How AWESOME was that?

Saturday was our first Thanksgiving here.
We're debating the name for the place, so far we've been calling it The Farm.  I'm lobbying for Happy Dale.
We have the staircase and everything.  Though we'd have to plant some elderberry bushes....
But Satuday was our Thanksgiving dinner.
And all in all, we did good.
We got off to a rough start by loosing power to half of the house for a few hours.  We thought it was a blown fuse, till fiddling with fuses for quite awhile didn't fix the problem.  But one call to the landlord and there was an electrician out in a very short time.  Turns out there's something up with the box at the pole.  He did a short term fix and now we're waiting to see what they decide to do.
The electric in this place is really old.  If they decide to change out the fuse box, they may have to rewire.  But I'm not expecting to hear anything till next week.
And what's Thanksgiving without some sort of hurdle?  Really, is it a family holiday without some sort of trial in the day?

When I was a kid, every Thanksgiving the kitchen drain backed up and we had unexpected company.
And the year we had Thanksgiving early, cuz we were planning on being in Chicago for the holiday, the kitchen drain backed up and we had extra unexpected company...

After the glitch we got to frenzied work and put together a extensive spread of TV munchies and a full Thanksgiving dinner, all the trimmings.  Including fresh baked, made from scratch rolls.  Which turned out pretty well.
And fresh baked, made from scratch bread.  Which didn't,



It's my new recipe from the Baking bread post.  I shaped the whole batch into one big loaf.  It didn't cook all the way through.  But it went in with a pie and I think it was too close to the top element of the oven.  Maybe if it were closer to the bottom element the results would be better.  Gonna try it again before I declare a total failure.  That's an idea for the week.

Our oven kinda sucks.
It's small and electric.  So there's really only one rack that's optimal for use.
With 2 racks in there something's too close to either the top or the bottom element.
The turkey, for Thanksgiving went into a larger oven out in the garage.  The ham went out on the Weber Kettle.
Baking cookies requires juggling pans.
It's a challenge.





But all in all, we did good.
One of the first things that had to happen, and it happened over the last week, was getting the kitchen cleaned out and serviceable.  Not the easiest thing.  K & I both like to cook and we're trying to consolidate 2 fairly well equipped kitchens into one.  We've got multiple of multiples of all sorts of things.
And we both work and we both have animals to take care of, and there's really not all that many hours in most days.
So the kitchen is going slow.  But it's a step further along.  Now what looked like:

 

And then this:

And that was after a lot of stuff had been put away.

Now looks like this:

The chairs came from the building out back.

It's still far from done.
But we can cook and serve a Thanksgiving Dinner in it.  Today, I'm gonna get the windows taped up.  Right now it's like a wind tunnel in there.

And Saturday Nov. 23, 2013 was the 50th. anniversary of Dr Who.  The world's longest running Science Fiction TV show.

And for once, I got to watch the world wide simulcast.  I was a part of the 10 million plus audience Saturday night.  10 million and counting, cuz that figure doesn't include people who watched the 50th in theaters or on the net.
It was awesome.
The episode answered and posed questions and left me wondering about the future of our beloved Time Lord.
Can't wait for Christmas day!

And since I got distracted and didn't finish this post yesterday this is a Monday post.  Today I'm in a optimistic mood.  No, everything's not perfect.  The house still needs lots of work.  I'm totally broke for the next week.  There are still big concerns and worry in the mix.  I'm still pondering an Ungodly Hour.
But I don't have to go anywhere this week.  I have a roof over my head and food in the fridge.
So it's not all bad.
I've named our resident squirrels Rusty & Ruth.  Would be cool if they were a mated pair.  Unfortunately, they seem to be nesting in the back building somewhere.  That may be a problem way down the line.
Since we are, at present time small rodentless...

I want a rat.  Rats are better pets than hamsters.

Basil, the long tailed hamster.

K's more of a rabbit person.
But at the moment we are rodentless, at least pet wise.  The body count on mice stands at five so far this season.
But since there is a lack of small, furry pets to eat kitchen scraps, they are going out to the horse pasture.  What the horses don't eat, Rusty & Ruth, and Bob, the bunny that lives in the barn, will get.  The horses are enjoying picking through the piles.  So far nobody likes cabbage.  There's a rush for the carrot bits and Rose and Koda will both take the time to get every last bit of carrot peels.  Celery has been a big hit.
Still pondering a name for the Kestrel.  Considering Pippin or Fred or Kenneth.
Today we are experimenting with the fireplaces.  So I get to, legitimately play with fire.
Indoors yet.
I have hope for better things to come....