Thanksgiving Through The Years

Thanksgiving was never my favorite time of year. I wasn't that into turkey and I can't stand gravy on my mashed potatoes. Maybe the not being into turkey had something to do with my experience one Thanksgiving. It was somewhere around 1976 when the microwave had become more popular than a dishwasher. We of course had one and it was as big as a television. It even had it's own cabinet/stand that it sat on, proudly, in our kitchen.

We cooked everything in that thing. I can remember discovering that eggs exploded and that water would boil in no time at all. That Thanksgiving my mother decided that we were going to do things a bit different. That year, we were going to microwave the turkey. We cooked everything else in there, why not our Thanksgiving day feast?! Well, she found out from the recipe book that you could cook the bird in the microwave but, and this is a big B.U.T. it wouldn't brown. No crispy and delicious skin holding the turkey together. No real way to tell the turkey was done, other than sticking a thermometer into it. A nice, big skin colored bird. Well, that just wouldn't do. Not for my mother.

What you may ask was the solution? A little bottle that contained a dark brown liquid. What this was I'm not sure but I can clearly remember my mother telling me that we were going to paint the turkey. She's an artist so I don't think the idea seemed that far fetched. Paint the turkey, definitely, that's what we'll do!

I can honestly say that it did look brown when it was all done cooking. A nasty kind of brown that was thicker in some places and thinner in others and now that I'm thinking of it I can pretty much say that it was a turning point. I think I decided that year that I just didn't like turkey all that much.

The year that I spent Thanksgiving with some vegetarians didn't help either. They still wanted to feel like they were eating turkey even though they didn't want to eat the real thing. I kind of think there's something fundamentally wrong with that. I mean, if you're a vegetarian then why on earth would you want to eat something that looks like a big dead bird??!! It was entire turkey made of tofu. It, again, wasn't brown. No crispy skin to peel off and eat. There wasn't even a real substance to it and my gosh that thing cost A LOT of money! I had to special order it from this place in SF. It was in the shape of a turkey at least. They did their best to try to fool you. That year I paid for the artwork of forming tofu into a turkey shape more than I paid for anything to actually eat. I think after about 5 bites I couldn't stand it anymore. After all of that I resorted for a few years to cooking lasagna and saying that I was just honoring my Italian heritage.

After Matt and I were together and NOT having a turkey on Thanksgiving wasn't an option, I knew things had to change. Forced to "make this work" as my favorite Tim Gunn would say, I discovered all of the varieties that were possible. Turkeys could be roasted, bbq'd and my favorite, fried! I did have a lot to learn however and it wound up being by trial and error. The first year I cooked the turkey half way through dinner Matt pulled the plastic bag out of the turkey. I didn't stuff the bird so I never stuck my hand in there! How was I supposed to know that??!!

Now, years later, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. I get to cook with my husband some of the yummiest dishes. Stuffing doesn't have to be from a box and vegetables could include bacon! We all know that everything is better with bacon! We even have a semi set menu. Cornbread, apple, sausage stuffing, brussel sprouts with bacon, fresh cranberry sauce with oranges and of course, a turkey. This year we're trying a recipe from Giada De Laurentis. It's turkey with herbes de Provence and citrus. YUM!

I'm looking forward this year to a nice, quite Thanksgiving. It's just the four of us. I know Thanksgiving is supposed to be about family and friends and most people gather around large tables filled with people and more food that you can eat in a week. But, last year I spent Thanksgiving on an airplane flying home after spending a week with my mom in the hospital.
Maya and family had left some of their Thanksgiving feast leftovers for us on our porch. It was a Thanksgiving filled with emotion and exhaustion. This year it's going to be quiet. I have so much to be thankful for. Mom is actually doing quite well, better than any of us thought possible. She's spending the day with her Arizona family and has been cooking for two days in preparation. My sister will be spending the holiday with a ton of people I'm sure. She and her husband are the extroverted social butterflies of the family and me, I'll be here with Matt and the boys. I'll be saying thanks for all that I have. An amazing family and wonderful friends, a beautiful home and my health. I'll be saying Thank You all day long in the back of my mind behind everything that I do. Sort of like a silent mantra that just plays on repeat with each action I take and each hug I give or receive and behind every conversation I have with my friends and family.

