happy thanksgiving

most of the cooking done, table is set, and watching some of the macy's thanksgiving day parade. i so want to see that live someday. in the meantime, lurkey says "happy thanksgiving everyone!"

before holiday madness descends.

i was glad to have a few stress-free days to just focus on the moment.  on friday, sara and i had dinner plans. i had quite a bit of time on my hands before dinner, so i checked out a boutique near my office- en paris-a very cute place, and bought a file tote, which also makes a great knitting tote! i'm sure it'll appear in future blog posts. then i headed to starbucks for a coffee and knitting time. i was at the communal table until a spot in a comfy chair was available. loved the view, knitting on my cardigan (which is now finished!), watching the cars and people go by. the dinner and company were very good.

on saturday, brunch was on the menu-it's bowling night for steve and andrew, so a hearty mid-day meal beckoned. andrew wanted to make eggs benedict-with homemade hollandaise sauce (of course)-i was in charge of the potatoes and i made orange cranberry scones.  it was wonderful.

AND we had a couple extra guests-pj was spending a few days with christopher so they joined us, and we had a good time catching up with the college boys.

since dinner was just mom and i-i re-heated leftover pork loin chops, made some asparagus, and mushroom risotto-i think i could live on risotto-such a versatile dish.

on sunday, we had baked penne and i wanted a special dessert to celebrate pj being home-he loves coconut, so we had toasted poundcake (i love homemade poundcake), coconut ice cream and pineapple salsa. not only was it delicious, but watching pj's face light up and his high praise on a delicious meal made the calories so worthwhile. we had a lot of laughs-especially talking with "siri" on my i-phone.
the weekend wrapped up with a lovely call-if not spotty- from mary recapping a surprise b.day party, what's on and off our knitting needles and our upcoming family get togethers. now i think i'm ready for the holidays (at least thanksgiving) cooking timelines and menus planned, grocery lists made. hopefully there will be many blog posts to capture the moments.

right now.

guess it's time to stop the crickets-didn't realize i hadn't done a blog post in a full month! not intentional. i've taken the odd photo here and there intending to share thoughts and ideas, but i guess with the extraordinary weather we've been having and the knitting i guess i got a little distracted-evident by the photo. i took this yesterday on my way to cast on cottage and it's the view from the sunroof which i refuse to keep closed when the weather is as lovely as it was yesterday. so aside from enjoying the weather- right now i'm:

enjoying fun knitting patterns, am currently doing this hat for unknown/unmet friend, this cardigan from stash yarn, this shawlette for a gift, and am waiting to cast on this sweater. i'll have 3 sweaters worth of yarn in my stash along with pattern ideas. my plan is to finish these before i buy more yarn, and of course, i've already chosen the patterns for yarn not yet purchased! such is the way with knitters.  since the last post i've finished 2 sweaters and a man scarf.

cooking with andrew-he looks so cute in his chef's coat-his skills are excelling, i'm glad he has found something he really loves.

STILL loving the Bible study i've been doing with mary and virginia-hard to believe we are almost done-what a journey.

making plans for a trip to new orleans in january-have always wanted to visit, steve and i found a great deal on airline tickets. this of course means i need to get the two cardigans mentioned above finished!

looking forward to birthday dinner with sara, the many family get togethers planned for november and december. especially looking forward to PJ being home for thanksgiving-have handled not seeing him every day pretty well, we use texting, facebook, emails, skype, and phone calls to keep in touch, even if it's just to say hi.

reflecting on what 2012 will hold-college plans for andrew-college "stuff" for PJ-traveling, knitting, quilting, Bible studies, growing and learning, etc.

but right now- am also enjoying the odd lazy saturday where i can sit and enjoy my morning coffee, get caught up on emails, paperwork etc, and relish in the knowledge that i have nowhere i need to be (until the holidays get here! yikes.)