The Stone Rabbit

SPECIAL THANKSGIVING ARTWORK.....with a touch of PINK

 

 

This year, The Grand Girl made our very special Thanksgiving Day placemats!!  Using brown paper bags as the base....

 

 

she traced her hands onto them.....then made them into sweet turkey designs!!!

 

Of course, she added PINK to my turkeys!!!

 

 

I didn't get a picture of the table before we ate, but she also set it this year, all by herself....deciding everyone's spot as we gathered around to celebrate the many blessings we have received this year.

 

 

I hope each of you had the best Thanksgiving ever!!!

Please visit our wonderful hostess, Beverly, at HOW SWEET THE SOUND.  There you will find a long list of other bloggers who have PINKS to share with you on this great PINK SATURDAY!!

 

DANA

 

 

 

BLESSINGS. . . .

 

My life overflows with blessings.

*My husband arranged to have flowers on our table when we dined out to celebrate our 43rd anniversary last summer.

*He surprised me with an iPhone for an anniversary gift and  let me practice using the camera . . .on him.  THEN. . . 

 

he practiced using it on me, too!

 

 

 *Our daughter and our son and his family live  close by, giving us the amazing opportunites to spend lots of time with them. . .such as our annual outing to "tag" our Christmas trees. . . 

which was a tradition we started when our two children were very young. . . 

and one that our son and his family are doing with their family, too.  

Or attending the annual Sugar Creek 4th of July Parade with our family (me and my girl!) and friends. 

*It is a blessing that I had a mom who taught me so many things. . . including how to sew.....because years and years later, I was able to make the Grand Girl's Annie costume and . . . 

 

the Grand Boy's Charlie Brown shirt!

*It is truly a blessing that, we have had the good fortune to be a part of their  celebrations,  as well as. . . 

 

peacful times of just connecting with them. . . and simply enjoying their company and watching them grow.

***And now our family anxiously awaits the arrival of Grand Boy #2. . . sometime very soon.  What an amazing blessing, indeed!!

*I never in a million years thought I would say that I consider my abiltiy to "run" a blessing, but it truly has been.  It has allowed me the chance to set goals for myself,

 

spend quality time with my family. . . 

 

 

 

and make new friends who also enjoy running!

*However, one of my biggest blessings would be that of my "old friends".    

"Old"  not measured in our years on this earth, but in the years we've spent together and the experiences we've shared. 

My friends bring great joy and fun into my life. . . 

 they prove their loyality by humoring me when I said I'd like to "go bowling" on my birthday. . . 

 

they  are always prepared to play around and have fun . . . 

and have come to accept that I will probably pull out my camera and imortalize those moments !

 

* My furbabies.

They are blessings beyond belief.  Little Twiggy on the left (the one rescued 3 years ago. . . so sick at the time) and Frankie. . .the older and wiser  "big brother". . .

and Izzie. . . the Grand Dog who spends a lot of time "jogging" with me!!

* I was blessed the day I found THE STONE RABBIT in a local garden shop and decided to bring him home with me.  He  has been a constant fixture at our house for over thirty years. . . always eager to welcome our guests, keep a watchful eye out on our yard, and has demonstarted time after time that he is indeed a loving and wise fellow.

*Finally, I feel so blessed to be a part of the weekly event called "PINK SATURDAY" for over three years .  I now call so many of these bloggers "friends" even though I have not met them in person....yet!!

I thank my lucky stars for finding Beverly and her Pink Saturday!!

Please visit her at HOW SWEET THE SOUND where she will have so many other bloggers ready for you to visit.  They have prepared posts featuring their blessings and/or PINKS.

Happy PINK Saturday. . . .DANA

A THANKSGIVING RECAP!

 Our family Thanksgiving started on Wednesday evening when our son and his family came over to spend the night with us!!!!  Our Grand Girl brought us a very special gift. . . two great flowers  she and her mom had made to look like . . . .

little TURKEYS!!!!!!  How cute!!!

 

I told my DIL that I had the supplies ready for the Grand Girl to make some more decorative turkeys here!  

My DIL softened a small amount of the frosting, then guided the Grand Girl through the steps of creating the sweet birds!

First, she spread a bit of frosting on the flat side of the marshmallow cookie, then. . .  .

