Thanksgiving

We had anther couple for a great TG dinner, in our cozy little cabin... had the camera ready on the cupboard next to the table. Forgot to take any photos. Geeezzzzz ##@@!##$!!###

I actually cooked two turkeys.... I only have a microwave/convection oven in the cabin so cooked a small one in it and another one in the BBQ. At 28 cents a pound... I could not pass up buying two turkeys. Like to freeze the leftovers for enchiladas, etc. Have a great enchilada recipe from sister-in- law, Candy. I sent half of everything home with our friends and still have lots of food left. Of course I spent 2+ days cooking so don't plan on cooking for awhile....like maybe a month! Jim says I went overboard... I don't usually entertain in our small cabin so I decided to go for it. Even had shrimp and crab coctails along with a fancy tossed salad -- then the main course with all the traditional foods and a fruit salad like my Mom used to make. Had made a Huckleberry pie and the friends brought a pumpkin pie. Took us several hours before we were ready to tackle the pies.... but we managed to put a big dent in them.

The Microwave/Convection oven is great for large roasts, turkeys, etc. You can cook them on half and half... half convection and half microwave and it takes about half the time to cook them. The oven does it all automatically if you punch the right buttons. Turns out really great.

We played UNO Attack the rest of the evening after dinner. Great fun!

Sounds like you each had a great day and great foodCarol & Nanc.

I can't believe that 2006 is almost over. Where did the year go??

We are expecting some really cold weather in the next week or so. Down around the zero degrees mark at night and highs in the teens. Don't have much snow yet to keep things (plants) covered and partially protected from the cold. So I hope they make it. But, it really does not matter as the deer eat everything anyway.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving...

Love, Bunny

AK Thanksgiving

We had a very small gathering; My brother-Myron, son-Cooper, Mom-Marion, hubby-Rob. We ate early, at 2 PM rather than at the dinner hour. Then we just had leftovers for dinner too. We had the bird of course, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, 6-cup Fruit Salad, cranberry sauce and rolls. Mom made the rolls and brought them and of course I'd made a couple of pumpkin pies the previous day. Mom was going to make a strawberry-cream cheese pie, but the strawberries she'd purchased were freezer burnt.

I'd planned on making a chocolate cream pie from a new recipe, but decided not to because of Mom's planned pie. The pumpkin were plenty... only Myron and I could eat a piece right after dinner. It was a pretty quiet Thanksgiving, no kids to perk it up, but it was good food and conversation with family together. We visited Rob's folks in the evening with his brother and wife. The snow has stopped and it is clear and cold... only 15 degrees here this AM so will have to force myself to go for our daily walk. Enjoy your weekend all of you. I am so thankful to have such a great extended family.
Nanc

Max & Carol's Thanksgiving 2006

Here is a picture of our 16-pound bird... and the motley crew who consumed it.

Dinner consisted of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, 2-berry salad, and rolls. I forgot to put the cranberries on the table. Drats. That happens sometimes when you're rushing around to get everything on the table at once. Oh well, they'll still be good tomorrow.




In the picture from left to right:
Amy & Troy Greenhalgh (our friends), Max Jr., Max Sr., Jeremy, Jeff, Calvin I, of course, was being the photographer.

I sold Amy & Troy a house last year, when they moved from Reno, and we've been friends ever since.

Max Jr., Jeremy & Jeff are all Max's sons. Calvin is Max Jr's grandson. Calvin's mother, Sarah, was working today and couldn't come. They all live in Selah, Washington (a suburb of Yakima).

Max Sr. also has two daughters. Lisa and her family live in Spokane and Lana and her family live in southern California.

Click on images to enlarge

News from the North

Hello everyone,
Here's a great picture of Mom.

I worked on the ferries this summer for my new job for the AK Marine Hwy. System. Found it isn’t exactly my cup of tea. I prefer to have my feet on land the majority of the time as does my tummy when it gets rough on the water.

Actually, it is the big swells that do me in, which happen with regularity every time we are in open waters. Usually if I am busy it doesn’t bother me, but I had a couple of bad experiences that made me wonder what in the world I was doing out there. I do have to admit that I loved the ever changing view , when I had time to look at it. Got to see whales bubble feeding for the first time. I enjoyed talking with the passengers and getting to know the crew too, so it wasn’t all bad. My favorite job was Officer’s Messman. For that you take the officer’s orders and serve them. Many interesting and varied subjects popped up during conversations at mealtime. They were a nice bunch of people to work with.

The money was great, starting at nearly $20 pr hr. and ending at over that. I miss being home with my plants and my dog though and being able to get out and walk on solid ground. Those steel decks don’t agree with my feet . They could probably handle 8 hr. days, but not the 12 I do out there. I am looking for a land job again while I am laid off due to several boats being down for maintenance.

Rob and his friend Jack Sisson got in a 10 day hunting trip over on Zarembo Is., a 15 minute boat ride from Wrangell. They enjoyed each other’s company and finally got two deer the last two days.
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Mom and I have been doing a daily walk on the days I don’t run. She has only bailed out on me one day so far. This day was a rough walk as there wasn’t much of a track broken through the snow and Mom only had her walking shoes with Yak Tracks on them. I have had them on my shoes ever since the snow started, Nov. 7th.
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We haven’t had clear sidewalks since, except in front of the hospital, schools and a few businesses. It has been a very unusual Nov. for us, as the majority of snow usually hits in Jan. and Feb.
Now it has switched to clear skies and cooler temps in the 20s and dipping down into the teens for the next several days. There was a brisk north wind today, and Mom was a real trouper, even though she hates the wind. We’ve agreed that we always feel better getting out in the fresh air even when it is nasty out.

The rest of my days have been spent being lazy, working crosswords and my new interest, the Sodoku puzzles. I thought they were silly at first, but am hooked now. I found a difficult one that took me several tries, but I finally conquered it today.

Now I’ve got to get started with my scrapbooking. I’ve been away from it for so long that I feel I’ve lost my touch. Maybe the photos of Mom will be the inspiration I need to spark my creativity again. I am also getting the urge to bake gooey, delicious treats. I’ve been wanting to tone it down to healthier fare as most of us these days don’t need the extra calories. But then many say that Christmas is the one time of the year that they splurge on those comfort foods. So what do all of you think... should I stick with traditional sweets or try to remake the recipes to be healthier?

Nanc of the North

Grandma Pansy's Deep Dish Apple Pie

Shirley St.Clair sent me an e-mail earlier in the week that she plans to post Aunt Marians blueberry pie recipe (when she finds it). But, that got me to looking for one of my favorite recipes:

Grandma Pansy's Deep Dish Apple Pie

TOPPING: Mix to crumble
1 cube butter
1 cub flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
add 1 egg

* * * * *

Peel, core and slice apples as for pie.
Put in oblong pan (8 x 11)
Shake 1/2 cup sugar (with some cinamon) over the apples.
Spread topping over the apple mixture
Bake at 350 degrees until apples are done and topping is brown... about 25 minutes.

YUM-O

Have a great Thanksgiving all!
Carol

Winter Arrives in Wrangell, Alaska

Nancy sends the following message and pictures from Alaska: "Mom and I took a walk on the new extension to the nature trail today"




Carol says: Looks like Fall is over and winter setting in.

Max & Carol's Blog

Here is a link to Max & Carol's blog, with pictures of a Fall excusion we took not long ago. But, now winter is setting in and we put away the tank tops and pulled out the winter coats.
www.TreeDoctor.blogspot.com

-Carol Williams