Thanksgiving

Decorations in the new kitchen.Finger licking good!Enough room for everyone!We put the kitchen to the test and it passed with flying colors! What a Thanksgiving! Jason’s parents and grandparents came in so we could host our first Thanksgiving with the new kitchen. Things ran so smoothly. Between the new appliances, roomy floor plan and extra hands in the kitchen, Thanksgiving was a breeze! (I don’t know why I was nervous!)

We had fried turkey injected with jalapeno butter – spicy!!! Stuffing, rolls, garlic green bean casserole, and scalloped sweet potatoes (a new recipe from my Wyoming cookbook). And of course what is Thanksgiving without dessert? Thanks to Dee we had Jason’s favorite, apple pie. Grandma added some sugar-free apple cobbler, too!

I’m thankful for a wonderful husband with hidden design skills, for a wonderful set of in-laws and extended grandparents, for a warm home, cuddly pets, a cell phone to call home (never mind that it dies randomly), a soft bed to rest my head, good books (we are reading Garrison Keillor’s Life Among the Lutherans) and wonderful friends.

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and moving into the holiday season, time to stop and smell the pine trees. Grandma & Grandpa Sherwood, visiting from Wheatland.

Trey in the kitchen, taking credit for everyone's hard work!Bill slices and dices the turkey to perfection!Jason fights to prep the turkey!Men folk gathering in the kitchen.The dogs enjoyed licking the snow where flavors from the turkey frier must have dripped!

Happy Thanksgiving!

On the Trail

Last week I had a board meeting in Douglas then traveled to Casper to visit my good friends Erin and Alex. Most the visit revolved around food, conversation, crafts and movies. Erin, usually not credited for her abilities in the kitchen, slaved over a hot stove not once, not twice, but three times to make me some amazing meals! Way to go Erin! Grill cheese on rosemary bread, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, tasty oatmeal with honey all paired with great wine and good company.

Alex also worked his magic in the kitchen and made us a WONDERFUL steak salad. Very tasty! Not to mention his talented ability to build a warm, crackling fire. I felt right at home.

Thanks guys for a wonderful weekend! Erin in her new hat. She finished it while I was in town. So cute!!!

A Thank You Letter to Our Church

Back in August Jason and I finished an oral history project for our church's 125th anniversary celebration. The link to the video is below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKshsZuIZ2Q
I'm glad I married such a talented videographer!

In recent news, our church hosted a volunteer week for the local soup kitchen. I helped out for a few hours yesterday and have a shift this Sat. It was a very rewarding experience and I was able to make new friends and learn something about cooking for 40 in a big kitchen. I've got ideas for Thanksgiving! Plus, I was excited to learn that they take donations of game meat.

Tomorrow night I'm filling in for Pastor and teaching the 7th/8th grade confirmation class. Each week is a different experience depending on which students show up and how much candy they've had! I think I learn more from them than they do from me.

What blessings! Even in this time of transition, I'm feeling very warm and fuzzy with so many opportunities for personal growth. I'm thankful to have this time "unemployed" so I can give back and learn more about my community.

Closing with a big AMEN!

Movies Worthy of Oscar Buzz

Everyone who knows me knows that I love MOVIES! Especially movies that win Oscars. Oscar night is like the Super Bowl to me. It is a good excuse to throw a party and get together with the girls. I love the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. The great costumes, lines, and shots. I love cinematography and how little details can make or break a movie. While I haven’t seen anything in the theater in a while, blame it on my economy and the fact that very few indie style films come to Laramie, I still keep my ear to the ground for Oscar buzz. Below is an early list of movies I’m keeping an eye on. Oscar season is right around the corner!

Nine, a musical/romance directed by Rob Marshall, starting a long list of Hollywood royalty including: Daniel Day Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, and Fergie. Release date is December 25. If you liked Chicago and Moulin Rouge, go see it in the theater! Expect Oscar buzz for acting, costume design, art direction, cinematography, makeup, and music. Watch the preview here: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3263365657/

The Brothers Bloom. This came out in May but I totally missed it. Found it on Netflix and watched it this week. THIS IS WHAT MOVIE MAGIC IS ALL ABOUT. It gave me the chills, in a good way! It is well written and beautifully acted. I loved the costumes, the set, the sound – everything is perfect! I could watch this over and over again. The perfect con movie, full of action, adventure, and romance and the script is AMAZING! If this movie doesn’t win an Oscar, I’ll be very, very sad. Learn more about the Brothers at: http://www.brothersbloom.com/

Amelia. I watched the making of this movie on HBO this week and it looks like Hillary Swank could generate some Oscar buzz based on her full embodiment of this character. An uplifting movie to see with your girlfriends or the man who believes in you! Oct. 23. http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2446393881/

Since the Coen brothers always seem to have success up their sleeves, I had to include A Serious Man in this early list. If you laughed at Burn After Reading, go see this movie.
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1681064473/

For more movies with Oscar buzz potential, check out this list generated by MovieFone: http://www.moviefone.com/oscars-academy-awards/features/oscar-predictions

What have you seen lately that rocked your world?

What I'm Reading

I just finished The Historian which is about a family of historians and their search for the real life Dracula. It is a HUGE book and took me four weeks, reading a few chapters every night, to digest it all. I can’t say it was worth it but I’m proud of myself for finishing.

My librarian friend just recommended People of the Book. So far it is really good. It is about a conservator who gets to work with the unique Sarajevo Haggadah. She finds some objects in the book's binding and the story follows how each artifact connects with the history of the book. (Alana, I think you’d really like it).