 

 

 she  attached it to a striped cookie---being careful to leave some of the stripes exposed at the top for the tail feathers!


Next she put a dab of frosting on another striped cookie for the base.  She placed the turkey body on the frosting and pressed it in place!!

 

Last, a piece of candy corn was attached to the body with frosting, and using a toothpick dipped in frosting, she added the eyes and beak!  :) 

In no time at all, a flock of turkeys were ready for our Thanksgiving table. They were going to hold our place-cards!! 

 

The Grand Kids were both up bright and early on Thanksgiving morning!  After breakfast, The Grand Girl put on her boots and mittens and dashed out the door to pick up the enormous newspaper full of enticing ads for Black Friday shopping!!  

As you can see, she loves PINK!!  PINK boots, PINK mittens and PINK PJs!!!   She knows I love PINK, too!  :)  

In a bit, we were in full swing in the kitchen, preparing The Feast!!

While we cooked, The Grand Kiddos watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV!

 

 

 

Later, the Grand Boy  played with Frosty while the Grand Girl and Grandpa  played MEMORY!!  It was good practice for both of them!!  :)

 

In no time at all, the bird was ready!!

 

Our little table was set and . . . 

 

 

 our seating assigned.

A blessing was said and it was time. . . 

 

 

to enjoy another wonderful Thanksgiving meal together!

 

 

What a joyful and blessed Thanksgiving. . . I hope yours was as well!

THE STONE RABBIT is being very patient as the Turkey Flowers settle in to their new home!!  :)

 

Please visit Beverly at HOW SWEET THE SOUND for a long list of bloggers with great PINKS to share!!

 

HAPPY PINK SATURDAY!

 

DANA

Turkey Fun

 

                                              

 

I am linking with Jillian of BELLA ROSA ANTIQUES this week for "Second Chance Tuesday".  

 

These photos were on one of my previous posts where I shared some of the vintage turkey planters I have collected over the years.

 

 

I only buy ones I love and . . . 

 

 

only if they're verrrrrry cheap!

 

THE STONE RABBIT and Twiggy share my love for vintage turkey planters, too.  They always get so excited when I start pulling them out for display!  Can't you see the little smiles on their faces?  :-)   NO?  They're there, believe me!!!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

 

DANA

WE DID IT AGAIN!

 

Yes, we DID it again!!!  

Yesterday, my niece (on the left below) and I ran our second official 5K run!!  

Here we are just before the "14th Annual Gobbler Grind Marathon, 1/2 Marathon and 5K" started in Overland Park, Kansas!  Just as we finished posing for our "before picture", we spent a few minutes walking to warm up. 

 

 

 

 

We thought these folks were lining up at the START line, but soon realized they were  in the bathroom line!!  OMG...I was really glad I didn't have to do that.  However, once I knew that's  what they were doing, I had this nagging feeling that maybe, I needed to do that, too.  My niece had to keep telling me I was OK. . . I didn't need to "go".  She was right. . . I lasted just fine.  These folks were probably gearing up for the longer runs.

 

 While waiting for the run to start, my niece was posting a photo of us on her Facebook page!  My phone doesn't take pictures, and if it did, I'm certain I wouldn't know what to do with it!!  I'm glad she does. . .she was my first "computer coach" years ago!  She knows her techy stuff!

 

Here I am with my husband, our official photographer!!!  He was so nice to get up early and hang out with us before, during and after the run!   I appreciate that!!

 

 

Our photographer got a great photo of the folks lined up at the "STARTING LINE".  The Marines were at the run and presented the flag as we sang The National Anthem.  

My niece and I were standing waaaaaay back in the line of runners.  The folks up front were the seasoned, mature and really good runners!!

 

You can tell really good, serious and dedicated runners. . . look at the  MUSCLES in their legs!!  The only things that pop out on my legs are veins. . . and they're not pretty!! 

 While the really good runners were shooting off that STARTING LINE like rockets. . . 

my niece and I were trotting along in the back. . . not too worried about our "pace" at that point.

 

 

 

 Neither of us had been running as much in preparation for this 5K as we had for the first one a month ago, so our goal was  "to finish" and if we finished a bit faster than we did on the first one. . . that would be a plus. 

