Of Sickness, Leaves and Thanksgiving

Home sick for a few days, so it was nice to get outside today for a little leaf sweeping after all that couch time.

Sunny and warm for the am, cold and foggy by 3pm. Typical coast weather. I am sure the neighbors get a good chuckle out of watching the crazy lady sweep the leaves YET AGAIN, knowing full well they will pile up by the next afternoon. Well, I use the sweeping as an excuse to get out and get moving, thus keeping my Weight Watchers activity points up and my weight down. Laugh that off! (34 pounds and going...)

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so I went out today to get some "traditional" supplies:

Stove Top Stuffing - this gift from God is not to be scoffed at. It’s the perfect combination of bread crumbs, dried stuff and seasoning. No chance of something like walnuts or oysters showing up in it, either. Use a little chicken broth in place of water and suddenly, it’s HOMEMADE! BONUS - 20 minutes preparing...instead of 6 hours!

Turkey Gravy - jarred and ready to drop into the saucepan. I suppose if I cared, I would make gravy. But I don’t care.

Yams - One look at a real Yam and the canned, ready to serve version and I’ll let you guess which one I chose. Put some marshmallows on top, some brown sugar and guess what? HOMEMADE!

Olives - Nothing says Thanksgiving like seeing a kid with Black Olives stuffed on each finger. I always get 6-8 cans, cause most tend to be eaten BEFORE the meal actually starts. Extra large, PITTED. Yeah, I made that mistake one year.

Cranberry Sauce - If it doesn’t have the ridges of the can embedded in it’s jellied form...it ain’t cranberry sauce. Now, in all honesty, I also bought a bag of real cranberries so I could try making the REAL version. Just for a few laughs.

Jell-O instant pudding - Butterscotch flavor. Mix this up with some cool whip, spread into graham cracker crusts, and freeze overnight. A fall dessert my niece and nephews loved last year, so I’ll make it again. And yes, I consider this one...HOMEMADE!