One last hurrah!

Ellie stayed in her pajamas again, though Josh and I got dressed. They played awhile today instead of a PBS marathon. They did get to watch TV while Mommy got a shower and made lunch.

For something different, Gary came home and had lunch with us.

And instead of Ellie having a rest time, she got to spend time with me. I gave up my alone time to spend time with her. We had a special afternoon. I still had laundry to hang, which by the way is a frigid activity when it's only 30s, so we played Wiz Kidz while I did my task. When we came in, we played Phase 10 Dice. Ellie won. Gary says she has my game playing gene.

We ended our day with the kids with dinner and a movie - Veggie Tales Pistachio: The Little Boy That Woodn't.

Gary and I will end our day with another movie - The Natural.

Coming to an end

Tomorrow Gary goes back to work. His Thanksgiving vacation is over. It's been a good four days. Ellie still has off tomorrow, though we suspect it has nothing to do with Thanksgiving.

But more to do with deer hunting season. If you can follow the different areas and animal allowances, I think non-archery antler and antlerless deer hunting season starts tomorrow in our area. It is really hard for me to follow the list, but some of Gary's co-workers are taking off tomorrow to hunt. So something having to do with killing deer is starting tomorrow.

Since our move is next weekend, and we have some stuff to move before the movers come, Gary is taking off Thursday and Friday. We'll be having another long weekend. But decidedly not as relaxing. No lazing around in PJs this weekend.

Another thing coming to an end is Ellie and Josh falling asleep in the same room. Of course that privilege also depends on their behavior in the room once the lights go out. If it still sounds like romper room, then they get separated anyway. Though they just have to tough it out two nights, then they are back to sleeping together in the bunk beds at my parents.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are having a fine day here at the cabin. We decided that it would be best to stay put this Thanksgiving. So for four days the four of us will be at the cabin all day. Good family time. No running around, driving two hours to Lansdale, then going around to different family two hours back.

We again are in our pajamas. We had a fire up until the activity of dinner was more important than fire keeping. I plan to stoke it up soon. Well, actually start it again, since it went out completely.

Our menu included: the all important turkey, mashed potatoes, squash, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, corn, and biscuits. Dessert is apple and pumpkin pie, with homemade whipped cream.

Gary and I usually both make dinner. He cuts up what goes in the turkey, and I do the turkey handling. I make the cranberry sauce, since he doesn't eat it. He makes the stuffing. Ironically, we hardly had any of our own spices for this meal. I did the apple pie, he made the pumpkin. He also cooked the squash and the biscuits. I made the gravy and the mashed potatoes. I also worked very hard opening the can of corn, which was the only thing from a can. [If we were in our kitchen in Lansdale, we would have had fresh frozen corn from last year.] We made everything else from fresh ingredients.

It was our first attempt at pumpkin pie made from pumpkins. It will not be our last.

While the food prep was occurring, the children spent time watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, PBS kid shows (incidentally whenever I say they watch TV, 99.99% of the time I mean PBS,) the National Dog Show, and some football. They also built a fort, played with toys, and colored.

Josh is really only smelling the pie, though it looks as though his whole face is in it. He actually won't be getting any, since he wouldn't finish his dinner.

A turkey

A few weeks ago we purchased 5 chickens from a local farm. We were going to have one of those for Thanksgiving. But Gary decided he really wanted turkey, not chicken. So on Tuesday I went on a turkey hunt. We wanted a farm fresh turkey, but orders were already taken. I emailed four "local" (remember local around here could be 45 minutes or more away) farms. Two responded. One with a maybe. The maybe turned into a yes.

After a quick dinner of grilled cheese, we piled into the car and drove 40 minutes to Bohemia, PA. Our turkey is 15 lbs. Only four people will be eating it, two of whom hardly eat turkey. Needless to say we'll have leftovers. A lot of leftovers. We talked a bit with Annette. We learned how they started their farm endeavor. She also gave us two squashes. She told us the kind, but we forget it. All we remember is that she said the Amish call it dessert squash, because it's sweeter than most squash. Talking with her is like talking with my brother, Gary says. You ask them one question about the farm and their love of what they do spills out. We love it.

We then went to the grocery store, since we had forgotten the celery and onions for the stuffing.

Once home, we took a look at our bird and realized we had nothing big enough to roast the thing in. I made a second trip to Weis. They were not closed yet. At 10:00 at night, I picked up a few more things that were forgotten. Gary was concerned for my welfare, so I called him from the cell phone as I walked out the door, and we talked during my trip. While I was at the store, Gary started the roasting process for the pumpkins, squash, chestnuts, and bread.

After I got back, while Gary finished his roasting and such, we watched "Robin Hood." Bedtime came around 2:00 am.

