Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was just perfect. I couldn't have asked for better company and better food for my very first Thanksgiving as an American.



We ended up with twenty one attendants. Not bad for a first try at hosting something like this. Not to mention that it's halfway there to forty two, which should count for something.



My friend made Dutch food, I made Korean food, the neighbours made turkey, everyone brought pies, and there was an abundance of love and laughter.



We had cranberries from our very own cranberry bushes, and maybe some day we will be able to make them into sauce that is NOT bitter. For now let's just say that most people preferred the canned cranberry sauce.



There was eggnog and punch.



I made sweet potatoes surprise from one of the Moosewood cookbooks and fell in love with that way of preparing sweet potatoes.



I was amazed how relatively smooth everything went, I thought it would be hard to pull this off. Of course, the smoothness had a lot to do with the way everyone pitched in and contributed to the fun.



We had EIGHT different desserts!



There was a fire going in the fire place, which made the house nice and toasty. Even more so once the thermostat broke and the furnace joined the heating efforts.



Kate shared with us what she is grateful for 'I am grateful for life, the universe, and everything!' I couldn't agree more.



Architectural design, quite tall and interesting buildings.



This was one wonderful Thanksgiving!

Little Things

Last night, our thermostat broke and I couldn't get the furnace to shut off unless I used the emergency switch. It got quite hot in the house before I noticed it.

Today, I called the oil company and tried to get someone to come over and fix it. She happily told me 'No problem, madam, we can get you in at December 10th!'. Um... let's talk about that a bit more, shall we?

I managed them to squeeze me in today instead, and it was only a few hours later when the repair man appeared at my front door. He took a quick look and agreed that replacing the thermostat was the best way to go.

Now I am the proud owner of a shiny new thermostat which actually can be programmed! Yay for entering the 21st century!



I ordered new tubes for some light fixtures which have been annoying me for ages. OK, maybe it wasn't the light fixtures annoying me, but the tubes were, by turning themselves on after about three minutes. I would turn them on again, mumbling encouraging words, and poof! there they went again. On, off, on, off... Until I got tired of turning on the darned lights.

One of those small annoyances in life. One which doesn't take much to fix. Apart from actually DOING it. Today, it happened!

Ironic detail of the day: after I took out one fluorescent tube to order new ones, I put it back in, and it has been working EVER SINCE! Still not canceling my order though.

It's Turtles All the Way Down

It is almost 3am. Many vegetables have been cut. Sweet potato surprise is all assembled and ready to be baked. The guest list has been increased to 18 to 20 attendants. Cranberries have been picked, cleaned (Thanks you, Dawn!), and made into a cranberry sauce. Rooms have been cleaned. (Thank you, B!). Plain bread has been baked. Cucumbers have been squeezed. Tempeh is marinating.

And I baked a cinnamon raisin bread shaped like a tur.... tle.



Oh shush! Any idea how hard it is to make a turkey shaped bread? I wasn't even going to try, a turtle is almost the same anyway.

You never guess what happened earlier this evening. The door bell rang. I went to open it, and two neighbours were there with a FULLY COOKED turkey and homebaked apple bread. Wow! I was blown away and totally amazed and boggled and grateful and life is so perfect!

I guess I actually should include some sleep in that perfect life though, so I am off to bed. Happy Thanksgiving all!

Ack! I am Hosting Thanksgiving Tomorrow!

What was I thinking????

This might sound unlikely, but I have never ever hosted Thanksgiving before. This year, things are different! Not only am I going to host Thanksgiving for the first time, but in addition, it will be my Very First Thanksgiving as an American.



To celebrate, I invited a bunch of friends and will make bibimbap in addition to many other dishes. Everyone makes korean dishes for American Thanksgiving, right? My friend will make the turkey. Nothing says 'I love you!' like inviting someone and tell them 'If you want dead animals you'd better cook them yourself, because I'm not gonna to!' I think I managed to be a tiny bit politer in my choice of words, really I tried. She will bring Dutch hutspot too, this will be an interesting Thanksgiving!

Since this is my very first time, decided to keep it small, only sixteen people. Will start out simple before doing bigger things.

I am supposed to be making list of all the things I want to do to get ready, so I'd better get started on that. Making lists for the win!

Six Years Ago...

Same question: who is who?



And yes, I should be preparing for Thanksgiving, but one of the things I 'HAVE' to do in preparation is find a picture of a Thanksgiving past, so I am checking all my november files on computer. Very important, no?

And no, I still didn't find Thanksgiving picture, but stay tuned!

Eight Years Ago... .

Can you figure out who is who?

Make Your Own Story

Sourdough Fun

A few weeks ago, I woke up Robert, to help out a friend.



Life was good, until The Friend complained about 'Robert II' not performing satifactory. Um... I don't think so. You must have done something wrong , buddy!



I looked at The Brave Sir Robert on my counter, and decided to prove to The Friend that Brave Sir Robert was potent just fine, thank you very much.



I baked the simple sourdough bread from King Arthur, which has baking soda in it. Leading to The Friend accusing me 'That is not sourdough bread, that is a SODA bread!' Geez, he clearly didn't taste it, it was like The Best Sourdough Bread Ever.



So I dug up one of my other bread baking books and looked up my polaine recipe. A whole wheat sourdough, only ingredients are flour, sourdough starter, salt, and water. No baking soda, sir.



Took me a few days from start to finish, but naturally, it came out quite nicely. It has a beautiful sourdoughy tang to it, and proves to my friend that Robert is just fine, so there!



Robert Rules!

CAOS!

Total bliss! This morning, for the first time in like at least six months, I got to sleep in! Till 10am! Such total bliss. Usually I get up around 6:30am. Cees didn't have to work till 11am.



Later, I took four of my kids, and one extra to our local Community Open Art Studio.



They had quite a wonderful time, and worked with clay, which I would show pictures of if I actually had brought my camera. Instead I sat and studied Korean while they did their art thing. Sylvia wanted me close by, so it was perfect.



CAOS person, to me: 'Are you going to make any art today?'
Me: 'No, I'll just sit and study my Korean.'
CAOS person: 'What???'
Me: 'Korean, the language.'
CAOS person: 'Yes, that's what I thought you said.'
I smiled.



The tween girls went to see the Twilight movie and had a great time. I was home, looking around me at all the colourful balls I have dropped over the last few months, shrugging, and deciding to make myself hot cocoa. Sometimes that is the best way to go. I'll pick them up soon, I swear.

Love Is Donut Shaped

Last week, I realized it had been ages since I made donuts.



Time to fix that!



On Sunday morning, Dawn and I made raised donuts while the little ones slept in.



The results were enjoyed by all.



Happy Love Thursday!

A Greater Gaggle of Girls and One Gander

Another visit to Rachel and her gaggle. We ended up with nine girls and one Erik. He was truly blessed ^^



Ra and Giant met for the very first time. They did really well together.



Their parks are way cooler than ours are. Come on, a real tank to climb on!



There was lots of running around, tiring out pups and kids alike.



'Trust me, Sylvia, I know what I am doing.'



It was COLD and very windy.



Jane contemplating the meaning of life, the universe, and everything!



Action packed adventures.



"I'll lean on you and you lean on me and we'll be okay."



"Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. ~Charlotte Whitton"



Jane's intricately patterned creation.

And then we went geocaching and got kicked out of the estate grounds and might or might not have been almost apprehended by the police.

Go in peace, my friends.