The Tree :)

Our Friends Stan & Glorianne From Fall River Mills, CA

We met Stan & Glorianne in early October. They are wonderful people, we feel like we have known them all of our lives! They are fun, busy and out going! My kind of people! Anyway, just wanted to share with you a letter she recently wrote to me.

Dear Linda and Everett,

First off Happy Belated Birthday Linda, hope yours was as great as mine was. It is fun to look at your Christmas decorating. I thought I did a lot as every room is decorated some, but you have me beat. When we had the ranch we had five acres of choose and cut Christmas trees and we had a Christmas shop with about 20 vendors, a Santa Claus, petting zoo, snack shop in a TeePee which the local 4-H ran, and we used our team of Belgium horses to take people to and from the tree lot. It was fun and we did it for about twenty years. The whole ranch was decorated even clear up our half mile lane. Our lives were not our own from Thanksgiving to Christmas as we were open the whole time. It was fun and we had people from Redding to the Oregon border.

Glad you had a great Thanksgiving, there were only six of us, but had a good time with our oldest son and family.

Today I baked and decorated ten dozen Christmas cookies for our Santa's Workshop concession stand that the Museum does this Saturday. It is a big deal around here and we serve several soups, chili dogs and hot dogs, pies, cookies, baked potatoes and drinks.

Then I can get at the Christmas decorating next week.

We are making plans for a cruise around Hawaii in May with my college roommate and husband. They live in Texas and we have not been together for nine years.

Hope all is going well with you guys and love keeping up with you on your blog.

Hugs,

Stan and Glorianne

Now that you have read her letter. You can only imagine how busy this lovely couple have been their whole life! Stan & Glorianne had a 2500 acre beef cattle ranch most of their lives (worked hard).They are very giving and sharing people. We are so blessed to have them now in our lives, FOREVER!
They sold their ranch a few years back to retire..?? NOT! Now they are very involved in Ft. Crook Museum<<click) (actually I think they do all the work).
Glorianne is a writer. She has written many books and also wrote for the Alturas, CA newspaper (might be wrong on this), maybe it was the Cattleman’s Assoc. newsletter. At any rate if you are ever interested in reading her books, here is a link so you can purchase them>>
http://www.amazon.com/Glorianne-Weigand/e/B001K93MQ4

Decorating for Christmas

 

Started this decorating on Sunday, it is now Tuesday and I don’t feel like I have made a dent. Oh My.. Maybe by Friday I can get this done?? LOL

Decorating for Christmas VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Thanksgiving with Family & Friends Celebrating at Chris & Lindsy’s.

Ev and I left home with the Toyota packed to the hilt with goodies for Thanksgiving at Lindy’s. Packed our clothes and puppies for a 3 night stay, not much room left in the 4 runner!
Met Lindsy & Colin at Sweet River at Coddingtown for my birthday lunch. After lunch did some shopping at Macy’s . Bought a few things.  
After Macys we met up at Costco for a few things for Thanksgiving dinner the next day.
It was late in the day by the time we all got back to Lindsy’s. We had a late dinner of Clam Chowder that we had bought while at Costco.
Thanksgiving morning I was up bright and early, 6:30am. Had to get the pear apple pie baked along with getting my infamous sausage/cranberry dressing ready for later that days feast! Cooked up some chorizo and eggs for breakfast. We both got the table set for 20 people! Lindsy was busy getting that 27 pound Turkey ready to go in the oven. After we got the food ready to go, Lindsy did some housekeeping while I went up to get ready for the day.
Lindsy’ guests started arriving about 1:30 and we were ready for the day. The guest list consisted of, My sister Kim, husband John, son Nick and mother in law Helen. Lindsy’s Dad, Mike and wife Julia, Chris’ parents, Bob & Janet, sister Carrie and boyfriend Jason. Friends, Charles, Craig and Jeff & Caesar. Of course was Lindsy, Chris and Colin and Everett and I. We had some friends come by to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving, Sharon and friend Tracy. What a wonderful day we had! Dinner was on time 4pm. Everyone pitched in to help with clean up and serve dessert! We had lots of food contributions by everyone. GREAT dinner and wonderful company! Everyone sang Happy Birthday to me!  
Colin was watching the Thanksgiving Parade as the end of parade came so did Santa and Mrs. Santa. Colin said “Noni” (me) “she looks like you!!” Meaning Mrs. Santa resembled each other, the white hair and glasses. So cute. Another time during the day my dear grandson Colin came up with a festive New Years hat and put it on my head and said “Happy Birthday Noni” with a hug and kiss to follow. Really it was a fun and happy day. I am so grateful to have such a loving and warm family.
Check out or photos below…

