Pickle Trays and Green Bean Casserole

It's been a busy week but I was glad that Thanksgiving was on the horizon. It meant a lot of yummy food. The dog and I headed to my Mom's house a bit early on Thanksgiving to help out. She had already done the pickle tray, which I love. I have a particular love of anything pickled so a whole pickle tray is a treat! I pitched in with the cheese and cracker tray. The dog enjoyed the scraps! It smelled so good in her house. There is nothing like the smell of turkey. I went a different route for my pumpkin contribution this year. I love pumpkin, except in pie. It's the texture I am not a fan off. As one friends says, it's too much like mousse in a crust. So I made a pumpkin upside down cake with cranberries and pecans. It was very good, though I will make some tweaks to the recipie the next time I make it.

My mother was in her entertaining element on Thursday. And to top it all off, she had three other Green Bean Casserole fans at dinner. I am not a fan at all. In fact I dislike all Campbell's Soup based casseroles, which is weird since we never had them as a kid. My mother was good that way. I love green beans but add that can of fried onions and cream of mushroom soup and yuck. No thank you.

Addictive Site

Combining my love of words and altruism is the ridiculously addictive game located at Free Rice. The premise is simple. They give you a word and four possible meanings. You choose the right one and viola you win grains of rice. You get enough right and the grains add up. Added bonus is if you get a word wrong, they will give you the right answer without penalizing you. Plus you get to add new words to your vocabulary! Play now and play often.

House Guest

After a week of miscommunication and cultural differences, my house guest arrived this weekend. It was nice to see him though it's always a bit nerve wracking having someone to your home for the first time. I cleaned so thoroughly that I can't seem to find anything!

We had a great weekend with sunny but cold weather. We went to the beach and saw some great waves, to a great breakfast place/maple barn and of course to the main event - The Police concert. What a great show. They were amazing. They played so well and we had great seats. Sting looked so hot that I am ready to take far more yoga classes! And it's not often that you get to stand next to someone playing air guitar. The man next to me found his sad attempt at rhythm. His date seemed properly horrified. He was playing so forcefully he kept bumping into me. So I had to keep moving closer to my date thereby almost pushing him into the aisle!

The time flew by. It was a good trip as we really got to talk. While email, IM and texting are handy sometimes you really need a good face to face conversation even if it does go into the wee hours of the morning.

Family Time

After enjoying a quiet, rainy day at home on Saturday today I spent time with my family. I met my Mom to head over to my 98 year old Great Aunt's house for tea. Mom and I stopped and picked up my other Aunt along the way. My Aunt, my Mom's older sister, has been stricken with MS. Her legs do no work anymore. Looking at my Aunt you would never know anything is wrong with her. This once very active woman is now trapped in a body that doesn't cooperate. It's beyond tragic. She is pretty much confined to a wheelchair in a non-wheelchair friendly world. It's very difficult getting her from point A to point B. As tired as I was, I can't even imagine how she gets around. I would be so depressed. But she has the strongest spirit that is just amazing. My Great Aunt is amazing too. She is healthy, lucid, active and lives alone. Not many other 98 year olds can say that. She's a tough cookie that you don't want to make angry. I think part of her longevity can be attributed to this!

My Dad and Stepmom had a football party today too. I stopped by after tea with my Aunties. All in all, given I am still trying to recover from my cold, I had enough. I was exhausted and though I love them, had my fill of family today.