Great nephew, Landon, insisted that he saw a man dressed in a Santa suit in the backyard when they arrived at Maw-Maw's on the Sunday before Christmas. He was right. Landon was not intimidated by the "man dressed in the Santa suit" at all and he talked his ear off, telling him what he wanted for Christmas and what he had already received, and commenting on upcoming sporting events and North Korea's nuclear ambitions.






Little brother, Grant, (the G-Man) didn't mind having a sit-on-Santa, either.......

...and neither did the Tiny Terrierist, Bonnie the Barbarian

Merry Christmas Blog Readers! We, like most of you, have been busy with holiday visiting and merry-making. I ended up ringing the Salvation Army Bell on Christmas Eve, in fact, I was the last ringer of the season. The store was crowded and people were generous. I chased one man outside because his milk had fallen off the bottom of his cart and he gave me a hug right there in the parking lot. Anyway, I was having a good time and didn't even want to stop, but Skip came to pick up the bucket and close up shop, so I went home and baked dog cookies for The Amazing Barking Dog and The Barbarian, and they seemed to really like them. More Christmas info to come......

I rang the Salvation Army Bell with Santa this afternoon at Wal-mart. Mercy me, was it cold and windy outside. Bell-ringing volunteers who have little kids with them always rake in a lot of dough. I don't have any small children to help me, so I thought the next best thing might be to ring with Santa. We also gave out Tootsie Roll Pops to the kiddos. It was cold, but it was fun, and Santa got some hugs

This is the "quiet bell" I made last year, so I wouldn't irritate anybody inside the store. I used it this afternoon to push the folding money down into the kettle, and to occasionally smack Santa on the behind.

Here are a couple of photos from Thanksgiving.

The table, set and ready...

...The guests at the table, Brent, Lindsey, Rob, Bobalicious, Jeff, Lori, Baleigh, and Maw-Maw. We ate, we played cards, we Black-Friday shopped.

Recipe of the Week:

Cream of Chicken Soup

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 medium Spanish onion (I used a plain yellow onion - did not see any onions from sunny Spain)

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour

7 cups chicken brother, homemade or low-sodium canned

3 sprigs parsley

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

2 & 3/4 cup chopped chicken

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 & 1/2 teaspoons dry sherry

1 tablespoon kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook, covered, stirring occasionally until soft, about 12 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes more.

Pour in the broth and and bring to a boil while whisking constantly. Tie the parsley sprigs, thyme, and bay leaf together with kitchen twine and add to the soup. Lower the heat ans simmer for 15 minutes.

Stir in the chicken and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Whisk the heavy cream, sherry, and salt into the soup and season with pepper to taste. Remove and discard the herb bundle. Divide in bowls and sprinkle the top of each with the flat-leaf parsley.

Here's an interesting tidbit, dear blog readers: About three weeks ago, a producer from the Oprah Winfrey Show called one of the Book Babes (Megan, who had written her a funny letter back in August) and asked for information about our book group. She wanted us to send a photo, a group biography and individual ones, as well. She also asked if any of us had read the book, Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen. Well, we sent everything they asked for and then we ran out and bought that book and started reading it, but....we haven't heard anything back from them. They discuss the book on the December 6th show, so.....I guess the Book Babes won't be on that day.

We meet on Thursday night to discuss our scheduled book, The Glass Castle, and probably the book, Freedom, and also, most likely, reasons why Oprah has not gotten back to us.

Happy Thanksgiving Blog Readers!

Very busy week around here with subbing and teaching GED classes in the evenings and trying to get Salvation Army Bell Ringers and so on and so forth. Bob is on vacation and being very helpful around the house. Today he got out his leaf vac and sucked up almost every leaf in the Hickory Hill Hood. Not kidding! Hope all the neighbors wanted their leaves sucked up because, that's what they got.

The Amazing Barking Dog and I struggle on in our lonely crusade to promote the celebration of Thanksgiving BEFORE putting up Christmas decorations. It's just wrong. Anyway, that's what we think.

Also, Happy Black Friday Shopping! Have fun and get lots of great deals. And, remember Big Lou's rules for the special day:

1. Run a little, if necessary

2. Bob and weave

3. NEVER push or shove.

Our motto: Aggressive, but friendly!!!!

The many leaves decorating the Hickory Hill Hood have turned the Amazing Barking Dog into more of a gatherer than a hunter. Happy Halloween, Blog Readers! I confess that I was not home last night to greet and treat the neighborhood goblins because we went to the Purdue/Illinois game in Champaign. (which is quite a drive)


We met Brent and Lindsey at the game, and we had a good time, despite the Purdue loss because the weather was great, and well, we like Illinois too, of course.





On the drive home we stopped at one of the Stevenson family's favorite restaurants.......




At the Beef----House
Yummy, yummy, just lettin' it all hang out
At the Beef---House
Yeast rolls stacked, and that's a fact
Ain't holdin' nothin' back

Shake it down, shake it down, shake it down now


When Brent's Dad, Larry worked for Fed-Ex, he would stop here for lunch every day. The food was delicious. I think he and Brent's mom went on their first date here, but don't quote me on that.


Book Babes:
Here is the 2010-2011 reading schedule for the Book Babes of Kendallville, if you have any interest at all.

October Jasmine by Bharti Mukherjee

December The Glass Castle Jeanette Walls

January Blink Malcolm Gladwell

February Snow Flower & the Secret Fan by Lisa See

March Lunch in Paris Elizabeth Bard

April The Sisters from Hardscrabble Bay Beverly Jensen

May Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Stout

June Pending

July Pending

Recipe of the Week:
I made these pecan pie bars and took them to our Beatles concert on the prairie a couple of months ago. I think they're a good pick-up-and-eat summer alternative to the real, heavy-duty pie we like to put on our Thanksgiving dessert table. Here's the recipe:



Pecan Pie Bars

2 cups flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

4 eggs

1 & 1/2 cups white syrup

1 & 1/2 cups white sugar

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 & 1/2 cups chopped pecans.


Stir together the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Cut in the cup of butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the bottom of a light-greased 10 X 15 inch jellryoll pan and press in firmly. Bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. Mix together eggs, syrup, 1 & 1/2 cup sugar, melted butter, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the pecans. Spread over the filling as soon as it comes out of the oven. Bake for 25 minutes or until set.

"I saw three ships in my backyard
On Saturday,
On Saturday.
I saw three ships in my backyard,
On Saturday in the morning."















Okay, clearly, one of these ships is in the front yard, but that would ruin the song.



Rob, my little ginger snap,







SELL...A...SHIP!









Ah, oak leaves and acorns.








My Disturbing Breakfast Story: Last Friday morning, at 8:15 AM, I watched a high school student pull from her book bag, a spoon and a can of Betty Crocker frosting. And she commenced to eating it right there. Was that breakfast, you think? I looked on slack-jawed (kind of like when I saw those little bitty girls eating the broccoli in Wal-mart) Fortunately, I was behind her and she didn't see my shocked expression. Oh, it's not that I'm some kind of food-pyramid fanatic. I've been known to spoon a little of the frosting myself. Only, I would do in my pantry - with the light out- and the door closed. What was she thinking? Later I thought, well, maybe she needed that sugar boost, you know a low blood count. And if that was the case, I humbly apologize. But, I'm really thinking that wasn't it at all. It was breakfast.




My mother-in-law, Darlene sent me this cookie recipe via Facebook. I made them today and they're very interesting, crunchy and tender, a lot going on here. I liked them. You might want to give them a try:

Grammy's Cookies

3/4 cup Crisco
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups oats
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup salted sunflower seeds

Combine ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.