Another year bites the dust...

It was a good Thanksgiving, and  great birthday.  I'm just grateful that I'm in good health, and able to enjoy my birthday with my family.  It's not so bad being sixty-one, after all, sixty-one is the new fifty-one, right?

This is Miss Abigail, fresh from her bath.  She has provided the entertainment all day.  We all are so amazed at how much she has changed this month.  She walks, and talks, and chases the M&M's around the house.  She's no longer a baby, definitely a toddler now.

We did a turkey bakeoff this year, the guys smoked theirs in the backyard, we baked Pioneer Woman's turkey, but with a twist.  We flipped the turkey upside down and baked it breast side down.

And the verdict?  We all liked the flavor of the smoked best, but we definitely liked the juiciness of the breast down bird.  That's a great technique, we'll do it again for sure.  We brined both turkeys, but Pioneer Woman's just didn't have enough flavor.

We also made her pecan pie instead of Dear Abby's.  But traditions die hard around here, and even though it was good, Dear Abby is still the fave.  However, the Lawry's Banana Coconut Cream Pie with Coconut Crust was a huge hit.  It was absolutely awesome!  I had forgotten what a great recipe this is, but we'll definitely make it again.

Hubby is in bed already, the rest of the family is watching Uncle Buck and laughing like they've never seen it before.  Yours truly is going to shut this machine down and waddle off to bed, too.

Happy Turkey Day everyone, and happy shopping tomorrow if you're brave enough to face the crowds.  I'm going to pass on it, I never shop the day after Thanksgiving.
~ Jan

Black Friday deals online on Thanksgiving day...

Check this article out, looks like we can beat the rush, avoid the crowds by shopping Thanksgiving day online and getting the Black Friday deals that are going to be in the stores Friday morning..  Works for me.


Here's the article>>>

Jan & Friends Thanksgiving Recipes

It's that time of year, I'm running a bit late posting this.  If you're new to my blog, this collection are my girlfriend's favorite recipes, I post them every Thanksgiving.  They are all tried 'n true.

Check them out here, and then just click on each individual recipe and you will link to them>>>

Happy cooking...

~ jan

Sarah Palin's Alaska, my take on the halibut episode...

I'm taking the politics out of this blog.  At this point, I don't really know whether I would support Sarah Palin in a run for President or not, however, after watching the last two episodes of this program, I did learn some things about the lady.

1. She's feisty, we all know that, but now we realize that she is extremely multi-faceted, as well.
2. Her physical stamina is amazing, her body is strong and she works extremely hard.
3. Gotta throw in the girl card, I'm thinking she has some kind of hair piece in the top of her hair, and she always has the makeup on.  Good for her.  The hottie husband doesn't hurt, either. ;o)
4. She obviously loves Alaska and actually lives in the environment, she's very comfortable in the wilderness.

And now to the halibut gutting, clubbing the fish over the head episode.  

I haven't read the reviews on this program today, but I would imagine that she is really taking a lot of flack for Bristol clubbing the fish and subsequently killing and gutting them.  A lot of people, especially women,  have evolved in this society to the point that they don't think about happens before that fish shows up at the local fish market.  They buy it, never thinking of the process it takes to get it there and not wanting to know.  And the same with our meat and poultry, people these animals have to be slaughtered and processed before they arrive at your local grocery store.  

I'm a country girl, I was raised with family butchering meat every winter.  We always butchered after Thanksgiving, because by then it was cold enough to salt the hams and bacon and leave them hanging in the smokehouse without spoiling.  Our weather has changed so much over the years that it would be unrealistic today.  It's approaching 70 degrees today in Heavensville, certainly not butchering weather at all.

So if you are one of the people who was totally turned off by this program, and squeal, "eeeew, that's icky," you are just sticking your head in the sand.  I thought it was such an accurate portrail of what actually takes place in the wild.

I've blogged before about my mother wringing chicken's necks when I was a child, and then hanging them on the clothesline to bleed, singeing the feathers, gutting the chicken and getting it ready for Sunday dinner.  We did this because it was necessary, we had to do this to survive.  It could happen to us again, we hope it never will, but we don't know with the way the world is what our future holds.  So those of you who are squeamish about this sort of thing, you need to put on your big girl panties and take note of programs like this that educate us in what needs to be done in order to feed your family should the need arise.

Good for you Sarah Palin, for telling it like it is and showing us your Alaska.  I admire your candid portrail of your life, most politicians would never be so bold as to do something like this.

Women of a certain age should NEVER wear ribbed sweaters...

Yes,  I'm guilty of wearing them, in fact I just bought another one last week,  but when I'm in the dressing room, and look at myself with one on, it's really pathetic.  Even though they're vertical ribs, all those ribs do is to manage somehow to lay in every fat roll in my midsection.  Cmon' ladies, let's be honest here, we all have the dreaded rolls, even if we pretend we don't,  we all have them!

We've borne babies, lived life, eaten out way too much and exercised way too little. And when we're in that dressing room, we curse every piece of chocolate, every Frito, every pint of Ben & Jerry's, yes the entire pint, every piece of pie and cake, not to mention cookies, oh and nuts, can't forget the nuts,  that's ever passed our lips!  But those dressing rooms and their glaring lighting make it even worse, but that's a whole other blog post.

But back to my rant.  A lot of us are post menopausal now and all that adds up to a sagging mid section, which those darned ribbed sweaters accentuate, even with a body shaper.  So why did I even buy yet another one?  Dunno, brain fart, I guess.  So I'll just cover it up with a wrap from Omar the Tent Maker, that will work.  Um hmm, sure thing, Jan.  Sure it will....