 

I'm not certain at what mile marker this was, but these folks were pretty far ahead of us.  The fellow in the middle ran with a flag the whole way!!

 

Here we come. . . 

 

we were still feeling pretty perky at this point. 

 

There we go. . . .

 

These pictures were taken pretty close to the end of the run.  You can see "the flag man" again! 

 

I was feeling VERY tired at this point, but thought we were MUCH closer to the FINISH LINE than what we actually were.

 

The asphalt trail continued for what seemed like miles (it might have just been a tenth of a mile, however) before we turned onto a dirt path that took us to the END of the 5K.

I have to say, as we hit the path and headed for the FINISH line, I was worried about turning my ankle on the different running surface, but not my niece. . . she found a bit of energy and started moving FAST.  Well, I got tickled at what she was doing, so I had to try to move faster, too.  Heck, we were steps away from finishing.    I got in about four fast steps before hitting the blue timing pad.

 

The run organizers had oranges, bananas and grapes ready for us to nibble on just as we finished.  

 

Our official POST RUN photo!!  We were both pretty tired, but very happy we had actually finished our 2nd run!

 

 

My niece is pictured getting the "timer chip" removed from her shoe. . .

and so am I!  The chips are activated as soon as you step on the START line and deactivated when you step on the FINISH line!  

 

The run organizers post the times for everyone.  Here were our. . . .she beat me!!!!  :)  Actually, we were both happy to see that we had improved since our first run.  I was kinda bummed, cuz I thought we were going faster than what we were.  On my iPod, the NIKE + app  showed our pace to be in the 9 min range, but we were timed at the 11 min. speed officially.  I thought I was running a whole lot faster than I actually was. . . .it sure felt like we were moving right along!!  :)  I need to get the app. calibrated.  However, we still were pleased with what we did!

 

After the run, we headed over to The Doubletree and enjoyed a really good breakfast buffet!!  I'm pretty certain I took in more calories than I burned in the run, but we were celebrating!!!

 

 

 Besides a great Turkey Shirt, we also received a swell medal for running!!  I've NEVER received a medal for anything!!  Yes, indeedy, we got a Turkey Medal!!

 

THE STONE RABBIT was very impressed with my Turkey Medal. . . Twiggy wasn't so sure about it!

DANA

CHUTNEY LOVE. . . .

 

In a recent blog post, my friend Jill of THE BITTERSWEET SOAP CO., shared a recipe for "cranberry chutney".   She makes it every year as special gifts for special people.  

I asked  Bonnie if she would be interested in making some chutney.  Fortunately, she said "yes"!  You see, I don't have a clue about "canning" and she does!  

So, on Wednesday of this week, we met at her house and prepared to make Cranberry Chutney!

Armed with a copy of the recipe, jelly jars and all of the ingredients required to make the chutney, we were on our way!

 

Under the supervision of  Bonnie's sweet kitty "K-Mart", we started by. . . .

 

 

washing our half-pint jars and . . . 

 

heating the lids.   As the water bubbled softly in the pan, we  prepared the ingredients.

 

Bonnie took on the smelly task of chopping the onions.  Since we doubled the recipe, we needed two and one-half cups of those potent little items! 

 

 

I sorted and washed the cranberries and got the garlic and fresh ginger ready for Bonnie to put in the food processor.  Before long, we had a bowl full of chutney ingredients ready to go into the stainless pot for a few minutes of cooking!

 

 

While we waited for the mixture to cook, we. . . .

 

 each enjoyed a bowl of wonderful homemade vegetable beef soup.

Soon it was time to fill the jars, that we had been keeping hot in a canner of water, with the hot chutney.  

My job was to fish the jars out of the canner, then Bonnie would fill them with the luscious PINKISH chutney!!

While Bonnie wiped the rims of the jars, as soon as they were filled, I retrieved the lids from the pan of hot water.  With the lids in place,  she. . .  

 

put the rings on  and twisted tightly!

 

 

I placed the jars back in the hot water.  We let the water come to a rolling boil (with the lid on the pan) for ten minutes.  That's it!!!  We had canned Cranberry Chutney!!!  

We doubled the chutney recipe and were able to fill fourteen half-pint jars!!  

I was tickled PINK over this experience!! 

