Another Thanksgiving

This year Dennis and I decided to not go to all the trouble of cooking a turkey. It's only the two of us. We've gone out for Thanksgiving, but that usually isn't the same. Plus, you have to go out into public. Sometimes, we just don't want to be around people. We're strange in that way.

So, we'll be cooking either a large chicken or two Cornish hens. We hope to find the Cornish hens (usually frozen).

I always hated the clean up of it all (don't have luxury of a dishwasher--I'm the dishwasher and Dennis dries).

So, whatever your plans are this Thanksgiving, hope it's nice, safe and enjoyable.

The Forgotten Holiday

Christmas decor, lights, six-foot tall Santas who move, or the kind you blow up and put out on the lawn, and fake Christmas trees have taken over what was the Halloween displays in stores.

Sure, people begin thinking it's only a month or so away, but Christmas isn't the next holiday. Thanksgiving is. Everyone I've talked to calls it "the forgotten holiday".

Well, what is Thanksgiving, really? Aside from the history, to me it's a turkey dinner that smells and tastes so good you can't not cook one. One year we went to a restaurant, and it just wasn't the same. No left-overs, for one thing. You wait hours for it to be done, and all the real work comes at the end when you try and get the potatoes mashed and the gravy done just right and heat up rolls....

Since it's only Dennis and I these days we do the easy microwave potatoes, now. And since he's staying away from bread (and really so am I), we don't do stuffing. Why be in misery afterward, right? But I miss it. I miss making it in the morning, and getting that turkey stuffed. Oh, yum!

I don't know why this holiday has come down to a meal (some are simple, like ours, some are lavish with lots of pie and deserts), and having family over, and football, and then wanting to just nap wherever you are while the game is on.

Maybe because there aren't any gifts involved. But isn't the gift in family? The people you love? As a tradition Dennis and I make a toast to either each other, or say something we want to be known, like how we've gotten through a year of hardship, or whatever the case was for our year.

Do you have any traditions for Thanksgiving you want to share here? Leave them in the comments, I'd love to hear about them!

Are We Having Fun Now? (NaNoWriMo)

Hello, my pretties. Well, as you know this month has a lot of people working on their manuscripts for NaNoWriMo. And if you are one of them, you are wasting your time here. Really. Get back to it or you won't get your word count in for the day.

Okay, are they gone?

Good.

I was looking for something on Bing, and found some fun stuff about NaNoWriMo. I thought I would share them with you today. I don't usually do these sort of blog posts, but this seemed like soooo much fun, I had to share.
So, here we go.

You know how it is, to finally have time to write and you just can't decide what to write?

...and then nothing comes when you need it most?!?$!#^@%F**%!!!

This is you on November 1st:

You're working HARD toward your target goals....

Well, you're at least close, right?

This is your brain on NaNoWriMo:

What you hope to have on Novemer 30th:

What you really have...

You on November 30th

And who's bright idea was it anyway to do this in November when you've got one or two holidays in which you either have to cook, travel, eat, go to the mall, and NOT WRITE ANYTHING!!!

 AND...

Hope you enjoyed my little poke at NaNoWriMo... And don't give up, you've got nine days left and you've almost got it down to your goal.

Wait don't throw the typewriter out the window... Oh hell....

Sabrina is Not a Happy Camper

Okay, I've just been on another world, and you'd think I'd be happy to get back, but damn it! Men. They're all the same. You're damned if you do, damned if you don't. Love them, that is.

What? You mean you didn't know I was even gone? Well, I was. It was not something I could get around, being sucked into a portal is not too much fun and then trying to find my cousin and on another world where vampires rule. You try taking on the king of vampires and see if you come back at all without being impaled!

Why am I so grouchy? I'll tell you. I'll tell you... Vasyl is leaving me alone. He realized I hadn't gotten over Dante (you remember, the shiftchanger I was seeing and then we quit seeing one another because of his master--that damned Bjorn Tremayne--told him to keep his hands off me. Screw him! Bastard!) I happened to be in love with him (Dante), and then everything went too fast when Vasyl asked me to marry him. At the time, I didn't know Dante was so sick he would die. I figured if he wasn't interested in me, I'd marry someone who was!

But now Vasyl is letting me mend my broken heart, even though we're married. I'm so messed up, angry, I just want to spit.

And now things have happened in a way that might screw everything up.
Oh, crap, I can't tell you much, if you haven't read the book,Vampire Nocturne http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Nocturne-Sabrina-Strong-ebook/dp/B00BD75KE0/ref=sr_1_17?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361635152&sr=1-17&keywords=Vampire+Nocturne

*****SPOILER ALERT****
You see, when Dante died (in Vampire's Trill http://www.amazon.com/Vampires-Trill-ebook/dp/B006GSS29Q/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1) he came to me in his astral shell, and gave me a stone that I keep with me always. I wore it while on Beyond the Black Veil. Then, while I killed the Dreadfuls, it collected their essence. Very creepy. And then at a moment when things looked really bad for me, he appeared. Well, Dante was a bear first, and fought off a couple of vampires while I was tied to a chair and they were draining me. God. I hated that place! Then he appeared to me, and killed someone who was all part of the plot to kill me.

