Thanksgiving At Hawks Landing

This is John Schrom, the master of the house & me after eatting the yummy meal.

John is cutting the bird & Julia,the lady of the manse, is sitting & waiting to be served!!

Ian's pup and my old pal Mateo Schrom.

Food, glorious food!

I had Thanksgiving at John & Julia's this year as Patrick was in Phoenix celebrating with his clan. We didn't want to spend turkey/praise day apart, but I messed up his flight rez and he had to go back on Monday. It was sad being apart, but at least we were both in good company. Julia and John had 'their' boys there. David's whole family came in from Oregon and Mickey's mom and dad were also there. Mickey's mom,Nancy, prepared the meal and she taught the boys to make homemade (FROM SCRATCH) crescents. The meal was fab. Turns out that Nancy is a professional chef and renowned! Yum, yum,yum.

The pics at the top are John and Julia. The rest are a mix of shots: Marule, Hava the pup with Matteo, David's fam playing UNO, The famous chef Nancy with J&J, The lovely table that Justin set, me in my new Norwegian jacket.

There were little qq cards under each of our bread plates and we had to read them and then answer. Mine was "If you could hang a saying on the wall of every house in the world, what would it be?" Well, I was abiding by the old saying not to discuss religion, politics or sex, so I said,"I have a first choice, but I'm not going to say it (Jesus Is Lord) so I will tell you my second choice." The Abe Lincoln saying about being the best one(see the KVMC picture). Well, then when other people went, they started talking about being happy for "change" and "getting goosebumps when Barack said his acceptance speech", etc, and I was thinking....I should have told them my first choice, if they were going to be bringing politics into it it looked like I really should have brought the Lord into it!! Oh well, shoulda,woulda,coulda. I said that I must be the only Republican in the room and Julia said they loved me anyway.....well, I love you anyway too Jules!! he he.

Oh I almost forgot: Hootie and Baby were left in the cabin alone and when I got home there was a pile of feathers on the floor. It wasn't my stuffed grouse, but they somehow got my good duster down and destroyed it. They both looked guilty. Bad dogs.

I'm grateful for my friends and family and yes, dogs. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. God bless you richly. love, Cassie

Happy Thanksgiving!

God bless you and keep you and have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone! love, Cassie

KVMC School Sale

On Saturday Patrick & I went to the annual Kootenai Valley Mennonite Church School Sale. All items are donated by folks who attend the church and each year there are new and different crafts and furniture. (I made 4 sock monkeys & a little sock boy for the sale. I was excited to see that they sold quickly.) We sure look forward to attending this sale every year not only to look at & buy cool handmade items, but also for the yummy pies and other goodies. It’s also a good place to visit with friends since breakfast and lunch are available (for a very reasonable price) and there is plenty of seating in the cafeteria. I didn’t think to bring my camera until several hours after the sale opened, so missed out on pictures of some fabulous bookshelves, a full bedroom suite and tables full of pies, breads and jams. Outside some men were making apple butter in a large caldron --- which takes hours of stirring. AND, there were free buggy rides too! I went for a buggy ride while Patrick took Baby Rocket Dog out of the car for a little walk.

Patrick & I drove around to all the different craft sales going on. Then, we went home and left off Baby and picked up Hootie and hiked around the State forrest to look for a Christmas tree. No luck there. I want a fluffy tree like a Doug Fir or Blue Spruce, so will probably end up buying one.

The 2 pictures at the top here are of Hootie & me at Smith Lake.It's state forrest land.

Freedom Isn't Free

(This post is a day late, as the network was down.)

Today is Veteran’s Day. Just want to say thank you to all the men & women in uniform past, present and future. The mostly unsung heroes of our nation. The USA (& countless other nations!) owe you a huge debt of gratitude.

These pictures are from the ceremony held here in our little town. As I was watching the soldiers and sailor standing there, unflinching, in the pouring rain all I could think of was this is a piece of cake for them….Nothing compared to the hardships they’ve endured for us while defending our freedoms.

I had never witnessed the formal ceremony performed by the VFW for burning the old and tattered flags. It was really quite touching. Long may Old Glory wave! God bless America and our armed services.

Now go kiss a soldier, airman, sailor, marine or coastguardsman! (I’m saving my kisses for you, Patrick, so extras when I see you on Saturday.)

A Few Of My Birthday & Anniversary Gifts

Since I am in charge of Patrick's flight plans, I have only myself to blame for the fact that he wasn't scheduled to be up here in N. Idaho for our 20th Anniversary and my birthday. It was fine though, as his work needed to send him to Boston for 6 days, and Nov.2nd was the perfect date to do it. He did send me the nifty rigid drill and the roses and carnations. I also got a gorgeous black & red wool jacket from Norway that we designated as an early birthday gift. I need to have someone take a picture of me wearing it. A few buddies dropped by the cabin with well wishes and bearing gifts. Jessica & David sent me the cool, rosewood hair pick pictured. It was a good day, and when Pat gets up here on November 15th we will have another celebration. Lucky him, he got to have fresh lobster for our 20th. (2 lobsters for $16.99!!!) Sure wish I could have joined him in Boston, but maybe next time. :<) God bless all who read this. love, Cassie

If You Like Green Tomatoes......

