the weekend of thanksgiving . . .

This is going to be a culmination post ... covering the long weekend which isn't really over, because we get Monday, too -- but that will be for another day's post.

Wednesday was pie and prep day. I love pie and prep day! This year's was particularly good because I found the *best* pecan pie recipe. Pecan Pie is Todd's favorite, and for years I've struggled to find a recipe that felt no-fail and tasted delicious.  

This year, thanks to Genius Kitchen and PCrocker, my search is over. I admit that I made a few changes right off the bat ... because I've never met a recipe that I couldn't tweak ... but I don't feel they were terribly significant. The recipe calls for 3/4 cups each of light and dark corn syrup. I had light only, so I used 1-1/2 cups of it and instead did 1/2 cup each of white and brown sugar, instead of the 1 cup of white sugar.  I upped the 1-1/2 teaspoons of vanilla to a solid 2 teaspoons (I mean, c'mon) and used pecan halves instead of coarsely broken pecans. And it was stellar. Five stars from Todd!

Thanksgiving day was beautiful here in North Alabama!  Sunny and the afternoon temps were in the low 60s, which was great, since we were eating al fresco!

Todd had a lovely fire going in the fireplace, and we had tarps up on both sides of the pavilion to keep the breeze at bay. I cook the turkey at the oven in the pavilion ... because turkeys do not fit in the RV oven! It means a lot of back and forth for basting, but I do believe it was worth the effort . . .

Oh yeah! He was pretty spectacular! We had a lovely spread and something about mid-way down the buffet must have caught Ellie's eye--I'm pretty sure it was apple pie!

I love that we share the day with family! We missed our California crew very much, but got to spend some FaceTime with them. ♥

Friday was Turkey Soup day. This is a time-honored tradition that dates back to at least my childhood and it's one of my favorite Thanksgiving foods!

I had a bit of a mishap with the process, which I won't go into here, but we recovered nicely and had soup to share. (Along with homemade bread and semi-homemade eggnog!)

Saturday was a play-in-the-Nook day and Iron Bowl day! Roll Tide! Mary of Needled Mom had shared a photo of a Twisted Pole runner she'd made.  I found the pattern source at Vicki's Fabric Creations.  Vicki is incredibly talented; she had created the pattern and very sweetly emailed it to me.  I plugged it into EQ (see comment above regarding tweaking recipes) and then resized it for a window valance. And then again for a mug rug.  I'll be all Christmas matchy-matchy!

Runner - 36" X 16"

Valance - 37" X 11"

MugRug - 8.5" X 5.5"

I started the process yesterday and got all 48 of my 2-1/2" HSTs cut for the first valance; now to trim them to size! 

It is a process. But making them was really easy -- I used the 'eight-at-a-time' method (as described on Blueprint). So stitching them up was quick. 

By 2:30 it was time to come in for the Iron Bowl! Roll Tide!  I admit that I struggled a little bit to stay with it in the first half. I was a little anxious! But the second half was a little more relaxed. Enough that I was able to work on whipping up some hexi flowers. 

I've made a LOT of progress this week--all things considered--and only have seven more flowers to go!

Whoohoo!!  I'd love to finish those up today -- perfect slow Sunday stitching, no??  In no time I'll be connecting flowers!

Enough from me . . . linking up to Kathy's Quilts this morning . . . be sure to stop by and see what others are working on this lovely Sunday!

:)

it's a wonderful weekend . . .

What a wonderful, fabulous long weekend this has been!!  Wednesday kicked it off (really Tuesday kicked it off . . . my co-worker and I were the only ones there and it was soooo slow--we wrapped presents!) with a leisurely start to the day, a late breakfast/brunch for Todd and I, and then I got to the baking that was my part for Thanksgiving (an apple pie, a pecan pie, and cranberry quick bread). Todd and I had dinner together then he carried me to Joc's house, so Ellie and I could have a 'sleepover'.  Aaaaand, so I could get up early and help Jocelyn orchestrate the stuffing and turkey preparations.  :)

Thanksgiving dinner went off without a hitch!  Jocelyn set a gorgeous table . . . 

Ellie and Everley were just darling in their beautiful dresses . . .

The only thing missing was the Panter crew . . .

But they celebrated their first Thanksgiving in California making fun memories like eating Thanksgiving dinner on the floor of their new apartment, because their new chairs had arrived, but their new table hadn't! With littles, those kinds of mishaps are adventures and I know they'll look back on that meal with smiles!  We got to FaceTime with them that afternoon, and that was sweet!

Friday was a very quiet down day . . . some stitching in the nook . . . some Christmas movies . . . leftovers for lunch and dinner . . . my perfect way to spend the day after!  No shopping for this gal, unless it's online!

Saturday was busy and productive!  I baked a pumpkin pie for Todd's dad, gingersnap cookies for a church fellowship this afternoon, and chicken pot pie for dinner!  Plus I pulled out the Christmas tree, decorations and quilts and turned the RV into Santa's workshop!  

And while the Iron Bowl (Alabama vs. Auburn) game was on, [Roll TIDE!!!] I wrapped the rest of my presents.  So now I'm ready for Christmas!  LOL!  With a few exceptions . . . I'll still have a couple of things to finish and wrap!

My stash report remains unchanged from last week . . .

But my snowman doesn't!

I've still got to stitch his collar and scarf and the holly leaves in his hat, but he's made tremendous progress. I'll continue to 'slow stitch' on him today!

Linking up to Patchwork Times and Kathy's Quilts this morning. Have a blessing-filled first day of Advent!

:)

slashing stash . . .

Well now . . . I'm rather pleased to have the past week behind me and the present week ahead of me! I guess that's how it's meant to be, eh?  I had some movement in my stash this week, so I wanted to make sure I reported it:

Five yards out!  I donated it to the guild.  They are starting up a Traveling Stash Box for the guild year and I, having experienced the joy of traveling stash on several occasions, wanted to help them to be able to start it off right!  Linking up to the stash report at Patchwork Times.

Speaking of guild, I gave up the newsletter for this year.  Yay!!  Three years may have been one year too long.  LOL!  But I really enjoyed being on the board and so I partnered with another lady and am co-chairing the Library position. That means I'll be in the library books.  A lot.

I've already checked out these two for the next month.  The Halloween one has some *darling* projects in it!  

So . . . design wall . . . I'm working on a little project for Everley. Joc wanted a bigger stuffed animal for Evie's monthly photos.  We found a cute little elephant that she liked, and I drew out a pattern for it:

I had fun sketching him out and getting him (or her??!) just so.  I've also picked out and ordered the fabric for it . . .

Oh yummy, fun, minky, purple fabrics! The print will be the front and the minky will be the back and the ear. Five yards out this week, two yards in next. Hopefully it will go together fast and I'll have it out again! Well, it has to be finished by October 10 -- her one month old birthday! Que sera.

(Editing to add:  Linking up to the design wall post at Patchwork Times!)

Got into the fall baking spirit again little today . . .

Yup, another apple pie!  Makes the whole house smell so good.  

Fall is in the air!

:)