Rivalry ends with a BIG win

Orange and Blue skies....actually from a few weeks ago...but I like it!
Our friends Tom and Teresa had their annual UF - FSU Gameday Party. This year they had a Chili cook-off between the neighbors. Teresa made good old-fashioned Chili, Steve mixed up "a vat" of Venison Chili, and the friend from across the street, Nancy made Green Chili and one other batch (I did not try). I don't know who was the ultimate winner.It was a beautiful day and evening...actually a little COLD for a change which was GREAT! Cold enough to enjoy a fire in the fireplace while watching the game. As usual Teresa had her house in perfect order and already decorated for the Holidays.
C"Chef Steve" in between Teresa's "Oma" and Aunt Ann...trying to talk Oma into eating some more of his Venison Chili....Meanwhile Oma was laughing about the fact that she had a plateful of "crispy' cookies..."just how I like them" hidden to take home with her. She has a great smile and a nice French-German accent. (She is originally from Alsace-Lorraine).
Darlene was busy at the grill....cooking up some delicious Oysters Rockefeller (sp?) and Little -neck clams. YUM YUM!
Nancy, Oma, Steve and Amanda waiting for food hot off the grill
This is really a terrible picture of Teresa...but I had to show these orange and blue shots.....I stayed as far away from these as possible. Actually so did Teresa, because she had to work on Sunday.
Tom and his brother
a better shot of Teresa..... and John

Joanne, Nancy and Teresa out by the pool One of Teresa's trees...out by the fireplace...note the Gator ornament(s)
It's always fun to watch a big game with a crowd of people....especially if your team wins. Gator fans have been lucky for the last few years....and we have to enjoy it while we can...because next year Tebow and many other key players will all be gone. There were two brave FSU fans (from across the street) who came briefly...haha)
Tom and Teresa have been big fans for years. Teresa's brother-in-law used to attend the games regularly, before health problems prevented him from going. It's always a fun time at their house...and of course always LOTS of good food! At the end of the game Teresa said "Well, I guess I'm going to have to do this one more time next weekend".....and then if we win the SEC will see what happens with the National Championship game.....I feel another party coming on!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving day we headed down to Debbie and Duane's house in Grant. It was a beautiful day...cool but sunny...just right for Thanksgiving. John and I joined Lucy and Mac, Debbie And Duane and the girls Sara and Lance with their two boys Lance (6) and Bishop (18mos) and Emily and Jesse and their daughter Ever - 10 months old and Grant. The rest of the gang was off on their own.
Deciding what to eat...there were plenty of options...the usual turkey, two types of stuffing, peas, carrots, green beans, sweet and regular potatoes...etc, etc. Some homemade squash and pumpkin soup (fresh from their wonderful garden!)
John and Mac
Lucy and her great grandson Bishop
Lance watching Ever and Bishop on the 4 wheeler...Bishop really wanted to ride that thing!
out on the porch..Lucy took this one...she wasn't sure how to work my camera. she got a lot of great shots on her camera!
Four generations....Emily and Ever, Lucy, Sara and Bishop and Debbie with Lance
I took a picture from the side of Mac taking pictures of the "girls"
Debbie's girls Sara and Emily
After dinner "wrestling" We all enjoyed the food and the company and the beautiful day.
Lucy, Mac, Grant, Emily, Jesse, Sara and Lance all had to go to other dinners later that day. The biggest problem would be finding room to eat anything else! Just a little reminder to us all of how fortunate we are! It was a beautiful afternnon and we enjoyed ourselves. Brenna was up at my sister Ellen's in NY...having fun with Ellen, Erik, David and Anna. Megan spent the day at the Borgelt's...visiting with her friend Claudia and her family...the ones who offered her a place to stay up in VA until she got settled. she had a nice time with them.

Thanksgiving Magic

We are heading down to John's neice's(Debbie & Duane) house for Thanksgiving. His sister Lucy and Mac and all the family will be there. It should be a lively, fun celebration. The best part is I didn't have to cook the whole dinner...and it's going to be good I'm sure! All I had to make was a dessert (my favorite thing to make). *I did stop by the local gourmet store and pick up some roasted turkey breast, gravy, potatoes, etc...so when we get hungry later tonight...we will have "leftovers". I have made the whole dinner a few times...but honestly...it's better when someone else cooks the turkey!
THANKSGIVING MAGIC
by Rowena Bastin Bennett

Thanksgiving Day I like to see
Our cook perform her witchery.
She turns a pumpkin into pie
As easily as you or I
Can wave a hand or wink an eye.
She takes leftover bread and muffin
And changes them to turkey stuffin'.
She changes cranberries to sauce
And meats to stews and stews to broths;
And when she mixes gingerbread
It turns into a man instead
With frosting collar' round his throat
And raisin buttons down his coat.
Oh, some like magic made by wands,
And some read magic out of books,
And some like fairy spells and charms
But I like magic made by COOKS!

