Thanksgiving And Loss

This has been a hard year, wait hard doesn't begin to define our year. I think my Daughter summed it up pretty well a couple of weeks ago when she angrily spouted, "I thought 13 would be my lucky year! It hasn't been! It's been the worst year EVER!" Dramatic, not really, you see I had just told her that her Great Grandfather, my Gramps, passed that morning at 10:23. This was October 29th just prior to her favorite holiday, Halloween. How ironic that this year the kid chose to be Queen Mab, who is sometimes seen in literature as the Queen of Darkness. It's been dark alright. The loss of my Gramps was made even more difficult for us to bear because it came on the tails of loosing his favorite pie baker, my Mom. Gramps was in his 90's, my Mom only 67. After having been told just a few weeks earlier that she was cancer free, a second sarcoma was found the day after Mother's Day. My Mom fought bravely to overcome that second sarcoma, but she lost the battle to cancer in June. Is that the end of our yearly losses, of course not. Things happen in 3's don't they!? A week ago today my Husband came home and announced that he just been laid off. Scared doesn't begin to describe having to go through unemployed with the Hubs for the third time in seven years.

So where am I at today, on a day of thanksgiving, after such a tumultuous last five months? I am at peace. The wonderful things that have been happening have been sadly overshadowed by all the pain, but they are there and I'm embracing them. In October my Brother tied the knot with an incredible Woman. It was a wonderful celebration with family, old friends and new friends. In addition to an awesome Sister In Law, I've been blessed with two darling Nieces close to my Daughter's age and an adorable baby Nephew who's still not too busy to snuggle. I scored! My glass has been keeping me extremely busy and all that work has begun to become fruitful. I'm excited that we've only begun this year's holiday season! Funerals and visitations are hard and painful, but they're also a place where people reconnect. I'm grateful for the friends and family that I was able to reconnect with in these last months. Though jobless is a nightmare, so is a job that was constantly stressful. The hubs is choosing to create opportunities for himself in the job world and I applaud his efforts. This will turn into a job that he is energized by, not drained by! My Princess is growing into a brilliant, talented, beautiful teen who I'm very excited to watch become her own person. She's become a driven student, actor, singer and pie baker who is just bursting with potential. The kid may have chosen to be Queen Mab "a fairy of darkness" for Halloween, but Mab was also said to be a fairy who brings dreams to people. We're going to continue our journey with that version of Queen Mab close to us. Let the dreams begin!

Wordless Wednesday

Stuffing!

Years ago when I began making Thanksgiving Dinner at our house I decided to do my own version of my Mom/Grandma's stuffing, basically because I couldn't stick my hand into a turkey without gagging. I also did not want one more thing fighting for oven space, hence crock pot utilization! It's now the go-to stuffing recipe on both my and my Husband's side of the family. :)

Crock Pot Stuffing
1 box of Chicken Stove Top mix
1 bag of stuffing bread cubes, seasoned or unseasoned your choice
1 1/2c raisins
2T dry onion flakes
2 cans of Swanson low sodium chicken broth

* Make the Stove Top as directed on the box
* In a VERY large bowl stir the Stove Top into all of the other ingredients and mix well
* Gently scoop ingredients into your crock pot and cook on low for 1-2 hours
* Stir in small amounts of water if it seems to be drying out
* Serve, but don't worry if you're bowl isn't as cool as our CORN BOWL

“Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Swanson Broth.”

Welcome To My Nightmare!

Yes, I have been entirely lacking in keeping up my blog for the last week and a half. No, I have not been a big slug for the last week. I've been getting ready for a 4 day art show, but that is another blog, and working on an elaborate King Arthur era princess costume for the child. A year ago my daughter decided that she was going to be "Morgan Le Fey, The Greatest Sorceress Ever" for 2008 Halloween. At our house Halloween tops Christmas in the planning department. Christmas just kind of happens, whereas Halloween is intricately planned down to the last underapparel detail. As much as I hate to sew there are no holds barred in creating costumes around here. I gave birth to a kid who hit the ground bursting into song and drama. This holiday was made just for her. I'm willing to suck up the hate-to-sew yen, that I allow to take over at all other times of the year, to make something that rocks for my princess. (I must admit that it isn't just that I hate to sew. I have osteoarthritis in my hands, so it hurts horribly too. She won't be my baby forever though!) The child also has multiple opportunities to wear her costume each year so it isn't just for one night.

We found the pattern in August. One must look early or count on your one choice to be sold out in every store! There were 2 that she liked, but this won the toss. Then the choice was about dress A, B, C, or D. Next was which sleeve style would be the most beautimous. Those choices took a little while of course, so it was a month before we were ready to choose fabric. Back to the store for fabric and trims. First it was all about black. Then we began discussing who we thought Morgan Le Fey was and what made her tick. The child and I decided dark jewel colors were the way to go. We live where it could be snowing on Halloween so warmth was important too. Velveteens for both the cape and the dress. I'll spare you the sewing details because I don't need to relive that here! Let us just say that it was time consuming and labor intensive, but as always, very worth it. The princess was thrilled and as you can see she looked stunning.