Do you remember this candy like I do? 

Do you remember looking into Grandma's fancy candy jar when you were small?  This classic "Hammond's" candy has been around since 1920.  Isn't that an interesting fact?  Way back then, the Hammond's Company put all those colors and flavors together?  I am sure our grandmas thought it quite a luxury to have a bag of candy like this.  Maybe they only dreamt about having candy.

What is it about me, that makes me buy a small bag of this candy just for display?  I bought this last Christmas and put it back in the candy jar this Christmas.

Same with the "Sevigny's" Thin Ribbon Candy.  I have memories of eating this candy at my Grandma's house.  The company has been making ribbon candy since 1926.  Do you all remember this candy?  What memories does it evoke when you see the bright ribbon pieces?
Yes, this has lasted a year in the box, and you might just see it next Christmas.  It is too pretty to eat, and candy is not a temptation for me.

I was given this "Heidel" vintage box of chocolates last year.  I don't have memories of this candy and I have no idea how many years the company has been in business.  What I do like,is displaying the colorful tin, and...

...the vintage decorations of each of the four individual candy bars.  Don't you think they look good sitting on my white wooden kitchen shelf?

Memories and vintage packaging make fun vignettes, and no calories.

That's it, from this rather "odd" blogger this evening:)

We gathered at the farm on Saturday afternoon.

We are growing as an extended family and our times together are becoming rarer than they used to be.

We ate, we talked and laughed together, we rode four wheelers and dirt bikes. 

A rousing game of football took place on the front lawn.

The meal was delicious!

There was lots of hot coffee which went well with the rocking chairs on the porch.

My brother and sister-in-law were provided the warm hospitality needed to make this event so special.

As the afternoon progressed, the sun began to set.  My brother lit a fire in the stone pit.  We took chairs,  blankets, the hot dogs, marshmellows, chocolates, and sticks down to the pit.  The setting was perfect! 

I could not help myself, I had to try and capture the exquisite beauty of the evening.
Sky and water seemed to meet.  It felt like time was standing still.

Sitting by the fire, roasting goodies, laughing, talking, and just relaxing, was definitely my kind of enjoyment.

 

Spending time together, with those we don't get to see often, was memorable.

I did not want the evening to end.

 

It was magical!  God's majestic artwork was breathtaking!

 

 

It was time to head home.  Our goodbyes were said, and our hearts were filled with memories of another Thanksgiving holiday.

Thank you for the privilege of sharing a few pictures of our past weekend.

I have enjoyed visiting your blogs and getting a glimpse into your celebrations, too.

A few moments relived, of our 2011 Thanksgiving Day celebration.  We sat down to a beautifully decorated table, with place cards included.

A creatively done centerpiece was made up of covered fabric and yarn balls in glass. Gold sprayed, carved out pumpkins held taper candles.

The turkey was purchased at the farm a few miles from their home.  It was cooked using the top rated Turkey recipe from allrecipes.com (find it HERE), it literally fell off the bones, and tasted so good!  Must admit, as her mother I was proud of the job she did.  Not always easy to get a perfectly cooked turkey.  I know from experience.

Two of the three sisters were together this holiday, and they treasured the rare moments it provided them.

We played some rousing games of "Bananagrams".  Competition was fierce:)

What a memorable day!  The ratio of adults to children was 7 to 7.  You can imagine the fun, noise level, the full house, and the laughter.
Precious memories to hold on to.
 
Thank you for stopping by this evening.  My prayer for you this coming week, is that you will experience some memorable moments in the midst of the busyness of daily life.

Two best friends, contentedly watching the world go by.

An opportune time to discuss the issues at hand.

"Gratitude unlocks the fulness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, and confusion into clarity...It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."   ~Melodie Beattie


"The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts.  No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving."    ~H.U. Westermayer

Taking a break for a few days, but first wanted each of you to know that I am thankful for you, your visits, your comments, and all that I continue to learn from you, in the blogging world.
God bless you!

Everything about their old, stone farmhouse, creates the warm welcome that an early Thanksgiving dinner needs.  The old wooden log was makes the perfect shelf for her kitchen vignette, including the small apron that she wore as a child.  My sister-in-law was blessed with an artist gift of being able to take old and new treasures, and make a beautiful display.

Each year we look forward to seeing what special Fall tablescape she will share with us.  This year was no exception.  She cleverly covered the long line of tables with brown paper, and scattered red leaves, differing sizes of canning jars filled with white beans and votives, and pumpkins down through the center of the table.

The coffee table continued on with the table theme and the huge mugs were perfect for the many coffee drinkers amoung us.

When one has the smaller rooms that an old farmhouse provides, and one has 29 people coming for a Thanksgiving dinner, one just has to improvise.  That is an area where my bil and sil are gifted.  My bil covered the open side of the porch with heavy plastic, making it warm enough for all of us to eat out on the porch, despite the fact that it is the end of November.  What a creative idea!  We all ate in comfort, although I did miss the countryside view from their porch.

