Happy Thanksgiving

It is nearing 11:00 here, and the kids are all nestled into their beds. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year, and I hope you did too. We ended up having a Thanksgiving at home with just me, Brady, and our kids. While I do enjoy seeing all my extended family most years, it was very nice to spend the day with Brady and the kids. I was on my feet most of the day in the kitchen, and by the time dinner was nearly finished I was getting quite tired of it, but everything turned out wonderful. Brady prepared the ham on the Trauger smoker, along with some Jerusalem artichokes that he harvested today, and I prepared mashed potatoes and gravy, baked sweet potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, rolls, and pumpkin pie. It was all from scratch, completely gluten and dairy free, and delicious. We did not have a turkey, but opted for a ham. For some reason, ever since my pregnancy with Princess, the smell of turkey is very unappealing to me, so I had no problem at all eating ham for my Thanksgiving dinner.

I did a lot of thinking about all that I am thankful for while I cooked and washed dishes today. Even though the meal took me a very long time to prepare, I could not help but think how much longer and more difficult it could have been. For one thing, I am thankful that I have a home with a sink and a faucet that instantly brings water (hot or cold!) right into my kitchen without me having to haul it in.

So on this day of thanks, I tried to not only be thankful for my husband and children, but for all the messes that they bring as well. I am thankful for the dirty dishes, because they mean that we have been able to feed our children and ourselves. I am thankful for the ever present laundry, because it means everyone has enough clothing to keep them warm. I am thankful for the constant scattering of books and toys in my home, because it means my children are here and they are safe, and that we have a home to live in.  Some days, I do find it very hard to be thankful for these things, so it helps to take a step back and really appreciate the wonderful life I have.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Early Christmas!

Today the UPS man brought two great packages to our doorstep today. First, my early Christmas present from Brady arrived. And what was my Christmas present you might ask? A spinning wheel!!! I have been researching what wheel I wanted for a while now, and had it narrowed down to two choices; either the Kromski Sonata, or the Schacht Ladybug. Both seemed like really great wheels. Brady made the hard decision for me, and ordered a Sonata in mahogany finish. It is beautiful. The setup was really easy, especially with my little super helper, Squirt. He was so excited about the whole thing, that when I was trying to practice spinning, I kept feeling a little foot slide up next to mine on the treadle. He also got to go to the yarn store with me today to pick out some fiber to practice with. He is quite well-versed on many things yarny, that one. It cracks me up sometimes.

I did spend some time spinning after getting it set up, and although I need practice, the wheel handles wonderfully. Spike even tried his hand at it for a while and thought it was quite fun.

It was pretty late in the evening when I finally thought I should take some pictures, but I did it anyway, just so you can see how lovely it is. I just need to think of a name for her now...

 

The Sonata is a fold-able wheel, which was a feature that really attracted me to it. It comes with a bag of really good quality, that is nicely padded for toting the spinning wheel around.  It is shaped like a really large backpack.

Brady purchased this wheel from Paradise Fibers, and we are very pleased with their service. With the purchase of a Kromski Sonata, they do offer one of several extras to be added to your package. Brady picked the fast flyer for me, which is exactly what I would have picked for myself. What an awesome hubby I have. 

The second neat package that arrived today was our Scentsy consultant starter kit. Squirt and Princess had a very fun time smelling all of the testers that came today. Princess declared that she thought Happy Birthday was the best fragrance. I will write more on the start kit here.

Thanksgiving Bento

Today is the only day any of my children will be heading to the homeschool supplement charter school that they attend. That is a big name for it, but it is the best way I can think to describe it. Since it is Thanksgiving this week, and I only have to pack one school lunch this week, I just had to make it a bento, right?

It's a turkey...made from rice! Better yet, it has turkey sausage for the ground. I will admit I giggled to myself a little while putting it together. Luckily, I dragged myself out of bed to get it finished and packed in a lunchbox before Gizmo got up to get ready for school. The rice is calrose rose, and is colored with soy sauce. The turkey's feathers are bell pepper, as well as the beak, and the eyes are nori. The background is corn. I think something green would have looked nicer, but I didn't have anything on hand.

Having holidays to plan bentos around makes it a lot easier to come up with new ideas.

Lego Bento

My oldest son, Spike, is involved with a First Lego League. One day, when packing his lunch, I did up a bento.

The top bento held summer squash and sausage that I quickly sauteed. The the lego man, I colored his head yellow using turmeric, and his body red-ish brown using a bit of paprika and chili powder. It was a little darker red than I wanted, but the spices all added a nice flavor. The man is surrounded by kale, and his facial features and made for cut nori.

Well, hello there stranger...

I have ran into it myself many times while reading blogs....the long absence followed by a promise to try and do better and keep up. I am not sure I will make such a promise on this day, I also realize that there very well might be another long absence in the future. What can I say? That is just the kind of realist that I am. That said, thank you for reading this post, whether you have read my blog before, or somehow stumbled across it while skipping through the internets.

As for interesting things going on in our household, there have been plenty. I feel like there is just too much to say, and at the same time not enough. I guess I will leave it at that. I am going to try and get some knitting (and maybe even crochet) patterns up here soon, as well as some more gluten and dairy free recipes. I hope that you will visit again....