This is a recipe I got from one of the magazines that come with the Sunday newspaper. While her tomatoes were still green on the vine my good buddy Marilyn provided me with a bunch. I probably made at least 6 of these casseroles and just about everyone who had a taste wanted the recipe. So, I’m passing this on to my blog friends so next summer you also can have a tasty, green treat! (I must add, this is way easier to make than fried green tomatoes and a whole lot less messy!)

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Green Tomato Casserole

4 thick French bread slices, torn into small pieces (about 2 c.)

1 t. sugar

½ t. salt

¼ t. black pepper

4 medium green tomatoes, cut into ¼ inch slices

1 c. shredded sharp cheddar

1 T. butter

1- Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease 1 ½ qt. casserole, deep dish pie pan, or 4 ramekins.

2- Place bread in a food processor and pulse to a coarse texture. Combine sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl; mix well.

3- Arrange 1/3 of the tomato slices in the bottom of pan. Sprinkle 1/3 of sugar mixture, 1/3 of the bread crumbs and 1/3 c. cheddar over tomatoes. Repeat with a second layer. For the third layer, add remaining tomatoes, sugar, bread crumbs. Dot with butter. Cover with foil.

4- Bake 1 hour. Uncover and sprinkle remaining 1/3 c. cheddar on top. Bake 5 minutes longer, or until cheese melts. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes before serving to allow flavors to blend. Serves 4.

Nutritional facts per serving: 280 calories, 13g fat, 12g protein, 29g carbs, 3g fiber, 750mg sodium.

Our First Snow - Thursday, November 6th

It has been snowing in the mountains surrounding us for some time now, but Thursday was our first snow at the cabin. Baby Rocket Dog experienced snow last year, but this was little Hootie's first snow day. He loved romping in it with Baby, as you can see from the pictures. He actually sprained his "ankle" from all the running & sliding around. I took him to the vet Friday because he was limping on his left rear foot. Dr. Hall says he'll be fine. (Bye, bye $35.00!)

Hope These Make You Smile!

A woman got on a bus. She was holding a baby. The bus driver looked at the child and blurted out, “That is the ugliest baby I’ve ever seen!”

Infuriated, the woman slammed her fare into the fare box and took an aisle seat near the rear of the bus. The man seated next to her sensed that she was agitated and asked her what was wrong. “The bus driver insulted me,” she fumed.

The man sympathized and said, “Why, he shouldn’t say things to insult passengers. He could be fired for that.”

“You’re right,” she said. “I think I’ll go back up there and give him a piece of my mind!”

“That’s a good idea,” the man said. “Here, let me hold your monkey for you.”

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The dentist told me I grind my teeth at night, so now before I go to sleep I fill my mouth with hot water and coffee beans and set my alarm for 7:30. ~ Jeff Marder

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Many years ago I used to frequent the Valley of the Sun’s comedy clubs. The early 80’s was a terrific time for up and coming comedians and Phoenix/Scottsdale/Tempe had no less than 4 clubs where they were showcased. It was a low time in my life, and going solo to Gatsby’s Mardi Gras, Finney Bones or The Improv to sit anonymously and laugh for an hour or two was like medicine. My drink of preference was club soda, as often times I would head off to work the graveyard shift at the generating station after a set. Some of the folks (that I can remember) I had the pleasure of seeing perform were: Jeff Marder, Rita Rudner, Paula Poundstone, Michael Finney,Paul Rodriguez. There were others that I have seen on the late show since then and it always tickled me since I saw them when they weren’t well known. Most were pretty clean in those days, but there was an occasional comic that used foul language…one guy was so offensive that I had to walk out. Once when my parents came to Phoenix I pre-screened Paula Poundstone to make sure she was okay. She was soooo good. I then took my parents and she even carried on a conversation with my Dad and Mom! When she was on Johnny Carson a year or so later my Dad called me to say the young comedienne we had discovered was on TV. He was so excited about it. Daddy had a really good sense of humor and when he laughed it was hardy….made you want to laugh too.

Restroom Sign

Every time I use the restroom at our library I have to chuckle when I see this sign on the dispenser that holds the cloth towel roll. It reads:

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HANG FROM TOWEL OR INSERT YOUR HEAD IN THE TOWEL LOOP.

I understand that this kind of signage is necessary nowadays due to lawsuits, small children and frankly, just plain dumb people, so please don’t write to me to explain this. It’s just one of those things that makes me laugh every time I read it. Is it just me or does this tickle anyone else’s funny bone?

Jealous Man

Patrick just sent me an email titled Jealous Man with this picture attached. It was taken on Whiskey Row in Prescott, AZ on November 2,2003 our 15th wedding anniversary (and my 53rd B-day). I had cataract surgery the following January, so it's one of the last pics of me with glasses. (Wore them since 2nd grade!) Pat just added the "Don't ya be a messin' with my woman!" caption. Isn't he mean looking?? People think he's mean, I think because of his mustache (which I love). He is really pretty mushy though. But don't get him mad, because before that stache turned silver it was red and he does have that 'zero to ticked off' temperament!