Thanksgiving

 For my entire life, Thanksgiving has been a time filled with good food, friends and family.  Growing up, Thanksgiving was always at Grandmother's house.  There was no other option.  There was never an alternate plan.  It was always there and that was that.  In fact, Mom never spent a Christmas or Thanksgiving away from the house she grew up in. That was what she wanted and that's how it was.  Fine by me.  Early on, those Thanksgivings were filled with friends, mainly from church.  I remember Jim and Lucy Reich came several times.  The Herrell family was there quite often.  Becky Hartzog came as did Scott Walker and his family.  Doris Martino was a guest one year.  I'm sure other friends from First Baptist attended our gathering at different points, but those are the ones that stick out in my mind.  

When I was in middle school, Mom had the idea that we, as in she and Grandmother, would host members of Dad's family for Thanksgiving.  First it was Uncle Tuck, Aunt Betty Jean and Grandma Fornes for a few years.  Then Uncle Bob and Aunt Faye and their family started coming.  Soon, all of Dad's brothers and his sister and their families would come.  It was always such a joyous time for all of us.  As an adult, I have spent Thanksgiving in many different places.  Once Bill and Heidi were married, we had to divide holidays and spent every other Thanksgiving together.  Some years we would drive out to where they lived and some years, we would meet somewhere in the middle to celebrate. On those other Thanksgivings, I would normally be with the in-laws and that was always special.

This year's, of course, was going to be different.  Finding myself single at almost 50 for the first time in years throws tradition right out the window.  I really had no plans for Thanksgiving for awhile.  My good friend and next door neighbor always hosts a Thanksgiving dinner and invited me to be a part of it.  I was thankful for the invitation.  Through a series of conversations, we decided that I would host.  Lois works at a hotel and would have be on duty Thanksgiving morning, so since I was going to be off it made sense for me to have everyone.  Of course, I was delighted as I love to entertain and had not had anyone in the house since Easter.  After many versions of the guest list and the menu, our Thanksgiving ended up being small.  Just three of us:  Myself, Lois and her sister Ruth.  

I spent my Thanksgiving morning cleaning, cooking, setting the table and finishing up last minute details.  Even with only three of us, I still enjoyed putting together my simple table.  We had a wonderful meal and good time together.  It was good for me to forget about work and school and just spend time with people I love.  Lois and Ruth are family by choice, and I think it did us all good to be together.  For me, personally, it was good to reconnect with a part of myself I haven't used in a while and that's hosting.  I love it and that morning I felt better than I have in a long time.  

Admittedly, I did have a few moments of melancholy.  I was not where I normally would have been this year for Thanksgiving and I missed seeing that side of the family.  I often wondered if my absence was noticed and acknowledged or was it just not talked about, which is fine too.  But life changes and we change along with it.  In the end, the tradition of spending Thanksgiving with family and friends continued this year.  It may have been different, but it continued none the less.  And for that, I am truly grateful. 

Quote of the Week

 Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, I have spent a lot of this week high with emotion.  Sometimes good, sometimes not so good.  But that is life and I'm happy to be living it.  The one consistency in my up and down week is the gratefulness I am for what I have in my life.  I may not always recognize the importance of things right away, but eventually I do see the light.  This quote I found captures that for me. 

Recipe of the Week - Orange Glazed Beets

 

I haven't written on here in awhile simply because I have been busy with school projects.  And frankly, after the stress of writing homework all week I don't exactly want to sit down and blog LOL  It's a feeble excuse, yest, but there you have it.  I also realized it has been months since I posted a recipe of any kind so I thought I would start my Saturday out with one.  As an adult, I am liking beets more and more.  I only have a few ways that I prepare them so far and you can find those recipes on the blog.  I'm always on the lookout for a new beet recipe.

I found this recipe for orange glazed beets in an issue of Our State Magazine.  They really do have some good recipes in there and sometimes they're even not super complicated.  This is one of those.  I've made it twice and I like it.  It's easy, has a good flavor and looks nice on the plate!  And it can be made relatively quickly because you pretty much combine prepared ingredients.  Hope you enjoy!

Orange Glazed Beets

3/4 cup Orange Marmalade

6 Tbsp Orange Juice

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup of butter, cubed

3 14.5oz cans of sliced beets, drained*

Combine the first five ingredients in your pan.  Bring to a boil.  Stir and cook about 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken.  Add beets.  Stir to coat thoroughly.  Cook 8-10 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed** Transfer to a serving bowl and serve warm.  

Enjoy!

*you could slice and cook your own beets if you wanted but the original recipe called for canned, which makes it much easier.

**I have always had a hard time getting liquid to absorb, so I just use a slotted spoon to dish out the beets if there's still too much liquid in the pan. 

Pewter Candlesticks

 I will often peruse Ebay looking for items from my childhood that somehow got lost to me along the way.  Why they were lost, I don't know.  It might be because my brother has them now, or they got donated to someplace or they broke.  Just no clue, but I enjoy looking around for things and if they are a good deal, I will buy them.  It brings me a lot of comfort to have things from my early years be a part of my life now.  That's how I came to own these candlesticks.

My parents had a pair of candlesticks just like these.  Being that I was obsessed with handbells as a child, of course I was in love with these bells and played with them often.  They were pewter so there was little chance I could do damage to them and never did, actually.  They always sat on a small Martha Washington sewing stand that was in our front hall.  Sometimes they would have candles in them, sometimes not.  Still, they were a staple of our household for years.  Whatever became of them, I don't know.

