This is what it looked like outside and also what it looked like inside. This Christmas Tree skirt is going to be sent to Adam. Rain may be turning to snow tonite!

If laughter were money, I would be very rich after these last couple of days. I hope your holiday was as much fun as ours. Time spent with family and friends-----and ruined gravy(but that's another story). Last nite we went to see the Lights Before Christmas at the zoo and finished the evening with a group Catch Phrase competion.

Happy Thanksgiving

As we count our Blessings this time of year, we want to tell each of you--our Family and Friends----that we are most Thankful to all the joy you bring to our lives. We hope your Thanksgiving is full of people you love and love you back. To those who are far away, please know we are thinking of you with love and hope your day is very special. Happy Thanksgiving!

Dan took 8 members of his class on a field trip last Friday to the Henry Ford Museum. After looking at his pics, I wish I could have gone along. Rosa Parks historic bus drew the most interest and one of the students had his picture taken while sitting at the back of the bus. Note Dan asking the crash test dummy for it's autograph.

This is not how I wanted my Dobos Torte story to end. I wanted to be able to show you a gorgeous 11 layer torte on this cake plate. Thursday evening I made my frosting and------it was a flop. I frosted the layers and had to throw the whole thing away. In between a lot of tears---make that a lot of sobs(I was home alone) I tasted chunks of the messy cake and it did taste good but the frosting never thickened and ruined the cake. To add insult to injury, our dog pulled the cake out of the garbage and ate it. But I am determined to succeed. After consulting some Hungarian cousins and coworkers, I think the problem was in the cooking of the frosting. My cousin Kim told me it takes patience to wait for it to thicken. I vow----there will be a Dobos Torte on my Christmas Day dinner table.

You thought you were going to see a picture of my Dobos Torte, didn't you. I am avoiding the next step for fear of failure. The layers are wrapped and in the fridge and instead we went to a walking trail near our home. The birch tree with the "eyes" really caught mine!

This is going to be an ongoing saga this week. It all started when the announcement came out that my department at work was having it's Christmas Party this Friday. The invitation invited all to enter the Dessert Contest and I found myself writing in Hungarian Dobos Torte. For any Non Hungarians reading this---it is a multi layer cake that is baked on the underside of a cake pan---11 layers. Between each layer is milk chocolate creamy rich frosting. The sponge layers and the chocolate frosting---incredible. However---I have NEVER made this dessert. So Sunday I made 11 layers, using my Grandmother's recipe in the St. Stephen's cookbook. I have carefully packed them between wax paper and will frost it later this week. Keep your fingers crossed that this will turn out. I am not going for the prize because I saw there were a lot of great desserts coming---I just want this to turn out like my Mom made it. Kind of a tune-up for Christmas-because if I succeed, I will make another one for my Christmas Dinner. Stay tuned.

It's the weekend and it is a good one! The weather is cold and it started to snow---which prompted me to take to the kitchen. Dried Cherry Scones(using cherries from Upper Michigan) for breakfast and Jonelle's Delicious Leek Soup is ready to go for dinner. Recipe for soup can be found on Stuff'd--link on side of page. Christmas Music is on my CD player---Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. I know I am getting a head start on the season but I brought home a lot of my Mom's old Christmas ornaments and can't bear to pack them away. So I started decorating the dining room using a silver and gold theme with Mom's decorations. They bring back a lot of great memories of her. Mags seems to like the snow too!

Call a Veteran today and thank them. These are the Veteran's from our family--our Fathers who were WW2 Vets.

There is still beauty to found, even on a gray overcoast, drizzly late afternoon. We found a fogotten trail in Pearson Park(that nobody else seems to have found)---Adam and I used to hike it when he was a preschooler---and found the autumn colors against the bleak sky still are beautiful. Have a great weekend everyone!

New Ohio State Dog Collar------7.95

New Leash----------------------8.30

New Fleece Bed-----------------25.00

New Soft Kennel for Truck------11.00

New Steam Cleaner for Carpet---200.00

Cozy Feeling when Mags Sits in Lap---------YOU THINK I AM GOING TO SAY PRICELESS,DON"T YOU!! Laundry Detergent----6.50

I wanted to take a picture of my precinct today--it is the elementary school that I attended---but the atmosphere was very subdued as if nobody wanted to do anything remotely controversial. No bake sales--no volunteers handing out nail files-very quiet. And at 1:30pm there was no wait either. So instead I am posting a picture of Main Street USA in Ohio. I love the fact that I voted at my elementary school and the workers were people I come in contact with at Church and work and at the grocery store. It feels good to live in a small town. So, who did I vote for? I voted for the person I thought most capable to lead this country through this turmoil. If you look closely you can see the sign in my front yard---close to Main Street USA.

My Pavlov's Bell

I salivate at the sight of this pan. It belonged to my Mom and held the most exquisite of foods. Delicacies like Easter Coffee Cake(braided with rich creamy icing), Apple Strudel(2 of them fit nicely in the pan), Curly Cabbage Casserole(why didn't I learn to make that!), Hungarian Pastries and lots more. So this is my tribute to a Pan--but now you know it is a very special pan that belonged to a very special Mom.

What did you do with your extra hour today? Wouldn't it be great if we lost an hour every Monday during the workday and then got it back every Sunday! We have company coming for dinner--Matt and Kellie-- so I made a pumpkin pie. And then with our extra hour we took the dog for a walk. And I wanted my picture taken too so I guess I will title the phone booth "self portrait"