Grandmom's House Got Talent

Is anybody out there or is everyone still out shopping? I did not go shopping today, except for a quick trip to Starbucks for a vanilla latte.....even Starbucks was a little too crowded today for me.

Our Thanksgiving was very good and everyone had fun with our Turkey Fiesta theme.  I didn't do a very good job of taking pictures. I was probably too busy eating. Here are a few of pictures I did get.

Anna and EJ made quick work of licking the beaters after the whipped cream was done,

just in time to have a little more whipped cream on their pie.

Beck thought a little pie was a pretty good idea also.

All the cousins drawing names for exchanging Christmas gifts. There are just too many kids these days for everyone to buy gifts for everyone.

After the pies were pretty well taken care of all the kids went to the basement to create their own reality show, Grandmom's House Got Talent. They had everything from singing to magic tricks to juggling. 

The two little girls had an act called "Jump" which I think was just that.....the two of them jumping. Fortunately, even full of sugar from all the pie eating, they were generous in judging one another's displays of "talent".

The pumpkin flan my sister-in-law made was wonderful.

Which reminds me there is some leftover flan in the refrigerator. I may have to go have just a tiny taste.   Leftovers are the best!

Turkey Shoot and I'm Finally Getting My Ole' On

I did get some some shopping and chores done over the weekend in preparation for our  "Fiesta Thanksgiving" coming up on Thursday, but I have to admit I didn't do it all with a lot of enthusiasm or excitement. Some Facebook chatter today between some of those who will be here and are excited and looking forward to the planned non-traditional feast got me charged up and excited myself. I can't wait for the carpet cleaners to come and go tomorrow so I can start getting the tables ready and then begin the food preparation on Wednesday. I am especially looking forward to the pumpkin flan that my sister-in-law is planning to bring.  Ole'!

Just in case I still have a craving for some traditional Thanksgiving fare after the holiday I'll need to get in touch with my 6 year old grandson, Wil. He won a turkey in a basketball "Turkey Shoot" at the rec center by scoring the most goals for his age group. He was a very proud "Turkey Shoot" winner.

I know I have posted the picture below before, but it is one I always have in my head as Thanksgiving approaches. It is the last picture I have of my dad, taken a year or two before he died on the night before Thanksgiving in 1965. I don't hold it as a sad memory but one that represents many happy family holidays. My dad loved sitting at the head of the table for large family holiday gatherings.

I hope everyone who celebrates the Thanksgiving holiday will have a warm and wonderful day with family and friends.

Noah's Ark

Image from Bing Images

I stayed with EJ, one of my 3 year old granddaughters, for a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon. We spent part of the time I was there playing Noah's Ark on her mom and dad's bed. It was fun and I was reminded that the world of imagination is a pretty good place to spend some time.

I was Noah and EJ was Mrs. Noah. The animals were from her huge collection of stuffed animals. They didn't come in pairs, but we pretended there were 2 of each of them. Mrs. Noah fell in the water a couple of times, but she almost never got wet. If she did get wet all it took was one quick swipe with a pretend towel and she was totally dry. Mrs. Noah cooked and served 3 delicious (and nutritious) meals a day for us and the animals with nothing but a quick flick of her wrist. There never seemed to be any cleaning up to do. We woke up refreshed and ready for each new day after only 30 seconds of shutting our eyes and snoring a little. When one of the animals got sick a quick dose of imaginary medicine resulted in a total cure. 

Later we made some cookies. We used cookie cutters to make cats and hearts. Due to a real world flaw in the cookie dough the cats and hearts turned into big blobs when the cookies baked, but somehow they still looked like cats and hearts to EJ and she thought they were the best cats and hearts ever. 

I need to remember to step out of the real world and into the world of imagination more often. It is really a good place to spend some time.

Friday Fragments/Freewheeling Friday

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Sometimes the weeks just go by way to fast. I am glad the weekend is here but I was sort of surprised to look up this morning and realize that it is Friday again. I have spent the week sort of buried at work and letting it stress me way to much. Yes, I am working on that.

This week is the two year anniversary of our dog, Dodger, coming to live with us. He came to us from a shelter as a one year old stray. Despite his sketchy first year, which he doesn't talk much about, he has turned out to be a wonderful dog for us. He is Doc's constant companion and has introduced Doc to things he would  have never known about like dog parks and doggy day care. He keeps us moving and he keeps us laughing.

Dodger, looking his best after just being groomed. It  takes him about an hour to get back to looking like his normal scruffy self again. 

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I was also a little surprised to look up and realize that Thanksgiving will be here in less than two weeks. I will have about 20 people here for Thanksgiving dinner and 8 more for dessert so I'd better start giving it some thought. My youngest daughter has given it enough thought to decide that we are going to have a non-traditional Thanksgiving meal. We will be having a Mexican food feast instead of Turkey. I was a little "hmmm?" about that idea at first, but a survey of some family and extended family said it was a great idea.

(Does that mean that no one was ever really that crazy about the whole turkey thing?). We will have some traditional Thanksgiving pies to go along with our pumpkin flan for dessert. 

 Feliz día de acción de gracias

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A brief conversation between my youngest daughter, Joanna, and her daughter, EJ, before they were going to come meet me at Starbucks recently:

Joanna: Do you want to get ready to go meet Grandmom at Starbucks?

EJ: Well, I like Starbucks and you know I really like Grandmom, so sure. 

A great compliment from a 3 year old who sometimes these days suddenly doesn't like things that she loved 5 minutes ago. 

Six Word Saturday

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Happy 100 year anniversary to Chevrolet

When I heard earlier this week that it was the 100 year anniversary for Chevrolet I didn't think much about it. Later I started thinking about the Chevys that had come and gone in my life over the years. It has been many years since I have had a Chevrolet but the first car I owned that was all my own was a 1966 Chevy Malibu. It looked about like this and I drove it through college and beyond.

I don't remember my family having a Chevrolet when I was growing up, but my best friend in high school had a Chevrolet Corvair. The Corvair was possibly one of the most dangerous cars ever made, but my friend and I fortunately drove it through many safe and memorable high school miles.

Also in high school I briefly dated a boy who had a 1956 Corvette. I don't remember much about him, but I sure do remember his car.

In later years after I had kids I drove several Chevy station wagons. They weren't too glamorous, but they bring back good memories of my young family. I had a special talent for getting from the front seat to the very back very quickly when my kids behavior required my immediate attention.

 And who can forget, at least those of us of a certain age, Dinah Shore singing See The USA in your Chevrolet, with a big kiss thrown at the end of the song. 

So for my Chevrolet memories I say happy 100 year anniversary to Chevrolet.

If You Are Taller Than I Am and Talking On The Phone You Are Too Old To Trick-or-Treat

Kids, costumes, candy and, of course, Jack-O-Lantern pizza.....another fun Halloween has come and gone.

We had a cheerleader (yes, that is my Grandson), a pirate, some kind of spooky guy, and Minnie and Mickey Mouse. 

Who knew Mickey Mouse was also a pianist?

While we were Trick-or-Treating we ran across these things laid out on the sidewalk. I have no idea what they were for, but the kids were sure it was some kind of trap and left everything alone. They were definitely put there on purpose.

I decided the fun was over for me when the "kids" coming to the door started being taller than I am and were too busy talking on their cell phones to even bother to say Trick-or-Treat. My daughter had some kids come to her door at 10:30....she just let the dog bark at them.

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween.