THANKS-giving

By now, I suspect most everyone has finished up their Thanksgiving meals. I would hope, and pray, that all have had a safe day, filled with love and gratitude for all they have, whether it be a little, or a lot.  My family has been blessed beyond what I'd have dreamed as a child and a young adult.  I will never forget those very lean years and the struggles they held. For that, I am very thankful. 

Yesterday, I wasn't much feeling that way, and it carried into most of the morning too.  I wasn't feeling thankful, or grateful, or appreciated, and wasn't much in the mood or mindset to prepare a regular meal, let alone a feast for my little family of three.  The holiday blues were upon me big time.  It hits me every year, and it's a struggle to stay cheery and motivated all the way through to the new year.  Earlier in the week, I had gone to the store and purchased a whole turkey, which of course, I cannot cook in my large toaster oven in its whole form (it's now been five years since I've been able to) and so I had planned to cut it into pieces and cook the breast portion, and freeze the rest. 

Last night I made sure my kitchen was cleaned of all dirty dishes, and this morning put them away.  I still wasn't feeling much motivation, but after spending time in God's word this morning, had made a list of foods, and set to it.  First I boiled some eggs for deviled eggs - darn eggs wouldn't peel for anything, but still I managed to make them 'good enough' and Nick watched me as mixed up the yolk ingredients, put it into a small plastic bag, snipped the corner and piped it into the eggs.  He was impressed :) so that helped.  

The turkey had been dissected, parts in the freezer, some bones, wing tips and such in pot of water boiling for soup later - I completely deboned the breast.  I had made stuffing, which I prefer cooked in the bird, but had to find a way to do that without a bird cavity and still have it, and the breast fit into the very small covered roaster that fits in my toaster oven.  I mixed up a whole package of store-bought stuffing (Mrs. Cubbison's I think) with lots of butter, some broth and of course onion and celery, lined the roaster with foil and with cheesecloth, laid down a good layer of the stuffing, and then seasoned the breast and placed it atop the stuffing.  And I didn't take a single picture of this process! before or after!  It ultimately turned out well.  The stuffing was a little more moist than I prefer, but I'd also put some of the stuffing in a separate baking dish and fit it alongside the roaster - amazing they both fit in the oven!  

Other sides were mashed potatoes (butter, cream, cream cheese), gravy, whole green beans with bacon, niblets corn from a can, Cheddar Bay biscuits, cranberries both jellied & whole from a can, the deviled eggs.  I'd spent maybe 4 1/2 - 5 hours in the kitchen on my feet, having sat down only a couple of times for about 5 minutes each, cleared and set the table.  We enjoyed our feast, I filled up my plate, looked at it and said "I don't know why I put so much on my plate, I'm not hungry" and I wasn't, but I ate all that I put on my plate.  Less than 30 minutes later, we were done, I got everything put away and washed up, and then put a Claim Jumper frozen Dutch apple pie in the oven.  By then, I could hardly move.  I took an Aleve-equivalent, and went to my craft room to rest a bit and check social media.  Went back down and put the crumbly stuff on the pie for the last 10 minutes of baking, handed the timer to Nick, and told him to take it out when it went off, and as I'd been so uncomfortable sitting in my chair, went in and laid down for a nap.  Over an hour later I got and felt a whole lot better, but still somewhat tired.  

While eating dinner, somehow we got on the subject of concerts.  Kicking it around, and talking about where to go for concerts - Nick's never been to one - I mentioned Las Vegas, and that way back in time, like in the early 1980s, my first husband and I had gone to LV and I don't even remember who we were seeing, it was a dinner lounge show or something, that required you to buy dinner.  So we had the prime rib.  It was served with the usual including horseradish.  What I DO remember is, the then husband, without testing the horseradish first, put a huge blob on his piece of meat, which went promptly into his mouth, and which he nearly spit out as it was the hottest horseradish one has ever had.  For some reason, today, it just seemed funny as could be...it wasn't at the time! 

I will probably spend the rest of what remains of the evening, watching TV and working on genealogy.  Nick is in his room doing whatever he does there, and Marty's downstairs (I think) watching football or the political talking heads. 

