In just a few hours Elegante Mother will celebrate her 93rd birthday! Isn’t that fabulous!??
My grandparents lived to be about 85. I never expected my mother to outstrip that goal, but she’s still going strong at 93. Her memory is failing, but she is able to get around under her own steam, and she’s doing well with her new caregiver.
We’re blessed that Elegante Mother is still with us. Send a prayer on its way for her to have more birthdays, won’t you?
To My “Kansas Family”
And of course, to the portion of the “Kansas family” that resides in New Hampshire….
I do understand the pleasure of a smaller gathering. There’s a lot to be said for smaller groups where you can hear the conversations around the table, and you have the chance to speak at length to everyone who is gathered for your celebration.
My daughter-in-law does not do well in groups. Her horizon has been narrowing over the years and this Fall she told us that anything larger than four and she is uncomfortable. She and Dear Husband’s son have never celebrated Thanksgiving with us because my side of the family is so large. One day, we will have to pass the baton to someone else in my family, and hold a quiet celebration here, in the hope that she will be able to join us.
The obvious benefits to smaller gatherings are less set-up, less to clean up. Elegante Mother has been with us since Thanksgiving, so I have not done the clean up that I might have started Friday morning. I still have serving spoons and some glass items to wash, and I need to put away the glasses. The floors and carpets need a lot of work!
I have finally discovered who in the family has folding chairs that we can borrow in the future. We rented twenty chairs for the day when we might have borrowed them, instead.
On the other hand…..my house was filled with family, and I got to see family members I haven’t seen in a year, or six months. It’s wonderful to draw everyone together. I loved the laughter that rang through the house, and the hugs hello and goodbye.
So, I understand what you’re saying to be about enjoying “simple,” and agree that simple is good. But for now, excess reigns in this household. *G*
Desserts
Following Thanksgiving dinner, my family offered up four desserts. We probably could have done away with all but one, but in my magazine reading for the holidays I came across two recipes that I couldn’t resist.
It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without the dark, spicy pumpkin pie that my mother made when we were children. My oldest sister has taken over the duty, and for years she has made pies on Thanksgiving morning. This is really the only version of pumpkin pie that I care for. When she brought them in, the house was suffused with the scents of cinnamon and cloves, and it made my mouth water!
If you have a copy of the December 2009 “Southern Living” issue, one of the desserts I made was featured on the cover: Chocolate-Citrus Cake.” Actually, the making of the cake was a collaboration. I made the two chocolate cake layers (bittersweet chocolate with 62% cocoa solids). I also learned how to make ganache (which I assure you I will be making again, soon!), that was used as the filling between the layers. My niece, Kim, who is the family cake specialist, brought a vat of fresh whipped cream, assembled the cake and then iced it with whipped cream (in place of the 7 minute boiled icing). She decorated it with an orange slice and thin chocolate wafer cookies. It’s to die for……
Usually at Easter, Kim’s sister makes her famous iced sugar cookies. I’ve been the recipient of a personal bag of those cookies, which I really treasured. One of the kids begged for the sugar cookies, so we were blessed with a bowl of them half a year early!
I found one more dessert that I wanted to make: Pecan Pie Cheesecake, from the December, 2009 issue of “Cuisine at Home.” I put this together on Tuesday only to find that the spring-form pan had not been sealed and wrapped properly. Water from the boiling water bath around the cheesecake leaked in, and ruined the crust. I decided that I would try it just one more time, and started over on Wednesday.
The crust is made of chocolate wafer cookies, toasted pecans and butter. Over that, you bake an incredible cheesecake that has a quarter cup of bourbon in the filling. This cake can be made a day ahead. All you need to do to finish it is to make a sauce of brown sugar, heavy cream, butter, MORE BOURBON, kosher salt, and toasted pecans. Make the sauce before you are ready to serve dinner, and it will be thickened and ready to serve in time for dessert. Yummy!
