The Pit of Despair...

I spent a busy day in my own pit of despair - my basement. Our basement is filled with too much stuff collecting too many memories from too many moves. The basement is really blank, completely unfinished, and I have been unmotivated to do much with it - until today. Scott installed some shelves for me and I set about making something out of the foolishness. It is no longer a hot mess. My basement now resembles a Tuesday Morning, without the expensive crystal teetering on the top shelf.

My girls love looking through all the stuff, and these items were discovered as I was organizing Mount Scrapbook Material. I cannot explain all of these pictures. My girls were especially horrifed by these and asked many questions: What is Daddy doing to that deer? Who is Slash? Why is Bill Clinton topless? I cannot explain, but I wanted to horrify my brother with the Clinton pic.

Turducken Redux

So the turducken turned out to be pretty good. It is basically a cajun entree where a turkey breast is rolled flat, a chicken and duck and pork sausage is laid on top of it, then the turkey breast is rolled around the sausage into a large roast. I managed to overcook mine (a rookie mistake) but you cover it in gravy and the sin is forgiven! Everyone ate it (twice on Thursday) and Scott even has some more this evening. All is good.

I must comment on the extraordinary amount of work that goes in to making Thanksgiving for four: everyone has a favorite dish that has to make it to the table, so little ol' me makes seven dishes, plus rolls and a dessert. Guess how long it takes four people to clean the plate? Twelve minutes. Whoop-de-do, they are outta here. It takes 5 times that to do the dishes, which I did later because I was so depressed about the 2+ hours I spent cooking the 12 minute meal. I love the food though - it makes me feel like I have accomplished something important. But next year, I'm thinking Arby's...

To Boldly Go Where No Franks Has Gone Before

Thanksgiving is here and the Franks' Fantastic Four are getting hungry. To feed us all, I decided to make one of my husband's dreams come true. I am making Turducken.

Turwhaten? Yes, it's a turducken. Comments from the peanut gallery will be posted apres diner.

Stephen King's Bible Camp

On our jaunt to North Carolina, we took advantage of a free night stay at a camp in a tiny historic community called Flat Rock. But things take a strange turn - strange in that we can't quite figure out where we are, where the others are, what we should do, where we should go. On paper the place seems great - named after a phrase from Milton's Paradise Lost, ideal serene setting, brand new lodge. Do we stay in the new lodge we came to tour? No. Do we end up occupying a giant, dated lodge where we are the only ones there? Yes. No noise, no people, no heat (momentarily), but we stay anyway. Free breakfast is somewhere - it's at the creepy inn that looks like it inspired The Shining. At the inn, all the doors are locked. Does anyone work here? Wandering, wandering, then suddenly there are 200 people in a large cafeteria, but we are still locked out. No vehicles for this many people anywhere around. And these people, mostly college students, are all well behaved and dressed like Abercrombie models with their fashionable layers and woolly knit hats and heavy boots. Still, no one is working at the cafeteria, so where the food comes from is an enigma. Finally we get in, find someone that works at the caf, have breakfast, meet the President of the Camp, who looks just like Kent Allen and talks just like Cameron John. Can't stop thinking about the Kent/Cameron blend, but the tour goes well.

Moral of the story: When taking a free night stay at an unknown camp, do not be surprised when Stephen King pops into your head. Or Kent Allen and Cameron John.

...And Now A Word From Our Daughter...

She always surprises me with secret pictures, movies, etc. Very sly, Dar. Here you go...

Let's Pose With Statuary!

My fixation with statues continues - Roxy gets into it, Darby endures it, and Scott is nowhere in the picture. Figures.

We had a good time in North Carolina - new places to see, good fun with the fam. The Biltmore is so incredible, especially seeing it all decorated and lit up with candles. I am so glad we went to the estate, because it was way cool and I don't think our kids even noticed the winery that we toured. Wine tasting - we better pass. My husband is a preacher now, you know.

Franks' Carolina Getaway