For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.

Six years ago yesterday, Phil and I got married.  Today we celebrated our anniversary by spending the day together, shopping, and eating out in Grand Forks.  I am so lucky that this wonderful, loving man fell in love with me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me.  I still can hardly believe it.

This past week was all about Thanksgiving, of course.

Buying the food, preparing the food – it really is one of my favorite holidays, and Phil’s also!

Tuesday, Debra and I went to this charming teahouse in town that had tasty croissant sandwiches and the best turtle cheesecake I’ve ever had.

We then drove out to the State Park.  The lake is freezing slowly, just a thin film of ice around the edges, not enough to bother the geese yet.

There had to have been over two hundred geese on the lake!

We went inside the park building that they had all decorated for Christmas.  They had many different types of Christmas trees, but this bird one was my favorite.

Thursday morning I got up at 6:30 and started cooking.

We had invited Jack and O. B. for dinner.

I fixed all of our old favorites and a couple of new dishes.  Debra had told me how to make cranberry relish and, since I don’t like the cranberry out of the can, I gave it a try.

Fresh cranberries, pineapple and nuts.  Yum!

I also made a new sweet potato casserole that turned out to be really tasty.

The only wrinkle in the day is that Phil told the guys that dinner was at 3:00 PM, but Jack showed up at 10:00 in the morning!

When we finally sat down to eat, the food was delicious, and we had a great time with our company.

I avoided the crowds on Black Friday and did some shopping online.

I then went to work and shared some of the Thanksgiving bounty with the girls.  Penny loved my dip and my dressing.  I was having to pass out recipes to several people.  That is something that always makes me happy.

The dip is one I learned to make when I was working at Costco.  People always rave about it and ask for the recipe.  It is so simple that I’m almost embarrassed to tell people how to make it.

Holiday Dip

1 cup mayo

1 cup sour cream

1 can diced tomatoes

1 package real bacon pieces.

Mix it up and let chill several hours before serving.

The dressing recipe came from my good friend, Heather Madden, from Louisiana.  I could hug her to pieces every year when I fix it; it is the best dressing ever!

Phil had a good week watching mats and final cleanup.   Mainline welding finished up this week, so those guys got to go home.

Mike, our roommate, has been working on the crew that Phil’s been watching this week.  Here he is running a backhoe.

This is rough cleanup.  The subsoil has been returned across the working right of way and chisel plowed.  It’s now ready for the topsoil to be spread.

A D6R XL dozer spreading topsoil

The final step in finished clean up on this project is disking the topsoil.  Normally the next step would be seeding, but because it’s so late in the fall and so cold, the contractor will only do a bit of temporary seeding.  Final seeding will be deferred until spring.

Phil took another sunrise picture for me.

The recipe I want to share with you this week is my Lemon Blueberry bread.

Lemon-Blueberry Mini Loaves

makes 4 mini loaves

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Lemon Glaze:
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees for dark-finish pans) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven.  Butter (or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray) the bottom and sides of four mini loaf pans (5.75"´3.25"´2.25").  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until softened (about 1 minute).  Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.  With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three additions) and milk (in two additions) alternately, starting and ending with the flour.  Mix only until combined.  Gently fold in the blueberries.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and bake for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the 1/3 cup of sugar and the 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.

When the bread is done, remove from oven and place on a wire rack.  Pierce the hot loaves all over with a wooden skewer or toothpick, and then brush the tops of the loaves with the hot lemon glaze.  Cool the loaves in the pans for about 30 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.

So that was our week. Every week brings something new and exciting to us!

God Bless!

Don't lay any certain plans for the future it is like planting toads and expecting to raise toadstools. John Billings

 

Phil finally bought a “new to us”  2007 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD. The 1996 GMC that he’s had for nearly eleven years has been in and out of the shop since we got here to Cavalier, so he found a truck online that had everything we wanted, including a sun roof!

It’s being shipped from South Carolina, so we won’t be actually driving it for a few weeks yet.

Tuesday we invited Kim and Steve for dinner.

Steve works with Phil.  He’s an inspector.  Kim is my new BFF. :)  She is the one that created the “new” me, and we hit it off like ham and eggs! She is one of the few people that “gets” me.

We had a lovely dinner, but the hit was Grandma Bailey’s yeast rolls!

½ cup lukewarm water

1 Pkg yeast

½ cup butter

1 cup boiling water

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup cold water

2 eggs

7 cups flour

Pour boiling water over sugar salt and butter.  Stir to dissolve.  Add cold water, softened yeast, and beaten eggs.  Beat well.

