Dear Husband and I were watching TV last night. The movie “National Treasure” was on cable, and I went to the Internet to find a synopsis of the story line. The first two paragraphs were written by critics or press agents, but the third one was written by a movie buff.
The story line was a spin off of “The Da Vinci Code” story, suggesting that the Knights Templar sent a HUGE treasure from the era of the Holy Grail to the infant United States for safe keeping. Supposedly Benjamin Franklin and other early leaders left a slew of clues showing where the treasure had been buried.
The movie buff was explaining the plot, and wrote that the “Four Fathers” of the United States had left clues. I had to go back to read that line. Obviously he thought there were 4 (four) fathers who had started our country. He’d heard the words, but had not seen it written out. Four fathers…..let’s see…that would be Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Hancock and….???
It reminds me of other goofs I’ve heard that have brought smiles. Have you heard about the child who came home from Sunday School to tell his mother that they had sung his favorite hymn, “Gladly, the Cross-eyed Bear”?
We love puns because of the word play, and Four Fathers seems to fit right in.

Cowtown Pattie was a visitor today. In her comment under “Cinnamon Ornaments,” she mentioned that she has lost her sense of smell. My Dad had the same problem. I know we take that particular sense for granted.
Think of all the celebrations and special times and family days that have scents tied to their memories! I can’t imagine Thanksgiving without the scent of roasting turkey (and neither could my sister, the day we forgot to turn the oven on, when 25 people were coming to Thanksgiving dinner.) There are two other scents that I strongly identify as Thanksgiving smells: onion and celery cooking in butter, before they are added to the dressing, and the scent of pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread baking.
Those of you who are coffee drinkers….would your day start out as well if you couldn’t smell the coffee perking?
Autumn wouldn’t be Autumn without the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg and cloves and allspice in the air. Think of all the harvest baking that would be bland and uninteresting.
The smell of burning leaves reminds me of Fall, followed by the scent of evergreen as we decorate the house with wreaths and garland and trees.
I live in an area where gardens are put to bed for the winter, so summertime is the time I think of herbal scents. Late in Spring I can begin to smell the perennial herbs, but the garden doesn’t come into it’s own until June and July. Then, you can just brush your hand over the herbs to release their fragrance. Basil, oregano, sage, lemon verbena, lemon balm, scented geraniums, dill…even the cherry tomatoes are wonderful!
Marigolds are a summer smell to me, but I love lavender and alyssum more. Chrysanthemums have that tart, clean scent that marigolds and home grown tomatoes have.
A freshly washed and powdered baby has to be one of the best scents of all.
Pizza.
Old Spice. Dad wore it….and so does Dear Husband.
Cowtown Pattie…..I’m so sorry that you’ve lost your sense of smell.

We just finished making the cinnamon dough ornaments. This year I added a tablespoon each of cloves, nutmeg and allspice to the dough and the house smells marvelous.
I rolled out the dough and used cookie cutters to create Christmas shapes. And then I made my mistake. I asked Dear Husband to give me a hand putting the holes in the ornaments for the ribbon I’ll use to make hangers. I was laying ornaments on the pans to dry when I realized that all the angels looked like snowmen. He felt the “wings” on my angels weren’t pronounced enough and had added indentations where the coal would be on a snowman.
So, if you get to see these ornaments, you’ll know just where to address your comments.
Did I tell you what he did at Thanksgiving?? The counter is covered with food, and he brings out a platter of White Castle burgers….the ones that are called “Sliders.”
I’m perfecting my “evil-eye.”

I love TV mysteries. I can remember when Columbo, McCloud, MacMillan and Wife and Hec Ramsey alternated through the year so that we had a new mystery every week. Perry Mason, Ironside, Rockford Files, Cannon, Banacek, Miss Marple, Murder She Wrote, Hercule Poirot, Magnum, P. I., Nero Wolfe, Dragnet, Due South, Hill Street Blues, Quincy and Remington Steele were all favorites.
We have the TV on now, and Dear Husband settled on “The Cosby Mysteries.” I had forgotten Bill Cosby had made this series. I love the shows that skip all the blood and gore and focus on clever detecting, or intelligent, interesting or quirky detectives.
Gene Wilder did several mysteries set in the 1930s. The character he played, “Cash Carter,” was the director of a small theater in Connecticut. He solved mysteries because he was an observant man.
John Larroquette has a series out now on the Hallmark channel called “McBride.” His detective is always short on money because he’s willing to help those who need help, and can’t pay for his services.
“Monk,” is our current favorite. Tony Shalloub plays Mr. Monk, brilliantly!
Perhaps we’ve enjoyed these series because they are gentle. There’s not so much focus on blood and guts. The characters show some humor, and we occasionally have to wait to find out who-done-it
I’m ready for the new season of “Monk” to start.

We made our first trip out to shop for Christmas today. We actually found a few of the things on our list! Unfortunately, not as many as we had hoped for.
One of the best finds was a group of small gift bags that we can use for the gift cards that Elegante Mother will be giving. That resolves a major wrapping issue for the year. I used to object to gift cards, because I felt that the giver wasn’t choosing something specific for the recipient. I’ve finally been persuaded that a gift card for a specific store is an acceptable gift. Still….I wish I had the ability to find the PERFECT GIFT for everyone.
Which brings me to an interesting question. Do you feel that a giver should be responsible for returning a gift that is a duplicate? Or should the recipient make the exchange? That’s assuming that the gift is a gift that CAN be returned, and that you’ve supplied the gift receipt.
I had to adjust to a practice in Dear Husband’s family when I joined them. The women of the family would call to discuss what was being given, so that there were not duplicates to exchange. In my family, you buy what you want, and the recipient decides what they want to do with the gifts. One year I received two Sony Walkman cassette players. And another year I got two microwaveable gel pads for my back. I kept all of them, and they’ve come in handy.
So….do you return the gift, or does the giver?

You can see the seven guys who worked on our roof. They started at the top and worked their way down, slipping reinforced forks under the shingles to pry them off. This is mid-morning on the first of the two days they were here.
There are tarps all around the house, protecting the plants and grass below, as they fling the shingles down to the clean up crew.

Black felted paper has been laid over the entire roof. The valleys have been reinforced with “Water and Ice” barriers and “baby tins” and flashing are in place. Next stop…shingles!