Thanksgiving Whine

Phew. That's over. I know. I said I love Thanksgiving. I do. It's my favorite... but there was a big black cloud over it this year. First, we cooked on Sunday instead of Thursday. Sorry, babe, I know you have to work, but Thanksgiving is Thursday. Then, while his brothers showed up, one was falling asleep tired, and the other pissed B off in some way.

We used to have to stretch the table into the living room - all 3 leaves - and cram 20 people around the table and a "kid's" table tucked in the corner. B and I used to stay up 'til 2 am baking pies - 8+ apple, pumpkin and his specialty, Innkeeper. (he used to work at a country inn, doing everything from baking to bartending to raking leaves if necessary - he once carved over 20 turkeys for their Thanksgiving. When my Grandfather found out about that, he handed over the carving knife and discovered what a Thanksgiving meal tasted like when hot!) I'd be back up at 6 to make stuffing and put in a 22+ lb bird done in the 1997 Martha Stewart method covering the bird with a butter and wine soaked cheesecloth, rotating and basting every half hour. My grandparents would show up with shrimp and we'd all attack it like vultures while the rest of dinner cooked.

Alas, my grandparents have died, we moved, my Dad's wife has a job where she doesn't get Friday off, so we have a different group coming, and this group sees us as secondary, rather than the primary Thanksgiving meal. Sigh. The prep, cleaning and cooking just doesn't seem worth it... I'd like to host for folks who appreciate it... maybe next year.

New Clothes for C

C came home from school about 2 weeks ago - before the holiday - and I noticed something strange when she leaned over to help her little sister. It looked like she had her bathing suit on under her school uniform. Then the light went off above my head...

"C," I said, innoncently, "do you have your bathing suit on under your uniform?"
C blushes. "Yes, Mom."
"Did you do that because you want a bra?" I ask quietly.
C blushes even more and nods.
"Ok. We'll go find some soon."

Turns out all the other 3rd grade girls are getting what we called "training bras". Flat triangles of stretchy cotton with straps and hooks. We got a few that weekend, and she's happy. Daddy's not so happy, but at least he understands the importance of fitting in at that age (within reason, of course!!)

Trying knitting again

My mom wore a cool scarf all weekend that she'd made, and got a ton of compliments on it, so I thought I'd pick up some yarn and big needles and give it a shot. It's coming out pretty well, so I thought I'd use it as a Christmas gift. I may even make some more. I did all that last night during Criminal Minds and CSI!

My mom is the champion knitter. I do very basic stuff. I have a great pattern for slippers. It's very easy. My grandmother used to love to get them for Christmas. She'd keep them next to her chair in the living room and wear them while she sat and read. (She'd take 'em off if she got up - they're too slick to walk on without falling.) But my mother... she can see a sweater in a store, look at it, count stitches and go home and make it. She does all kinds of funky patterns, and she's fast. I would love to have her make B an Irish Fisherman's sweater some day. I'll have to plan ahead for next Christmas.

I've read a lot lately that teaching knitting to kids helps with math skills. Got C a set of needles, too, and some regular yarn. I'm sure she'd love to fiddle with this furry stuff, but it's hard enough to learn without being able to see where your yarn and stitches are through all the fuzz! I'll be that L will want to learn, too. Maybe she can learn finger knitting (once I get it down to teach her...) I have a book, but the instructions weren't super clear. When I tried it, it was super loose and didn't look like the results in the book. We'll see!

Light boxes and scrapbooking

If you're as 'old' as I am and did graphics or photography, you remember these light boxes. We used to cut and paste using them to line things up perfectly... then along came larger printers, scanners, and digital pre-press. I haven't seen a light box in ages.

Then the whole scrapbooking thing started. Now I wish I had that old light box back. While you can certainly create the whole page on a computer and print it out as one, I think part of the appeal of scrapbooking is the physical texturing and layering of elements on the page. It sure would be nice to have a light box to help line things up! SuppliesNet.com sells them pretty cheaply. Maybe when the holidays are over and I have a ton and a half more photos to deal with, I may invest the small amount they're asking and get one.

Longaberger! Longaberger! Longaberger!

Phew... 7 hours each way on a bus with my mother. But it was SO worth it to go to the Longaberger factory! WOOHOO! It was great. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but whatever it was, it ended up being more!

We got on the bus at 5am. I had to drive 90 minutes to get to the bus, so I was up at 0215. We drove and drove and drove and drove the whole 7 hours out to Dresden, Ohio. RAIN. Ick. We all put on rain coats or put up our umbrellas and went anyway. Dresden is a great place to find retired baskets, liners, protectors, etc. We had some lunch in a cute little coffee house that served wonderful soup, and sandwiches on croissants. Mom and I then began our mission. I wanted to find a business card basket, and she wanted a divided spoon basket - both retired. We did it! We found our baskets at reasonable prices. (and of course, more stuff...)

