TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

She tried hard but she got a squiggly face today.  Chewlee seemed almost depressed when she got here after school but, as she usually does, she said, *But next week.......*.  The fact that she did four days in a row was an improvement and it seems her offenses today were on the minor side, hence the squiggly face instead of a sad face.  She perked up when the Beast got the call from the Princess that the paternal grandfather had arrived.  The two of them hurried out the door afterward and Chewlee was delivered to her grandfather for the next day or so.

I was telling the Beast about a dream Chewlee told me she had.  She dreamed she had a fish that her mother let her keep in her room.  It was a pretty black fish with a pretty tail that had blue in it.  She looked at me and said, *You know the kind I mean, Grandma.  I don't know it's name but the tail is long and pretty.*  I knew the reason Chewlee had a dream about a fish that was her pet is because she must have been begging her mother for a cat or a dog again.  But both animals present problems the Princess doesn't need with her busy schedule.  Especially since she is going for her Masters Degree since she found out it would only take her another year with the classes she's already taken. 

So the Beast bought a tank setup complete with hood, light, heater and filter.  He bought some gravel and rock, an artificial plant that looks like seaweed and a Sponge Bob and Patrick ceramic scene (small) for the bottom.  It looks even smaller in the big tank.  Then he bought a black betta fish with a tail that has blue in it.  It's gorgeous and reminds me of how a fighting fish looks since the tail and fins look like long, flowing feathers rather than a solid fin.  He told Chewlee that the fish is hers but...she cannot take it home until she goes a whole week with all smiley faces.  He's hoping her desire to have a pet of her own will help her go a full week without misbehaving.  I sure hope so.  *I* have no desire for a fish no matter how pretty it is.  The guy at the pet store said not to add a goldfish to the tank because the goldfish will eat the betta.

When the Beast took Chewlee up to her mother's work, he picked up two steak, onions and cheese sandwiches for us.  The cheese is mozzarella and there are pepperoncini on the side.  It comes with fries, too, but I'm not a big fan of fries.  A couple will do for me.  The Beast loves these sandwiches almost as much as he loves Italian beefs from Chicago (love the crispy rolls...yum!).  I like them, too, and love that I didn't have to cook.

Since Chewlee will be with her other grandfather tomorrow and we won't have her, the Beast and I are heading down to Red Lobster for the long overdue dinner the Beast owes me.  It will be a nice change for us to run down to Gadsden.  Especially since it won't involve going to a doctor for a change....LOL.

We are having the strangest weather for this late in the year.  Today it got up to around 62 or so but it's dropping down into the 20's tonight.  Tomorrow it will be in the upper 50's they say but it will probably end up in the 60's if we have sun again.  You have no idea how to dress for the day because it's cold in the morning but warms up a lot and then, after 3pm, the temperature starts dropping radically.  I know I can dress warm when we go to Gadsden because we will head down around 4pm.  Now that it's getting dark around 5:30 or so, we'll be coming home in the dark which neither of us likes.  That means it will be chilly for sure.  I'll take my warm coat with me since I am a wimp and hate being cold.  But that's just me. 

Love you all.  Be good.  Have a great weekend and try to have a little fun...but stay out of trouble and don't drink and drive, okay? 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

As you can tell by my heading, Chewlee got her fourth smiley face for the week.  She was almost blase' about it except for the little smirk I saw on her face as she casually threw the information out....when asked.  However, if she gets another smiley face tomorrow, I will bet you that she comes in all excited over it.  PLUS...her mother promised her a sleepover at her other grandfather's hotel if she gets one.  He's coming into town for the weekend.  Chewlee will come here after school and, when the grandfather shows up at the Princess's work, the Beast will drive Chewlee to the restaurant so he can pick her up.

Chewlee loves when her *other* papa comes to visit.  I hate it.  He spoils her rotten....and I mean ROTTEN, with a capitol R.  After he leaves, she becomes almost unbearable if you tell her she can't have something that she wants.  We expect it now but we still hate dealing with it.  The leverage we have is that she believes in Santa still so we tell her that Santa knows when she's been good AND bad so she'd better be good or she'll get coal for Christmas.  Last year, she asked what coal was and I told her it was like the stuff that her daddy uses in the barbeque.  I know there's no chance in hell that she would have ever seen REAL coal so I just tried to get close.  If she brought it up to her mother or daddy, I warned them about the reference so they would understand anything she might say about it.

Today we had a good time, even when she took her bath and remembered about getting water on the floor.  Plus, she loved the smell of the cream rinse I used on her hair and she kept pulling her hair around to her nose to smell it on her hair.  The little doll told me today that when she became a grandma she wanted to be like me.  That was earlier so it wasn't the cream rinse influence.  I told her that was sweet of her to say and why did she want to be like me.  That's when she leaned back onto me and said, *Because I love you and you smell so good.*  That made me laugh but I didn't let her hear it because I didn't want her to get upset with me when she was serious.  I just thought it was a really sweet thing for her to say.

I really think she appreciates my being a good audience for her performances...whether it's singing, doing ballet or her rock n' roll.   I watch her, listen to her and clap at the appropriate time.  She is always a different person for each performance so that she can do several.  She announces who is performing and, as the star, she is always last.  It's very cute.

BTW, Bratfink chewed me out because she thought I was going to arbitrarily call Sheldon on his phone instead of trying the house phone first.  But, when I went back and reread my blog, I saw that it sounded like that so shame on me.  I miss her online BUT....I would rather not be subjected to her crankiness even though I had a few things happen that only she would appreciate.  Hmm...she's reading my blog so I can tell her here.  {Sis, got 30K on my MB and I beat the mole for 10,800 }  There...sorry but it would take too long to explain.

It got all the way up into the lower 50's today but is going down into the lower 30's again tonight.  Chewlee got upset that all the morning glories are dead (I love the way they look but hate them, too.  They are really just spreading weeds and will take over your yard in a heart beat if you don't keep pulling them out.)  But I let them stay along the bannister out front because Chewlee thought them so pretty.  Now I can yank them out so that I can TRY to find the base of some of them.  Hopefully, that will keep them down a bit next spring.

Love you all.  Be safe and stay warm.  Drive carefully.  Tomorrow (today) is Friday and there's another weekend ahead of us all. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

For those keeping track, today Chewlee got another smiley face at school AND she finished a row of stickers that her teacher has been keeping.  She got to pick a prize out of the Treasure Chest.  She was very proud of herself and I let her know that I was proud, too.  If she gets a smiley face all week, she'll get to pick another prize out of the Treasure Chest.  That's a big deal to her and I am truly glad because she usually has already gotten a squiggly face or a sad face by either today or tomorrow.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  If she can go a whole week behaving herself, she's that much closer to being able to go another week without misbehaving.

I didn't sleep well last night.  It was mostly that I really wasn't all that tired.  But laying down and relaxing my legs felt good so I stayed down until it was light out.  I got up for just a short time, lay down again and fell asleep for two hours.  It was more like I just took a nap.  Tonight, after being up all day long, I was falling asleep at my desk and decided it was time for me to lay down and see if I slept or not.  That was around 8pm and I was pretty sure I wouldn't be asleep for the night....yet.  I did NOT expect to sleep almost five hours, however.   

That's why this is being posted so late.  Sorry 'bout that, folks.  I did want to say that I didn't see Bratfink online all day.  I think she lost her internet.  Usually it's because Sheldon hasn't paid the bill.  At least, I hope that's the reason.  If so, that is probably because their renter isn't working (he fell off a roof a while back) and hasn't paid his rent.  If he doesn't pay the rent, it means their bills are delayed.  I wish people tipped the guy who delivers their pizza better.  Hell, some people don't tip at all.  They figure the guy is getting paid but some actually aren't.  They are considered and treated as independent contractors and their tips are their livelihood.  Remember that the next time YOU order a pizza.  I always gave our delivery person at least two bucks to help pay their gas.  Especially now, when gas prices are so damned high.

