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How wonderful is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade???? Rich in tradition, entertaining, nostalgic, and not like any other parade! There are copy cat parades now, but none quite like the one that Macy’s has put on since 1924! It has grown and become an important part of the holiday season — it’s purpose: To escort Santa down the streets of Manhattan to declare the official start of the Christmas Season!! I watched the parade this morning, like I do every year – eagerly awaiting the last sight to see — Santa on his sleigh, waving and smiling to all who came to see him! I was not disappointed – Santa was his usual charismatic self – what a wonderous sight!
Oh, and “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!” – I saw him today!
By the way – if you want to read the historic editorial that was printed in the New York Sun on Sept 21, 1897 reassuring young Virginia that there, indeed, is a Santa Claus, here is the link: http://www.stormfax.com/virginia.htm Check it out – it is well worth the read — it will help you remember that you don’t have to see something to believe it exists!
Happy Thanksgiving To All…..
I am not cooking for guests this year – first year ever, I think…..Even on years where I went family’s or friend’s homes for Thanksgiving, I usually cooked a full meal for left overs to be available for myself and anyone who may stop in on the days following Thanksgiving. But, I decided to do things differently this year — oh, I’m still cooking!!! I can’t imagine not having turkey dinner left overs in the fridge to last me through the long weekend! But, I’m not doing up enough for an army – or at least not a LARGE army! ha-ha
I’m not a big fan of the white meat on a turkey – my favorite is the dark meat! So – this year, I decided to just roast turkey LEGS, instead of the whole turkey! I picked up two packages of turkey legs – 3 in each package. I am hoping that 6 legs will give me enough turkey meat to do all the usual stuff I like to do with turkey left overs through the weekend.
I am also making a big pan of stuffing (guess I should call it dressing, since it isn’t going to be “stuffed” in anything), a few baked sweet potatoes, some mashed potatoes, a sweet pea casserole (classic green bean casserole, except with peas instead of green beans), corn, gravy, cranberry jelly, pumpkin pie, and blueberry pie. I am calling it all “left overs” – even though I don’t plan an actual sit down meal for the food to be left over from…..
I got up about 7:00 to let the girls out and give them their breakfast. Then I got started with the food preparations. I prepped what I could and got it in the oven and ran to the store for a few things I forgot to get when I shopped yesterday.
When I returned from the store, the house smelled AMAZING already!!!! I love the smell of a house where a turkey dinner is being prepared — no other meal makes a house smell quite the same or quite as good!!!! The girls are all really getting into the smells, too — all three keep going to the kitchen to sit in front of the oven with their noses working over time to take in all the wonderful aroma before it can escape into the rest of the house — luckily, they aren’t successful in their goal to hog all the fragrance seeping out of the oven vents…….I’m getting to enjoy it, too!!!!
I made French Toast with cinnamon for breakfast – that was good! I will eat turkey “leftovers” later this afternoon for dinner!
Later today, I plan to meet up with some friends and go see a movie – I think we’re leaning towards “August Rush”. Then they will come and have dessert (my pumpkin and blueberry pie) here.
So — Thanksgiving is going to play out differently than usual for me, but it will still be wonderful – full of good food and good company! I have so much to be thankful for – my health, my family, my friends, my girls, my home, my special interests, my career — all make for a full, busy, and happy life! It’s all good…….
WOW – what an absolutely gorgeous day today was!!! I had the day off and planned to do some errands and running around. I got up and lounged around some, read the Herald on line and caught up with all the blogs I typically read, and played with the girls some. Then, I got ready to head out and was on my way…..
The first thing I did was have lunch at Renalds – the special today was beef stew over rice with green beans — YUM!!!! Then, it was so nice that I put the top down so I could enjoy the beautiful day better!
It was so sunny, breezy, warm, and pleasant — I really enjoyed driving around with the top down! The sky was the perfect shade of blue and the clouds were prettier than any I’ve seen in a while!
I got a hair cut, checked out the new Kerr Drug store, and picked up some groceries. I’m all ready for the holiday weekend!!!
It was a lovely day……..
Another thing I like to make around the holidays (anytime, but I really only tend to think about it around the holidays) is loaves of Beer Bread!!!! If you like that yeasty, hops flavor that you get from beer – you’ll like this bread!!! There is almost nothing in it and it is super easy to make, too!!!!