Add three cups flour and beat until smooth.  Add rest of flour.  Turn out onto floured board and work into a soft dough.  Put dough in well greased bowl.  Set bowl in pan of warm water; let rise till double in bulk.  Turn out onto floured board and knead lightly.  Let rise again ‘til double.  Make into rolls; let rise again.  Bake at 375° for fifteen minutes

You cannot even begin to imagine how good these are with butter melting all over them.

 

The key is letting them rise three times. That is what makes them so light and yummy.

Thursday Debra and I went off exploring.  We rode over to Langdon, but there was really nothing there.  We had lunch at a dreadful restaurant, then stopped by the bakery.  I wanted to try the lefse, which is a traditional soft Norwegian flatbread, but they had sold out that morning.

We then rode through the community of Svold.  There was a creepy looking old house.

I was thrilled to see a junkyard full of old cars.

We saw several of these statues along the road in driveways.  Debra and I both found them to be very creepy!

We then rode over to Hallock, Minnesota.  We looked around in a couple of stores, but neither of us saw anything that we wanted.

We did take pictures at the gazebo.

 

As my friend Kim would say, “Aren’t we sassy?”

Thursday evening I made Pumpkin Bars.  Deb at work said she was dying for some.  I had never made any before -- pumpkin is not my favorite thing -- but I gave them a try.  They turned out really well.  I had plenty to share also.

Friday night Phil and I went to dinner with Kim and her parents, Lee and Linda, to Altona, Manitoba.  We ate some terrific pizza.  One was pepperoni and one had a white sauce with chicken, bacon, cheese and tomato.  It was so delicious.

Today Phil and I enjoyed spending the day together.  We miss each other a lot while he is working these long hours!

I won a necklace this week from Joolwee.

 

I’m probably going to have to stop entering contest since it’s getting close to time for us to go home.  I still haven’t received some of the prizes I have won and I’m not sure they will get here before we leave.

Anyway, this week is Thanksgiving, which is Phil’s favorite holiday.  I think I have everything to make this years Thanksgiving dinner, just as if we were home.  I’m hoping a couple of the guys he works with will join us for dinner.

To all of you, please have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and remember to thank God for all the blessings He has given us!

May those that love us, love us.
And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles
So we will know them by their limping.
~Irish Blessing

The better part of one's life consists of his friendships." - Abraham Lincoln

 

This week seemed to be all about being with friends.

Tuesday Phil and I had the two girls he works with in the office over for dinner.  Jean Ann and her daughter Jessica are from Wisconsin and have been in the pipeline business for several years.  I fixed an Italian meal of spaghetti and meatballs with a strawberry spinach salad and homemade bread sticks and these beautiful Sicilian Orange cakes.

The one on the left looks burnt but it’s just the lighting, I promise.

Wednesday, Penny, my best friend from work , and I went barhopping. All the bars in town are dives, I mean real hole in the wall, dives. But we had fun hanging out together.I don’t drink very much but I did have a Pink Squirrel, one of my favorite drinks from my youth.

Thursday, Debra and I went shopping in Grafton. Grafton is about thirty minutes away. It isn’t a big town by any means but it is bigger than Cavalier and has a couple of unique shops and a nice grocery store.

Saturday Debra, Darlene, Sheri and I went to Walhalla to the Home for the Holidays  put on by the Chamber of Commerce. They had a fashion show, a wine tasting, and several other businesses showing off their wares. All of us bought something.

I got this cashmere long sweater and a scarf.

Believe me it looks a lot better on the rack than on me:)

After shopping we went up to the ski lodge to look around.

They had started manufacturing snow since they haven’t had any naturally.

 

I was excited to learn they have tubing. The boys and I went one year in PA to Seven Springs and I loved it. I would love for Phil and I get to go once before we leave.

 

The girls and I then drove around to see what else we could see.

We went down this dirt road that climbs up a hill that looks out over what seemed to us to be wilderness.

It was almost dusk and it’s winter but I bet in the spring and summer it is breath taking.

A pretty sunset.

We saw some wild turkeys

Today Phil took me to look at the right of way where he has been working this week in MN.

We saw some more wild turkeys.

We went to Grand Forks and got our groceries for making Thanksgiving dinner. The company is actually having a Thanksgiving dinner for the employees but since that is Phil and mines favorite holiday we prefer to eat at home.

Phil had a good week at work watching final clean-up in a wetland.

He also found it amusing watching these laborers moving this honey bucket  so they could excavate a road bore.

 

I’ve been reading through James Lee Burke’s series about Dave Robicheaux, the tormented cop from Louisiana.

So that was our week. Until next time….

God Bless

Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight. Benjamin Franklin

 

This was not a good week for Phil or me.

I won’t bore you with all of the details.  We had troubles and sorrow, and were glad when this week ended.

