More to be Thankful for...

those laugh out loud moments. Even if they are at someone else's expense...
So, a well-known side effect of Thanksgiving is the post-lunch nap.
And O...in addition to taking in some traditional Thanksgiving fare, is recovering from double knee replacement--requiring some serious meds.
Ergo, nap time for her and entertainment/photo opps for us...
Pre-Thanksgiving lunch nap:


Post-Thanksgiving lunch nap:


And the Day After Thanksgiving nap:


And another event that day that for me, was not so laugh-out-loud--but exhiliharting for another member of the family. When my team, the Texas Aggies lost the BIG game against the Texas Longhorns. It didn't help that my brother-in-law, BKB, is a Longhorn. I had big hopes for my Aggies and they answered the charge from the Longhorns very well...until they got 2 touchdowns behind.

Sadly, it was before the 2 TD downfall that I had started talking smack with BKB--resulting in "consequences" for whichever person whose team lost. Turns out, I was the one having to don one of his burnt orange shirts emblazoned with the Longhorn logo, with my hand making the "Hook 'Em Horns" symbol. Complete humiliation for an Aggie...

Here's BKB holding the shirt that I eventually wore for my "punishment".


I'm awaiting the picture of me in the shirt making the obscene gesture. I'll post it as soon as I have it...

The primary highlight of the day was spending time with my family--and a killer smoked turkey cooked by BKB--monitored by my oldest nephew.
Here are some snaps of each.









The hostess with the mostess! Many thanks LB2 for a great Thanksgiving celebration!

I'm Thankful For...

...Getting to make a trip back to Texas for Thanksgiving. And getting a side-trip to Shreveport/Bossier pre-Thanksgiving.

It was great to catch up with so many folks--and even then, there were several more that I didn't get to catch up with.

During the pre-Thanksgiving trip to Shreveport/Bossier, O and I stopped in to visit a few more special ladies.
Here they are!




After our visit, O and I went back home to finish up some cooking for the Thanksgiving Feast that was due the next day.
The next day--Thanksgiving Day, we shuffled into Captain Cletus' car and headed down the road.

After a few stops to stretch our legs and some game day traffic--we made it. What a welcoming site to see the day's menu posted for us!


There was even a place on the board that listed who our "waiters" were (my nephews topped the list).
With a greeting like that...you know it's going to be a good day.

...more on that later...it's late!

Mama's Got a New Set of Wheels

I'll re-cap the Texas Thanksgiving trip soon enough...hold your horses for that...
Today's post is about one thing that I'm thankful for. While I was home Ouida got a new car. As much good as the Suburban has been for hauling people and goods, it was worn out.
It was a gas-guzzler to begin with, so we borrowed Cletus' car to do all of our Thanksgiving driving. This prompted the conversations about whether the Suburban had served it's purpose and was ready for replacement...
When, on the Monday after Thanksgiving, it left Ouida stranded on the main road in our hometown with a pooped-out alternator--the answer was a clear YES!

Another thing to be thankful for is a car dealer in the family. While none of us can afford the "new" cars he sells, Cousin H has great connections in the gently-used car department and had exactly what Ouida wanted.

Here's Ouida in her last drive in the Suburban.


And being chauffeured to lunch by Cousin H. Mexican food is always a perfect way to celebrate.


And here's Ouida's new ride...


That's one happy customer!

A Night with the Woods

Today, O and I hopped (OK...it was more of a shuffle) into the car (OK...it was Captain Cletus' car) and drove to Louisiana to visit Aunt Karo and Uncle J.
The ladies had a nice lunch and visit, then came up to "the woods" where they live.
I love it up here. It's serene and cozy.

How do you entertain yourself in the woods? Sit, Talk, Laugh and Cook!

Aunt Karo needed some Pumpkin Raisin Bars cooking, so I popped into the kitchen to make a mess.

Here's the recipe:
Pumpkin Raisin Bars
2 C. All purpose Flour
2 C. Sugar
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Cloves
1 C. oil
4 eggs
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1/2 C. chopped nuts
1/2 C. raisins

Frosting:
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 (3 oz) package cream cheese, softened
2 C. powdered sugar
1 Tblsp milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees (F). Grease 15" X 10" X 1" baking pan. In a large bowl combine all bar ingredients expect nuts and raisins; beat at low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Stir in nuts and raisins.

Pour into greased pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely.

In a small bowl, combine all frosting ingredients; beat until smooth. Frost cooled bars. Store in refrigerator.

