Where did November go???

This is nearly the last day of November...which means only one more month in this year...how time does fly!!!!  And that means Christmas is nearing!  I still have Thanksgiving decos up and don't plan to do anything different until at least next weekend....or later.  I am not a big fan of Christmas decorations being put up until closer to the actual date! At least not for me...I don't mind others putting theirs up.

Thanksgiving was great..wonderful company..good food and lots of it!!  We have both UT (University of Texas) and Texas A & M fans in the family so my loyalties to the game were divided...meaning I was happy with whoever won! And TCU (Texas Christian University) won really big on Saturday so most everyone was pleased with football this weekend....except for the loser Cowboys...but I really like college ball better than pro ball...those kids really have heart!

I was watching a PBS show on Folk Music while pressing out some blocks, getting them ready for the quilt to give away at our Guild Christmas party.  The show really made me nostalgic!  The Kingston Trio/ Peter, Paul and Mary/ Joan Collins/ Bob Dylan/ The Brothers Four...now that is a group I saw when I was going to Illinois College for a year.  Back in the good ol' days, girls had "hours".  We had to be back to our dorms by a certain time.  After the concert, the Brothers showed up at this small bar where all we "cool" kids hung out.  We girls only had about half an hour to get back to our dorm...but we stayed around until the very last moment.  None of us had cars so we had to run back to get there on time!  We made it as I recall, barely!  Illinois College is a small college in a relatively small city...the college had about 1000 students (maybe not that many) and the town was about 45,000 so we could get around pretty good.

But the protest songs I heard today really brought tears to my eyes!  Nothing has changed, I am afraid...we are doing the same stupid war things we protested about in the 70's!  There is that line..."when will they ever learn..." and I don't think" they" ever will!

Thanksgiving Is Coming

Thanksgiving is coming...the goose is getting fat...oh, wait..wrong holiday!!  It is the people who will be getting fat!!!  In my article for TVQG newsletter I gave out a couple of websites...it is really my article from the library but I usually try to add a few other things for interest...after all there is only so much you can say about books.  But..I digress...the websites were one for Paula Deen's Southern Cooking and the other was for Weightwatchers!!  How mean is that!!

I started the big cooking thing today...have the cranberry sauce done, the meat for the dip (snacking after the game) done, the cake baked...I am making an orange cake like my mom used to make. It is my favorite and one of my daughter's had tried to get the recipe to make one for my birthday....her daddy looked virtually every where and could not find it!  He finally asked me about it and I had to say it is not written down...just in the head!!  So I told my daughter I would make one for Thanksgiving as it is a big cake and would write down everything as I did it....that means I will be expecting an orange cake every year from now on!!!!

I have the table clothes washed and ironed....I am looking for serving dishes that I haven't seen since last year.  Then tomorrow is continued cooking...the pecan pie, the pumpkin pie, the jellos...red and green...the giblets...will set one of the tables...the other on Thursday morning.

We have such a great time with all the family and the extended family.  My son-in-law says this is his favorite meal of the year...he wants my daughter to take note so the feast can continue when I decide to give up the honor!! So it is food, football, and fun (games).

Fall Colors and More

This is a pistach tree in our back yard...it is the most glorious red, but it is kind of hidden from sight...it is the first to turn in the fall and the last to loose its leaves.  We have two more near the front of the house but they are not nearly as showy as this little guy!

This is a baby quilt I just finished for a friend's grandson to be.  Both her daughter and son-in-law were students where I taught...great kids...the baby's room is done up in cowboy decor...this is a pattern my daughter has made for babies and I thought it was real cute...I added lil' cowboys in the corners.

My studioQ group meets Monday...last time we met we did an activity on designing kaleidoscope quilts.  I have been working on a pattern I designed to have to show using some of the fabric I got last year when we were in Juneau, Alaska.

Speaking of Alaska...I read in the paper the "great" Palin has a new book out...in reading a little of the comments about the book, I see she has the audacity to say that John F. Kennedy had lost his faith when he was running for president because he said he was running as a Democrat, not as a Catholic.  In her usual ignorance, she showed that she had no idea of the political mood of the times and totally missed his point.  I was not old enough to vote for Kennedy by one year, but that did not keep me from campaigning for him as a college student!!

A new beginning!

Yesterday was a significant birthday for me...the big 70!!!  I had a card from one of my high school buddies mentioning that I have now caught up with the rest of them.  Being a November birthday, I was one of the youngest of my class...back when we started school, January 1 was the cutoff date, so everyone born in the same year started school at the same time, so I started first grade at five....we didn't have kindergarten or preschool then.  The card was from one of the bunch that gets together every five years in a different city to celebrate....we have decided that maybe we shouldn't wait five years though!!!

With a new year for me, some goal setting is in order.  I have a list of quilting projects I want to get finished this year.  I want to finally really organize my pictures on my computer and scan and make DVDs of some old ones.  I have a jillion recipes I have collected I want to organize and actually use!!  I had started a "life story" several years ago and want to continue with it for posterity....my "legacy" for my kids!  There were so many things I heard from my grandmother that I don't remember, wishing I had paid closer attention or had written them down....and now there is no one to verify any of the things I do remember!  I only had one living grandmother when growing up...both of my grandfathers and my maternal grandmother passed away before I was born.

I enjoy reading obituaries...not for the morbidity of them but because I am amused  of how families phrase the death of their "loved ones"....now, that's a phrase I really abhor!!!  It is so...I don't know...pretentious? maybe...I can't think of how to express what I don't like about....but it just leaves me cold!

And another gripe I have....I listen to talk shows and it really irritates me when those answering the questions say "Now, that's a good question!"  That has become such a pat response...why not just answer the question without having to preface with an inane comment!!

Boy, I guess I am getting kind of bitchy in my old age!!!  On a happier note...I attended my guild meeting today and really enjoyed our speaker...Deb Karasik....she is a paper piecer and does really fabulous work.  She also donated a book with a CD to our library.  She and her husband are from San Francisco, actually grew up in the Bay area so I had to chat with them about my daughter having just moved back from there.

Oh, and another goal...I am going to try to be a better blogger!!  I don't know how many people ever read my blog, but I like getting my thoughts down...clears my head for bigger and better (???) thoughts!!

Fall is here!!!

The best thing about Election Day is that now we will not have any more political commercials or phone calls for awhile....hopefully!!!  I am curious to see how the newly elected are now going to "fix" all our problems....no one said anything about what they would do while campaigning...just "dissed" their opponents.

Nice cool days...my favorite time of the year.  Well...fall and spring!!