The Amazing Thanksgiving Pies

My Studly Hubby slaved away for hours to make two awesome thanksgiving pies the day before Thanksgiving, because everyone knows that the key to a successful Thanksgiving is the pie. He made homemade crusts (and homemade whip cream, later) and used tried-and-true recipes from Libby's (pumpkin) and from America's test kitchen (apple).

The pies looked and smelled so good while they were baking that I could hardly keep myself away!

Clean up!

Generally we keep our place slightly on the tornado side of clean. Don't get me wrong, we take our garbage out, but the counters aren't always clean and the stuff we bought last weekend isn't always put away. In our old apartment we almost constantly had a "pile" near the radiator in the dining room - it's where we dumped stuff when we walked in the door (now it's our kitchen table). The real motivation to work your way through the pile is when you have guests coming. Unfortunately we haven't had guests in a while so last weekend we spent a lot of time putting stuff away.

Also, last time my mom visited she had a Big Bad allergic reaction to something... so I also washed all our blankets and bed linens, we bought new guest pillows, and we really cleaned all the dust out of everywhere we could think of. What a weekend! My Studly Hubby got worn out by it all, but I found it energizing and extremely satisfying. The only problem is, we still have to work a few days this week before the guests arrive, so we need to keep the place clean a few more days...

Thanksgiving... my favorite holiday!

I LOVE eating, so it is only natural that I really really love Thanksgiving. This year we are staying here in Seattle and my Studly Hubby will be cooking. He is a skilled cook and even enjoys making turkey and all the goods. I enjoy sitting around visiting with people so it is a perfect situation. We will be visiting with my mom and my brother who are coming from Iowa for a week.

Now that we are getting farm-fresh produce from Full Circle Farms, we are expecting a 'Thanksgiving' veggie box this week that will supply us with a lot of what we need: russet potatoes, pumpkins, squash, yams, apples, some green veggies (brussel sprouts) and herbs for stuffing. Yum! Now we just need to make some home-made whip cream and we are all set!

The only bad thing this year is that we ran out of time to have a full practice round. I feel that practicing for thanksgiving is just as important as the meal itself. All the foods should be prepared in advance to check the recipes and taste test the product. The pumpkin pie is particularly important. And the whip cream. I have faith that my Studly Hubby can make a very Studly Thanksgiving Feast without practicing first but I really would have preferred to taste test a trial run for him.

Forget colon cleanse... how about a poop enema?

One of the neat things about being a researcher is that I go to all kinds of interesting seminars (not all seminars are interesting, but every once in a while there is truly a gem). The other day, I went to a seminar on Clostridium difficile, which is a nasty bug that infects your colon, and I found out some things I didn't want to know... as sometimes happens when a bunch of curious scientists get into a long discussion about poop.

Clostridium difficile rears its ugly head when you've taken a bunch of antibiotics and killed all the good bacteria that are normally in your colon. When Clostridium difficile takes over, you start havinng all kinds of problems. It's tough to get rid of, and a nasty bug to have, so people have started getting creative to treat it. To date, one of the most effective treatments (still considered an alternative treatment but consistently effective nonetheless) is to get an enema with... someone else's poop.

That's right.

I'll give you a minute to think about that.

Then you can read about it here if you want to think about it some more.

See, a normal person's poop is full of really good stuff (bacteria) for your colon, and the theory is that if you put all that good stuff back in your colon the Clostridium difficile will get displaced by it and normalcy will resume.

But... you'd have to be pretty desperate to get a poop enema!

Christmas Lists

I am a firm believer of the Christmas List.

I like to make one, and I like to have one when I'm shopping for other people.

I've gotten a lot of nice presents over the years, many that I still have: a nice futon, a bike, barbie dolls and my little ponies, horse back riding boots, lots of good books and music. When I was younger and poorer, making a list was a really big deal because I wanted to make the most of my big opportunity - but it was tough because when I was in school (until the ripe old age of 27), I had a lot on my mind just before Christmas. Sometimes I would totally blow it and then I'd just have to pray that I got some good stuff without the list (and my parents, being devoted fans of mine, were pretty good about this).

The list became even more important when the Studly Hubby came into the picture. He and his family are big on Christmas.

My Studly Hubby introduced me to catalog lists (and online lists too). This is super fun. A lot of places actually let you make a registry for Christmas or your birthday (like a wedding registry) - although that's too complicated for me. Now that I'm not in school I could easily spend all weekend catalog shopping and dreaming about my Christmas list. And then my Studly Hubby introduced me to another important concept: if you make your list really long, then people can still pick what they want and you are still surprised.

Another thing I've discovered: after Christmas is over, if you want to bring back some holiday cheer, you can buy yourself a gift off your Christmas list.

POPCORN!

I can't believe I've never posted before about popcorn. This needs to be given attention immediately.

I am so addicted to popcorn...!

I have it something like 3 times a week. I make it the old-fashioned way, on the stove with oil. That's the best way. Microwave popcorn is ok in a pinch (I used to keep some on hand just in case) but air-popped popcorn completely loses its valor. I have it with some butter (not much), a sprinkle of salt, and brewer's yeast (I have posted about this before, it's a nutritional supplement that hippies use for flavoring and I learned from my hippie parents that it goes well on popcorn). The Studly Hubby doesn't love popcorn like I do. He doesn't hate it either, so when I make it, he usually eats it willingly. Which is good because I really like to make double batches so that it fills up the whole quart pan I use and starts to lift the lid off when it's just finishing up. Watching popcorn pop is the perfect way to spend an evening.

GOBAMA!

I typically don't like to put politics up on my blog, but tonight I can't help it. Obama won! And boy, does he know how to deliver a speech. And he's so handsome too!

"We have never been a collection of red states and blue states: we are, and always will be, the UNITED STATES"

Oh, my! (swoon!)

And kudos goes out to one of my little brothers who made it out to Chicago tonight to watch it all go down. Li'l bro - I hope you didn't wet your pants tonight! What an amazing night.

The entire transcript can be can be found here.

The Studly Hubby's Not-So-Studly Mustache

The Studly Hubby did it... he spent six weeks growing a mustache. He and his brave co-worker W had to brave fierce looks and judgement from the general public as their mustaches grew in, and I congratulate them on their perseverence and loyalty to the Mustache. They never gave up! They never surrendered! (good job guys!)

Here it is in its full splendor:

For Halloween he incorporated the mustache into a complicated costume involving a mullet wig from Value Village and some jeans and a t-shirt.

He was a Hick.

Very well done my dear!

Hopefully next year there is no mustache as part of the costume. After Halloween we said good-bye to the mustache and it was shaved off.