There is also another reason she may not be online and IM-ing with me.  Bratfink quit smoking again.  She may just be staying off because she is cranky and unfit for human company.  It's not easy to quit.  I know, I've done it dozens of times.  (Not true.  But I did quit once without wanting to in an attempt to help the Beast who was supposed to quit after his strokes.  He started up and I threw down my hands and started smoking again, too.  I was pissed off at him.  I told him THEN that he would have to do it on his own when he actually DID try to quit.  And he did...shock! surprise!  It's been almost a year now.)  But I can sympathize with Bratfink.  Plus, I know she's been in a lot of pain with the cold weather.  Her hands, hips and knees have been keeping her in pain for well over a year now but more so lately.  I'm not sure the vodka helps any more either.  Say a prayer for her that she gets through the next couple of weeks without killing Sheldon or the cats. 

To be sure, I'll call Bratfink tomorrow on Sheldon's phone.  If anything is wrong, I'll be sure to put that in my post.  Love you all and have a great day.  Drive carefully and stay warm.  It's cold and damp here and in the low 30's.  Brrrrr! 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Chewlee has two...count them, two!...smiley faces so far.  She acted matter-of-fact when telling me about it before I checked her folder.  But, when her mother showed up after school (the Princess's school, not Chewlee's), Chewlee got excited and asked her mother, *Aren't you proud of me, mommy?*  I had to laugh.

Her only problem, and one her mother got upset over, was she said she wanted some soup and then, when she saw it, she got really upset and refused the homemade soup I had made.  Now, she's eaten it before with no problem but today she was expecting canned chicken noodle soup.  Her mother told her to eat it because she was getting NO food at home.  There was a lot of crying going on and Chewlee even said the soup was *nasty* at one point.  Her mother finally told her if she didn't even TRY it, she would go to bed hungry.

Now I am totally against sending a kid to bed hungry but it IS true that Chewlee will get in a frame of mind where she will refuse to eat something without even tasting it.  I got her to taste it and she told me she liked it but wasn't hungry YET.  So I told her I would send some of the soup home with her mother so that when she got hungry later, she could eat it and then her mother wouldn't be upset with her.  She said that was okay.  I DID send some home with her mother, and a little extra since the Princess loves my homemade noodles.  I'll ask tomorrow if she ended up eating it or not.  At least, if she goes to bed hungry, it will be HER choice.  If she does, I'll bet you she eats a lot at breakfast. 

I asked Chewlee today what her best day at school was and this is what she told me, after I explain something.  The teacher has little bins that have cards in them for each child.  There are five in all.  When a child talks or plays during work time or several other things that disrupt the class, they are made to remove one of the cards.  If they remove all of them, they end up in the principals office and stand with their nose against the wall for a predetermined time.  Well, one day ALL of the kids, except for Chewlee, ended up with ALL of their cards removed.  Chewlee was the only one that didn't have ANY of her cards removed.  That was the day that Chewlee got to take a prize out of the Principals treasure chest (although Chewlee had thought it was only a BOYS treasure chest).  She was so proud that day.  I remember it but she never explained why she would get one in the middle of the week as well as she did today. 

I told her, *Now wouldn't you ALWAYS like to be the BEST kid in the class?*  She thought about it and said, *I would like to but I can't.  Sometimes my mouth just won't stop.*  I can't help it, I laughed.  She got upset that I laughed about that and asked me what was so funny.  I told her that she really had to teach her mouth how to be quiet because it was HER mouth and no one else could do that.  She got a kind of confused look on her face and said, *Huh?*  Then, she said, *How do I teach my mouth to be quiet?*  That's when I said, *You have to whisper to it that you want to be the BEST kid in the class so it has to shhhhh.*  That's when she got a smile on her face and said, *Grandma, you're funny.  I can't talk if I whisper.*  I just winked and said, *Now you've got it!*  We both laughed then.

The Beast for some unknown reason decided to work a little on the cottage.  He's going to finish putting up the last couple of pieces of paneling so he can put the panels up on the ceiling.  He bought a scaffold to help him do that without having someone here to help.  He explained to me how he figured out how he could do it.  Made sense to me.  The scaffold was, of course, from Lowe's (we really need to buy some stock in them) and they had it on sale for the Holidays.  How much of a sale it actually was is debatable but it keeps him busy and out of my hair.  There's heat out there so he won't suffer.  The problem is Baron wants to stay with him but he gets in the way so I have Baron in here, whining and running back and forth because he can't go out there with him.  I'd much rather that Baron sulked because at least he's quiet then. 

