I can't believe it's Thanksgiving week. We bought a 25lb bird this year, so I had to put it in our fridge Saturday , which is way early for me. But it just made me realize how close Thanksgiving really is. I'm going to make a list today of all the things I want to get done this week. I usually bake my pies on Wednesday, still have to practice cookies with Sarah, that will probably be Tuesday. It's things like that I need to make a list for, otherwise I'll forget the things I need to get done, and only do the things I want to do.
I will be finishing up our Christmas cards today. Well, the cards are done, pictures developed and yearly letter printed out. I just need to sign the letter, put the kids ages on the back of the pictures, then put it all in the envelopes. Maybe I'm a little optimistic on getting that all done today, but it's my goal. We also have a bible study tonight, so we'll see how much I get done. I just made a mental list of all the things I need to bake this week, I'm tired all ready.
We finished school already. We have this whole week off, makes things easier for me. But the kids doubled up on their school work on Thursday, and had Friday off too. Which was nice. I helped out decorating our church last Thursday, it was lots of fun. The kids were so good, and finished all their school work while I was gone. (Proud mama here).
Friday was a great day. I went to a new woman's bible study I'm going to on Friday mornings, and it was such a blessing. Then in the evening the kids both had homeschool outings to go to, so Paul and I had a date night. We went to the Olive Garden, and had such a nice time. We haven't had a date in a couple of weeks, it was very nice.
Saturday we decided to brave the stores and do our grocery shopping on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. It was a bit of a mad house, but it was fun. The hardest part was the cold, blowing wind. We all just wanted to get home. I thought I had gotten everything I needed and wouldn't have to go back out to the store before Thanksgiving, I was wrong. I forgot to get a big thing of cool whip for a fruit salad I'm making. Can't make it without it, so I guess I'll be running back to the store real quick on Monday. Then I won't enter a store again until after the weekend sometime. I stay clear of them all during this time of the year. We don't do the black Friday shopping, and I just read today how they limit those 'specials' anyway. Like those tvs or something big on sale. Only 4 can be sold from the whole store! Only four people will get that big deal. Ugh, so not worth it to me.
What we do the day after Thanksgiving is put up all our Christmas decorations. As most of my regular readers know, we put up our decorations the day after Thanksgiving, and take them down the day after Christmas. But we really enjoy setting them up. We eat Thanksgiving leftovers, drink eggnog, and watch It's A Wonderful Life. My kids really enjoy that movie. And it really is a fun, relaxing day. We are pretty mellow with our decorations, so it only takes a few hours. Hanging the Christmas lights in the kids bedroom takes the longest, but it's what they love the most. Falling to sleep with their Christmas lights on.
Well I should get going and work on the Christmas cards. It's snowing pretty heavy out right now. We need to go out tonight, I hope it lets up soon. But it is so pretty.
Friday we went to Colonial Williamsburg for the grand opening of the Coffeehouse, which I'll blog about later. One of our favorite parts of the day involved some unexpected news involving my son's Lafayette hat!
Now that I had the French American Alliance cockade made, my son wanted to return to the store where the hat shaper formed his Lafayette hat to his precise specifications a few weeks ago. As soon as we walked into the shop, the lady who shaped his hat welcomed my son by name! I was impressed that she not only remembered my son but also remembered his name. I explained that we needed her help tucking the cockade behind the lacing like the CW Lafayette wears his. The problem was that the lacing was too tight. Also we thought the lacing should go over the top of the brim. Additionally, my son wanted a button at the base of the lacing, like Lafayette. We discussed the possible options to make it happen.
She said that the other day Lafayette himself walked into the store and she asked him if she could look at his hat. (This is getting contagious. There is another CW employee who has been analyzing the Lafayette costume because of all of our questions!) She explained to Lafayette about my son's visit to the shop a few week's ago to have the hat shaped exactly like his. When she told us that Lafayette knew exactly who she was talking about, we laughed. I can only imagine how that conversation went. (Wherever we go in America, people know my son!)
