It's Been a While...

Sorry about that. It's been a while since I've posted. The holidays came and went quickly. Then January came and went. My, how time is flying!

Thanksgiving we had a house full, like I mentioned. What I didn't mention was that we had a power outage the day after Thanksgiving. So, we ate dinner outside the following night because we had to. It was REALLY cold. My niece and nephew brought tamales from Florida that they made. You can't beat homemade food! This was a real treat for me to eat fresh tamales. I've never been invited to a Latin home for dinner. That is kind of hard to believe since I have so many culturally diverse friends.

Here is how we cooked the tamales.

Tamales Cooked Outdoors

We started to cook them on the grill my hubby made, but the water didn't boil fast enough or hard enough. My nephew brought over parts of his turkey fryer and my canning pot served us well. I had enough cooling racks to fit inside to hold the tamales while they steamed. Yummy stuff! I got the recipe!

Then, we went to Florida to visit these relatives for Christmas. We had a really nice time. We took some very small gifts this year. I made dish towel angels and they turned out really nice. I can't find my original pattern on the internet. When I do, I'll link it here. In the mean time, check out the internet for your own. There are several styles to make. I should've taken a picture.

Here is a picture of the whimsical part of my Santa Claus collection.

Whimsical Santas

 OK. There are a few snowmen in there, too. They are still cute. My porcelain Santas are on the other mantel and I didn't get a pic of them this year.

Here is the village we set up on our buffet.

Christmas Village

I have a small collection of porcelain houses that we usually put under the tree. The tree needs a bit of a hike off the ground to fit these under. I don't want to do that with the dogs traipsing around. I also collect aluminum ware. I love the stuff. Most of it is from yard sales. I like using these to serve dinners for company. Sometimes just for us, too.

The new year came and Hubby and I sit and wait for the ball to drop. This year we had a cheese tray, spread with crackers and doggie biscuits. I was in the kitchen getting our small snack tray ready and Hubby asked me to wait while he set up the living room. He put a tablecloth down and our pillows up against the back of the couch. I didn't know about the table (stool) and cloth for the table. He's so sweet!

Trixie Eyeing the Goods!

Well, the ball dropped in Times Square and we woke up at 12:04 a.m. We missed it! We must be getting old or something.

Our weather has been really up and down this year. One day we'll have 70 degree F weather. The next it will be in the 30's. Up and down and up and down. Today was in the 60's. It was nice and sunny. Tomorrow, we're expecting 30's and freezing rain. Wednesday may bring 2-3 inches of snow. I need to start planting my garden and it's hard to figure the weather out this year.

If we get the weather, look for pics. It is a novelty down here to get snow and icy rain.

Take care. 

Can't Sleep

HELP! I've gotten up in the middle of the night and can't sleep! I guess it's a sign of getting older. YIKES!

What better thing to do than update the blog?!

Thanksgiving day, we had a bunch of relatives over for dinner. This is my holiday to cook for everyone. We even had a few extra people at our table this year. We had a really lovely time. I also invited the neighbors next door to come over for dessert. They are an older couple and are really interesting to talk to. They are like an extra set of parents for Hubby and me. We keep an eye on them to make sure they stay healthy. All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better Thanksgiving day.

Speaking of desserts...

Here's my Thanksgiving lineup: yellow bundt cake was made into a banana cream cake. Middle left pic is a cherry and blackberry pie, middle right is pumpkin. Top left pie is apple and top right is peach. I also made a banana cream pie, which was in the fridge. They all turned out well and I didn't have too much left over as most people took extras home.

As I shopped for ingredients for dinner, I noticed something. Reddi Whip (cream...not oil...LOL) was a reasonable price for a large cylinder this year. I paid $1.98. Last year, I couldn't touch it for less than $4.99! Of course, I didn't buy any last year. I used Cool Whip. I try not to use too many things laden with food additives because we don't tolerate them too well in our home. So, I was very excited to get the Reddi Whip.

Did you see the afghan in the previous post? Mom loved it! Now, my brother would like one for his home. I am starting on it. It is a coffee bean brown with baby blue stripes. I'll put a pic of it on this blog as soon as I get it done.

Take care and happy holidays!