The temperature has dropped and, even though it's only in the 40's, it's very damp out so the breeze makes it feel icy.  The goofy Beast ran over to the Princess's house which is nearby and didn't take a jacket because it IS so close.  He forgot the car was cold and it takes almost until you get there for it to warm up.  Same with the return trip.  I told him, *You nut!  You haven't been feeling good for over two weeks now and you do something stupid like that?*  He just got this stupid look on his face that he makes when he's been caught at something and knows he did wrong.  I call it his *puppy dog* look.  I swear, men can do some of the dumbest things!  Sheesh.

Well, looks like the temperature is going to drop down to freezing tonight so I'm going to tweek my table top heater a bit.  I'd rather get the room warm BEFORE it gets too cool than to try playing catch up later.  Love you all.  Stay warm. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

It struck me today that we all actually have a rhythm to our lives.  It's something we don't think about but just kind of fall into it during those times of peace.  Not peace in the world but those days when you just start washing clothes, folding, hanging up, preparing dinner, etc. and it just flows.  There are no arguments, no interruptions that are disruptive (like unexpected company which interrupts the *flow*), no whining kids, the cats and/or dogs are content.  It flows peacefully like a river at rest.

Other types of rhythm are more more exuberant and active.  That's usually what you find in a family with young kids.  There are kids running in and out, a rush to do shopping and then home to put everything away before you start dinner.  You send the kids in to clean their rooms or clean up the bathroom.  It's hectic but it's something you are used to doing week in and week out.  It helps you appreciate when the kids are tucked in bed and the whole house gets serene and peaceful. 

Other types would give you and I a headache.  It seems like pandemonium is the name of the game.  Dogs, cats, kids are all demanding your attention.  Your hubby/wife needs your help while you are in the middle of doing something important.  The phone seems to ring constantly and you are like a dervish, whirling around like a tornado.  You go from one disaster to another, fixing this and that until you want to collapse.  But, it's your normal rhythm of life and you thrive in it.  Some people need that going on around them or they wither and get depressed.  They just don't feel like they are living without that endless activity.

Regardless of what your style or rhythm is, it's yours.  I wish and hope that it continues for you so that you are happy and content.   I enjoy the peaceful times where the Beast and I seem to work together seamlessly and without discussion.  Today I made turkey noodle soup with homemade noodles.  The Beast also washed and dried clothes then brought the folding clothes to me and I took care of them.  He even surprised me by coming and grabbing up the things that needed to be put away (mostly his...LOL) and taking care of that right away.

I swept up the floors and he decided to damp mop after I did that.  I put the dishes in the dishwasher and he put them away when they were done drying.  We didn't discuss anything.  We just did it.  When he went to the store, he told me what he was going for and asked if there was anything else he needed to pick up.  It was a nice and easy time.  Very enjoyable for me and I'm sure it was for him, too.  Even Baron seemed mellow. 

Of course, the weather was nice today.  There was lots of sun, almost no wind and it was 60 degrees out.  Not really warm but it felt wonderful when the Beast and I had our coffee out on the deck.  Unfortunately, at the time, we didn't have sun on the deck so it was a wee bit cool to us.  We went inside while our coffee was still warm.  That 10 minutes or so was the longest we actually spent together all day.  We just seemed to walk past each other, stop and talk for a minute about nothing really important or share a funny moment from an email or online conversation.  He DID come into my computer room to watch a few minutes of the documentary I had on while Baron was in his lap then got up to take Baron for his run down by the river. 

Nothing exciting but very comfortable.  I hope you had a day like today for us.  Just in YOUR particular rhythm. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I not only didn't sleep well due to this damn cold I have but I also slept away most of the morning.  I think I owe that to finally feeling enough energy to grab a cold med and antihistamine that allowed me to get some decent sleep.  I'm glad Chewlee didn't get dropped off until 3:30pm so it gave me time to grab a bite to eat, some coffee and wake up.  I needn't have worried.  I had no idea that Birdie was going to come by to bring Chewlee over to her house for a few hours.  However, much to Chewlee's chagrin, she was home in a little over an hour instead.  Birdie has two kids and they were going to go pick up another one when they ended up dropping Chewlee off.  Why?  Because they had no idea that Chewlee had as bad a cold as she did.  I think something at their house aggravated her cough because they said she couldn't stop coughing.  Yet, when they dropped her off to us, she hardly coughed at all after the first few minutes (but she was upset, of course).