The lady said that Lafayette's cockade didn't look anything like the one I had made. Instead his was black and more of a T shape. Hmmmm, I told her that he must not have been dressed as Lafayette then. My son explained if he's not Lafayette, he's Mann Page. She seemed a bit confused. I told her that I modeled the cockade after a picture I took during Prelude to Victory when he stood a few feet from me. Even though I have the picture on the computer and I can enlarge it, I cannot see the black on black. I was not able to figure out the precise shape of the black backgound of the cockade, nor was I able to tell precisely how the lacing went. However, I thought I got a fair representation of the white part of the cockade, which is more circular shaped instead of T shaped. She was thinking of threading a new set of lacing into the same holes in the front of the brim. I told her I thought that the lacing actually goes over the brim and ties somehow in the back. During all this discourse, my husband pulled up some Prelude to Victory pictures of Lafayette in his camera. After enlarging one, he handed me the camera and I handed it to her. In fact, my husband found several pictures this way and we showed them to her. Ah...she saw what I was talking about. There was white in the cockade and it was circular shaped. She had not seen that particular cockade.
Finally, she had a recommendation and showed it to my son. He talked her into setting the lacing over the brim of the hat and they had a plan. After the lacing was redone to accomodate the button and cockade, she put some special pins into the cockade to hold it securely in place. She also gave him extras, in case they would be needed in the future. The entire fee for this was quite small, which my son paid for. He tried to tip her but she wouldn't take it. She was definitely worth far more than the tiny fee he paid for this service. All he really paid for was the lacing. We already had the button. We were profoundly grateful for all of her patience and help. She was wonderful to work with, listening to my son and being certain of his exact specifications. She told my son to come back for future visits. Also she told him that they are going to start carrying these Lafayette hats in the store, because of him! How exciting! Leave it to my son to start something!
Now I am about to start my son's Lafayette coat. The one he has is falling apart and not accurate. I've agonized for weeks over how I am going to do the buff facings. This afternoon my son and I analyzed pictures together while he tried to explain how the facings work. Finally I got it! It is all one piece of wool. I'll use felt since it's cheaper and washable. The outside is blue and the inside is buff. Those millions of buttons actually have a purpose. The general can keep his coat in a buttoned yet opened position in summer. In winter he can button the entire coat closed. How clever! Now my son can be even warmer this winter.
We are planning to go to the Grand Illumination. I'm afraid I am going to be too cold. Last year it was in the 30's during this CW outdoor Christmas event in the evening. The Grand Illumination showcases special fireworks, music and entertainment. Some people have told me it could be 82 degrees. Hmmmm, yes, but there is no guarantee. It's the possible 32 degrees that worries me. My son really wants to wear this Lafayette costume and I want him to stay warm. Therefore I am going to try my hardest to crank this out while getting our unit celebration put together. Hmmmm, Thanksgiving is around the corner too. And my husband will want to put up the Christmas decorations, not that I know where any will go in this new house. And I am getting a new stove and refrigerator today. Talk about a new learning curve for roasting a turkey. Then after the unit celebration there are the lesson plans and studying for lessons. I'd best get to work figuring out this coat!
The trick will be two things. First I have to size down a man's small pattern for my son. Second I have to figure out the extensions for the button closure in front. The cuffs though are still confusing me. I am going to do what the milliner and tailor have told me to do all along. I am going to use muslin (or scrap broadcloth from past costumes) to make a prototype, which I can cut down, pin and fit to my son's body, basically creating a custom pattern just for him. Theoretically, at that point I can merely whip out the Lafayette coat on the sewing machine. I am excited now that my son helped me figure out some key elements! Stay tuned!
Oh, I also figured out the new flounce on my son's shirt is wrong. In the meantime it makes him happier since it works better than that cravat he was using to fill up the blank space due to the wrong kind of vest. Well I can only do one thing at a time. I'd best get to work!
