Not a picnic for me with the skunks

Late summer I had a dream where to put it without great detail, a skunk had sprayed our area at the docks and I was about to throw up. If you didn't know, I dream in great detail. Extreme detail. The Captain made the mistake of once asking me about my dream and I spent an hour, no kidding might have been longer, telling him about my dream that I'm sure only last 15 minutes in real time. Everything from what people were wearing, to where things were on a counter, to what the post its on the fridge said. It's ridiculous. I've wanted to have my dreams analyzed because I think I'm special. Or just because it might be fun.

Anyhoo, back to the initial dream. I was about to throw up in my dream and I woke up. Our house stunk like a skunk had sprayed in our bedroom. It was gross and I was about to throw up in real life. Wouldn't that have been great! We slept with our windows open so I can see how smells can filter in but the potenice was extreme. The Captain of course was still sleeping. I woke him up, freaked out, shut the windows, lite some candles, turned on the fans, and got terribly upset. Our alarm was supposed to go off 15 minutes later as we were catching an early morning flight and had to be out the door by 5:30AM. I hate it when I get woke up. And now my house smelt like a skunk.

Fast forward, the house smelt fine when we returned and the animals seemed to not have been bothered by it. We never did find a skunk and since our neighborhood is somewhat surrounded by nature, we assumed they had wondered through. It has happened a couple of times since then and we no longer sleep with our windows open, it is nearly Thanksgiving after all, but it happened again last night. I woke to this rancid smell filtrating through my nostrils. The windows were shut and everyone else was asleep. There was no skunk in my dream.

Then we saw a fresh one on the side of the road on our way to church this morning, thinking that might have been him or her. However, tonight I smelt skunk in my office. The windows were closed and the smell was no where else in the house. The Captain couldn't smell anything and it wasn't Callie. I now think I'm paranoid.

Cheers!

Turn on the Oven

The Christmas music has started at our house. I couldn't wait any longer. Don't alert the authorities yet, there aren't any decorations out of their boxes, bags, or down from the attic yet and the Captain is defending the fall and Thanksgiving, laying on a slight guilt trip for me wanting to put out the Snow Village so we could enjoy it longer.

This past weekend I made perhaps the most delicious pumpkin chiffon pie for a dinner we had with some friends. Seriously delicious, and I am a pumpkin pie fan. It was light, flavorful, with every spice jumping out. It didn't require baking (huge plus) but does require refrigeration. It was however, super, super, terribly simple to make. And our house smelt festive afterwards. I'm making a couple for a church function next week and then one to take to my Grandparent's for Thanksgiving. Try the recipe out if you get a chance-I assure you there won't be disappointment!

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Graham Cracker Crust

If you don't buy one from the store, finely crush 1 pkg of 9 whole crackers
Mix with 6 tbsp of melted butter and
1/4 cup sugar

Disperse evenly throughout the 9-inch pie pan and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Filling

In a small sauce pan combine the following:
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 nutmeg
1 envelope of plain gelatin
3/4 cups of milk
3 egg yolks (beaten)

Heat till it gets thick, stirring frequently, you don't want the gelatin to get lumpy. Using a whisk is wise.

Remove from heat and stir in:
1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin (do not use pumpkin pie filling as you are adding in spices separately)

Place in a bowl and put in the refrigerator to chill.

Meanwhile:

Mix the 3 egg whites with
1/4 cup sugar till tall peaks are formed

After pumpkin mixture is chilled, it doesn't take long, fold in the egg white mixture. Don't stir, fold. Then pour in the graham cracker crust. Refrigerator for at least an hour so it can firm up.

The Captain said it needed whip cream as it is apparently, always a requirement on pumpkin pies. I thought it was perfect without.

Because I don't take pictures of food, i.e. the afore mentioned pie, here is a picture of some friends with us during our tour of the Jack Daniels Distillery which is located in a dry county last Spring. Yes, they still have those, hence the Lynchburg Lemonade. Behind is the spring of which all the water is for the whiskey is acquired, aka the secret ingredient.

 For further clarification this was during Mustache March. Dirty Staches...ugh!

Cheers!

Resolutions Already

My New Year's resolution for 2011 should be a certain # of posts per 7-day week. I've been terrible and I spend overloads of time on the internet. Thank you Al Gore for my addiction.

A couple of months ago I drove up to North West-Tennessee to pick up my Dad. My Grandpa, Uncles and Father all participate in a fishing trip every fall, a get-away. 

 With our current location, it works out that I can drive a couple of hours to pick him up, he stays with us for and extended weekend, and then flies from MEM to HRO where my Mom picks him up to drive back home. It's not complicated in our minds I promise.

 Well, a perk this year were the cotton fields, they were gorgeous. Rows and rows of brown sticks and white balls. It's so Southern, or Mid-Southern in my case.

And the most wonderful thing was that when you picked a ball of cotton and smelt it, it was the most wonderful, most clean, fresh, scent your (or my nose in the case) had every experienced. Put a smile on my face.













Cheers!