Good food and lots of dishes!

 As with any big meal there is always a mountain of dishes left behind. Mark said that next year we need to use tableware and pots and pans that can be thrown away. Washing, drying and putting away took a very long time. But the meal turned out good so the work was worth the smile on Mark's face when his stomach was full. We have enough leftovers for a nice Sunday meal and for two more meals that will go in the freezer for another time. I sure hope that I can make room in our little freezer for all the leftovers. A twenty two pound turkey for two people makes for many more meals than just one, even for us. 😄

After all the work of cooking and clean up, I had very little energy left to do Christmas decorating. The tradition of putting the Christmas tree up and putting out some Christmas decorations on Thanksgiving eve, just wasn't in the cards this year. Age and energy won out or should I say old age and lack of energy won out. How did I get so old so fast? Where did the time go?

This year I'm thinking that it will take quite a bit longer to get the cookie and candy making done too. We do love cookies, so the amount of cookies I make hasn't changed much over the years, except maybe grow! The cookies I make are not made any other time of year, they are special holiday cookies, not your everyday chocolate chip or peanut butter cookie, I make roll out cookies that get decorated with frosting and or sprinkles, spritz cookies, Christmas tea cakes, thumb print, and pecan roll ups to name a few. Yes, we love our cookies!!!! As I make each kind they need to be hidden or they will never make it to the week before Christmas, when I put them all out on a pretty plate for display and enjoyment. That's when all the fruits of my labor disappear in no time at all. LOL We aren't big on come of the candies like fudge but peanut brittle is a big must have for Mark. This year I finally found raw coconut so I can make my favorite Christmas candy too. Thank you Amazon!!! It's been years!!!!

 All that being said, I still have more common chores to attend to as we prepare for the celebration of the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. 

The week of Thanksgiving.

 It's that time of year when baking is becoming a stressful necessity. My small, hardly there counters are so full right now that I'm not sure how I will ever get the Thanksgiving dinner completed. Last year is a blurr or I just blocked it out because it was so trying. Right now the counter has bread waiting to set on cookie sheets to dry,  (where it goes to dry is another dilemma), a large bowl of cereal crunch, and a half bag of grapefruit what won't fit in the fridge. Cooking apparatus on the counter is at a minimal; a counter top air fryer oven, spice rack, a small crock of need to find quickly cooking utensils, and at the far end, on the other side of the oven a small coffee maker on a very small piece of counter. There is only a two square foot area that I can actually use to prepare food, and then I have to move some things. The largest area is a v shape counter next to the sink and fridge, making it not a workable space.

All that being said a large white folding table will be coming in from the storage area on the porch to use as counter space. The bad part is it is not very high. I have an extra cutting board that I put on the sink to make more work room. And I pray that it doesn't slide and everything lands in the sink! 😫 The stove is a glass top so if a burner isn't needed I can use that as some kind of countertop as well. But if the oven is on, I need to be aware that what sets on it could melt. My imagination has been tested and I've learned some tricks to living with a very small kitchen.  I had more kitchen work space in our fifth wheel that I really wish I had in our home now.

When we left MN, we tried to sell as much as we could so we didn't need to store so much. LOL That didn't work out so well. But I'm happy that I never sold my roaster oven. This year I'm making a 22 pound turkey and my largest roaster won't accommodate it and extra stuffing. Not sure where to set the electric roaster either. I had planned on setting it on the porch table. Our porch is now full of the items that were in our canvas shed. The new carport isn't enclosed yet so the porch is too full to use. Looks to me like I need to expand my imagination a bit more. 😅

Two people really don't need a 22 pound turkey for Thanksgiving. But we like at least one meal to eat a couple days later, and have enough meat, gravy, and stuffing to freeze for a meal in the summer when it's too hot to use the oven but want a good turkey meal. Mark likes the white meat and I the dark and with a bigger turkey I just might get two or three meals of dark meat for a change.😀

Each year we have so much to be thankful for and this year is no exception. So in this week of Thanksgiving extra praises will be given to God for our many many blessings. And yes, I'm even thankful for my small kitchen. At least I have a kitchen. This year even more people will not be this lucky.

Praise God for his many blessings and grace.

