HOLIDAY SPARKLE

Hey, December!  You're here. This is it!  You made it!  Does this sound familiar?  If you watch Jimmy Fallon, it's the beginning of his monologue every night.  I guess its compassion for all of those tired people waiting outside for hours, then getting seats, and again, waiting for hours.  I just couldn't do it, as much as I love him. 

These are the gorgeous flowers I received from my niece, who came to Thanksgiving dinner with her kids.  My niece is my age, I think that's sort of cool.  And it leads me to a little tale that probably means nothing at all to any of you.  

My husband was the youngest of 4 boys.  The two eldest were born, and had left home, when he and his brother were born.  Thus, an age gap of twenty years.  Hmmmm...not sure what happened here.  So, these older brothers have children as old as The Husband and his brother.   

While I'm telling family stories, it's very sad that The Husband's mother passed away from cancer when he was just 4 years old.  He and his brother had a live-in 'housekeeper', for lack of better description at the time.  Even more interesting, she was a native American Indian.  I can't say that The Husband shares a whole lot of memories of this time in his life, it is what it is.  Shortly before The Husband left for college, Viva passed away, and soon after, his father. 

I got away from myself here.     

Another bouquet for our table.  I had no intention of doing any sort of centerpiece.  Our dining table is just too small, it's ridiculous.  Deb's flowers were perfect.  I had a buffet, as usual, but to my credit I used dinner plates, cloth napkins and silver-plate.  A little touch of pampering.  

Things ran like a well oiled machine until later in the evening, at the time when we had a nice amount of extended family for dessert and good cheer.  A mouse was spotted in the kitchen and you would have thought it was a grizzly bear.  Of course, I was mortified; mouse = dirty house.  I do not have a dirty house!  The wicked varmint enter through the attached garage every fall, and whether you like it or not, I have poison planted everywhere.  I must have forgotten the garage.  When the squeals started, The Husband suddenly became very interested in the person he was conversing with.  My wonderful brother in law stood up, and announced he would take care of it.  Born and raised on a farm in Ireland, he wasn't feeling much fear.  I wanted to smack my forehead, and say our pet mouse, Mickey, must have gotten out of his cage.  But then another when came running out.  Sigh.

I don't think I've been as mortified as this since a bat flew into the lakehouse when we had guests.  The Husband ran around with a fishing net, while my women friends dived for cover under tables.  A story for another day.  So how was your Thanksgiving?

    

I made meals with the leftover turkey, but I'm happy to say there wasn't much left over  My niece has 3 hulking, Irish boys, and when I say hooray on the dent made in my casseroles of food, I mean that.  They liked it!  I did make a great dish with the leftovers that you may want to do after Christmas if you make turkey, or you can substitute chicken.  That's at the end of my post.  And the broccolini dish I made was delicious and got a thumbs up.  The recipe was included in my last post, you can find it here.  

The Saturday night after the holiday, I was so "carbed' out, I wanted something fresh and clean.  I love sushi, and I was craving it so bad.  We have 2 great places blocks from us.  One is small, but the dining room is splendid.  We love the owners, they come and sit with us to chat for a bit.  The other is absolutely huge, but the service is excellent and the menu features Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and they have a few hibachi tables.  So...we tried a new place that recently opened, right smack in the same area as our favorite two.  It was excellent.  You can see the sushi dinner I ordered.  The Husband had his Teriyaki chicken.  He loves anything sweet.  And we shared lo Mien noodles (that put me back on the carb train).  Portions were huge, of course, and we had a few meals over the next two days.  

 It was a group effort in bringing up the Christmas decor from downstairs last week.  Group, as in me and The Husband.  I carried the bins to the landing, he carried everything back to the family room.  And there it sits, with a small stack of wrapped presents, and a much larger stack of UPS delivered packages and boxes.  I'm so good at shopping, especially online.  Is that not fun or what?  I love to get catalogs in the mail, they seem to zoom in on the best ideas, then I open that laptop and away we go.   I've always been an avid shopper, I have a black belt.  And Christmas is the best time ever.  

I found this wreath on Wayfair.  I've been looking far and wide for something lifelike, pretty, and reasonably priced.  I think this was about $35, and is 24 inches in diameter.  You can shape it any way you want, and since I took this shot, I added a plaid initial 'B' ornament to the bottom.  

The highlight all of the festivities of the holiday had to be Abigail's longtime boyfriend, Tom, proposing to her the day before Thanksgiving.  It was a real blessing.  Our family couldn't ask for more in a husband and life long partner for our daughter. 

They met shortly after high school graduation 8 years ago, at a party on one of Chicago's beaches.  Although Tom grew up nearby, and went to school on the same campus as Abby, they had never truly run into each other.  But they clicked.  Like a sad movie, he headed off to college in Michigan 2 weeks later, and she downstate in Illinois.  It was a challenging 4 years, but they were committed.  