So, yeah. Dante is back. I'm in two minds what to do. He's not exactly human, though. He's still, like sort of... well all the way dead, but more than a ghost. I haven't figured out what he is, and he's staying away as well. So, yeah. Dante is back in my world. And with Vasyl staying away it's making me crazy--we haven't even consumated our marriage yet!!

Thanksgiving is coming up (book #4 Vampire Caprice due out in December 2013), and Bill Gannon is still staying across the street in Mrs. Bench's house pretending to be her grandson. I know he's the off-spring of Nephilim (a few generations), and what he wants with me... well, I'm not going to go into that right now. It's like what the vampires all want from me, since I'm the sibyl and there's this prophesy that says I'm supposed to bring the dhampire into the world. I'm not willing to let them have their way with me. I'm just not in a mothering sort of mood right now.

So, I'm just trying to stay sane. Maybe I can have a normal, very human Thanksgiving? You see, I can't tell my brother and his wife about my troubles. They don't even know I'm married, let alone married to a vampire. Oh, that would be fun to blurt out in front of my brother and all my relatives--especially my grandma. No, wait. Maybe bring Vasyl to Thanksgiving dinner? No... I couldn't. I just couldn't do that.  Could I?

Being Thankful

The kittens are into their sixth month of life. If we had not adopted mother feral cat, that probably wouldn't have happened.

I stand outside on our steps watching them play, and their crazy antics. Looking around myself, I live in a rual setting, quiet. So quiet this day. Four geese fly directly over my circa 1906 farm house. The kittens and I look up to watch them. I can hear their wings shush-shush-shush as they fly over.

Being thankful is difficult to do. You always wish for more, and the things you have sort of get buried in your needs and wants.

I'm grateful for our health, and the roof over our heads. For the food we can put on the table, and our jobs. There are people who have gone through devistation who can't say this. So, I'm being humbled into saying I am grateful.

I'm grateful also of the friends I've made, here and in my day-to-day life. I'm often amazed by how easily people come to like me. But I think I've gotten past the amazed part of that. I guess I'm a likable person with a bubbly personality. I've been told that it comes through in my emails and probably here. I try to stay "up". What's the point of grumbling? People quickly tire of that and don't need to be reminded of the things that tick them off. So, yeah. I try to stay positive.

So, I'm thankful to you people out there who stop by this blog. I'm fortunate enough to have you guys around to want to stop by this site. It wasn't very long ago I thought I'd never have all the followers I have, and have people who actually interact and leave comments here. I love you guys!

So, today my husband and I are baking the turkey. It's just the two of us, and we're off all week so we can eat turkey for a few days.

Next week I'm going to be part of this chat/promo thing. As soon as I know exactly what I'm supposed to do, you'll be the second people to know (^;
Have a safe, happy, wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!
 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE !!!

There is a lot to be grateful for. Our new kitchen is one, the new stove was also one of the things we've had to make sure to get before the weather turned cold, and that happened so that we can now cook w/o gas fumes and soot taking over the house! Last year we had to go to a restaurant for Thanksgiving )^; but this year we are home and this will be wonderful!

I'm grateful for my husband, my friends--those I work with--and those of you who are out here in blog-sphere who are genuine and true.

I'll probably post something later on this week. I've got several projects I'm working in, including something for another anthology. Plus some things for a couple of friends, so I'm going to be busy next few days.

Anyway, this is my wish to all of you to have a great Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Week ~ Coffee Klatch Monday

Hey, guys! I know that you're all getting geared up for the Thanksgiving feast this week. I'm definitely looking forward to making the feast in our new oven this year. After having to go out last year for the dinner (and having to pay $4 for each piece of pumpkin pie!) And there were no left-overs! We are definitely looking forward to baking it ourselves. Dennis does the turkey. I do the stuffing, and we share the rest of the duties. Just the two of us this year, like most years. Oh, and I'm looking forward to that bottle of pumpkin wine we bought at the Pumpkin Fest!!!

So, my dears. You know how this works. First: Tell us all what you are enjoying this morning in your coffee and what you are having with it.

Here are some great pictures to drool over:

I want this in the worst way!

YUMMMMMM!

And since I'm in the baking mood--I'm going to put together a cherry pie today--all from scratch, not using canned pie filling, but making my own to avoid the corn syrup. Thus, I'm going to share a few great places to pick up some recipes.

First up, in honor of the pie-baking today, here is Pie Crust 101 straight from The Blog Entrouage. Just scroll down on their page, and you'll find it. It's a very easy to follow, and best way to make your crust--it's exactly how I've always made mine!

pinching the pie crust edges

pumpkin ginger muffins from Simply Recipes

And I have found a great place to check out for all sorts of recipes. It's called Simply Recipes and there is a delicious recipe for pumpkin ginger muffins you might want to try, but there's loads of recipes to look at and try. I gave them my email so that I don't miss a thing! I want to try everything!

So, what are your plans for this holiday? What are you baking? Let's share it!