Thanksgiving Weekend

We were invited over to some of our friends house for Thanksgiving this year. The invitation included Brenna and my brothers...although only Paul made it.
Gayle had tables set up out on the back patio near the pool. It was a beautiful afternoon...kind of cloudy...so it was a good temperature and it wasn't windy...so that was perfect.
Gayle got all of her dishes out...no plastic flatware and no paper plates...no...the dishwashers (human and machine) were in high gear!)Guests (in addition to us...) included Gayle's sister and friend, another good friend Nancy & her family, some of Michaela's friends from UCF & FIT, Nancy's parents (also old friends of Gayle's), and two other extended family members and their children. It was a big crowd and a fun group too. Gayle made two turkeys (Martha Stewart's suggestions...two smaller birds versus one big one gives you twice as many wings, wishbones, etc)Nancy made ham and everyone else made the gravy (yum!), mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potato dish (me)stuffings, salads, and plenty of desserts. (pumpkin pie was the only disappointment...sorry to say...but the chocolate truffles (homemade) made up for it..haha)After we ate Caitlin and Gayle had put together some games and got pretty much everyone involved. They did some games like the "Minute to Win It" show. (I have no photos of the game portion of the evening...since my camera was in John's pocket and he had made a quiet exit before they started...he was home snoozing...haha) The kids especially had a blast... (I heard one of them...also named Brenna, tell her Mom..."This is the BEST Thanksgiving ever!" )but we had plenty of laughs too. It was a great afternoon evening. Everyone went home happy and FULL!
*The Sweet Potato Pudding with Pecan and Gingersnap Topping that I made came from the November issue of Bon Appetit.
It was good!

Thanks for Thanksgiving

My new art.......

Okay so Thanksgiving week and here's what I've done so far.................
Sunday I went to the Eau Gallie Artworks show and I got to buy something! It's handy to have an artist brother who can get you a deal....saved me a few $$$$$ and I have a new piece of art for my room? the TV room??? we'll see.
Monday I was off....my work schedule has been kind of wacky...due to holidays...(last week MOnday-off, Tuesday 11-5, Wednesday-off(no pay furlough day), Thursday-8:30-1:30
Friday off, Sat-9:30-2:30)
This week....I was off Monday, so I had an appointment for a stress relieving massage.........wonderful and I read to my friend's class. I read them:
Whopper Cake-Karma Wilson
The Wolf's Chicken Stew-Keiko Kasza
A Plump and Perky Turkey-Teresa Bateman
The Thanksgiving Door-Atwell
Now...to put it nicely Amy has a rather lively class...and I go read to them at 1:30 pm...finishing up 1/2 hour before the day is over...not exactly the ideal time to read...but I have to tell you.... They loved Whopper Cake! They all sat still and listened and answered my questions about what might happen next. When that story ended...there was a burst of activity...but for the most part they sat and listened and really seemed to enjoy the books...and I felt good when I left. A few told me...."I liked those stories." So I had a good time on my day off.
Today...I worked...it was a longer then usual day...I was HUNGRY when I left...but I had good food at home because.....
I went and bought myself some "leftovers" ...haha
We are going to a friend's house for Thanksgiving...but that means NO leftovers...so I went and bought us some wonderful, delicious turkey breast, gravy and assorted other items...so we would have "leftovers." The cashier...a young girl...said "That's a great idea!" hahahah I went home and immediately ate some of the turkey...it was DELICIOUS!....I want More!...Turkey, rice (no potatoes for me.....:(...., sweet potatoes, Gravy (lots of that!)...etc...is my favorite meal! I froze some and we will be eating it for the next---------------days! I am happy!
Tonight we had some fresh mahi mahi that John and Ben caught.....tomorrow I work again...and then I am off Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Brenna will be home...we are celebrating with family and friends....what's not to like???
I'm ready!

