wordless wednesday- Giving thanks for family

Stuffed onto the couch after stuffing ourselves Thanksgiving nite. 

      

home or away?

With our mums set out in their usual location on the front porch and Bill busy at the task of burning leaves in the burn barrel I took a walk around the property.

Thoughts of my family on Long Island are heavy on my heart as I stroll amongst the woods. Leaves gently falling all around me and it dawned on me Thanksgiving is just around the corner!

 front yard

The weather here has been more like shorts and t-shirt weather for the past few days but nothing good lasts forever and rain is in the forecast. I can't help but notice all those little things that make fall such a beautiful season.

Pine cones strewn on a bed of pine needles on the ground, trees gone to seed. It really is a sight to see and it's all right out my back door.

This Thanksgiving Bill, Mom my cousin Jeanmarie and I will be heading up to New York to my brother's house. It was actually their turn to have Thanksgiving here with us but we have a family wedding the next day so they're having us two years in a row.

seed pods from an ash tree

How about you? Will you be spending Thanksgiving at home or will you be going away like us?

decorating, shopping and packing oh my!

I'm going to NY for Thanksgiving and after that a weeks vacation so there's a ton of stuff to be done before or there won't be time when I get back.


Needless to say.....

My house is currently littered with boxes of Christmas decorations, crazy right? I have never in my life put up Christmas decorations before the tenth of December. Doing it before Thanksgiving is something department stores do! There getting out of hand by the way have you noticed? Christmas was up before Halloween this year in some stores, really they need to get a grip.

We did last minute thing today like refilling our prescriptions; you know your getting old when that's on your to do list before a trip. Gift card for the cat sitter, cat food so our roommates get fed while we're gone, extension cords for decorating- they seem to disappear like socks in the dryer in this house, and buying sun tan lotion for our Barbados trip. I will not even go into how much I need this vacation after the long summer I had with my leg wound. 

But we do what we have to do and I'm running out of days before I leave to be with my New York family on Tuesday. Of course there are sacrifices, I can't spend Thanksgiving with my children, but work schedules don't allow that anyway.

And my Godson and nieces are expecting my for some good ole fashioned baking! Isn't it great when kids enjoy the simple pleasures?

There will be pies, pumpkin, and most likely apple and pumpkin roll and on Thanksgiving Day home made rolls. These rolls from scratch only take and hour and are yummy. Believe me when I tell you, roll making is  an art form here in the south.   I got the recipe below from my friend Susan whose family has been here in the south forever. They've simplified another family recipe so that it's easier for those days when you're in a rush or you just would rather be with your loved ones and not in the kitchen.

Why not try it out this Thanksgiving? They have never failed for me!

SIXTY MINUTE ROLLS

2 pkg of yeast

1 tbsp sugar to 4 tbsp (depending on the level of sweetness you like, I like the least amount)

1 1/2 c. milk (warm)

1/4 c. butter, melted

4 c. flour 

1tsp. salt 

In a large mixing bowl, add yeast and sugar to warm milk, to dissolve yeast. Let stand for 15 minutes. Mix the dry ingredients together to the milk mixture along with the melted butter. Mix well. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes in a warm place. Form 24 rolls, each the size of an egg ( you can make them bigger if you want).Place them on a greased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

I'll be checking in after Tuesday and thru Friday and might squeeze in one more post by Thanksgiving  but I'll  be taking a break from blogging while I'm in Barbados, ya think!

So, just in case I don't get another chance to say it, I hope everyone of you has a wonderful Thanksgiving;  may it be filled with Gods blessings, bounties of food and wine and plenty of togetherness with those you love.

Gotta go pack!

make me laugh monday- we'll sleep anywhere!

Today I'm linking up with my friend Kristen at a little something for me for her Make Me Laugh Monday Meme.

If you have a funny photo(s) link up and share it!

With our traveling to NY for Thanksgiving and then going directly on our vacation to Barbados. When I return I'm having a dinner party so the house needs to be ready. So we decided to decorate for Christmas early this year- really early. The nativity on the table amongst a bunch of other decorations and I went off to do some decorating around the house.

This is what I found when I returned to the room!

My cat Linus, comfortable with about 1/4 of his large cat body squeezed into the manger; snoozing!

Apparently my cat's will sleep anywhere. My husband went into the downstairs bathroom the other day. He was saying that he kept on feeling as if someone was watching him when he was doing his business. We're empty nester's who could it be??

This is what we found; or I should say who we found! This is Cheetah, he decided to make a bed out of the hammered metal bin that I keep my hand towels in next to the sink. He's apparently stealthy (notice how he blends) not to mention how he's a tiny bit curious about peoples potty habits!

Do you have pets and do they do funny things too?

Thanksgiving plans & a peek at the past

I received my yearly nosy cousin e-mail today from Kathleen, who is obviously my....cousin. duh! She sends it out every year to friends and family to find out where we'll all be for Thanksgiving. She loves to know what we'll be eating and who we'll be eating it with,  because she loves us and because ...she's nosy!

We ( my husband, my mom and me)  are taking a road trip to NY to my brother and sister-in-law's for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure what we'll be eating there this Thanksgiving but I know it's gonna be great. My brother is some cook!

I have Thanksgiving at my house usually every other year- sometimes more!  Here's a few pictures that I dug up from a few years ago that I thought I'd share. I know I have tons more from other Thanksgiving's but to keep it simple I've decided to stick with showing you one year.

1.Matthew and his Aunt Denise  2.my nieces Sydney, Alex and my granddaughter Jillian in the leaves
3. Matthew and my godson's Gerard modeling their butts 4. Me (Jen) and my brother Gerard getting ready to carve the turkey.

1. Me (Jen) and my son Matthew on the phone. 2. Mom ( Mary ) and my niece Alex having a hug. 3 Matthew and little Gerard playing Frisbee in the driveway. 4 Bill and our niece Alex enjoying the day out on the deck.

So my friends, in honor of my dear cousin Kathleen I going to ask because I'm nosy too, it runs in the family! What are you doing for Thanksgiving? Are you staying home and cooking or are you going out? What special people will you be spending your holiday with this year?