Halloween / NaNoWriMo

It's Halloween and all my children are healthy, I think. When they were little, it seemed as though every Halloween at least one of them, if not more, were sick with a fever, cold, sore throat, something. Of course, Charles is just getting over a cold, so maybe he counts? Nah. And I don't really know whether David is sick or not, but he sounded just fine on Saturday when we talked to him. So I'm going with "It's Halloween and all my children are healthy."

Kat was over on Sunday with Miss Munchkin. She had picked up the cutest Halloween costume for Miss Munchkin. A strawberry! It had a little stretchie hat that looked like the hull of a strawberry on top. The suit part was red, with velcro in the back so it went on and off easily. Sleeveless, so it wouldn't be too warm. I'm hoping Kat will get a picture of Miss Munchkin in it this week, as she didn't bring my camera with her on Sunday. If (when) I get a pic, I will post it up here. She looked so cute, although I do agree with Shawn that it was also mildly disturbing at the same time!

Miss Munchkin had a new game Sunday. She is now waving all the time as people come and go, or just when she looks around and "discovers" they are still there. Sunday she would crawl from her mommy to me, get on my lap, turn around and wave and grin at her mommy. Great fun!

I added a NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) participant link to my description here on my blog today (check the right description column). I've never done NaNo before, never finished a novel before (although I have a couple partially written), so we'll see. The plot and characters all came to me within about 10 minutes of reading about NaNoWriMo back in September, so I think I was meant to write it. You have to write at least 50,000 words during the month of November. No editing, that comes later! That's almost 2000 words a day. With all my job hunting for hubby and updating of my website, I'm not sure I'll have time to write 50,000 words. Probably my posting here will be a bit sparse, so check my progress reports (clicking on the the links to the right) and give me heck in an e-mail if you don't see an updated word count each day!

Vacation Observations

Our recent trip to New York was a memorable one in many ways.

Penelope turned out to be a great van to travel in, providing a comfortable riding experience.

I had forgotten how vivid the fall colors are in the north. While the tress do change colors here in north Alabama, we do not get the multitude of vivid oranges, yellows and reds. And the leaves smell so different in the north. Here, when they fall, it's a moldy smell and they don't crunch as you walk on them. In the north, the leaves have a pungent smell to them and make a stirring, rustling sound when you walk through them. Altogether a more enjoyable experience!

I was struck anew by the number of roadside markets. It seemed like every third or fourth house either was an organized market or had a few winter squash, some Indian corn, bright orange and red mums, and/or pumpkins set out by the roadside to sell. That is not a common sight here in north Alabama. Bill and I have often talked about the reasons why this might be, but for whatever the reason, I do miss the ready availability of fresh produce. And New York apples are still THE BEST!

Charles still does not enjoy traveling. He tolerates it better than he used to when he was younger, but that's only because he's figured out his coping mechanisms. Stay up as late as you possibly can during the night so that you can sleep all day while on the road. And earbuds with music playing help a lot too!

It was nice spending long periods of time with Kat and Miss Munchkin. Kat is such a patient mommy. Several of my cousins remarked to me during the party how at ease Kat seemed to be with motherhood.

Miss Munckin has the most beautiful smile!

Watching Miss Munchkin and her second cousin Steven play together was amusing. I have never seen a three-year-old so intent upon sharing his playthings with another baby. And such fun to listen to him sing! It's a good thing his grandparents on the Gibson side are not spoiling him any!

It had been several years since I had seen any of my cousins. None of them have changed, and yet we've all changed. Linda looked healthier than the last time I saw her. We didn't get enough time to spend together and I was very sorry to miss that last evening's get-together at Jeff's.

My cousins' children are all growing. Nathan has become such a self-aware young man since I last saw him. I had never met Justin or Leah before and didn't really get to know them this trip, they stuck so tight to their daddy! It was interesting to note that Reb's boy was interested in his grandfather's iron pile and the building possibilities therein, while Becky's children were much enamored with their grandmother's horsies! I am always intrigued by how individuals inherit certain family traits in each generation!

It was enjoyable to see all my extended family on my dad's side all in one place, celebrating. I sometimes envy the Pendleton's, still all living close by and able to organize a dinner together in a day or so, rather than having to consult calendars and vacation schedules. I do miss that part of living in New York, the closeness of extended family. Then again, I well remember that there are some drawbacks to having extended family so close too!

And finally, this vacation reminded me anew how much I really do love traveling. Driving. Seeing new places. Pouring over maps and planning routes. There must be a wagon-train traveler in my blood a few generations back! Or maybe it was an Irish lass, leaving Ireland and emigrating to the new country. Or maybe further back, a Viking warrior raiding the coasts of Ireland.

A Yummy Shrimp Recipe

Or tasty, as my cousin Linda would say! I tried this recipe over the weekend and both Bill and I loved it. Charles didn't try it, as he seemed to have forgotten that he liked shrimp when he took his girl friend out for her birthday last month!

Of course, I didn't follow the recipe exactly, so please note the modifications!

New Orleans Barbequed Shrimp
Submitted to allrecipes.com by Carl v. Tibbetts
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/new-orleans-barbequed-shrimp/detail.aspx?rss=7

2 servings
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 pound shrimp, heads off and unpeeled

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup zesty Italian dressing

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Wash shrimp and drain well.

3. Melt margarine/butter in a one quart casserole dish. Add salad dressing, lemon juice, black pepper and garlic powder.

4. Add shrimp to the casserole dish. Stir gently to cover the shrimp with the mixture. Cover and bake, stirring occasionally for 25 to 30 minutes or until shrimp are pink.

5. Serve the shrimp hot on a large platter and place the sauce in individual bowls so that you can easily 'dunk' bread in the sauce!

My modifications:

I peeled the shrimp first. Takes longer, but much easier to do before it's cooked and much less messy while eating!

I added four filets of flounder, partially thawed and broken up into smaller pieces.

I increased the recipe by 1/2 to accommodate the additional fish pieces.

Next time I will probably add slightly less butter, as it was very buttery! But very yummy!

Cheese and Stuff

Charles and I have been reading "On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of The Kitchen" by Harold McGee. Yesterday we finished the section on cheese. A painful section to read, as at the end of almost every paragraph Charles would groan and say, "I want cheese!"

So, I guess we are going to explore cheeses, if we can find some! The local Kroger's had nothing new and exciting to offer, other than a solid block of Parmesan, a solid (small) block of Mozzarella, and a French Gournay cheese. Gourney is a soft cheese, this particular one blended with garlic, salt, pepper, parsley and chives, so I'm not sure that Charles will care much for it, since he's not a big garlic fan. I will have to make the drive to the Publix in Decatur and see what they offer. We'd like to try a new cheese or two every week, maybe make some new dishes with them, and track which cheeses we like and which we don't. Sounds like a yummy study!

Gosh, it's cold and damp today. Where's our sixty-degree sunshine-filled October? October is supposed to be a dry month! This week has been anything but dry!

Wednesday I finished reading "Meriwether" by David Nevin and began reading "Dream West, which is the last of Nevin's "The American Story" series that I have yet to read. The whole series has been very interesting. I love reading about Jefferson and Madison and Burr and Lewis and Clark as real people, rather than historical figures. Nevin's books bring them to life, puts conversations and thoughts and feelings to them. And it has been doubly interesting reading about the early exploration and settlement of areas west of the Appalachians. With all our recent trips to Evansville, it's been cool to pass through areas that I had just read about and picture them as they were 200 years ago.

Well, time for some lunch, laundry, bill paying and then off to dancing tonight!

Vacation Trip - Part Three

We planned to spend Thursday night with a friend who lives just south of Youngstown, Ohio. Thursday morning we were still debating just what route to take to get there, until I heard the weather report on the radio! Lake-effect snow flurries were forecasted for Wyoming County, New York. The snow wasn't supposed to stick, just flurries. A flurry was more than I wanted to see, so we headed south on 15 into Pennsylvania, taking 220 west and picking up I-80 across to Youngstown. The area around Lock Haven and further west as you join onto I-80 was real pretty. I've often thought Pennsylvania was a pretty place to visit, in the summertime or early fall, but not somewhere I'd like to live. As we got closer to Youngstown, we ran into some brief snow flurries. Ack!

As for the "non-sticking lake-effect snow" in western New York? Seven days later they are still talking about it on the national news, reporting that there are still large populations without power. My aunt said that the Thruway was closed for over 24 hours on Thursday / Friday. It seems some places west of Leroy received up to 24 inches. That's a lot of snow for early October and a lot of sticking!

Our stay with our friend's in Youngstown was very pleasant. She has a beautiful house and certainly pleased Charles with her mashed potatoes and gravy! We met several members of her family and just had a nice visit. Friday morning we were on our way bright and early (7:30 a.m. Central), as we had a long day of traveling ahead of us if we were to get all the way to Evansville, Indiana, by nightfall. By two in the afternoon it seemed like we were making good time, so we decided to take the scenic route across Indiana rather than staying on the Interstates. Wrong decision. Lovely countryside, but a bit longer trip than necessary, especially when we hit a traffic jam the first few miles and only drove about 10 miles in 45 minutes! It was 7:30 p.m. (Central) when we rolled into Evansville, meaning we spent twelve hours on the road.

Poor Miss Munchkin, she was getting so tired of her car seat (as were we all!). After darkness fell, she really began to fuss. She would only be quiet if Kat learned over and stroked her or talked to her. Finally the kids turned on the DVD player and she quieted down. We don't think it was the DVD, just the light from it enabling her to see people around her again. She did the same thing Saturday night after it got dark, fussing until Kat turned on one of the inside back lights. Then Miss Munchkin seemed happier.

Friday night we picked up David and his friend Ashley and all went out to supper. It was nice to visit with David, although I think he was more interested in food than seeing us! Miss Munchkin seemed to remember him, even though it had been about two months since she'd seen him. At least she didn't fuss any when David held her.

Saturday morning David gave Kat (and the rest of us) a tour of the campus. He needs a bit more practice with that! "Here's a building. I think they do art classes in here. I never come to this building, so I don't really know." Very informative! After lunch and winter coat shopping for David, we loaded up and headed for home. We dropped Kat off at the mall so she could ride home with Shawn when he got off from work. Then we dropped Charles off at karate so he could be a part of the last bit of graduation. And we got home about 8 p.m., in time to watch the last half of the Nextel race and see Gordon suffer another late race DNF.

Nine days of vacation, six of them on the road, traveling 2370 miles. Are we crazy or what? Everyone did really well until Friday. By then we'd had enough togetherness. It's a good thing Charles was able to sleep at David's dorm Friday night. Another night of sharing a motel room with Charles and there's no telling what Kat might have done to him with the TV remote as he channel surfed!

Vacation Trip - Part Two

We (Bill & I) spent four nights (Sunday through Wednesday) at the hunting lodge where the 50th Anniversary Party was held. The hunting theme was a bit overdone for my taste, but then I'm not a mighty hunter! We removed some of the pelts from the walls, as their tails dangled down the back of your head when you sat down in certain chairs. One of the young children said we put earrings on the deer. One wall had the front end of a bear sticking out one side and the back end sticking out the other side!

The 50th Anniversary Party began at three on Monday, the 9th and went on until long after dark! Everyone enjoyed themselves, especially the guests of honor.

Tuesday Charles had the bright idea that we should all walk up (and back down) the glen at Watkins Glen. It's 1.5 miles each way, with over 800 steps going up, depending upon the path you take. It was a nice day for such a trek, not too hot, partly sunny, not raining. And October is definitely the perfect month as far as the color of the leaves. Surprisingly, I wasn't as sore afterwards as I was afraid I might be. Miss Munchkin had the right idea, though, riding in mom's sling!

Wednesday we just hung around, taking more pictures, gathering up squash, apples and cider, and doing a little reminiscing along the back roads of our youth. The area has changed so much in the last thirty-five years. Someone told me that Yates County is now the second most Mennonite-populated county in the nation, right behind Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Amazing when you consider the first Mennonite family moved to Yates County around 1970!

Vacation Trip - Part One

We had a late start to our trip. I left too many things to accomplish for Friday morning. And then we had to make a trip to Charles's girlfriend's home to return her glasses that "somehow" ended up in his karate bag the night before. From there we attempted to find a "quicker" route to Kat's house, so instead of only taking twenty minutes, it took us an hour. By then it was time to eat lunch! It was 2:00 in the afternoon (Central) before we left Alabama!

We drove as far as Knoxville, Tennessee, the first night. We were lucky to find two rooms, since there was a softball tournament in town. We took Kat & Miss Munchkin shopping for swimsuits and enjoyed the pool and whirlpool at the motel that night. I wish I had gotten a picture of Miss Munchkin in the pool. She sure enjoys water!

Saturday it was much cooler weather, down in the 40s for most of the day and snotty rain. Bill and I suddenly remembered why we moved south! Virginia is a long state to travel through on I-81. We began looking for a room in Hagerstown, Maryland, only to discover that there was a soccer tournament in town! Sound familiar? We finally found a motel with an indoor pool, got the last two rooms available, only to discover that it was full of eight to twelve-year-old soccer players who took over the pool.

Miss Munchkin traveled very well. We usually had to stop every couple of hours for a diaper change or feeding, but then we old people needed to stop that often to get out and stretch!

Sunday morning it was cool and sunny, but warmed up as we traveled further north. We arrived in Dundee about four in the afternoon (Eastern), visiting with family and enjoying a perfect October day. Miss Munchkin met her cousin Steven for the first time and they seemed to enjoy each other. Steven was a cutie and he loved showing Miss Munchkin all his toys at his Grandma's house.

After a nice afternoon and evening with Bill's brother and sister-in-law, we left Kat and Miss Munchkin and Charles there and headed for our bunks at the hunting lodge. More on that tomorrow!

Meet Penelope!

Look at my lovely new mode of transportation! A 2005 Chrysler Town & Country Touring Edition van, with only 25000 miles. Isn't she beautiful? Well, other than the fact that she's white! But she's quiet, her transmission is smooth, her axles don't go "clunk, clunk" when you turn a corner, her a/c and heater works and, best of all, her headlights actually light up the night! All in all, a fair trade-off for monthly payments!

I do believe her name is Penelope. I've never named a car before. Perhaps that is because all my other cars were male? But she is definitely Penelope.