Poppies

I've spent a lot of time reviewing old photos. Most of these I got when Mom passed and so many of them I wish I had seen before and could have asked about the story. Scrapbooking for me has morphed into wanting to tell the story instead of just making a pretty page. But now, I am left with a bunch of photos and no stories. 

Some of the photos I do have stories because I was apart of the event and old enough to remember what was going on. These photos all have a story. Enter the California Poppies

This is BY FAR my favorite photo of mom and dad. Taken during one of our trips to the poppy fields, but I'm getting ahead of myself. 

Every year Mom, Dad and I would load into a car and head out. Dad loved photographing the poppies and they felt this was a good way to spend the day as a family. I have some very fond memories of these trips. Even as a teenager I was ok with going out with them to see the poppies. 

One year Grandma and Grandpa Wraspir were staying with us. Dad thought it a good opportunity to go see the poppies. 

Grandma loved seeing them. Grandpa loved seeing them because Grandma loved seeing them. 

This particular year - 1984 - are likely THE most embarrassing photos of my teenage year. Why did mom let me leave wearing a tube top? 

I mean, really? What was I thinking?

When I look at these photos I can't help but feel so much happiness. I miss all these people in these photos and am so glad that Dad "made" me go with them. It was a tradition for us each year and I can imagine as a teenage girl I likely didn't want to always go, or I pretended I didn't want to, but I always enjoyed myself. And now, as an adult without Mom and Dad here, I cherish these memories. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

That's a wrap. Another Thanksgiving is over and done. Phew. I always forget how much work it is. I tell myself it's not that much and yet I'm always exhausted when it's done. 

As is tradition, the festivities started with clam dip. It's tradition. Mine never tastes as good as Mom's did, but I still make it every year. 

Next the bird goes in. I cook mine in a bag every year and I'm so glad I do. It turns out perfect every time. Juicy and flavorful. This year I stuffed it with onions, carrots and celery. I have not idea if it makes it better or not, but I can say, this bird was delicious. 

The rest of the meal was rounded out with carbs galore: dressing; honey skillet corn, and mashed potatoes and gravy. Oh and a roll, because why not? 

I didn't make broccoli casserole this year and I gotta say, I missed it. The meal didn't feel quite right without that darn casserole. But the corn is so delicious. I made it for the hunting wives dinner and I thought it would make a nice side for turkey too. Maybe next year I'll make both. 

The usual crowd was here; Janet, Ashely, Claudia and her mom Gisela.

Now the rest of the weekend will be full of taking down fall and putting up Christmas. Saturday we're going to the Holly Jolly bizarre in Snohomish. It's become tradition. 

So now that all the specifics are done, let me just say, this year I'm very thankful for all I have and for all the people around me. I have a pretty darn good life and fantastic people in it. I'm thankful for all of it.

Sunday Funday Dinners

In Aug 2010,  I started this "Sunday dinner" thing. I invited a handful of friends to dinner and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Here we are at the end of 2022 and I'm proud to say my Sunday dinners are going strong. The guest list has certainly changed over the years. Added some new folks. Tossed other folks aside (for reasons I won't mention). Lost a few, sadly. And have what I call the "standard gang". My main peeps. They are invited every time and show up almost every time.

The "dinner" portion has changed over the years too. In the beginning I did the whole dinner. Everything from appetizers to desserts. And I liked that. I controlled the meal. I could plan accordingly and I could, of course, make sure everything "went together". 

But over the years the family wore me down. They kept offering to bring things. They wanted to participate. And a couple of them felt bad that I was forking out all the dough for the dinner. Even though I was ok with that. So I started allowing people to bring things. I tried to contain them though by assigning a list of "what was needed." So then every Sunday dinner, I'd make the "main dish" and I'd put the list out of Appetizer, salad, side, bread, and dessert. Or a combination of that. It's worked. 

I'd like to also add I got less "controlly" about Sunday dinner and begin to just enjoy how it turned out every time. 

This year I introduced themes. I LOVED the theme idea. It was a ton of fun to branch out of our norm and try new things. The "rule" was that if you were contributing to Sunday dinner it had to be in that theme. And surprisingly everyone followed the rules.  

We had this year's last Sunday dinner on this last Sunday. Mexican was the theme! The additional bonus of the December Sunday dinner is it's also a cookie exchange. Mexican food AND treats? Whoa!

The "standard" gang

The new "tradition" is to pick the next year's themes. And am I here to tell you next year theme's are going to be WOW! 

So if you want an invite, you gotta let me know. We might be able to squeeze you in.

I often wondered if Sunday dinners would run it's course at some point. The thing is, though, I think they might be here to stay. And I'm ok with that. 

Thanksgiving and all it's memories

I've likely made or helped with 40+ Thanksgiving meals. It's a day that is full of traditions and memories of Mom for me. She and I were the cooks on Thanksgiving and I miss that. 

I was trying to remember back in my life the first time I remember helping mom, or rather wanting to help Mom, cook Thanksgiving dinner. I can't really pinpoint it. It feels like I've always been standing at her side prepping and cooking. Then eventually we'd be cooking over the phone when they moved to AZ.

Back in the day, I do remember us getting up at the butt-crack of dawn to get the turkey ready to cook what felt like all day. That was before they made those turkey bags that Mom quickly fell in love with and used every year. Cuts down the cooking time and makes a good bird. 

Mom and I used to sit and talk about the plan for the day the night before. Once I was older it may not have been in person, but it was always a conversation we didn't miss. I'd ask her things like, "have you made your clam dip yet?" and she'd ask me "what time are you serving dinner?"  Our conversation every year was almost exactly the same, but it was something we had to do. In fact, we joked about if we didn't have this conversation, the turkey gods would take offense and burn our turkey. 

