Kitchen Update

How long does it take to plug in 2 new stoves? Maybe an hour or 2, right, including taking the old ones to the porch?

Wrong. Try 9 very grumpy Dan hours. The new stoves were about 1/2" narrower than the old ones, so he had to uninstall the dishwashers, replace the subflooring because he didn't like it, repaint the grubby walls, and then put the stoves back in place after sliding the counters around just a touch so all the extra space was on one side of one stove. He still needs to replace that piece of countertop, but it's better than disassembling the sink and replacing both counters!

Ad don't they look pretty! I'm trying out the convection baking feature, and will give an update and report on these stoves. Note: These are "European convection ovens" and evidently that means there's a third heating element along with the air circulating fan. Of course, the manufacturer supplied no information other than how to turn it on, so the learning curve will be pretty steep. Any and all guidance will be appreciated.
The dishwasher is not yet installed. I believe my appliance man is "not in the mood" right now. And they say women are moody! Still, he is a great guy.

My old stoves, which work just great, will be donated to whichever charity will come pick them up. I don't believe in discarding perfectly good things.

New Stuff

Look what was delivered yesterday! Guess what Dan's doing this weekend.....

Dan's birthday

Last weekend was Dan's birthday. Shannon decorated his cake. You can tell, because her drawing skills are significantly better than mine. Yes, this is a Viking ship, sailing toward Eek the Mouse in his Hanukkah bowl (they live on our breakfast room table).

The girls had gone back to college; I talked Shannon into staying until Monday, so she could ride with me to Philly for fabric shopping with G-Marie (no pictures). So Dan had a small crowd at his birthday cake; I'm sure he didn't mind, since that left him with more extra birthday cake to enjoy!

A Gift for me!

When G-Marie was here on Thanksgiving, she brought me a present:

20 half-round napkins folded to look like trees! She chose these fabrics because she felt they would match my Christmas plates. How right she is!

They are beautiful, and I really appreciate the work she put into them. I also appreciate that she made me 20 - yes, twenty! - so I'd have enough to not have to wash them every single night.

I'd never have even met G-Marie without Thor, and I'm truly sorry he didn't last long enough to give her a big Mastiff welcome. He'd have loved her.
Happy Thorsday, everyone! Only one more day until the weekend starts!

Garden Tuesday: Sunrise

Shortly before 7AM yesterday, while preparing to depart for Philadelphia, I discovered that the sky was pink.
And my yard was very pink.

10 minutes later, all of the color was gone. But it was spectacular while it lasted.

Thanksgiving

Ah, Thanksgiving. It was a great day. The girls and a visitor worked very hard at setting up the table (and ultimately decided I was right on how to seat 22 people).
And aren't my girls beautiful? I'm always proud to be seen with them.
Here's the visitor to whom I alluded earlier: G-Marie, seamstress extraordinaire, in a beautiful new dress! I loved her festive fall colors. And, yes, she is that much taller than I. Even with me wearing higher shoes than she had, I'm still a good 4 or 5 inches shorter.
Notice Ryan at the corner of the 2 tables, looking grumpy while waiting for the food to be passed.
And dessert! Cakes, pies, all kinds of great stuff. Even my picky eater was pleased to line up.
The photo you've all been waiting for: the group shot.
Starting at the bottom left: Jeffrey, the Denver relative (her 2 sons are in front of Ryan), Mark, Ryan, the bride and groom from a couple of summers ago. Standing: Shannon, oldest son Mike, girlfriend Ashleigh, Patrick, Kellie, Greg's date, Greg, G-Marie, Cass, me, Dan, hubby, G's daughter and husband. 22, count 'em, 22 people. Great times. Hope you were all as happy.

Thanksgiving, Part 1

I'm still recovering. But here's a preview of the big Thanksgiving picture.
I had a surprise guest, whose hubby was reluctant to join in the picture, until he learned he wouldn't eat without joining in the fun. (I think he was glad he did.) And she brought me these!

Happy weekending, everyone. Recover well.

Thanksgiving Planning

Well, the head count is in, and it looks like I'm feeding 21 people, although it could rise to as many as 24 (somewhat unlikely, however). Good thing I have at least one set of china with a service for 24, isn't it?

Here's the food plan:

Appetizers:

Nut breads
Shrimp platter, supplied by our friend Greg (it's traditional)
Possibly a veggie platter, depending upon my mood

Dinner:
2 Chernobyl Turkeys (each bird with 2 extra legs), 24 pounds each
Apple Walnut stuffing
Green beans with tomatoes and garlic
Mashed sweet potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Corn
Pizza Tomatoes
Whole cranberry sauce
Jellied cranberry sauce
Bread (type undetermined, depending upon my mood)
Sausage stuffing, if Greg feels like bringing it.

