November Knowing

[treegirl]

Snow! image.jpg

We were at a dinner party last night and drove home at 10 PM in a light mist. Then awoke to 4 or 5 inches! I love it - The snow covers up my to-do list! Thank goodness I cleared the gutters and cleared out next to the house yesterday. I'm using a shredder to break down some of the leaves and have put them in netted areas where I want to create gardens next year. It's only a fraction of the leaves, but at least my new garden areas have a good start.

Lav, you have had a lot of family recently! I hope the overnight was fun.

Star, I am cooking Thanksgiving for the 3 of us - though it might as well be 8 of us - one has to make all the sides, right? So it's always an exhausting day for me, but OK - we haven't had SD here in a long time.

Pauly - what are your Thanksgiving plans? Hope you are feeling good today.

Well, there are plenty of inside projects to keep me occupied today. I wish all well, and that we try to hold hope and take heart, even in this increasingly dark atmosphere. Good AF Sunday to all.

[paulywogg]

Morning friends, Cyn,jealous. com on the snow!! I really miss the seasons, it always felt like out with the old,in with the new but now I'm so spoiled by Vegas weather I think it would be hard to go back, for Thanksgiving hubs and I are having a competition to see who can make a better turkey! Its only us,Kell and Louie and her boyfriend will eat a bit then go to his mom's house and eat again haha soI'll have xtra turkey but that's fine cuz I get a chance to get creative I was watching DinersDriveinsand Dives and this guy was making some yummy looking creamy turkey and wild rice soup,I might try that with leftovers,Star, I was watching Lifetime movies yesterday and the people all were drinking casually and I just think how differently I drink than regular people, I only drank beers but if I were a wine drinker,I'm pretty sure I'd just drink it straight from the bottle so yeah,no normal drinking for Pauly! Lav,wonderful that your daughter stayed over, Kell used to when Lou was little but now I think she just likes having her own space,plus she stays up late like 1 or 2 a m while I'm probably pretty close to waking up at that time haha,hope we all have a great AF Sunday

[Lavande]

Good afternoon friends,

Feels like the North Pole here today, geez!!!
39 degrees at the moment with gusting winds. The support holding up the cover over the chicken yard blew over, my neighbor's flag has flown off the pole & is laying in the middle of the yard
The overnight went well, everyone woke up refreshed & ready to roll, ha ha!
I had to find jackets of some sort for all of them. Theyarrived jacketless yesterday in 66 degree weather, ha ha!

Star, be careful running from hot tub to house in this freezing weather!! I think I would have a heart attack, Lol

I don't know if you are aware of The novelist Anne Lamott but you really should Like her on Facebook. She diesn't post often but when she does - people like us really 'get it'

Pauly, you need to refamiliarize yourself with seasonal weather!
Honestly, I don't think I would ever feel right totally missing out on winter. Days like this I find myself throwing a few logs on the fire every few hours, baking up a batch of fresh granola (dairy free) & tossing a chicken & veggies in the crockpot (not one of mine, ha ha).
Of course I don't like shoveling snow or worrying about falling & fracturing a hip but still....

Cyn, you got the snow??
The icy rain that was here last evening just stopped, no snow followed.
Enjoy the scenery from the warmth of your home. The leaves have been blowing horizontally for the past 24 hours so I'm not worrying about them

We have a fresh turkey to pick up Wednesday from our Amish friend. I still don't know if we are going to have any help eating it but that's OK. I have given up worrying about stuff I cannot control.

Have a great rest of the day!

Lav

[Snoopy56]

Good morning...

Cyn, thanks for the snow pics, looks lovely. One year we did not rake the leaves and they shrunk down by spring. It was fine. Probably good for the grass. How many sides do you make? I whittled it down to four: dressing, potatoes, sweet potatoes and green beans. That is plenty of food with turkey and gravy. My daughter is bringing rolls, (I don't care about them) and we will be stuffed. My husband is so helpful, he makes the best mashed potatoes, helps me clean up, and lift the turkey. I am excited to use my new dishes and set a pretty table. I never cared about that before, but there is no time like the present.

Lav, I agree, I love it being cold now, it can last till Jan 1, then go away. Haha,we know that won't happen. Nice to hear you had fun with your daughter and family. Hopefully your Thanksgiving will be peaceful. I wonder if your DIL is ashamed in some way, and does not have the social skills to mend fences with you. To blow up like that at anyone, let alone your MIL, in front of your children, is a reason to be ashamed. How do you repair a relationship after that? Will she be able to provide a nice holiday for them? It takes alot of work as we know. Going to the store yesterday was tough, crowds, running out of things, we ended up going to two stores to find everything. Then the unpacking, geez, our pantry is bursting with food. We are all so blessed and lucky. I found a ToDo Institute reflection on Thanksgiving and thing we are thankful for. It was wonderful. I love Anne Lamott, and have read several of her books and her FB page. Nice to hear we are both fans! We are really careful with the hottub, no snow yet. Last night it was cold but at least not windy. It is fun to be in the hot water, steam flowing outside at night listening to music. Getting out in the cold is rough.