Then the day of I made sure I'd call Mom while I was making my dressing. We used to taste it vigorously when we cooked together. We'd laugh and say we were making sure the seasoning was right. So when we weren't together I'd call and ask her the same thing. It makes me smile even today. 

When Mom passed, my first Thanksgiving without her was difficult. I wanted to call and laugh and taste and laugh some more. 

The Niece was my helper for a couple of years. We made our own traditions and we laughed at our own new jokes. We had a turkey bag blow out one year that we still talk about today. It came up in conversation when I got the turkey out of the oven. She and I'd make a special drink and we'd try to wiggle a oiled up 20 plus pounder into a bag with all it's limbs sticking out here and there. Oh man we laughed. 

But now, she's moved to the other side of the country. So the last two Thanksgivings have been just me. And that's ok. I still have my memories. And thankfully, I talk to myself and always agree with myself. 

This year I opted for a smaller bird. I was only feeding 6 (turned out we only had 5) and I figured a 17 pound turkey was fine. And it was. It was WAY easier to get into that darn bag. 

My Thanksgiving meal is simple: Clam dip for an appetizer, turkey, dressing, broccoli casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, black olives, sweet pickles and cranberry sauce. 

The broccoli casserole has been tradition for - gosh I don't even know how many years. It has always been on the table. Until it wasn't. 

It makes a ton and is impossible to cut in half. So this year I opted for my Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Casserole. It still has broccoli and cheese in it and it is easier to make in smaller amounts. I still had a ton of leftovers.

Dinner was right on time. We were minus one as Janet's mom was sick. We ate. We drank. And we were merry. 

I think next year I can even get as small as a 15 pounder (if you can find one) and maybe even cut the casseroles in half. Though, to be fair, I did cut the dressing in half and we still had a ton, so maybe I'll need to do it in half again. But I do love leftover stuffing. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with all the trimmings and all family and friends you can manage. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday on my food blog,  I wrote about the food traditions of Thanksgiving and how much I miss mom this time of year. Writing that blog opened up a faucet of emotions for me. 

A dear friend recently lost her mother. I've been trying to "help" her as much as I can. Its never easy. And nothing I say now will really, truly help her. I've focused on checking in with her and just letting her talk as much as possible. I knew Thanksgiving was going to be hard for her, I didn't think it would be this hard on me. And not too surprising, helping her pushed a lot of my own feelings back into focus.

This is the 5th Thanksgiving without Mom. While I think about her every day, certain times of the year it's just harder. And I find myself trying to live by my own advice that I gave my friend. 

This morning I told her to just feel. Let memories of her mom come in and float out. I told her to not be afraid to talk about her mom. Everyone knows there's an empty seat at the table. Avoiding it somehow makes it worse. But above all, breath. 

By now, if mom was here, we would have spoken on the phone at least twice. Talking about what the plan was. Asking if the dressing is seasoned correctly. Probably gossiping about another family member. And so on. 

While I can't be with Mom today, I can carry her with me. She loved to cook Thanksgiving and she loved having as many family members over as she could. She loved the everything about it. Well, except the clean up. She didn't like that very much. If she did it right, she'd always have someone over who would "like" to clean up or feel obligated since she slaved over the stove all day. Not a bad plan actually. 

So today I send you Thanksgiving blessings. Wear your stretchy pants. Hug your loved ones. And be so very grateful for what you have today and who you may miss today as well. 

Here we go again

Thanksgiving us upon us. Just a couple days away and we get to celebrate with our friends and family. What could be better? 

I'm sure I've written about Thanksgiving before and how much this holiday reminds me of my Mom. She and I had a tradition of cooking the dinner and we had all sorts of little traditions inside the bigger tradition. It's almost been 5 years since Mom died and I still find myself thinking about calling her to ask Thanksgiving day questions. I'm pretty sure that feeling will never go away. 

The other big event that is now synonymous with Thanksgiving is my brother dying. He passed the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2013. We spent the entire week in the hospital "saying goodbye". It was a rough week. And every year, I start thinking about it and I get a little weepy. This year it seems way worse than normal. I'll get through it though. I always do. 

One of my good friends lost her mother recently. In the days after she and I were chatting quite a bit. I was immediately thrown back to those days and remembered how so difficult they were. How the smallest thing seemed to take forever, and made me cry. Its hard to be able to help her, because there' so much that I can't do. No one can. It just takes time. And even then it doesn't get easier. It just gets less horrible. 

As I sit her and type this and try not to think about Ric or Mom or Dad not being with us, I like to believe they are still here. Recently I went to dinner with some family friends who knew my parents forever. She commented that she felt like she was sitting with my mom. That my mannerisms, my laugh, my smile, everything was so like her. I'll take that as a compliment. I know they all have played a part in my life and there are things I do because of them (or in spite of them). 

So this Thanksgiving I'm going to do what I always do. Make dinner, enjoy time with friends and family, and have a little moment to think about those that aren't with us. 

Happy Turkey Day y'all.

Thankful

Here we are! The end of November. The pandemic has reared it's ugly head again and the stupid people of this area aren't doing what's being asked of them, and so we're in a bit more of a lock down. 

The message given is to limit your family time for Thanksgiving. Which, as it turned out, wasn't too hard for us. 

Originally, it was to be Janet, The Niece and the Niece's girlfriend. So, being ever organized, I bought for 6 people - 4 to eat and then leftovers for everyone. 

