The Results Are In!!!

First let me say, "Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!" It was a wonderful day....some of us are snoozing with our bellies full, but I knew I had to get this post in before I could close my eyes.

As some of you may have heard, today was not only Thanksgiving.....it was also the First Annual Thanksgiving Throwdown. It was a last minute thing that Dennis and I came up with the other night after watching Bobby Flay's Pumpkin Pie Throwdown. Since we were having Thanksgiving dinner with Melinda and Brad, I called her to see what she thought of the idea....she was definitely on board!

I called some friends of ours, Kraig and LeeAnn Sullivan, to see if they would be able to be our judges....and they were on board!

All that was left to do was to pick our recipes, gather our ingredients and bake!

We didn't make it easy for Kraig and LeeAnn......there were some wonderful entries and all were delicious.

I made a classic pumpkin pie, as did Jessica and Adam......they brought his mother's recipe and it was to die for! Dennis opted to make a pumpkin pie with a graham cracker crust, a pecan struesel and a filling enriched with bourbon and molasses.....it was so rich and full of flavor! Anna made a devil's food, pumpkin cake with a pecan topping....it was WOW!!! And Melinda made a pumpkin cheesecake....the Cheesecake Factory should pay her for her recipe as it was fabulous.

After Kraig and LeeAnn arrived, we set plates in front of them with samplings of each of the sweets and they took their first bite. Kraig pronounced the winner after his first bite....hey, no fair! LeeAnn wanted to taste more! We all watched them as they sampled each entry, then left them alone to make their decision. It actually took a little longer than I thought it would, but then again, I knew they had their work cut out for them.

Soooo......who was the winner?
Congratulations, Melinda!!!! (Of course, you know she did her "happy dance"!!!

After that, we decided to have Kraig and LeeAnn's son, Bryce, do the drawing to determine next years "dish"...............he drew SOUP!

We plan to "fine tune" this a little so that judging will be a little easier. My first thought was a lobster bisque.....now HOW do you compare a lobster bisque with a chicken soup....or a butternut squash soup. We have a year to figure out the details. In them meantime, you're ALL invited to join us.....either to share in the fun or to bring your own entry! It really was fun and we're all excited about our new tradition! See you next year? We even have a trophy!!!

Day Trippin'................

If you haven't had a chance to get up to Williamsburg in a while, then you may have been missing out on a great treat! I had been wanting to go to the Williamsburg Farmer's Market since I'd read about it on a cooking blog that I can no longer find and since I thought it was the last weekend (only open on Saturdays), I rushed to get out of the house and get there before it closed at 12:30 (yep, I'm a late riser...). It was a beautiful drive up, although alot of the color is gone. I quickly found a parking spot and sprinted over to Merchants Square with only an hour to spare!

It really was a wonderful time.....the vendors are all so different and all so friendly! There were plenty of baked goods,

meats, apples,
homemade soups and sandwiches,beautiful crafts,

fresh pastas

and sauces, cheeses,
homemade soaps,

herbs and vegetables.

It wasn't quite as large as my favorite market at Dupont Circle in Washington, DC, but that could be because it's late in the season. I'll let you know once I become a regular here...

I also took a little time to drive around to soak in the "Williamsburg" culture....I just love that place!

Even when I was young (a looong time ago!) I always felt a connection to Williamsburg. It's so beautiful, but I most love it in the fall and in the winter.
And right now it's decorated for Christmas, which I especially love!!!

If you haven't checked out the Williamsburg Farmers Market, there is still a chance!!! Their website says they're open on November 28th and December 12th, but one of the vendors said they'd be open on December 5th, also. I'd call ahead to make sure about the December dates before going.....maybe I'll see you there!!I can't wait to go back next spring and summer.....I can only dream of the wonderful veggies, herbs, etc., that will make their way back to my kitchen!!! ~~~~dreaming now~~~~

Oh wait....I forgot to show you what I got!

Ida Done It....But....

...we had a great time anyway!!! For those of you who live right here in the Seven Cities, you know exactly who "Ida" is! She's that Nor'Easter that sat right on top of us for 3 (as in "THREE") days and dumped 8 to 10 inches of rain on our heads! We had alot of rain when Hurrican Isabel hit here back in 2003, but the tide rose much higher with this storm.

Our neighborhood was flooded and we couldn't get out, but throughout the worst of the storm we met up with neighbors and walked the street watching the tide come in and trying to guess how high it would get. Some had water in their garages and most had water up to and over their foundations. We were relatively lucky.....it did come up to the foundation, but didn't get underneath the house. It came up over the base of our shed, but because it's so well built, you could only see dampness at the seams of the flooring. It DID completely cover our dock, which was amazing! Here are a few photos from the storm....

Dennis set out early on the first day and this is what he came upon on Bells Mill Road....good thing he didn't "set out" earlier!
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This is our next door neighbor sitting at the entrance to the neighborhood. Yep, he turned around and came back!

This is the view from our deck....on the first day! The highest the water got was up to the flowerbed you see at the bottom right part of the picture.

This is the dock...on the first day! Since the highest tide came in the evening, that picture isn't so great, but you'll get the idea...

This picture, taken from the deck, is the walkway along the back of the house...everything you see was completely under water the next night!

