The Dressing Saga

I'm sure you are all wondering about my Thanksgiving dressing and how it turned out. I must say.....mom would have been proud. It looked just like how hers looked and better still, it tasted like hers! It was said that it could have used a bit more sage, but other than that it all got eaten and was highly praised! Wooohooo. My culinary skills are now perfect! LOL. It was a quiet Thanksgiving, just the two of us....ok, three counting the cat. We ate, we went to a couple of craft stores, and watched a Jane Austen movie. That's about it. Now that I have mastered my mother's dressing, I can make it any time I want! That's something to be thankful for!

The Bird

Ok, I know we are supposed to not say bad things about the person behind the counter, after all they may be having a tough time, but still........back in the day when I worked at Walmart ( way way back ) I ......well never mind, it might lead to complaining. :-) Our Thanksgiving meat will be on the table via rotisserie chicken from Walmart. Mmmmm. Seriously, we love them. I went out to get one today and of course, they don't have the kind we like. So I had to get two little ones. TWO?? Gotta have leftovers. I have to say I am getting suggestions from all over on how to make the dressing. I've found a recipe online that is exactly what we want. Sounds easy enough. But I'm still getting 'suggestions'. "You need this, you have to do that, you need two cans of broth" Etc. Etc. Etc. I can very vividly see my mom standing over the oven making the dressing. I mean VIVIDLY. Her tired and aching body stirring the bread and having dad taste test it to see if there is enough sage in it. She mixed the dressing in the roasting pan, I don't recall her using a whole stick of butter, but that is what people tell me I have to do. Vividly, I see her still. In the kitchen. Tired and overworked. Today I know how she felt.

To Be Continued

Well the decision has been made, I am going to cook for Thanksgiving. For the second time in my life I am going to attempt to make dressing like mom used to make. The first time I tried, it didn't turn out all that great. But I live with great Hope for everything else, might as well have some for this endeavor! I don't think mom ever had a recipe for her dressing. Not sure where she came up with it, but it always tasted good. I will let my Blog readers know how it turned out....it will finally be something 'captivating' for you to read! I'm sure that within the next few days I will have some escapades to share with you. One of them being where the bird came from.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever

Faces

I really do enjoy my own church. I am part of a family there. But sometimes, just like with any other family, you have to see some new faces from time to time. Last year I discovered this church in a little town from here that has a really nice women's ministry. They do a weekly Bible study during the day. DURING THE DAY!!! And so close to home! I made a few phone calls and invited myself to their study and I am so glad I did. Last year we studied the book of Daniel. Today we just finished the book of Esther. Even though I don't attend their church I felt at ease and welcomed. And boy, can they put on a luncheon!! I highly recommend finding some new people to get involved with. Do something new and out of the ordinary and become a better person for it. If you are one of those that likes your little comfort zone and feels satisfied with what you have or don't have......look what became of me when I stepped out of the boat!!

Frustrated....and yet...

I have been trying for nearly two hours to get on the Internet, both at home and at CJ's. What is wrong??? I can get into my favorites but that's about it, can't even check my e-mail. I don't like bringing my laptop with me when I'm working on my Bible study, it's to distracting. But I did so anyway this morning. I did have something interesting happen to me this morning. As I was sitting here with my Esther study book, some young ( younger than me ) woman came up to me and said, "is that by any chance a Beth Moore book?" I smiled and said, "yes" and she said, "is it by any chance Esther?" She got so excited. We started talking, she was also at the Beth Moore conference this past weekend! We were both giggling while we were talking about it and other people were looking at us. She was telling me that her church here in Pekin has a Tuesday night study and they will be doing Beth's new study on Revelation probably starting in February!! I asked her if they encourage women outside their church to attend and she said, "oh yes most definitely"!!! I am so excited, I will be calling her for more information in a few weeks and just look, I now have yet another opportunity to study the word of God and be in the presence of women I don't know!!!! God is really up to something!

What a girl goes through

It certainly is interesting what a woman goes through to go away overnight. It's Monday, I leave on Friday and I am almost all packed and ready to go. However, there are things to do to prepare for the trip each day prior to leaving. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Ok, I want to wear a particular shirt on the night of the conference, but it's only Monday, what if I want to wear it before Friday night? Then by at least Thursday I will have to wash it. I can't pack my toothbrush yet because I have to use it and I don't want to spend money on a travel sized one just for an overnight stay. Overnight....that means I will need at least three shirts and two pairs of pants. Really! I can't just go with the clothes on my back, what if I spill something on them? And what if I get up the next morning and I don't feel like wearing those particular jeans, my mood might be for something entirely different! I know guys can just throw this and that in a bag and go. But us girls have social calendars they have to check before they even think about packing the deodorant. What's even more interesting is spending the night in a motel room with women you don't know. Do they snore? Do they wear face cream to bed? Do they mind if I run a little fan just for a bit of noise? How hot do they have to have it in the room, I need to know whether I wear my pj's or my t-shirt to bed. There is just so much to consider?

Anyone know what I'm talking about? :-)