Thanksgiving Travel

For the first time in at least ten years, family got together for Thanksgiving. Dan and I drove to Kansas City (a two-day trip) on Sunday/Monday, November 21-22 ((Why is it that every time we stay overnight in Paducah, Hancock's of Paducah is closed (Sunday and Monday)?!)) and stayed with our daughter until Monday, November 29. We returned home Tuesday evening, November 30. 

Being with all our grandchildren was wonderful! Our two KC grandsons were there, Celina flew home from NYC, and our two Texas grandsons flew in. 

Two second cousins came over the day after Thanksgiving, so it was a fun time for these kids. 

Austin and Luke played with dominoes. I helped with this one! 

Celina had an apple pie recipe she wanted to try, and spent much of the day before Thanksgiving preparing it!

Hubs and son-in-law were responsible for the 20-pound bird, and did a fabulous job with it. Not only did we have stuffing, but more dressed was served on the side. 

Being more of a baker myself, I made two pies, and these cinnamon rolls (an Alton Brown recipe) that were a hit the day after Thanksgiving.

These are siblings and me with our dad. He's looking good at 91 years young, isn't he? I was able visit with him four times during our week-long stay.

Of great interest to me while driving to/from KC, was seeing cotton country in Georgia, near the city of Donaldson. Fields and fields were ripe for picking, or had recently been picked. 

Every little bit of ground in the area was planted with cotton. Obviously cotton farmers are taking advantage of the high price of cotton to earn a profit. 

With hubs having worked at John Deere Des Moines Works, where all JD cotton pickers are built, he was knowledgeable about these trucks we passed on the highway. They were designed to haul cotton bails that at one time were rectangular-cube-shaped. 

The newer picker model bails cylinder shapes! Letters and numbers are identification codes.

Trucks were headed to or from this gin. The property was covered with these huge cotton bails. 

Cotton spilled out the ends of some bails, and bits of cotton were all along both sides of the highway.

As I said, it was really interesting to see. I'd love to talk with a cotton farmer to learn more. I certainly wondered whether this is stripper cotton - a more commercial grade of cotton (such as for upholstery) - or higher quality cotton like that used used in clothing and fabric.

As I mentioned earlier, we returned home Tuesday evening, November 30, and to my surprise, at 8:20 pm that I received acceptance and rejection emails from QuiltCon. I submitted five quilts into QuiltCon 2022 (in February, in Phoenix, Arizona), and learned that three of my five quilts were accepted. No surprise about the two rejects. If you regularly read my blog, you'll know that I didn't expect my Artisan challenge quilt to be accepted, and it wasn't. More in my next post. 

Book Recommendation

I had only travel time for listening to a book, but I sure enjoyed this one. 

The Island by Mary Grand was an intriguing story from the very beginning when Juliet returns to her family on the Isle of Wight (UK). She, her three sisters, and mother are at the hospital, awaiting news about their dad/husband since his recent car accident. On his deathbed, he gives Juliet several cryptic instructions relating to secrets that he refuses to share. His only warning is: "Be careful, you don't know them as well as you think. Remember - anyone can kill."

Returning to their childhood home, the four sisters - now all young-to-middle-aged women - find it somewhat unsettling to spend time together. The usual familial relationship is uncomfortable. Juliet determines to make the best of their sad situation, but after a family gathering, when another unexpected death occurs, everyone, including their mother, is holding back - keeping secrets. Juliet is determined to get to the bottom of each unanswered question/death, even if it means being suspicious of her own sisters. 

Though I found it somewhat difficult to keep track of individuals by name (I occasionally jumped back 15 seconds to re-listen to a particular bit of information), I was completely hooked on the story, and though I smugly thought I knew who-done-it, I picked the wrong person! 

Linda's score: 4.0/5.0

Worshipping virtually at Lutheran Church of Hope last Sunday - the first Sunday of Advent - I appreciated Pastor Jeremy's message about God... that through Jesus, He's calling each of us to believe in Him, and guide us through life.

In this annual season of reflection on the significance of Jesus's birth, let us each remember that we are His. Linda