We played a few games online and then Chewlee ate a bit.  Her appetite was off, of course.  She was drinking a lot of liquids, mostly milk.  She wasn't running a temperature so I wasn't worried about that.  She also ate an orange, which she loves but really prefers them without seeds.  These had them but not in abundance, thankfully.  The Beast pays no attention to that because he doesn't care one way or another. 

I knew she was concocting something or other to drag me into but I distracted her with taking her bath.  I did get angry with her for getting way too much water on the floor *by accident* she said but it was more than one container that she had in there (I use it for rinsing her hair) on the floor so you can see why I was pissed.  I waited until I had cooled down (after wiping up the water) before I washed her hair and she kept telling me it was an accident so fervently that I finally relented and forgave her and believed her.  I DID tell her that next time it happens, SHE wipes up the floor.  She agreed.  I told her if she didn't put the glass on the outer rim of the tub, she wouldn't HAVE an *accident*.  We have to wait and see what happens on Tuesday.  I think kids have memories about this > < big when it comes to remembering things WE find important.  But...I could be wrong.

After her hair was washed, she was dried, in her jammies and had a short shot of cartoons, she came up with her new version of hide-n-seek for Gramma.  Her words.  She took all the white buttons out of my button holder, put them in a glass and hid the glass on me in my computer room.  I had to keep my eyes closed and she tried very hard not to make a sound while she hid it.  She's smart enough to know I could probably guess by the sounds she made.  She's right....LOL.  I DID try to pretend I was having a hard time but then I would suddenly find it.  I never had to hide it though.  She did it every time.  She almost got me once because she never made a sound.  But even that was a clue when I finally thought about it.  The clue was the lack of noise.  She had hid it somewhere that didn't require her to go over or under anything.  The stinker had hidden it under my own chair.  She was actually lucky I hadn't moved it but had just swiveled around.  I found it anyway.  She finally tired of that but it amused me that she had come up with that game mainly because she thinks of me as still *broken*.

Then she decided it was time to have another ballet and rock recital.  This time, however, because it was getting close to the time for her mom to pick her up, there were only two participants.  Chewlee and Zoey.  Both her but Chewlee is the star of the show and expects more applause.    Her ballet is getting really clever as she is learning more ballet steps from one of her older friends that actually goes to ballet class.  I am required to provide the music, of course, so I hum the sugar plum fairy theme.  As she is learning it, she is adjusting her ballet to it.  Too funny.

I let her take home Madagascar 3 since the Princess hadn't seen it yet.  Heh!  Let HER find out how many times Chewlee can watch it, over and over.    She told me that she and her mommy were going to go to the store to buy me something I like to eat.  That confused me since the Princess knows I don't eat candy and then Chewlee asked me what the name was of what I love to eat with my chips (Queso dip).  I tried to tell her to tell Mommy *Mudslide* but that confused HER.  She's never seen me *eat* mudslide.

It was really cold last night.  One of the times I woke up, I turned up my little table top space heater.  It made my room nice and warm and made going to the bathroom a real chore because the house was so much cooler.  I rushed back and snuggled under my comforter.  They say it won't get that cold tonight but I'm taking no chances.  I'll check to see what the temp is before I settle down for the night and turn my little heater up a notch or two depending on what it is then.  It's going to have to be still in the 40's to remain the same.  Otherwise, more heat expected! 

Love you all.  Hope you had a great weekend.  Hope your week goes well and that you are still saying a prayer or two for the poor people affected by H. Sandy.  Those people not having a good roof and walls around them need those prayers so they get settled into decent housing before the truly cold weather hits.  Drive carefully now. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Our dinner turned out well.  At least the Princess and Johnnycakes came early so we got a chance to visit as she helped me with the little last minute details and got the table set.  Chewlee, poor baby, still has a cold and a raspy voice.  Surprise, surprise!  *I* have a cold, too.  At least, I hope it's just a cold.  I felt nauseous before the kids got here and was laying down on my recliner when they came.  I felt better but, I watched Chewlee for a bit after Johnnycakes left for work, and found I HAD to lay down again after the Princess got back to pick her up.   Again, I was feeling nauseous but I think it was just a recurrence of whatever is trying to come down with me. 

