Date Night -- woohoo!

Date nights are the BEST!  We make a stop down at The Bottle Shop for a nice winter drink.  It is Tuesday - Texas beer night.  This is also Northeast Texas Beer Week -- so lots to choose from.  Nice!

Marking the Hawaiian Quilt Table Runner

I caught Mister marking the sun rays on the Hawaiian table runner we have been working on.  He didn't  appreciate me taking his picture this time.  I informed him that since he did that it, there was definitely going to be a blog post of it.

Roosters and Ants -- What a Day!

I love these pictures.  We discovered ants in the house again and so made a quick trip down to Gecko Hardware -- LOVE LOVE LOVE this place.  It reminds me of Billings Hardware back in Montana.  The resident rooster stopped me in the aisle to say hello.

Mister had located the tiny (yes, tiny -- this is magnified many times over and these are sugar ants) hole in the corner near the window sill.  Within moments of placing the strip, they were circling and feeding on the drop of fluid in the center.  I'm sorry, but I treat all creatures fine outside -- once they come into my house, I am not as kind.

Guild Night -- Feedsack Quilts

Tonight was Guild Night and our speaker was Jeananne Wright from Longmont, Colorado.  She taught on quilts through the years and shared many in her collection with us.  She also works with feed sacks a great deal and made a quilt in honor of our guild.  Here is the back and a small section in the front.

Pumpkin/Butternut Squash Soup -- A Cold Drizzly Day

It is a cold and drizzly day in Dallas.  We returned home from Montana yesterday and this house is oh so quiet.  Cass and Scott have cleaned up most of the evidence of little ones and we appreciate all their work on that.  The house is clean so all we have is laundry to do and relax.   I decide that some fresh baked bread would be wonderful and set about making it.  Oh the house smells soooo good.

Seriously, is there any better smell than that of fresh bread?  It is a white/wheat mix as I tried to use up the flour that we had on hand before purchasing more.  It is a bit heavier than I like, but overall looks good.  Now, what shall we have with it for dinner tonight?


 We spot Elena's pumpkin that was painted for Halloween and also a butternut squash sitting on the counter that needs to be used.  It feels like a perfect soup day so let's get started.  Mister puts the pumpkin under running water to wash off all the paint so that we don't get fumes while it bakes in the oven.  We then halve and quarter them and clean out the seeds.

They are now brushed with olive oil and seasoned with some salt and pepper before going into the oven to bake at 425 degrees for about 45-60 minutes or until the edges start to darken and the meat is tender.  (The butternut will cook quicker which is why we quartered the pumpkin.)

The next step is to scoop out all the flesh and set it aside until we are ready to use it.

While the squash baked, I cut vegies for the next step.  It is a combination of onion, celery, and carrot.  (I have to laugh at this because my knife skills drive Mister absolutely bonkers.  He posted these same pictures on a forum that he is a member of and one of the comments was "beautiful knife work" -- ha ha ha ha -- I love it.)

The next step is to saute the vegies in olive oil until tender, about 10 minutes.  (We did this in the stock pot itself instead of creating another pan to wash.)  Add the pumpkin and 5 cups of chicken stock to the vegies in the pot and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.  (We started watching a show on television so ours probably simmered closer to 45  minutes.)

Remove from heat and puree soup in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Return to the pot and add 1/4 cup of cream and more chicken stock until it is of the consistency you desire.  At this point I put mister in charge of seasoning.  He put in some bay leaf and thyme along with additional salt and pepper.  Time for a taste.  Oh yum!

We are ready for our dinner.  I even go the extra mile and set the table with the china and silver, open a nice bottle of wine, light the candles, and enjoy some quality one on one time with Mister while enjoying our "made from scratch" dinner.  Delightful!

What a nice day!  I think I am ready for fall -- perhaps that is good since it is the beginning of November.

A New Find - Latin Deli

Driving home from estate sale hopping, our stomachs are loudly growling so we stop in at a new little restaurant.  It is called Latin Deli and is in the same spot as our favorite hot dog shop used to be.

It is such a pleasant stop -- food, atmosphere, service -- all excellent and we visit with the owner for awhile as well.  This will definitely become one of fav stops.

Hyrum 6th Birthday - Mario

We are up and ready to go today.  After getting everything cleaned up, including ourselves, we give Matt a call and he comes to pick us up for the day.  He has Hyrum and Zyra with him and we have to run a few errands for Becca before going out to Lockwood.   When we get into the vehicle, we have Hyrum's gift with us and I show it to him.  He asks what it is and I tell him that since his party is today, it is his birthday present.  He gives a fist pump and says, "I knew it!  I knew I would get a present."  Too funny.  Once the errands are finished, the kids ask to stop at a local playground and so Dad obliges.  Let's get rid of a little energy.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture.

It is party day and the house is rapidly transforming into Mario world with a lot of help from Becca and her parents.  I really need to say how impressed we are with the artwork on the walls and the cake.  Lilian, Becca's mom, has created almost all of it.  It is simply stated:  amazing.

Gotta tell ya --- if I can catch my kids like this --- well it simply warms my heart beyond measure.

I peek downstairs where Hyrum and Avo are making ghost balloons.  Every single detail has been looked after by her.  It is time for some lunch, but every single counter and table is now covered and there is not anywhere to eat the pizza that is delivered.  I sit the kids down on the kitchen floor -- it works.

Another Matt/Zyra moment.  Gotta say, I love these more than I can say.

Grandpa gets to work with the finishing touches in the living room.  He is getting to be an old pro at this.  At least this time we don't have an arch to build.  The whole place is really starting to look amazing.

To kill some time, I get the kids to play a game of Memory with me but it doesn't take long for Hyrum to cuddle with Grandpa and play his video game.

It is party time!  I think the house is ready.  The table is ready.  Hyrum is ready!  Let's get this show on the road --- anyone hear a doorbell?  Soon the house is full of people and kids.  At one point Grandpa takes on the duty of supervising the trampoline so that no one gets hurt.  Check out Zyra's hair -- we seem to get a picture like this on each visit.

After singing Happy Birthday in two languages -- English and Portuguese -- Mom lights the candle and it is a sparkler.  Hyrum is not the least bit sure about it and there is no way he is going to blow it out.  i LOVE the look on his face.

Dad talks him into it and soon the fireworks are out.  (Don't I have one good looking son with one amazing smile?)

It is present time and everyone crowds around in the living room.  Matt takes over crowd control and package storage and I have to laugh with each new gift.  He moves the kids back each time and hides the gifts behind him.  It is all very smooth and works like a charm.  We have gotten Hyrum some more of the Mario building sets he loves and he is so excited to open it.  Score.

Alas, our time here in Billings has come to an end.  We head back to Rhiana's house and crash as we have one very early flight.  It was a good time and we will be going home to a very quiet house.  Dang.

Here is our last look at Montana for awhile.  Home soon.