Transformation.

It's not a word we usually associate with Thanksgiving but it applies this weekend.

For instance, I transformed this bowl of chopped citron, glaceed cherries, dried cranberries, cherries and raisins and  chopped walnuts (all soaked in spiced rum) into these

Six beautiful, spicy fruitcakes.  They're just a bit of batter holding all that fruit and nut mixture together.  It takes two of us to do this because it's a dozen eggs and 7 cups of flour plus all the spices and sugar and molasses.  I hold the bowl and Pk stirs everything together.  They bake for 2 hours and then get wrapped in rum soaked cheesecloth and aluminum foil and put into the freezer for consumption during the holidays.  The flavor is dark and intense and not terribly sweet.  The recipe made 6 loaves so I can give one to Em and one to Kate and they'll have some for their own holiday cookie plates and we'll still have four loaves here (Pk doesn't like to share.....)

 I also transformed this turkey stuffed with cornbread and sausage and sitting on a bed of carrots and celery into this lovely succulent bird.  It was juicy and tender and only took 6 hours in the oven! 

I apologize for the odd appearance of the photos and text here.  As I was trying to put up this post last night at home, blogger informed me that I had filled up my allotted allowance of photo storage space (which I didn't even know I had) and had to either purchase some space or not post photos. 

I will admit to a certain level of ignorance as to how this whole thing works.  All I know is that I type words and add photos and hit Publish and Voila!  There are my words and photos available on the web.  "Hosting" is something you do when you invite folks to your home and give them food.

I consulted my resident IT expert and he explained to me that "storage is not free" and that blogger has been storing my stuff all this time and I have outgrown my storage container and it's time to buy a new one.  I did and now I'll pay each month so my photos and words can continue to grace the interwebs.  It's odd to me how much I take for granted. 

But anyway, I am having a terrible time fitting everything onto the page in a coherent, pleasing manner.  Maybe because they are all photos from my phone and not my camera. 

We had a "do as little as humanly possible" weekend.  Thursday we drove to Em's house for dinner with her and Jim and his family.  We are so lucky that our two families get along.  I genuinely like his mom and dad and his sister (who is now crocheting like a fiend and made a very strange "brain with hanging eyeball" hat for a friend that is genius.).  Dinner was delicious, football was observed and much conversation ensued. 

Friday, we had a lazy day.  Pk and I baked the fruitcake and I wrapped it all up and put it away before we had a chance to eat it.  He spent the day literally in his pajamas.  I actually showered and got dressed into sweat clothes.  He played video games and I did some spinning and picked up a knit I had put away in a snit about a month ago.  It's moving right along now and I can't remember why it was causing me so much trouble in the first place.

Saturday was laundry day and Pk actually got dressed and did some odds and ends outside before coming in admitting it was a bit chilly to spend the day putzing in the garage.  Sunday was Second Thanksgiving.  It's funny how two people can use the same basic recipe and yet the results are subtly different. Em and I both use the same basic recipes but the meals taste different.  Neither is better or worse, just different.  The leftovers are packaged for consumption during the upcoming holiday shopping/roof replacing month so we'll be able to eat some home cooked food and not depend on take out.

If we hear back from the borough hall that our roof plans are acceptable, we will be ripping off the old roof and replacing it this coming weekend.  I need to get out and get some boxes and containers to empty things out of our pantry closet in the kitchen and to pack up the living/dining room for the next 2 weeks.  I'm going to use this as an opportunity to clean out drawers and get rid of clutter (yes, I am optimistic, why do you ask?)

It's nice and quiet here at work for the time being.  No urgent emails were waiting and hopefully, the message light on my phone does not indicate anything dire (I haven't checked yet).  I'd like to ease back into my week but that's not always the way it goes.  Hopefully, you're all having a good week.