Thanksgiving Weekend VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

On Black Friday, Lindsy, Ev and I trekked out for about 4 to 5 hours of shopping. Seems like we missed all the rush!! YIPEEE.. we still got the early bird specials with no lines!
Chris’ family joined us Friday night for left overs from Thanksgiving. It was a nice end to a perfect couple of days..
Saturday morning Ev and I got packed up and left for home, stopped at the 101 for breakfast. However not without stopping to do the final shopping we needed to do before heading home. Again our 4 runner was packed to the hilt on the way home… Not sure how we got it all in there, but we did! It was a fabulous weekend! Great times were had by all!!

My Birthday..

Celebrating my birthday this year was a milestone event to say the least! Had a great time with friends!! My dear friend Gwen came by to bring me some heartfelt gifts, all done with love. We shared some cake and coffee and some much needed hugs and catching up! Had dinner out earlier in the week with Rich, Judy, Lynn & Larry at the Broiler Steak House in Ukiah. We always all have a great time together! So blessed to have such wonderful friends!
On Friday night went to the Moose for their Thanksgiving and met up with friends Rob & Gayle and Rich & Judy. Stayed home most all weekend. Monday night was my actual birthday. Charles my dear friend came by to wish my a happy birthday. He serenaded me in his Marilyn Monroe version of “Happy Birthday”… Charles is so cute… My good friends Lee & Laura came by to wish me a Happy Birthday too! Jimmie our new found friend also came by to give warm wishes for a wonderful birthday! We also enjoyed some cocktails and fun stories.

Linda’s Birthday VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Sunset on Clear Lake Nov 20, 2011

 

 

Sunset at Lucerne, CA VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Food for “Thoughts” of Thanksgivng

 

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Cranberry & Sausage Dressing

10-12 cups cubed, day-old sourdough bread
1 1/2 pounds bulk pork sausage
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups diced onion
2 cups diced celery
sea salt and pepper to taste
2 Apples - peeled, cored and diced
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries or (Fresh cranberries washed 1/2 pound, 3/4
up sugar)
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped (opitonal)
1 1/2 tsp sage (optional)
1 tbls Fresh Rosemary (opitonal)
1 tsp thyme
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 eggs
2 cups chicken stock

Directions
1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch
baking dish.
2. Spread the bread cubes in a thin layer onto two or more baking sheets.
Bake in the preheated oven until the bread cubes have toasted evenly, 5
to 7 minutes. Stir once as the bread bakes. Once toasted, place the bread
cubes into a very large mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the pork
sausage. Cook and stir until crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink.
Drain the sausage and add to the bread cubes.
4. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet over medium heat.
Stir in the onion and celery, and cook until the onion has softened and
turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and
pepper, and scrape into the bowl with the bread cubes. Stir in the
apples, cranberries, walnuts, sage, rosemary, thyme, and parsley. Whisk
the eggs in a bowl along with the chicken stock, and pour over the bread
mixture along with 1/2 cup of melted butter. Stir well until the bread
cubes have absorbed the chicken stock. Pack into the prepared 9x13 inch
baking dish and cover with aluminum foil.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, then remove the aluminum
foil, and stir the stuffing. Return to the oven and continue baking until
golden brown on top, about 15 minutes more.

Click here for Printable Version>>
http://www.clearlakevacationsonline.com/recipes/cranberrysausage.pdf

For more of Linda’s Recipes check my “recipe” page>>
http://www.clearlakevacationsonline.com/recipes/index.html

Keys Club Flyer

Keys Club Flyer

Christmas & New Years Eve Flyers

here are my flyers I have been working on this week for our Moose Lodge. so cute!

