When Life Gives You Mashed Potatoes........

.........make perogis!!! Oh my, did we have fun making perogis this evening. We had plenty of leftover potatoes from Thanksgiving, so I added some cheese and Andrew and I got busy! Oops, Keith helped, too! It is so much more fun to make them with someone else, unless that other someone else is John K.... He gets rather bossy in the kitchen, and the last time I made perogis was with him. We love yah anyway, John!!! Come on over and we can make some more - I am not terribly scarred from the last time. (LOL!!!)

It occured to me that I have been making perogis for over 30 years! Yikes! I used to make them with my lifelong friend, Marj (love yah, M)and her sister in their basement. They had an extra kitchen in the basement and we would concoct all kinds of good things to eat down there. Not to mention the yearly tradition that her mother and aunt had making hundreds, maybe thousands of them every winter. What a great life!

Anyway, they turned out great and now that I can get some people to help me make them, perhaps I won't wait so long next time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. No gifts to worry about, it's not hot and it's all about being together with your family. I really miss the Thanksgivings my mom used to do. She would work for days on end and miraculously have it all together at just the right time. I used to love to set the table for her and arrange everything nicely. She would let me iron the napkins and table cloth - what fun! It is a time for me to reflect on spending all that time in the kitchen with mom and to hopefully provide my kids with some fond memories, too.

My mom's tradition was to make sure everyone had their favorite pie and with 12 kids to make pies for, those are a lot of pies. I do the same thing with my boys - they each pick a pie and I make it, or they help make it. I made apple, pumpkin, lemon and peanut butter!!! I only want a bite of each - I am pretty much off of sugar and now it is just too sweet for me.

I no longer make stuffing since marrying a southerner. It must be cornbread dressing for this guy. I like cornbread dressing, but I sure do miss that savory stuffing from years ago. I will occasionally make it, but since I don't make it very often, it is not as good as it could be. The cornbread dressing is very good and I put much love into it.

I hope you are filled with much thanks for the blessings in your life and I hope you are surrounded by the people you love. The food is merely a bonus (to me).

If you give a mom a desk....

...she's gonna want to put something on it and in it. And if she puts something on it, it must be useful for the things that will be in it. Once she puts that something on it, she's gonna want to use it. If that something is her sewing machine that has been held prisoner in her closet and only given reprieve for special sewing projects, she's gonna go bananas and spend many hours consumed with sewing things. And if she is consumed with sewing things, you better watch out: your jeans and your shirts all look like scraps to her. And if everything looks like a scrap and no one has any clothes left to wear, well, you better call before you visit so we can grab a blanket to cover our nekkid selves up! So, the moral of the story is, don't let your wife get her hands on a desk for her sewing machine.......

Civil Air Patrol and other military stuff

Andrew and Chris are in their first year of Civil Air Patrol, which is an auxillary of the US Air Force. If you know my boys at all, you know that three of them live and breathe anything that is military. Andrew is a Civil War and World War ll buff. He has studied for hours on end about them, all on his own. My dad would have been so proud to tell his war stories to someone who actually loved that part of our history. Andrew knows all about the weapons, uniforms, gear and especially the D-Day invasion at Normandy. That is his favorite area and has studied it very deeply. He is also very well versed on the Civil War, and we are always feeding his craving about it by attending reenactments, and going to CW museums.

Michael is not into reading about the history aspects of the military, but he quite simply just likes guns and battles like a typical boy would. Andrew let him borrow his authentic WW ll helmet for Halloween and he was very thrilled. he also has several other authentic pieces we got from the Army surplus store.

James is almost a carbon copy of Andrew on his love of CW and WW ll history, but he has not delved in as deeply as Andrew yet. I am sure he will be reading more intently when his reading ability reaches the level it needs to read Andrew's books.

Chris is not into the military at all, but he did join Civil Air Patrol to learn about aviation and aerospace. He is also interested in the missions they go on in our local area. If your small engine plane goes down or if a child is lost in the woods, the Civil Air Patrol is a first responder. They are trained to search and rescue people and are prepared to sustain themselves in the wilderness for up to 72 hours. I think he also likes the academic challenge that comes with it. He loves to learn things thoroughly and be a fountain of knowledge. You would be impressed with how smart he can be, not just book smart, but common sense smart. Those things seem to come naturally to him.

None of us have any idea if this program will lead any of them to serve our country in the Air force. Honestly, my boys are more Army minded, but they are being open minded about it and plan to use this opportunity to learn new skills and to experience exciting things. In the coming months, they will have the chance to go up on flight missions and who knows??? We could have a pilot in the making........

Late Halloween pics

The Lego Store

We went to the Lego store yesterday - what a GREAT PLACE!!! We took the scenic route through the mountains - it was fabulous. The leaves were incredible and driving through a couple of old towns that were sandwiched between miles and miles of farms. I really enjoyed the drive, which was very relaxing to just sightsee while Keith drove.

The first outlet mall was almost too huge. W didn't even get to see the whole thing. It was obvious that it was mostly clothing shops and stuff that women like, so we ventured forth to the destination that the kids have been waiting over 2 years to see - THE LEGO STORE! First of all, the mall was very futuristic looking, which the boys loved. Secondly, somewhere within its walls held the store that we have been day dreaming about since we knew it existed. It was almost a tease to know it was 100 miles away and yet we never seemed to have the opportune time to visit it. We really had to just make the time and do it.

They had many colors of bricks to choose from and many kits that you can not find at Walmart of Target. The kids said it was worth both the wait and the drive. I suppose we will be going back again........

This is the week!

If you have been waiting to come visit when the leaves are changing, this is the week to come! The colors are incredible - I can't even describe how many different shades of yellow, red & orange you will see. Our woods look like a masterpiece!

You would also be in luck get some good cooking because I have been conjuring up some really good and interesting things to eat! I plan on making dozens and dozens of homemade eggrolls tomorrow with a friend of mine. I also see homemade chicken and dumplings on the menu this week and probably a huge pot of meatballs with fresh sub rolls! Or, just send me your request and I'll cook whatever you are craving and we can eat next to the fireplace! How cozy!!!