and it was wonderful!

(Alyssa and Marissa)

We had the most wonderful Thanksgiving and so much to be thankful for, Pa and Granny came and Alyssa was here all the way from the University of Hawaii (lucky girl)! Roy made the best most delicious dinner, the table groaned with food; turkey, homemade dressing (with cornbread, almond slivers, and turkey sausage), gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, baked yams with marshmallows, soft dinner rolls with butter, corn, green beans, fruit salad, two kinds of cranberry sauce, pumpkin, pecan, and apple pies! Here it is Sunday afternoon and we still have enough leftovers to make into a whole new dinner :D

Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving tomorrow and the house smells of cornbread baking for the stuffing! The turkey is in the refrigerator with the whole berry and jelled cranberries, black olives, cool whip for the pies, and cream cheese and pecans for mixing up the fruit salad. Marissa's leftover birthday cake is still in the fridge too - that's going to have to make way for everything else pretty soon. We have six bottles of different flavors of Martinelli's in the ice chest and pecan pie in the freezer. Pa and Granny will bring over apple and pumpkin pies tomorrow afternoon.

We are picking up Alyssa from the airport at midnight and the celebration will begin the moment we see her and we are all so thankful and happy to have each other!

Blessed are You O LORD Our God, King of the universe, who has brought us safely to this season! Blessed are You, O LORD, who nourishes all.

Oscar Wilde

I have started reading The Picture of Dorian Gray and I need to read for a couple of hours today to catch up to Alyssa so we can talk about the book.  I watched the movie years ago with Michelle when we were small, I should take a look at netflicks and see if I can download to the tv or have a copy mailed. Michelle, if I find the movie you have to come over and watch it with me! You will need to remind me why we watched this movie during the day while lying in mom's bed, did we have the flu?

Favorite quote (so far) at 2% on my kindle: "and as for believing things, I can believe anything, provided that it is quite incredible."

Frosting

The best frosting ever!  When it cools off I will make cupcakes.

Abacus Inn

Roy and I are having dinner at Abacus Inn on 59th Ave. north of the 101. We are at this moment waiting for our soup, the hot tea is cooling in little tea cups near our plates.

On the wall next to our table is a picture of the beautiful Chang-O. A portion of the story, "After eating a forbidden potion, the legendary Chang-O is doomed to her lonely post on the moon."

Is the image of eating a potion and being subsequently doomed, a good idea, next to the food? The egg drop soup is wonderful, I have had a craving for it since yesterday morning.

Hey Alyssa, post what you know about the legend of Chang-O. Was the potion slipped in the poor girl's food? Or, did she eat it, unable to resist, knowing it was forbidden? Tell me the rest of the story, and in the meantime, Roy and I will enjoy a great meal :)

And, Nora Jones is singing in the background, "you'll be on my mind forever," that kind of fits a beautiful life banished to the moon.

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Butterfly Blast

Now that Alyssa, Marissa, and Roy are all in college and too old for trips down the WalMart toy aisle, we can buy Butterfly Blast for Cookie, Buddy, and Snickers! I love this! I want to see the pastel paper butterflies shoot out into my living room and see my cats stretched out on hind legs, paws up in the air! Is there a youtube video of Butterfly Blast for cats?
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Asleep

Both of you girls are asleep in my bed in the middle of the day.
I remember being your age and visiting my mom's house, the house that I mostly grew up in, my home which is no longer there, it's been demolished along with the huge, tall mulberry and palm trees, the huge front and back lawns (our house sat way back from the street) and huge oleander bushes taller than the house framing both sides of the property all the way to the back alley, all gone and paved over with smooth black asphalt for Perini Construction's parking lot. All gone, everything.

I remember having lunch and then lying down on my mom's bed to sleep, mid afternoon, the bedroom dark because of the aluminum foil taped to the large bedroom windows and the floor to ceiling curtains pulled tightly shut. The bed was soft, the pillows too flat, I used to tease mom about her awful flat bed pillows, and her room was as dark as a cave in the heat of the Arizona summer. When I was young it was not unusual to pass by homes where a couple of windows were foiled over to reflect the hot bright sunlight.

I remember lying still and drowsy in the dark, falling asleep in the afternoon half listening to small children playing just on the other side of the oleander hedge, and hearing the mourning doves cooing. Every time I hear that bird call I think of my mom and seeing my two girls asleep in my bed made me think of her, opening her bedroom door, looking in on me.