The next day, literally, we find out the Niece has to work and the girlfriend isn't off her ship yet. So it'll be just Janet and I...with LOTS of food. 

I managed to find a 16 lb bird. It was so hard to buy a small bird. For as long as I can remember we've bought a 22 or 24 lb bird. So that's what I buy...regardless of the 3 of eaters at the table. Ahem. This time, there was ONE turkey left, so I grabbed it up. 

Day of Thanksgiving I get a call from Blueberry and her plans fell through and could she join us. Lord knows we had enough, so come on over. 

And so we laughed. We talked. We ate...and we ate some more. As is tradition, we had clam dip as we waited for the bird to cook. Checked the bird after about 2 hours (of the 3 it was to be in) and it was DONE! So we hopped to it and got the sides going. 

I spent some time the Friday after thinking about the Thanksgiving we had now 7 years ago. When we were in the hospital with Ric. It is one of those Thanksgivings that is the worst and the best all in one. The day of Thanksgiving I had run to Fred Meyer to buy something dinner ish. We sat in the waiting room eating in silence. All knowing that in the next couple of days we will have to say good by to Ric. Our hearts were breaking and there was nothing we could do about it. We all already felt the loss. 

We ate. We didn't talk. We waited some more. 

Then Friday evening we were still greeting people who were coming to say their goodbyes to my brother. The elevator dinged, a sound we had been conditioned to turn and look at the door when we heard it, and the door opened. We expected to see one or two people at most. Instead we saw a FULL elevator. Each person in the elevate carrying food. Ric and Janet's friends had brought us a FULL Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. They had tables. They had table clothes. They had decorations for each table. They had plates and silverware. They had wine. They had thought of everything. Even now I tear up just thinking about it. So much love in a room full of people who were all grieving. 

Phew...gotta go get a kleenex. Man. Still makes me cry. I miss that guy so much. Tomorrow will be 7 years since we said goodbye to him. He's missed every day and thought of often. 

And so here we are, about to start the last month of 2020. It can't get over soon enough. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving whether you were with family or not. 

Mom's Gray Box

I think most my friends know I love to cook. I get that love from my parents. Both mom and dad loved to cook. Both of them also loved to collect recipes - which I too do a lot of! 

When mom passed I brought home her gray recipe box of old recipes. They are handwritten, typed, magazine clippings, etc. Some of them are so amusing that I feel like I have to make them just because. 

Many years ago I came up with a goofy system that would get me cooking a lot of those recipes. I took my spreadsheet of recipes (yes I have a spreadsheet) and printed the recipe names, the cookbook and the page on a piece of paper. I cut them into strips and put them into a jar. 

Weekly I'd pull 4-5 recipes out of the jar. The jar (ok it was a HUGE brandy glass) didn't include anything like appetizers or desserts/cookies. Only items that would be for dinner. 

It got me to try a lot of new recipes, but the maintenance of it was a pain. Every time I added recipes to the spreadsheet, I had to find a way to add them to the jar. Finally, I gave up. I never gave up the spreadsheet though. 

Enter the app Paprika. ALL my recipes are in Paprika. Since most of them are from the Internet these days adding them to Paprika isn't that difficult. I still have the spreadsheet, and now the spreadsheet has the Gray Box recipes and all my recipes are in one place. Gone are the days of cookbooks. 

In order to select recipes, because I like having them random, I turned to friends and asked them to select a number between 1 and whatever the line item is in Excel (somewhere above 1000). That got to be complicated...so I finally realized that there MUST be an app for a random number generator. And sure enough there is. 

So the day before I go shopping, I randomly select 5-7 recipes and then determine which ones I will likely make that week. If it lands on a number of a recipe I've made before, I choose another number. If it lands on a dessert or cookies I make it that week. 

It's fun. It means I try a lot of new recipes. Each recipe I try goes on my cooking blog for others to enjoy. 

It might sound complicated and confusing, but it really does get me to try a bunch of new recipes. My goal this year is 100 new recipes. I figured two new recipes a week on average. I've made 33 so far - and the year is half way over - which means I'd better get on my game and fast. I need to make 11 new recipes a month to hit my goal. 

This week's recipes are all new and I hope all delicious. 

Goals...and such

Here we are just 3 weeks after Hawaii. I miss Hawaii. I'd love to actually go to Hawaii some day and not run all over hell's half acre. It sounds good. I'm not sure I could do it, but it's nice to have goals.

When in Hawaii I wasn't overly happy with myself. I have let myself get unhealthy ... again. I got tired easy and the humidity did me in quicker than normal. I hated it. I hated flying since my ass barely fit in the seat. I had to actually ask for an extender to buckle myself up. The Horror.

Post Hawaii I thought, "never again." I was ashamed and mad at myself for letting me get to that point again. I started thinking about Dad. I remember watching him give himself shots daily for diabetes and I used to think, "Gosh. Had he made the right choices in his life he wouldn't be her. That won't ever be me."  And here I am...

Choices. That's what its all about. We get to make choices.  I decided upon return from Hawaii that come the time Janet and I leave for Denmark I'm not going to feel this way. I'm going to be able to keep up with Janet...the energizer bunny.

The first two weeks back I got myself to the gym about 3 times a week. I was proud of myself for doing that. Then I thought, what if you give yourself a goal to go 7 days in a row?  Why not!

7 days! I went every day for 7 days. Now my goal is 10. Can I go 10 days? I don't see why not. In fact, I might even be able to do 14...I feel great. I have a lot still to do, but I feel really good. I know this motivation may not last, and there was at least one day I almost let laziness win, but for the time being I'm going to ride this motivation wave. 

