Thanksgiving Day in Mexico

Thanksgiving Day in Mexico

Our son and his wife asked us to come down for Thanksgiving. What a challenge preparing a holiday

dinner... not only in another country but also gluten-free.

Our sweet granddaughter has Celiac Disease. That means

we cook gluten-free when she is with us.

Cooking started early in the morning at our son's home.

Cornbread for dressing (gluten-free cornbread recipe and then I used GF croutons for the dressing.

We had green bean bundles, mashed potatoes,

cranberry sauce, GF gravy. I prepared a dessert for

the adults but brought Santa chocolates for the kids.

Thank goodness that was a big hit!

I must admit that the men had decided to take

charge of the turkey. What a hoot watching them!

They waited until it was nearly time to put the turkey

in the oil-less fryer to read the directions. Then my husband

had to go hunt down a gas connection. Oh well... not to worry. They still managed to get it on in good time.

Then... we had to drop everything and run to

our granddaughter's school for a program...

in English. She goes to a bilingual school...Spanish-English.

Since our granddaughter has been in a bilingual

home all of her life, she has an advantage.

Anyhow... the day turned out great!

And I hope your day was just as great!

Here is the GF cornbread recipe I used:

2 c. yellow or white cornmeal (I used yellow)

1/2 c. boiling water

1 T. sugar (I omitted since using in dressing)

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 large egg

2 T. canola oil

I baked this in a 325 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Excellent!

It's Foodie Friday so

I'm linking to

Designs by Gollum

http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/

Come join us!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Holiday Dinner at the DePasquale's Home

A dinner at my grandparents' home was always

memorable. So much food and lots of people.

Everyone bustling around... at least the women were.

The kitchen was always full of women chatting and

and cooking. My grandmother would be giving out

orders left and right. LOL

Well, I just want to wish everyone a very

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Travel safely if you're on the road.

My Favorite Things!!

I've found a new blog party.... a little late, but we'll see if

I still get in on it. It's over at 320 Sycamore!

Melissa actually wants to know

what my favorite things are.

Now that is just too cool because one of my favorite

topics of discussion is cosmetics.

I enjoy "making up" on a daily basis... full deal.

I just feel better if I do.

My attitude is better.

I feel more energized.

I feel a little taller and a little slimmer.

Okay, that's pushing it a little bit...

My cosmetics of choice is pretty much one brand...

Laura Mercier.

This was recommended to me by my "personal"

cosmetic dermatologist.

Dr. Jennifer Peterson, M.D.

Meet my daughter-in-law!

She really likes Laura Mercier and so do I!

Now hop over to

320 Sycamore

for some fun!!

http://granvillehouse.blogspot.com/

Putz Village - Vintage Inspiration Friday

Putz Village

After WW II Putz Villages became very popular and were mass produced in Japan for export to the U.S.A.
Similar villages had been popular before the war but
due to rationing of materials some of the businesses
closed. These buildings all came from Japan.

This particular one is only about 2 1/2" high.

People became very creative with them placing them

underneath Christmas trees, on mantels and

even dining room tables.... much like our

very popular Department 56 Snow Village.

Handmade pieces such as people, animals, vehicles

were made to accompany the tiny buildings to

create wintery Christmas scenes.

They are very nostalgic sets and when I saw them

at an antiques store that has (sadly) closed now,

I fell in love with them. Just seeing these colorful

little buildings brought back memories that I

long-ago forgotten.

I hope that these stir up some memories for you as well.

I am selling my set in my booth at a local antiques mall.

I just don't have the time for setting this up anymore.

One nice thing about the Putz village pieces is that they

are all small and easy to store. They don't take up

much space when displaying either.

I am joining up at Common Ground for

Vintage Inspiration Friday.

http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

White Wednesday -- Thinking Christmas

White Wednesday -- thinking Christmas

Laura at White Spray Paint had a posting today that reminded me of my first Christmas decorating attempt after a November of remodel in my home. This was the

first time I used white! I truly loved it. Now I realize

that I should have inserted some colored balls on the

bottle brush tree... but that's okay... this year I will!

Going through some of my mother's Christmas decorations

I found some small Christmas tree balls that I must find a way to use. They are so "old-timey".

The biscotti you see in this picture is my mother's

recipe. Yummmm!

We will spend Thanksgiving in Mexico this year, so

I am going to attempt to do some Christmas decorating

before flying down there. We'll see...

I am linking to

White Wednesday

at Faded Charm

http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/



Olivia, Texas

I took a quick peak outside this morning to take this picture.

Quick because it is 55 degrees and blustery.

It's not particularly a "monumental"picture by any means, however, what it represents is something very dear to me.

This piece of land is where my husband's father grew up.

He learned to fish in this bay and later even learned how to

make a cast net. My father-in-law did not speak English

until he went to school. His language was Swedish.

His father had come from Sweden to farm. His mother

was already a second generation American... her family

coming from Sweden as well.

This was the home of Mabel and Otto Peterson.

It was a Sears and Roebuck "prefab" house and was

located right on this bay.

This picture was taken in 1915.

Mabel and Otto are pictured holding their

first born child, Arvid, my husband's father.

The house was moved off of this property about

twenty years ago. A brick home was built in its place. It was still being lived in and had

survived numerous storms and hurricanes.

My husband and I attended the annual Peterson reunion

this past summer when we took these pictures

here on the Peterson homestead.

This site has been the location of many, many

family gatherings. No one lives in the home that is

here now, but it is used as a gathering place for family.

If I look hard enough out on the banks of the bay,

I can see two young boys, my late father-in-law and his

younger brother fishing. I can see my husband as a young

boy enjoying the same sport... and then my three sons

doing so as well. Many fish have been fried here and

oysters shucked. Cattle have been raised, eggs from the family's chickens gathered and jars of canned produce

put up. It's not particularly the sort of lifestyle I would want

to go back to, but I cherish the lifestyle that created the

wonderful people in the family I was blessed to be

married in to.

I will be linking to

Little Red House

for

Mosaic Monday

http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/