A Country Thanksgiving

*Written long ago. Published now.*

We spent Thanksgiving with family in California this year. The food was good, the cheese cake delicious, and the country air just what I needed.

And a day or so after coming home, what happened? Hint: it's winter and I live in Utah.

Yes, it snowed. A lot. A lot a lot. And it will continue to do so until spring. I better get used to it.

But, back to country air. I walked all around my aunt and uncles property and snapped away. The weather was perfect and I just wanted to live in the rose garden. It was Heaven-like to me.

Oh, but before the roses, as we drove we saw a rainbow and the sun was in the middle of it. It was quite a sight, but sadly I wasn't able to capture it very well in a picture. Nevertheless, here it is...

 

Red and Pink

   Instead of handing out candy and cards this year, I decorated, and made a (sort of) gourmet dinner and dessert, all in the name of love.
   For my family.
   Yes, there is no one but them.
   But someday...
   My inspiration was from the movie Chocolat which, I'll admit, I've watched too many times this week. The party scene where they have all the food and chocolate... how I would have loved to join them. But it's a movie so I could either dream about it, or attempt to bring it to life. I chose the latter.
   I made chicken with fresh sage and olive oil, asparagus and mole poblano (Mexican 'chocolate' sauce). Somewhat pitiful compared to their mutton, turkey and chicken, but I simplified and it was just fine.
   The chicken was so tender and delicious and the mole tasted as it should! Here's the deal with that though... 30 ingredients, 4 different kinds of chili peppers, and a whole lot of "I'm gonna fail and its' going to be a disaster!" going on.
   My mom and I seriously had to hunt for all the correct chili peppers. Crazy. Just before starting I realized we forgot the tomatillo. At one point it smelled like throw up. But thankfully that went away and by the time it was all finished, it smelled fine and tasted great! And it had just the right amount of kick to it. Had I put in the full amount of chili pepper seeds, we all would have caught on fire, so I saved us.
  For dessert I dipped strawberries in dark chocolate and made a chocolate spongecake from Julia Child's cookbook. It was really good. Making it nearly took my mom's arms off (we had to hand whip everything, including the egg whites until they were stiff). But I think it was worth it!
  

 psst, I drew this. I saw it's likeness on pinterest...

We Are All Odd In Our Own Ways

When my parents brought home the Christmas tree, I did this:

It smelled so good! My dad said it was fresh off the truck from Oregon. Can we trade places? The tree and I? I'll take its place on the truck BACK to Oregon. Sound good?

Oh yeah, I hugged it too. I love trees! I felt bad that it was all tied up. I know I sound like I belong in a mental institution, but oh well.

psst, Jenna got wrapped up in it all, thus the little arms and legs...

Relief Society Dinner

Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Magleby's chocolate cake.

But wait, I'll come back to that in a minute.

This Thursday evening my mom and I attended the Relief Society's Thanksgiving dinner. My aunt Lani was part of the planning committee and she did a fantastic job! There were strands of lights hanging above us and candle lit tables. After dinner there was a gift exchange. We were to bring something we were thankful for or something that represented us. My mom said she was going to bring a roll of toilet paper. Yes, you read that right. While I too am thankful for toilet paper, I told her I'd be embarrassed so she better come up with something else. She came up with this...

She likes cleaning and this makes washing dishes much less gross than washing with a washcloth. Trust me, I know. If you use a washcloth you may as well use your hand. That's my opinion on the matter. Anyways, the sponge thing is better than toilet paper- I think.

I did a watercolor of two of my favorite things- hats and dresses. I gave the best one away but did these others so I'd have some for myself. (I scanned these but they didn't turn out to well...)

And now back to cake. When they announced what was for dessert, my heart fluttered. When Lani came to ask if we'd had any yet, I said no but I totally would, and that she knew how to lure me to events such as these.

Obviously we came to support Lani which was a perfectly fine reason for attending all by itself. However, Magleby's chocolate cake? I almost can't resist. Even if socializing is on the menu too.