Desserts:
Apple Pies (2)
Pumpkin Pies (2)
Lemon Meringue Pie
Coconut cream pie
Chocolate cream pie
Chocolate cake
Colorful cake
Who knows if I'll get to posting between now and then. Two of the girls are home, the third arrives tonight, the boys will arrive Tuesday and Wednesday, and the place is becoming a full-scale circus. It's my favorite holiday, but I'll probably collapse on Friday and refuse to stir my stumps until well after noon!

(All pictures from last year, obviously, but representative of what's to come!)

Book Review!

Yes, I needed a break. So I curled up with a nice mystery and spent a few hours in hiding. Trust me, it's a good thing.

THE NINE TAILORS
by Dorothy L. Sayers
copyright 1934; 280 pages

Lord Peter Wimsey's Daimler ended up stuck in a ditch on New Year's Eve 1928. He and his driver commenced walking, happened upon the rector of Fenchurch St. Paul, and received an invitation to stay at the rectory until after the New Year, when the blacksmith could haul the Daimler out of the ditch and repair its axle. (As an aside, how cool is it that the town blacksmith could repair one's car axle?)

The town was quite proud of its carillon consisting of 9 bells, and plans had been laid to perform a certain series consisting of 15,000 rings, and lasting 9 hours, commencing at midnight on New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, one of the change-ringers had caught the flu, and was unable to perform, but Lord Peter, having experience at bell-ringing was able to fill in. During his visit, Lord Peter met the townsfolk, learned of the mystery of emeralds having been stolen some 10 years earlier and never recovered, and attended a couple of funerals. Shortly thereafter, when a recent grave was dug up, a second body was discovered in said grave, and the mystery began: Who was he? Who killed him, and why? Did this have to do with the emeralds? And what do the bells have to do with it? The story led Lord Peter through London, Belgium and France, and ultimately led to a satisfying conclusion.
This book is still available through Amazon, and I was surprised to learn that Lord Peter stars in several other books. I might just have to keep an eye out for those, too!

Holiday Planning

Well, the Wall Street Journal has articles about Thanksgiving dinners. That means we have to get serious here, folks. The food crisis is imminent. So, here goes:

Saturday night: Taco night. Serve yourself, guys. Oh, and have a banana. I have a case sitting atop the fridges.

Sunday night: Roast chicken with stuffing and salad. Probably chocolate cake for dessert.

Monday night: Fish in white sauce with rice. Veggies undetermined. Dessert? Maybe banana cake.

Tuesday night: Roast beef, some kind of pasta side, salad. Brownie Tuesdays, of course.

Wednesday night: Ham, stuffing, unknown veggies. Nut breads for dessert, because I will have made a lot of them by then.

Pre-Thanksgiving preparation? Clean the house tomorrow, hopefully with a lot of help from the girls. Hope no one notices any dirt tracked in through the next 4 days.

Monday: Make whole cranberry sauce. Send the girls to the store for last-minute essentials (I can't believe my food supplier only sent me 5 pounds of potatoes. That's a joke amount hereabouts.) Make pie crust dough.

Tuesday: Bake nut breads. Likely candidates: banana, cranberry-orange, pumpkin. Start making pies: pumpkin and apple, likely. The others are too delicate to sit for 2 days.

Wednesday: Bake cakes, finish pies.

Thanksgiving Day's menu will be finalized tomorrow or Monday. I promise I'll share it!

The Food Has Arrived...

Some in the freezer....

Some in the refrigerators....

And I'm not even going to try to photograph the cupboards and pantry shelves. You'd be bored. The boys all cheered wildly and raucously over a distinct lack of frozen veggies arriving in this load. Wait till they find out that they'll be hunting them at the supermarket the week after next.

My thanks to my anonymous commenter who will be helping to cook Thanksgiving dinners for the less fortunate. I'm sorry you're so far from your family, and will think of you on Thanksgiving.

For those who wondered, a case of margarine is 18 pounds, a case of butter is 36 pounds, and they'll both last me about 3 months. You can probably see them on the door of the freezer if you look carefully.

Menu planning tomorrow, maybe I'll have time to take a picture of the dresses I made for the relative from Denver, and I'm determined to finish a book I've been working on all week! Happy Friday, everyone.

Planning...

So, it's time to call in my food order. I think I've remembered everything, but there's a supermarket 3 miles up the street, and I can dispatch people if I've forgotten anything. This will probably be enough food (excluding milk, of course) to last until the week before Christmas. (yes, there's store bought bread on this list, sufficient for sandwich making for the next few days, while I make other things.)
And my daughter brought me these flowers when she was home in October. I just found the picture on my camera. Isn't she artistic?