Best Turkey Ever

With Thanksgiving a week away I've been thinking about the best turkey I had ever roasted.  It was in 2002 and we were liivng in Alaska at the time.  We invited our closest friends over to join us and the feast was on. 

This photo found on Simply Recipes.com 

I had found the recipe in a magazine. No, I don't remember which one. Yes - I probably still have the issue as I can't seem to part with magazines very easily. (but I have reduced my subscriptions down to just a few) So I know somewhere in one of my 2002 issues I should be able to retrieve the BEST TURKEY recipe ever - but where?!   

To the best of my recollection it was an olive oil rub with herbs that was placed under the skin as well as on top. But do you think I can drag out of my memory bank exactly what all was in it?   Herbs, minced garlic, worchestershire sauce, soy sauce????  Whatever it was - it was soooooo GOOD - that I recall for sure.  So does my husband as he mentions it whenever I make a turkey.  Excuse me as I start hunting through old magazines. 

FOG - Or is it just my mind?

We are in a fog again ...

or is it just my mind?  

I feel myself sinking 

into BLAH blah land.

Not to worry -

this too shall pass. 

But when it's so

gray & lifeless

outside 

 it's hard to find

 motivation

inside. 

Snow - Beautiful Snow

There's SNOWplace like home!

There's snowplace like home!

I wish I could have slipped into some ruby slippers and clicked my heels together to instantly tranport me back to my home this morning, rather than the drive on snow covered roads.

We went 'home' to visit with my Mom and siblings for a few days, but when the weather took a turn for the worse we decided to try and beat the worst of the storm and head for our 'home' a couple of days earlier than planned.  Wet slushy icy snow covered roads caused some accidents along our way, but thankfully none involved us. After the first hours drive, the roads warmed enough to melt off the snow for ease in driving. 

 Mom had her house resided and new windows put in this fall. This was our first time seeing it. Prior to this the house was white with red gable ends.  I love the 'gingerbread' appearance as you approach the house now, however...

 the backside of the building looks a little larger than a 'gingerbread' type house. 

Even the chicken's had their coop redone to match the house.

 

The Edmund Fitzgerald

Remembering

 The Edmund Fitzgerald

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/09/edmund.fitzgerald/index.html

I did this scrapbook page a while back but I thought I'd share it today

Brightening the Day

We are in that dull stage of fall when the beautiful leaves have already blown away and the grass is dead or dying.  I came across this picture that I took at my Mom's home in Wisconsin this summer and it brightened my day. 

Do enjoy -

The Old Barn

I was just reading a great blog I follow called Ships Log where Jack took a picture that inspired me to share a couple of scrapbook pages I did last year. Thanks Jack.
The house just had a facelift however; I haven't been 'home' yet to see the new siding and windows. I can hardly wait to see the changes.

I loved growing up here.

How Time Flies

We were hoping to get back up to Lake Superior this summer, but it didn't happen. We live an hour away and it didn't happen.  Instead we allowed ourselves to get super busy. Between our own yard work, gardening, weddings etc. we neglected our own play time.  There's no one to blame but ourselves but when I got looking through some pictures I was amazed how long it had actually been since I snapped some photos up there.  These pics are from 2006 - seems impossible that much time has passed by so quickly. I think we had only been up there once since but I didn't take pictures.  You'll see why I want to go back.

Boo Waa Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Oh the fun I had creating...  

 

 

 

Double, Double Toil and Trouble ...

photo found at http://www.grandinroad.com/  thank you

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

from Macbeth

A dark Cave. In the middle, a Caldron boiling. Thunder.

Enter the three Witches.

1 WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.
2 WITCH. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin'd.
3 WITCH. Harpier cries:—'tis time! 'tis time!

1 WITCH.
Round about the caldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.—
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!

ALL.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

2 WITCH.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

ALL.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

3 WITCH.
Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
Witches' mummy; maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark;
Root of hemlock digg'd i the dark;
Liver of blaspheming Jew;
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,—
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
For the ingrediants of our caldron.

ALL.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

2 WITCH.
Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

Grandaughters Weekend

We just had a GRAND as in GRANDAUGHTERS weekend.   Every fall my daughters load up the five grandaughters and head 'up north' for a weekend.  This year we had a quick little 'birthday party' for Grandpa.  The girls decorated cupcakes and  make him homemade birthday cards, along with the gifts they gave him. Then I told them it was a backwards birthday party and we gave them some gifts too.  It was so much fun, but as always the time went way too fast.