Pauly, two turkeys with be fun, what will you do with all that meat? Soup of course for left overs, sandwiches, it will probably go fast. I was thinking as I was reflecting on all my blessings yesterday that being AF and being honest, having integrity, honoring my body, being there for my family are blessings I give myself. Also blessings I give my family, my husband, and our relationship. Hope you are feeling better every day!

Off to work after a week, it will be super busy. Have a great AF Day.

[paulywogg]

Morning friends, Star,your menu sounds just like mine,except I'll have some Mac and cheese thrown in there yesterday I was watching Louie and he turned and hit my mouth with his head ouch! It was cute cuz I told him it hurt and he said"sorry Nan" patted his head and said"it's made out of metal" haha I burst out laughing, what a doll that kid is Lav,will your daughter be over? Or does she do her own Thanksgiving? Michelle called in tears yesterday, think she's a little homesick, I asked if they're gonna be back by Christmas and she said she isn't sure,meh,that'll be sad if she's not,Cyn,anymore snow? Looks cozy to me,just wouldn't want to drive in it,yikes I forgot how,hope everyone has a nice AF Monday

[treegirl]

Morning all -

Snow on snow on snow - it just stopped sometime in the night last night. We must have at least 10 inches - some place got close to a foot. So much for an inch or so! I heard a meteorologist talking this morning (with all the technical information) regarding forecasts... It seems that because of climate change, there are odd cells of heat and cold where they are not used to having them... If something stalls around one of the cells, forgot predicting what will happen.

I had difficult/bad dreams in the night and early this morning, plus poor sleep, so I'm dragging myself around here today. I need to get back on track with business... Too many hours spent on house duties in recent days, and a short week this week.

Star - good luck being back at work, hope it is OK. Your Thanksgiving sounds great... I love to set a pretty table. I'll do that a day ahead this year.

Pauly - 2 turkeys.? I remember last year - wasn't your turkey the prize winner? Your leftovers sound good - I have a turkey chili recipe that I'll probably pull out.

Lav - our turkey will be fresh this year also... Expensive, but it's our big treat of the year. This year I think I'll cook the day before, when I pick the turkey up. Our weird oven/stove combo doesn't make it easy to do multiple dishes at once. This way the turkey can be cooked, carved and ready to go; gravy made at leisure and the pans cleaned up. Since I'm a single-chef kitchen this is it for me this year! Then just sides on Thursday. The weather is predicted to be nasty here on Thursday... I hope SD can get here. Good luck with whoever shows up at your house!

I am holding to my light, but to hear about swastikas posted in a near-by park in Brooklyn, and people feeling absolutely free to say the most hurtful, violent things now shows a shift in our culture that I find extremely alarming. Lav, thx for the Anne Lamott reminder, and Star, I'll check out the To Do site as well.

Take care all for this AF Monday.

[treegirl]

X-post, Pauly!! Great to see you -

[paulywogg]

Cyn,I've been having creepy dreams too,must be in the air

[Lavande]

Good evening friends.

Had an OK Monday & got some things accomplished with the financial planner this afternoon too. Dealing with pensions & investments & all that just boggles my mind anymore. Paying someone younger & smarter to do all that just seems to be the smart thing & we both agree, ha ha!
Still cold & extremely windy here but my young hens gave me 17 eggs today - woo hoo

Star, I hope your day back at work went well.
My DIL is a social worker - she is supposed to know HOW to talk to people. I firmly believe nothing is going to change until she gets her mental/emotional sh*t under control with the appropriate medication.
As far as a holiday dinner for them - she does not cook, not ever so I don't know what they will do. I hope my son goes ahead & brings the boys over here, we shall see.

Pauly, I need my hair cut, wish you were here LOL
Get Louie involved in 'helping' in the kitchen, kids love that.
My daughter is going to her in-laws this year so we may be sitting here with a turkey for two, oh well.

Cyn, I figured you got a good bit of snow. I was hearing 12-18" in upstate NY.
Geez, too much, too soon!
My dining room goes pretty much unused anymore. No one likes to sit at a pretty decorated table at this point so I am of the mind to not bother. I have all of my Mom's wedding china (circa 1942) but no one gives a fig.
I hope SD can get to your place OK.

Well, I wish everyone a warm & peaceful night. The fireplace here has been getting a good workout.

Lav

[Snoopy56]

Good morning...

Lav, how interesting that no one cares about a nice table, my kids seems to care for some weird reason. May be that all their lives I have been casual, paper plates (nice ones) and this is my first house with a dining room. We did a preview on Sunday with the new dishes and a tablecloth, it was great and looked good. You may have a peaceful Thanksgiving this year, hope it is a cozy day for your and YB. I have to remember to take out the turkey today to defrost, it is a big one.

Pauly, your grandson sounds like a darling little guy, so lucky to have him close. I love the relaxed feeling of this holiday, just food, family and football, spending time together. Looking forward to more time off.

