Another One of Those Busy Weeks

It's the week of Thanksgiving...and the gang's all here!  Check out that shot on the left of the Drool Gang:  Duchess in the lower left, Gus in the center back, and Elmo on the right.  And, can you even see Ella Rae in the upper left?  They are all piled up on the sofa bed in the den.  As they had all tried to sleep on our bed the night before...with us...I finally gave up fighting for some space and made up the sofa bed to finish out the night by myself.  Of course it wasn't long until I had company (Ella Rae and Elmo) join me.  Sigh.  What can I say?  Gotta love 'em!

As I mentioned in my last post, Mr. T and I motored to a half-way meet-up with Missy M in Charleston, WV last Friday.  We brought Elmo and Ella Rae home, while she went back to Huntington, where she had work to do over the weekend.  I took this shot of Pilot Mountain on our way up Highway 52, north of Winston-Salem, NC.  It's a state park, and the origin of the fictional town of Mount Pilot on the Andy Griffith show.  (He's from nearby Mount Airy, NC)  Yes, you can drive up the mountain, but you arrive at a spot to the left of the big "knob"... maybe you can see that little outcropping over there beyond the "dip?"  Great views of the surrounding area, especially on a clear day, which this was not.

Mr. T has been taking vacation days (use 'em or lose 'em)...meaning, he hasn't been traveling...but still working from home this past week.  We've spent our time trying to knock out the rest of the mountain of boxes residing in our garage...what a chore!  Some of these boxes have just been re-packed/re-labeled and moved three or more times...I don't think we've touched them since we were in Georgia.  We're in the middle of the unpacking and organizing, but have called a halt to that work in order to get ready for Thanksgiving festivities.

Missy M arrived on Sunday, and it's so wonderful to have her here!  She's contributing to our Thursday meal with home-grown potatoes (photo, left)...can you believe this harvest?!  She tried a method that was new to me:  growing them in bags, which she ordered from the Gardener's Supply catalog.  The proof is in the potato!  It worked, big time.  I checked our garden before the frost that was predicted for last night and found a few green peppers and green tomatoes...but no green beans left to go with those small-ish ones.  The rest of them will be boiled, mashed, and served up with turkey gravy!

She also brought along a new craft she'd learned from one of her co-workers:  making no-sew quilted ornaments.  My cousin Betty Jean made one of these for us years ago, and we still place it lovingly on our tree each Christmas.  While the cheesecake and the pecan pie were baking today, Missy M taught me how to fold and pin the little rectangles of fabric she'd already cut for us into the styrofoam balls.  Later, we'll get some wide ribbon to tie around the center to hide all those pins.  The blue and white one "in progress" in the lower left in the photo (right) is my very first attempt!  The Pumpkin Crunch was for sustenance...:)

So...we are working our way through the Thanksgiving To Do List.  I've polished the silver and set the table for six.  Made the 3-Bean Casserole and the Sweet Potato Casserole, the cheesecake and the pecan pie; baked the cornbread and chopped the veggies for the dressing.  N/M/E and Missy M have gone to the Honey-Baked Ham store for the ham, which will be scored and glazed later...and tonight we'll begin the brining process for the 19# turkey that's resting in the fridge.  The Riesling is chilling...and the roll recipe is on the counter.  I'll make the tea that morning, mash the potatoes, cook the rice and steam the broccoli .  Gravy comes after the bird is cooked for 4 hours.  Relish tray with grapes, olives, celery, and N/M/E's pickles.  Did I forget anything?  Oh yeah...the cranberry sauce...don't forget the cranberry sauce! (Two kinds...the one with the whole berries and the one without...as we have different tastes to accommodate.)  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it all!

As you can see (left), Gus can hardly wait for the Dog Show to begin.  Forget all that football, he says...after the Macy's Parade and Santa's arrival, that's the best part!  He'd better rest up for all that excitement...:)

It's going to be a great day on Thursday!  Gobble, gobble!!