Happy Thanksgiving!

AHHHHH Thanksgiving

AHHHHHH the day before Thanksgiving and I'm sitting here with nothing to do. I don't work today, don't really have to cook much of anything we're going somewhere for dinner tomorrow and it's raining (we really needed rain) so I can't take my usual bike ride or walk....so I have time to sit and reminisce had to look that one up haha about past holidays.........................
When I was little (we lived in Bethel Park PA) my mother always made a big Thanksgiving dinner for us....don't remember anyone ever coming to visit. She would make the whole works....turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. Always had pumpkin pie and whipped cream, a bowlful of nuts for cracking and eating and don't forget the (York) peppermint patties. She always got out her good china and crystal and silverware. The table always looked wonderful...and my Dad was always a nervous wreck. Seven (at the time) kids at the table with those crystal goblets.....I can understand...haha. As soon as dinner was over we immediately had to clear the glasses off the table. Having made the whole dinner once or twice in my life I realize what an undertaking that was for my poor mother! But she did it every year and again at Christmas! Of course the Macy's parade was ALWAYS on the TV in the background. My Mom loved watching the parade!
Her twin brother Dave was a priest and her other brother Howard had been killed in World War II...so we had no cousins on her side of the family. My Dad had one brother in Connecticut, he had two children, but they didn't travel much....don't remember them ever coming to PA. So....it was just us.........7 kids and my parents.
However...I loed going to the hill to my friend Ruth's house.....because they always had company coming for Thanksgiving. I would go down in the morning, before the company arrived and play with Ruth and her sisters (Cindy, Mary, Georgie,and Kathy)
until dinnertime. I remember a couple of years their mother would have a big roll of paper, crayons and markers and the kids got to draw a Thanksgiving scene on it. Of course I got in on that! What a great way to keep the kids occupied before dinner!
When we moved to Florida it was the same thing....just the Burtons at the table.....but always in the dining room with the crystal and china. There was one year my parents went on a cruise to Jamaica and Puerto Rico over the Thanksgiving weekend....(.my Mom must have LOVED it!)....Meanwhile back at the ranch....Ellen was in charge God Bless Her! and my Mom made sure there were 8 Turkey TV dinners (back when they were relatively new to the market) for us to enjoy (????)
on Thanksgiving...I believe we even ate them at the dining room table...hah minus the crystal and china! Someone made a pie at least! hahha
Of course during the college years Thanksgiving was the BEST time to go home...not just because there would actually be a balanced meal to eat...haha...but EVERYONE else was going to be in town too. Thanksgiving weekend was always the most fun...at the local bar Mac's on Fifth Avenue. You would see everyone there...it was great fun.
The Gators weren't exactly the top team when I was at UF...so the game wasn't a big priority...but I do remember watching OTHER teams on TV....that was the other thing my Mom always enjoyed...watching college football...Michigan especially (my Dad's school). One year I brought a friend Betsy home...she couldn't get home to Chicago...so she came home with us....and survived the weekend! haha.Another memorable trip was my second year (I think) when my friend Liz was driving me home in her MGB GT (?)
Her stepfather owned a car repair shop...so she always had some kind of car...the little sporty car impressed all the guys especially...but it wasn't exactly what it appeared to be. (remember it was a car REPAIR shop...so it was used and while it ran...it always seemed to have some issue...however since my only form of transportation was a Schwinn bike...I was not concerned! haha) well...one year we were setting off for the trip home and we were the first two to depart from Gainesville. At the time in order to get the car going ...you had to push start it... so we figured once we got going we were going to have to keep going until we got home (3 hour trip approximately). We jokingly told my sister Ellen and our friends leaving later that if they saw us on the side of the road they better stop and help. Well we "shoved off" literally...haha and about an hour down the road we got a flat tire!.. AHHH OH...they might REALLY find us on the side of the road! No sweat...well maybe a little sweat...inexperienced driver that I was and Liz "kind of" knowing what we needed to do Shortly after we got out the jack and were attempting to get the repairs underway some guy in a NICE sporty little car (don't know what kind...I am not a big car lover...it was black) hopped out of his car, got HIS jack and had the tire fixed in no time...(I'm sure he loved helping the damsels in distress...two 19 year old girls....why not!) We thanked him and then got in and thought "Oh crap...what if we have to ask him to push us? hahahahaha" God was looking out for us and the engine fired right up and we were off! Now we were felling quite confident and decided we could make a stop somewhere along the way and decided once we got to Kissimee (another 45 minutes down the road) we would stop at this great Ice Cream Place before we hit the last stretch of road. Back then there was NOTHING between Melbourne and Kissimee...unless you counted the 1 pump gas station in Holopaw. well...we stopped for our milkshake, went to the bathroom and hopped in the car...and......it wouldn't start. Now we figured they were going to find us on the side of the road at an Ice Cream Place! Once again...no sweat (Liz was used to this!haha) the front of the place had a slight slope to it...we figured we'd just wait for all traffic to clear the area....put it neutral, coast backwards and start the engine....and luckily it worked...so we were off with the milkshakes in hand! The rest of the trip was uneventful...for me anyway. After dropping me off, Liz had to drive down to Grant park her car and wait for a BOAT to take her over to her parent s house on Grant Island!