Some of the Progress

Oh dear me, it's Thursday, already!  I've been busy and making slow progress with trying to re-configure where to put what in my craft room.  It is very nice to be back in here, even if things aren't perfect.  

=^v^= Why yes, I AM a bookend =^v^=

I had told myself that as I put things back in here, that I'd sort through and toss some of the clutter.  Well, all good intentions are mostly not happening, though I have been able to toss about a 2" worth stack of papers.  It's a start.  The hardest for me is to not have drawers, as the desk is no longer a desk since we only retained the desk top and it's setting atop two 2-drawer file cabinets which already had plenty of stuff in them.  I lightly perused that stuff, but didn't toss much.  Some day a lot of it will have to go.  
 

desktop on file cabinets

Raven, what!?! how'd you get in here? Mom, come pet my belly in the guest room. Hah! never, I'll attack when you try!

One whole drawer is committed to geographic locations I've been to back when I did a lot of camping and backpacking...I doubt I'll be doing much of either in the future, though sometimes I think I'd like to get out and camp again.  Another drawer holds folders of BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) class notes and lessons from years past, ahem, many years past! Yet another drawer has old files of Marty's that haven't been gone through in the 17 years we've been married; some of it pertained to care for his mom, she had some deep health issues off and on over the years, and passed back around 2002.  A 4th drawer holds files of receipts and such, don't ask, I have my areas of OCD, or maybe it's just because I always worked in a detail environment when I had paying jobs and that carries into my personal life.  That leaves me with two empty drawers, so I'll have to determine how best to use them, and/or find containers that will fit within for items that I formerly had in desk drawers which are shallower. 

Inspector Raven, uh Mom, where's the drawer?

I also pulled one of two plastic rolling carts with drawers out of the stash closet which I will probably keep near the 'desk'.  I emptied the cut squares, rectangles and triangles out of it and jammed them into the other one's drawers - a temporary measure. 
 

Handy cart for all those small desk-drawer type things....and thread.

My desktop is overly cluttered with things I've been sorting through so there has been neither quilt-work nor genealogy-work since returning to my space on Saturday afternoon.  Soon, very soon, my hands are itching to do something besides sorting through things.

I'm keeping my eyes on you, well, trying to anyway.

Of the pictures I post, keep in mind that little of what you see will remain where it is once we are able to finally get the cabinets.  And, my mind and memory want to keep doing things the way I did prior to the room remodel, which will change. 

While I refer to this room more often than not as my quilt room, it really IS my sanctuary.  It's here I'll be sewing, where I'll be working on my genealogy, where I'll be working on Bible study and prayer, where I'll watch TV or talk on the phone, and likely where I'll spend most of my time when I'm not doing necessary homemaking, wife and mom duties. 

Saturday Schmaturday

There's really been nothing going on the last couple of days.  

I want to thank all those who commented on my last couple of posts even though I didn't get back to you personally, getting a quilt finished was big for me, and though Fanner has been gone over a year now, it was a sad day for me remembering her birthday.

I have three days to start my April NewFO project.  And three days to decide what I want to add to Get It Done 2013 for May.  

My back's been bothering me again, only this time it's a nerve pain generating from mid-back, at bra-level and radiating to the left and around to my side.  Feels like how sciatic pain does but obviously it's not in the sciatic region. Seems after all the MRIs the "back doctors" only say nothing's bad enough for surgery (fine by me) and want to give cortisone injections - prescriptions haven't been of much help. Maybe other alternatives just aren't there. This growing 'old' stuff is definitely not for sissy's. Can't we just be healed the way they did in the Sci-Fi flicks? Wave a hand-held gadget over us for awhile and we're just like new.  I will have a new body one day, but until then, I live with it and grumble now and then.  Sitting at the computer has been aggravating it too.

Our temps have reached the 90+ range...not ready for those, but am so very thankful for shorts, bare feet, and A/C.  How on earth did I live without the latter for so long? I lived here for a couple decades before even having A/C in my cars!

Back to watching Doctor Who.