My Thanksgiving Dinner!

I have yet to figure out why EVERY SINGLE time (at least it seems so) I try to cook a "nice" or holiday meal - something goes horribly wrong.

Since we didn't have any plans for joining anyone for dinner - I cooked. I got my turkey in, my stuffing and potatoes done, simmered my giblets for a couple of hours, and made a great looking giblet gravy. The gravy and stuffing is what makes the meal - at least to my way of thinking. And I need gravy to eat turkey. A deep fried turkey doesn't seem to need so much - but oh well, I roasted the bird - it came out beautifully! I didn't do the fruit salad or green bean casserole - but we'll have that at Christmas with S'te and family (oh, yes!, we get to spend Christmas Eve with them!)

I put it on the table and took a picture - for those who think I've forgotten how to cook, LOL I took the picture and realized that the bowl of gravy was still sitting on the stove.......

I started to pick up the bowl and realized it was still really, really hot - grabbed the potholders and picked it up and WALAAH, the bowl broke into 4 pieces. I put the potholders down, thought (I think) a few choice things and immediately tuned into a blubbering mess.

Keith came running in to see what the CRACK was and met me 1/2 way down just as I was grabbing a dish cloth. The gravy was to hot to wipe up and to big a mess to even look at right then....... so we had dinner....... after dinner Keith helped me clean up this mess......

We realized the gravy had gotten into the vents at the top of the oven and I wondered out loud about taking off the handle to clean them out.... Keith "helped out" by asking if there were screws on the inside of the oven door..... I looked, yes, there were.... so I unscrewed them... the whole oven door came apart!!!! Well, I got everything all cleaned out and we began trying to reassemble it. One screw had hibernated, the molded fittings on the sides of the door had broken, the bottom 'thing' had bent, and nothing wanted to fit again. Keith, with his infinate patience found the missing screw (in the rail to the underneath drawer), and got it all back together - minus those pretty plastic pieces that you see on the sides. The bottom of both had broken off.

So the oven is back together, we are still eating turkey (I froze a lot of it), the floor under the stove is very, very clean, and I am minus one of my cut glass bowls.

That is my story - I am over it now..... I can almost point out the appliance that fits to most of the meals I have tried to cook..... That is my story - and I'm sticking with it!

I took this picture in Orlando when we got home. I never believed we'd ever see $2 gas again. Boy, don't ever believe anything that I believe in 'cause the gas here is down below $1.80 now!

Here also is a picture of our "shrubs" after neighbor Jessie finished cutting them down to size. She was afraid to cut them more than 1/2 way. Things do tend to grow around here. I planted this Hibiscus about 3 years ago and it was a little bitty $5 plant! Same with the others that I planted - and the rubber trees are over my head and still going strong!!

Today we are finishing the load up part for the RV. Boy have we got a lot of "stuff"! And it's all good stuff - stuff that hasn't been used in years and stuff that we've never used but it came with other "stuff" that we got! The thermometer says 80 degrees out and I'm hot. I have to keep reminding myself that it is winter here - when I see neighbors with sweaters and jackets on!!

So, we will be on "cell phone" only for the next few months as we wander our way around.....

Back East!

We are back in Florida - for a few weeks anyhow! We got back last Wednesday - did the red-eye - So got very, very little done on our first day back. We've started cleaning out the stuff to put into the RV, got the bushes trimmed back (with the much needed assistance of neighbor Jessie), have piles of brush for the recycle to pick up, and went to the grocery.

That's what I've done in 5 days. Not much. But I'm getting there!
Just wanted to check in.

Will do pictures in the next day or two!

Me and my Pity Party!!

Woe is me!!

My 'puter is back in the shop again! It's been there for 2 weeks now! Hope to get it back before we leave San Diego on Tuesday!!

We (at least I) had a wonderful time getting to know the babies (from 18 on down) again - I live for seeing them grow! What a blessing! They all are so different, so individual, but at the same time they are all so sweet and giving. Shows what great parents Rod and S'te are!

I am using Keith's 'puter to type as he and Dad are 'napping'! We drove up here to Bullhead City yesterday. We've had a great visit.... Boy the winds do blow!! Dad said these winds are the ones fueling the fires in California. Those poor poor people!!

Anyhow, wanted to let everyone know why my emails are few and far between and that we are doing great. We will be headed back east on the red-eye on Tuesday.

So, join me in my pity party!! And pray for those who have been displaced and are endangered by those horrible fires.... when I think of them - I feel so totally and completely blessed~ in so very many ways!

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon. It was an ok flight for me but I think it may be a lot easier to come down here via Portland. At least that way the longer portion of the flight is on a plane that Keith's legs will fit into the seat. He was really cramped throughout the entire trip. The second flight was between San Francisco and San Diego. The airlines had switched our seats to a middle and aisle - so I took the middle - since the would've had absolutely no place to put his feet if I hadn't!
We got here in time to help celebrate Ladaria's 17th birthday. She has matured so much!! Hasn't she turned into a beautiful young lady? I certainly think so!!


And then next came Halloween!! There are certainly lots of children here! I stayed here with Cavelle and handed out the bushels of candy that S'te left behind before she went out with the "troop" to do thier own Trick or Treating. I had 3 pieces of candy left when they returned!!! Cavelle had a blast waving at all of the really cute costumes that came visiting. It is sure different from the dozen or so that would come by in Vero or the 3 that visited last year. There sure won't be a bundle of leftover candy left here!! Anyhow, here are this year's goblins.....
Cavelle actually stayed here with me but I wanted a picture anyhow~


Jaleel was a "dead" football player~




Brayana was a "granny football player"~
Makkiah was a member of "SWAT" ~





Destini a Cheerleader ~

Taniyah was a Geisha ~ in the dress that Daddy brought back from Singapore ~

Ladaria, Raquel, and friends were Candy Bandits~~

And I think they all had fun!

~Happy Halloween to you too!~