Home with two kids

Yesterday at 12:00 noon started Ellie's Thanksgiving vacation. She might not be counting, but I am. She starts back next Tuesday.

Today we stayed in our pajamas and watched TV, with a fire to keep us warm. When nap time is over, there will be more TV, maybe popcorn. I've kept the fire going and currently I need to get more wood.

I have also organized all our paperwork and filed said paperwork. Around here paper has a way of somehow multiplying and taking over surfaces. I did two loads of laundry and have much folding ahead of me. I tend to get it washed and dried but not folded. I also played a few online games and posted!

Now I have to prepare dinner - grilled cheese and tomato soup. And get the wood.

P.S. The photo is the kids listening for water in a pipe. This summer.

Catch up

The house is painted, the termites taken care of. I think the house is ready to be sold.

Gary's mom has been HUGE help in packing. Each time we talk she's put more things in boxes. She also has our one cat, Patches. Patches is more of a one person, one pet cat, then a four person, two cat, one dog cat.

Kalli is with us at the cabin. She has spent most of her time under our bed. She does come out at night to eat and do her business and to take up room on the bed and walk across our pillows. She gets booted if a paw touches my pillow. She still tries, though.

On the trip up, we had to stop to clean up her accident. She pooped and peed in her box. Not pleasant, especially in a car. Then since Ellie woke up from the activity around her, she had to go to the bathroom. We were right near a state park, which thankfully hadn't closed their restrooms for the winter yet.

I tried posting every day this month for National Blog Posting Month, but I didn't say anything. I knew I wouldn't be able to do it. I just can't seem to manage it. I'm lucky if I post once a week. But I'm okay with that.

He turns 4!

My boy is four. He is full of life and giggles and goofiness. He is not fond of bugs and using toilets. He loves trains and cars and drives his versions everywhere.





This year's train cake. I lead Josh to pick the pan cake with a train drawn on, instead of an actual train cake.











While hugging the pan, he declared he loved his train cake. Apparently the drawn on train was good enough.










Besides the train trip, he got a handmade wood car and a stuffed husky dog (from Ellie.) Gary went looking up the type of car and found it to be a 1937 Jaguar Roadster. And the dog is a Webkinz, but we weren't impressed with the computer program.

All Aboard!

The Josh birthday train has left the station. We took Josh to Steamtown National Historic Park for his birthday this year. He and a blast as did Ellie and the parents and Grammy H.



Ellie is sporting a conductor's hat, gloves to protect hands and a signal lantern.










On the train.












Upon leaving the train, I read this message: Spitting is forbidden.











Gary almost enjoying a fine cooked meal in the train's dining room. (This is not the train we rode. This is a train car in the museum.)








Anyone needing the facilities on the caboose?
















Josh enthralled with a video.













The round house, with a turn table in the middle.













The steam engine of the train we rode on the turn table.












Ellie became a Junior Park Ranger.














Ellie and Josh sitting in front of Big Boy, one of the largest engines ever built.

Happy eyes

I am back in my contacts. As first I thought there was no improvement, but then realized I had the right one inside out. I am still feeling the need to squint while typing this post though. What's that about? I am tired of having issues.

The house

The house inspector was by the house last week. After much to do, all we are to do to satisfy the buyers is to pay for termite treatment. They wanted the pellet stove, but we said no.

The inspector for the FHA loan is another matter. He has a problem with the peeling paint, which just happens to cover every exterior surface that isn't brick. Although it isn't official yet, we will most likely be required to repaint all wood surfaces on the outside of the house, including the garage. And windows. And the inside where there is peeling paint. But hopefully nothing else, we pray.

A nightmare, to say the least. We called Gary's uncle who is a painter and not currently on a project. He and other family and friends will be painting over the next week.

We thought, "What if we say no." Our realtor said 24 out of 25 loans are FHA, which means the next buyer, whenever that would be, will most likely be getting an FHA loan as well. So, we're stuck.

We thought we'd be able to pay off some debt with selling the house, but all we are doing is going in further.

The cabin will be our home for a lot longer than we thought.

The third one

Little Miss lost her third tooth today. She knocked it out while playing after school at the bus stop. Now she did knock out an already very loose tooth. So loose, in fact, she could make herself look like Mater.

Although it was hardly attached, there was much blood.

The Observer

The women looked on as the old man shuffled off the porch. She had been to the store to purchase some everyday items and had watched the man deep in his memory. She wondered what in his past affected so. Pain, hurt, love. She thought of the rocking chair, and how it came to be on that porch.

The winds blew around her, pulling strands of hair from her pony tail. She was 11. It was an unusually cool summer. At that time, the porch only held backless benches for resting one's weary bones. The owners, a couple who had been there since forever, didn't mind the occasional sitter, but certainly did not want anyone sticking around too long. The porch was attached to a general store, the only one in the small town.

