HAPPY Halloween!

Thought I'd share some pix of my brother's pumpkin carving adventures:

He did these with my niece, his youngest.

Mum's reaction:

Ellen has not called me yet

Political Pumpkin. YUM.

Isn't this a cool pumpkin? It was taken somewhere in Atlanta by a friend I've recently reconnected with, thanks to Facebook. It's taken with an iPhone. None of the fancy cameras could properly catch it because their flashes kept going off.

So I mentioned I'm voting, right? And it was in part thanks to Ellen for deciding to do my duty as an A-MER-ican citizen. Hahahaha I said do my duty. [I think I'm channeling my brother]. Anyway, back to Ellen: I'm going to a Loral Langemeier seminar in CA this week. And since I'm traveling all that way, and I dance with Ellen everday, I'm extending my visit a coupla extra days and going to Burbank with the hopes of getting into her show. I wrote for tickets. I got nothin'. I got crickets, as XM Radio Guy says. So I'm going on faith. Afterall, I managed to get into David Letterman back in the 80's when he had a 2-year waiting list . . . . so this shouldn't be so hard, right? Well, we'll just put The Secret to the test, shall we?

In any case, I know I'm going to have FUN no matter what. I get to see my best friend from my Skymont days, Henny. She's the reason I finally joined Facebook. I'm really getting EXCITED about this trip--everything will be icing on the gluten-free cake after Loral!

Happy Day of Thanks & Giving

Blogs across A-MER-ica will be paying tribute to today, this day of Thanksgiving. I've been Quote Gal this week, so here's my quote:

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more....It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie

There have been many influences in creating a sense of gratitude in my life. However, my bible is Sarah Ban Breathnach's book, Simple Abundance: A Daybook of comfort and Joy. What a gift she is to the world! When you ask yourself What am I most grateful for in my life? it opens the heart, brings you into the present moment, and dispels the worries and stresses of the day. Gratitude fills your spirit so that there is room for nothing else. In all things give thanks.

OK, so how to transition into this?

What is that in the middle of the labyrinth? you may be asking. Well. Let me tell you. Except I don't know. I've been eating lots of pumpkin. It all started when my GSF Bess said that she spent hours in the kitchen preparing this elaborate pumpkin recipe and in the end, it tasted like sweet potato. I LOVE sweet potatoes, so I went to a local produce stand. [Side note, here: It's operated on an honour system. There's a coffee can where you leave your payment. How cool is that in the 21st century?!]

So I got some pumpkins. I've baked and I've steamed them. Steaming is best for a uniform consistency. A hand blender makes it smooth & creamy. You can go savory or sweet with it. I've made cream-of-pumkin soup, and curried pumpkin soup (my fave), and just mixed in honey & cinnamon for a sweet. Bess said it's really great in pancakes, so I will try that next.
Back to the labyrinth: when I was at my brother's, they had hundreds of pumpkins at the horse farm for decoration and let me take some home. I took a coupla these and they are AMAZING! I think it might be a blue hubbard. They are by far the BEST! Smooth, subtle, light, creamy. Whatever it is, my mother had to go to an "International" potluck gathering & bring a traditional dish (because the English are known for their culinary skills--haha). In the past she's taken Shepherd's pie, & trifle. So she put the blue hubbard in a blender with some milk and then chilled it. No sweetener, and she said it was better than custard and everyone loved it.

So that's my Martha post for the day. Have a WONDERFUL day of thanks & giving! :-) H.