This picture was taken the night of the highest tide....but this was taken 1 hour before it's peak. EVERYTHING was under water...but the battery in the camera was dead! Argh! This was taken about an hour before high tide peak....it went up another 3 or 4 feet into the yard....and left quite a mess....see: The water went up beyond where it left the "mess".....which ended up in more than 20 bags! AND we used alot of it to put our gardens to "bed" for the winter.View from our deck of neighbor's yard....similar to the view in picture #3!This picture was taken the morning after the "peak" tide.....still pretty high, but not as bad as the night before.

All in all, we fared surprisingly well! We didn't lose power or satellite TV....we didn't get wet (other than a little bit our running around the neighborhood) and we didn't run out of food, water.....or cocktails!

Although my office was open EVERY day, several closings were delayed, but everyone was so nice about it! Now that was a first in a long time.....buyers understanding about delayed closings! Success!!!!

Now I guess we need to wait to see how the salty water affected the gardens.....

We Found a Home......

.....and we can hardly wait to get there!!! I have been looking at apartments in Paris for days now and I think I've seen over 200!!! Either they were missing something that was important to us (like 2 bedrooms, an oven.....who would have thought?) or it was booked!

We had our hearts set on one apartment that overlooked the Arc de Triomphe AND you could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance, but at the last minute the owner decided to do a long term lease. I was so bummed! I could just see all of us watching the New Year's Eve fireworks from the warmth and comfort of our own little apartment.

Oh well.....the place we did get is fabulous! It is located in the 9th arrondissement and is only a block from the Metro.......across the street from a grocer.......around the corner from a fresh market and 10 steps from a world famous hair stylist (Should I?)

So.....this is the kitchen where we'll cook those delicious dishes we've been planning.....

And this is the lovely dining room where we'll feast on those dishes.....

And this is where we'll relax after a long day on the streets of Paris....

Isn't is beautiful!!! I can't wait to post pictures of all of us in these rooms!!!

Paris.....here we come!!!

The Collector

She's "the collector"......she doesn't collect just anything. She collects things that make her feel good and things that she hopes make others feel good when they see them. She's been collecting for a very long time......when you ask about something on the shelf, or on the wall, or sitting in a corner, she doesn't reply with a noun. She replies with a story of where she got it and how. You come to understand who she is through the things she loves and the stories that make those things so special.

One of my favorite collections is her collection of needlework that she's so carefully hung on the walls throughout her cabin in the mountains. They all look like they are at home on those walls and they all make you feel good when you look at them.

The last time we were up, I took a few pictures of some of the needlework. Unfortunately, they weren't great pictures, but I hope you'll get an idea of who she is from the ones I did get. It is quite an extensive collection!

Below is a piece that has some gorgeous crewel work! Someone put alot of love in this piece....

This is the sibling of the one up above....it's so much more beautiful that it looks here....I really need to take those photography classes!

Another great example of my lack of photog skills.....but it does give you an idea of how much she loves these pieces....

Yes, she is a collector......and she loves each and every piece....and they make her feel good.....and they make me feel good. She my friend and I love her. Who? Why Melinda, of course!!!

Throughout this post I've been trying to think of something that I collect......initially I couldn't think of anything....then.......I realized that I collect cooking tools and cookbooks and Martha Stewart magazines and books! I love each and every one of them......and they make me feel good!

What do you collect?

25 Years Ago........

I was three weeks past my due date and still working......I had been sending out a weekly newsletter to the Realtors I worked with called "The Stork Report".....anticipation built starting at around 38 weeks.....and then the reports kept coming. My feet were so big that I was wearing men's slippers the last two weeks (the best I could find was navy blue) and I was worn beyond belief. At the time doctors just didn't want to "induce" a first delivery unless the baby was in distress.....and she wasn't.

I had been scheduled to go to the hospital on Monday morning for a "stress test", when on Saturday afternoon, while shopping for a new TV for my maternity leave, I went into labor....or so I thought (3.5 weeks late.....duh!!!!). I was at Circuit City and my salesperson asked when I was due...."3.5 weeks ago"...and he turned white. Being Columbus Day weekend, the place was packed and he moved me to the front of the line. TV...check....pizza delivery....check.

The next morning my contractions were 2-4 minutes apart, but very irregular. We went from Sandbridge (where we lived) to Great Bridge for a visit, but the contractions didn't let up. My thoughts? "Hey, let's just go on in....maybe they'll do the stress test and I won't have to be here tomorrow morning at 7 AM!!!"

When we arrived at the hospital, for some reason, I really didn't think "this is it"....what was I thinking? This baby is 3.5 weeks late!

And then, 9 hours later I heard the shout, "it's a girl".....and I became a Mom.

Happy Birthday, Shelby!!!! I'm a very lucky Mom....I brought into this world two great kids.....and today is 25 years from the day it all began. Thank you for making me a Mom. I love you!!!!!

Sooo....what am I doing this evening???

Carving pumpkins? Hmmm....no....probably a little early for that, I think.I'm making the centerpieces for one of Dennis' best friends' wedding tomorrow! She wanted fall colors....these look fall-ish, don't you think?Here's the finished product!
In the morning I'll be finishing up with two arrangements she wants for the buffet area.....wait and see!