When the Beast got home from his morning sojourn, he barely said *Hi!* to anyone but headed straight for bed for a quick nap.  He fell so deep asleep that Johnnycakes had already left for work and we were all done eating.  The food was still warm, at least, when he woke up and sat down to eat something.  I knew he had to be hungry....and he was.

Tara surprised us by dropping by and bringing us a coconut cream pie she had made along with some Cool Whip to top it off so we even had some for our pumpkin pie.  I was glad because I had forgotten to get whipped cream for our pumpkin pies.  I ended up sending home a whole pumpkin pie with the Princess since Johnnycakes likes it and it won't go to waste. 

The Princess told me that Chewlee was whining about not having seen me in so many days so she was happy she could spend time with me in the computer room, just the two of us.  I told the Princess that I'm definitely Chewlee's *bud*.  Chewlee wanted to sit in my lap and play one of the hidden objects games that we play and she kept leaning back so that I would put my arm around her and she was happy.  This was the very first time she played the whole game by herself.  I only pointed out two or three objects to her because I found them first.    Each section of a six scenario game has twelve objects to find and then at the end, you must find 15 differences between a split screen scenario.  That is the only one she let me have a more active part in.  She's much better at finding objects than comparing the same scene and finding how they made one different.  Those are always mostly subtle.  However, she was able to spot a few differences for me that I missed.  It's actually fun to play that with her and I love how she can find things that my eyes missed.  Heck, some of the scenes have so MUCH stuff on them, it's a wonder you can find the objects at all! 

Chewlee didn't want to leave until her mother reminded her that today was the day they checked out how many stickers she had and she would get her *surprise* for having a whole strip filled.  This year, the Princess has gotten almost her whole Christmas  shopping completed.  I laughed because I think she cheated.  She did most of it online and warned me that I would be getting her packages delivered here.  Johnnycakes face fell when he heard that because he had envisioned finding out what she had bought HIM when the packages came.  He should have remembered she has stuff she orders delivered here.  She's done it every year since she's moved here from Florida.  He's never found out what she bought him until he opens his presents.

The brats bought their Christmas tree yesterday, the earliest they've ever bought it.  They like a live (dead) tree.  I don't know how they can call it a live tree when it's been cut down and is no longer *live*.  It's just a *not yet totally dried up dead tree*.  But, I digress.  They have it in the living room set up but won't decorate it for a few days until the branches relax. 

When I lay down after Chewlee and the Princess left, I slept for four hours!  I know!  I was shocked, too.  I got up and found the Beast sound asleep so he's obviously still under the weather.  He'd put all the clean dishes away but had left the food out for me to put away, which I did as soon as I got up and found it undone.  I prefer he doesn't do that anyway because he will throw something I want away instead of keeping it.  Sometimes it's really just because a container for it doesn't just fall into his hands when he opens the cabinet door where I keep those things.

I only have to finish cutting the meat off the turkey and put THAT away and the kitchen will be clean again.  Poor Baron kept hanging around the kitchen hoping for some of the turkey.  He's such a glutton.  He's already had more than enough just from what wasn't eaten or we passed to him on our plates.  He definitely loves fowl.

It's dropping down into the 20's here tonight and I can already feel the cold here in my computer room.  I had to go turn up the thermostat on my little space heater on the craft table.  I told the Beast earlier, I may have to turn the fan button to reverse spin to push the heat down from the ceiling if this keeps up.  The really cold nights, I mean.  I'm a wimp about cold just like Baron is. 

Love you all.  I'll be heading for bed early tonight, for sure.  I'm really, really tired from all my activity the past two days and not sleeping well.  I think I will definitely sleep well tonight even if I have to add vodka to the equation.  I hope you all rest well this weekend and get rid of all the leftovers from Thanksgiving. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Today I was busier and on my feet more than normal.  I can really tell, too, because my back is screaming at me now.  Since we are having our Thanksgiving late (but early tomorrow since Johnnycakes has to work), I spent today putting together all the ingredients for our turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole along with our mashed potatoes and gravy.  I also made two pumpkin pies (which smell wonderful, by the way).  I am a real idiot, however, because I forgot to get whipped cream.  I also realized that I forgot (of all things) dinner rolls.  I don't know about you but I love my Brown n' Serve rolls.  Especially later in the day when I can make myself a little sandwich or two.  **Grin**