After college.....there were lots of trips out of town/state with John. One year we went up to Tennessee for his sister Sandy and Ken's wedding. That was a GREAT time!
We had snow flurries and everything...after being in Florida for so many years...as a former Pittsburgh er...snow flurries and bare trees were what Thanksgiving was all about! The wedding was in a little church in the valley of the Smokey Mountains...heated by a wood burning stove ( I think) afterwards we celebrated and spent the night in a cabin up in the mountains.....a good time was had by all!
There were lots of trips to Alabama to celebrate with John's family. We would head home with a car packed full of "gifts" I'll say no more and more than once as we drove along in bumper to bumper traffic and/or torrential rain for hour after hour...I would VOW NEVER TO DO IT AGAIN...but of course we always did...and it was fun. I could go on and on...but I'm too old to fit all the memories into one post...hahaha so I will have to save some of the other stories for another time! Maybe before the weekend is over I will share the story of one memorable trip to TN....it deserves it's own post! hahaha

Thanksgiving Books

During the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving...I like to read books about food. This is a fun one. I've read it to pre-schoolers and 1st and 2nd graders...they all like it. It's a good story if you have a "picky" eater.
This book is loosely based on how the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade came to be.(Milly and the Macy's Parade") It's an interesting story.
I always have to read this classic...can't you just hear the song in your head??? "Over the river and through the wood to Grandmother's house we go........."
I LOVE this book. It's a touching story about an elderly couple - Ed and Ann. When Ann burns the Thanksgiving turkey...they have to figure out where to go eat. They end up at a local restaurant...the doors are open (accidentally..it turns out). Some of the family members are trying to figure out how to get rid of the unwanted guests...but the Grandmother speaks her mind and the story begins. Everyone eats and dances and has a wonderful time. When I read this to my 1st grade friends on Monday...they said "That was a nice story." I just love it!

I have to have a fun, rhyming story of course! This one is about a clever turkey who outsmarts the townspeople who think they have outsmarted him. Cute and funny too.

This book is one of my favorites. I love the illustrations and all the things the children are thankful for. I bought a copy so I would always have it to share at Storytime.
There are lots of fun stories for the holiday...these are just a few of the ones I like to read.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Getting ready

Okay...it's kind of a weak effort ...but this is about all I've got for Thanksging so far......that and the decorations that were already up for Fall
The little bird house is from a Thanksgiving with family up in Alabama...10 years ago! Yikes! hard to believe it was THAT long ago! Kathie made one for each family. I get it out every year!
I found these decorations a few years ago...just love the idea of the chidren sharing and playing together. The doll lover in me had to have the little girls with their corn cob dolls.... I could've gone really crazy and bought the WHOLE set...turkey, adult figures, etc....but I decided to keep myself in check and settle for the cute kids.

