Thanksgiving Musings

We had the pleasure of having both kids home with us for Thanksgiving.  It meant even more having Adam home when he told us that he's not going to be able to come home for Christmas like he had originally planned :'-(.  Something will be going on that will require him working the next month or so 7 days a week, 12 hours a day.  

While he was home he was able to spend the first weekend in State College visiting friends and going to the last home Penn State football game.  He actually decided he wanted to have his VW GTI out there with him, so opted to drive back instead of flying.  He left this afternoon to begin the 16 hour trek back to Oklahoma.  He plans on being there sometime on Tuesday.

Alyssa arrived Wednesday afternoon with her entourage (Mellie and Razzie) and stayed until Saturday afternoon.  You'll note that Razzie's name is a bit different.  She couldn't come up with a cute nickname for Apricot, so now her name is 'Apricot Raspberry'.  Razzie for short ;-)

Here's Razzie:

These two are definitely Mama's girls:

Very closely watching the action:

One can never have too much help doing the dishes:

These three got a little closer, of course, on Saturday when Alyssa was ready to head out:

This was seconds before Samson *pounced*:

All packed up and ready to head out:

I made the mistake of asking Adam if Guinevere (see picture below) grew since the last time he had seen him (she had been staying with a friend in State College this past year, but Adam decided he was going to take her back to OK with him).  That DID NOT mean I wanted to see her!  I am petrified of snakes.  Well, I have gotten a bit better.  Five years ago I would have never been able to even take this picture.  Nor would Adam have been able to keep a snake in our basement!

Watermelon and Apricot

What a couple of cutie pies :-)  

Watermelon (Mellie) has a green collar

Apricot has a pink collar (and a white nose!!)

They are sisters and came from a rescue organization that has an association with the Horsham Veterinary Hospital.  Alyssa found out about them from her friend Erika, whose boyfriend works at the hospital.  There are two other siblings, one which was adopted out, and the fourth one, their brother, which Erika adopted (see pictures at end).  

  These next three pics were taken after Mellie (green collar) gave Apricot a bath (note the left ear....she was pretty serious about this washing stuff!)

This is Smudge ;-), Mellie and Apricot's bro': 

This is Mellie and Smudge while they were still at the 'hotel' ;-)

Three Pictures

Down the street from our house:

(Long story to this pic...thanks to a friend from church for taking this same pic and posting it on FB.  The fall colors are gorgeous right now.)

The sunset on our way to visit family in Fogelsville:

This is delicious!  And I made it :)  It's key lime pie and the easiest thing I've ever made!  Recipe below.

Key Lime Pie

1 can sweetened condensed milk (regular, 1% or fat free)

1 8-oz package of cream cheese (regular or low fat)

4 oz key lime juice or regular lime juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 package pre made graham cracker crust pie shell

Optional- lime zest and whipped cream

1.  Place softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk in a mixing bowl.

2.  Using electric hand mixer, starting on low, begin mixing cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk.

3.  Continue to increase speed of mixer until cream cheese and milk is smooth and creamy.

4.  Add the vanilla and whip together.

5.  Lastly, add the key lime juice.  Start on low setting; increase speed until everything is thoroughly mixed and it looks all creamy and luscious :)

6.  Pour the mixture into the ready made pie shell.

7.  Place in refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours.  Overnight is better, even best if possible (didn't work for us!). Pie can be place in freezer for 30-45 minutes if crunched for time.

8.  Zest a lime for additional color and/or add a dollop of whipped cream.

You can make this recipe 'all fat' or 'no fat'.  I used low fat cream cheese, but regular sweetened condensed milk.  I also used a shortbread crust, as I'm not a big fan of graham cracker crusts.

Cat In The Bag!

I bought a cat in the bag a few weeks ago with the intent of Samson going to visit his 'sisser' Alyssa.  I decided it might be better to do a short trip before we attempted a 1.5 hour one down to Horsham.  I managed to forget cat treats at the grocery store yesterday, plus we will be needing cat food soon, so decided to take the opportunity to see how Sammy liked his new cat bag and take him along with us to Pet Supplies Plus.  With him weighing 22 pounds he is just too much for me to handle, so Papa got to ride along ;-)

He was very docile the entire trip, which made me happy; I was sort of afraid he'd freak out.  Kurt said he looked around while we were driving, but for the most part, just laid alongside Kurt and didn't make a move.  It's hard to know how he felt about the whole thing, but he didn't cry, he wasn't shaking, he was breathing ok, so I think he may have *enjoyed* it.  And since he was such a good boy, he got a cat nip toy at the store :-)

Chicken Pie

This is a keeper!  And using a rotisserie chicken made it easier :-)  I made it in an 8x8 pan and it has given us 3 meals.  I made some rice with it and a nice tossed salad.  See recipe below.  I did make a can of chicken gravy with our left overs tonight as it wasn't quite as juicy as it had been the first night.

Chicken pie:

Rotisserie chicken (cleaned off bones)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 15 oz can chicken broth

1 pack refrigerated pie crusts

2 tbsp butter

Mix chicken, soup and broth.

Spray 8x8 or 9x9 pan with cooking spray.

Spoon 1/2 the chicken mixture into pan.

Cover this layer with strips of pie crust (using one of the pie crusts from the package).

Dot the strips with 1 tbsp butter.

Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Remove and repeat above procedure and bake an additional 25 minutes.

Let set for 5 minutes before serving.

The only thing I did differently was to add a frozen bag of corn.  It was easy to make and it will give us several meals.  I'll definitely make this again.

We Are!!

  Alyssa's college roomie, Sarah, asked her if she wanted to go to the Penn State-Maryland football game today.  Sarah works/lives at the Baltimore Country Club, and the game was at the M&T Bank Stadium which is where the Baltimore Ravens play.

They attended the alumni tailgate at the Hilton with the Penn State Blue Band:

She said they had nose bleed seats:

Blue Band (I think I see Jake!)

Penn State managed to squeak out a win 31-30 :-)

New!

After many, many years of this shower curtain with the fishies, I finally replaced it with a new one.  I'm very pleased with the new one!!  I like the new hooks, too ;-)