Rocking Horse (334/365)

 
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish artist, painter, draughtsman, and sculptor.1881-1973)

TIME:  10:26 PM
PLACE:  The living room
SUBJECT:  Wooden rocking horse ornament

I must have painted this back in 1971 or 1972, when I was about 4 or 5 years old.  My mom purchased a wooden paint-by-numbers ornament kit and allowed me and my brothers to choose and paint one ornament.  Mom ended up “correcting” my brothers’ efforts, but apparently my attempt was completely unsalvageable.  She must have loved it as only a mother could, because she hung it on the tree every year.  I moved out of my parents house in 1993 and during my first Christmas in my new home, Mom gave me my artistic masterpiece so it could adorn my own tree.  Every year, I hang it with honor.

Oh Christmas Tree (333/365)

 
Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. 

Norman Vincent Peale (American, Protestant preacher, author and a progenitor of the theory of "positive thinking", 1898–1993)

TIME:  11:05 PM
PLACE:  The living room
SUBJECT:  Christmas tree lights

Well, I actually DID start decorating for Christmas today.  I was able to get the tree set up at least.  Only the lights are on it for now though.  Ornaments will have to wait until tomorrow.  I have an artificial tree and I put the lights on “old school” – wrapping them from trunk to the tip of each individual branch.  Yes, it is a pain in the rear, but I like a lot of lights on my tree.  I could purchase a pre-lit tree but they just don’t have enough lights on them for me.  Plus I can’t see shelling out money for a new tree when the one I have is still in excellent shape.  I’m cheap frugal that way. 

Do you like this shot?  I used the “fireworks” setting on my camera and moved it in a circular motion while pressing the shutter to take this photo.

In The Sauce (332/365)

 
There's no sauce in the world like hunger.

Miguel De Cervantes (1547-1616), Spanish author. Teresa Panza (Sancho's wife), in Don Quixote, pt. 2, ch. 5 (1615), trans. by P. Motteux. This well-worn proverb was attributed to Socrates by Cicero in De Finibus, bk. 2, sct. 90.

TIME:  9:21 PM
PLACE:  My Dad’s kitchen
SUBJECT:  Spaghetti sauce with meatballs

Tonight was the “Family” Thanksgiving.  The family being my Dad, my oldest brother and his family, my younger sister and her family and my family.  I have another older brother, who lives in San Francisco with his family, but unfortunately, they did not make it into town for the holiday.  My Dad had the idea for each of us to make a pot of spaghetti sauce and meatballs and bring it to his house where we poured them all in to one huge pot.  We all have the same base recipe handed down from my Dad’s mother, Edna, but it is interesting how the end result differs from parent to child and from sibling to sibling. Doesn’t matter…the melding of the four sauces was superb.  Dad made some chicken spiedini, bread and a salad to round out the meal.  We also each brought some pie – pumpkin, chocolate pudding, pecan, peanut butter and apple.  I also brought the turkey cookies I made.  We all ate way too much.

Coming To Town (331/365)

Buddy the Elf: SANTA! OH MY GOD! SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM! I KNOW HIM!

Elf (Will Ferrell, written by David Berenbaum, Jon Favreau-director, 2003)

TIME:  11:17 AM
PLACE:  West Main Street
SUBJECT:  Santa and Mrs. Claus

The day after Thanksgiving is our town’s Santa Claus parade.  We had beautiful weather – plenty of sunshine and it was about 50 degrees.  DQ, SD, Oreo and I went to the parade, MB and HH had to leave early for MB’s Pilgrim Bowl football game (we joined them after the parade – they won!).  Both girls collected plenty of candy, SD was handed a stuffed dog and even Oreo received dog treats from the parade participants.  The final float of the parade was the most important one, it carried Santa and his wife.

Turkey Talk (330/365)

 
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Poet, Lecturer and Essayist, 1803-1882)

TIME:  8:02 PM
PLACE:  The kitchen
SUBJECT:  Turkey cookies

Well, I hope that a Happy Thanksgiving was enjoyed by all those in the States today.  We will be celebrating the with the “Family” on Saturday so we just had a small quiet dinner at Sujomi household.  HH made a ham, garlic mashed potatoes and a wilted slaw (all very tasty – especially because I didn’t have to cook!) and I made pumpkin pie for dessert.  Heck, I even got out the wedding china. 

I made these cookies last night and the kids helped ice them this evening.  These will be coming with us on Saturday to Dad’s house.  A funny thing about these cookies, they are called “Sour Cream Sugar Cookies”.  My dad hates sour cream.  He even jokes that he doesn’t like anyone who likes sour cream, but these are his favorite cookies!  He prefers them un-iced and I made sure that I have a container of those just for him.  If you like a not-too-sweet cookie, then you should enjoy these.  

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
In a medium bowl, sift together:  
3-1/4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Then, in a mixer combine:
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat for 2 minutes, then blend in 1/2 cup sour cream.  Change your attachment to a dough hook and slowly add the flour mixture.

Roll and cut out with cookie cutters.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
Cool on wire rack.
Ice as desired.

Industrial Roller (329/365)

 
Joan Holloway: Good Morning, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.

Mad Men. By Matthew Weiner. Perf. Christina Hendricks. American Movie Classics, AMC. 2007

TIME:  12:39 PM
PLACE:  The Study
SUBJECT:  Desk chair roller

My current desk chair is a recent purchase from Goodwill.  For a mere $15 I became the proud owner of a vintage steno chair…it looks exactly like this Rockwell Steno Chair which has a refinished price of $850(!).  It is the most comfortable desk chair I have owned.  It supports my lower back perfectly and has a nice little recline on it as well.  This is wonderful for when I desire to lay back and “check my eyelids for leaks” for awhile. 

I Can See Clearly Now (328/365)

…'Hey lady! do I look all blurry to you? 'Cause you look blurry to me!'

Dean Martin (American Actor and Singer. 1917-1995)

TIME:  7:33 PM
PLACE:  My nightstand
SUBJECT:  My eyeglasses on a holder

This little ceramic holder was painted and given to me from my Aunt Alice (my mom’s sister) in 1975 for my 8th birthday.  Yep, it’s true, I have had corrective lenses since 2nd grade.  I am horribly nearsighted and have astigmatism.  At my eye exam last Thursday, for the 1st time in 15 years, my prescription, which had been holding steady, changed for the worse.  Oh the perils of being over 40.  The good news is that my sight can be corrected to 20/20 in my left eye and 20/30 in my right eye.  Now I have new gas permeable contacts on order.  All I can say is thank goodness for modern optometry – otherwise I would be on a corner, selling pencils from a cup.