Here is a picture of our Thanksgiving dinner at Chris and Tricia's house. Chris make a wonderful Turkey with a special glaze and a port gravy. Tricia made her family recipe stuffing and a cranberry sauce. We had two tone mashed potatoes from a recipe in my Torreon cookbook and a tip from the veggie guy at the Pikes Market, whipped swt.potatoes and "Obert salad" made by Jessica and Allison. Apple sauce by Tricia's mom Susan and Peter, Ham w/baked apples by Tricia's Dad, Sidney and Cathy. The desserts were my apple pie, Jessica's pumpkin cheesecakes, Chris's apple, pineapple cranberry crisp, and Sidney's home made ice cream and Susans nut bread. Talk about a joint effort. Everything was so good that no one even mentioned diets. It was the least work I have had to do for a Thankgiving dinner in years. PS--If you are wondering what Obert Salad is, it is a spinach salad with poppyseed dressing that I got from Aunt Mary, and they got from me. Everyone in Seattle loves it and has dubbed it "Obert Salad". Pictured from left going around the table -- Jessica, Me, Madeline, Cathy, Sidney, Chris, Tricia, Susan, Peter and Allison.

Happy Birthday to Mike and Angie. Here is wishing that you are having a great birthday and thanksgiving holiday.

Love from Mom and Dad and Chris and Trish and Maddie

Hello family and friends, I have been here in Seattle for over a week now. All the mothering skills (?) I had are slowly resurfacing. But Madeleine is such a sweet baby that it is not hard. She doesn't cry unless she is hungry. She smiles easily and laughs out loud a lot. She loves to be sung too. And I swear she will be talking really early because she is already trying. She looks a lot like Chris, but has darker hair. I am enjoying myself so very much. Chris and Tricia are great and truly enjoy being parents.
The weather here has not been the best, but we have been able to visit the zoo, attend a mystery dinner play, dine with Tricia's sisters, go shopping and take Maddie for a walk. So you can see life is great here in Washington. Tricia's family are warm and welcoming and I enjoy their company.
Tomorrow Grandpa Mike will arrive. Maddie and I are looking forward to that. I have told her all about him and how much he is looking forward to being here with her. She says she has been waiting and waiting for him to get here.

This is Miss Madeleine's first halloween, she stole the show as the cutest bunny EVER!!!

Mike is in India this week. Here are his first pictures back to me. That is the Taj Mahal. He says it is amazing, but the poverty everywhere else is another story again. I hope he was able to get more photos. I am pretty sure this is something I will never see. I dont know the history of the Taj Mahal, I will have to do some research.

Oh My Goodness!! It worked!!

Well, here it is. My 12 foot black cat. I dont know why the upload worked this time. But I will not look a gift horse in the mouth.

I tried to upload a picture of the 12 foot cat. But it just will not co-operate. Fellow bloggers, any suggestions, this happens to me a lot. Thanks.

I really enjoyed my first Halloween back in the states. The weather was cold, but the wind died down just in time to put up my 12 foot cat. The kids really enjoyed it and several told me so. It has sound effects and lights that flash. I bought it on sale in Torrreon last year after Halloween, so this is the first time I got to use it.
Some observations on last night. I was surprised to see that 75% of the Treat or treaters were between the agest of 11 to 15. I am not complaining. I love to see them being children as long as possible. They were ALL polite and fun. Very few wore actual masks, also something I liked. The little ones were a delight. Lots of princesses!! Not as many pirates as I expected. But I think my favorite was the kid that came dressed in a suit coat all covered with Barbie dolls. I asked him what it was, and he turned around and showed me what was written on the back--"Chick Magnet". Too cute. The biggest and oldest Trick or Treater asked to shake my hand, he said "You have really kept the spirit of the Holiday, You are awesome". That made my night. So until next year, happy haunting.