Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for, number one of which is that our entire family was able to be here to celebrate Thanksgiving together! I had so much help in the kitchen that about the only thing I ended up doing was making bread in the morning!

Crystal was a lot of help in the kitchen, and made a pecan pie from scratch! In addition, she and Amanda helped me put up all the Christmas decorations this week!

Ed cooked the turkey in the BBQ again this year. We couldn't have had nicer weather for outdoor cooking--about 57 degrees outside.

Brittany and John flew out from Utah just in time for the fun and food! It was such a beautiful day that we ate our dessert outside on the deck!

Then, to try to work off some of the calories we spent the afternoon trying to get a good picture for this year's Christmas album. There were certain challenges in getting us all to jump at the same time with the camera on a tripod. Some of us (I'm not naming any names) were sore the next day!

Homemade Ravioli

Crystal found a recipe for pumpkin ravioli which we tried out on Sunday. We made an extra batch with just cheese for Ed.

It took a long time to cut out and seal each ravioli together, as you see Amanda doing in this picture.

But the result was worth it! The sauce was just butter with fresh rosemary and thyme. Mmm, mmm, good!

Ed, the Tick Taker Outer

So, I was complaining to Ed about a painful blister in my neck this afternoon. He took a look at it and said, "That's no blister. It's a tick!" That made me scream, "Take it out, take it out!" He said, "Where's Coda's little tick remover tool?"

So, with the help of the green plastic tick remover, he coaxed it out of my neck. You can see the little bugger on the tweezers, below, complete with all its little appendages!

So, once again, Ed has saved my life! You can see the hole in my neck the tick left behind. Strangely, if you look at my picture in yesterday's post, you can see the little hitchhiker also went out to dinner with us last night! I wish we had noticed earlier!

Outback Anniversary

Ed and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary last night at the Outback Restaurant. Our anniversary isn't till Wednesday, but with Thanksgiving next week, Friday was our best opportunity.

And what better way to celebrate than taking Crystal and Amanda with us! It was nice having Amanda, as we got her employee discount. So, we went all out by ordering the Bloomin' Onion AND the Coconut Shrimp for starters! The filet steaks went down like butter. Somehow we even found room for the Chocolate Thunder from Down Under for dessert! When you let us off our diet for a day, we really take advantage of it!

Coda Ravens Hat

Coda was so glad Crystal came home. Crystal loves that dog so much that she immediately got to work and crocheted her a little hat in Ravens colors. As you can see, Coda really likes it! She has left it on for up to 2 minutes before pawing it off! We think she looks cute.

Walking, Water and Wandering

Crystal joined Suzanne and I and the dogs for a walk this afternoon. We did about a 4 mile trip through the woods. This time our walk was extended a little because Coda wandered off in pursuit of a couple of deer. Harper tried to persuade her to come back, but finally gave up on her and came back alone. About 10 minutes later Coda came loping out of the woods with a happy smile on her face. We were not so happy. Harper took a little dip in the water, but Coda, as usual, would have nothing to do with that!

Despite Coda's independent ways, Crystal still loves her. She made her some special dog treats from a Martha Stewart recipe tonight. You can find the recipe at: http://www.marthastewart.com/264802/homemade-dog-biscuits. Coda liked them very much and said she was sorry and promised she would never run off alone into the woods again.

Pedicure for Four, Please

Amanda and Crystal won the family diet challenge for October (in a tie), so I treated them both to a pedicure today. We brought Miss Carol along, as well, for her first pedicure ever! I love Tammy nails, as they have enough room for all four of us at once! We all got some sparkly polish for the holidays. We all felt so festive till we had to put our shoes on again!