A Complete 180

My life is about to take a big turn. I am changing jobs. It will be quite a shock to go from the extremely easy and laid back job (where I actually kept my 2nd sewing machine and was a sewist on the clock) to a busy financial institution with a mandatory 50 hour a week schedule. But lets talk about Thanksgiving and the weekend first.

I remembered to take Before pics of the 2 turkeys, but totally forgot the After pics, so now you don't get to see any. Sorry. The whole dinner turned out really great, and my grandmother, who is 92 and weighs about 80 pounds, cleaned her plate AND ate pie!

Why 2 turkeys? Because I usually cook one big 23 pound or so turkey, but those were not available, so I bought 2 turkeys. One got cooked on the rotisserie and one in the oven. I like lots of leftovers when I go to all the trouble of making dinner for everyone. All day on my feet, chopping, cooking, cleaning, etc and then only enough left for one sandwich? No way. I send leftovers home with the grandparents, and then I expect to have sandwiches, casseroles, and the incredibly delicious Turkey Stew with Dumplings. Make this. You won't be sorry. Just add potatoes in with the carrots at the beginning and use frozen peas instead of green beans. And if you have some leftover gravy, add that at the end. That's my version of it anyway.

Here is Tyler making crumbs for the pie crust out of Ginger Snap cookies. What a good helper! He was so excited to use one of Papa's hammers, and then he was very serious about his work. What kind of pie, you ask? Double Layer Pumpkin Chiffon. The recipe is from a booklet by Bakers, Diamond and Jello brands, but I can't find anything online to link to. Email me if you want the recipe. I'll try to not take too long replying.

So on to Black Friday. I do not celebrate Black Friday the way most do. I refuse to join the frenzied, crazed masses at the mall. I don't care what a deal you can get, who wants to be trampled in the spirit of Christmas? But I did make it to the fabric store and of course THEY were having a sale, and these lovely red, black and whites called to me. These are getting added to the stash leftover from the Plan C quilt I made last year. Aren't they lovely? I'm drooling. I just love scrappy looks. And I poured through my Quilt magazines and came up with a great pattern. Do you find your pattern after you have fabric, like I do? I know that is backwards for most, but fabric is almost always my inspiration.

So, with this new 50 hour job, I do not foresee a lot of sewing in my future. Or blogging. Or blog reading. Or Facebook. This is a bummer because I have found so many wonderful new toddler art related blogs, and decorating blogs,.Some of the art blogs have invited me to link up. Isn't that just the way it always goes? I will try to keep up!

I have been very spoiled at my former job, but it is time to move on. Time to make some serious money while I can, and work where I have potential to move up in the ranks instead of just keeping a chair warm. Those of you who envied me the time to sew can now empathize with me. I'll be dreaming of sewing right along with you! I am a stay-at-home Nana at heart.

As much as possible I will be devoting my free time to family, so if a chance comes up, I will make new blog posts. Just know that they may be a lot fewer than you have seen in recent weeks.  Hang in there with me if you can. I love sharing about my grandson, my quilts, recipes and life in general. If I inspire one person to try something new, or value their time with children just a bit more, my time here has been well spent.

Take care! If I don't get to say it before then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year too!