I'm toying with stopping Jenny Craig and focusing on low carb, high protein nutritional meals...but baby steps first. The Niece and I are both discussing helping each other with this. In fact, after every work out I send her a photo...thus the photos above. I purposely make them bad... she just rolls her eyes. 

In other non-health related news, and frankly quite opposite is today Janet, Sherrie and the Niece and I celebrated Mom again by eating brunch at Salty's on Alki. It's a MASSIVE brunch buffet and so very good. We did this last year and I thought we'd make this annual and today was our 2nd annual celebration of mom. 

I'm stuffed still and that was 6 hours ago. But getting to the gym after helped. It's such a beautiful day in Seattle I drove home with the top down. It was 44F outside, but with the traffic on the freeway I wasn't driving too fast. I just love Seattle on sunny days...and in the winter it's a bonus to have a sunny day. 

Weekly check in

Apparently I'm making this blog a weekly check in. I have such grand ideas to write during the week, and suddenly the week flashes by and I've written nothing. Well, written nothing for the blog.

This week, outside of work, has been all about research and planning for the up and coming Great Adventure of 2015. I'm now so prepared to be in Barcelona and living the life of a real Catalunyan.  Even though I'll have to speak Spanish with them, I'm hoping to fit right in.

Actually what I'm hoping is that I'll be able to keep up with Seattle SIL.  I've upped my work outs lately - suddenly realizing that the trip is a short 40 days away.

This last week I purchased all of our "excursions" in Barcelona. SIL and I had decided what we wanted to do and I went to work buying tickets.

Wanna see a list? You know you do...

First thing we'll be doing is eating. We get in to Barcelona around 9am. By the time we get out of the airport and to the hotel, it'll be lunch time. Might as well take full advantage of tasting the flavors of Barcelona.

After that, we'll be visiting La Sagrada Familia. The enormous gothic cathedral built, originally, by Gaudi. We have a tour arranged, but we plan on spending some time after that just checking out the church. And by "checking out" I mean doing some photography. 

I'm also thrilled that we'll get to go up in one of the towers. While not a fan of heights, I can't pass up the opportunity to do this. The elevator will take us up, and we have to take the stairs down.

Last year we didn't have enough time there, I thought. I figured I could have easily spend another hour or two there.

This year (wouldn't it be nice to make this a yearly trip) we have plenty of time. I'm also going to try to purchase tickets for us to go up in the towers.  WEEE...

The next thing on the list is the Hop On Hop off bus tour. I love these touristy little things. They get you to all the hot spots of the city and you get a chance in a very short time to see everything the city has deemed "important" and touristy.  We bought a two day pass so I'm not too worried about getting it all done in the short 4 days there.

Thursday SIL talked me into, it didn't take much, going to the Picasso museum.  She also wanted to see the Opera house and so I managed to find a tour of the Picasso museum AND the opera house. I did some research and realized that I wanted to see the opera house too. Who knew?  Again, more photography opportunities.

I'm not a huge art buff so wasn't looking forward to the Picasso museum. Then I started reading about Picasso. Turns out it might be interesting after all. I'll be broadening my horizons (and by that I don't mean my a$$ - though as much eating as SIL plans on doing, that might happen too).

Friday we'll be going to La Pedrera and Casa Batllo. I ... cannot...wait...

I wanted to check out these two houses last year, but again, no time. This year, I'll be snooping in drawers and peeking into closets. Well, maybe not. But I'll be checking out the amazing mind of Antonio Gaudi by seeing his houses. Oh and doing some photography of said houses.

The other things we'll be doing, but doesn't require a tour, is walking Las Ramblas - stopping at every tapas bar we can (see early note about broadening my a$$). We'll be doing the Rick Steves walking tour of the Barri Gothic - Gothic Quarter - which is going to be a highlight for me. And we'll be visiting the beaches.   I'm taking a little bit of dad with me and we'll be scattering some of his ashes into the water. Dad loved Spain and I think this will be a nice tribute for him.

And lastly, we'll be closing out our Barcelona trip with a Flamenco show. Not traditional to Catalunya, but to Spain.

Other things that happened this week...well book club of course.

Vines & Spines read The Night Circus this month - my pick. And generally everyone loved the book.

Traditions

This morning as I was sitting, cuddled in an afghan, I started thinking about Thanksgiving. That led me to thinking about Christmas. And that led me to thinking about traditions.

Traditions. We all have them. Some of us love them. Some of us think they're not necessary. I think that might be a generational thing though.  I happen to think traditions are a celebration of our family and the lives of the ones who came before us.

The idea of passing something down to a generation makes me smile. It's as if you're bestowing some treasure on a young one. It makes me smile when I think about the traditions that were passed down to me. And more importantly how I react to them not happening when I think they should (ie. someone changing the plans and thus the tradition doesn't happen).

Then life happens. And some of your family traditions change because the person who the tradition was about or with is no longer with us. This saddens me greatly.

Case in point, the tradition of the DadUnit and I shopping for the MomUnit's Christmas gift on Christmas Eve. It all started one year when the DadUnit delayed buying her gift and called me with a "fun day".  Traditionally, we'd go to lunch then shop for the MomUnit and then the DadUnit would buy me a special gift. Over the years this day became very important to me. The DadUnit and I rarely spent any alone time together and this was a chance for us to recharge our relationship and spend some quality father/daughter time.  I miss him every Christmas.