Ingredients
3 cups Self Rising Flour
1/4 cup Sugar
1 can Beer – room temperature (normal size can – whatever brand you like)
Directions
Mix the flour and sugar together
Add the ROOM TEMPERATURE (not flat) beer
Blend thoroughly into a thick, gooey dough
Generously grease 2 loaf pans and fill 1/2 full with the dough
Bake @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes (or until inserted knife comes out clean)
Remove bread from pans and let cool slightly so they slice easily
Serve warm with butter (good cold, too)
Very Important Notes – take heed!!!!
Enjoy!!!
If you like to serve Egg Nog for your holiday parties and get togethers, you might like this recipe for homemade Egg Nog. I don’t particularly like Egg Nog, but I do like a little of this recipe. It’s very creamy and thick. Try it – you might like it!
Ingredients:
6 Eggs – separated
3/4 cup Sugar
1 quart whole Milk
1 Tbsp Vanilla
1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
Directions:
Whip heavy whipping cream until it is thick and peaks – set aside
Beat egg whites until stiff
Gradually add sugar to egg whites – beat – set aside
Beat egg yolks until thick
Fold egg yolks into egg white and sugar mixture in a medium sized punch bowl
Stir in milk and vanilla
Fold in whipped cream
Chill
Serve cold with some cinnamon or nutmeg sprinkled on top of each glass
Although I have never tried it, you could probably add a little rum, if you are so inclined……..
Yes, indeed! It is beginning to look like Christmas everywhere! The stores, of course, have been displaying their holiday decorations and advertisements for some time now to get us all to start our gift shopping early. But, more than that, downtown Sanford has their lights up around the streets, the Temple Theater is about to start their “Carolina Country Christmas” show on Thursday, November 29th, and the Tree Lighting Ceremony at Depot Park is scheduled for Friday, November 30th!!!
As for me – I am beginning to hear Christmas songs in my head as I bustle around taking care of the business of each day and I LOVE it!!!! It is hard for me to control myself and keep from putting up my home decorations this weekend, instead of waiting until the 3 days following Thanksgiving! I enjoy prolonging the season and seeing the decorations as long as I can, but it is part of the whole joy of Thanksgiving for me, as well – so I will wait and not deprive myself of that tradition…….
I am anxiously looking forward to driving through neighborhoods that get together and plan theme decorations or do special displays for those who come to view the holiday lights. I especially like to take a drive around town on Christmas Eve to view all the lights lit up to guide Santa to their homes………
This year, I am so excited to have my Mom visit for the holidays!!! She will be here for two whole weeks! We will be able to mix some of the older traditions that our family has enjoyed since I was a little girl and some of the new ones that I have established over the years as an adult.
This is my favorite time of year — the fall, Thanksgiving, Christmas, the birth of a New Year — and everything in between!!!! Oh, how great it all is……….. Regardless of what holiday you celebrate during the entire holiday season, based on your religion or ethnicity, it is all just so joyous and festive!!! I love it — all of it!!!
Oh, boy – it’s FRIDAY!!!!! Sound the trumpets, light the lights, start the parade!!! I have been like that bunny on the commercials – I keep going and going and going and going……… but, it’s time to slow down and catch my breath! WOO HOO!!!!
But — work isn’t all that’s been busy! I have a lot to do to get ready for the holidays. I have some decorations to get to replace stuff some items that were no good after last season, so I tossed them out – I need to get a turkey and stuff for Thanksgiving dinner – I need to get on that Christmas shopping that I promised myself I would be done early with, but am still only barely started – I do a holiday letter for friends/family out of state every year, I need to write that – I need to get my Christmas cards ready to mail out – and on and on and on……
This coming week is Thanksgiving week — Thursday will be filled with food and great smells and curling up on the couch and enjoying life! Friday will be the day that I start working on the Christmas season (I try to avoid going shopping that day – too hectic on the busiest shopping day of the year)! By the end of the weekend, I hope to have my home decorated for the holidays and ready to enjoy the season! I really love sitting in my living room looking at the tree all decorated and lit up and driving up my street at night and seeing the house all a glow with white lights!
I love decorating and, unless I’m traveling for Thanksgiving, usually have it all up over the Thanksgiving weekend. The part I hate is taking it all down and putting it away — I shoot for doing that by New Year’s day and am pretty good about getting the outside stuff down by then, but I tend to procrastinate with the inside stuff…….but, this year, my Mom will be here to visit over the holidays and kick me in the butt to get it done!!! ha-ha-ha
Man, I got off topic with my ramblings this time, didn’t I????? The topic when I started was just “TGIF” – I’m going to change it now to say “TGIF and more stuff”…… ha-ha!
