After a Day of Football Watching

My son-in-law James and Penny the Golden Doodle, exhausted!  James was happy with the results of two games (Ohio State and Auburn winning)  and said he didn’t care much about the last one- USC and UCLA.  He gave me permission to blog the two of them resting on the couch.  Laura had already headed to bed.

I went down the street to photograph a crazy Christmasy house lit up full force but they’d flipped the  off switch early and gone to bed. Thought that would have been good for the Let There Be Light challenge part two.

The pink afghan covering James has a label in it from my father’s mother Mary Alta Hendricks, who knit it in 1976 at age 84.

Born in 1892.  That was a long time ago.

I’d been knitting all evening while the games were on. Earlier in the day,  my granddaughter Anna and my daughter Laura had been knitting as we all sat on the same couch.  Passed down four generations. There’s another afghan my grandmother knit from Bobbie, she sent it to Laura and James.

Tonight I am in the guest room at Laura and James’ sleeping under a quilt my grandmother stitched.

Thinking of family as the holiday weekend comes to a close.  Grateful for all the love passed down.

Thinking of those nearby and those no longer with us on earth, just in our hearts.

Penny and James

James and Penny are exhausted

QuiltQuilt stitched by my grandmother Mary Alta Hendricks

Weekly Photo Challenge: Let There Be Light

I like the title of the challenge in this time of year when the days are growing shorter.  We’re asked to show the light source in our photos.

Just today I saw a box with a HAPPY LIGHT for sale, to ward off the season’s darkness and the impact it can have on your mood.

At school I teach about the different sources of light, manmade and natural.  There are so many different types of light.

Here are some examples of photos showing a variety of light sources.

 

backyard moonlightMoonlight in Ohio Backyard

 

 

 

bonfire

 

Bonfire in Virginia

 

St. Patrick Candles

 

 

Candles at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

 

 

St. Rocco Fireworks

 

Fireworks at Saint Rocco’s Festival   Pittsburgh PA

 

Pocorn neon

Popcorn Neon at Kennywood Amusement Park

 

Screen Shot 2013-11-29 at 10.29.19 PM

 

Birthday candles- Laura covering the boys mouth so they don’t help blow them out!

 

 

angel lightErika’s Angel Lava Lamp last Christmas

 

 

 

wedding lanternsWedding Lanterns Somerset PA

 

 

 

sparklersJack July Fourth with Sparklers

Count 18 Million Human Viewers Plus One

Two years in a row on Thanksgiving, Penny the Golden Doodle watches the National Dog Show.  Seriously.

I saw it today with my own eyes.

The link said there was an audience of eighteen million viewers.  Plus Penny!

National Dog Show

 

2013 National Dog Show

 

 

NAtional Dog Show2013 National Dog Show

 

2012 National Dog Show2012 National Dog Show as taken by my daughter Laura     (the television on the other side of the living room)

 

 

She got so excited she stood up on her hind legs

 

photo 1

Golden Doodle

Main Dish Preference- Fresh, Frozen or Veg?

For those followers who celebrate traditional Thanksgiving this Thursday……which is your preference?

Fresh,       Frozen     or  Veg?

turkey featherHardy Virginia Turkey Feather from Neighboring Farm, November 2012

Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

We’re holing up.

Waiting for the predicted snow.

Not quite a burrow but definitely staying close to home.

It’s probably going to impact Thanksgiving travel plans for many in this neck of the woods.

I’m avoiding all stores with crowds- as everyone rushes to get milk and the last roll of T.P.

There’s urgent hype on the car radio as I drove home from school and I hear from a friend that reports on TV are insistent.

So I went to the Bryant Street Market to get a pound of coffee beans and spied Donatelli’s Mushroom Ravioli in the freezer.

Came home and baked the dozen in some vodka sauce from the pantry (don’t ask)  for 45 minutes and pretty soon there was a meal worthy of a winter night that feels like February instead of November.

In the dining room.  What made the meal though?

The grater was in service again tonight. This time  for the Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese.  Steve added the beer and we had spinach salad.   The candles made it seem warmer.