Back on the bus to go to the Homestead where we would have dinner and entertainment in the Crawford barn. There were country singers (some hot guys with great voices) and everyone had a good time. Finally to the hotel for some sleep.

Sunday, we had a lovely tea at the Homestead in a beautiful, Victorian Tea Room. Then it was off to do a little shopping, and then to the Make a Basket Workshop. I made the basket shown on the left with the green band!! It was SO much fun. We all wanted to just keep making baskets all day. More shopping... and we visited the Home Expereince, which is fairly new, where baskets are displayed in a home setting to show you how you can use them and decorate with them. They also have a room that has all of the baskets that they currently offer. You cannot buy current baskets there - except for the special Dresden baskets. For all others, you must go through your consultant.

That evening, we had dinner at the Longaberger Golf Course. It's too bad it was dark, and we couldn't see the grounds, but the building was beautiful, and the food was amazing.

Monday we started early with an 8am appointment at the home office. The building is shaped like a Medium Market Basket, which was Dave Longaberger's 'main' basket. Apparently, he got started with this basket, making them for the women of Dresden. At the home office, we were given a presentation about the Collector's Club by Michael Kennedy who was instrumental in designing the new Giving Basket that is part of the collector's club.

Back to the Homestead for the factory tour and signings. I now have two family signatures on my Blossoms basket, Jeff and Jerry Longaberger. Then... (it was one packed weekend!) back on the bus to go to Eschman Meadows for lunch.

Tami Longaberger's home was amazing. It was beautiful inside and out. Lynn Longaberger greeted us and gave us a wonderful surprise. Tami would be visiting us during our stay. We had a delicious salad/soup buffet, and Tami did come! She was the most gracious, lovely woman I've met in a long time. She spent quite a bit of time with us, signing, chatting and posing for photos. It was a truely unforgettable experience. (So, my Blossoms basket now has 4 Longaberger family signatures on it!)

My mother and I are plotting how we can save up the money to go out there again...

Got a 'real' light

Spent the profits from my photo shoot on a studio light. Woohoo. What a difference it makes. I don't get a heck of a lot of great light in the living room (where there's room to set up the backdrop) so this has taken care of the icky shadows I was getting. (Yes, in spite of trying to reflect what light I had off lots of white foamcore!)

My dear girl is beautiful, and she loves modeling for the test shots. After B saw this I think he went out for more ammo...

Off to Ohio this weekend. (Gaak... 7 hours on a bus each way with my Mother?? WTF was I thinking?) I feel so National Lampoon's Vacation... Off to see the world's largest basket. Ok. So we're gonna go to the factory, and do girly stuff, and weave a basket. I guess all will be well as long as she doesn't end up like Aunt Edna!

Another Tick

Akkkk. Pulled L's jammies off this morning and found a tick on her shoulder blade. This is the second tick in a few weeks. She and C were outside playing on the swings yesterday. Long pants, long sleeves, coats... this is ticking me off. Of course, B the EMT is off at work now, and I had to do the deed and remove it. Luckily, I have some kick-ass tweezers, and while she wasn't happy about it, I got the whole thing out. The little bastard is taped to a piece of paper in case she gets a rash or those rings I have to watch for on her skin. Ick.

I am getting madder and madder about the First Aid and CPR certification classes I just took to fulfill my GS Leader requirements. Not a blessed thing about ticks. Sheesh... you don't take GS out camping in an urban parking lot where there's no wildlife... we should be prepared for this kind of stuff. Nothing was covered about cleaning "boo boos" just what to do with big 'ole bleeding wounds. Nothing on wrapping sprains/strains. I seem to remember the classes I took last time I was a leader 10 yrs ago (before I had kids - yeah I'm strange) covering a whole lot more. And... AND... to 'keep costs down' there wasn't even a book to take home.

I must be very clear that they were NOT Red Cross classes. B is now certified to train through Professional Rescuer with 1st Aid/CPR, and he's been freaking out when I tell him what was/wasn't covered. I fear that I'm going to have to go back and take the RC classes. Hmmm... next time B teaches? They told us that if a person carries a perscribed EPI pen, and cannot do it, we should do it for them. In our state, this is a big no-no. WTF.

But, B just completed his training for Pro Rescuer training, and made some comments to his instructor about the recent GS trainings. He asked questions about what's allowed, etc., knowing that his instructor is married to the woman who ran the GS camping training I just attended. I'm sure things will get back to the proper people.

K... bitching done for now. Haha.

Nora... Karen... Diana...

Nora rocked. Yeah, I know... the ending was crystal clear a mile or two a way. The joy was in the reading of the story. With no new Nora to read, I turned to my fav. Diana. I'm currently half way through Dragonfly in Amber for the 3rd or 4th time. And then Karen grabbed me, or rather, I grabbed her...