words of wisdom

Last night when I was cleaning up after the party...I found this box out on John's work table. He had set up the two fryers out in the garage so the whole house wouldn't smell like fried fish at the end of the night...(also to cut down on the mess!)
I guess our friend Ron had bought a 12 pack of 5 Hour Energy drinks and didn't like they way he felt when he drank one....so he gave the remaining bottles to John. John used some when he drove with Brenna up to DC....said it worked well to keep him awake...but Brenna wasn't sure if she was going to survive the trip...John has plenty of energy as it is...add to that and welllllllll He has used it when they were out on a long day of offshore fishing...and I guess that makes sense....I personally have never tried one....so I can't tell you if they work. Anyway...one of our friends at the party last evening, Ben, spotted the box and laughed. He and John have been working on the same job recently and even though Ben is about half his age...the two of them really have hit it off. Ben has been over for fish frys, we've met up with him to watch football, etc. He's been out on the boat and out surfing...so he knows John pretty well. When he spotted the box of energy drinks he came in and got a Sharpie and wrote the pictured message on the box HAhahaha.....he showed John and said..."The LAST thing you need is MORE energy!"
we all got a good laugh about that!

Here we go again!

John, Darlene, Reid, Chandler & John M.
Amy, Gayle, Caitlin , Ron & Darlene
The Group- Charlie, Caitlin, Gayle, John & Anne, Ron, Mark, John M, Steve M. Denise & Mike, Reid, Amy & Chandler,Mark, Paul & Connie...incidentally John is NOT wearing a fish on his head...hahaha

This week went by pretty quickly....I guess having the Holiday in the middle of the week helped....but here we go again IT'S GAME DAY! My schedule was weird this week...I was off Monday, worked 3pm-8pm Tuesday, off Wed, then worked Thursday & Friday. It was a relatively uneventful week......except we are still getting used to a new system for reserving computers at the Library...and that was trying a times. It used to be that you did NOT need to have a library card in order to get on the computers, you just signed in at Reference and got on. Most of the year we do not have waits for our computers...except when all the "snowbirds" are back in town....they are coming now For some libraries this new system will be very helpful...it automatically shuts off after your 1 hour is up, keeps track of who's on the computers,when they started and their time remaining, etc....which is all well and good...except the transition period is causing some commotion....like lots of new library cards getting issued, updated, etc. So Tuesday I arrived at 3pm and it was like jumping into the frying pan....it was busy...and hard to catch up! Friday wasn't as bad...just a long day, extra hour tacked on to make up for the one hour not covered in the Holiday pay.....so I was happy at the end of the day Friday.
Saturday (today) we invited some people over to watch the Gator/SC game and to eat some fish...we needed to cook some of the stuff that's been in the freezer...so we called in some Gator fan friends of ours, and we ate and drank and enjoyed watching the Gators beat South Carolina. Like I said last week...watching the game is just more fun with a crowd of people...especially if you throw in some fried wahoo, snook and lobster.... Paired up with cole slaw, macaroni salad, chicken noodle soup, 18 bean and "smoked hog" soup, apple crisp and cookies....and you have a PARTY! We
were a little nervous when the score was 17-14...but once again our team came through with the win. The weather here was absolutely gorgeous...blue skies and mild temperatures...so all the windows and doors were open and it was a great afternoon/evening.At 9:00pm when things were winding down....it felt much later than the time on the clock. A couple people had to go...they work tomorrow, John and Ron are getting up early to head to Miami for the Miami/Tampa game. They got tickets from a friend...SECOND Row...50Yard line....NICE seats! It should be a beautiful day again tomorrow...they will have a great time....we'll be looking for them on TV! haha As for me...I'll be sleeping in and tidying up...getting things put away until the next get together.......................................