I used to help my mom can when I was young, but I hated it!!  Of course, we were working in the summer, with no air-conditioning.  Even though we would start in the cool of the morning, it wasn't too long before the kitchen reached oven-like temperatures.  I was the cutter and the chopper, while mom manned the canner or the pressure cooker and the hot jars.  I just didn't appreciate the importance of what she was doing. . . feeding her family healthy food on a limited budget.

With the guidance of Bonnie, I relived a bit of that canning time of days long gone.  The end result was very satisfying. . . to create a wonderful food to share with others.

Here we are, so proud of our efforts which had resulted in all of the gorgeous jars of Cranberry Chutney and a new feeling that Jill calls CHUTNEY LOVE!!  Jill's right. . . we're lovin' that chutney!! 

 

 

Cranberry Chutney tastes great with turkey!!!  Of course, I plan on serving some with this bird next Thursday when our family gathers for Thanksgiving Dinner!! 

 

 

THE STONE RABBIT wanted to send you a message just in case he doesn't see you again before next Thursday.  In fact, both of us wish you a truly wonderful and blessed day of "giving thanks" and we also wish you. . . .

 

 

a great Pink Saturday!!!  :)

 

 

We are so thankful to have Beverly, of HOW SWEET THE SOUND, as our faithful hostess and organizer of this weekly event. . . an event that has brought so many people close together every weekend for over two years to share their creative contributions of PINKS!  

Please visit Beverly for a long list of bloggers who are awaiting your visit!!

Happy Pink Saturday!

 

DANA

A "GIVE THANKS" PARTY

 

Lynn, of THE VINTAGE NEST, is hosting a "Give Thanks Party"!  It's our time to share whatever we would like in honor of this time of year.

 I decided to revisit a few moments captured in photos a year ago, during December . . . special, unforgettable times for which I give thanks.

                               *     *     *     *     *     *     *

I am thankful for seeing my Grand Girl play her roll as an angel in her very first Christmas program last December.   Her performance was magnificent!

 

I am thankful that I have saved and used the original Shiny Brite ornaments we put on our very first Chirstmas tree and on each tree thereafter for the next 42 years.  They will be on our tree this year, too.

I am thankful for having THE STONE RABBIT as a friend for over thirty years.  He also appreciates the specialness of Shiny Brites.

 

 

I am thankful for the friendship of Eloise who kindly hosted a wonderful Christmas Luncheoun for The Breakfast Group  last December.  L-R Mary, Mary Ann, me, Eloise, Beth and Laura.  

I am thankful that my niece married Eloise's son. . . cuz that made us "family"!!

 

I am thankful for living near the beautiful Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri.  It is a breathtaking sight at Christmas when thousands of lights adorn the beautiful retail shops.  We were on our way to dinner when I took this photo.

 

 

I am thankful for my friendship with these ladies (L-R me, Judy, Bonnie, Marian)  and always look forward to our annual Progressive Luncheon and Holiday Homes Tour.  

 

Last year, we wore "Ugly Christmas Socks".  We're an easily entertained group! :)

 

I am thankful for my Breakfast Group Friends sharing their "Memories of Christmas" after a luncheon at my house.  It was a special and moving time for us. . . even though they REALLY didn't want to complete that writing assignment.  I'm so glad they did. L-R Patty, Laura, Mary Ann and Beth.  Mary was on the right, but out of the photo.

 

I am thankful for the White Christmas we had last year. . . well, actually, it was a blizzard.  It started as an ice and snow mix on Christmas Eve afternoon.   By the time we headed across town to my brother-in-law's house, after Christmas Eve church services, it was super dangerous driving, but. . . 

 

we made it!  And I was thankful I could enjoy an annual Christmas Strawberry Daiquiri toast with my sister-in-law.  

We have celebrated Christmas with my husband's family every Christmas Eve for over forty years. . .another thing for which I am thankful.   

By Christmas Day, the snow was still going strong.  My grand dog,  wasn't wanting to move from the porch to do her morning "business", but I am THANKFUL she eventually did!!

 

I am so thankful for my beautiful girl.  I am thankful that she and her dog Izzie spent Christmas Eve night at our house last year. 

 

 

Because the snow was so terrible on Christmas day, we had to wait until late that afternoon to drive to our son's house.  We were going to be there early and have breakfast and watch the Grand Girl and Grand Boy open gifts and spend the day visiting and "making merry" with our son, DIL, her parents, my niece and her hubby and Eloise.  