There were NO doll making books at Borders today. Nor were there any books on Waldorf Education. Sucked. I was NOT pleased. L took forever and a day to pick out her paint book (coloring book with a tray of watercolors - she loves them and had a 5-er from her Grandmother burning a hole in her pocket). C was looking for a particular Fairy book, but we couldn't find it. She then found a book on Salem witches told from two different viewpoints. Read one story, then flip the book over, and read the other. Seems like fun. But me... found no books. Searched for something to use my 30% coupon on with no luck. Finally, as I was herding the brats dear children to the line, my hand reached out and grabbed a book all on its own. I looked down to see what my peripheral vision had seen. Darkfever the new Karen Marie Moning book. JOY! And it's already on sale. C benefits from the coupon. I'm now half way through it. I am tempted to send the rest of the family out to dinner without me so I can read in peace. Ha. That won't happen. I'll just have to stew about it over salad at the "boo-fay".

Waldorf Dolls

I have become obsessed with Waldorf Dolls. I am in the process of making one based on instructions I've found online. The kiddos and I are making a trek to the book store today, and I will be looking for books on doll making. I suppose I should check the library, but I have a book addiction, and if it's a good book, I seem to need to own it...

So. Any tips on making Waldorf Dolls? I'm thinking of making 'cousin' dolls for L and her cuz (well, my cuz's daughter, who is one month older than L) that look like each other. I think that would be fun, but I'm not spending $100 on each doll to buy them... of course, I should shut my trap considering how much I spent on each kid last year on their birthdays in American Girl dolls. Sigh.

I've also ordered some books on the whole Waldorf education 'system'. L is home with me while I work, and C goes to public school. I'd like to suppliment C's education with some of the more creative methods, and start L off right. We have no Waldorf schools near us, so homeschool preschool is where it's at... If I could afford to quit my job, I'd pull C from that school and homeschool her, too. They piss me off SO much (the public school). We're in "lock down" right now - no parents allowed unless they have a prearranged appointment. If your kid forgets anything - too bad. BUT, homeroom parents are allowed. Hmm. At C's P/T conference tomorrow, I'm going to ask if the homeroom parents have had background checks. B has (he's a freakin' cop...) and I have for Girl Scouts. But we're not allowed in... (I know, I know... how they have to set their rules... but it still ticks me off.)

Making orange rolls with the girly girls this morning to take to B at work. The dough is just about ready to roll out and fill, then fold, roll and fill... yes. Scratch rolls. Not from a pop-out can. (I do use those.)

If the doll doesn't suck too badly, I'll post a pic.

Screw Halloween... on to Thanksgiving!

Phew... Glad that's over with. It's fun to dress up and all, and the kids had a great time - L roared at everyone and when she did she usually got this response:
"Oh! A lion! How scary. Here... have some more candy."
Ok, fine. More for me to raid! Wa-ha-ha-ha!

So now, on to my favorite holiday... Thanksgiving. Shhhhhh... I've already indulged in the secret first playing of Alice's Restaurant.

I've hosted Thanksgiving in one form or another for, oh my... this will be my 11th year. It all started when we were renovating our old house and found a hole in the wall between the kitchen and dining room. I'm sure it had been an exterior window that was removed and walled in when the back part of the house was put on. But my dear Grandfather commented, "That would make a great pass-through for the Thanksgiving turkey." I think he was ready to pass on the carving knife, so to speak, as we'd been going to dinner at their house for as long as I can remember.

So, fall of 1995 we put the finishing touches on the house. I believe B put down the last of the wood floor in the tiny guest room that would become C's nursery the day before Thanksgiving. (renovation stories are another post!) I pulled out the previous year's Thanksgiving issue of Martha Stewart Living (yeah, so? Ok... I like her. Deal with it.) and found her method of preparing a turkey. It involves a lot of melted butter, wine and cheesecloth. The wine goes in the butter, you soak the cheesecloth in it then drape it over the bird, basting every half hour with the rest.

We averaged 20 people for dinner in our little historic row home - around the big table, and then a second table in the living room. We moved in 2001 - our last really good dinner. We hosted around boxes, and the day after TGing, we took the table apart and moved it to our new house. "My" side of the family hasn't been up for Thanksgiving since. (sniff, sniff... it's 80 miles farther...) B's side always has other people to go to, so we're last. They barely eat. It kinda pisses me off... but now with B's job and new shift, he'll be working on TGing day. We'll have a dinner on Sunday. We did it last year, and people were actually hungry, but it's sort of sad for me. I shouldn't bitch, but hey... I feel like whining about it. I wanna cook it on TGing day. I want people to come to me first. Whine, bitch, moan... Ok. I'll stop. I have to go put clothes in the dryer anyway.