Shielding her eyes from the sun, she saw the uniformed man step off the bus. He held a duffel bag and a wooden box. He glanced up and down the street, but no one came to welcome him. Adjusting his belongings, he walked down the street in the direction of the general store. She didn't recognize him and wondered who he was.

An allergy

I have the unfortunate experience of being allergic to eye care solution. Walgreen's hydrogen peroxide cleaner is now off limits to me. My eye doctor said my eyes were irritated and slightly puffy. All I noticed was that my right eye had a slight ache and my vision would blurry easily. And to top it off, since it's not a vision issue, but a health issue, I had to pay the specialist's co-pay, instead of it being a free consult.

I am to wear my glasses for eight days and use some eye drops. It's only been one day, and me and my head are tired of wearing my glasses.

The Rocking Chair

The empty rocking chair sat alone on the porch. It rocked gently in the breeze. Over and over people walked by, but no one sat. No one took a moment to rest in the chair and to reflect upon his day. Days past into nights. Nights, back into days.

Finally one sunny day, a little boy let go of his mother's hand, when he saw the chair. But he did not see a chair; he saw a rocket ship. He climbed in and soared up into space. As the brilliant blue turned to black, he dodged stars and zoomed past the moon. He rocked invaders and saved the earth from the sun's death rays. Her voice called him back to earth, and the rocking chair was empty again.

Days pass by again. Walking home from school, a young girl sees her throne. She sits upon it with majesty and grace. She listens to her subjects and resolves their differences. The porch becomes the ballroom floor. She spins around her throne, watching her pink dress twirl and twist. Her crown tips back on her head, while she glances around her kingdom. As she chases her next dream, the chair is empty once more.

An old man, worn by years of hard work, sees the chair and remembers. He is back ages ago, holding his child. He sits in the chair and rocks his baby. He hums the lullaby that quieted his newborn, sent his toddler to a blissful sleep, and carried away the troubles of his teen. His eyes are closed, but tears
make their way down his cheeks. The rocking chair is still. The man pushes himself up and shuffles off the porch. The lonely chair waits.

Looking Healthy

We make our own ketchup, salad dressing, soups, sauces, pickles, desserts, to name a few. I have, unsuccessfully, been trying to get a loaf of sandwich bread right but am currently taking a break from that. We add to our list when we find something else that has stuff we don't want to consume. Like last night, we made tomato soup. Most people just open a can and never even think to make it themselves. The soup wasn't hard to make, and it made enough for two meals. If you want to try it, let me know. Since seeing how easy it is to make freezer jam at MOPS, I will now be making that.

Keeping away from the processed foods finds us making a lot from scratch, using mostly natural and organic ingredients. I read almost every label that goes in my cart; it can take me a while in the store. I try to buy local food, at farm stands. If I can, I buy meat from local farmers as well. If I can't, I buy the antibiotic-free meat at the store, and hope that the free range label actually means free range. I even ask for nutritional information at the deli. Some people might call me obsessed. I think not. I believe I have a right to know what's in my food.

A few weeks ago at my doctor's appointment, my doctor surprised me by asking if I had a healthy diet, if I watched what I ate. Apparently whatever I am doing is making a difference.

Side note on high fructose corn syrup - have you seen the commercials for it? Where they try to tell you it is just like cane sugar and your body processes it the same. That it is fine in moderation. Well, tell me HFCS industry, since you put your product in nearly everything, how can I only consume it in moderation? In looking up info on HFCS, I did learn one thing: subjects gained more weight when HFCS was in their water and their food, then when it was only in their food. So, the first place to rid HFCS is from your drinks.

A peck and a half of apples

That many apples gets you almost 9 pints of applesauce and one apple pie. At least I think it was a peck and a half of apples. You can see the bags on the table. One is a peck; the other two are left overs from a peck, which I think equals about half a peck, give or take.

Here is the set up for our applesauce/pie production. Josh is modeling the apple corer/peeler/slicer. See below for video of the boy at work.





Mister ham bone asked me to take this one. Usually, I can hardly get him to stand still for a photo. He's saying, "Cheese."











Apples cooking down.











Straining the sauce.









Finished product. These are from the left over peck, since you still see the peck bag behind the jars.

The entire process took over 5 hours, interrupted only by lunch and getting Ellie off the bus. Though the apples were still cooking down at lunch, and sort of cooking down while I was gone to get Ellie, since for safety, I turned the stove off. I did the applesauce in two batches, with a pie in between.




I'm tired.

And to top it off, we made homemade tomato soup for dinner. Or Gary did, while I finished up the applesauce.

Of course we had some pie for dessert.