This and That: November

:: This is possibly the best pumpkin pie I've ever made. Labor intensive (shocking since it's America's Test Kitchen right?) but so worth it. It is still the classic pumpkin pie taste which is exactly what I was after. Am a traditionalist when it comes to pumpkin pie. Am going to hold off on making another until Thanksgiving.

:: Last week I had a pie crust tutorial with my favorite baker, Charlotte. Very informative...just what I needed. Notice the crimped edges in the photo above? That means that I did not 1) buy the pie crust and 2) haphazardly roll it out until I was about to throw it across the kitchen and instead throw it into the pie tin sans crimped edges. Hooray! I even caught a little of Charlotte in action with my flip so that I can watch her masterful hands roll out crust after crust, over and over. Now all I need to do is make a million pie crusts until I can do it as easily as Charlotte can. As she always says, "(pie crust, bread, cakes, everything I could possibly want to do) is a skill born of experience."

:: So, you've all been watching Glee right? Oh good. Well while you're waiting for the new episode to air you should check out Rachel's new hugely popular blog: Emma Pillsbury's Box of Baubles. Here she chronicles all of the swoon-worthy adornments that the character Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays) wears on the show. Trust me...ultimate jewelry inspiration is just one click away.

:: As usual, November has me thinking of what I'm thankful for. Am glad that I have Marta's Project Thankful available for periodic posting of thankfulness. Marta has kindly offered her blog as a place for ongoing comments about being thankful. She describes it as her "version of twitter!" Be sure to check it out and include what you're thankful for!

:: This post from House on Hill Road from last month has been on my mind for a while. The Pyrex dish in the last picture is making me crave some thrift store shopping. Anyone care to join me?

:: Am planning on running the Turkey Trot this year on Thanksgiving day. So far, the only thought that comes to my mind when I think about running a race at 8:00 AM in Idaho in late November is...Burrr-zies.

:: Friends, I am sad, embarrassed, and very frustrated to say that I think my depression is back for real. Though this time is not as severe as previous bouts, it has certainly been difficult to pull myself out from under the blanket, put down the knitting, and quit being cranky. Am working on deciding on a favorite mantra to get me through my day (great advice my dad once gave me). Am also very thankful for N8tr0n whose patience and support never seems to cease. I don't plan on going into a lot of depth about it on this space...I just wanted to put it out there. For reasons I don't understand. Blogland seems to have that effect on me.

:: My red ruffly scarf is almost finished! I bought some Addi Turbo needles for the middle portion that is worked with a smaller sized needle. Oh my lands those are some glorious needles! I have to admit that I scoffed when I read the words "the perfect needle" on the package but I stand corrected. Those are some magical knitting needles. Now if only they were magically cheaper.

:: Week one of Project: Take control of household chores is complete, and I can soundly say that things are coming along. Am starting to feel like our house is more put together. I actually did all of the dishes before bed every night this week. I'm not sure that's happened (for so many consecutive days) in the five years that N8tr0n and I have been married. I KNOW. Am turning over a new leaf. Have learned that it is not fun to do dishes at 11:00 PM. I've had to get all 'mom' on myself and have to be all like, "well, I'm sorry that you're tired and that you have things to do tomorrow, but you're the one who chose to knit for two hours instead of doing the dishes and this is where it got you." Seriously, am such a mean mom. It's like sometimes I'm trying to ruin my life.

:: I'm pretty sure that I could go on like this for quite some time so I'm going to cut it off here. Happy Monday everyone.