Best Ever!

I truly think it was.  All my kids and kiddos were here.  All day.  And Aunt Pat and Cousins Casey and Carter.  And of course Grandma.  Heart brimming over!

 
 

 

 

Two new dishes that were wowzers- Brandi brought raspberry white chocolate bread pudding

and Susie brought a fabulous warm butternut squash with chickpea salad.  Yum!

 The kiddos loved playing  LCR (left, center, right).....everyone made a haul with quarters!

Even the pirate pilgrim was thankful!

Almost....

So I got the turkey cooked and picked yesterday.  I know, I know, a day and 1/2 too early... I wanted Tom to slowly defrost in my garage for a day before hitting the refrigerator ....but unfortunately I left him in the back of my car.  Apparently it is actually warmer in there and I heard him screaming (thankfully) (you know me and my imagination) so that meant he got to go in the roaster early.  I slow cooked him in a bag, upside down until he literally fell to pieces.  I had a lot of wishes come true this year so I've save the wishbone for someone else...

Turkey done.  Check.

 

I woke up this morning with happy thoughts.  I get happy thinking about making dressing.  Dressing (stuffing) was my favorite childhood holiday dish. I always get a little homesick making it but it is pure love. (love you mom and dad!)

 

Dressing ready to be cooked.  Check.

 

 

Photo booth props ready.  I'm sure they will be overkill since I have pilgrim hats and Indian bands for everyone but I'm excited.

 

Props done:  Check.

 

 

 

 

Got all the place setting pilgrims done except for 4 missing heads.  Several of the grands helped me and we had fun giggling and putting them together.  Of course my family can't do "normal" faces....

as my dad always says, "Ten thousand comedians out of work and you want to be one...."

 

Pilgrims:  almost check

 
 

 
Rolls and rolls of quarters from the bank for my kiddos to play LCR (as learned by the Charm Girls.)  I think the kids will love it (especially since they get to keep the quarters!)  Check.

Guest room beds made up for Aunt Pat and Cousin Casey.  Need chocolate for their pillows.  They are coming today so I'm thinking we'll hit the movies tonight.  Aunt P. will help me make both potato dishes tonight so tomorrow I'll just have to bake rolls and make gravy and cook a prime rib.  Easy Peesy.  I want to enjoy this day with my family.


The art of Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving
     It is gratitude in action...
It is thanking God for the gift of life by living it
     triumphantly.
It is thanking God for each new day by living it
     to the fullest.
It is thanking God by giving hands, arms, legs, and voice to your thankful spirit.
     It is adding to your prayers of thanksgiving acts of
          thanksgiving.
-Wilford Peterson

November Bon Appetit

Last night the Cook's hosted our Bon Appetit dinner.  Valene, of course, made an over-the-top dinner....

 

Bon Appetit's classic wedge salad (with a different dressing than usual)

spicy shrimp

rosemary flatbread

chicken sautéed in red onions and lemon (!!!)

baked sweet potatoes

spaghetti squash with fresh nutmeg

 

I provided dessert- actually two:

 

pumpkin cheesecake brownies

and

cinnamon roll cake

 

We had a great meal with our friends....love this tradition that we do!  Recipes on the cooking blog.

 

www.constantgrowingamazementcooks.blogspot.com

 

 

Customer Service

Yesterday I had to stop at an convinence store to pick up some nuts for a salad as I was hurrying out to Draper for a fun cousin's lunch.  I grabbed the nuts....then walked by the air fresheners ...and since I am an air freshener junkie, I grabbed a pack.  When I got up to check out....the gal ringing it up sniffled, "Well, at least you could have gotten a good smelling one.  I hate vanilla!"  So I swished it around her nose.  You know, just to tease her a bit.  And I told the other worker she should get some vanilla spray and when she started bugging her, just hit her with a dose.

At least I could have chosen one that smelled good?????