 And now, for the past 2 years they have lived in an apartment in the city with Squall, their rescued pup/child.  They are both teaching and really loving their careers.  And to my relief, they are looking for a home in our neighborhood.  She claims they want a big backyard for Squall, and a brother or sister for him.  I think she has finally decided she has seen enough of the big city and wants to come back to our close and familiar neighborhood   

A really great celebration was hosted by Tom's father the night before Thanksgiving.  So many friends they grew up with, family members on both sides, and cheers all around.  Her sparking ring is stunning.  I think she is still smiling!   

Oh---remember those gorgeous velvet boots in my last post? I thought they were going to be uncomfortable because they were really meant for someone taller.  Well, I wore them to this little engagement party and they were very comfortable.   The nice little heel was perfect for me to stand alright for hours.  I'd love to wear them everyday but they aren't waterproof.  The link to where I bought them is on that last post.  

Finally, I never want to see anything that flew in a previous life for at least another six months.  I'm craving carbs to no end in spite of my attempt to cleanse myself with the sushi.  Bread, pasta, noodle soup...when you go off the deep end you tend to say, let's get it out of the system.  I'm laughing here, but truly, I've been beating myself up.  I try to find comfort in knowing a lot of people are out there  loosening their belt buckles, but I've been sitting on my butt, writing for my papers (a good thing of course), but having my share of movies, news and of course, salty snacks to keep me fortified for all the drama.  Ahem.  

I made turkey tetrazzini with the bit of meat left over.  I really like to spice up the recipe or it comes out tasting like Elmer's glue.  I also use the shredded Parmesan cheese as opposed to the fine, it makes a little crust with the bread crumbs.  I hope you enjoy this.

Turkey Tetrazzini

2 c. cooked, shredded turkey, light and dark meat

8 oz. package egg noodles

4 T butter**

3 T flour

1 1/2 c chicken broth

1 t dried thyme

1 1/2 t. garlic powder

1 1/2 t onion powder

1/2 c frozen peas and carrots

1/2 c half & half

1/4 c  fine breadcrumbs

1/4 c Parmesan cheese

S & P to taste*

Boil the noodles according to package directions.

Drain and pour into a 1 3/4 quart casserole.  Top with shredded turkey, spreading evenly.  

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Whisk in flour and keep whisking for approximately 1-2 minutes until the mixture is light brown.  Slowly add in the broth, whisking as you go. Once blended,  turn up heat until the mixture reaches a boil.  Add the peas and carrots and keep stirring until thickened.  Add your dry spices and half and half.  Taste and adjust seasonings, this recipe needs enough salt to keep your taste buds happy, so feel free to adjust*.  

Pour mixture over the turkey and noodles in the casserole dish.  Top with the bread crumbs**.  I like to add a few pats of butter over the crumbs for more flavor.  Finally, the  Parmesan cheese.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until bubbly.  You can turn on your broiler, watching closely, to brown the top if you'd like.  Any leftovers can be frozen.  Enjoy!

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I never have a television on during the day-it's a distraction when I work, and even while housecleaning, I tend stop to watch The View or Ellen.  Excellent shows, and I'm very addictive to stuff like this.  Come evening, I like a bit of fantasy and drama.  Later, I turn on CNN.  I know, I'm a paradox.  In my little television world, may I share some thoughts?

~~~I absolutely adore holiday Hallmark movies.  I can't exactly pin why, I'm sure it has become a Christmas tradition for a lot of people.  The channel seems to have run with that thought, they have themes throughout the year now--romance in February, wedding movies in June.  As far as the Christmas movies, I have an eye for detail, so I do notice when there is a snowball fight scene and the actress is later shown minutes after in her high heels.  I wonder what they are thinking.  The empty coffee cups are slightly absurd also.  At least fill them with water. They lift up these plastic cups as if they are featherweight, sip and never swallow, and when they are set down, they sound hollow.   I've also noticed a new effect where the snowflakes drift down in front of the camera, as opposed to a major job in the background.  Sadly, the actors never have so much as a flake in their coiffed hair.  

~~~Two of the movies I've seen so far that I really like are The Christmas Train and Mistletoe Inn.  I love the actors in both and it's not a coincidence, each movie involves writers grappling with their novels, and their relationships.  As a frustrated writer with lofty dreams, I simply love the premises and shared emotions in these characters.  I have to say they aren't really sappy either.

~~~How many House Hunter shows are there in film storage?  After 9:00 p.m., you are not going to find anything other than these terrible shows on HGTV.   There was a time when I somewhat enjoyed watching, especially the international house hunting.  And then a episode came on where a woman complained about an apartment in Spain because it didn't have a microwave oven.  Was she nuts, or the producers who decided to air this episode?  Is there a script involved?

Now I'm off to do some cleaning and organizing of Christmas decor.  I may even toss a few jolly throws on the sofa, and tuck in some pillows.  Maybe get some gift wrapping going.  It sounds insane, but I have an inner clock telling me to be absolutely finished with everything by the 10th of the month.  I want to know that the stress is over, and I can just flow along at my own speed doing whatever I want, like making cookies, or meeting up with friends for a cocktail.  Wish me luck on that!

Happy Holidays,

Jane