Today we rode down to Devil’s Lake.

“Devils Lake derives its name from the Native American name Miniwaukan.  Early explorers incorrectly translated the word to mean "Bad Spirit", bolstered by the many legends of drowned warriors and lake monsters.  The name evolved into Devils Lake. Devils Lake is the largest natural body of water in North Dakota. Devils Lake covers more than 100,000 acres and has hundreds of miles of shoreline.”

Devils Lake Tourism

 

We didn’t have time to go to the State Park; we’ll have to save that for another day.

Coming home we saw the Langdon Wind Energy Center.

The Langdon Wind Energy Center, owned by NextEra Energy Resources, operates 133 wind turbines over 40 square miles in northeast North Dakota

Thursday Debra and I went to Grand Forks, did some shopping, and ate at Golden Corral.  I was glad to be able to go there for lunch. Debra’s treat, she is so sweet!

I bought myself a hot dog toaster!  Yes, a new kitchen gadget.  It makes the hotdogs and the buns all toasty.  Yummmm!

Friday i had to get out of the house!  I went out to the buffalo farm.

There is a pretty overlook at the cemetery.

Phil worked mainly on watching a mat crew this week.

He saw this friendly fellow while driving between two work sites.

He also took a picture of this farmer’s helper, Lady.

I cooked some specials things this week.

I found a recipes for Sinfully Stuffed Potato Skins, that were heavenly.

Sinfully Stuffed Potato Skins

• 20 small new potatoes
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Paprika, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Pierce the potatoes with a fork, arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer and brush with the olive oil. Roast, uncovered, until tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to handle.
2. Halve the potatoes; using a melon baller or a teaspoon, scoop out most of the flesh into a bowl. Return the potato skins to the baking sheet. Coarsely mash the potato flesh in the bowl and stir in the cheese, sour cream, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Sprinkle the insides of the skins with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; stuff each with the potato-cheese mixture and sprinkle paprika on top.
3. Bake the stuffed potato skins until golden-brown on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

I also made English Toffee Bars. Watch out, this stuff is addictive!

 

English Toffee Bars Recipe
(Adapted from Hershey’s)

Ingredients:

Toffee Bars Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup lightly-packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup pecan halves
• 1 cup chocolate chips (milk, bittersweet or dark)

Toffee Topping Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup lightly-packed brown sugar

Method:

Heat oven to 350°F.

Combine flour and brown sugar in large bowl. With pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until fine crumbs form, although a few large crumbs may remain.  Press mixture onto bottom of ungreased 13×9x2-inch baking pan. Sprinkle pecans over crust. Prepare toffee topping (instructions below); drizzle evenly over pecans and crust.

Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until topping is bubbly and golden; remove from oven. Immediately sprinkle milk chocolate chips evenly over top; press gently onto surface. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. About 36 bars.

Toffee Topping: Combine 2/3 cup butter and 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar in small saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue boiling, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Use immediately.

I did a lot of reading this week

A Quiet Belief in Angels, by R. J. Ellory.  Best book I’ve read all year.

Circle of Souls, by Preetham Grandhi

Nine Dragons, by Michael Connelly.

Triangle of Deception, By Haggai Carmon

So that was my week.  I hope that yours was better!

God bless you and keep you!

Goodnight.

If you can't see the bright side of life, polish the dull side.

 

 

 

This was a fun filled week.

Sunday Phil and I made an apple pie, or as it was called in the Pillsbury cookbook, “The Perfect Apple Pie”

It truly was a “perfect pie” made even more perfect by Phil’s flaky crust!

Tuesday I fixed dinner for the Chief Inspector and his wife.

I went and got some things to make the table pretty.

We had Cornish game hens stuffed with almond wild rice, strawberry spinach salad, green beans, home made  buttermilk honey bread and strawberries dipped in white chocolate.

It was nice getting to know them both. They are from Louisiana and his wife is just so much fun to listen to, she has so many stories to tell.

 

The cold weather is making the boys cuddle up.

Wednesday I worked and Thursday I had to stay home because Phil’s truck broke down and he had to drive my van to work.

They gave me a Park Avenue to drive until they figure out what is wrong with Phil’s truck. As of this writing he still hasn’t gotten word about what is wrong with truck.

Friday I went out with my boss and a friend of hers to a bar for happy hour after work and I got my first Colorado Bulldog. This consists of kahlua, vodka, coke and cream. It was alright but not something I’d order all the time. I like my kahlua and milk.

  We didn’t stay to long. I really don’t enjoy going places without Phil!

I then went up to the Cedar Inn to wait for Phil and while I was waiting I had another Colorado Bulldog and a Jell-O shot. I was fortifying myself because Penny had talked me into going to the Haunted House with her.

