Hello lovely Friends!
I can't believe it's Thanksgiving week already. Where is the time going? Are you ready for the big day? (those that celebrate it this week). I did a lot of "pre" shopping last week and got the majority of the ingredients I needed, minus a few fresh things I'll pick up this week. So feeling pretty good. Already took out turkey to thaw. 🦃 😊
How was your weekend? Weekend recap here includes lots of fun times with lovies in my life. I picked up my Mom after church Saturday (I prefer Saturday night mass and go to a different church than my Mom). Then we had dinner and played cards. Had lunch over here with my Aunt yesterday and we watched our Packers lose to the Vikings (the worst!) but had a great catch up chat. So that was great. I shared a bit about a wonderful guy in my life - that I will share at some point with all of you. Just not yet. 😉 And then a gf came over and hung out last night. We had a great catch up too. She's divorced and in the dating game too. She brought homemade lefse she had made (so good!) and we had finger foods and I made us hot toddy's with brandy. So cozy and fun 💕
Now ready to tackle the holiday week ahead!
THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:
ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:
yogurt with some granola on it and coffee with amaretto creamer
ON MY TO DO LIST:
helping a friend drop off her car at auto place and going to breakfast, grocery errands, food prep, hospice work from home, projects, cleaning before hosting here Thursday, do a little black Friday shopping with my Mom
AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE
It's gray outside and just looks cold. Listening to Amy Grant Christmas music. I just got a stack of amazon boxes and need to sort things. Lots of Christmas lists going on here! 😊 🎁
CURRENTLY READING
Bible, holiday magazines
ON THE TV TODAY:
Good Doctor, the Resident, Survivor, DWTS, The Masked Singer, New Amsterdam, Grantchester, Ghosts, Call the Midwife, The Great British Bake Off, Shark Tank, Holiday Baking Championship, The Christmas Cookie Challenge
*watched Red Notice this weekend and it was pretty funny
ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
MONDAY - lefse wrap sandwich, veggies and dip
TUESDAY - brown sugar bourbon apple pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans (HF meal)
WEDNESDAY - ???
THURSDAY - Thanksgiving meal: turkey, PW's make ahead mashed potatoes recipe, homemade dressing, homemade gravy, calico beans, broccoli salad, fruit salad, corn, crudite, dinner rolls, homemade cranberry sauce, homemade crusts and pumpkin pie & pecan pie, ice cream & whipped cream
FRIDAY - leftover turkey sandwiches or turkey noodle soup
TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:
go to breakfast with a gf, work on more Christmas list fun, shop with my Mom, watch a Christmas movie
TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:
do you think this is true?
And thought I would share a thanksgiving tip that always saves me time. I make the gravy ahead of time so don't have to wait for it when everything is hot and ready to eat. I buy some turkey wings, brown them and then put them either in the slow cooker, or in a little roasting pan. Add some water (& sometimes even broth too - as many cups as stock you'll need to use) and some aromatics and cook in oven or slow cooker to get all the turkey flavor in there for a homemade stock. I do this 2 days before thanksgiving. And the day before thanksgiving I use the stock and make homemade gravy and also use it to make homemade dressing. And if there's some left I save it to use in leftover turkey noodle soup after Thanksgiving.
*I also shared my favorite recipe for pumpkin pie in the post before this one 😋
FROM THE CAMERA:
the bay has a layer of ice on it now and one morning it snowed a little and turned the bay winter white
I added some garland to the tree - but will do all the Christmas decorating the weekend after thanksgiving
I love this page in my planner/organizer - so Fall and thanksgiving feeling to me
PRAYER LIST:
Prayers for gratitude and thankfulness for so many blessings. For an end to the virus. For peace and unity everywhere. For health care workers, first responders and all those who work so hard to take care of others. For my former FIL. For a bestie healing from a broken ankle and foot. For my Mom's friend in an accident over the weekend. For Aaron and Helaina as they begin their new journey in Texas. For everyone to have a safe and healthy Thanksgiving.