Seek and Ye Shall Find

We live 'up north' which is actually thousands of miles south of where we lived before (North Pole, Alaska - and oh how we miss it) but that's another story. And just the fact that we are living 'up north' I always wanted  to get a good wood burning stove.  What if the power went out and I still wanted to make a pot of coffee, or maybe a good old kettle of stew. So, I've been watching for the past few years, no big hurry, just watching and knowing that one day the opportunity would present itself and I would find that perfect for our purposes stove. And here it is ~ she needs a little care but very little.  I just love her stylish legs and the price was right for our budget.  Who could ask for more.



Last Time - I Swear!

For those of you who follow me, you're probably sick to death of my moon flower pictures ... but I have one more to share.  LAST TIME - I SWEAR!

Being it was my first time growing this plant, I really didn't quite know what to expect.  I must say I was very excited with the results.  My sister gave me 4 seeds in a Christmas card.  I started them indoors and transplanted them as soon as it was warm enough up here in our Northern region.  All four flourished. 

I loved watching them grow.  The way they unfurled into huge bloosoms kept me checking them on a nightly basis.  They open at night you know, thus the name MOON FLOWER.

So there you have it, my final pictures made into a memory page.

The Demise of the Old Apple Tree

And now; a funny little story about "The Demise of the Old Apple Tree":

We live in apple country. There are a lot of wild apple trees around here - let alone the orchards people have started.  When we moved in the tree on the corner of our lot was old but still producing well. It was so loaded with apples that we had to prop the branches up so they wouldn't break down onto our new split rail fencing.  The tree was also so hollow that we knew it was on its last leg, so we cut the branches off one at a time, carefully setting them on the ground and then picking the apples off.  Well you can only imagine the looks people were giving us as they drove by.  Finally the next door neighbor walks over and asks "what are you doing?" to which I replied "picking apples."  He looked so befuddled I wish I would have had my camera ready.  He says "Um, What about next year?"  I asked "what? "  He repeats "What about next year?"  I said, "well there are lots of apple trees around for next year."  OH MY GOSH ... by now I could hardly hold a straight face, my husband is standing back snickering to himself and the old fella was showing fear in his eyes. Fear that his new neighbors were idiots and that there wouldn't be an apple tree left in the country within a few years time.

The joke had gone far enough.  We showed him how hollow the tree actually was and that the branches were barely hanging on and it certainly wouldn't have made it another year.  But for those few brief moments, my hubby and I truly enjoyed our common wierd sense of humor.

Late Bloomer

I've been babying this fuchsia plant since early spring.  It would be loaded with buds but they never seemed to fully open.  So earlier this fall I had my husband hang it under the pine trees and from that point on we totally ignored it.  I guess it didn't like my pampering ~ because all of a sudden it decided to bloom; without my help.  We've had temperatures dip to the hard freezing points but it's still thriving. 

This picture was taken last week -  as you can see by the pine needles.  But now that beautiful fuchsia keeps on blooming and it brightens up that corner of our yard.

 Today is 10-10-10.  

Fall Cleaning

Surprise! I have a new look.  Don't run away ~ if you're looking for CHER SHOTS then you're right where you belong.

I'm not usually the one to promote products through my blog but we did some 'fall' cleaning today and our windows shine!  I believe credit should go where credit is due: http://www.windexoutdoor.com/#/product The extended handle makes the job a bit easier too.
We were both very happy with the results.  Thom went around the outside of the house taking down the screens, washing them as well as the windows while I did all the of the windows on the inside.

Heres a little helpful tip: If you do the windows in a side to side pattern on the inside and up and down on the outside, you can then tell which side of the glass any streaks may appear on.  

We are so thankful for the wonderful weather we've had this past week. It made cleaning the garages, taking up the end of the garden produce, canning, gathering leaves, mulching, digging flower bulbs etc. an enjoyable experience.  I hate doing those chores all bundled up in heavy clothes.

Happy cleaning!

Bear With Me

~ Please stand by ~

I'm searching backgrounds!

A little tweak here

maybe a new gadget there

Time will tell

how all turns out!

Halloween Sky

I took this picture in August while traveling 'home'.

It developed into quite a storm that night.

But now is the season

of ghosts and gouls ~

I keep watching for a

 witch to do a fly by.

Dreams

Sometimes I Dream:

I'm a writer;

 I'm the one with the spell binding words

    that keeps others flipping through pages. 

I'm an artist;

 putting colors and textures from pallette

 to canvas - filling voids on naked walls.

I'm a chef;

combining ingredients to perfection -

not by measure but by knowing,

 knowing it needs a bit of this or that.

I'm a farmer;

small animals gather at my feet.

Chickens follow me as I gather their eggs. 

 Dogs, horses, goats and kittens - come by name.

I'm a traveler;

no destination, no time limits - 

just travel.

I dream of family and friends;

coming and going -

laughing and crying;

tears of joy only

would be nice 

because it's my dream.

Pink Hardy Hibiscus

The blossoms are so delicate they

remind me of crepe' paper.