Totally random

Remember making a turkey like this? So easy...but still cute.
Thanksgiving craft for Storytime
My croton is not this colorful...but I've seen some beautiful crotons all around the neighborhood
pretty Hibiscus out front ...I love my Hibiscus plants...always blooming...all year long...and I can't seem to kill them...haha
Autumn sightings....(my fake flowers...they always look great!)
My real flowering vine out front...it likes the dry weather we've been having

more than once we thought about taking this bougainvilla out...but it provides nice coverage from the afternoon sun and I don't do anything to it and it grows...and blooms (not as much as others I've seen..but it blooms)and it's a live and well...so I can't take it out.
actual leaves changing in my neighborhood....I love it!

I told you this was random....this is my table runner
recent catch...this is a good picture of John no goofy smile and the fish looks pretty good too! haha

UF-SC Game

Last weekend we went with some friends up to the Fl-South Carolina game. We all know how that turned out...but we did have a good time. We went in this RV,

John and Mike spent a lot of time trying to get the D$%* TV working so we could watch the early games. It kept telling us to wait...it was finding the signal...but it never found it. After a couple of trips onto the roof, checking all the wires, etc, we finally got some help on the phone and we got reception!
Heading in
Mike's son and daughter-in-law were part of our group. The two little boys were adorable. Both were decked out in full Gator gear. The baby was about 8 1/2 months old...a fun age...and he was really cute. Even John, who usually isn't a huge fan of babies...thought he was pretty cute.


Sights around the tail gate area. It was an absolutely beautiful fall day!
On the back row all the RV's were under the big oak trees full of Spanish moss. It is a pretty nice spot back there. It was funny to see how decked out all the campers were...people have anything/everything Gator. Pretty amusing...I guess if you have the money...
I needed to take a picture of one of the trees...that I always loved when I was in Gainesville. Reminded of the trees growing up in Pittsburgh, PA.
We walked over to the stadium around dusk. Lots of fans..lots of fun going on...but those 7pm games give people a lot of too much time to imbibe...if you know what I mean. Some people looked as though they might not make it to their seats!

When you have a blog a camera...you have to stop and pose on your way in to the stadium.
Did you happen to notice I got a better picture of John...than he did of me??? hahah
We stopped to check out the view from where Mike and family would be sitting.
Notice the man in the YELLOW shirt...that's where their seats were.
We...on the other hand, were up a little ways
Getting closer
view from our seats...which really weren't too bad...I saw plenty.
we were up at the top next to the big screen in the end zone and the signs...
The "Old Ball Coach" also our competition that day

Here I am up at the top...that orange wall is the very Back row! haha
Guy across the aisle from me...snoozing before the game




If you watched the game you know the first 14 seconds were great!,,,and after that...well it's been better. I was happy for Steve Spurrier...good for him winning the SEC East for South Carolina. We were right next to a bunch of SC fans...so we had fun watching them win! Mike's grandson (2 1/2) got to go to his first game. He loved it! (too young to know the score...haha) He was cheering away...his dad got a great picture of him cheering..and he got kissed by Alberta! So...we all still had fun.