For a Pumpkin Raisin Cake, use a 13" X 9" pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

The funny thing about cooking in another person's kitchen is that the tools are not your own. For instance--the pre-historic hand mixer and jazzy apron. See photo below...


Pre-historic though it was, it worked like a charm!

What fun to get to spend time with people I love and don't get to see very often.

The next morning, we took our time getting up and about--ate some pumpkin cake for breakfast and took a few snaps before hitting the road to visit some other folks.
Here is one of me, Aunt Karo and Uncle J.




I liked Aunt Karo's hat so much that I went out and bought one for myself!

First Major Home Improvement

As much as we love our house...we don't love spending vast amounts of money on "maintenance". Especially when there's still so much to do inside the house. But...this week, that's exactly what we did.
The garage doors looked decent from a distance, but get too close and you see the chinks in the armour. Rotten wood, peeling paint, and a latch so secure that a toddler could pull the doors open.

So, we now have new garage doors. Yippee!?

Before (imagine it without the car)...


And After...

That Little 'Ol Band from Texas

A couple of weeks ago, on an average Wednesday night...Paulster, Hachie Gal, a couple of other friends and I went to see the amazing ZZ Top at Wembley Arena. It was a fantastic show...taking me right back to the days of driving around in my Nissan 280Z with the T-tops off, wearing my Ray Ban Cats sunglasses...blasting the Eliminator cassette tape. Back before I understood what the songs Pearl Necklace or Tube Snake Boogie were really about.

It was an enclosed arena, so pretty darn loud, and our seats were...well, not so close to the stage. So it was perfect to just sit and enjoy the music. Billy Gibbons is turning 60 next month and he's not slowing down one bit. The guitar, bass and drum trio were incredible as ever.

Pearl Necklace was the only song I could think of that I expected to hear...but didn't. The rest were all on the play list that night. Sharp Dressed Man, Legs, Tush, La Grange, Gimme All Your Lovin, Jesus Just Left Chicago--all there!
And a bonus track of Foxy Lady that was as good as Jimi Hendrix himself could have played it.

Here's a video clip of Legs, complete with the fuzzy white guitar & bass:


And a few other shots and videos from the gig.




Video of Foxy Lady:


Turn your computer screen to see the clip of Sharp Dressed Man!




What a great way to spend a Wednesday night!

Oh Canada!

It's a sad week here in normally Jolly 'Ol England...Sven and Banana have officially moved to Canada. It was a tearful goodbye in the high street of Uxbridge after lunch and a little reminiscing on Tuesday afternoon as they headed off to the airport.
Here's a pic of the boys having one last pint on Tuesday afternoon. Paulster, Sven and Vik.


A couple of weeks before hand, a surprise going away party was organised and was a fitting celebration for nearly 4 great years of getting to know these two.
A quick pic of the table...


They have such a diverse group of friends here in London and given their cultural backgrounds, we decided to give Honorary Canadian Citizenship (and names) to those with a Croatian heritage/name. Those of us with non-Croatian backgrounds were given Croat names.
My name in Croatian is: Cvijeta Anđelka Pešut.
Paulster's is: Pavao Vlatko Damjanović.
Drama's is: Marija Valerija Damjanović.
Blondie's is: Iskra Marijana Damjanović.

And we all have certificates to prove it!




Borat featured into the evening's celebration...to maintain the surprise, we all held Borat faces on sticks in front of our own faces as they were led into the party area. Then...the "masks" just ended up being props for the rest of the evening.

Here's Maven looking coy with her fan.


And Budman Borat.


And Budman and Blondie "feeding" Borat some Tiramisu. Lovely, fresh Tiramisu it was!


Budman and Hachie Gal joining the party!


And Sven & Banana with the girls as the night ends.


We know having them in Toronto means one more place we can visit and a couple more reasons to get there. We've had such a great time over the years with them here in London and in several other places we've ventured together...Paris, Croatia, Brighton, Hampton Court Palace, Pizza Express, Nando's, KFC, dinner at ours, countless pubs, the coffee bar at work...every place we turn is a memory of the fun times together.


A shot of Sven and Banana one last time at Pizza Express!

And some of our outings...
Brighton Pier


The boys at Hampton Court Palace


One Hot Married Couple (you had to be there...)


Helping us paint the kitchen!


And one last cuddle wtih Kenny...


You will both be missed here in London immensely!
We wish you all the best in your new life in Canada.