Again, there were old crocks filled with an assortment of nuts, waiting to be cracked open and eaten.

It seems the children and adults alike, can be entertained with this activity for a long time.  With a brown paper tablecovering, one can let the shells laying on the table.

Look at the concentration on their faces as they tackle the nut cracking task at hand.

Really, this is a good way to keep the younger ones occupied after the dinner.

For a few hours after dinner had been served, we relaxed in their cozy, warm, inviting living room.  What fun to sit and share old and new stories and events together.  It is a rare, and much treasured happening for this family.

 

This pretty grandma finally has time to sit and relax with her granddaughters, after once again serving in the role of a talented, giving hostess.  Her and her family sure do possess the gift of hospitality, and have created many fond memories for their extended family.

Wishing you blessings on this Monday!

It is 5:00pm on a Saturday evening.

What are your neighbors doing?

This young neighbor guy's work is not finished yet.  It has been a long day for him and his dog.

Happy Saturday!

"Thanksgiving" has always been one of my favorite holidays.

I cannot believe it will soon be here.

Part of my family will be coming home for Thanksgiving and part of them for Christmas.

I will treasure every moment of our times together.

"Gratitude.  More aware of what you have than what you don't.  Recognizining the treasure in the simple...
(he was so proud of his Lincoln Log creation, that he requested that I take a picture of it and him)

...a child's hugs(oh, how I treasure those hugs, even if I am the one giving them),

...fertile soil,

...a golden sunset(like this one I captured in my back yard last evening).

Relishing in the comfort of the common...

a warm bed(like the little one my grandson sleeps in at our home, the one he proudly made by himself again this morning:),

...a hot meal(how often I sit down to eat, not taking time to realize how special of a gift, a good meal is),

...a clean shirt(and the wonderful guy that will wear it)."

~Max Lucado

(and my personal additions to the gratitude list he shared).

So much to be thankful for, and yet so often in my busyness, I fail to see the blessings in the ordinariness of daily life.

Today, I am also thankful for you, my blogging friends.  So glad you stopped by.

Hope your weekend provides reasons for gratitude and time to recognize them.

This time of the year, one of the fruits that we find ourselves eating, is naval oranges. 

Personally, I think orange slices, with a touch of sugar, make the perfect dessert or snack.
Instead of throwing the orange peels away, I put them in a small pan on the stovetop, with at least 1 cup or more, of water.

I add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon(or some cinnamon sticks) and 1 teaspoon of allspice.

If I have some overly ripe apples, I cut them up in chunks and add them too.  I simmer this mixture, at low to medium heat, adding extra water as needed, for a hour or so.

The aroma that fills my kitchen, with this mixture, smells so good!

It's spicy, warm, sweet aroma fills the rooms.

I set a timer so that I don't forget to turn off the burner, because at times my memory isn't the best.

Especially over the Fall and Winter seasons, it offers a fragrant welcome to your home.

I found this picture lately, and thought it looked like a cozy cabin.  I can imagine walking into it, sitting by it's roaring fire, and smelling the aroma of the above mixture filling the room. 

Just me, dreaming on this cool, rainy evening.  Hope you are staying warm and dry.

An evening out, at our friend's lovely country home, for a group of friends to spend time together.  Two friends hosted the evening.

One of the hostesses set a lovely Fall tablescape.  Wouldn't you agree with me?  She used some real and some faux pieces to complete the centerpiece.

This lovely lady, is a friend of one of the hostesses.  She lived in the Phillipines and learned to cook Filipino food.  Last evening she shared her cooking skills with us and prepared a delightful Filipino dinner.  She gave us the privilege to help her in the kitchen.

For the first time in my fifty some years, I helped to peel Quail eggs, that had been hard boiled, cooled and were ready to peel.

Tediously, we peeled each tiny egg, to be added to the soup before serving.

Her egg rolls were the perfect size, made with olive oil, and tasted so good!

The small pieces of salmon, melted in our mouths.

The fresh fruit tart was the best way to end the meal.  They were brimming full with sweet tasting fruit.

Two friends take time to pose for a picture.  The friend on the right was one of the women who gracioulsy hosted this fun event, and the friend on the left has been my friend since we were sixteen years old.

The homeower's kitchen window vignette.  It's color and arrangement was simple, yet elegant.  In daylight you would be able to look out over their Alpaca farm.

We celebrated two special November birthdays.

From left to right, my sister, me, and our good friend.

Growing old isn't so bad, with good friends to celebrate with.

Each place setting was presented with creative thought.

The evening was a memorable one.  We talked, laughed, learned a new way to prepare food, ate, and celebrated birthdays together.

Thanks for joining me this evening.

Thanks also to my sister, for sharing some of these pictures with me.