Mushroom Ravioli

Grated Grenada Nutmeg

Sunday afternoon I was getting ready to bake cookies. (Originally from Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School)

The recipe my mother used to use  for her signature Sour Cream cookies – (baking them on my cousin Paul’s milestone birthday 🙂 and will mail them tomorrow)

‘d just gotten back from the store with the sour cream when I realized I did not have a container of nutmeg on the spice rack.

But wait, how abou these whole nutmegs in a little bag?  I pulled one out and began to grate it and the aroma was amazing.

The label said Grenada Nutmeg .

(Joanne, did you send them to me?)

You may already grate your own nutmeg but it was first for me.   The interior was a beautiful pattern. The smell intoxicating.

Nutmeg interior

Freshly Grated Nutmeg ready to go in to the Sour Cream Cookies

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 3/4cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture on top before baking – I used parchment paper for easy baking and clean up
  • Bake at 350 for 11 minutes

Back to the Post Office after school.

 

 

Unexpected Gallery Two

Working on a different computer today-  I saw a few more unexpected themed photographs although  I already posted for the weekly photo challenge.   If I dipped into the hard drives I could go all week I am sure.

I skipped the “couch on the front lawn” shots.  Those are almost expected these days.

Some deja vu for longtime followers, thanks for looking again.

 

Fox on the Roof

 

Stuffed Fox on a Roof

 

 

Maura sees her reflection

Maura and her reflection

bras on Hot Metal Bridge

 

Bras on the Hot Metal Bridge for Breast Cancer Awareness

 

book bench

 

 

Book bench on High Street Clintonville, Ohio

 

American Girl Beauty Salon

 

American Girl Hair Salon Fifth Avenue New York City- my sister was showing it to me- no kids or dolls with us.

 

 

MOMA courtyard

 

Museum of Modern Art Courtyard New York City

 

 

mona lisa

 

Mona Lisa mural in Columbus

 

 

 

 

 

Our Lady and Beware of Dog

Juxtaposition

 

 

 
mini car in NYC

Weekly Photo Challenge: Unexpected

The challenge of unexpected seemed fun but challenging.

Added a couple you’ve seen but seemed good for the theme.  Knowing when to stop adding to the gallery is the difficult part.

swim coach as a leprechaunThe grandkids swim coach dressed as a leprechaun

lobster phone 1Mr. Wholey on his lobster phone

 

 

gravestones and railcarHeadstones and a railway car as we headed to Idlewild Park

 

man in a vanA man seemingly peeking out of  the back of the van

 

 

michael surpriseQuick, close your eyes for a birthday surprise, Michael.

Laura is surprisedLaura is surprised for her 30th birthday- nice party James!

 

 

alligator jerkyAlligator and Ostrich Jerky at the Renaissance Festival

 

pink water

Downtown by the Convention Center a wall of pink water for Breast Cancer Awareness

cigarette and teabag in a plantA cigarette butt and a teabag in a planter downtown

 

 

Fried picklesFried Pickles sign at Eat ‘N Park

 

 

stuffed animal windowStuffed Animal Window in New York City

 

 

flags in a churchyardA churchyard full of memorial flags in Millvale.

 

 

police eatingPolice having a snack in NYC

 

 

Birthday gift from her brother

Birthday gift from her brother

 

 

dog wash

Dog Wash?

 

 

Jack finds the air rushing

 

Whoa

 

Michael

 

Discovering the rush of air

 

Maura (2)

 

 

fake geese

Two fake geese that I thought were real in Powell , Ohio

 

 

grandkids

Finding the costumes at the History Center in Virginia.

JFK- Man of the Sixties

My father went to JFK’s inauguration- took a train to DC in the bitter, cold weather. This button is one of the souvenirs he brought back home.

In 1963 I was in sixth grade. I remember it like yesterday .

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5:30 AM edit

My son Mark just sent me the following photos of my father’s memorabilia he has at his home in Ohio.  I am adding them to the post now.

He is looking for the photos he has of the grandchildren at the Arlington gravesite.

JFK Inauguration memorabilia

 

Mark had all of his grandfather’s JFK memorabilia

 

 

 

Inauguration ticket JFK

 

 

 

IMG_2094

 

 

IMG_2092

 

 

IMG_2091

 

 

put into a frame.

JFK gravesite

 

 

 

Life MAgazine Cover JFK