Storytime books

We went up to Gainesville this past weekend...to watch the Gators.....and by now everyone knows how THAT ended...so I'll save those pictures for another day and do this post instead.
I love autumn and even though we don't have much of a change of seasons here.... you can see subtle changes in the angle of the sun's rays, the different plants that bloom this time of year or change color a bit...I've even seen some maples with leaves changing around town ....but one sure sign of Autumn...the books we read for Storytime. It starts at the beginning of September when we start to notice apple books and stories being checked out or reserved...then it's corn,pumpkins, scarecrows, leaves, etc. Depending on the calendar...we have may have more, or less (like this year) programs. Due to the way the holidays fall this year...I only have two programs on Thursdays before Thanksgiving. The first Thursday I did
scarecrow stories. You can't go wrong with Cynthia Rylant as far as I'm concerned. Her books always seem to have cute illustrations, rhyming verse...which I always like. This Scarecrow story is very cute. My group of 2,3,4 year olds enjoyed it.
Another favorite..."The Scarecrow's Hat". I just love the illustrations in this story and the clever hen who figures out how to get the Scarecrow's hat. She negotiates a series of deals with owl, sheep, badger,duck,goat,,,etc and finally gets the Scarecrow what he wants and she gets the hat. It's cute...the kids always enjoy it.
I have a program this week and I am also hoping to get to my friend Amy's class again before the break...and here's what's waiting to be read. I like to read the traditional Thanksgiving books...but I also think it's fun to read about something that's on every one's mind this time of year...Food! One choice is "The Wolf's Chicken Stew" by Keiko Kasza. This is such a cute story...and the illustrations really make it. The wolf...who is really the "bad" guy is so adorable....you know the story will end well. Wolf spots the chicken when he gets a craving for some chicken stew. He decides to fatten her up first so he sneaks over to her house and delivers platters of pancakes, donuts and cake until her figures she should be nice and fat. When he arrives to "catch" her...he gets a big surprise and he has a change of heart. Check this one out.

"Whopper Cake" by Karma Wilson is another fun book. Grandpa decides to "traumatize" the kitchen and bake his wife a birthday cake. He starts with a recipe...but it just doesn't seem like enough...so he takes each ingredient and multiplies it. The result....a 10 ft tall whopper cake! The first time I read this to a preschool group...I had actually put it in my bag accidentally. (I would usually bring an assortment of shorter books-this was a little longer than usual. Well there was no need to worry...they loved it. The silly story, the rhyming verse (again) and the illustrations all made it...and after all...how could anyone go wrong with a 10 ft chocolate cake!
Mary Ann Hoberman has some great poems for children and this next book "The Seven Silly Eaters" is another rhyming story. Mrs. Peters loves her children and even though they are a little picky about what they will eat...she does her best to make them happy. The family grows and so does her job of keeping everyone happy. Finally one day...she is just plain worn out. The children all get together and decide to make her a birthday surprise. What they make...is a huge mess...but in the process they end up with a "secret" recipe that satisfies everyone! Now everyone...especially dear Mrs. Peters is happy! Maybe I like this book, because like Mrs. Peters, there were probably times when my own mother was worn out trying to keep her 8 children fed. Every so often she would make something that she liked...and when one by one we'd ask her what was for dinner...and she was greeted by groans or comments along the lines of "I don't like that!"...she would lose her patience and when the next person asked "What are we having for dinner? she would say...."Poison!"...hahahaha...I guess sometimes you just have to laugh!...it certainly helped keep us from complaining. haha
Fans of Charlie and Lola ...on PBS I think...will like the book "I Will Never, Not Ever Eat a Tomato". Charlie's little sister Lola is a "fussy" eater. She has a long list of food items that she will not eat...especially tomatoes. When Charlie is in charge of making her something to eat...he's a little nervous. But...he is also clever, and he finds a way to get Lola to try some new foods. Every group I've read this to has laughed at Charlie's efforts to get his sister eating. In the end...she finds a lot of new tasty treats to eat, including her new favorite "moonsquirters".
"The Perfect Thanksgiving" by Eillen Spinelli pretty much sums up how a lot of probably feel around the holidays. Some people just seem to be so organized and have it all together...and others...not so much. The little girl in the story compares her Thanksgiving to her friend Abigal Archer's "perfect" family. In the end...she decides that while they are different they are alike in the one way that counts...they come from loving families.
And lastly...I have to make time for this charming book..."Thanks for Thanksgiving" by Julie Markes.I know I've talked about this book before...but I just love the illustrations (by Doris Barrette) and the short, sweet verse about all the things to be thankful for. I bought myself a copy last year...so I would always have it when I wanted it for a program. I have a stack of other titles..."The Thanksgiving Door" (I wrote about last year), the old reliable "Over the River" and "A Plump and Perky Turkey". Now...I just need to find time to read them all to my little friends!