Thanksgiving Meal without an Oven

But first, Jon started a fire for the neighbor kids one night this week. If you've never had bacon fried over a fire, you need to try it! It's so good. We had s'mores too, but the bacon stole the show.

And onto Thanksgiving without an oven. 

We were in the process of baking cookies Tuesday and realized the oven had not heated up. We fiddled around with it and finally emailed the property manager to ask for someone to come over. Of course no one got the message because of holidays. 

So then we figured out how we could do everything using stove top, microwave, and crockpot. The baked goods (rolls and desserts) were just store bought from HEB. We all love King's Hawaiian rolls, so that wasn't a problem. We got a lemon tart and frozen chocolate pie for dessert. The earlier requests had been brownies and lemon bars, and I thought these were close. But they just weren't as good. But it was fine. 

The pork loin was done in the crock pot. We did a cream cheese/jalapeño/bacon stuffed pork tenderloin. I thought it tasted pretty good, but presentation was lacking. I'd like to figure that out. The picture on the internet looked so good, but mine was pretty messy. 

Everything else was cooked on the stove. Even the sweet potato soufflé (I left out the egg) and green bean casserole. We had way too much to eat, so it was a successful Thanksgiving meal.

And High Noon was our chosen movie of the afternoon. A good, simple plot; cowboys....

At Grandma's growing up we would cycle through Meet Me in St. Louis, Les Miserables, Princess Bride, Fiddler on the Roof, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I feel like there may have been others, but those are the ones I remember the most. I have lots of nostalgia for those movies now.

Alec came over after cooking for his Navy fellows. 

We quickly lost a game of Pandemic together. (It's all the players against the game.) 

Had some good conversation, watched an episode of The Mandalorian. 

It's been Seattle kind of weather this past week. Gray clouds, just cold enough, a dreary tint over everything. I don't mind this every once in a while, so I'm enjoying it while it's here. 

My parents and siblings and I were able to text each other back and forth all day. I kind of love that. We can share pictures and short messages and little videos. I think Dad had 3 or 4 different message groups going that he had me tacked onto. (smh) It was fun though. 

Happy Thanksgiving 2019!

Another Family Visit from Missouri (and a Baby)

Mimi and Papa stayed the weekend with us as they made their way to South Texas for the winter. Grandparents two weeks in a row! That's a treat for a family that hasn't lived near family for the last 17 years or so. 

These two aren't related or anything. They Never exhibit the same mannerisms. :-) 

Sitting around talking.

And now the progression of two siblings on the couch and their rivalric interactions.

Jon getting two fingers in the pic.

Phoebe makes her way in.

"Oh, is that a camera?.....

"I didn't realize!....."

"You're not doing it right, Harrison."

"Head. Right there. Now smile."

Mimi mentioned going to the Japanese Tea Gardens since she knew Harrison enjoyed it. Sunday afternoon was just the perfect weather for the Gardens. About 70 degrees. Not too cold or hot.

And come to find out, Liz had never been there either! Where has she been all this time? It's a great place for photography.

Jon must give all grandparents a mini concert when they are at our home. If you have a gift a music, you should share it, right? 

Harrison was super tired and snuggled on Mimi's lap the last night they were here. He's still a snuggle-bug. He's nine, so that may not last much longer. Get all the snuggles you can!

He reminds me of the kid in "Love You Forever." 

Remember that book? The one where the mom rocks her boy and says, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living, My baby you'll be." Okay, I'm just not that soppy, but I did read the book a lot when I was a kid. And I do like my kids quite a bit. 

Jon is taking Driver's Ed now and also carrying quite the high school freshman load. He's really learning how to manage his time. We're pretty proud of this boy.

And we got some baby time!!! 

We haven't held a baby in a while. The New Braunfels youth minister and wife have a new baby, and we were pleased to take care of him for a few hours while they went to dinner. Phoebe put him to sleep.

Liz took selfies and took care of him till she had to leave.

Jon was the one really pushing to get baby JP over here (JP is for Jalapeño Popper. That's what the youth group called the baby until the parents had a name. But JP is stuck in our heads, so we'll see if the real name displaces it.) 

Jon played "We Lift Our Hands in the Sanctuary" for him. 

JP's father woke Jon and his friend up at CIY every morning with this song. 

Phillip and I each got our share of baby snuggles too. He is THE MOST contented baby. Very precious time.

It's Been a While Since We've Been to Louisiana

Mom is in Louisiana. 

The Beaumont youth group had an overnight event going on that Liz wanted to attend. 

An I-10 trip from San Antonio, TX to Crowley, LA was a must.

Houston at 7 am on a Saturday is bliss. So little traffic!

We stopped at a gas station in Beaumont. They had interesting touristy things for sale: Be-jeweled Bible covers. Huge Texas-y purses (I offered to get one for my sister ~ she said that looked more like my style). And these nice American cowboy hats. 

Flags in Crowley. 

There were so many beautiful flags going through Houston, but I couldn't get a picture. Phoebe saw a YouTube video where foreigners were telling of things they found surprising in America. The number of flags we fly was one of those surprising things. We do have a good-looking flag; I don't blame us for flying it. 

Through a discussion of that video, we also decided that Texas is to America as America is to the rest of the World. At least in attitude. 

We were only in Louisiana for one night, and we had a list of things we wanted to do: pet the alligators at the Jennings Park, go for a hike, bowl, see Teressa, and eat Cajun food.  We did all of it the first day! Checking things off a list is my love language. I was very proud of us. And we had a great time with Nana. 