Links to the actual size see below.

http://www.clearlakevacationsonline.com/moose2284/moosechristmasparty2011.pdf

http://www.clearlakevacationsonline.com/moose2284/newyearsmoose.pdf

Extended Weekend, Lee’s Visit

Arrived home and Lee was here visiting Ev from Alameda. Later in the afternoon we went out for dinner to Robinson’s Rancheria.. Dinner was awful! YUCKY! Gambling was ok.. We had fun other than our lousy dinner. Lee won $150 or so.. He bought dinner.. When we got home we watched some TV shared some stories, etc.. Lee needed me to do some computer work for him, so I Sunday morning I got started in getting his labels and address book updated for him. He is President/Secretary/Treasurer for his Union’s annual luncheons 3 times a year. Guess everyone is too old to help..
Tonight I am cooking tri tip.. Costco with Baked Potato/summer salad/artichokes and garlic bread. That garlic bread has been spread a long way this weekend!! LOL
We invited our new friend Jimmie up for dinner too! She is a kick! and she is a very talented artist. She paints beautiful paintings! Very special lady.
Jimmie was thrilled when I called her to come up for dinner.. It’s nice to have a full table for dinner. We all visited for awhile before dinner, had a couple of appetizers some interesting conversation and then dinner..

Dinner with the Swesey’s VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

After dinner we retired to the Living room and watched “Dancing with the Stars”..

Fun weekend with Sheri

I hadn’t seen my good friend Sheri in sometime..?? Probably July of 2010.. Of course talked with her many times on the phone.. I drove down to Sac on Friday. Arrived at Sheri' & John’s about 1pm.. Sheri helped me unload the car.. After that we hopped in her car to do a little shopping.. Filet minion for dinner Friday night and ribs for dinner on Saturday night.. not to mention we needed the ingredients/glasses for Martini’s!! wooo hooo! Seemed like it took us sometime to find the Martin Glasses! Ross didn’t have a thing and finally found them at Target.. Of course Target’s price was about 3 times as much as Ross.. Oh well.. Got back to Sheri’s, I started getting dinner ready. I was cooking for her this weekend and we were going to have a good time.. My time to spoil her!!  
We had asparagus/baked potatoes/garlic bread/sautéed mushrooms and Filet Minions. We picked out 4 really nice steaks at Costco.. Costco is the BEST! While in the midst of getting dinner ready, we got our Martini’s mixed and enjoyed them immensely!!  

When it came time to put the steaks on the barby, the barby was old and tired.. poor thing! It took about 45 minutes to cook our steaks to medium rare… I was grateful the steaks came out good.
Sheri and I did lots of talking and catching up.. We were like school girls sitting on the bed giggling and telling funny stories. It was nearly 1pm when we finally got to bed!
We were up not so bright and early on Saturday morning. A little rough around the edges… However I did get going and got breakfast going. We had mushroom/jack cheese omelets with garlic toast. uuummm…. then got our showers, dressed and out the door we went for a day of shopping..First we went to Lowes to buy a new barby!!! A must!! Bought the barb-q (it was all put together, thank God!) Dropped it off at Sheri’s and back out shopping we went! We found the new store Hobby Lobby in Roseville.. GREAT store! So much stuff!! Then did some shopping at Kohls and back home we came.
Dinner tonight was barb-q ribs..uummm.. with Rosemary Potatoes/asparagus/more garlic bread.. Dinner was delic!!! We had a couple of martinis while cooking dinner.. woo hoo! We were on a role.. We had such a fun time! John was pretty interested in his TV programs.. We visited here and there. He is always so gracious about Sheri and I visiting.. Thanks John..
I love my Sheri! I hope I got to spoil you enough!
Sunday morning I was up bright and early and ready to go by 8am.. However I needed to stop by Costco, well Costco doesn’t open till 10am.. Sheri fixed me bacon and eggs and then I was off..

Sheri’s VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL