Our morning started with about eighteen inches of snow. I woke at six to my neighbor across the street snow blowing his driveway. Yep 6 AM snow blowing. He really knows how to have a good time.
So I got up. He has a long driveway and there was no way to sleep through that. I had coffee instead and read all of your blogs. Go me!!
Then I went out and cleared a spot for Jason to pull the truck in when he got home. Yep. I am a good wife. I hope he doesn't get used to that. It probably won't happen again.
So Jason came home and attacked the snow with a shovel and a vengeance. It was a vicious fight but he won.
And then and then and then the power went out. On Thanksgiving Day when everyone in all the whole world has to use the oven, the power goes out. Lucky for me I didn't have a turkey in the oven. We were very fortunate to be invited to a friend's house. We will get to that adventure in a minute. But first, lets go back to my powerless kitchen. I had big plans for Thanksgiving morning. I wasn't in charge of the bird. So I thought I would whip up a few delicious appetizers and mouth watering desserts. Nothing like the loss of power to bring one back to earth. Instead I made things that could sit and wait to go in the oven at our friends house. Stuffed mushrooms anyone?
Do you remember that part back at the beginning where I said 'we got eighteen inches of snow'? Well that was just the start. It kept snow all day. We had quite a slippery little adventure getting to their house. Our 25 minute trip took about an hour.
It was so worth it though. They were the most gracious hosts. The food was fabulous. They barbecue the turkey. It was out of this world. It had a little smokey hickory flavor and so juicy. It was hands down the best turkey I have ever had. (Sorry Mom.) In fact, I think I will be trying this very soon myself. We had wonderful company and great food. What could be better than that.
We had a rather hair raising ride back home but my little mini van is a champ. And we made it home safe and sound. We came in and put two very tired kids to bed. When I went to check on them later, neither of them had moved a muscle. It was a long day but a very good one.
Hope you Thanksgiving was a little less exciting but just as fun and tasty.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Hello Bloggy Internets..you are still there aren't you.
It seems the blog has gone rather ignored the last few days. Wait until you hear the tale. Thanksgiving was an adventure this year. Tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
11 Years Ago Today
11 years ago today I took an oath that forever altered the course of my life. No other 15 seconds in my lifetime had a bigger impact on the direction my life took. I raised my right hand and said:
I, Ellyn, /// DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR /// THAT I WILL SUPPORT & DEFEND /// THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES /// AGAINST ALL ENEMIES, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC, /// THAT I WILL BEAR TRUE FAITH ///AND ALLEGIANCE TO THE SAME, /// AND THAT I WILL OBEY THE ORDERS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES /// AND THE ORDERS OF THE OFFICERS APPOINTED OVER ME, /// ACCORDING TO REGULATIONS /// AND THE UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE--/// SO HELP ME GOD
As I stood there and said the words so many before me had said my heart pounded like never before. I was so afraid of what lie ahead. But I knew I was supposed to be there at that time and in that place. I knew what I was doing was important. It wasn't going to be easy but the best things often aren't. I thought of my parents standing at the back of the room. I could feel their pride all the way up where I was. I knew they were a little scared too. They stood there and watched as I became an adult.
Three days later I called them on Thanksgiving Day a blubbered like a baby. I think I ruined Thanksgiving that year. Sorry guys.
Since that day I have had an opportunity to travel to places and do things I never would have imagined before. The units I have been associated with have done good things all over the globe. I got the opportunity to play a small part in those things. For that I am so thankful.
While I no longer have a direct affiliation I still feel a small swell of pride when I hear of the great things that our military is doing. I think I will always miss my Air Force days. It was a way of life. Everywhere you went, you had a built in support system. I will always miss the comradely of being a part of something bigger than myself.
No, I didn't they didn't let me fly these. I did get to sit in one though. That was pretty cool.
I took care of survival equipment. Pretty much all the gear you saw in Top Gun was stuff I worked on. But they did it all wrong in Hollywood. Ask me sometime. I will tell you about it. Just to clarify, I didn't work on the gear on the set of Top Gun. I was eight when that movie came out. And I still would have done a better job than Hollywood did. You weren't confused, were you?
Oh how I kick myself now for making all of my big pictures little back when I had a smaller hard drive. It makes for some pretty grainy memories.
I, Ellyn, /// DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR /// THAT I WILL SUPPORT & DEFEND /// THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES /// AGAINST ALL ENEMIES, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC, /// THAT I WILL BEAR TRUE FAITH ///AND ALLEGIANCE TO THE SAME, /// AND THAT I WILL OBEY THE ORDERS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES /// AND THE ORDERS OF THE OFFICERS APPOINTED OVER ME, /// ACCORDING TO REGULATIONS /// AND THE UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE--/// SO HELP ME GOD
As I stood there and said the words so many before me had said my heart pounded like never before. I was so afraid of what lie ahead. But I knew I was supposed to be there at that time and in that place. I knew what I was doing was important. It wasn't going to be easy but the best things often aren't. I thought of my parents standing at the back of the room. I could feel their pride all the way up where I was. I knew they were a little scared too. They stood there and watched as I became an adult.
