Promises, Promises

 I promised myself and The Mister I would have all the ice skating junk out of the living area by December first.

 I don't think I am going to make that deadline.

Snow White marries her Prince Charming in the final song of their production number so of course we need to throw them a big old wedding on the ice, right?  I should be enjoying turning these curtains into a fabulous wedding arch and working with all the pretty wedding stuff but I am so over it all right now. I want my house back. Now.

So Long Fall

 As November winds down I've been slowly packing away my fall projects.

 I'm not ready for Christmas yet. It's too fallish out there for me still but the turkey has to go. I only managed to get one leaf done this year. One.

Also gone for the season is my fall shawl that I've been working on since the beginning of time. I only put on maybe five or six rows this year. Oh, well. I've got lots of excuses and most of them are still sitting in my living room waiting to be finished. More on that tomorrow.

What I really want to do right now is get started on my red cardigan but I am in still ISO the right pattern. Nothing is speaking to me even though I have spent/wasted hours on Ravelry looking at everything they have to offer. No luck yet but new things show up everyday. I'll just have to be patient.

A Holiday Head Start

 I've been sitting in the downstairs craft room until the wee hours of the morning playing with my new holiday stamp sets and my scalloped box die. I need a bunch of boxes done by this Friday so I can stuff soap in them.

 Yesterday my December card kit showed up. I wasn't holding my breath since I missed out on last months. I was pretty sure this one wasn't going to show up either but it did.

 I'm glad it did. It's got nice stamps and a little Chibi light kit that makes Rudolph's nose light up.

I used the stamp on one of the boxes but I'm letting The Mister have the light set to fiddle with. All that talk about negative and positives copper strips is making my head hurt.

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall

All I did yesterday was drink coffee and watch all four of the new Gilmore Girls episodes while trying to fit in some regular life. Honestly, I don't know what to think. I could have used more story and less of the music video stuff but I don't want to complain. I'll take the Gilmores in any size, shape or form. Any day. Any time. Any where.

Fruitcake Weather

 It's not exactly fruitcake weather. It's warmed up considerably here in the past few days. It's still time to make fruitcake though. They need to sit for a few weeks.

 The Mister and I always have drama over my fruitcake booze but not this year. He thinks it's fair game. It's not.  Last year I hid the bottle I needed. There's not much left but it was enough.

 I put these cherries that came all the way from Wisconsin to good use. I've been saving them for my Free Range Fruitcake recipe courtesy of Alton Brown. I made it last year in addition to my regular and it was so good I'm skipping the candied fruit version and sticking with this one.

 It's a weird way of putting the many ingredients together but it works.

 I couldn't remember how much it rises so I took my chance and filled the pans pretty high.

 It was just the right amount. They turned out beautifully.

 This year's glaze was golden syrup, triple sec and more of the rum/brandy mix.

I change the glaze up every year depending on what I have on hand and I really boozed it up this time with the tripe sec because there is no orange juice in this recipe and I missed the zing of a bit of citrus because I also didn't have the zest on hand that it called for. Now the big wait begins. I'll sample it on my birthday, the 16th to see if I hit the mark. If not I'll be making more. I've had to do that before. Fruitcake is very important to me. I eat it for tea all winter long.

I've gotten some questions about that sweet potato dish Son served up.

It really was more of a process than a recipe. He was making it up as he went along. Here goes:
First he peeled and sliced the potatoes into thin slices and arranged them in a pretty pattern. Then he poured melted butter over them, kosher salt and a few handfuls of dark brown sugar. He baked them covered until they were soft. Then uncovered them, added another handful of brown sugar and let them crisp up on top. He had toasted some pecans in maple syrup and then threw them on top right before serving. They were delish as proved by the fact we had none left to bring home.

Now I'm off to watch the first episode of the new Gilmore Girls on Netflix. In light of our current situation, making a visit to Stars Hollow is a most welcome idea. 

Turkey Day 2016

 Right before we were to leave for Daughter's I remembered I had not put the buttons on Son's latest cardi adventure. He was in town and staying with Daughter so it was an opportunity to see if it fit and to give it to him. More on that later.

We went over to Daughter's early so we could see the parade and make cookies-a family tradition.

It's an hour drive to Daughters so I didn't get to see it all but I was there before Santa arrived. That's always a big moment for me.

 #2 Son was already in serious prep mode.

 This is the candied sweet potato gratin to be in process. Mmmmm.....he put candied pecans on top.

The Grands played in the playground while.....

 ...the turkey grilled in the front yard.

 I don't eat meat but wow, did this smell good.

 Everything was delish. We had maple glazed brussels. green beans with pickled scallions, and homemade cranberry sauce. We had a fight over the mashed potatoes. I like them lumpy not whipped. I won-this year.

 There was also one of those expensive hams and amazing stuffing. I wish I had some leftovers but there wasn't much left.

 We also had desserts aplenty. DIL brought this yummy ice cream from a posh ice cream shop whose name I've forgotten.

 SIL makes a killer pumpkin cheesecake.

 I made some vegan apple pies and I got it right for a change. The crust was nice and flaky. The secret was freezing everything beforehand even the flour, the bowl and the pastry cutter. I also didn't touch the dough with my warm hands. Not easy but it does make a great crust.

 Son's new sweater wasn't a complete success but it wasn't a complete failure either. Men are hard to knit for. They have long arms and wide shoulders. It makes getting the fit right a real challenge.

Son's lady friend brought me a big surprise. These are the chips on Oprah's favorite things list that are so hard to get your hands on and for a good reason. They are yummo. Yum. Mo.

It's not often that I get all my kids in the same room at the same time so I made the most of it. It was a great day.

Thankful

 I was trying to come up with a post about being thankful and was coming up blank. Not that I don't have a lot to be thankful for, I just couldn't get a fresh angle on it. Then I looked around and noticed that what I really have to be thankful for is YOU.

 My house is filled with reminders of  how nice you are.

 I've got lots of projects bags from you. You know me so well. I am a complete projectbag-aholic. You can never have enough.

 You've sent me fiber to work with. That's a gift that keeps on  giving.

 There are socks that are only socks because of you.

 That new towel is all of your making.

 So is a lot of my stash.

 I always marvel at your creativity.

 And your generosity.

 You have inspired me to learn new things.

 You help me keep my place and find my way.

 The very needles I work with are from you as are some of the patterns I work from.

 You've provided my morning...and evening cuppas along with some amazing treats now long gone.

It seems you are in every nook and cranny of my very existence. I couldn't throw a rock in here without hitting something you have sent me.

I look forward to sharing the holidays ahead with you and .....if I haven't paid you a visit recently give me a nudge. Blogger keeps hiding my blog roll and I don't want to miss a thing!
Happy Thanksgiving!