The Haunted House was ok, I’ve been in scarier ones and I’m glad this one wasn’t too frightening. I do think Penny’s arm was probably black and blue from me grabbing it so hard as we walked through.

Saturday I just worked all day. Phil has been getting home late the last couple of nights, so we haven’t been eating dinner together. It’s been difficult for both of us.

Phil worked in the office some and he went out a couple of days at Snake River the end of the spread, setting maps.

This is a hoe with a thumb attachment.

As you can see it was snowing where he was.

Phil also took a neat picture of the sunrise for me.

Sunday, I went to church with my friend Kim.

The people were very friendly and the Pastor preached a good service on the history of Halloween and how it mirrors the good and evil of the world around us.

I won several contests this week.

A Fang-tastic Books tote bag, Blood Ties Season One and Season 2 on DVD (thanks Eagle Rock Entertainment), a copy of The Mammoth Book of Erotic Confessions , a copy of Blood Price by Tanya Huff (the first book in the Blood series that launched the Blood Ties TV show) and a signed copy of Eternal Desire.

I also won

and one these bookmarks from I’m Booking It

These two books from Readaholic

and

and

For tomorrow

Beauty... is the shadow of God on the universe. ~Gabriela Mistral, Desolacíon

I feel bad for people that either don’t see or ignore the beauty that is all around them. I look forward to getting out and really seeing the resplendent world around me.

This week Debra and I went exploring for photo opportunities. It’s great to have someone to run around with that enjoys the same things I do.

Our first stop was Edinburgh, North Dakota where we found a charming General Store.

The store was filled with old and new things. I could have spent hours browsing.

I was thrilled to find out that Edinburgh is the bird capitol of North Dakota. The store had a room set aside just filled with bird knick knacks.

After the general store we drove a couple of blocks to see a sod house. The lady at the general store loaned us a key so we could go inside.

The first thought I had when we went inside is how blessed we are today. I truly can not imagine living in such a place and yet many, many families did so in the past.

After the sod house we drove to the Youth Bible Camp and went to a creek crossing that she and her husband Al had found.

We then drove to Park River to have lunch.

I couldn’t resist taking this picture of this red barn along the way.

Just look at these golden trees!

The restaurant we went to had great food, but the people stared at us so much that we both felt uncomfortable. Finally when Debra got up to go to the restroom and this man nearly fell out of his chair looking at her, I yelled out “We are from Texas!” I guess I was trying to make it clear that we weren’t from some other universe!

After lunch we drove to the dam and park and walked around some.

I’ve been surprised at how much water there is in North Dakota. Creeks, rivers, lakes, coulees, and wetlands.

Can you see the clouds reflecting in the water?

We then drove back to Walhalla so Deb could see the overlook that Phil and I found last Sunday.

I had to stop and take a picture of this church though. I love churches.

We passed a sign for a cemetery, something else I love, and we drove up a dirt road. The cemetery was on our right and there were only about six graves. Debra remarked, “There isn’t anyone here”, which cracked me up.

The graves were taken care of very well as you can see.

Look at the dates!

We went to the Masonic Overlook and I took a picture of this sculpture.

Looking over the Overlook

We then headed back home. On the way we saw this herd of buffalo.

Deb is so good to me. When I see something I want to photograph I slam on the brakes, make a u-turn in the road, or something else equally crazy, but she never says a word!

On Friday morning the city of Cavalier gave all of the pipeliner wives and girlfriends a welcome breakfast.

There was about fifteen of us, and a bunch of the local people came.

There were door prizes and a jewelry fashion show.

Debra, the new chief inspector's wife, Darlene, and I went together.

Everyone won some very nice door prizes and the breakfast was delicious! It was so nice of the town to do this for us. I told you the people here are amazing!

I worked an extra day this week so my week was pretty busy. I did manage to make some cookies though. These are called Mom's Famous GFAIP (Gain Friends and Influence People) Oatmeal Pecan Cookies.

I found this recipe on a food blog that I read.

Everything in Moderation

1 (18.25 oz. box yellow cake mix (you can use an off brand and it is still delicious)
2 cups quick oats,uncooked
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 lg. eggs
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine first three ingredients in large bowl. Combine oil and eggs; add to dry ingredients, stirring well. Stir in pecans and vanilla.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls, inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet (I used a melon baller for more uniform cookies).

Bake at 350 degrees for twelve minutes or until light brown. Cool on wire rack. Yield: 5 dozen cookies.

Phil worked mainly in the office this week so he didn’t take any pictures.

I won two books this week. I’m still managing to enter most of my contests.