One year, the DadUnit wanted to go shopping on the 23rd. I threw the biggest hissy fit because it wasn't the tradition. He got mighty angry at me calling me spoiled and a bunch of other comments.  I held strong though. I can be stubborn if I want (stop rolling your eyes).  Then when we did go on the 24th, the store he wanted to buy the MomUnit's gift from was closed. DOH! But to the DadUnit's credit he never said, "SEEEE! Had we gone when I wanted to go..."

There's also those traditions I created in my life. Granted they aren't going to be passed down, per se, but they're my traditions all the same.

My favorite Jenn Tradition is putting up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving.

See having my birthday right after Christmas means the tree comes down on the 26th. So really the tree is only up for a month. I'm certainly not one of those houses that keep the tree up through January.

This year I have a new tree. Mrs. Braspir and I headed to Costco yesterday so I could see the trees and if I wanted to spend the $$ to buy one. She had one last year and I just loved it. And she was already going to Costco so I just joined the fun.  That and there was no WAY the tree box would fit in Sparky.

I found one. And it's a beauty. I cannot wait to put it up. (and I'm sure the demons are saying, "We cannot wait to bring it down.") You'll have to wait for pictures.

I digress.

Almost all the traditions appear to be around holidays, at the moment I can't even think of any that aren't. I love traditions...all kinds.

What about you? What are your favorite family traditions?

S.O.S

Let me first say, I am not a baker. Never have been. And most likely never will be. Maybe.

Sure, I can bake cookies, cakes, cupcakes, etc. Those are easy. But when it comes to cooking any type of bread product - biscuits, bread etc - I have a huge blocking something, I don't know what.

The DadUnit used to make these amazing biscuits.  I used to love being home at Christmas time because it was almost guaranteed that we'd do biscuits and gravy for Christmas morning breakfast. I'd often be in the kitchen with the DadUnit, but really not paying much attention.

The DadUnits biscuit recipe is one that he adopted during his time in Iran.  A group of women put together this cookbook and in it - on page 103 - is the famous biscuit recipe.

I'm not even really sure what other recipes my live in this cookbook, because the only one I ever cared about was that one, well-used recipe on page 103.

When the DadUnit died, mom asked me what, if any, of the DadUnit's cookbooks did I want. I knew immediately I had to have the book from Iran. I was going to take on the ownership of THE recipe for the biscuits.  The DadUnit's legacy of the world's best biscuits can live on in me.

Oh so I thought.

I've made these biscuits a couple of time. The first was in the April before the DadUnit passed away. Bigbro, Seattle SIL and I were all down in Tucson to celebrate the DadUnit's birthday. For Easter dinner I decided to make these biscuits.

What I made, instead, were small, over-cooked hockey pucks.

Undeterred I made them one more time. I had a hankering one morning for biscuits and I made a batch. They were underwhelming to say the least. They were flat, flour-y tasting and so not the DadUnit's biscuits.

Today I decided I wanted S.O.S for dinner. S.O.S was a dinner the MomUnit and Father #1 used to make. I don't have very many memories of having it with the DadUnit, but I'm sure we did. My memories are of my early life with Father #1.

What's S.O.S? It's a military meal, from what I understand. It's essentially hamburger gravy and you would put it over toast. I prefer biscuits.

Enter tonight's dinner. Instead of buying biscuits, I decide to make the DadUnit's biscuits. Surely I can make these like he did. Maybe.

Suffice it to say, they were no where near the DadUnit's biscuits. They were a biscuit fail, in my opinion.

Not only did they not rise - which is probably because I flattened the dough too much before cutting it - but they have that flour-y taste to them. They kinda tasted like flour and a little bit of salt.

I am not giving up. There's another recipe just below the biscuit recipe that could be the one the DadUnit used. I have to admit I have never really been sure which of the two recipe's he used. I assumed it was this one because it's where the most "mess" is on the page. Maybe the next time I'll try the other.

It didn't however, stop me from eating them. I just didn't eat as many.

It's the Final Countdown (go ahead sing...I'll wait)

Well, here we are. One day before the BIG WRASPIR FAMILY EUROPEAN VACATION!
did it get here so fast? And sadly in a short time I'll be writing, "how did it go by so fast?"

I have started the final countdown clock, which usually starts with the airline check-in - cuz then it's 24 hours before departure.

I think I'm all ready.

Detailed packing list printed and pen in hand - Check
All important paperwork printed and near a suitcase - Check
Cat sitters - Check
The MomUnit - Check
Photo contest going on FB - Check

Now, the anxiety sets in. Feel it? I sure do. The sweaty palms, the sweaty forehead, the nervous stomach, the "oh my god what am I doing?" feeling, all present and accounted for. Granted the sweaty palms and forehead could be a hot flash, but I doubt it.

What am I anxious about you ask? Oh, well get a cup of coffee and come back. I'll wait.

Oh Hi, welcome back.

There are so many things I'm anxious about these days, but I'll keep the list to just those associated to this trip. 

The first is my expectations of the trip.  For those of you who know me well know I'm a planner. And boy do I plan.  In fact, being unemployed for 2 months prior to this trip may have helped this little anxiety along...I got to plan a lot.

In all that planning, or because of it I should say, I develop a certain level of expectations of the trip.  I have a list of what I want to see, a list of what photos I want to take, I have a list in my head of the # of times I want to stop and each gelato, or stop and eat in general, etc. You see where I'm going with this. 

