Mmmmm... Thanksgiving is coming soon...

I LOVE Thanksgiving! It's my favorite holiday - mostly because I also LOVE food.

I have decided to do the cooking this year at my house. My mom normally does most of it. Here's what the menu looks like:

It was a challenge as one of the members of the household (cough ... cough... my dad) is a staunch supporter of everything always being the SAME... ugh. However, should you ASK him what he wants, bizarre things (mostly that sound unappetizing) come out of his mouth. So, I tried to balance the familiar with a little twist. **Fingers crossed this goes over well, because he's also a HUGE whiner.**

APPETIZER:

Squash Soup, courtesy of Alton Brown's recipe at the Foodnetwork
Spinach Salad, (spinach, tomatoes, cucumber and whatever dressing)

MAIN:

Turkey, of course. We don't usually do anything fancy with ours and I'm not likely to try and change this year, though I'd LOVE to at least stuff it with some aromatics or something..

SIDES:
Cranberry Sauce, courtesy of Bobby Flay's recipe at the Foodnetwork
**dad has the jellied stuff out of the can**

Roasted Veggies on the Grill, we are going to do shallots, brussel sprouts, asparagus, corn and carrots

Mashed Potatoes two ways, nice and lumpy for dad, and creamy garlic mashed for me

Yams with marshmellows, brow sugar and stuff (my mom's recipe, delicious)

Cornbread Stuffing, courtesy of Michael Symon's recipe at the Foodnetwork **sans ham because I don't like it**

DESSERTS:

Pumpkin Pie, courtesy of somewhere online, I can't find my paper right now. It has heavy cream and a bunch of other yummies in it.

Apple Tart, courtesy of Paula Deen's recipe at the Foodnetwork

I'm drooling a little thinking about it.

Happy Early Thanksgiving!

My apologies...

For the massive amount of posts yesterday... I was combing a couple of blogs and didn't realize that I didn't HAVE to publish them once they were imported.

If anyone knows a way to edit your tags without re-publishing the entire post, please let me know. I'd love to streamline what I've done and didn't really think it through during my original set-up.

Watercolor....

I am struggling in my watercolor class, really struggling. I can get most of the way through a painting and then BAM - big blob appears and it's ruined. Ever tried to back track out of a watercolor? It doesn't work well... sigh

We had a free day in class last week, since there were so many sickies around the week before. I finished the painting below, notice all the blobby spots, grrr...

This was supposed to be rocks, but instead looks more like some high plateau grassy area. I guess I didn't like the rocks.


This was from a photo of the Salt Lake from the top of Antelope Island.


And this is from an early assignments on color.


After the latest blobby disaster in class, we had a lot of time left and I was feeling a little demoralized so I decided to work on a sketch for my next attempt. I like the pencil and ink look so much better. Definitely going to spend more time playing with this.


I am plugging along with my Christmas presents again this year. I acquired a bunch of yarn recently and likely won't have the time until summer to start something else new, so that should allow me to plan a few more interesting designs instead of the same old, same old.

Well, like happy creating and stuff...

I have found Continental Style knitting... and it is good..

I had been struggling a bit trying to learn the "continental style" of knitting. It is similar, in part, to how you hold the yarn when you crochet. This is something I am very familiar with. Last night - bam! I finally got it down.

My stitches look so much better. It's easier to control my tension. Love it! Love it! Love it!

And best of all - I can go faster! I think I may actually be able to finish my Christmas presents now. My mom and sister both want scarves and have decided on the same pattern as my first finished project, a simple k2, p2 (knit 2, purl 2) design in varying widths for each.

The yarn thief is delighted as well. She love, love, loves, the alpaca blend that I selected for my sister. And is especially fascinated with my bamboo needles. I cannot leave the room or one or the other disappears down the hall in her mouth... sigh...

There is a fabulous site found HERE, with great videos to help with learning to knit. It's fabulous - really!

Here's a pic of what I did last night. I am still pretty slow, but it's definitely faster than before!

Happy Knitting!

AAAAAARooooo! It's FUN time! AKA Halloween!

I am not a big lover of Halloween. I get scared when I see commercials for scary movies. I am convinced that if I leave my closet door closed, "something" will be able to drag me into it. **I have mirrors on the doors.** This goes back to when I was young and watched Poltergeist II I think. It was one of those Poltergeist movies.

The kid is walking down the hall and it's all mirrors and suddenly, he is being followed by a creepy dude in a black hat, all dead looking. Then BLAM! He's sucked into the mirror - still stuck in my head all these years later.

Of course, there is also something living under my bed which requires that I leap at least a foot out from the bed, when I get out... sigh..

AAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRoooo it's fun time is what a wolfhead says. At least a plastic one that a friend of mine had once upon a time. To be funny, another friend of mine and I stole it and then left ransom letters and made a couple of ransom calls as well. muahahahahahahaha

However, this year I'm trying to get into the spirit. I'm going to my first adult Halloween party. I finally think it's time to try and conquer my boogeyman issues.

I will post pics after tomorrow!

Happpppppppppppy Halloween!