Ho Ho Ho

The older I get the less I like all of the commercialism attached to the holidays, especially Christmas. There seems to also be more and more pressure these days to jump into Christmas while you still have Thanksgiving left overs in the fridge...but that is where I have been. Getting out the Christmas decorations.

I must admit I do get nostalgic over some of the decorations that we have had for years. Especially our Santa's.

We have three of these 24inch (60.96cm) tall jolly old gentlemen, each one slightly different.

This rather woodsy looking one would probably be right at home in our log house in Colorado.

I have also been busy Christmas shopping and baking....but as the saying goes, I am probably preaching to the choir. If you don't have this, or a similar says in your country... I will happily explain.

I promise to return...but I am not promising when....Janey

Gobble Gobble

I know, I know, I have been missing in action,

but I have good reason. It was my turn to host our family's holiday feast,

and since there are so many of us, I had to cook two of these. The skin looks green in places, because I put  butter mixture with garlic, fresh thyme and sage up under the skin.

Everyone pitches in and  brings a dish of food, and of course our holiday would not be complete without my niece's expertly decorated cookies.

My sister's brought pumpkin and pecan pies, and my blueberry crisp with ice cream was a big hit,

but I had the most fun making this turkey cheese ball.

I will have to admit I found my inspiration on the Internet.....

 and last, but not least.. a fuzzy cell phone picture of twenty adults (family and friends), and two children holding hands to give thanks for our many blessings.

If you celebrated Thanksgiving. I hope that you were with someone you love.

Fall/Football!

Some people in the U.S. are excited about Fall because of the cooler weather, others look forward to the Fall foliage, but I can guarantee there are a lot that can't wait for the Fall football season. We have high school football games, and both  college and professional. There is hardly a night on television this time of year when there is not a football game on.  Today we attended a college game between Texas Christian University and Oklahoma State University.

It is fun to arrive at the game early and watch the bands march into the stadium

and these are the TCU showgirls arriving.

There are always a few fans that seem to get carried away.

The stands were a sea of purple (TCU's colors), and a bit of orange (OSU" Colors) mixed in.

If you looked up you could see the Direct TV blimp hovering above the stadium,

and each team has their silly mascot running around the sidelines. Meet OSU's Pistol Pete.

and TCU's Super Frog. He was very interested in watching the game. So I only got the back of his head.

Here is a better picture.

Despite all of the excitment. Our team lost

TCU 6      OSU 31 

It really is a fun way to spend an afternoon!

Go Frogs!

Ooh La La

I have been out of town again. I think someone needs to nail my foot to the floor...but I was invited to a luncheon/style show in Houston, and the chance to visit with many dear friends...so off I went.

The event was at a rather high end department store that some of you may have heard of.

The luncheon tables had very glamorous centerpieces

Some I think were encouraging us to shop.

The store had models showing us what was "in" for Fall and Winter,

and one of the ladies attending was even ask to model this little mink cape.

(No I don't know if  it was real or faux).

I really enjoyed the food. I had a Caesar salad, red snapper with spicy potatoes and veggies, and a quite tasty scoop of ice cream.

We were all gifted a little bag full of perfume and makeup samples and a fun pair of designer sunglasses.

The event was chaired by this gal, who has been a friend for twenty three years.

It wasn't benefiting any organization, but I can assure you that many of the ladies present have raised thousands of dollars for charities over the years.Sometimes you just need to dress up and feel glamorous.

Cinderella is back at home, and excuse me while I go mop the kitchen floor.

Berry Nice

Last year, late in the year, I featured the wall on the west side of our house in a blog post. Our new place is what they call a zero property line. Translated...we are very close to our neighbors. We have five feet from our house to the wall or fence, and our neighbors have the same distance from the wall to their house.

I wasn't too fond of staring at the high boring brick wall. So we had a diamond shaped wire system installed ( think the horticultural or landscaping term is an espalier), and starting training a plant called Pyracantha on it. Anyway, the pyracantha vine is supposed to have red or orange berries in the Fall and Winter, and white blossoms in the Spring. The above photo was early last December. I was concerned because there were berries only on the left side. Okay, so you see a few on the right.

Don't laugh. Those are fake ones I wired in.

Well this year the Pyracantha has grown a bit more. ...and yes there are more berries, and on both sides,

making me very happy!

Linking to Good Fences: HERE

A Home Tour

Well it was not exactly a home tour. It was billed as a Kitchen Tour

and it was benefiting a very worthy cause. These folks raise money to grant wishes to ill children. So, I would have gone anyway.....but when I read: The Finest Homes and Chefs..I was a shoo- in.

I also took into account that it was a lovely day. These folks are lined up for a shuttle to the next house...but we walked to all the houses (five), since they were pretty close together. Okay, so we did ride back from the last house.

 This is a kitchen in one of the newer homes, although some  were older and had been remodeled. This chef served Carrot Cilantro Cream Soup. Each home had a visiting chef from some very high end restaurants in town.

Another house served beef tenderloin sandwiches, kale and sausage soup and a tasty dessert.

This kitchen and house was very unusual...and pretty. They served waffles topped with fried Quail

The butler's pantry in that house was almost the same size as the kitchen. I especially liked the antique windows from Europe. I am thinking France

The table  was also set. Fragrant sprigs of rosemary adorning each plate.

I really did like this place

It had old world charm every where you looked.

Especially in the powder room.

This chef, in yet another house,was from a very elegant restaurant in town called Grace

Oh, did I mention that there were desserts here and there,

and even an ice cream trolley on one of the porches.

and oh, incidentally, I simply adore chefs

Oops! I noticed when I got back home, that the ticket had printed on it: No cameras in the houses.

My sister and I had such a fun time, and I hope to attend next year, but since I am usually a rule follower, I guess there will be no pictures :( Janey

A New Vegetable

I titled this a new vegetable....when it probably isn't, but it is to me. I love vegetables and haven't met one I don't like, although egg plant is not a favorite.

There are a lot of ornamental squashes at the grocery store this time of year, but for this one I found a recipe. Actually it was a blogger that called my attention to it. You may not have a Trader Joe's near you, but surely they are sold elsewhere.

They look like this. Some though are more green than yellow .

You cut the squash open lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds.
They look a bit like a butternut squash, but the outer skin if much softer, making them easier to cut open.
You then cut the squash into slices as pictured

I put the slices in a plastic bag and poured in a tiny bit of Olive Oil....mixing to coat the slices. Then season with salt and pepper. I used cinnamon on a few slices to see what that would taste like. I am thinking next time I would also mix a tiny bit of sugar with the cinnamon.

Line the sliced on a roasting pan (jelly roll pan), or a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30mins. The instructions on the label said 15 to 20mins, but I like them softer. Again you eat them rind and all....
and eat them we did.....and forgot to take a picture of the finished product! Sorry
Have you ever cooked Delicata Squash?