Every year is a year to be thankful, but so is every day, every moment. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I wish you love and peace and joy this holiday!

A Day At The Beach

I was sorting through some files and came across these photographs. We spent a day at one of my favorite spots on the planet. It's a pretty secluded beach with a long staircase descending from farm lands to the pebbly sand below.

I just love it there and every time I take the boys, they love it too. They feel free at the beach. It's actually one of the only places that Mason seems to be at peace. He wanders and plays and laughs. We all do actually. I just love it there.

The Writing Mamas & Anne Lamott

My head is fuzzy. It feels like it's a bit squished between an invisible vice. Not terribly tight but tight enough to make me want to keep my eyes closed. That however, is impossible. How do you tell the little human that is standing beside me with SO much to say to please stop talking. Please let mommy have a minute to herself. Please stop looking so adorable and how on earth can your little voice still sound sweet when all I want is peace and quiet.

After practically bathing in Purell over the last couple of weeks I've managed to keep my kids healthy and contract the cold myself. Nice.

I recently, before coming down with this cold, went to an event with a friend, thank you Lisa for purchasing tickets at the last minute, where for the first hour or so different women, mothers, read a story that they had written. The women were all part of a group that meets once or twice a month here in Marin county. Their group is The Writing Mamas. Their stories were nothing short of wonderful and had us in stitches describing sagging breasts, sitting on pee filled toilet tops in the middle of the night and of course, birth.

After they spoke the main speaker of the event took the stage. I've heard of her for years. She is quite well known here in Marin for her books, views on life and her recovered alcoholic nature. She is Anne Lamott, a liberal and a believer in Christ. She didn't have anything prepared and would up just talking about her life for quite a bit. She shared intimate details of her childhood and early adulthood. She shared her thoughts on life and family and her relationship to alcohol.

I'm always amazed when people share from the heart. It connects me to that person even if I don't know them. It opens my heart a bit more. I'm interested to read one of her books. Lisa purchased two and handed me one to read. She said we would switch when we were finished. Hopefully the fuzziness goes quickly so I can actually read the book!

Well, Miles needs me and I need a pillow. I hope everyone else is feeling well and avoiding being sick. I'll hopefully be back tomorrow feeling more like myself and less like a throbbing head the size of Texas.

Friday Inspiration - Blackle

I love my husband. There are too many reasons to list so I'll share the one that sparked this post. I love my husband because he knows that I'm not a news reader. I don't like watching the news or reading too much of it because it always seems to circulate around death and destruction. Who's doing something terrible or what disaster just struck the life of some person somewhere.

The downfall to not paying attention to what's happening in the world is missing some of the good stuff. The interesting or cool things that are shaping and changing our world. Because Matt knows that this is a by-product of my tunnel vision, he sends me things he thinks I would be interested in. Things that I should be aware of, things that I would want to know. Thank goodness for Matt!!!

Here's one of the latest things he sent. I thought I would share.

BLACKLE

Does the black screen really put out less energy? I'm not sure if I really care about the answer because I like the thought of the black screen being a reminder. A reminder to use less energy and be more conscious of our environment. I've been unplugging more things around the house that are plugged in but not on. Doing a small bit to try to conserve more than I have in the past.

What are you doing?? I would love to know. Maybe it's something that I should be doing too!

Architectural Inspiration

Sometimes I feel myself sinking into myself. Hearing that voice that says I'm not doing as much as I should be. But, lately, I've been able to quiet it, tell it thank you for sharing, now shhhhh. Mainly I can tell it to pipe down because I know I am doing a lot. There are times though that I compare myself to others, I think most of us do that from time to time.

Usually, when I'm busy with life and work, writing is the first thing to go. Writing is a little bit of a treat I give myself. Being able to sit and think and write the thoughts that float through my head on paper or in this case, type them on the keyboard. Having people who regularly read this however, can put a little bit of pressure that can be good at times. Good because it reminds me that it's a good thing to sit and think and write. It's not just a selfish act. Other people enjoy and benefit from knowing what's going on in my world. Other people become inspired by things that inspire me.

