hits and misses of the big turkey day

i trust everyone had a good thanksgiving and if not well it is over---

thought i would share a little cooking stuff with ya this black friday morning--you know i have never shopped on black friday----not missing it, i don't think

this year i tried a couple of different things with my regular dishes---

everyone seemed to enjoy my candied sweet potatoes--frank was inquiring why they were unusually good---this year i added a lot of salt (i know) and pepper--maybe more pepper than anything---i think it enhanced the flavor--

i always think i need to add another side dish and tend to over-do---but hey, that's me-----i took frozen carrots and well, i pretty much ruined them----i went a little too adventurous with them, adding thyme, rosemary---and of all things, don't ask me why---lime vinaigrette--boy a little of that goes a long long way and it is not much you can do to over-power it---and believe me i tried-----

now the peas, i liked, i added mint to them---just a hint---

okay, i am gonna confess, this year i had instant mashed potatoes---but i thought they rivaled homemade---i added sour cream---more milk than it called for---lots of butter and again an abundance of pepper-

i last minute decided to make--paula deen's corn-bread--kinda like pudding thing---i am not sure what was wrong with it this year---it was good, but maybe i over-cooked it---if you haven't tried that one, it is well worth a shot-

okay another confession---i used dry package gravy mix---added turkey drippings and mashed potatoes to thicken---everyone came back again and again for it---

we were heavy on the desserts this year---bought some pies---apple, pumpkin and sweet potato and my sweet baker neighbor brought over her "chocolate mud" pie----robyn once again made her delicious ooey gooey pumpkin cake--another master pieces of paula----and this year i tried the peach "dump" cake---which i am renaming a peach "cobbler"----loved it and so so very easy---

another confession---hmmm that's three, if you are counting---i saw one of my friend's pictures on facebook, and she was holding a giant collard green---so i just had to have some greens--okay they were canned---but next year, i am cooking them the day before--fresh                                                                                           
all in all everything turned out well--

oh i almost forgot---tired of that "green bean casserole"----i made up a california  vegetable casserole, which i will surely make again-----

got any hits and misses you care to share-----happy thanksgiving weekend friends

hmmmmm what did i tell ya

well well what do you know---you say those ornaments could not be in that bedroom closet, dillon----

enters frank---who by the way had insisted he had placed said ornaments in the attic----still he gets the credit----yes, you have solved the mystery with me---there they were in the bedroom closet--

dillon was not amused at my gentle lecture----the one about, what did we learn from this----he still protests---i encourage-----no no dillon, if you glean something from the experience, then it was all worth it---he frowns----

i tell him, clearly the lesson is to always defer to his "mil" as i surely know best----he submits--on the outside--

you see, dillon is being broken in, relentlessly---i explain---this family does not let anything go---now wait---

it is all in good fun---i mean even if you mispronounce a word---no good proctor would dare pass up an opportunity to call you on it and laugh at you, like a hyena----too much you say----

it is our way of showing you are loved, you are one of us----we have you now and we will not let you go---

funny thing is--no one in the proctor family is really a good sport---except me----really it is true---and that is most likely because i have no proctor  blood---and the fact that my weaver family was nothing if they were not masters of the practical joke and devilishly torturing humor----

i mean to this day, i cannot walk down stairs in front of anyone---i might elaborate on another blog about my seriously demented childhood---haha just kidding--kinda

oh and you all might be happy to know, i am in the Christmas spirit today----no promises about tomorrow or thanksgiving day---all i can say for sure, is that i won't be sending frank to the great american buffet this year, as they have closed down---now that is a story worth blogging about----another day

i know it's there somewhere---just one more time, dillon

it seems i have so many contradictions in my personality that i maybe should try my hand at writing about my weird psyche

this week i have been decorating for Christmas---so far i have three trees up----my big pre-lit tree--the one i purchased after season a couple of years ago---i got it for a steal---but the first year i used it, part of the lights stopped working----then there is my smaller fiber optic  tree--it is the one, my son colin got for me, way back when they first came out----and robyn's white dance tree---

that dance tree, has led to my yearly hatred of decorating----all of her ballerinas are missing---we have looked for them--or should i say dillon has looked for them everywhere--well maybe not everywhere, since we have not found them as of this post-----

dillon has brought down ornaments i have not seen for years, though---and i have almost every nook and cranny hideously decorated for Christmas----

i insisted to everyone, that next year, God willing---will be different---no multiple trees---no tiny angels and santas and snowmen ---

there will be newly bought candles for the mantle---fresh from my woods greenery---one table top tree--probably my little tree from colin- a wreath on one door and t's santa----

i am becoming my mother with every passing Christmas season----it literally over-whelms me----

so i write today--to stay sane ---to liberate myself with confession----and to stop myself from asking dillon once again to look in the attic for the dance tree stuff

what was poppop thinking---this is a rhetorical question

as i was thinking about whether to blog or not to blog today--it dawned on me---hey---you don't have to worry about catching everyone up on your life--you don't have to be concerned that you leave something important out or tell something you shouldn't---no wait, that last part--still working on that----still not that free writer---

yes life has been busy of late---some news---two of the grand-kids that made it to the football play-offs-are out of the games now--and another grand-child has one more cheer comp. to go--so far she has won the other comps------i realize as frank and i experience these times with our grandchildren ---how lucky and blessed we are---to be around our grand-kids and to be needed at times-----i just sorta hope that some of the days will stick with them and they will look back one day and smile at a memory with nanny and poppop---

frank says, he knows one decision he made this past weekend, will become one of those remarkable memories-----my grandson had hurt his wrist at football practice---the play-off game would have him suited up but surely not playing------during his team's game---nanny took a little break---when the game was over--my grandson informed me, while beaming, that he played in the game after-all---it seems the coach had come over to poppop and asked if he could put him in the game--he would put him in a safe position---well frank says," i asked cadhan, do you want to play and he said he did"--so poppop said, okay---he was unhurt, even though he made a couple of tackles----

i let my grandson, know how "lucky" he was, that nanny was not around then, as i would have not let him play----he was very happy that i wasn't around

frank tells me later, it's like when our son colin went with frank to the circus----he runs in the door and exclaims---"mommy, daddy let me ride the elephant"--he wasn't suppose to tell me----frank says, cadhan will recall this day, just like colin does the elephant journey--

at my son's daughter's cheering comp.---we are relating the story of cadhan playing with the sprained wrist--and how i would not have allowed it----when, colin starts---"yeah, mom, if you had been around, i wouldn't have been on that elephant"---frank smiles