BLACK FRIDAY!!!

It's getting chilly in Central California.  We're down to the very low 40's and wearing two layers of clothes.  It doesn't seem to bother these guys however.  There are four that I can identify.  At least SOMEONE liked the turkey!   

It was Black Friday ... did you get your buy on?  Not me, mostly because there wasn't anything I just had to have.  I admit you can get some deals out there, but generally they aren't something I want.  

I finally turned the fireplace on after messing with it for an hour.  It's gas ... and electronic.  If the controller goes bye-bye, I would have no idea how to get it to work.  Sure enough, the controller went bye-bye.  The surgeon in me came out to remove the acid covered batteries, fix the springs and reinsert one of those weird ones you can't find at the store.  

After much pushing, pulling, cleaning and banging on the table, it finally worked.  After all, it is 18 years old.  Maybe they're having a Black Friday sale on fireplaces!  It's really hard to get the pilot light to light.  I found several if I want to install it myself.  Seems fireplaces have gone out of vogue.  Not a big deal really, since the price of natural gas is now so high.  Electricity is MUCH cheaper.

You can probably guess what I had for breakfast.  Yessirree ... turkey, potatoes and gravy, stuffing ... the whole shebang.  That made Nancy sit on the couch for an hour because I was still full from the day before.  Cooper did not complain.  He loves nothing more than snuggling with his Mom.  He goes right back to sleep.  If only he would do that in the middle of the night!!

I spent the next two hours loading this quilt on my longarm.  I actually love the neutral colors of this one.  It's a queen size, so it's going to take some time to quilt.  My secret is to always start quilting in the morning when my head is on straight.  It makes it much easier to remember what you are doing!

Cooper and I finally went out for a walk near the end of the afternoon.  I was pretty surprised when I saw the sun going down at 4:30.    

I was completely shocked when I turned around and looked behind me.  This is the MOON, just as high in the sky as the sun was.  How can that be?  I think it would be fun to have some kind of toy/device that could sit on the coffee table and turn around just like the sun and moon do.  I know, I'm weird.  Maybe it would even light up like the sun.

I have to say, it was a completely boring day.  I had another round of turkey dinner for lunch.  By dinnertime, I was too full to eat anything.  I just don't want any of that goodness to go to waste.

As for the dressing recipe Dee ... it's very simple.  I made a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix and baked it in a pie pan so it would be pretty thin.  When cool, I cut it up into squares along with a few slices of homemade bread.  I spread that on a pan and put it in the oven at 250 degrees for about 40 minutes.  Then I left it out on the counter all night long.

I used my mother's recipe of half a stick of butter (more if you are making a big batch), chopped onions and chopped celery, cooking it until still a bit crunchy (it will cook more in the turkey).  Put the dried cornbread mix in a bowl, pour in the butter onion mix and add thyme, basil and poultry seasoning.  I don't know how much, I just shake the bottle, adding a little more than I think I should because I always seem to under season stuff.  Stir it up and stick it in the turkey.

If you don't want to cook it in the turkey, you can take the giblet bag of goodies and cook it on the stove in some water.  Place the cornbread mix in a casserole dish and add some of that broth.  Cover and bake maybe 30 minutes or so.  

I know, they tell you never EVER roast your turkey with stuffing inside.  Well I've been doing it for at least 50 years and I'm not dead yet, nor have I ever gotten sick.  So there's that!!!

Back to my honey do list ... the back room toilet ran all night long.  I should have known ... I have three and have already fixed two.  I knew it was coming.  

Enjoy this weekend ... I'll be shivering on the couch.  Not really, I can turn the heat up now that I have solar!!