The kids above are climbing the "family tree." It's an old live oak, so Uncle Gerald is not allowed to cut it down (it's going to fall on his trailer some stormy night, no doubt). My mom and her siblings all climbed that tree. My sibs and cousins and I climbed it. Now my kids climb it. Tradition.

My mom made some sticky chicken and rice & gravy for lunch. She follows in the tradition of so many Louisiana cooks ~ no restaurant can beat them! Those home cooks just spoil Cajun food for me. I've been to expensive Cajun restaurants, and they don't hold a candle to what my momma and her friends can do in the kitchen.

My mom had the idea of going for a hike. I love hiking and we've lately lived in areas where hiking is catered to. Lots of trails. Louisiana - at least Crowley area - has yet to join the hiking craze. I suppose people there do enough fishing and hunting and camping that hiking has not been a felt need. 

So we had to drive a good hour to get to hiking areas. We found delightful trails at Sam Houston Jones State Park near Lake Charles. We took the River trail and saw beautiful homes along the river side and a nice classic swamp on the other side. It was gorgeous weather, no mosquitos, and only a mile and a half of walking so that we weren't totally tired out. There were a lot of people camping and we could smell their campfires. Just the best. 

We actually arrived at Gas and Oil Park in Jennings first thing. I had a few minutes before my mom was going to meet us there, so we stopped at Boudin King to get a piece of boudin. My mom and I ate it at the park while the kids played. It was perfect.

Gator Chateau is always a winner. 

Pet the baby alligators. Go see the big ones in the fenced area. Grab a cup of coffee. 

Play at the park. 

I was remembering how we used to come to this park when I was a kid. We came maybe once a year with the church or friends or something. I think we would fish. I mostly remember walking on the concrete and rocks that border the lake. It was adventurous. I also remember the playground toys. There's an oil rig tower for kids to climb on and it's still there. They have updated equipment as well, but I'm glad to see the old stuff still around. 

So after petting gators, having lunch at Nana's, and going for a hike, we decided to go bowling. I've been wanting to take the kids bowling, and Nana loves bowling. Lake Charles had a nice bowling alley with lots of lanes, and we were already there for hiking. Perfect.

They haven't been bowling in many years, so this was really like a new learning experience for all of them. I started out great with a strike. It was pretty much downhill from there for me. At the end Jon, Harrison and I all had 94 points, and then I got a spare, so I pulled ahead with 101. But they all did really well and had fun. I think we can talk them into doing it again. Phillip, after all, used to be on a bowling team.  

Teressa and I with a Zachary photo-bomb. 

After bowling, Teressa had us over for chili and hot cocoa. A very yummy rich hot cocoa with cream and chocolate chips. Mmmm, the night was cold, the stars were clear, the chili was delicious, and the company was (the thing you do when you kiss your finger tips to your lips and then open your fingers up ~ like Italians do) (and I just googled it and it's called the Italian Chef kiss) (that's what supper at Teressa's was like. An Italian Chef kiss). 

So I wish I hadn't been so tired at Teressa's. We had a good time, yea, but it would have been fun to play games. Phoebe suggested it. I think she likes winning. But I had been up since 3:30 am, so we headed to bed instead.

We attended church services the next morning. Jayda, Teressa's daughter, was part of the worship team and was just lovely up there. She has a beautiful voice. I'm very proud of her.

I was lucky enough to be there on the Sunday they had the Gumbo Cook Off.  I got to sample 10 different gumbos and vote on which one I liked best. The preacher ended up winning (he is a Northerner, but I guess he learned well). The one I voted for ended up having been made by the youth minister. He called it the Italian gumbo. It didn't taste like traditional gumbo. While I really appreciate a traditional gumbo, the non-traditional one was the taste I favored. That being said, I had duck gumbo and I think maybe squirrel. I don't know what it was, but I don't think it was chicken and I had heard rumors of "wild game" and "squirrel." Anyway, whatever it was, I was glad to try it. I love trying new foods.

Whew. Whirlwind of a trip. We are back home and I can't wait to go to sleep tonight. 

Harvestween

Our church had a Harvest Party, and we had trick or treating in the neighborhood for Halloween. It was a cold one! The last two Oct 31sts have been rainy. This one was clear, but cold. The boys came up with the perfect costume for the weather (fighter pilots). All those poor little girls walking around in thin princess dresses though..... 

Phoebe and I were at the bouncy house/slide for the church's Harvest Party. The church had a ton of activities to do! Phoebe was inside there the whole time helping kids get up the slide and making them behave. 

Harrison and neighbor doing the basketball activity that Jon was in charge of. That banana costume has sure been put to use. He was going to be a banana for trick or treating too, but Jon came up with his cool plan. 

Jon took Harrison trick or treating, so this was the first year I didn't Have to go. The little neighbor girl wanted me to go along, so I went down one street with her, but then I headed home and Jon did the rest with H. 

I took our mini Pringles and the next-door neighbor's chocolates (she asked us to hand it out for her) and went to the main street to hand out our treats. Not many come down our cul-de-sac because most of the homes don't hand out candy, and the kids get discouraged and leave before they make it to our door. After a while I left that street and went to an even busier one (the next-door neighbor had a lot of chocolates!), and then another neighbor invited me to sit with them in their garage, so I finished there and got to know a neighbor that I regularly walk by when I exercise. 

Phoebe has had a cold. She watched a movie and handed out treats until I came to take over. 

Liz hung out with friends in New Braunfels. The cutest scarecrow ever!