We were all so stuffed after dinner there wasn’t much room left for dessert….and half the cake, and half the cheesecake are in my refrigerator. Oh, DARN! I really did try to get my family to take it home with them. I should count my blessings that I got to taste it at all, and not worry about leftovers! *G*
Thanksgiving, reviewed
I believe that yesterday was just about the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever hosted. Actually, I think it might have been the best Thanksgiving ever. Perhaps because of all the health problems, and financial problems, and relationship problems the family is suffering, that they were able to gather and enjoy each other’s company, and put all that aside, made it very special to me.
There were 37 people seated to dinner yesterday. To accomplish that, I started working on things more than a month ago. I tried to get the gardens and grounds done by early November so that I could concentrate on things within the house the closer we got to “The Day.” My oldest sister will be happy to tell you about the file I sent her with the names of those attending, and list of what they were bringing for the meal.
One of my nieces helped me with two marathon cleaning sessions. Unlike most of you, I do Fall cleaning rather than Spring cleaning. (Well, actually, I do both, but we do a really thorough Fall cleaning before the holidays.) The china and glasses and silverware were washed and dried. I gathered seasonal items to decorate the tables (there were 5 tables), and seasonal quilts were laid out or hung.
I ironed napkins, cleaned out the office and my quilting studio, and moved things from the laundry area and mudroom counter to make room for desserts and a turkey roaster.
Dear Husband is an old hand at Thanksgiving with that many guests. He took care of the seating, made two huge pans of lasagna (Wednesday night), and at the last minute, prepared a Caesar salad. He is a genial host, and makes everyone welcome. Toward the end of the afternoon, I saw him playing with the three little girls (including one of our granddaughters) who were in their twos.
My oldest sis arrived early, followed by part of her family, and they all helped out with the last minute preparations. We peeled potatoes and cooked two huge pots of them for mashed potatoes (we only needed one, I sent most them home with her.) I made two dishes of dressing (we only needed one, and I KEPT the second one! lol) We made iced tea, filled the ice bin, put out the pickles and olives and appetizers. Sis had set the tables on Wednesday afternoon while I worked on desserts, so all they had to do was move chairs in place.
Enough of this detail….Suffice it to say, we had TONS to eat, all of it great, and a lot was left over. No one goes hungry in this family, ever. What’s most important is that so many of my family members were able to gather for a meal. We have several people who are dealing with serious health issues, some with relationship problems, and some who are trying to hang on through difficult financial times. They were able to put all that aside and have a day to simply enjoy the extended family. When I asked before dinner if there was anyone feeling particularly thankful who would like to say grace for us, my six year old great-nephew raised his hand. I was floored. He did an outstanding job! He was succinct, and clear voiced. It was the perfect blessing to our gathering.
It’s my hope that you all had just as perfect a day as we did. If not, come join us next year, and we’ll share our blessings with you. Happy Thanksgiving to you all, and a relaxed month leading to Christmas.
Thanksgiving Prep
It’s that time again. I have begun the last week of preparation for our Thanksgiving celebration. For the past month or so I have been doing chores outside, and working with one of my nieces to do the fall cleaning. I’ve ironed linens, and sewn binding onto a seasonal wall hanging.
Now, I’m working on clearing the path toward being able to bake rolls and desserts at the beginning of the week and set tables on Wednesday. Dear Husband will make lasagna Wednesday night. My-Sister-The-Nurse will come during the day Wednesday to give me a hand, and one of her daughters will join us in the evening. By the time she goes home, we should be all set to rise and cook on Thursday morning.
We expect to seat 38 people, six of whom are six years old or younger. My family would like me to consider using paper plates, but my philosophy is that we have enough china, we should use it! I’ll set five tables. Each will have it’s own color scheme, with burgundy and gold predominating.
I’ve reserved 20 folding chairs, and ordered a fresh turkey. I have two turkey breasts to defrost. I had a chair re-upholstered, and it was ready today. We’ll pick it up Saturday. We have to purchase a new set of glasses. I’ve been looking at these cool stemless wine glasses at Crate and Barrel (just like the ones my youngest sis has that I liked so much *G* ).
I started a list using the next five days as headings. I’ve portioned out the chores that need to be accomplished before Thursday, putting more chores at the beginning of the list so that I could add things later. All day long I’ve thought of additional chores to add. If I don’t have it down on paper, I’ll never remember to do it! I’ll have lots of help this week, and I will just keep working my way through the lists. What doesn’t get done, doesn’t get done, and I won’t worry about it.
Elegante Mother is joining us on Thanksgiving, and she will stay with us for Friday and part of Saturday, too. I’m glad that she is feeling better. I hope she enjoys her stay. I picked up several boxes of UNICEF Christmas cards, and we’ll work on addressing cards to her friends on Friday.
I have friends (who will go un-named) who shudder at the thought of all these chores for a meal and celebration, but I’ve done this so frequently over the past 20 years that it seems like second nature. Having so much done and out of the way will make it easier for me to enjoy all my visitors
I’m really looking forward to sharing the day with my family!
If I can find a few minutes to blog again this weekend, I’ll write about the two desserts I’d like to make: ‘Pecan pie’ Cheesecake, and Chocolate-Citrus Cake (chocolate ganache in the center!)
I hope you all have a great weekend!
Oh Joy, Oh JOY!
I am SO pleased to tell you that we have found a new caregiver for Elegante Mother! She is responding so well that it’s as though someone flipped a switch! I have tremendous guilt that we didn’t act on this sooner, but we might not have found this treasure if we’d booted the previous caregiver sooner.
A number of problems cropped up recently when Caregiver #1 discovered that she was going to have to pay part of her taxes. I failed to withhold taxes from her check, so WE will pay the lion’s share of taxes for this bimbo, but she is angry that she will have to pay her own federal and state withholding. I have no empathy for her. She will tell you she is proud to be an American in one breath, and in the next, she will tell you “I no pay taxes; I have mortgage!”
The final straw occurred the morning she was to leave. I arrived to visit with EM so that she had company as Caregiver #1 left and then Caregiver #2 arrived. EM was practically comatose! She was hard to rouse, and when her eyes finally opened, she could barely focus on pictures of birds in the “Birds and Blooms” magazine I was sharing with her. When My-Sister-The-Nurse arrived and helped EM to wash and dress, EM was so shaky after the short walk to her chair that I thought we might loose her.
MSTN was checking the box we use to dispense medicine and she discovered that Caregiver #1 had been over-medicating EM. She was getting twice the appropriate dose of one of the meds.
I’m happy to tell you that as time passed, EM became brighter. A quick lunch helped to settle her blood sugar, and she began to take notice of what what happening around her. By 3:00 in the afternoon she was chatting with her new caregiver. They seem to be getting along famously!
We are so fortunate to have found someone that EM likes, who is able to care for her in the manner we expect. I hope this relationship will be long-lived, and that both sides will be content with the situation. It’s a relief to know that EM is in good hands!
Frost
Wednesday, I looked out the kitchen window and saw that my herb garden was covered with a hard frost. I thought, “That’s the end of the growing season!”
But, I was wrong. When the sun melted the frost away, many of the herbs perked up, and they are still growing. The parsley, in particular, seems to like to cold, but the oregano, thyme and sage are still growing.
I cut down the columnar basil last week. It’s pretty tender, and it doesn’t take much to end the basil’s growing season. I also cut down the lemon verbena, and let it dry inside. I pulled the leaves off to use as a room freshener. I grow lemon verbena as an annual here, but I understand that in the south the plant is perennial and gets quite large.
We have a few chores to do this weekend, and the grounds will be mostly ready for the winter. Dear Husband has covered the long driveway garden with leaves. I want to rake back the leaves on the peonies, cover them with compost and humus, and then recover them with leaves for the winter. I also need to spread straw over the ferns, and there’s a volunteer tree growing among the daylilies outside my office window that needs to be cut down.
