From Pumpkin to Pie

An elderly gentleman who visits the dental office where I work gave me the last of the pumpkins from his garden. He also gave me his personal recipe dating back to the 1920's. So this is what I made for Thanksgiving. I didn't realize there was so much involved in simply preparing the pumpkin for use: cut in half and bake for 1 hour; remove all pulp and blend it smooth; then boil it on the stove to remove all added water; and you can finally us it in your recipe the same way you'd use canned pumpkin. Phew. I felt quite the pioneer (my hand-mixer blew up the week before) and using a wooden spoon made the whole thing quite "Little House on the Prairie-ish."
For a splash of fun I cut out little gingerbread men and alternated between them and hand-cut out leaves (ok, now that took a while. I"ll just look for a leave cut-out next time), sprinkle a few sugar-toasted pecans and...ta-dah! Happy Thanksgiving!

How can I help loving this boy?

Is there a lovelier sight in which to come home? Well, maybe there is...for instance: to look past this vision and see the kitchen spotless with dinner in the oven, oh - and maybe a hot bath steaming down the hall...yum...and a bottle of sparkling cider by the tub...and a box of Cadbury mini eggs...and a good book next to that...ok I'll stop. Still, isn't he sweet? I'm satisfied with him doing the all the laundry.

Emergency Amputation

Ever found yourself in the nylon dilemma? The one where it is Sunday morning and on the bed before you sits a pile of nylons - ALL with runs in them? What do you do? Display your hairy legs and claim you're just growing it out to stay warm? What do you do with the worthless pantyhose? Throw them out, right? Wrong! Today I found myself in this frustrating crisis. I had two pairs of identical nylons, but each of them had a run in one of the legs - only one leg, the other was perfectly fine. What a waste, I thought. I was just getting ready to toss them away when a spark of brilliance lit my imagination. Why not utilize the healthy leg by simply amputating the dead one? And that is exactly what I did. Please reference the photo: I still slid both of my legs through, except after a quick snip, one leg of each nylon resembled underwear. Aside from the double belly support, no one could tell I was wearing two half nylons! It was fabulous. Unfortunately I snagged one leg as I slipped out of the Chapel pew.

Something I love about Caroline...

She is such a girl; in a household of boys it is a refreshing breeze of femininity. She brings a burst of sunshine into every room she enters. It is delightful to watch the dances she choreographs (generally with a complying Marky), see her drawings, listen to her stories, enjoy her dressing up or exploring new clothes and hairstyles. She is very bright and loves to learn. She receives and processes new information very quickly, and has developed a deep love of books. She also is a patient and devoted teacher, helping students - or siblings - younger than herself to understand lessons. And it is just so fun going to Vegas and having someone to do girlie things with!