To bring it back full circle — I am so glad it’s Friday!!!!
Why is it that you see something all over the place and don’t give it much thought and then, the one time you want it, it’s nowhere to be found??????
Later this week a team I am on is doing a presentation at an off site meeting and part of it is a spoof-type skit that two of the team members are going to perform. Without going into too much detail, a guy on the team will be dressed up like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and a lady from the team will wear a Wizard costume and they will go through a conversation that will put a work related twist on Dorothy’s adventures along the yellow brick road. (it’s really funny – I wish everyone could see it – even though the jokes may not make sense to someone outside our plant, just seeing “Dorothy” and “her” antics is a riot!!!)
Anyway — to get back on the topic of this post: At one point, “Dorothy” says something about a bunch of trees throwing apples at her……..we talked about how funny it would be if some of us would throw apples at him from off stage when he says that – one person said they had some plastic apples and I said that they should be soft so that we don’t hurt him – safety first, you know!!!! ha-ha So, I volunteered to get some of those soft fuzzy red balls that they have in almost every dog toy bin everywhere!!!! I’ve seen them all over the place – even bought some in the past for my dogs!!!! I thought they would be perfect — soft, easy to throw, and would look like apples from a distance — perfect!!!!
Well — I went to Fins, Furs, and Feathers thinking I wouldn’t have to go any further — wrong — no soft red fuzzy balls!!!! I went to a couple other stores in town — no soft red fuzzy balls!!! They all had harder ones – like tennis balls – or ones that were multi colored or red and white or some other variation — but they would either be too hard or wouldn’t pass as an apple!!!!
I decided to head to Southern Pines to go to PetSmart — I was sure they would have them!!! WRONG AGAIN!!!! I looked at every toy on every rack in the entire dog section and even went through the cat section — nothing that would work!!!! I couldn’t believe it!!!! I was defeated!!!
I was about to give up and headed to the check out with the treats I got for the girls while I was there —– when I glanced down an aisle in reaction to hearing a bird squawk and a round red thing caught my eye —- I perked up and switched direction to investigate!!! I found a section with “rabbit toys” that had a bunch of toys in the shape of various fruits and veggies —— not fuzzy, but soft fiber filled round toys covered with a satiny type fabric —- and there were four shaped like APPLES!!!!! Or maybe tomatoes — not sure, but either way, they are round, the right size, solid red, definitely can look like an apple from a distance (even up close!!!!) and soft so that we can throw them at “Dorothy” and not hurt her — uumm, I mean him!!!!
Success!!!! At last!!!! Thanks to a squawky bird catching my attention — no way would I have looked for a rabbit toy!!! ha-ha-ha-ha
But – isn’t that the way it goes???? You need something you know is commonly found – until you need it!!!!
Man — I was really looking forward to the end of all that super hot weather we were having for so long, but what happened to the transition and “in between” weather of nice short sleeve warm, breezy days?????? We went right from “uugghh, I can’t breathe in this heat” to a day or two of “aahh, this is nice” to “bbbrrr, where did I put that winter coat?”………
The frost is definitely on the pumpkins around here now!!!! I broke down and turned on the heat the night before last cause I don’t like getting up in the mornings to a cold house!!!! The girls were even trying to get up under the covers with me, but there’s only so much room under them there blankies, so I cranked up the thermostat!!!!!
Stay Warm!!!!
When I sit at this computer, the girls are always laying at my feet. All three try to be the one that gets to lay the closest – sometimes to the point where I don’t have any place to put my feet!!! There are two “doggie beds” and a love seat in the room, but at least one, if not all three, have to lay on my feet!!!! I rarely have to worry about my feet getting cold!!!! ha-ha
If I get involved in doing work, writing letters, or reading blogs, it could be quite a while, but they patiently wait! From time to time they will put their chin or paws up on my lap or arm to see if they can get my attention and get me to take a break and love on them a little! When they ask, I oblige – the huggin’ and kissin’ and rubbin’ is part of the deal………
They know the routine, too, boy — if I leave the room, but don’t log off or shut down, they know we’re not done and don’t get excited! If I log off AOL and they hear “Good Bye, Kim”, they perk up and all three look up at me to see if I get up. But, when they hear the Windows shut down music, they all leap to their feet and get excited cause they know it’s time to either go to bed or go about other business!!!!
They are so cute and so predictable!!!! ha-ha
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