Project 365 ~ Week 48

It's that time of year where I dig out that recipe that Mike likes so much - meatball cookies! This is an apple pie that Mom and I made for Thanksgiving. It was piled up high with apples. The crust was so flaky. The whole thing was just delicious!As soon as Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Allen and Aunt Bev arrived in SC it was games, games and more games. Rachel taught them some new games although I am not sure she got the rules right but they still had fun! Grandma was so funny with the games, after playing for a little while she would say "OK, that is about all I can take" Grandma has never played much, Grandpa has always been the one to play especially card games.

They ended up playing one VERY LONG game of Phase 10 and then it was never brought out again. It was just too much for everyone!When Rachel wasn't playing games she was braiding Aunt Bev's hair. She enjoyed putting lots of braids in, then taking them out. A few hours later she would put some more in. By the end of the week she was getting really good at it. The braids looked better and she was doing them even faster. I am not sure how much Aunt Bev enjoyed it though.We played hand and foot morning, noon and night. It was so much fun!Here is Dad calling everyone to come and eat. This was all the food we had for Thanksgiving (I think I got everything in the picture)After clean up, it was time for some more hand and foot. Michael's friend/coworker spent the day with us since he didn't have family in the area. Don caught on to hand and foot rather quickly.

After a wonderful week with family, we came home and hung up this beautiful Thomas Kinkade painting that Michael gave us for Christmas. It fits perfectly above the fireplace.

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving day and may we all remember to be thankful every day! Be sure to check out Sara's blog and all the other Project 365 participants!

Project 365 ~ Week 47

Before we left Vegas we had some things to complete and one of them was bath day for the dogs. Every week they get their teeth brushed and get a bath. They smelled so good once we finished but I am not sure they were impressed!
We had a girls night out and went to 3 Tomatoes and a Mozzarella. I love their Tortellini salad.

I love this picture! Kathy was playing around while she was drinking her water and I snapped the photo. BTW - check out her new glasses... don't they look great on her?!

Tuesday came and it was time to fly home. This is looking out my window in first class. Mom and I upgraded for free with our points.

When I got home I had this waiting for me. It is a candle holder I received from my aunt at Meemaw Moments. I love the colors on it!

The first project waiting for me at home was to clip the wings of our pullets. Can you believe our little chicks from a few months ago are this big now.

I decided it was a good time to put the Christmas decorations up because once we get back from Thanksgiving celebration I will be going in for some surgery. Afterwards I wont be able to do lifting for a while but I sure didn't want to miss having Christmas decorations up. I love this time of year. BTW - yes, those are gifts already under the Christmas tree. Mike bought them while I was out in Las Vegas.

After a few days back home, we were on the road again and heading to SC for Thanksgiving with my family. Of course one of the first things we did was put up the Christmas tree. Did I mention I love this time of year?

And to end this wonderful week, we made a loaf of bread with our freshly milled wheat flour. Oh my goodness it was so delicious, especially hot!

We don't have too many more weeks left for this project. Not sure what I will do next year but I sure have enjoyed this project this year. Be sure to check out Sara's blog and all the other Project 365 participants!

Road Trip

Heading to SC for a full week of family, fun, food, fellowship and Thanksgiving celebration!

The Gardens at Bellagio

A nice place to visit when we come out to Las Vegas is the Bellagio gardens and their water show. It always amazes me the arrangements and designs they come up with for the garden area.I thought they would have Christmas decorations out already but much to my surprise it was a beautiful fall theme. They had lots of pumpkins; all different shapes, sizes and colors. They had some HUGE pumpkins with signs showing how much they weigh. This was the largest pumpkin they had there.

They had these cute little peppers... they had such vibrant colors! And to guard all the flowers, pumpkins and peppers was this scarecrow.
This was an amazing replicate of the Bellagio and the surrounding shops, restaurants and even their water show. All I can think of is how long it must have taken to make this miniature building.On our way out to the water show I noticed this amazing flower arrangement. It was a cool night and somewhat windy.

After about 15 minutes on standing outside they announced that they were canceling the water show because of the wind.

So we took a few more pictures outside... and then headed home.

I thank God for the time I am able to spend with family!

Cactus Pear

Yesterday I asked if anyone knows what this funny looking thing is... as promised, here is the answer...it's called a cactus pear or a prickly pear. Just like a cactus you have to be very careful touching it because it does hurt. Forks are our friends!
Now cut the ends off each end and push them aside.Slice through the thick green skin...

peel and roll...

it comes off easily

and here is the fruit part to eat...

slice it up and enjoy! The little brown spots you see are real hard seed like things. There are tons in the fruit and it is alot easier to swallow it than to pick it out.

I would love to hear from you if you have tried this very unique fruit. I tried it but to be honest I didn't think it had much flavor. Kathy really likes it and they are really popular out here in Vegas.

Project 365 ~ Week 46

After our full day of cooking (you can read about that here) it was time to clean up. The dogs tried to help by licking the dishes we were putting in the dishwasher. Since Kathy and Paul don't get to play hand and foot very often, we played almost every day.

Che and Piba enjoyed Mom's company.

Piba is helping Kathy play... she needed all the help she could get :-)
Does anyone know what this is? I will be posting all about it tomorrow but I thought I would through this in to see if anyone was familiar with it.We went to the coolest McDonalds ever! They had this huge fish tank and seats all the way around. We got some food and sat in front of the tank and just watched all the fish swim around.

Such beautiful, colorful fish!

Traffic was horrible as we drove the strip to the Bellagio. The only good part of the packed street was the time I had to take pictures from inside the car.

Be sure to check out Sara's blog and all the other Project 365 participants!