I was supposed to bring a double batch of breakfast casserole to their house.  As it turned out,  I was thankful I had it made so I could feed my hubby and daughter after they worked hard clearing our driveway that morning. . . while it continued to snow and snow and snow.

 

Much later in the day, we headed out and made it to our son's house. . . we arrived safely. . . very, very thankful for that, cuz the roads were horrible.  We saw lots of wrecks and slide-offs.   I was so thankful my husband was brave enough to drive in that wicked weather so we could watch the Grand Girl open her gifts on Christmas and . . .

 be with the Grand Boy as he celebrated Christmas for the very first time and . . . 

 

see him take his very first bites of cereal.  

I have a ton of thankful moments captured in photo memories over the next eleven months of this year, but I will stop now and zip forward to a recent day when my son and his family and my husband and I made another trip to our local Christmas tree farm.  

I am so thankful that my son and daughter-in-law enjoy making the Tree Tagging a family event.  I know I love every minute of it and I'm certain they are creating special memories for their little ones.  

On that day, I placed a bow and a "sold" tag on the tree my husband and I selected, as a way of easily identifying it when we return in a few days to cut it down.

In this photo, my husband was pointing to some little fish that were swimming in the creek located on the tree farm.   I am thankful my DIL was ready to catch the Grand Girl if she started to tumble into the creek.  :)

 

This photo just fills my heart with a HUGE  wave of thankfulness and love.  Three generations of "the boys" strolling along through the tree farm.

My husband and I took our kids to tree farms many times when they were small.  I am so thankful we did.  It wasn't so much about finding the perfect tree. . . it was more about spending quality time with those you love.

 

 

I am so thankful for the spectacular color our young trees shared with us this fall.

 

Here was that same tree yesterday. . . after the leaves had fallen off.

 

It was a glorious fall day. . . Izzie and THE STONE RABBIT spent quit awhile basking in the sun and playing in the leaves our trees had shed.  THEY were very thankful!

These sweet fur babies,  Twiggy (L) and Frankie,  bring so much joy to us and I am so very thankful to share my  life with them.  HOWEVER, they are getting pretty bad about turning on my electric throw and snuggling on top of it!!  :)  This is what they were doing while Izzie and THE STONE RABBIT frolicked in the autumn leaves!!  :)

So by now you must be getting really sick of my long list of seasonal thankfulness, but I can't leave without a final couple of photos and thoughts.

My DIL recently finished these projects with the  Grand Girl.  She found old glasses at thrift shops and. . . .

 

 

turned them into wonderful holiday decorations!!  I have to end with how thankful I am to have a DIL who loves to decorate with thrifty finds, who celebrates the seasons with exuberance and who embraces the time she spends with her little girl in creative activities.  You, my DIL, are planting incredible seeds.

I still recall the times spent with my mom painting pinecones gold and sprinkling them with glitter. . . then hanging them on our Christmas tree .  She taught us so much more. . . and I am forever thankful that she took the time to share her love and creativity!

Thankful thoughts to my family, my friends,my fur babies and THE STONE RABBIT !!

 

DANA







 

IT'S TIME TO PULL OUT THE "WHEAT DISHES"

Today, I am linking up with Jillian of BELLA ROSA ANTIQUES for "Second ChanceTuesday".  I hope you'll visit her blog to see what others have to show us!  I know I will be!!

I am sharing a few of the photos from a November 2008 post in which I featured a table-setting where I utilized some of my Golden Wheat dishes.

A few years ago, I had decided I wanted to have a set of "fall" dishes.  I  recalled the Wheat Dishes my mom used to have when I was a kid and started looking for them in antique stores and flea markets.   My friend Patty became interested in obtaining some of them, too.  Over time, we each amassed quite a collection of the dishes.  In fact, we had so many, that we were able to "let go" of the ones we'd initially "found" that weren't in great shape. . . keeping the ones with the shiniest gold bands and the best images of the wheat. 

As a child, I recall that mom got the dishes out of detergent boxes.  When I looked on line, I found out that the Golden Wheat dishes were offered in the 1950's as a premium in boxes of Duz detergent.  Each month there would also be an additional sized plate, bowl or serving piece added to the boxed Duz, thus enticing customers to buy the soap as an affordable means to acquire the dinnerware, which was made by the Homer-Laughlin Co. 