This morning I will be going to services for the husband of a dear friend. Dorothy and Emil moved to Cincinnati when it became clear that Emil was developing Alzheimer’s. They wanted to be closer to their daughter, where they could ask for help, if needed. Emil has passed away, and Dorothy decided to have his service here, where they had made so many friends. This is a sad duty, one I feel I must do. I met Dorothy when she visited during the monthly Empty Nesters Sewing Circle Elegante Mother hosted. For EM, and for Dorothy, I’ll go and celebrate Emil’s life.
It’s Christmas!
I’m delighted to tell you that Christmas has arrived! I have a plant that we call a “Christmas Cactus.” My understanding is that it blooms these absolutely gorgeous blooms at Christmas.
Well, this plant is just a bit confused, and more so than usual. Normally it begins blooming late in November, sometimes in time for Thanksgiving. Then it blooms again, sometimes for Christmas, for Valentine’s Day, and for Easter. It’s covered with the palest fuchsia flowers. It looks a lot like this.
So, my plant is confused. Elegante Mother’s Christmas cactus is confused, too. Soon we’ll have a mass of hot orangey-red blooms open on her cactus. That MUST mean …. IT’S CHRISTMAS!!!!! Break out the mulled wine!
Good Vibrations
I had just one chore yesterday. Elegante Mother bought bench a number of years ago. I thought it would look lovely, silvering out in the garden. SHE thought it needed a coat of polyurethane. She coated it, and it spent a summer in the garden,and then was moved down to the basement for the winter.
I got a look at that bench last year, and it looked as though mildew was growing in or under the polyurethane, and I decided that I would sand the bench. I asked a friend how to go about the sanding and he wrote a treatise on wood care for me. Dear Husband thought we might get away with the hand sander and a 60 grit sand paper.
I started the project a month ago. On my friend’s advice, I didn’t try to do the entire project in one day. I worked for an hour or so, and set the bench aside. A few days later I had another hour, and worked on it some more. It’s been like that through out the month.
So, we get to yesterday of the beautiful weather, and I resumed my sanding. Unfortunately, I forgot that I wasn’t supposed to sand for hours! lol I can still feel the vibrations in my hands. The bench is not done, but it’s much closer to being done. I’m going to have to finish the dowels on the back, and the sides of the seat boards by hand, but the project is looking much better.
When a friend gives you good advice, PAY ATTENTION! *G*
Signposts
About 80 percent of our leaves have fallen. Dear Husband has been out with his blower, moving them into piles of yellow and brown and gold. I need to browse on the subject of leaves as winter mulch. Do they need to be mowed over before they are used as a mulch, or can they be applied uncut?
The herons and egrets have gone south for the winter. October 22 was the last time I saw an egret. They might have been around a bit longer. I was cooped up in the house with a cold, so I might have missed a day or two, but that’s about the time they leave for warmer climes.
Milkweed pods have burst open, and the silks are afloat. I’ve had a love affair with milkweed pods since I was a child. One memorable Christmas, I spray-painted a number of them gold to use as “angel’s wings” on Christmas packages. That was back when I had less to do, and more energy. Those packages were really adorable! Gold milkweed pods occasionally showed up as decorations on evergreen wreaths until I realized that I like the natural look even better.
As a more mature person (snickering) I choose to collect milkweed pods and teasel and what my family called “Indian tobacco,” for large bouquets. I have a collection of dried weeds in a large ceramic pot at my front door. One of my errands this week is to get ribbon for bows for that bouquet. I need something in fall colors for this month, and something dark red, or green for December.
We still have a little bit of yard work left to do. It seems that Indian Summer may return this weekend. We are expecting temperatures in the low 60s with no rain! In addition to the last of the yard work, I’d like to finish sanding a bench, and use oven cleaner on my stove top cartridges. Cop Car……are you tired yet?? I’ll make it through the weekend, but don’t expect much of me on Monday! lol
I’m off to make binding for one of two quilts I want to bind. Bee meets Friday night, and I want to have something to work on as we chat.
Have a great day, my friends!