Some of the bread I was going to use to make the stuffing was too soft so I spent over an hour drying out the bread in the oven with it turned on low.  Took forever.  I found out that the moisture seems to just drift from side to side.  The upper part (not on the tray) will feel dried enough but when you turn it over, it's moist.  So I flipped the bread over and the partly dried side becomes moist!  It was infuriating and frustrating, I'll tell you.  But, I finally did get it to dry enough and got my stuffing made.

Baron was salivating while waiting for the innards (liver and heart), which I cooked for him.  He had eaten earlier but gobbled those down in a heartbeat.  I had already diced and sliced the onions and celery for the stuffing and I used a bit of the liquid from cooking the neck and innards to moisten the bread.  I also used some good chicken broth along with the eggs to get everything just right.  Add a little sage, salt and pepper and ... perfect. 

My sweet potato casserole recipe is an old family one passed down from some of the Beast's relatives who lived on the farms they had in southern Illinois.  I've had several different versions of it but my family prefers the one I always make.  They all have one thing in common besides the use of sweet potatoes or yams.  That's the marshmallows that you use for the final topping.  I've only had one (which I kind of liked) that had a nut/brown sugar/butter topping that formed a kind of crust during baking.  It was different but very tasty.

Normally, I make a green bean casserole, too.  However, this year, I am serving corn for a change.  The Princess has been to two other Thanksgiving gatherings already and I think even she might be tired of it.  She brought over some leftovers she had that hadn't been eaten while at Johnnycake's grandmother's gathering for us and we had some with our dinner on Thursday (before we had all our unexpected company).  I meant to tell them they were welcome to come by and help us eat our turkey but forgot in all the commotion.  Oh well, c'est la vie!

So, now I sit here with my turkey stuffed (and extra in a casserole dish) and all the other things ready for the oven at the proper time.  I just have to peel  potatoes in the morning and we will be ready to stuff OURSELVES by noon at the latest.  I hope that Chewlee is feeling better (she has a cold).  I think perhaps the Princess will leave her here with me after Johnnycakes goes to work and start on her Christmas shopping.  I'm going to have Chewlee help me with the little Christmas tree that I will be setting up in my computer room.  I've pretty much cleared it off to get it ready.  I think she will love that because the lights on it are purple, and the tree is a pretty pastel orchid.  She loved it last year but didn't get to do much as far as decorating.  We will have to go out to the cottage to forage for some other Christmas things and she will definitely love that part.

Well, I'm just hoping to sleep well tonight although I have to get up early to tuck the bird into the oven.  Love you all and I wish you a wonderful weekend. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I know most of my readers are from the US of A but some are not (surprise!).  Thursday was our Traditional Thanksgiving Day celebrating those brave settlers of ours surviving their first year here in what is now the United States.  It's a day of family and friends gathering together at homes across the country and eating many traditional dishes such as turkey, ham, yams, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing and/or dressing and various types of veggies as well as (of course) pumpkin pie.  The menu can be more complex or simple but it's definitely one of eating, drinking and enjoying company.

This year, our family has split up the celebration so that various family members could enjoy it with others that were within reasonable traveling distance and not have to worry about making two different meals at loved one's homes.  My granddaughter's fiance lost his mother this past year so he wanted to spend the time with his grandmother, family and friends without hurting her family (us) by not coming by to eat.  So we will be having our get-together this Saturday.  It's the thought that counts, not the day itself.

The Beast and I went to Walmart to pick up a few items needed and also to check out what food items had been discounted.  We ended up with a nice turkey, a beautiful ham plus I picked up what I needed in order to make my mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, sweet potato casserole and pumpkin pie.  I had a lot of the ingredients already but needed some pecans and other things.