The Case of the Missing Keys

The Case of the Missing Keys....or you could call it Anne temporarily loses her mind!
Aggggh! I had to work Saturday...(which is never a good thing...hahaa) and I really wasn't having a problem with that, usually we only get scheduled for one Saturday a month. My problem was that I left my keys at the little get-together we attended Friday night. I was not aware that I had left them, because John also had keys with him that night...and when it was time to leave he handed me the keys and off we went.
Saturday morning I had good intentions always of getting up in plenty of time to exercise, eat a good breakfast that would hold me until I got off of work 5 hours later well....as usual the plans didn't quite work out...but I was doing okay. Problem number 1 was when I realized that the clock in my room was NOT 10 minutes fast like I like it...(don't ask...it's a mental thing) it was actually only 5 minutes fast because John had reset it the night before. he asked me what time I wanted and I THOUGHT he agreed...but discovered otherwise the next morning. For the record...he just can't understand WHY I want it set fast.,..instead of just getting up 10 minutes earlier...which of course makes perfect sense...but I don't care...I just like feeling like I have some extra time.
now that we have that straight So I was a little aggravated when I discovered that I was only 5, not 10 minutes ahead of the game...then I went to get my keys.........and that is when the meltdown started. hahha I looked in all the "normal" spots...I am usually careful to keep them on the key rack...because I have been known to set things down when I'm distracted and then it isn't good! Not on the rack, not on the dresser, not in the purse, closet,bag, desk...you name it. OKay...now I started getting nervous...because my built in 10 make that 5 minute window had evaporated and I still had no keys, no spare and John was already gone and working at our friends house in Melbourne. I called John in a panic (not very nicely I might add)... I believe the conversation started with me telling him the clock was set wrong and now I couldn't find my keys...blah blah blah...I was close to tears....Luckily John stayed calm....John didn't yell back at me...he told me to take a deep breath, call Susan and tell her I was running late, and he would be on his way home with a key. I did those things and then started getting creative in my search...went through the trash (already out at the curb for pick up)....(I knew I had them when I got home from the store right before we went out Friday....)not there. They were just GONE! John brought me a key...I got to work 25 minutes later....and when I got home we decided maybe I had left them at the party and someone had found them when they were cleaning up. I called Gayle and sure enough they had found some keys. Thank God!....I seriously thought I was really losing it this time! Secretly I was glad to know they weren't sitting in some obvious spot in my house the whole time.....(at least I know I really did a thorough check). So...the mystery is solved....and I hope I don't have another one to solve any time soon!

A Good weekend

Notice the "tablecloth"...actually a Shower Curtain I saw at Target...that was perfectly proportioned to fit my table!

>
last year's shirt...I'll have to get it out again!
It's been a nice weekend. It started with Friday...which happened to be a day off for me. I didn't really have any plans....so it was great to get a call from my friend Lisa inviting me to join her and another friend Debbie on their Friday morning bike ride. (I had run into the two of them two Fridays ago...they were heading out as I was heading home...mostly due to the fact that the rainstorm that I assumed was going to be brief and blow over in no time, kept getting more persistent and I was getting soaked!) So I ventured out with Lisa and Debbie on a lovely although breezy morning ride. When I got home there was a message from Gayle inviting us to join them for the First Friday Art Walk in downtown Eau Gallie. The studio where she teaches and works out was having an Open House. We decided to join them and ran in to several other friends during the course of the evening. They were playing music and showing some of their routines...and while it was tempting...I did not join in. I sat with Nancy and watched. I am generally not good in Aerobics and/or Dance classes because it never fails.... the whole group will be going one way and sure enough I will be going the other way. Kiena and I didn't do well in the dog training class for the same reason...it's hard to get the dog to follow the "commands" if your spending all your time trying to figure out which way you and the dog are supposed to be turning/walking whatever....and since we had no future in Dog Shows.think Best in Show..hahha I knew it didn't really matter.
Okay back to the story.....naturally JOHN had to get up and dance around with all the girls...and he wasn't too bad! heard they were looking for him when they met for class on Sat morning! Anyway...it turned out to be a fun time.
I did have to work Saturday...which was NOT fun.....busy and frustrating because we just had a new computer system installed at MBPL....more on THAT later!
Saturday afternoon and evening we headed over to Reid and Amy's for some steak and lobster while we watched the Gators play. Looks like we are going to have a repeat of last year's SEC championship match. .....only this year it might be a closer match-up! Their neighborhood was having a Block Party...so there was a lot of activity going on....and it was a BEAUTIFUL evening...cool for a change!
Today....we decided to have some people over to watch the Dolphins play get beaten. We cooked up some Teriyaki Chicken with rice and vegetables and fruit salad. Also cooked up a batch of some Chicken Tortilla Soup (recipe I got from my sister-in-law Kathie). Our friend Pat made an Apple pie; which was great! (even better after a quick trip to Moo's for some soft serve Vanilla Ice Cream!). John & I, Chuck and Pat, my brother Mark (!) who never shows up! hahhaRon, L.J., Mike R., Tom S. and John M, all came and we had fun. The game is just more fun to watch when there's a crowd watching with you I think! Alas...the Dolphins couldn't pull off the win....but L.J.(Patriots fan) was happy! and we did have a good time anyway!

Halloween wrap-up

Malibu Barbie
Darth Vadar BatGirl & Princess
the birthday girl
Ghostly fun!
A few friends seen here and there around Halloween