thanksgiving around here this year meant cooking something we don’t often get the time to cook: eggplant.

tom does such a fantastic job with this dish, that we don’t even bother ordering it at restaurants anymore. it’s never as good. but we only make it once or twice a year, so it is special, and we pig out on it.

he always makes a few extra so that while we are getting them ready for the oven to bake (after a quick fry):

we get to snack on a few while they are still super crispy and with just a little sauce and/or cold mozzarella cheese:

i can’t quite explain how fun this step is. somehow this stage of the eggplant dish tastes different than the final product even though the ingredients are the same. it’s sort of like a sneak preview of the formal meal to come. (which was, by the way, delicious)

i also made an apple pie from scratch, even the pie crust. it, too, is tasty. but it is also ugly, so there will be no pie pictures this time.

just peeking in to say:

i’ve got nothing for this week’s flashback friday theme!

it was supposed to be “hippie” but i don’t have any pictures that are hippie-ish. instead you’re getting me arriving at aunt thelm and uncle bud’s house. they were my great-aunt and great-uncle and they were so much fun to visit. uncle bud cracked my little self up! he was the funniest guy i knew. and he could remove his thumb… it was a.maz.ing.

don’t read the “method” section of the wiki link if you don’t want the illusion spoiled. ;-)

happy turkey mashed potatoes day!

enjoy whatever you’re eating today.

(thanks, jess, for the cute turkey)

wednesday is yarn day, so i’ll show you some new yarn!
i wonder what each will become? hmmm….

also pictured: the first fire of the year in the tv room fireplace. lovely, warm and crackly.

we saw northern state tonight at the calvin:

they are sort of a feminist, party, rock, hip-hop, band and are so much fun. i felt a little bad because the calvin theatre is a seated venue and people were just sitting and watching rather than getting up and dancing. (we were up in the nose-bleed section, so we couldn’t help out with the energy.)

if they swing by your area go see them! or at the very least, go check out their website and videos here or on youtube.

they are currently touring with tegan and sara, but we didn’t stick around to watch them.

i woke up to snow falling today!

there aren’t too many things prettier, in my opinion.

lucky for the birdies, the berries they love on the bush in our yard are ready for snacking just in time: