Sunday, November 25, 2007

Christmas traditions….

It is getting to be Christmas, and we have has our first cold spell, so I was thinking of my traditions. One of my longest friends, http://felipsha.blogspot.com/ kina kickstarted me thinking! There are many many more in my families, but I wanted to post-as-I-go...

When I was little my dad would take me to the ranch to pick out a tree. Since these were 'real' in-the-wild cedar trees, they were a far stretch from being shaped like a Christmas tree. My dad never could tell me no, so we would end up with HUGE trees. (Yes, I say trees because there was usually more then one...because I couldnt decide until we got them in the house. On several occasions, the tree took up most of the living room and was to the top of the stairs!! I always thought the bigger the better and Dad's thinking was the tackier the better. He believes in nothing matching, lots of colors, garland and tons of tinsel!! Oh what fun.

Mom’s house and tree was quite opposite. All of the ornaments were dated, a new one each year, or they had a name or special memory of buying or making attached. Great care was taken for each and every memory. There were years that we had a theme. But that never meant buying all new ornaments to match the theme, it meant using the coordinating ornaments and décor. There are even certain ornaments that only I can put on the tree.

Every year when mom took the Christmas stuff down, she would write a note to put in with the Christmas stuff. So, when we were getting the Christmas stuff out, she would read about the year before.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Busy Thanksgiving….

This year I tried to sleep late Wednesday morning, but that didn’t work. I got up and started cooking. I started with my cornbread for the dressing, rice for Molly’s Broccoli Rice Casserole. I chopped 2 yellow onions, 1 red onion, celery and green onions for use in the dressing and other dishes, then I made chocolate cupcakes. If I am using a mix for something I like to spice it up a little, so added mini-chocolate chips and topped with Chocolate Almond icing. My only dessert weakness is ice cream and box cake mix!!! I always use stick butter instead of oil, and beat the batter with my Kitchen Aide mixer to get it extra fluffy. Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge cake mix is the best!! So, at this point I had to sit and watch TV for a few minutes because my stomach was cramping from all the batter I ate. YUMMY!

My Dad kept asking to help, so I finally set him up to peel all the potatoes and sweet potatoes. It was still about 85 outside, but rumor had it that there was a cold front coming in. I went to my shed and loaded my kitchen table, 4 chairs and the huge box of dishes that I wanted to use. For anyone who doesn’t know, I have a huge fetish for dishes and this set was extra special. During my mom’s move to Fredericksburg I obtained the set that her and my father registered for before their wedding. These were also the dished I remembered using with my mom when I was small. They are off-white with the raised fruit and vegetable around the edges. Perfect for Thanksgiving. It is a full set of 8, so for the second table (to also be set up in the dining room) we would use clear dishes.

I am trying to unload all this stuff from the Ranger, put the table together, rearrange the kitchen, and keep dad occupied with the potatoes when Grandma and Ken arrive. Oh Geez. Its only 2:00 and I am sweating like crazy!

The rolls have started to rise and everything is sautéing up nicely for the dressing when my mom stops by to drop off the pumpkin pie she made. The ham ended up being too tall to have 2 shelves in the oven, so I actually stacked several dishes on top of each other for the final heating!

At precisely 5:00 there were 12 people here to eat (by then the temperature had dropped into the 40s) and a beautifully set table with...
Spiral Sliced Mesquite Smoked Ham
Cornbread Dressing with Pork Sausage and Venison
Cranberry and Walnut Spinach Salad
Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Crumble topping
Fresh Green Beans
Wild Rice and Fresh Broccoli Casserole
Rolls

Everything went beautifully until dad was ready for dessert. At that same point, I was only about half way finished with my meal. I told him that we were going to wait a few minutes (to let me finish eating) before we had dessert. He was pissed, so after we cleaned off the table and loaded the dishwasher I started dishing out chocolate cakes and pumpkin pie. Dad refused to eat any dessert! Oh well, I try.

Thanksgiving morning Jared went hunting and when he returned (thank goodness empty handed) we headed to Mom’s. It was just us 4 and perfect. Another ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans with Almonds, sautéed shallots and YUMMY rolls. After dinner we watched football until we were ready to tackle her homemade pies! Don’t get me wrong, I like pumpkin pie ok, but I am just there for the fresh whipped cream!!

Ok-two meals in two days isn’t too much to handle, but here is the kicker. I am now headed to Blanco to cook another Thanksgiving. I end up taking most of the Wednesday leftovers to Blanco where Jared fried a turkey that I had injected with marinade. I reheated the dressing, broccoli rice, and rolls, then made potatoes au gratin, Brussel sprouts and green bean casserole. Turns out Jared, me and Opa were the only ones eating, so we had PLENTY of food.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Lake Tahoe trip??

Ok, anyone who knows me well enough to be reading this, knows that I have a tendency to FREAK OUT!! Anytime that I feel like I am not in control of the situation or my surroundings, I have a tendency to panic. If I dont get in control....I faint.

So, to my point. I have agreed to go to Lake Tahoe in December....on a plane! As of now I am holding up very nicely. My greatest fear is the airport. I will be with several people, all of which fly on a regular basis, so I fear they will be moving fast and knowing what to expect. That is exactly when I feel most out-of-control.

Tonight we all discussed packing. I got very light headed and worried. I have recently purchased some new coats and ski pants (which I have already worn hunting-VERY Warm!), and now I seem to be paniced as to how I will get them to Tahoe! I need some things to be with me at all times...my camera, snacks, VitaminWater, iPod (Thanks Robin!), jacket....ahhhhhh!!!

I check the Tahoe websites and blogs (http://blog.skiheavenly.com/) often, so I know what to expect. I am really excited about seeing snow, mountains, the lake and beautiful sunsets outside of Gillespie County....but damn that airport.

Once we are all in Tahoe I will have a whole new problem to deal with....but I will touch on that later.

Will anyone be in Tahoe December 6-10??? Or in Arizona on Thursday or Monday??? Does anyone wanna go???

Saturday, November 17, 2007

November update

I know it has been awhile since I left any notes...sorry. I have always heard the 'grown ups' say they are SOOOO busy and dont know how they did it all and had a full time job. Well, this week I have caught myself saying just that.

I am again in charge of the great Relay For Life of Gillespie County. Our event is only 5 months away and I am so BUSY!! I have been working 1 or 2 days a week at HEB. Thursday was dad's 69th birthday, so of course I thought I needed to throw a party. As I got home about 4pm, I asked dad to tally up everone we expected to join us for dinner. What???....12 people, and we are supposed to eat in less then 2 hours? Oh Geez! How to I get myself into these messes!

Well needless to say, our meal was amazing and beautiful. The menu included Pork Loin, Spinach salad, potatoes au'gratin, green bean casserole and whole wheat bread.

Today I finalized the upcoming meeting dates, bloged them, then sent a reminder email to about 50 people to check the blog. (I dont think anybody does) Just moments ago, I thought...'Oh crap, I need to start defrosting the turkey!' I havent even bought it yet....oopsie!