Thankful

My turn to do a thankful post. I'll try to keep it fresh ;)
I am thankful for life. It is very short, and I hope I can make the best of every moment. Mine, my family and friends, and my fur and feather babies. I am grateful that we did not euthanize my cat when the vet suggested it two months ago. She is doing great! She has put weight back on, and is better than she has been for many many months.I am thankful for my home. Growing up I never imagined that I would have the wonderful home that I do. I am not just talking about the house although I enjoy that too. I have a wonderful husband who tolerates my love of feathered friends, as well as my two darling kittens. Hoping for three soon ((fingers crossed)). A friend in town has a preggers kitty and I am pretty sure one is looking for a bed...
I am thankful for my health. The ear ringy thing is annoying, but not debilitating. My MIL makes sure we all appreciate our health and seeing her struggles really drives home what health is worth.
I am thankful for the weather this fall. It was warm early alleviating fuel issues at the shop, Thanksgiving day was absolutely gorgeous for going to the beach, and with a storm rolling in we will likely have a white Christmas!

I am thankful for my family. I missed my parents and in-laws but know they are happy and warm down in sunny Mexico, and/or Arizona.
My sisters and brothers in law are a lot of fun, and my nieces and nephews are a joy! We had a great time seeing Art's extended family at the beach. What a wonderful tradition. For forty years his family has met on the same beach at Thanksgiving time. It is amazing to see how the kids change from year to year!
I am grateful that the eating is over, and that I have the exercise equipment to work off the SEVEN freakin' pounds I put on this week! Hubby is giving me credit because my Aunt Flo is visiting and I am a little stopped up... Such a wonderful hubby! (sorry if that was too much information, but he cracked me up!)
Lastly, I am glad that I have finished my first knitting project!!! My SIL was an incredible teacher, and so nice in undoing whatever booger mistake I made. She scared me a little (LOT) when she took the needles out of the yarn completely and unraveled five rows of work to go back and undo a big hole I inadvertently made... But, here it is! I am now working on a scarf to match, and with eight rows in I have not added or missed a stitch yet- YAY!

Thankful

When I finally went grocery shopping yesterday (yay!) I noticed that the frozen turkeys were in place, and pumpkin pie makings were set up in a nice display at the front of the store. At home I have noticed a flurry of family e-mails about the biggest event in the year (as far we are concerned ;)- Thanksgiving. Christmas may be big for some, but Thanksgiving is the big winner here. It is a multiple day event and we take it quite seriously! Our business is pretty good on perks, and one perk that we have honored is a two day Thanksgiving holiday.
On Wednesday as we get out of work we head over to Art's sister's house for spaghetti night to kick off the festivities. Thursday we all get up early (early gets a little later some years depending on weather...) and the whole clan- cousins, uncles and aunts, sisters, brothers, neices, nephews... head out to Plum Island. This is a great little nature preserve on the coast of Mass that is packed all summer long. At Thanksgiving we often have the beach to ourselves, not that we wouldn't offer some cider to a passerby! Then off to Art's oldest sister's home for Turkey dinner. Friday, the grown ups all get up early (depending on weather, etc...) and head off to the mall's. This is the way to take advantage of the kid's parents knowledge while shopping for them :)
Anyhoo, this has me thinking about the goodies we will see and or bring to the festivities. Apple and pumpkin pie are the honorary staples of the holiday. However, I think we all have a dozen recipes that everyone in our family already loves.
Here are some of my additional favorites:
Whoopie Pies- A distinctly New England treat if I do say so myself. I first heard of them in Greeley, CO while in college when Art's sister sent him a care package full of these little cake sandwiches with white fluffy goo in the middle... Wow! those were tasty! Art's youngest sister went a step beyond and makes Pumpkin Whoopie Pies for the beach!
This one is easy, inexpensive, and if you only try one this is what I recommend.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
1 box spice cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 small can pumpkin

Mix above ingredients, and drop onto parchment paper. Bake at 375F for 15 minutes.

Filling-
1/2 cup butter
8 oz. cream cheese
2 cup powdered sugar
3.5 oz. Fluff
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Mix above and use as filling between two of the above cookie-cakes.

Another is a favorite growing up. Pecan pie. My Mother would make this every holiday for us.
Deluxe Pecan Pie
Pie crust
2 Tbsp. chopped pecans
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1/2 cup dark brown corn syrup
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup brandy
1 cup (plus) pecan halves
Heat oven to 375F. Prepare your favorite pie crust recipe and add the chopped pecans. In mixer beat eggs, sugar, salt, butter, syrup and cream. Stir in vanilla, brandy, and pecans. Pour into pie crust (I like to put more pecan halves on top of the pie, too) and bake for 40-45 minutes or until filling is set and pastry is golden brown. Cool and enjoy.
This last one is by far the easiest. The trick is that it takes a week to ten days to go from beginning to end. Kringle. A Danish favorite. My family is from Wisconsin and my grandparents would always send us Kringle for the holidays. What a treat. I have never tried to make it because I know I could not do as well as O&H bakery in my family's home town. My classic favorites are the chocolate pecan, cream cheese, almond, and pecan. Oh, then there's Blueberry, and Apple. O.k. I haven't had a bad one yet! All I do is go to their web site O&H Bakery Web Site and put my order in. Tip- always order an extra one or three for the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That stuff evaporates faster than anything known to man! Especially the chocolate ;)
Last bit is to start hopping on the treadmill for an extra hour a day starting now, so you don't have any holiday snack guilt!