Three days later I called them on Thanksgiving Day a blubbered like a baby. I think I ruined Thanksgiving that year. Sorry guys.
Since that day I have had an opportunity to travel to places and do things I never would have imagined before. The units I have been associated with have done good things all over the globe. I got the opportunity to play a small part in those things. For that I am so thankful.
While I no longer have a direct affiliation I still feel a small swell of pride when I hear of the great things that our military is doing. I think I will always miss my Air Force days. It was a way of life. Everywhere you went, you had a built in support system. I will always miss the comradely of being a part of something bigger than myself.
No, I didn't they didn't let me fly these. I did get to sit in one though. That was pretty cool.
I took care of survival equipment. Pretty much all the gear you saw in Top Gun was stuff I worked on. But they did it all wrong in Hollywood. Ask me sometime. I will tell you about it. Just to clarify, I didn't work on the gear on the set of Top Gun. I was eight when that movie came out. And I still would have done a better job than Hollywood did. You weren't confused, were you?
Oh how I kick myself now for making all of my big pictures little back when I had a smaller hard drive. It makes for some pretty grainy memories.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Hands
The inspiration for this post came from Memarie Lane. She posted some pictures of her beautiful baby the other day. One of the pictures was of her little girl's hand. That was all I needed.
I have always been fascinated with hands. Each one unique to it's owner. East set has a story to tell in the lines and scars.
When I was a child I fell off my bike and filleted my hand open. I walked my bike back home crying all the way. I still have scar today from that accident. I would probably not even remember this incident if not for the divot I still sport on my right hand from it.
When my babies were small I used to play with their hands for hours. They were so innocent and perfect. Not a single flaw or line. No blemishes marked them. They had those tiny dimples on the back of their knuckles. I kissed those tiny hands daily.
By contrast I think of my great grandmother's hands. She was an immigrant and a farmer's wife. To say she worked hard would be an understatement. She raised children and milked cows with those hands. By the time I came along her hands were very old. They were gnarled and tired. For most of my childhood she still lived the life of a farmer's wife. One of my most vivid memories of her was when I went over to visit her and Grandad. They had a dog almost as old as them. Shadow liked nothing more than to sit as his mistresses feet and be petted. I imagine it probably hurt her arthritic hands to pet him but she did it anyway. I remember watching her hands glide over that dog's head. She looked so frail. Her hands looked so old to me. Her stories were told in the lines on her hands. (I hope to revisit this amazing woman in a future post.)
Now I look down at my own hands. My hands are strong. I have changed a thousand diapers and wiped a million tears with these hands. I have served my country. I have lived, loved and learned with these hands. They are serving me well. Someday I hope they look like my grandmothers hands. It will mean I have spent my life doing productive things with them.
I have confidence this little boy will do wonderful things with these hands. I have visions of him soothing his own babies with them; much like his dad comforts him.
And this one. She will be mischievous and get into lots of trouble with her little patties. But I know she will also do great things with them too.
Thanks Memarie for the inspiration.
On More thing. For today and today only I will up the ante. For each and every visit I get in the next 24 hours I will give 50 cents to Food For The Poor. Further details in the side bar. Go tell someone to stop by.
I have always been fascinated with hands. Each one unique to it's owner. East set has a story to tell in the lines and scars.
When I was a child I fell off my bike and filleted my hand open. I walked my bike back home crying all the way. I still have scar today from that accident. I would probably not even remember this incident if not for the divot I still sport on my right hand from it.
When my babies were small I used to play with their hands for hours. They were so innocent and perfect. Not a single flaw or line. No blemishes marked them. They had those tiny dimples on the back of their knuckles. I kissed those tiny hands daily.
By contrast I think of my great grandmother's hands. She was an immigrant and a farmer's wife. To say she worked hard would be an understatement. She raised children and milked cows with those hands. By the time I came along her hands were very old. They were gnarled and tired. For most of my childhood she still lived the life of a farmer's wife. One of my most vivid memories of her was when I went over to visit her and Grandad. They had a dog almost as old as them. Shadow liked nothing more than to sit as his mistresses feet and be petted. I imagine it probably hurt her arthritic hands to pet him but she did it anyway. I remember watching her hands glide over that dog's head. She looked so frail. Her hands looked so old to me. Her stories were told in the lines on her hands. (I hope to revisit this amazing woman in a future post.)
Now I look down at my own hands. My hands are strong. I have changed a thousand diapers and wiped a million tears with these hands. I have served my country. I have lived, loved and learned with these hands. They are serving me well. Someday I hope they look like my grandmothers hands. It will mean I have spent my life doing productive things with them.
I have confidence this little boy will do wonderful things with these hands. I have visions of him soothing his own babies with them; much like his dad comforts him.
And this one. She will be mischievous and get into lots of trouble with her little patties. But I know she will also do great things with them too.
Thanks Memarie for the inspiration.
On More thing. For today and today only I will up the ante. For each and every visit I get in the next 24 hours I will give 50 cents to Food For The Poor. Further details in the side bar. Go tell someone to stop by.
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