 

 

The silver-plate  belonged to my mother-in-law.  I remember she very fond of these pieces.  As a young bride, I loved her little collection of silver-plate, too.  It was so much fun to help her polish the pieces as she prepared to use them for a special meal. These days, that silver-plate is used at our house for holidays and other important occasions.  I cherish it so much.  As I bring it out and prepare to use it, I'm filled with great memories of my MIL.  

I found the little amber glasses at the Salvation Army Thrift store.  Since these photos were taken, I've also added Fostoria amber water glasses to my fall collection of dishes.

The candelabra is an item I bought at a flea market years ago.  It's wrapped with a fall garland and draped with a seasonal ribbon.

 

As usual, THE STONE RABBIT was helping me out as I set the table.  He was in charge of pumpkin polishing. . . he's very good at that!


Thank you, Jillian, for hosting this event!!!  

DANA

 

A THANKSGIVING TRADITION

Thursday morning, while we worked on preparing the Thanksgiving Feast, The Grand Girl watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Did you notice the  polka dots adorning her shirt.....and that many of them were PINK?  :)  She currently LOVES polka dots! 

Anyway, she found the parade to be very entertaining and would become quite irritated when they broke away from it for commercials!  I had hoped she would find the parade a fun part of her Thanksgiving morning. . . I know it was a tradition at our house when I was growing up.  It's a tradition I continued in my own home. . . making certain our kids were exposed to the excitement of what was going on in New York City every Thanksgiving morning.

THE STONE RABBIT decided to watch the parade with her, too.  I think this was his first time to enjoy it!  He later told me that he hoped he could do that every Thanksgiving. . . it's a tradition he'd like to start, too!

 

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!  I know you will have a great Pink Saturday if you go over to Beverly's at HOW SWEET THE SOUND and visit some of the many bloggers who also have PINKS to share with you today!

DANA

THANKGIVING MEMORIES. . . PAST AND PRESENT

This is absolutely the first time I've sat down all day. . . and the clock is telling me it is nearly midnight.  We are about to welcome Thanksgiving Day 2009 into our lives.

For the last 6 years, Thanksgiving has not been a great holiday for me.  I go through the motions of shopping and cooking and getting together with family, but a very special part of that day is missing. . . my mom.  She had a stroke six years ago on the Monday before Thanksgiving and she passed away on the the day after Thanksgiving. 

I remember many of the details of that last week of her life.  They are replayed over and over in my head . . . especially as I experience the present week of Thanksgiving.  One of the saddest things about mom's death being around Thanksgiving was that it was probably her favorite holiday.  She was the organizer of the family gathering and she planned and planned her part of the menu.  So I guess that is why what happened this week was so amazing.  Beverly, of HOW SWEET THE SOUND, had mentioned on her Monday post, that she had made several of her Thanksgiving food items over the weekend. . . and one of them was a dish she called Cranberry Chutney.  Well, I thought that sounded yummy, so I commented on her blog as to whether she had ever shared that recipe before. . . and before long, she had contacted me and she sooooooo generously shared how she creates that dish!  As I studied the list of ingredients, I realized that this was the same recipe my mom used to make every Thanksgiving, except we always called it Mom's Cranberry Salad!!!  I did not have her recipe. . . and it was MY favorite item on the Thanksgiving Table (well, next to her dressing).   I was so excited to have that recipe from Beverly that I ran right out and purchased the ingredients and made it for our Thanksgiving Feast!

I scooped up a little of it for this picture.  It's filled with finely chopped apples and celery and pecans and whole cranberry sauce.  I didn't take the time to chop the apples as finely as my mom used to do.  She took great pride in getting her pieces as small as possible.

I have to tell you that it tastes almost as yummy as the salad my mom used to make. . . it just didn't have HER special touch.  However, it helps me feel, just a bit, that she's a part of the feast. . .

 

THE STONE RABBIT and I want to wish all of our Bloggy Friends the very best this Thanksgiving. . .and another thank you to Beverly for sharing her recipe!  Special, and sometimes "much needed" surprises, come our way at just the right times!

DANA