Hi Everyone! How has your week been? I am extremely happy now that things are finally moving. Thank you Juellie for the recipe - definitely going to give it a try. Always interested in lighter versions of old favorites. Cooking Light magazine has stuff online too that's great. We have been invited to our friends for dinner tonight for pizza....I contacted them to thank them very much. I let them know I will not be having pizza and offered to bring soup and other stuff I am eating - my friend said no problem. Instead of having two pizzas she is only doing one and she has made a pot of home made soup with salad for tonight instead. They are healthy eaters - her home cooking is to die for. So we are all going to eat a little lighter tonight than originally planned. Yaaaaay. Never hurts to ask/offer does it. I met the challenge. I am doing a lemon pie for dessert. I plan a small piece and will not eat any crust. I do not expect one small piece will wreck my week nor day. Given that dinner will be healthy I am sure it will all work out. So I planned ahead, made an offer and now I can enjoy my evening with my friends. How do you tackle invites? This is all about a healthy lifestyle, choices, compensating, learning to give and take. Finding alternatives, making adjustments to fit what is right for us. All little things we can do for ourselves over time for better health in the long run. You can do this with me. I am offering my hand out to you whether you post or just read along - don't be alone in your journey. Success is helped by sharing ideas, our ups and downs, moments in life. No matter what happens don't give up on yourself. Let the moment pass and put that foot forward and down. Take that step again. My soul sister is doing well this time round. She is tackling her weaknesses with her partner. Like myself, things they cannot hold back from they no longer have in their pantry. Old habits that led to evening snacking they are changing to find new things to do. My husband is not on this journey with me but he is benefiting because what I am preparing is healthier, tastier - yes it is tastier because I am taking more care in preparing our food. One thing he no longer does is go for a second helping. He uses the 20 minute rule. He waits to see if he is still hungry or not. Neither of us enjoy feeling stuffed. We are both benefiting from this journey like my friend and her partner. Do you have a Friday night challenge? A weekend challenge? Can we help each other through these moments? Do share. Let's not forget our water today too. My wood is drying again so I'm getting out to do some more tossing and stacking. It's cooler this morning - 13C or that about 64F. Good temps for outdoor activity. Afterwards a lovely shower with chamomile/lavender bath gel, condition my hair and girly goop myself up. Might even do a facial - why not? Have a great day today everyone! Seize the moment. You deserve to focus on yourself too - don't forget that. Cheers, Peggy

I have a simple recipe that was my DH's Grandma's. It's a hit and everyone I have shared it with has adopted it for their own Thanksgiving tradition. -2 cans sour (or tart) cherries, drained. Very important - do not use sweet cherries or cherries in syrup. -3/4 to 1 cup sugar -1/4 cup flour -1 tsp. almond extract -few drops of red food coloring Fold all ingredients together and put in pie crust. If you like, but not necessary, dot the top with a couple tablespoons of butter before putting on the top crust. Bake at 375 for 1 hour. Watch the crust for burning and use foil if necessary. My only crust tip is to brush the top with milk and liberally sprinkle sugar. Makes the crust look beautiful and crunchy!

The Invisible One is finally reporting in. After last SundayÂs gathering, The Bug got me down, eliminating my ability to say anything the least bit witty, not that I could have matched the others at that, anyway. DH and I enjoyed everyoneÂs company immensely. It was wonderful to dine among GW celebrities Igloochic (the delightful, devoted mother of adorable Jesse -- I hope he is doing much better), Buehl (who I later realized is the Kitchen Forum FAQ compiler/poster), and cooperbailey (with whom I had several things in common). It would be fun to meet more GW folks, whenever and wherever. We are in Towson, MD, so I expect weÂll be headed south when it happens. Some have pronounced our kitchen "finished." Now, we all know that "done" is a relative term. I hastily took some pictures of our kitchen before last weekÂs dinner meeting, and the only thing really missing is a window treatment. However, I need to straighten up the counters, find the best angles, and gather all the spec details before preserving our kitchen for posterity in the Finished Kitchens Blog. That new project is definitely on my Someday List  another relative term. :-) Alice

When I walk the dogs their three miles every day, at about the furthest point from our house is a home with six enormous lavender plants spilling out over the sidewalk. They're the size of a small shrub and one bush is usually filled with bumblebees and the others are filled with honey bees. I'd like to think they are mine since I've read they can travel 2 or 3 miles. As the crow flies it's shorter than 1 and 1/2 miles but it's still a long way. Poor little girls. No wonder their wings get frayed.