Oh My Goodness!
Tonight we brought home a Christmas tree destined to spend its final days in a dark office at Canon Press. It traveled home on top of my car and got covered in snow - which seemed totally appropriate. When I lifted it off the car it was frozen flat on one side and wasn’t displaying its full glory.
As I carried the tree in the house, Kaitlyn stood inside the back door and said, “T’mon Judy…you tan do it.” I had to set down the tree because I was laughing so hard. I cleared a path of furniture to the tree’s designated resting place and then carried the tree through the house. A few of the frozen needles fell off and left a path on the floor, which Kaitlyn insisted I sweep up right away. She helped by pointing them out to me.
Down in the basement we found some Christmas decorations and a few boxes of lights. I plugged in the string of lights to test them which caused Kaitlyn to “oooooh and aaaaaah.” I draped them on the tree and then connected the star. Needless to say, the effect inspired four or five verses of “Oh my goodness, Judy. It’s so bewtiful.”
It was getting a bit late so we decided to leave the rest of the decorations until morning. Caressa and I easily convinced Kaitlyn to get in bed by stringing the last box of lights over the window trim in her bedroom. From his crib, Jeremy’s eyes twinkled and a great big smile broke out on his face.
I’m so thankful to be sharing Christmas with Caressa and the kids. It’s a blessing I never expected. My heart is happy and I feel like Buddy the Elf does about Christmas. I like smiling. Smiling is my favorite thing. I serve a gracious God who always manages to add a little something special to the story of my life.
Happy Thanksgiving!
The first time I cooked a turkey it was less than tasty. The breast meat was dry, the gravy was flavorless, and the little white pop-up thingy failed to work. Needless to say, I had to find a way to make it work and brining has served my turkeys well for the past ten years. I am a convert. The only thing I change is what goes in to the brining solution. This year, instead of making my own, I bought a lovely jar filled with herbs and aromatics and I added salt and sugar to the brining solution. And…I couldn’t do it without my trusty thermometer. Remember: thigh meat should reach 170F.
Sour Cream Yeast Rolls
My nephew, Eric, requests these rolls. They’re ridiculously easy to make and there is rarely any leftovers. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving…I’m sharing the recipe with you. I also call these “Naked Lady” rolls because men seem to love them. I’m just sayin’. I found this recipe in a cook book called Treasured Recipes: Food Editors’ Favorites. It was contributed by Betty Straughan of The News Review, Roseburg, OR.)
1 package (2.5 tsp) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups sour cream
2 Tbl granulated sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
5.5 cups Bisquick
1 Tbl fresh dill (minced
1/2 cups parmesan cheese (shredded)
Soften the yeast in water. Let stand while combining sour cream, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add 2 cups Bisquick, then yeast mixture. Mix well. Stir in 3 more cups Bisquick. Turn dough onto board dusted with 1/2 cup Bisquick. Knead to form a smooth ball.
Shape dough in to small rounds the size of a walnut. Place close together in a buttered 9×13x2-inch pan. Let rise until doubled in bulk. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and dill.
Preheat oven to 375F. Bake rolls 15 minutes, or until done.
Note: Rolls can be made ahead of time and frozen. When ready to serve, thaw rolls and reheat in oven at 200F.
A Basket of Blessings
All around the house there are reminders of God’s goodness. Toys arrived from everywhere and now spill out of cupboards, get stuffed between the cushions of the couch, hide out in the valleys of kitchen bowls, and get arranged neatly in the remote control basket.
“Is that a baby cow?” she asks. Then in a slightly worried voice, “Where’s the mommy cow?” I pull the mommy cow out from under a cushion. Big smile. “Oh! There’s the mommy.” All is right with the world.
In another corner of the house, a little fellow with chubby cheeks drools on his bib and looks for his next bottle of milk. He smiles easily and rarely cries - unless of course you take too long fixing his milk or changing his diaper. There are three of us tall enough to reach the counter. He doesn’t wait long.
We’re a happy bunch. Finding joy in the small things. A basket of blessings. Giving thanks.
Baby Graaff
My nephew Nathan and his beautiful wife Heather are having a baby. Well, not right this minute…in December. Here’s a picture of the handsome, little man. Look! He’s waving at his Aunt Lucy. Yes, he is.
Weekend In Seattle
Blogging doesn’t happen in real life the way it does in my head. I had every intention of posting these last week, but life got in the way.
Paula, Amanda, Chelsea and I went for a short shopping trip to Seattle the weekend before last. We stopped at the Cle Elum bakery and found this little restaurant next door. Who knew? I never get around to that side of the building. It’s a cute little restaurant with sandwiches and soup, and more. The first of many stops for food and beverages. (Click on the pictures to make them larger)
Late Saturday night, we decided to visit Rachel and Michael Saville’s church in Bellevue for church on Sunday. And what a sweet surprise. Madeline Jane was baptized and we joined the Crapuchette family for the occasion. God is so gracious.
Chelsea is always trying to get me to wear long, dangling earrings. And yet, I still resist. Look how pretty she is with the sweet, little, pearl studs.
A stroll though the Public Market at Pike street. The place was packed with huge bouquets of flowers. So Beautiful. And there were people…lots of people.
We stopped at Ivar’s for lunch. Tossing the fries is cheating. You have to be brave enough to let the birds eat the fries right our of your fingers. I shared quite a few french fries with this guy.
And the Jones girls. Paula, Chelsea and Amanda. Paula must have chowder.
And finally, a stop at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. A sour green apple covered in caramel and peanuts. Not chocolate. Look at those babies sitting in the window. It’s a beautiful thing.
Over the river and through the woods to home. Home Sweet Home.