Mix all ingredients except flour, then slowly add flour until dough is elasticy and not sticky. Let rise about 1 hour in a warm place, then form into small balls. Place on baking stone and let rise 30 more minutes. Bake at350 for 18 minutes
Chocolate pumpkin cake
1 ½ cup flour
2/3 cocoa
2 teaspoons baking bowder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk
1 cup pumpkin
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ sticks butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs plus 1 yolk
375 for 35 minutes. Makes 2 8” round cakes
Fudgy Frosting
8 oz softened cream cheese
½ stick softened butter
3T milk
3 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Beat until fluffy
Pumpkin Bread
2 cups sugar
1 cup olive oil
3 eggs
2 cups pumpkin
3 cups flour (must be WHITE flour)
1 ½ ts salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
Cream together top (wet ingredients first) then add dry. Put into loaf pan(s) (I make 2 small ones) Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2
I'm learning this the hands on way lately! Washing dishes by hand for over a month now due to a broken dishwasher. This morning I washed baby clothes in the bathtub due to a broken washing machine. We've had a few power outages due to the horrible weather. I had no computer for over a week, but Praise be to God, it miraculously started working when my husband pulled into port and was able to Skype! Our roof is leaking.. the list goes on and on! But the Lord keeps on answering prayers! In physical ways (the computer fixing itself is just one of many examples!) and through His Word! It's been such a beautiful time of growing in my walk with Him!
Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a refuge for me, A tower of strength Psalm 61
Do not FRET (worry) it ONLY leads to evil. ...rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him Psalm 37
When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul Psalm 94:19
At various times I have made and sold tutus for a little extra money. They are adorable for little girl dress up, they photograph well and the secret is, they are EASY (though time consuming to make).
I start with 1 1/2 yards of tulle for baby tutus, 2-4 yards for toddler and older. Walmart has some starting at .99 a yard (I prefer the shimmery kind to the regular which is a bit more) but Joann's has a lot more colors to choose from.
I use elastic for the waist band, but I have also seen ribbon used. I measure the waist of whomever I am making it for, then tie my elastic around the back of a chair.
Then I start cutting my tulle into strips. How wide the strips are determines how puffy your tutu will be. I prefer puffy and say go no skinnier than 2". You can also buy precut rolls of tulle, which saves you a TON of time, but is less economical (about 3 times more expensive). I did this once, and found it in the wedding/cake decorating section at Walmart instead of with the fabrics.
You just cut the tulle to twice the length you want your tutu to be (I try for knee length). I actually vary my lengths a little too. The unevenness helps it to be frillier and poofier!
Then you loop it over your elastic/ribbon, and tie it on in the center of the tulle. And repeat until it is nice and full and fluffy! That sounds more complicated than it really is!
I've also embellished the waist with flowers, glued pom poms on for lady bug or polka dotted themes. You can have so much fun, and it is a fun, easy, inexpensive gift idea!
I bought organic cocoa in bulk early this year at a great price, not realizing just HOW MUCH was in 5 lbs! So I was looking at my huge bag of cocoa and decided to make hot chocolate gifts. The kids and I mixed up a HUGE batch and started filling all sorts of random pretty jars I have collected.
Here was the first batch!
I'm hoping to get around to maybe making homemade marshmallows again too! We made them last year but would like to try again now that I have an actual mixer, and I think we'll use corn syrup this tie around too. I'm opposed to foods containing corn syrup, but they just didn't turn out right without it last year so for this one treat I think it will be ok!
Exploring homeschooling with 2 little ones--trying to capture memories of the sweet and funny things they say and do before my memory fades--comments on being a wife and mama
, which is way early for me. But it just made me realize how close Thanksgiving really is. I'm going to make a list today of all the things I want to get done this week. I usually bake my pies on Wednesday, still have to practice cookies with Sarah, that will probably be Tuesday. It's things like that I need to make a list for, otherwise I'll forget the things I need to get done, and only do the things I want to do. 
We went to the Olive Garden, and had such a nice time. We haven't had a date in a couple of weeks, it was very nice.
It was a bit of a mad house, but it was fun. The hardest part was the cold, blowing wind. We all just wanted to get home. I thought I had gotten everything I needed and wouldn't have to go back out to the store before Thanksgiving, I was wrong. 
I forgot to get a big thing of cool whip for a fruit salad I'm making. Can't make it without it, so I guess I'll be running back to the store real quick on Monday. Then I won't enter a store again until after the weekend sometime. I stay clear of them all during this time of the year. 