I get anxious about the "what if the trip doesn't go as I planned?" element here.  Now, I can be a flexible person...and I do try very hard to be in these types of situations. But, I still worry that I won't get to go/do/see everything on my list. Which is ridiculous to think about considering I have limited time everywhere.  And I guess admittedly this worry is mostly about Rome.  I've been on cruises before, I understand you're limited in so many ways and I'm oddly ok with that.

But Rome...we only have 2.5 days in Rome. How can I possibly get all the photos I want/need? How can I get to all the amazing historical sites I must see? How can I eat gelato 3 times a day? And the list goes on...and on... and on...

I do have a small game plan on how to be flexible in Rome. I am aware this time of my over zealous, if  not necessary, planning abilities. I've been down this road before.  This time, though, I think I have a map and I think I have the tools necessary to keep my mind in the experience. I've heard this thing called "go with the flow" and I'd like to try it.

Oh who am I kidding...I can't go with any flow...unless it's a planned flow, then I'm good.

Besides the anxiety of my perfect plan being screwed up, I have, like many I'm sure, an anxiety of traveling in a foreign place.  Knowing full well that not only have I been learning Italian, and that most Italians speak English we should be fine...still I worry that we may get lost, we may get mugged, we may get taken advantage of, etc.  Then a good friend reminded me that if any of those things happen...think of the blog stories I'll have.

So those are the biggies. I'm not going to type out my last one because I worry that if I put it out there in the universe, somehow it'll make it happen. Let's just say, the missing flight from Malaysia has had me all shades of concerned. Not a good color for me.

Be sure to check in on a regular basis. I'm going to try to keep the blog updated daily...which shouldn't be a problem cuz we all know who I like to blog...and show off my photos.

Which reminds me, if you want to get in on the photo challenge just leave a comment. I'm promising a special prize for the person who guesses - as close as possible - to the number of photos I take on this 15 day adventure.  All photos, including the bad ones will be counted for this game.


arrivederci!!

February Sunday Dinner...and a few other things

This month Sunday Dinner was hosted by the Braspirs.  You may know Mrs. Braspir by her other code name of Queen PopUp.  After much deliberation - and a vote between the kittens and me - I've determined that Queen PopUp will henceforth be known as Mrs. Braspir.  They are, after all, family - sorta. In fact, I ran into someone who knew Mrs. Braspir's daughter-in-law and without skipping a beat I told the person she was my niece. So you, see, I've said it, therefore it is.

Moving on ...

Sunday dinner was out in BFE...also known as Carnation.  And those of you not from around here, yes it's THE Carnation where Carnation Dairy once (and still may) exist. It has absolutely nothing to do with the flower though. I don't think.

Anyhow, back to BFE. It's a beautiful drive out there and such a lovely place to visit. I'm not country folk and so wouldn't really like to live out there - unless the price was right.  Still, the Braspir's have a beautiful home that always makes me feel so welcomed. 

We ate 7 layer dip (and by "we" I think I mean me and Mrs. Landlord - cuz I swear I ate almost the whole platter of it), fudge, brie/crackers...and wine. That was just the starters. Oh the wine.

So remember, maybe you don't, but recently I purchased 10 bottles of wine within 2 days because all my favorite wines went on sale, and well, you can't NOT purchase your favorite wines when they go on sale, right? 4 of the bottle's were, actually, not a "favorite" wine in as much as wine's I thought would be my favorite if I had a chance to try them. So they went on sale at Cost Plus and I purchased them. ONE of those bottles, we drank last night. After two sips I debated hiding the bottle and not letting anyone else have any. Mr. Braspir poured himself a glass and I almost whimpered when I realized it was almost the end of the bottle.  I did take a photo of the bottle, and will be driving my butt to Cost Plus sometime this week and purchasing another bottle, or 2, or 3.

After I gorged myself on appetizer, we were served Baked Ziti, salad, and garlic bread that may or may not have gotten slightly burnt. No fire alarms went off, but those of us not in the kitchen helping smelled burnt toast and heard a suspicious scraping sound going on in the other room. It still tasted spectacular and it didn't stop me from having two pieces.

Dessert was a layered cake that was white cake layered with raspberry jam and topped with frosting. OMG...so good. I may have to request that again.

By the end of the evening I was stuffed, as usual, and I didn't have to do dishes. It was, for me, a win win.

The Pantry Goat thought it'd be a great idea to reverse the photo from below. I cropped out my fat butt...

In other none Sunday dinner related news, the job search continues. I had another interview today and three "outstanding" interviews - meaning the recruiters have my resume in front of people who want to bring me in for an interview, but we just need to nail down availability. Ugh.

Celebrate

I've been meaning to write this blog for a week now, and I just haven't had it in me. I've come down with a nice little cold and for some reason it has wiped out all my energy. There are things I've wanted to do, and should have been doing, and I just haven't had the energy.

Even now as I sit here typing away I'm feeling a bit sleepy. I'm debating between continuing to write and taking a nap. I figure the nap is eventual, so might as way write my thoughts.

BigBro's Celebration of Life was something to marvel at. At least 300 people were there to tell stories and to celebrate a man that was so loved by so many people. It was a bit overwhelming to see so many people from all the different aspects of BigBro's life.

I got a chance to chat with his friends from Boeing. It put me to tears to listen to a woman who still swung by BigBro's desk every day to say hi, only to remember too late that he won't be back.

Another Boeing friend told me about how BigBro would answer his phone and would be all about helping whomever was calling and never really complained about it. I know for a fact he complained about his job, but I love that his co-workers see him as someone willing to help in any situation. He was, mostly like that after all.

I spoke with some high school friends who had stories about his "antics" - all innocent enough, but still he was a talker and never stopped telling a story or chatting someone up.