We hadn't done much more than put everything away than we ended up with company.  The Princess, Johnnycakes, Chewlee (who has a cold, poor baby), Tara, Chance, Keith and Tara's brother, Baldie (sorry...that was too good to pass up!) all stopped by.  The Princess was going to go visit Tara but, when she called, Tara told her to just come here and why.  So, it was pandemonium here for a little while.  The visit wasn't really all that long compared to when we all eat together but we hadn't seen Baldie in a while.  In fact, the last time we saw him, he had hair!    Tara's father is here, too, but he was having a Fox Network withdrawal and stayed at her house to get his daily *fix*.  Since the Beast is like that, too, I completely understood.  I gather the visit from her dad and brother was a surprise for Tara.  I think it was more a show of support since the loss of her son, Kevin, this past April.

She also shocked us with news of her oldest son getting married this past Monday.  He's only in the Marines about a year now and we had no idea he was serious with any girl.  Girl?  I believe Tara said the woman is seven years older than her son and has a 7 year old son.  Trust me, it was a shock but I certainly wish them the best of luck.  It's tough being a military wife.

I'll be cooking off and on tomorrow to be able to have our meal ready by noon.  Johnnycakes has to work, I believe, but this way anyone who wants can eat themselves silly and still be home before dark. 

Love you all.  Hope you have a great end of the week and an even better weekend.  I'm looking forward to pigging out. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Since the Beast has stopped smoking, he's become more aware of the smell in the house and on his clothes in particular.  So he's taken to buying a lot of different products to vanquish the smell of smoke.  He hasn't stuck to just one aroma in particular, however.  This leads to some strange smells as you move from room to room.

He's put some kind of peach smell stuff in his closet with his good clothes.  However, in that bedroom, he's got one of those plug in oil things in the *clean linen* aroma.  I told him to pick me up some of the Febreze spray Thai dragon fruit scent.  It's very nice and it really does remove the smell in the computer room.  That's pretty much the only place in the house that I smoke.  However, the smell kind of creeps into all the other rooms, regardless.

He's got some other scent in the living room.  He's used the package of two up so he doesn't remember what the name of the scent is but, I have to tell you, to ME, it's a very sexy smell.  I am taking the little bit of what is left in the cartridge you put into the holder (another of those plug ins) and I will compare it with all the scents made to try to find it.  Hell, if I find anything similar in Febreze, I'll buy a case of it! 

The Beast went to the store today and was shocked to find that Walmart had put up signs directing carts one way down the individual aisles.  It must have been pandemonium at some point for them to do that.  But it worked fine as long as you paid attention.

Tomorrow we are going up there since most people will be home preparing their dinner.  Since we aren't having ours until Saturday (around Noon, Princess), I figured we will go and take advantage of the markdowns on leftover turkeys and hams.  If we can find a small turkey (and the seasoning you inject into  it), I may try to get the Beast to deep fry one.  If you haven't tried it, it is really tasty.  I was surprised the first time I had some, courtesy of friends of ours that came for Thanksgiving one year.  They brought along their fryer for the turkey, the grease and the seasoning.  It was amazing although a little overdone they told us.  We had no idea because it was our first time having some.  But the Beast bought one of the special fryers for us and we enjoyed our own fried turkey two or three times since we've lived here.  I know that's not a lot, considering, but it's not like you CRAVE turkey.  It kind of only comes to mind during the winter holidays.

I want to see if they have some of the Leap Frog Learn to Read books.  I want to get one (at least) for Chewlee.  You have a special pointer for the words and you point it and it tells you what the word is.  As they go along and reread the book, they only point it at the words they don't know.  Repetition brings on recognition and, before you know it, they are reading.  **Grin**  Actually, Chewlee knows more words than even she realizes.  I discovered that while she was sitting in my lap at the computer and reading something.  She started pointing out different words and she was also trying to sound out a few that she partially recognized, I think.  I paid attention and realized she really, really wants to read.  That's why I want the books for her.   They are a bit pricey (Walmart has them on special right now for around $23. or $24.) but I think worth it.  Trouble is, I don't really want to wait until Christmas to give it to her.  I'll wrestle with that when I find out if they have them in the store.

Well, time to get this posted.  The Beast went to bed early and threw off my time sense because of that.  It wasn't until Bratfink called it a night that I actually looked at the time.  Sorry about that.  Love you all.  Have a great Thanksgiving.  I hope you are spending it with family/friends.  Don't overeat now!  Remember, don't drink and drive.  I hope you all have a designated driver.