"The Mourning Dove is the most common and widely occurring game bird in Arizona:
1. My habitat is open woodlands and agricultural fields with trees.
2. I am very common in many backyards.
3. I make a plate-shaped, flimsy nest in trees or on the ground.
4. I walk along the ground picking up seeds and grain that is not harvested.
5. I am 12 inches from head to tail.
6. My wings whistle when I fly.
7. I have a small head and large brown body.
8. I make a "coo, coo" sound.
9. People think of me when they think of love."
-quote from Lesson 2, Twelve Birds of Tumacacori.

Dove Picture from the Arizona Game and Fish Department, www.azgfd.gov
Picture of my mom's house

book inscription

I finished reading "The Postmistress" by Sarah Blake last night and I was looking at the books in my bookcase and pulled out "the Riddle of the Wren." I carried the book over to my night stand lamp for a better look, flipped the cover open to the title page, and discovered my own handwriting in bright red ink, "Dec. 2002 Merry Christmas Alyssa XXXOOOO love, Mom and Dad. She would have just turned 13. There must have been a reason I selected this particular book as a Christmas gift, I always pick out her presents with her in mind and try to make them special for unwrapping and being happily surprised. Did I read about this book online at NPR books, or see a review in a Barnes and Noble Christmas Catalog? The front cover says "Winner of the World Fantasy Award." I went to Amazon.com moments ago and read this was Charles De Lint's first novel and has been out of print for years. The book has a courageous heroine, Minda Sealy, who has terrible nightmares. The story combines mystery, fantasy and a quest. The reviews are mostly 5 stars and I have discovered that Charles De Lint is a prolific and much loved writer, check out his personal entry at wikipedia. I must have made this choice for a reason, I wish I could remember. The back spine of the paperback is seamless, she hasn't folded the pages open and read this one yet. It is here with me, waiting for her.

By the way Michelle, I underlined this quote from "The Postmistress" (one of several I marked actually) thinking of us:

"Late afternoon had climbed up the rod of the sky and hung there, the air clear and sharp, the blues of the water and the sky playing against each other, reflecting and resisting like sisters."

Dear Bakery

Dear Bakery,
Is this a lamb or a pig? :)

Valentine's Day

We went to Cheesecake Factory last night for our early Valentine's Day dinner and had a great meal with Marissa and Alyssa. Alyssa and I shared the Steak Diane (my absolute favorite; steak with peppercorns and sauce with mushrooms and grilled onions) and Marissa had parmesan crusted chicken topping a Caesar Salad (she has been healthfully eating lots of salads this week and says she feels like a bunny), and Roy had Chicken Madeira - melted cheese with mushrooms and a garlic glaze, and lovely mashed potatoes.
The bread was brought out first in a little basket, warm white and brown bread with butter. We sat on the outside patio and watched the late afternoon turn dark and had a great time talking and eating, and the very best part, which I waited for all week, was the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake; chocolate cake, chocolate cheesecake, chocolate mousse and honest to goodness real whipped cream. One slice, four forks and we were happy altogether, wonderful!

10:00 pm

Should be bedtime but, 1) Marissa is online with friends, and on the phone, and is coughing (Dr. Susan at Arizona Asthma says she has bronchitis). I have to give her the inhaler and we need to set up the humidifier in her bedroom, 2) Alyssa is online working on a study abroad application, oh my goodness she is going so far away, Japan! 3) Roy Samuel and Cody are online gaming alternating with playing electric guitar and singing, we have the amplfier set up on a plastic table placed near Roy's computer.
The house is thrumming with music, talk, and activity. We are not sleepy, even the cats are awake most likely because I give out kitty snacks as part of my "before bed" routine and Buddy, Snicks, and Cookie all run for the pantry when they see me in there and hear the rattle of the "Goodlife Recipe" treat bag.
We are not tired. We will not be tired until the small hours, and tired for sure when the alarms go off in the morning and the rooms are cold, the house is still, and the blankets are warm. Are you awake after 10?

Angel

We have to take Angel to Dr. Reuhs's office in just a few minutes to be put to sleep, she has been with us for 16 years and we are so sad. She has been unable to eat or drink for the past few days and nights - cancer - and it is really, really, really hard to let her go but we don't want her to suffer. She slept with me part of the last two nights. We each of us spent time with her knowing this was coming, Marissa held her and carried her to see the roses in the backyard for a while this afternoon.
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