh and it's all sunset.




What's really crazy is that all these pictures are of the same sunset taken within about 10 minutes of each other.

For much more beautiful sunrise sunset shots, visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry and consider joining the fun.

Mary! Duck Your Head!

Of course, that frisbie was nowhere near Mary's sweet little head but it did seem to line up alarmingly well in the picture.

Saturday was a beautiful day for being outside or for being saucy and flirtatious for your husband.

Brian might not look like he was impressed with her incredible sense of style but he was just being shy.

Beth did a post today about finding out the sex of her baby and it included a rare picture of me that I don't hate. Thanks, Beth. If this doesn't prove that she's a great photographic editor, nothing will.

And I saw this interesting note in the paper last night. On this date in 1909 the same newspaper included this note: Football in the county took its toll on Saturday. Two were killed, four were fatally injured, and 16 were seriously injured.

WOW! I guess today's safety equipment has an even bigger impact that I could have imagined. And we can only be grateful that those four people who were fatally injured, weren't killed. Whew! Seriously though, can this be right? Football would have been even more dangerous than war, right? Yikes.