No, I have been here. I have just been overwhelmed by day to day life in general. As I watched the days passing by one after another, I decided I would wait until December first to begin posting once again.
In all honesty, life has been so full of this, that, and the other thing, I just thought a break would be beneficial to my overly-stimulated brain cells! I keep bumping into myself coming and going and I was feeling a bit “fragile” to be perfectly frank. Life has been one activity followed by another…most not lending themselves to my photography addiction and that made me feel so distraught!
Soo….where do I begin?
Well, a couple of weeks ago, Ben and I began working on painting his bedroom. Poor Ben. He had been given a small room and it was painted a (very!) pale pink color on the walls. I loved that pink, as it really didn’t appear to be pink. When Ben was about ten, he decided pink was not his choice of color. Taking matters into his own hands (quite literally, indeed!) he worked frantically, using an office stapler to mount newspapers and old maps to cover what he insisted was a hideous color.
Ben learned how to not only spackle, but also repair walls with some major flaws in them! He worked for a long time, removing those small staples and filling in the holes. He had also made some larger holes in the walls so he learned how to repair those as well.
After visiting the home centers a few times and bringing home scads of color chips to mull over, Ben decided on a color called “Fretwire”. *as in the wire used to form the frets on a guitar* I thought the color might also be called buckskin, as it reminds me of that color. (really dating myself here…remember when there *weren’t* zillions of colors available?)
Here is a photo of the freshly painted room.
This photo seems a little light to me, but you can see it looks very nice with the moulding and floor. Too bad. Well, about the floor, anyway, as Ben wants to put down some carpeting. Argh. Oh, hey, Ben’s ceiling isn’t boring white, either! The color is Swiss Coffee. Doesn’t that sound like something one would want to awaken to?
Mark and Ben have some plans for building a bed and finishing the room. I will show photos as the room progresses.
This is the time of the year when we begin to think about decorating. One of the projects we undertake is a Christmas wreath on Mark’s dad’s grave. Al really loved Christmas, so this is really special. This year, I asked Mark if we might try doing the wreath ourselves. We usually go to a business across the road from the cemetery, but I thought we might try our hand at this. As it worked out, we bought a gorgeous wreath from Wegman’s. The only thing I had put on at this point was the bow. (and yes, most always a lovely plaid!)
Michelle saw me decorating the wreath and thought she might like to give this a try, so I stepped aside. This is what she wound up creating.
I was thrilled with the end result, as was Mark. The most surprising outcome of our do it yourself effort is that it cost about one-half of the price we typically spent. And, it had a lot more decorations!
Thanksgiving was the 25th of November this year. Carly had asked if we wanted to join her and her family at her in-laws’ home this year. Wow, Carly offered to make the entire feast (with lots of helo from her three kids) and I wasn’t about to let an offer like that go!
Madeline and Cy are the most awesome hosts and we spent the hours talking and laughing, sharing stories and just having so much fun! Carly and the kids were bustling about in the kitchen when we arrived and it was awesome watching them work!
So, here are some photos of the most awesome feast!
That turkey could not have been any more perfectly browned! It looked like something from a magazine!!! (Carly used some recipes she had found in magazines to prepare this amazingly executed fare.)
Carly spent so much time creating this fit-for-a-king meal. The bread used in making the stuffing was made by Carly! Carly’s Sarah has an allergy to soy and soy-based products, so Carly is careful about making food without those culprits. It is tough sometimes, but she has been doing it long enough that it isn’t so taxing anymore.
Oh my, those devilled eggs were good! Carly made the mayonnaise used in making them as well since most mayonnaise contains some soy or soy products. The stuffing to the left of the eggs was awesome with cranberries and pecans included! On the very left of the photo is the delicious cranberry sauce she made.
By the way, isn’t that table elegant? Madeline had created a most beautiful atmosphere in which to enjoy the meal! I loved the colors….everything really was picture-perfect!
The one dish I loved that I probably overate on was Brussel Sprouts and grapes. I thought the combination really different, but it was lip-smacking good!
Oh, the rolls behind the Brussel Sprouts and Grapes were my (humble) contribution. Carly had initially asked me to make an apple pie, but later asked if I could bring rolls instead. I love making rolls, so I was happy to do so.
Mmmm….there was rice with cranberries as well. There were amazing bite-sized biscuits with Chai and cranberries and simply amazing mashed potatoes with celery root.
The flowers on the table just added to this special meal! Everything was fantastic! I enjoyed this day so much. It was obvious that Carly and the kids had put a lot into this special holiday. Carly also made the most scrumptious pumpkin pie!
After a most filling meal, the women retreated to the kitchen to put away leftovers. The kids went to the family room to enjoy some Wii games and Mark and Ben visited with Cy for quite some time. Cy had set up his bass guitar, thinking Ben might like to give it a try. Ben thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity and was impressed by some things Cy showed him and Mark.
It seemed like the time flew by…as always, times flies when the occasion is enjoyable!
Thanks again, Madeline, Cy, Carly, and all who contributed to make this day one of the most memorable ones we have enjoyed! I am just sorry this is so late!