Cyn, sorry to hear your sleep was filled with restless dreams. Every time I turn on the TV and see the new gov't I get sick to my stomach. What will happen when millions have no insurance, I can't even imagine. And that is just one issue. What a bunch of idiots, let alone the hatred that is being spewed. I know we see more of it due to ongoing TV, radio news all the time, and avoiding that is a good thing, I think. I have a question, how do you heat up the turkey if you make it a day ahead of time? It would make things so much easier, I am always scrambling to get other things in the oven and to just cook sides would be great. It was hard going back to work, very busy, but the day went quickly, just today, then five days off, YAY!!!!

Have a lovely AF day!

[Guitarista]

Hi november know all's! hehe.

Hope all's well.

How are you doing Snoopy? i think you must be quietly racking up the days. have a good one y'all. X

[paulywogg]

Morning friends, drama with Michelle but I really don't feel like posting it all again, it's on the daily thread, what a mess Star,we use paper plates with turkeys on them and plastic forks,sit in front of the tv and eat,sounds ghetto but it is what it is,I'm interested to know how you 're-heat the turkey too Cyn? At least without it getting dry,my turkey is always dry anyways, that's why hubs wanted to try frying one but I don't want to buy a fryer that we'll only use once or twice a year, hi Mr.G,thanks for popping in I don't think Dill is gonna come back and that really sucks! That just adds to the division that this dumb election caused,I'm over it... Lav,are you gonna quit getting chickens? I read yesterdaythat the growing your own food experiment was done,have a headache from worrying too much,I'm just trying to keep calm and try to figure out how to get my kid home, wishing us all a peaceful AF Tuesday

[treegirl]

Morning all -

Guitarista, so good to see you! I hope all is well in your territory.

Lav - those girls are hard workers, all those eggs! You must have power out to the coop, and heat on them, right? I would have to dig a path out our shed to get eggs today, if we had chickens... And no power out there, so I'm living vicariously through you!

Star - how wonderful that you are enjoying your dining room! In our current house, it's where we always eat - we have a butcher-block high table in the kitchen, but only room for 2, and it has stools - not so comfy. So even when I eat alone, I sit at the dining room table and light candles. I'm trying to be peaceful and mindful where I can be. Re: reheating turkey. I put the large cut up pieces in a casserole and bathe with good quality stock and partially cover with foil. Or sometimes I put it on the stuffing that I'm making the day of... It works for me! Just think how good left-over turkey is...

Pauly - how's life!? I hope your dreams were better. I still had big dreams last night, but not so frightening, whew.

Yay - a bright spark just flew up - my first bird since the storm. I have been concerned ... I put out suet right away after the storm, but no birds came, I mean none. Even the crows have been silent for days - it felt very spooky. But maybe they were waiting for the snow to stop (which it still hasn't!).

I have never watched TV, and am really staying away now even from radio. I read papers online in the evening, and that's distressing enough, but I can read international journalism so I keep the big view. For today, it's a victory that the birds came back - imagine a world without birds!

Wishing all a safe, AF day.

[treegirl]

X-post Pauly! So sorry to hear that there is drama with Michelle - I'll read on the daily thread. Sending lots of love and light.
(And PS: I remember that last year your turkey was NOT dry!)

[Lavande]

Good evening friends!

Sitting here with the animals, YB is out for the evening with the fire company's annual crew dinner. The pets are well fed so they're quiet, ha ha!
We picked up a fresh turkey today & I think I will go ahead & roast it tomorrow. I have tried different methods of reheating & think I actually like the microwave best, believe it or not. I cover a large platter with plastic wrap & just kind of let it steam in the microwave, doesn't dry out at all. As long as you have hot gravy to pour over, you are good

I have always set a nice table for holiday dinners but everyone seems to have lost interest so I'll save the time & energy for something else I guess. Still don't know if anyone is coming anyway & my son's birthday is Friday & he has to work, hmm.
Hope you got that turkey out of the freezer Star!!

Pauly, you should shake them up this year & make them all sit at the table, ha ha!
I hope everything is OK with Michelle. Maybe she needs to give the boyfriend thing a rest for a while. My daughter had one or two unsuitables too that I just wanted to smack around. One of them ran up some debt that she had to pay off, ugh.
I'm OK with handling the hens for eggs but I don't want to continue to raise the others as meat birds. Tomorrow morning I'm going to be sure YB is out there at sunrise & let him load 17 nasty roosters into the travel crates & take them to the farm. After all, this was his project!!!

Cyn, somehow or another the birds always seem to find their way back. I noticed birdseed flying out of the feeder today & saw there was a bluejay & a cardinal up there making a giant mess, ha ha. The little birds are much neater. I hope your roads are clear enough for safe travel. We are supposed to get a bit of rain here late Thursday morning. I bet it will show up in frozen form.

I've been thinking since the election that not talking about it is probably the worst thing we can do. I don't want to internalize the fears & worries that are cropping up. I am surely not going to just sit down & shut up. I will continue my peaceful protest in anyway I can until this craziness is over. This is history in the making & I will have a voice.

I wish us all a peaceful night!
Lav