Like it or not...Christmas is coming. We've significantly reduced our Christmas stress hither at the Three Cats Ranch past times foregoing the gift central the past times dyad of years. Instead, nosotros conception a solid unit of measurement weekend together. There are no fiddling ones inwards our family, too therefore none of us needs a gift. What nosotros relish most is fourth dimension together. Which brings me to our Thanksgiving at Erik too Mae's solid yesterday.
Before leaving abode yesterday, I'd practiced taking a selfies amongst my phone. Selfies seem difficult to me. I'm ever getting my manus inwards front end of the lens. There's a agency to snap a moving painting using the book controls, too therefore I was practicing how to agree my telephone therefore that I could snap the shutter too non encompass upward the lens at the same time. When I tried to produce it, I couldn't stand upward for all of us into the image. Mike hopped upward too snapped that epitome inwards a higher house amongst my indicate too shoot camera.
The miss on the correct is Emily, ane of Matthew's roommates tending schoolhouse hither inwards Oregon. She lives inwards Massachusetts, too therefore it was also far for her to locomote abode this season. She was a delight, too nosotros enjoyed having her amongst us. Behind Mae at the top of the photograph is Mae's mother. She's lately returned to Oregon from Georgia.
After that, Emily hopped upward too took a moving painting of our whole family...a rarity. One of us is unremarkably behind the camera, too therefore I beloved it when nosotros tin all endure inwards a photograph together.
Erik was inwards accuse of the turkey, every bit he has been for the past times several years. He deep fries it. Dunking it into the hot fossil oil seals the pare therefore it doesn't absorb oil, too it also keeps the juices of the turkey within the bird.
When it comes out of the fryer, it has the nicest crispy skin, too it's moist too juicy inside. Yum.
Also, Mae knocked herself out making only about beautiful desserts...an apple tree tart on the right, too pumpkin cheesecake on the left. It's made from roasted CSA pumpkin. Wrapped inwards foil inwards the front end is only about pumpkin breadstuff Emily brought to share.
Below is my plate. Turkey at the top, too going clockwise, sweetness potatoes, sauteed mushrooms amongst mashed potatoes beside them. In the middle, fresh cranberry cherry marmalade, at the bottom a delicious greenish edible bean casserole amongst only about leeks. Above that Mae's delicious stuffing too to its left, jellied cranberries. In my humble opinion, it is impossible to consume a Thanksgiving feast without including jellied cranberries direct from the tin amongst all the tin impressions included along it's seductive lines.
Clementine was unusually friendly terminal night. We're told she's genuinely the friendliest of their cats, but she oft hides when folks come upward around. Apparently, she's taken a liking to us, too she posed for many pictures. Here, she's practicing for her adjacent encompass shoot for Vogue magazine.
Earlier inwards the day, I baked a 3rd loaf of the Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough bread. This ane had only 300g of water. The dough was a fiddling easier to handle, but the loaf didn't bake upward whatever lighter or fluffier.
My thinking right away is that my whole-wheat starter isn't robust enough. This loaf got almost no oven spring. You tin run into inwards the epitome below where I tried giving it a wheat stem scoring, but the holes didn't genuinely opened upward inwards the oven. The yeast seems to poop out earlier the breadstuff fifty-fifty goes into the oven.
Inside, the crumb is dense, but it nonetheless tastes good. We had only about for breakfast toasted amongst butter. Fear not...it volition larn eaten...all of it.
My thinking right away is that I involve to larn the whole-wheat starter out of the refrigerator too get-go feeding it twice a twenty-four hours until it starts looking livelier. For now, I'm variety of done amongst sourdough baking. My adjacent loaves volition endure of only about other variety, too made amongst commercial yeast. I'm needing to bake upward only about beautiful loaves. Bakers cannot alive past times skilful gustatory modality alone.
There was only a fiddling fourth dimension left inwards the twenty-four hours for sewing, too therefore I headed downward to the sewing room to slice together a dorsum for Heart & Home. There, I institute Smitty napping on my sewing chair.
This is the stuff I've chosen from my stash for the backing for Heart & Home. It isn't the best choice, but it's the best selection from my stash. I'm genuinely trying to usage the fabrics I already direct hold on hand.
It has cherries...or mayhap those are apples...I'm non genuinely sure. You tin run into a like pattern inwards the sashings of the quilt top.
Smitty gave it his paws of appurroval.
Also, I had plenty of the crimson stuff left over to cutting binding strips. The crimson strips volition necktie the colors from the front end too dorsum together.
So, the cutting is done, too I only involve to sew together ane long seam to the quilt dorsum to telephone band the projection ready for sandwiching.
As for the kitties...it's the worst fourth dimension of the twelvemonth inwards Kittyland. Rain, rain, rain. It's ever moisture outside. Smitty sits on the woods box adjacent to the window too nether the eaves when he's out.
Sadie joins him, but she prefers to remain inside.
In other random news, the amaryllis is starting to grow. It's turned greenish too grown most an inch since terminal weekend.
There's non much on today's agenda, too therefore I'll complete the dorsum for Heart & Home, too therefore I direct hold only about other fiddling projection to get-go on. I'll nation to a greater extent than most that inwards tomorrow's post.