I completely missed writing my Friday Inspiration last week even though it was clearly laid out in my mind. Now, today, I'm starting off the week with a bang and sharing this post is just one thing to check off the list.

There seemed to be a number of postings on architecture over the last couple of weeks. I thought I would put my favorites together. These have been shared by Matt and a couple of good friends Via and Ruby. Thanks to you three for sharing these works of art in structural form.

Definitely click on the links to learn more about each one or to see more of others. Be inspired and enjoy!


LEGO HOUSE

MODERN AND BEAUTIFUL

WOODLAND HOME

Trick Or Treat

Halloween is over but you wouldn't know it from driving by my house. The cobwebs are still up. No, not the ones that I need to vacuum from the ceiling from the real spiders but the ones all over my front porch. The pumpkins are still whole and waiting to be chopped up to be pumpkin soup, or maybe if I'm feeling really ambitious, pumpkin ravioli. The costume box is still in the living room and the candy, oh the candy, is too large a quantity to count.

We did have a great time celebrating the spookiest holiday of the year. Although we didn't ever get around to carving our pumpkins I did make a couple of Halloween treats that I thought I would share. Those along with the photo's of the Reoch's in costume I know my mom is dying to see.

The first treat I made took some investigating and research. I signed up to bring fruit to Mile's party this year. People, especially the schools around here are getting so sugar conscious. We were discouraged from bringing any candy or sweets to the party which was fine by me. They get enough Trick-or-Treating anyhow, but, that led me on a quest. How could I make "fruit" festive for Halloween. Luckily I came across a site that had a recipe that did the trick. It's so simple and brilliant all at the same time. You take a bag of oranges, not too small and not too big, hallow them out just like you would carve a pumpkin and yes, paint a jack-o-lantern face on the front. Fill the hallowed out orange peel with chopped up fruit and voila! You have a mini jack-o-lantern fruit cup. SOOO cute! I used acrylic paint so that if the little one's hands were wet it wouldn't rub off. Everyone loved them. HUGE hit!

The other treat I made was for the party we went to Halloween night. I have a recipe book filled with ghoolish delights and the one I picked was Monster Fingers. You take a can of Pilsbury Bread Stick dough and lay the individual strips out. Lay skinny strips of ham and cheese with a little mustard if you want smeared on top of one of the sticks, take the other half of the dough stick and place on top, sealing the two halves together to make a "finger". When you've filled all of them, take a sharp knife and without cutting all the way through the dough, make knuckles by slicing lines. To finish it off, mix the yolk of one egg with some green food coloring and make "finger nails" at one end. They turned out super cool and yummy. We wanted the fingers to feed more than 6 people so Matt had a great idea to cut the fingers in half and use red food coloring to make them look like they were bleeding. Oh they were gross but perfect!

Can you tell that we enjoy Halloween around here? I think it's because there's so much creativity flowing. People show up transformed to parties, sometimes unrecognizable. I get to make creepy things with food, decorate the porch and come up with costumes that are easy and fun. It's all about easy around here these days. Anything too involved and it's passed on before I can blink.

I guess I should take the decorations down soon. The parties are over, the costumes are back in the box and it's time to start thinking about turkey's and apple pie. Mmmmmmm....home made apple pie!

This year our costumes were pretty easy to figure out. Miles was a pirate. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be a pirate or Spiderman but the sword tipped the scales. He was all about being a swash buckling pirate swinging his sword to steal the golden treasure. Mason and his borderline obsession with Star Wars narrowed down the field when we were choosing a costume. Obi Wan was the winner because both the costume fit and they had an Obi Wan light saber that lit up in the dark. Matt and I wanted easy but something that we could be together. In all my years of dressing up I've never been in costume as a "couple"! This year was great and when the boys were trick-or-treating, people loved that Matt and I were in costume too. I loved our look so much this may become the costume of choice for years to come!