I’m not sure what I’ll pick up next. I have a whole stack of books on my shelf that I haven’t gotten to, including Team of Rivals, but I’m also really interested in Garrison Keillor’s latest book about Lutherans. Oh my, so many choices!

Volunteer Hours

This weekend a friend pointed out that I’m like a retired person who spends more hours volunteering than I did working. Not sure if that is true but when my pastor asked me yesterday how many hours I’m putting in I had to sit down and calculate it.

This week:
CWAM (museum stuff), 16 hours (pictures to come)
Church, 2 hours
Laramie Plains Museum, 2 hours
MPMA (more museum stuff), 2 hours

22 hours. So, I’m a part time volunteer. What else am I doing with my time!?!? I don’t make a very good housewife but I did do two loads of laundry yesterday and when I’m in the mood, I’m a really good cook! Today I’ll get groceries, pay bills, walk the dogs, pick up the backyard, trim Rocky’s nails, plan a birthday party for a friend, renew my library books, watch a movie and wonder what to make for dinner. Jason is gone for a week and cooking for one stinks. Ho hum…

Hunting Season

So it is hunting season and Jason is working 12 to 14 hour days, seven days a week. I spend a lot of time alone at the house with our black lab Shelby. Once and awhile I ride along with Jason on his adventures.
Otherwise, I’m keeping busy volunteering with the local museums, historical society and co-teaching a Public History class at the University of Wyoming. This weekend I’m off to Leadville, CO for a CWAM (CO WY Ass. of Museums) meeting. I’m Local Arrangements Chair for the 2010 annual meeting in Laramie.

Next week Jason will be on the other side of the state and I’ll be helping with MPMA’s (Mt. Plains Museum Ass.) annual meeting in Cheyenne. His birthday is right around the corner (Oct. 2) but I’ll have to wait for him to have a day off before we celebrate. So far he only has one day off in Oct. and he is planning to go hunting that day. Got to have food on the table!

New Pets

Blue, someday will be known as "Old Blue" Cheeta and Orange Fish (Unofficial)

Not pictured, "Little P"

What we’ve been up to…

The kitchen is 90% done so we decided to take some long weekends this summer and visit family and friends. Our big adventure was a road trip to Minnesota for my cousin's wedding. Along the way, we played tourist in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. Here are a few pictures from that trip, in no particular order.
Crazy Horse memorial, SD

Corn Palace, Mitchell, NE

Cafe Teresa in Mitchell, NE

Beyer Haus B&B in New Ulm, MN (We found it by accident but it was to late in the day to get reservations. Can't wait to go back!) Jason relaxing on our private porch at the B&B outside of Rapid City, SD A visit to a local nature conservation museum in MN ... Jason is measuring his wing spand!Road trip... driving through the Badlands in SD. It was 110 so we stayed in the car for most of the scenic loop. Visiting Beyer Field in Blue Earth, MN. Named after my grandfather. Here I am texting a picture of me next to the sign to my friends on FB. Treysons at the Badlands, SD

A few weekends ago we visited Elk Mountain and helped Jason's parents celebrate the town's 100th birthday! There was a free steak dinner, volleyball tournament, vendors in the park, living history demonstrations, evening dance, luncheon with cowboy music, and the best strawberry rhubarb pie I've ever had! We had a really good time with Dee and Bill and even had time to visit our horse while we were in town.

Bill and Dee on one of the town's original mail wagons.

This past weekend we went camping in La Bonte Canyon. Jason and I both caught fish (catch & release) but my camera battery died so no pictures of those beauties! The dogs went with us and were very well behaved. We managed to squeeze everyone (2 people, 2 dogs) in a three person tent with our overnight bag and slept comfortably.Jason is on the road this weekend for work and I'm off to Georgia to visit family. We hope everyone is well and enjoying the last few weeks of summer.

Almost done!

We're gaining. It doesn't look like a warehouse anymore, but also isn't quite useable yet, either. Hopefully the countertop guy will finish tomorrow. . . Anyway, we figured we'd better take a minute to catch everyone up.

Friends Bill and Kelly help race to get the drywall up before the inspector comes. (Nothing provides incentive to work over the weekend like scheduling a Monday inspection!)

Jason mudding the drywall. Lesson #1: Finishing drywall is a vile, misleadingly-time-consuming job worth every penny a contractor would charge.

Finally, taping, mudding, and texturing done--Trey gets to paint!

Painting your hair: optional. (or done unwittingly as you paint the ceiling from the almost-too-tall step on the ladder)

Grandpa comes to visit and gets put to work hanging cabinets. Cabinets that suddenly seem way too heavy and awkward for two tired guys to hang by themselves.

Dad shows up to help. Dad brings coffee. Coffee distracts other help. Jason works on leveling cabinet by himself.

The oven and microwave will live here. Someday. (Did I mention I've gone back to my real job?) The hole was 7/8 of an inch too narrow for it--and its still about 6" too short right now.

Proof. Jabbering on the phone while I should be installing the oven. Or is it the countertop guy telling me to uninstall the oven cabinet so he can get the counter to fit. Since it was oh, so much fun the first time. . .

At least he did good work on the island. Looking at it and the tile almost makes me forget having to reinstall the biggest cabinet.

Trey must be getting antsy. The first piece of counter goes in and "accent pieces" come out of hiding. Okay, I'm antsy too. Hopefully there's a final inspection (and party) next month. . .