Then there were the friends from Demolay.  Demolay is a dying society it seems, but the brothers were all part of this in the 70's.  So many friends told me stories of BigBro's dedication to the fraternity (for lack of a better word for it). One gentlemen retold a story of the first time he met BigBro and how welcomed he felt into the fold.

Then there was the 3Day gang. I was not surprised to see so many of them there to celebrate his passion for the cause. The stories this group had were nothing short of tear jerkers. Each had a special story of when they first met BigBro and how big his hugs were. In fact, the big, all embracing hugs were a common theme throughout all the groups of friends.

A gathering of young women caught my attention too. I stopped and chatted with two of them and they told me that Coach Ric was one of their favorite coaches. Turns out these girls all were part of a soccer team and coached by BigBro. It was a mini reunion for these girls and each one seemed to have taken something from their days of being coached by BigBro with them in their current lives.

Family, of course, was there.  A Celebration of Life wouldn't be complete without the clan there.  Brothers, sisters, cousins, daughters, mothers, in-laws were all on hand to recount the man and his life.  BiggerBro (the oldest) said a few words to the crowd and I smiled when he said he could talk all day about BigBro and say anything - and for once not be interrupted.  I then broke down in tears with BiggerBro choked up a little in his closing. For some reason him, and my MiddleBro, crying just causes a gush of tears.

The Buckhorn crew was there too. One of the wives of one of the Buckhorn crew made ribbons for everyone to wear. The Buckhorn guys all got ribbons that had camo, pink, and orange ribbons. It was very special to me and I was so thrilled that these people who loved BigBro and his love for hunting were there to say goodbye and tell some stories I'm sure BigBro would have preferred to not be told.

The last group was of friends. People who wasn't part of any of the other groups of his life, but was fond of the big guy and knew him through me or through other avenues of his life. Neighbors who lived next to him for years. Teachers who knew him years ago.  Family friends who lived in the old neighborhood - so many stories and not enough time.

We had a beautiful photo movie playing non stop throughout. So many people stopped me to tell me how wonderful it was to see his life played out before them. And how really blessed his life was.  We had a bunch of stories people sent me that we displayed.  Every time I walked by it someone was standing there crying.  The stories all had a common theme...his love for life, his big hugs, and his passion for what he believed in.

It was a bittersweet day for me.  I was tired and overwhelmed just by the putting it all together, and then I was tired and overwhelmed by all the people there. When I got home I had a "moment" to reflect and I had a small melt down.  I spent the day hearing stories, seeing so many old friends/family, and by the end of the day I had to smile a bit. He was loved and he touched so many lives.  I'm proud to have called him brother.

Merry Christmas Eve

Last year when the DadUnit died, I tried for hours to find a photo I KNEW I had taken of he and I going out on our annual Christmas Eve shopping trip. I couldn't find it. I looked through every scrapbook I had and still couldn't find it.

Fast forward to the last couple of months where I've been taking photos of all my scrapbook pages for safe keeping....I found it!

I'm sad that we only have one photo of us doing this, but one photo will have to be enough.

In case you don't recall, the story goes like this.

One year many moons ago, the DadUnit whispered to me that he hadn't shopped for the MomUnit yet and would I go with him.  I pointed out it was Christmas Eve, at which time he said, "And?"

From there it became our special time. He'd always buy me a special gift that was from just him. Over the years I tried to come up with things that he'd know about - to make him feel useful.  We'd have lunch, go shopping, the MomUnit would get EVERY THING on her list, we'd come home and I'd wrap gifts for three hours. 

It's something I'll never forget. And as I sit here this Christmas Eve and ponder traditions that are now gone, I can't help but think about how to make new traditions. It's sad to me that we've lost so much this last year, and yet I find strength in knowing that we will over come the loss and move on. New traditions are to be made.

And let's not forget all the old traditions that still exist? Frito Lollies on Christmas Eve, the MomUnit eating 12 grapes on New Year's Eve, Sunday dinners, my themed birthday parties, decorating the day after Thanksgiving, undecorating the day after Christmas, clam dip for an appetizer, and so on.  There is so much we still have to be thankful for.  I'm going to choose to look at those moments now and not linger on the sad ones.

Who's with me?

Christmas Eve Eve - Or as Patron Saint calls it...Christmas Adam

Merry Christmas Eve Eve everyone. 

This season hasn't been the merriest, though admittedly it hasn't been a bummer either. I haven't been in the normal Christmas spirit that I usually find myself in. The house is only half decorated, so I guess my spirit is only half into it. (As I type this Linus is pestering the fake poinsettias....again.) And considering all that has gone on in the last month or so, I think I've earned a "bah humbug" or two.

The MomUnit is still here. We made our traditional Frito Lollies tonight that we normally make on Christmas Eve.  Why tonight? Well because Mrs. Braspir (aka Queen PopUp) and her hubby invited the MomUnit and I to their house for prime rib. Yum.

Originally I had made reservations at the Salish Lodge for the MomUnit and I. It's a relative hoity toy-tee place that was fancy and I figured it would be a nice thing for us to do. Once I heard I'd be out of a job in January, we cancelled those reservations fast.  Next time maybe.

On the job front, I spoke with three recruiters today and have informational interviews all set up for Thursday and Friday. I love how fast this is moving and really hope that something comes out of any of these. We shall see.

December Sunday Dinner

We close the year out with a festive and sugar filled Sunday dinner.  It's the annual December Cookie Exchange Sunday dinner.

There was much merriment. Much sugar. Much food. And much fun.

