Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday full of good food, friends & family!

here is a little quiz you might enjoy!

I was going to have pictures for you today — wonderful, color saturated photos, perfectly staged and centered.  Pictures of the wonderful yarns I have bought – handpainted yarn for a new poncho that I chose with Kathleen’s help at Granny’s yarn shop.  Five colors of Patons for the Hayden Hat Along .  I was also going to include pictures of my dining room table all set with pottery, Waterford and sterling.

It would have been a feast for the eyes ….

Alas, I am having computer woes – specifically, the button that I normally push to make it work is no longer there and my IT go-to-guy is at work.  With very little working knowledge, I pushed some other buttons, hoping to bypass the whole situation and fear I have made a molehill into a mountain ……

Oooo –  I just tried it again and it worked!

so now I can either: a. write a whole new entry or b. just admit that maybe the photos aren’t quite so color saturated nor very well staged …… at this point I am just happy they are on the screen!

Last year I brined our Thanksgiving turkey – and it was fabulous.  The recipe is one that looks intimidating — the long list of ingredients puts many people off.  However, the process is incredibly simple – the biggest challenge is finiding a container big enough for the turkey and the brining liquid.  Up until this recipe, I have never been a fan of roast turkey and have always looked forward to the stuffing rather than the meat — brining gets the meat so incredibly juicy (and as an added bonus, cuts down on the cooking time!).  If you don’t already have a traditional turkey recipe, why not try this one? I’ve never steered you wrong before ……

Other than the brining, our table will be filled with all the basic dishes made with all the basic recipes.  This will be the first year that I am not doing it up – (for example, last year our pumpkin pie had a walnut crumb topping).  I have finally come to accept my audience.  While they do appreciate and like my culinary efforts, they are just as happy –nay, even happier – to have the a basic meal.  So I will brine the turkey, but everything else will be steamed or mashed with nary a gorgonzola crumb, or teaspoonful of mango chutney to be found! 

This has resulted in a no-pressure meal – I feel like I’m having the family over for a baked chicken!  (they keep this up and next year we’ll be feasting at the KFC)

Ta-da!  I have been very busy spinning …. and have even ventured so far as plying – woot!  From left to right — a lovely green merino as a single on the wheel; nest is a shot of it plyed and the third picture is a gorgeous blue blend that I bought from The Dye Pot – it is magnificent. I don’t know if the picture does it justice.  A few months ago when I purchased these rovings, I failed to keep any information about them — I have made a vow to change my ways and start keeping detailed info.  Of course, this vow takes effect with any purchases from here on out and does not apply to fiber buys at Rhinebeck (for which I have already lost the info!).

I have failed to mention that Daughter #1 got her license!  This happened weeks and weeks ago.  After the first driving test snafu – where I earned the title of Bad Mom, the second test experience should have warranted its very own blog entry.  It went smoothly and Daughter #1 was all smiles.

Her new found freedom has been an unadulterated luxury – she has been driving her sister and herself to the barn and this has freed up unimaginable amounts of time in my day.  It is pure bliss. 

Daughter #1 is very good about calling when they arrive, which keeps worrying to a minimum.  I also have the assurance of a good friend of mine that Daughter #1 is a good driver ….. it seems that this friend was very late for work one morning and got caught behind Daughter#1 in the neighborhood.  She called to tell me that Daughter #1 made absolutely full and absolutely complete stops at every stop sign.  She obeyed the residential speed limit.  In short she was making my friend, who was already so late for work, even later.  Good for her I say – perhaps Daughter #1 could give this friend some driving lessons!