Carport

 This morning our carport was set up. They got here before our first cup of coffee was finished, or in my case, poured. hehe One young man pounded the three foot stakes into the rock hard ground of the desert by hand. First I had thought he was just going to start them by hand. But he took that big sledgehammer and pounded all  10 of them in by hand!!!!! Geesh. When they were leaving I just had to check out his guns as he called them. LOL Not as big as I expected but he wasn't a very big guy either. Anyway the carport is up and wow, is it well built and sturdy. It will take one hell of a Yuma wind to move this one. Next is to put some sides and a type of door on it.

AFter the carport was up we discussed getting sunscreen to wrap around it for privacy. So armed with our masks and hand sanitizer off we went to look for what we may need, to get prices. In one store we ran into the only idiot not wearing a mask. When Mark asked him where his mask was he actually said the Virus is Fake...........I was so pi$$ed I implied that he was stupid and was ready to do battle. No more am I taking the stupidity from those refusing to mask up. He never did come back towards me. I'm sure that even behind my mask is was obvious I was not to be crossed further. The influx of SnowBirds is on the rise and some of those coming in make you understand why the states they are coming from are having such large spikes in Virus Cases. Well they can all go back home or follow the rules. And stay out of my way. Maybe their state doesn't want them either. Then they can all go to he!! Yes, that is how I feel. And I don't care who I make angry or upset. Don't like it? Don't come back here.

Good and not so good, but always blessed

 Last week my friend Bettie took me to the eye institute for my consultation with the eye doctor/surgeon. As was told to me they had to dilate my eyes again which is why I needed a ride. After the examination I was told that I did not need the cataract surgery at this time. They are there but very small. However he did find that I have the very early stages of macular degeneration. He gave me a name of special vitamins for eyes that I need to take. I was told never to go without sunglasses as that is very bad for the disease. And because I was not very good at wearing sunglasses for a long time prior to moving to AZ, was a bad thing. My sister insisted that in AZ I needed to wear sunglasses all the time and I did as she suggested, for the most part. Now I don't leave the house without my mask or sunglasses. I look like I am going to rob a bank. hehehe So anyway, That is the story of my eyes. The doctor is seeing me again this week to give me a prescription for new glasses. We will then go elsewhere to get the script filled. Where I went was an eye institute not anything like Midwest vision or the like. Good news and not so great news, but am blessed none the less.

After several days of hard work the canvas shed is down. Today Mark got all the spikes pulled out of the ground too. As with any job Mark does now, he pays for it dearly later. He tends to forget that he just had major heart surgery and it wasn't one that any person can just jump back into what they used to do. But I think most men are like that. They need constant reminders and then get upset when reminded. I think the follow up pain should be reminder enough, but how soon they forget. 😟

The new shed won't be a shed per say. But a carport. Gradually sides will be put on it and all the stuff that was in the old canvas shed will go there and off of our front porch. Security camera's are sure nice to have. And we are happy that we have many throughout our home inside and out. There will still be room in front of the "shed/carport" for our little car to park.  We will never be able to own a larger car though. But I am so happy with our little SmartCar, that I can't imagine anything else. It will be nice to have the new carport up and our porch back to being a porch. Winter is here and the weather is too nice to be inside. 

Sleep

 With the final presidential results coming in and Biden's win, we both let out a big sigh of relief. With trump taking away the payroll tax I was worried we would have no income in three years and living in the ghetto among other worries of his winning. But good won over evil! We slept like logs last night. For the first time in 4 years we felt some relief and safety  on the horizon. Until January 20 at noon, trump can still cause a lot of damage and spread a lot more hatred. Much of which Biden can reverse. Hatred will take more time to eradicate. trump is good at spreading hatred and many of his followers love the acts of violence and evil. Praise the Lord for saving America from more destruction.

Sick

 All the votes are not counted as of this post, and the presidential choice can go either way. And no matter the outcome of who gets the presidency it is still sickening to think that so many Americans are uncivilized.  It saddens me to say that I am ashamed to be an American. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe there were so many heartless people in this country. I am ashamed and embarrassed by the uncaring attitudes of so many of the American people.  This just makes me literally sick to my stomach.