It made me laugh but also made me remember another recent customer service experience.  David and I flew to Portland, Oregon a few weeks ago and hailed a cab at the airport.  The black cabdriver spoke with an accent....Australian it turned out to be.  He asked where we were going and I said, "Vancouver, Wa." and he said, "Man, I HATE  going to Vancouver. "  I said half jokingly,  "Well, maybe you're in the wrong profession...Vancouver is part of your area."  He said he didn't know his way around Vancouver. (Vancouver is directly across the bridge from the Portland airport.  It is easier to go to Vancouver than to downtown Portland.)  I suggest he use his GPS.  I heard a lot of grunting and shuffling in the front seat.....he pulls out his GPS and hands it to us in the backseat to see if we could work it!  Good thing David could (you know I'm illiterate with instructions...).....and we made our way.

What person in retail says, "that stinks" or "that's an ugly dress you've chosen."  What cab driver can't find his way across the bridge OR use his car's GPS?  The guy had been driving for years!

Not the end of the world....both experiences made me laugh.  Reminded me of when the Charm Girls were here and we were up in Park City.  We were anxious to do some random acts of service for Brandi's birthday.....and found two separate workers with such amazing work skills....working hard, working fast, working well.....with big smiles on their faces.  So pleasant.  We rewarded them (they thought we were crazy) and said, "We like your attitude!  Your hard work for us is appreciated!

I bet they will remember the compliments longer than the gift.

“To say 'well done' to any bit of good work is to take hold of the powers which have made the effort and strengthen them beyond our knowledge."

Too Much Fun

You can see I'm having waaay too much fun getting ready for Thanksgiving.  Besides making pilgrim people.......

http://www.orientaltrading.com/pilgrim-photo-frame-magnet-craft-kit-a2-48_6237.fltr?prodCatId=550055+1238

 

 

 

I have these Thanksgiving photo booth props printed off and ready to be cut out and mounted.  They are soooo cute! 

Here is the link for these free printables!

http://www.thedatingdivas.com/family-fun/free-thanksgiving-photo-booth-props/

I have to dig around and find the cute turkey feather game I copied a few years ago.  It is an easy game for all ages.  Here is the link:  http://www.theidearoom.net/?s=turkey+feather+game

This is the craft that we will be doing.  The letters are free printables as well.

 

Here's the link to the thankful board:

http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2013/09/thankful-photo-board.html


I AM thankful.  What a wonderful time of the year!!!!!

Sacred Gifts

Last night we went with many from our Ward to a special art exhibit at BYU.  The exhibit was called "Sacred Gifts" and featured religious artwork from 3 renown European masters from the 1800/1900.   Many of these paintings have never been out of  Europe....and most probably never will again.  These churches and cathedrals and castles "lent" these amazing paintings (many replicas of which are in most LDS chapels) to the exhibit because BYU will clean and restore them (one had a giant gash in it from an vandal)- and send them home.  Three were purchased by John D. Rockefeller and donated to the Riverside Church in New York City.  So thankful for the many contributors that made this exhibit possible.  Carl Bloch is a favorite and I was familiar with some of Heinrich Hofmann's paintings but not him- but Frans Schwartz is a new favorite.

This isn't a great picture but of course it is Christ healing at the pool of Bethesda

Heinrich Hofman did many free commissions for churches.  The following picture-Christ in Emmaus- was painted for a church...and they complained another church had more figures so he added the two servers in the back!

Seeing Carl Bloch's original of the Sermon on the Mount was amazing.  The details of the pictures and faces of each listener are so diverse.  I've seen this picture a million times but never noticed the woman with a child next to her.  The child is touching a butterfly on the woman's head. 

Hofmann, who became known for his religious paintings, was asked if he used a model for the image of Christ because he painted the life of the Savior so often.  "When I read about Christ in the Bible, there arises spontaneously before my fancy a picture of him which I try to retain and reproduce — that is my only prototype," Hofmann said.

I have heard many discussions about people responding to various pictures of Christ- that he looks European, not middle Eastern.  I heard one critic that summed it up.   He said, " We each see ourselves in Christ- Christians believe Jesus "was one of us, related to us. Gods had never been related to us in the history of the world. So my Jesus would look like me."

“They say a Broadway musical is a success when people come out of the theater singing the theme song,”  One of the staff at BYU's museum said:   “People come to our exhibit already singing the tune. They know the song because they have seen prints of many of these paintings in their homes and churches throughout their lives, but at the museum they are really seeing them for the first time.”
This collection of religious paintings is a major American art event for the very reason Schwartz is not well-known in America: Many of these paintings never leave their homes. For example, eight of the paintings have never been seen outside the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerod, Denmark.

One of my favorites was an alter piece by Frans Schwartz.  It  looks dimensional.  Mary is portrayed on the right as the young virgin...and on the left as a mother who saw her son crucified.  The Christ, wearing a crown of rugged thorns in the middle almost walks out from the picture.  It was a heart be still (or spirit be still) moment!

Below is maybe my favorite.  It is called Agony in the Garden...and shows an angel comforting the Savior during his experience in the garden atoning for our sins. This picture evoked such emotion within me. 

The priest who agreed to the loaning of this piece of work refused an offer of a borrowed picture to be in its place until its return.  He said the empty space would be a reminder that the angel in the painting has a responsibility elsewhere and when the exhibit is finished, she will fly back to his congregation.  Love that.....

Dinner after the exhibit with hubby and friends.  What a great, great evening.

Baby Love

   Oh my gosh, is he perfect?  Melts my heart!  Baby Ryker

Hugs

This said it a little better than I did.  Thanks, Snoopy.

How?

Something about myself....I'm a google-meister.  Everything I hear spurs my curiosity and Wikipedia is one of my best friends.  If friends were to tell about me (and mock me)- they would certainly mention googling everything and taking pictures of every one's food.  But yesterday's question had me sleepless. (kidding.)

Q: Why do Indians in the old Westerns always say "How"? Is this a real Native American word, or a Hollywood thing?
A: Some of both. The generic TV-Indian greeting "How"--and the Y-Indian Princess greeting "How How"--are Americanized versions of the Lakota/Dakota Sioux word "Hau," which means "hello." This greeting is still used by Sioux people today.

Of course, in the movies Indians from other tribes (Blackfoot, Cherokee, Apache, Cheyenne, Mohawk, Navajo, etc., etc) use this word too. That is incorrect, and is a little bit silly (as if German, Polish and Russian people all said "Bonjour!" in the movies.)

Well, there you go! 

This week I:

visited my widow in her new retirement center.  She is happy and content...and guess what!  Her life didn't end on moving.....

Monday went to lunch with a cousin and a dear friend that I haven't seen for a year....that has had horrific health issues this past year.  I haven't been a dear friend to her.  It is a heartache to me that I can't be there for everyone I love that is struggling.  My prayers are there but emotionally it is a struggle. 

attended the most wonderful RS service evening that I've already told you about

attended a weight loss class and ready to start on "butters" again

went out to lunch with my Visiting Teaching friends.  Café Madrid.  Fun and interesting food.

babysat Addi a couple of days.  She's had a terrible cough-it's going around.  I hear that there are over 850 cases ....which scares me to death since Chubba has been hacking too...and I worry about the new baby.

put a smile on my face.  That's my new mantra.....

okay, I have an appointment already this morning then a birthday lunch with friend J.  Tomorrow the Christmas Expo with BFF Cathy.  It looks like the snow is hovering.  A service to do.  Working on several homemade Christmas gifts. Some hubby time.  Also a craft for my girls at Thanksgiving.  Gotta run....

Bonjour!

Thanksgiving Selfies

 Okay, someone is having WAY too much fun with Thanksgiving preparations! 

 
 

 

 

I ordered the pilgrim hats from Oriental Trading Post, the Indian feathers from Zurchers.  Below are darling pilgrims that I'll put together with every ones faces in the middle. (Easy to assemble- everything sticks together.)  (O.T.P. as well)

 

So hubby came home from a meeting/lunch.  We had a long conversation.  He then went into the other room and later came out again and took one look at me and said, "Wow!"  (nothing about me changed from the prior conversation.)

 

 I just said, "How?"   (what does how mean in Indian?  Really?)

 

“When the road ends, and the goal is gained, the pilgrim finds that he has traveled only from himself to himself."