Well, yeah, it does look like candles. Good job. And I approve your acceptance speech, Bev. Well done. Raining here, 2nd day, lots of new growth I betcha.Predicted at least one more day. DH, wearing a slicker, is out spreading mulch in the beds against the house to keep dirt from splashing up on the white stucco. What would I do without him.

WOW this has been a neat swap. Apologies to both Ellie, Farmergirl and our hostess Margo for taking so long to post. I'm finally home after logging almost 6000 miles in about a month. Crazy I know......... There was a terrific package waiting on the Dining Room Table from Ellie for this swap. Jack said it has arrived several days ago. a lot of seeds. Yeah! Some from my wish list some veggies and a pack of tomatillos which I have been thinking about trying for a couple years. That will be fun. Three bright and pretty hand towels in red and green. Already hanging up. Two pot holders that are prefect for my kitchen. Pink and blue on off white. I use my pot holders hard and some of the older ones are looking ratty so these are great. A BIG green mug with snowflakes and a tree shaped tea bag holder. I'll use this for my Christmas Cocoa and think happy thoughts about all of you Gardenweb friends. There was a beautiful crystal snowflake in the box and I have the perfect place for it to hang in my sunny front window. Again, thanks and a Merry Christmas to all. hugs Beth

Our gathering this year initiated by me. With 6 children among 3 moms living in the southern portion of California it made sense to meet in Hollywood for Thanksgiving. I recommended much of the menu according to the tastes and traditions of my friends. We had turkey wrapped in bacon, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, two kinds of sweet potatoes, green beans almondine, a lovely salad brought by guests, corn bread with bacon stuffing, apricot sausage bread stuffing, a raspberry-cream cheese jello, three kinds of cranberry sauces, homemade pumpkin pies and cheese cake, purchased cherry and pecan pies, ice creams, and whipped cream. It was all quite traditional fare. I made stuffings and gravy at home and traveled with those. Pie filling and crust pastry dough were made at home and assembled there. My crust discs didn't have enough moisture and fought me. Thankfully pumpkin pies only have bottom crusts that were well covered by filling. They were not pretty! But the taste and texture were good. I cooked the turkey and a spare breast there. The turkey went into a roaster. I cooked it 450 for an hour and then turned it down to 325 for the rest of the cooking and held it at warm while everything else finished. It was quite fine. It was an organic 19 pound tom. My friends made the sweet potatoes, cheesecake, jello dish, and cranberries. We also had canned cranberry jell. The young'uns love that stuff. Alice and Haley made guacamole to snack on before the meal. Our hostess Lisa made hot cider and coffee. Though I asked and my emails were forwarded to all guests, no one told me that the two daughters of my friend's friends are vegetarian. :( They ate around the heavily meaty offerings. I would happily have made something for them and some veggie stuffing had I known. I had many sous chefs among the young adults who wandered in and out and helped. Everyone pitched in with everything that needed to be done. Though I am perfectly capable of turkey carving, I was also really ready to abdicate the duty due to tiredness by the time the bird emerged. I asked my son to carve. He stuttered in a panic and left the kitchen. :) I asked the super social husband of the friend's friend to carve. He also blanched at the request but manned up on the spot and did the job. Bless his heart. All of the young folks took over at dessert time and set everything out after we cleaned up the main event. We were supposed to be 15 but the elderly momma was unable to attend so we were 14. I packed up a boxed meal for her. Things I would do differently next time: have a Silpat on which to roll pie crusts, make a vegetarian side that can work as entree for the vegetarians. Make sure we don't buy 2 hams and twenty pounds of potatoes. Lisa and I accidentally doubled up on a few things. I sent my starving student children home with two bags of potatoes. Otherwise, I would not change much. If we do this next year I will suggest that the adult children make some of the sides as well. Thankfully other people took photos! The youngsters gathered in the patio before dinner. Left to right: Lisa, Alice and Alice, Noelle, Haley, Daniel, Aimee, and Gina. Daniel and Alice amusing themselves while waiting to eat. Serving ourselves. Alice and Aimee with their plates. Someone's plate. The kids' table. ;) Candace, the ham thief. She was banished to the patio until dessert after helping herself to a portion of ham from the buffet. She is very tall and will counter surf if not watched carefully. The oldsters. Lisa, our hostess, is third from the left. Tom, the turkey carver is pretending to steal a kiss. Alice and Haley with desserts. Post orgy, um...meal.

No freakin' way should a kid be on the computer that much! And no, an hour a day outdoors is not unreasonable. You're being a good parent. DH is being a lazy parent. My SS is 10. DH used to let him go on the computer when he woke up in the morning (so he'd haul himself out of bed before dawn of course) and be on it ALL DAY LONG. It was a convenient babysitter so DH didn't have to DO anything with him. I said no dice to that. SS was miserable to be around when he was on the computer that much (for example, he'd cry and scream when told to get off the computer and come have lunch) and no kid needs that much video game input. Now, on a school night, he gets a max of 90 minutes of video games. Usually only 1 hour, but sometimes a little more is OK. Many nights he doesn't go on at all now, and doesn't even complain about it anymore! On weekends, he is not allowed on computer or video games until 10am, he is dressed, with teeth brushed, breakfast eaten and bed made. And a max of three hours per day (except if he has a friend over or something unusual like that). He's much more pleasant to be around now!! We also boot him off the computer at least 10 minutes before a meal etc. He's less glazed if he has a few unplugged minutes. We're in Saskatchewan, so it's cold here in the winter and he can't play outside. But he can play Lego, or bedroom hockey, or read books, or colour, or play a game with us. In the summer I kick him outdoors all the time! DH was open to my "no dice" and likes that we can work together. SS was somewhat resistant of course - but has adjusted now.