I have to admit, I was worried what this first Sunday dinner without BigBro would be like. I was concerned there would be a somber feeling to it. Turns out all my friends are very festive and made the Sunday dinner enjoyable with no reminders that BigBro wasn't there.  I mean you could still feel his presence missing.  For example, I  missed him and Blueberry arguing of who parked in "his" spot.  I missed him coming into the house and announcing in his loud boisterous voice, "Bless all in this house."

And I missed his gigantic bear hug.

Still we pressed on and we celebrated the love of friends and family. The MomUnit got to be here for another Sunday dinner. And what a good one she got to enjoy too.

I had 10 guests last night. I had, at one point, 13 and slowly people had to cancel for one reason or another. No worries, they'll be welcomed back.

The entertainment of the night was Linus in his Snowman costume.

You can tell he loved being in it.  Not.

Second entertainment was Zoe.  She's a sweet dog and put up with being stalked by Lucy.  Lucy was in ONE CRANKY mood last night. She did not appreciate me bringing a dog into the house.

A couple of the guests, who shall remain nameless, decided they wanted to do a pasta test with the gluten free pasta.  I swear the used ever pot and pan I had in the house. The kitchen was a disaster and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a photo.

It really doesn't do it justice. It was a  mess. I'm on the 3rd load of dishes today.

Still, in the end we had quite the variety of goodies and treats. I sent most home with HikerGirl (oh yah, BTW, HikerGirl was here to visit. It was great to get caught up with her.)

I kept it simple and made Bolognese, Caesar salad and cheesy olive bread.  No carbs  and no calories here.

Just look at all those treats!

Just look at all those sugar crazed people.

Not shown in the photo is Lucy. She had had enough by the time this photo was taken and she bolted, scratching Mrs. Landlord on the way. Also not in the photo is Mrs. HotLanta.  She and Zoe had to take off a bit early.

So here closeth another Sunday dinner year.  Maybe next year we can get back to the rotating Sunday dinner.

A Surprise Turkey Day

The family is still sitting vigil at Ric's bedside.  Several friends and family came by to hug Seattle SIL and the rest of the family. It was very emotionally draining, but so overwhelming.

A core set of SIL's friends showed up at 6pm with a turkey dinner in hand.

It was one of the most amazing displays of love and compassion I've ever witnessed.  It was truly overwhelming to see these 6 or so women come off an elevator carrying so much food a small army could eat for a week.

We ate. We cried. We ate some more.  There were apologies for the pies not being homemade...we ate some more. We cried some more.

It was extremely special. These ladies made a sucky situation a Thanksgiving I will never EVER forget.  I sat at one point and looked around and thought how much BigBro would have been in the middle of all that. I have found over and over in the last 4 days that so many situations have left me a bit speechless.

In sadder news, tomorrow we will be letting BigBro go.  Sometime tomorrow afternoon we will be taking him off life support. There were several discussions today about who wants to be in the room and I gotta tell ya, I'm unsure what I'll do or where I'll be.  I'm not sure I want to be in the room when my BigBro takes his last breath.  I'm not sure I want to be anywhere else either. I am going to just decide when the moment comes. The Niece's Wife - BOB (long story why I call her Bob) most likely won't be in the room either, so there may be a reason for me to stay out too.  I'll be right outside the door, but not in the room. That might be close enough. 

I thought today how odd it was how quickly a "new normal" came about us.  It seemed so normal to be sitting in the lobby today hugging people I barely know. As we left tonight, it all became so real.  It became very real to me that by this time tomorrow night I won't have a BigBro to hug.  My life will never be the same after tomorrow.  I will find, eventually, a "new normal."

Turkey Day Prep

Thanksgiving is upon us. Just 8 days away and we'll be sitting in the living room wishing we hadn't taken that second helping and planning for dessert.  I happen to love turkey day.  I love cooking it.  And I love the leftovers.

So many people I know just dread the cooking of Thanksgiving. They think its a difficult meal, but the reality is, at least to me, it's simple. It does take planning, there's no doubt about that.  Lucky for me, I'm a planner.

Because I'm a process person, and a type A personality, and I love forms, I created a turkey day planning sheet.  Its crazy and a bit over the top, I admit, but did I mention I love forms?

The first step in planning the big day is determining who all is coming.  Once you know your guest list and people have RSVP'd, you can decide what size turkey to get.

Oddly enough the news is reporting that there's a BIG turkey shortage this year. They're saying bigger than 16lbs is going to be hard to find.  I can remember turkey days where we had a 25 pounder and/or two turkeys.  The biggest Thanksgiving I remember we had 27 people...whoa. That is a tough dinner to cook.

Anyhow, let's assume you just need a 16 pounder. The mistake many people make is  not allowing enough time for the turkey to thaw. I've done it. I had a mostly frozen turkey on Thanksgiving morning and had to figure out how to thaw it. A huge pot of cold water and a couple of hours will help.  Swapping out the water every 30 minutes helps too.

So about 3 or 4 days before, I do my grocery shopping.  I have my planner and I know what's being served by me and what's being brought by guests.  My grocery list isn't set up differently from my normal grocery list.

Off to the store.  This does two things. First it gets the task done.  Second it gives you a couple of days to make sure you have everything.  There's a chance you may have missed something, and you can run to the store before turkey day.

Day of I do a work back schedule.  I start with when I want to eat and then I work back from there to know when I need to put the turkey in. The schedule looks something like this...dinner's at 3pm.

With that plan in hand, I know I can lounge around all morning and get myself together.

See, easy.  Anyone can make a turkey dinner successfully.