I started looking for some on Ebay.  When I found them, I was surprised that there were more pairs out there than I'd anticipated.  I suppose they were popular in the late 60s/early 70s.  I have no idea where my parents got them, a wedding present maybe?  I was very happy to find them and decided to bid on them.  I didn't bid more than $10 and I ended up winning them.  I have had them several places around the house and will probably bring them back out for the holidays.  It's the little things that make me happy these days and these bells are included in that.

That is all. 

This Is My Song - Petula Clark

 I have several of Petula Clark's records.  Yesterday I was listening to one that is simply a greatest hits albums.  For a single record, not a collection, there are a good many songs on there.  This one was towards the end of the second side.  I'd forgotten how much I really do like this song and her version is top notch!  Enjoy!

Things That I Enjoy Doing Part 2

As the stress of the semester builds as I near the end, I still try to find time each day to do a few things that I enjoy.  I simply need to allow myself to relax some each day so that I do not drive myself crazy! And it's nice to give myself a reward after doing homework.  It makes my goals seem more obtainable that way!  Here are a few more things that I like to do for myself when I have/make the time for them.

Cooking

We all know that I love to cook!  I don't do it every day anymore because I don't need to.  I try to eat what is already prepared until it is all gone.  That saves on my food budget immensely LOL  but I do love to try new recipes.  There's just something exciting to me about that.  And I always stick to the recipe the first time I make it.  I'm not one to add my own spin to it until I see how much I enjoy the original recipe.  Most times, I learn that the original recipe is the best and there's not any need for me to change it.  But sometimes, I do.  That's part of the fun of it.  I love collecting recipes and recipe books and finding new ones to try is something that I love to do.  It's fun to put new recipes into my dinner canon!

Collecting

I've been a collector long before I knew I was a collector.  Even before I fell in love with antiques I was collecting.  When I was in first grade, my teacher, Mrs. Richmond, introduced me to the world of music boxes and I fell in love with them.  I collected them for years.  Then, in 4th grade, Mrs. Goebel taught us about gnomes, so that became my collection of choice for over a decade.  I got my first one for Christmas that year and that became a regular Christmas gift for me.  Nowadays, I collect all sorts of things.  None of my collections are huge, except for my vintage records, but I love to go on ebay and peruse my saved searches of the different things I have collections of:  after dinner cups, angels, Strawberry Shortcake, green glass, Lenox Jewels nativity pieces, etc.  I don't often buy anything but when I do find a good bargain, I most definitely go for it and add to my collection!

Listening To Music

I have music playing constantly in my home.  It just brings me joy, plain and simple.  Often, I will take a break and sit on my sofa and simply listen to a record or a cd.  I just relax and enjoy the experience that music brings to me.  Sometimes I will sit and listen to my favorite radio station, 101.7, as they play the best music.  You never know what you'll hear on there and it's always fun.  I'm especially looking forward to their holiday music because they play the largest variety of it in the state and it's not the typical 35 songs you hear on every other station LOL  Still, just enjoying music is very relaxing to me.

Disney on YouTube

I love Disney.  The movies, the parks, all of it.  I have been four times to Disney World and hope to go back one day.  I'm thinking graduation maybe, if I can talk anyone else into it LOL  But I have multiple playlists on YouTube dedicated to Disney.  There are behind the scenes videos, many videos about food at the parks, videos of the history of the parks and Disney and Walt Disney himself, and POV videos of the many rides.  I just enjoy it and it brings a smile to my face.  I will go down my Disney playlist rabbit hole sometimes after a long, long day and it just brings me a sense of calm and enjoyment.

Afternoon Coffee

Most afternoons, I treat myself to an afternoon coffee when I get home from work.  Now, it's nothing special, just coffee with cream.  I don't normally put cream in my coffee in the morning, but in the afternoon I do.  Not sure why that is, but there you have it.  And for my afternoon coffee, I always use a cup and saucer, never a mug.  That's Grandmother's influence on me....one of many.  But I love to give myself that down time after my day and before my evening of homework to sit and just let everything  wash away for a few minutes while I enjoy my coffee in a cup!

A Prayer for Perseverance

 As I get stressed out about my schoolwork right now, I need to do what I can to let go of that stress.  I have a tendency to make things more difficult than they need be.  So, as I was searching this morning for some guidance, I came across this prayer. It is a prayer for perseverance.  It was exactly what I needed in that moment.  I'm sure I'm going to say this prayer many times this weekend!!

A short student update :)

 I only have 3.5 weeks left in this semester.  That hardly seems plausible to me.  It has just flown by and I do feel like I am learning a lot...in a short amount of time.  I do with, sometimes, that the classes went the full semester and not just the half semesters.  I understand why it needs to be like this but sometimes there is so much to try to digest.  And if you know me, I can get very overwhelmed and stressed out over it.  

The class I'm in now is program planning and evaluation, two things I know very little about.  But I am really enjoying the class.  The textbook we read on team building is probably the best textbook I've had so far in graduate school.  Still, this unit's material is really complex and is hard to follow at times.  There are a lot of steps doing needs assessments and I can't seem to keep those steps in order LOL  It wouldn't bother me as much if I did not have other people relying on me as well.  Of course, that's going to be something I encounter in my career, so I really am looking at this as good growth for me.  

I'm in the home stretch of the semester.  I just need to keep myself focused and on point, not only for my team but for myself.  I can do that.  I will do that.  That is all.