In the mood!

I am in the mood for Thanksgiving! Now that I've got Halloween under control (she said sarcastically), I'm anxious for my favorite holiday of all...Thanksgiving! Several sitcoms have had Thanksgiving episodes on lately, and it really makes me ready for it!

I love Thanksgiving. I used to always use the Friday after as the day I started decorating for Christmas. However, several years ago after Lynn's grandfather passed away, I inherited Thanksgiving dinner for his side of the family. Since most of us have other obigations on the actual Turkey Day, we decided to make the Saturday after our Thanksgiving Dinner day. That meant that I wouldn't decorate for Christmas until we were done with all the Thanksgiving festivities. For all my holiday goofiness, I am a bit of a purist...I like my holidays one at a time! So, that first year it was difficult, because I was itching to decorate for the holidays. But as the years have gone by, I've embraced Thanksgiving weekend as just that....a whole weekend to celebrate with family and friends and, most importantly, thank God for our blessings.

An added bonus is that I can usually get most of my dinner supplies on sale the day after Thanksgiving!!

So, don't be looking for colored lights and HO HO himself at our house until at least the Monday after Thanksgiving..he'll be too busy eating turkey and dressing and pumpkin pie!

Hope you have a wonderful fall!

Cathy

It's Coming...

...and it won't be long now! These are the first pumpkins from our crop!! Thanks for bringing them home, Keith and Debbie! I've loved looking out my front door and seeing them there! It gives me hope that fall is not far away!!

20 minute fall craft!

I did a quick little 20 minute craft this morning, and I wanted to show all of you! I loved the way it turned out!

Here's what I started with:

A couple of bags of leaves, picked up at Wal-Mart for $1 each, and a table runner that was on sale for $5, also at Wal-Mart. I wasn't all that crazy about the color of the runner at first, but after I finished it....


I loved it! I just used my hot glue gun and glued the leaves on, focusing on the ends mostly, but sprinkling some on the middle of the runner, too...

I plan to use it on the dessert buffet at our Thanksgiving celebration!

Pretty cute, don't cha think???

Ever Grateful,

Cathy

PS-hop over to Haunted Hamlet and see what's on my front porch!!

Yearning for Fall!

At this time of year, I'm always more than ready for fall. We've had several straight days of 100+ degree heat and I'm tired of it! I want cool mornings, warm days and crisp, cool nights...I want a fire in the firepit (which we can have way before a fire in the fireplace!), snuggly socks on my feet, the red, gold and oranges of fall foliage and the holidays looming ahead!

I am ready for sweater weather and football, for pumpkins and gourds, for pots of mums and Yankee Candles in yummy scents. I want school to start, and a routine to get established. I want to start planning my Thanksgiving table, and not sweat when I think about it! I want the flies and mosquitos to go away...but not the fireflies!

I want fall!! But, as we all know, God promised us that everything has a season and a purpose...I'm sure summer is no exception. Perhaps it's purpose is to make us grateful for fall!

Thankfully,
Cathy

Gratitude

Lord, today I'm grateful that You are faithful and loving, despite our circumstances making us believe otherwise. It's all for the greater good.

Please pray for my sweet friends Cory and Shara...they are in an adoption process, and the baby is coming today! There's still a 10 day waiting period, so Lord, please, we want Your will in this precious families' life. God bless you, Cory and Shara!

Catching Up!

Thanksgiving in June went extremely well. I ended up not doing a whole turkey breast...I made a small (8x8 square) baking dish of dressing, then laid some turkey cutlets on top, doused the whole thing with chicken broth, and put it in the oven. It was really good. Lynn and I both liked it a lot.

My Sunday school class is still faithfully journaling at least twice a month...one Sunday I wasn't there on the day they were supposed to journal, so they coerced me into letting them journal the next week. Actually, I had it planned for them to journal, they just didn't know that! They are doing such a good job with their journals. One young lady even types her journaling at home and brings it with her to embellish in class. She really puts a lot of thought into it. And, surprisingly, they all "get" it. They understand the concept of gratitude, and have taken that and ran with it. I'm very proud of them!

Turkey Day will be here soon, right in the midst of Christmas in July. I've gotten so much done, all of which is chronicled on my Rudolph Day planning blog, Pumpkins and Reindeer. Check it out!!

I don't know yet what I want to do this Turkey Day. I've pretty well got my menu and grocery list done, as part of my CiJ prep and planning, so I won't need to do that. I would like to work on those plates I discussed earlier...if I can find the time (and, more importantly, remember to get the stuff). I'll be back to let you know what I've decided and how I've progressed...and maybe even share a picture!

Cathy

Thank you, Ms. Deen!

Although my Granny used to make Gooey Butter Cake, Paula Deen is the one that introduced me to the variations of this rich, flavorful, fat-filled delight! I love the pumpkin version, and I've made it that past two Thanksgivings...and it's been a big hit, both times. I can't wait for Thanksgiving in June so that I can make it again! Check out the Haunted Hamlet for my favorite Halloween version!! This is from Paula's book, Lady and the Son's Just Desserts

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Cake
1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
Filling
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside.
Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; add eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce speed of mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well.
Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point!
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Just remember that these wonderful little cakes are very, very rich, and a little will go a long way-even for piggies like me!

Pumpkin Gooey: This variation has to be at the top of my list, especially around Thanksgiving. For the cake part, I sometimes use a spice cake mix. I have even used a chocolate cake mix, but I think my favorite is the basic yellow cake mix. Follow the original recipe, adding a 15-ounce can of pumpkin pie filling and an extra egg to the cream cheese filling. Bake as usual, remove from oven, and allow to cool. Cut into squares and top each square with a pecan half. Serve with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. I promise you'll never want pumpkin pie again!

Those are Paula's comments, but she's right...you won't!!