Thankful for helpful sons

Warning- the bragging in this post may be too sweet

Our son Bob is a very handy guy and he is also very generous sharing his talent and working hard.

We bought a new gas double oven range as our old electric range was not working right. 

Bob came to install it and he made it look easy, even with changing out the electric service and activating the gas service. 

His little Andie had fun "helping" Mostly she pointed at the spot where the oven goes and said "uh-oh" many times until the kitchen was normal again. 

Hooking up the oven was quick. 

So Bobby suggested they go to Lowes to get new light fixtures for our garage. The old lights were buzzing and flickering. He had those fixtures installed before lunch. 

We had lunch and his sister was here. Their hot water heater broke. A plumbing company had looked at it Friday and said they would replace it on Monday. With 2 little ones in their home, that is long time with no hot water. 

Bobby said hot water heaters were easy to install so after lunch, they all went to Lowes to buy a hot water heater. 

That just took a couple hours and saved his sister hundreds of dollars.

He was back at our home by midafternoon, still looking freaks has a daisy even though he had done 3 pretty big jobs.

He then showed his knife skills by carving an apple to look like a swan. 

Oh, he hung that tv on the wall for us last year.  

This family is thankful for our Bobby- 

Thankful for a good pecan harvest

A generous coworker of my husbands brought us a bag of pecans from their yard.

They are really nice and big pecans. My husband started cracking them after supper and picked out 20 ounces in a short time.

Fresh pecans are the best, much tastier than the roasted and older ones that can be bought in bags in a grocery store. 

Thursday thrift store purchases

I went to one thrift store this morning and found a few treasures. 

3 Aunt Chicks cookies cutters - an Oklahoma company since 1948. 

Aunt Chicks

And some assorted clothes
A ColdWater Creek blouse for me, cute jeans and lace trimmes leggings for a grand daughter and some cute little boy clothes for grandsons.
I spent $10 there.

Aunt Chicks cookie cutters - my mom and grandmother all used these same style cookie cutters at Easter and Christmas. 

Thanksgiving prep Thursday and the Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

Today, I mixed up the cornbread dressing that will be served on Thanksgiving. In the South, it is called dressing, not stuffing- and it gets baked in a pan along side the turkey, not stuffed in the turkey.

In the South, dressing is made predominately of corn bread- not wheat bread.

This year, my dressing will be simple- onions and celery sautéed in butter, mixed with dried and crumbled cornbread, sage, black pepper and chicken broth. 

Like the cookies and sweet potato casserole, this pan of dressing is sealed up and in the freezer now- waiting to be thawed on Wednesday and baked on Thursday. 

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup softened butter

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 t cinnamon

2 1/4 cups of flour

1 t each of salt, baking soda and baking powder

3 cups of oatmeal - regular and quick oats both work equally well

Cream the butter  and brown sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Then add the eggs, one at a time. 

Then add the flour, cinnamon, salt and b.s. and b.p.

Lastly, stir in the oats.  This week, I made a double batch and everything worked in my Kitchenaid mixer until I got to the oats. I had to stir them in by hand as the bowl was very full. 

I use a medium size cookie scoop to dish them out. 

Put the cookie balls onto greased or parchment lined baking sheets. 

Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven, about 12 minutes or just until they look done. 

Thaksgiving prep Wednesday

I just made a sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving.  This is my Mom's recipe and we have been enjoying it for at least 30 years.

The sweet potato layer is cooked and the topping has been added.

It will be frozen, then thawed in the fridge the day before and baked on Thanksgiving.

It is really delicious but very sweet for a side dish. We serve it with the meal but it really could be dessert.