Happy 21st Birthday, Jeremy!

We decided to do something different for Jeremy's birthday this year. So, I woke him up early, sang a goofy birthday song to him and asked him to get dressed so he could "see something" outside. Of course there were a few groans and questions, but he let me lead him out the front door and down the driveway. Hope he wasn't expecting a new car!!!

And this is what he saw when he removed the scarf from his eyes......a flock of crows. Imagine that? They flew in on this cold front during this windy day just to wish him a happy birthday!

Ok, I can finally officially say to him, "I got'cha!" He 's a tough one to fool....

We both got a good giggle from this one.

Then it was time to make him his favorite breakfast, chocolate chip pancakes and yummy crispy bacon. Coffee, anyone?

Just call me....

One satisfied mama,

Deb

It's Hard to get Much Better Than This

The day after Thanksgiving, Julie and Sydney came to our house for a few hours. We three girls had the house all to ourselves and decided it was a nice quiet time to teach Sydney how to knit. Julie baked a double batch of chocolate chip cookies and Sydney patiently watched as I showed her the basics of knitting. I love the look of absolute concentration on her sweet face.
Well, she got the hang of it pretty fast and when we realized she was going to do more knitting on her own, we scooted to a nearby knitting shop to buy her a pair of her own knitting needles. There's no stopping her now. She left that day talking about the Barbie and American Girl doll clothes she was going to be making.

Hmmmmm.....now I know where to send all that leftover yarn I've been saving in my stash! Julie called the next day to report that Sydney was up at night with the light on in her bedroom knitting. Giggle.....don't you just love it? I know I do.

Yup, it doesn't get much better than this,

Grammy Debbie

Linda, this one's for you

Alright, I just had to post a picture of our turkey before it headed to our Thanksgiving table. Julie did an awesome job carving and arranging the platter, don't you think? But, now back to the reason for this post. Miss Linda, wife to Joel's cousin, Steve, has been after me for more than 5 years to give up my stuffing recipe.

She jokingly told me back then that she wanted me to write down the recipe before I went into surgery 5 years ago.........you know.........just in case I didn't make it out of surgery. Ha! It's not that I didn't want to share it, the problem was that each year I just made it up as I went along. Most of my recipes are from other women in my life or they come straight out of the hundred or so cookbooks that are in my collection. I love to share recipes and as much as I love to cook, I had never actually measured and written down this one and only original recipe of my very own.

How flattering that anyone would even want a copy! But then the kids started to ask how I made the stuffing and I realized that I needed to get serious and write something down so they could duplicate the taste they have come to know as our own stuffing. I think most cooks have had a taste for something their relatives consistently made as they were growing up and no matter how hard you tried, the recipe just never came out exactly as we remember it tasting when someone else made it. Well, I don't want my kids to feel that frustration, so this year I seriously measured and fine tuned the recipe so it would be easy to make. There's nothing fancy about it, kids and Linda, but it's what we love. Hope you enjoy it.

Our Family's Best Holiday Stuffing

2 tblsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

4 stalks celery, diced

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced

4 cups Pepperidge Farms Cornbread Stuffing

6 cups Pepperidge Farms Country Style Cubed Stuffing

1 cup raisins

2 cups coarse chopped pecans

1 tsp. dried thyme

3 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 stick butter

salt and pepper to taste

Saute' onion and celery in olive oil until onion is opaque. In large bowl place apples, both types of stuffing, raisins, pecans and thyme. Heat chicken broth and butter in microwave until butter is melted. Pour over the stuffing mixture and stir until evenly moist. Season to taste. Pour into 9" X 13" casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

I couldn't resist taking a pic of my newest idea. There is never enough room in the refrigerator when preparing holiday meals. I had made all my casseroles the day before Thanksgiving but how do you find enough room for them in the refrigerator? Duh! It occured to me that I could stack them by using my baking cooling racks in between the dishes which prevented the weight of the ones on top from crushing the ones down below. Hope this tip works as well for you as it did for me.

Still "stuffed",

Debbie

Recipes and lists, Oh, My!

For those of you who think I'm so organized...let these pics be evidence to the contrary. My kitchen looks like something blew up in it and I've only just begun. You can't see the cooler hanging out in front of the oven.....I needed to use it to hold the turkey after it's in the brine bag since it won't fit in my refrigerator with everything else that's in there!

The cooked giblets are cooling in their pot alongside the brine that also has to cool before dunking the bird into it's lusciousness. My recipe books are out and scattered across the counter for reference and before the night is out, I'm sure every surface of the kitchen will be covered with dirty pots, pans and dishes.

And speaking of the bird, my "fresh" 25 lb. turkey had ice crystals on it when I opened it this morning. Good thing I didn't wait until Thanksgiving day to open it up and discover that little detail or we'd be having Chinese for dinner. Trust me, the turkey is soaking in cool water even though the sink looks empty in the photo.

Ok, doesn't the brine look pretty in the blue dutch oven? I had to try this recipe after seeing it on Pioneer Woman's website. I'll let you know if it keeps the turkey moist and tastes as good as this looks. Well, I guess I am going to get back to the turkey, pies and casseroles.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Debbie

Christmas must be near

I thought I'd show you what I've been working on in the sewing room lately. The owner of the Quilt Shop of DeLand asked me to make up this log cabin sample for her to hang in the shop for the holidays. Piecing it was straight forward and Judy provided the traditional fabrics that went into the quilt.

Here is a closeup of some of the free hand machine quilting pine boughs I sewed on the tree. If you'll notice, I took the pics out by our pool......Christmas?Pool?80 degree weather? Hmmmm.......I hope it cools down about 20 degrees before Christmas really arrives.

One of Santa's elves,

Debbie

Susan's Quilt; yup, it's done!

This past Labor Day weekend my friend, Susan Marie and I, went up to the river to stay at the cabin for a few days of girlfriend R&R..........and to quilt. You see, Susan loves fabric and color and all things sewn as much as I do. She had saved her gently worn capri pants that were her favorites and wanted to piece them together to create a tropical colorful quilt so she would never have to give those pants away!

Well, Susan had done a lot of the work ahead of time by tearing them apart and we began the task of cutting the pants legs into squares and rectangles. At the end of Day one we had them all cut out and laid in a pattern we both liked. Then with 2 sewing machines set up, the piecing began.

Susan started joking that we'd never get finished.........ok, I need to clarify something right here and now......Susan kinda sorta has a cute little habit called "I don't always finish what I start.". Ummmmmm.....that just doesn't compute in my "git 'er done" brain. I reassured her that she would indeed go home with a finished quilt. She expressed some more doubt that the whole thing would be done and she would finish it "some day". Ha! Not on my watch!

Needless to say you can see where this is going. She most certainly did finish the quilt before we left for home and it turned out darned cute, too, wouldn't you agree? I had teased her for days that I was the one who drove us up there and she was not going to be returned home until the quilt was competed. After the look of shock wore off on her face, we giggled about it for the next two days while she "got it done".

We're still friends, so I guess I didn't push her too hard and she is very proud of her quilt, and rightfully so.

Good job, Susan,
Deb

Ah, yes......

Many of you already know that my mother-in-law's husband went to heaven in June. Madalen is doing remarkably well transitioning once again to life without her spouse. She is, however, suffering from moderate dementia. We make certain that her needs are taken care of and check in with her frequently but we also realize her days of living independently are quickly coming to a close. One downside is that since Ken died, she just sits in her living room in her recliner. Her lack of interaction with others has been a big concern for us and we feel she needs the stimulation of conversation, but she simply won't get off that chair.

Most of the time her memory loss simply means we have to search for that document a little harder or recheck her grocery list before leaving her house to be certain we're not buying yet another 5 lb. tin of coffee to add to the others already in the cupboard. She is unable to tell us the mysterious name of the woman who takes her to church every Sunday and is shocked when we discover 10 bags of old, filled kitchen garbage bags in her little shed that desperately need to be hauled to the dumpsters nearby before her building gets condemned.

So imagine my surprise when Joel got off the phone after talking with her last night and he was grinning. Usually when he hangs up the phone after talking to his mom, he has a look of concern on his face. Not last night, nope, grinning from ear to ear. Ok, I'll bite.....what's going on? He said that his mom was having 8 women over on Friday night and they were going to "play something". As he questioned her further, she said she didn't know who was coming or what they were going to play because she couldn't remember. We both giggled because we were tickled that she was actually entertaining a group of ladies again. Don't know who they are or what they're going to do, but she has actually asked ladies to come over to her house! Can't wait to hear how it went.....we'll have to call her Saturday morning.

Taking one day at a time,
Debbie