Welcome 2009!!!

It's with great hope and anticipation that we welcome in 2009!!! Christmas went by quickly and this last week has been a blur! I returned from Butler last Saturday, December 27th. I had a really nice visit with my family. John suggested I take the tripod with me and I was able to gather up everyone at Mom's on Christmas Eve for a McNabb/Crockett/Scott family picture...posted above left.

The weather in Butler was cooperative....I arrived as the cold weather was leaving and left when it was arriving again. Wild Missouri weather....I left Butler at 5:30 am with a temperature of 64 degrees and arrived at the KC airport at 7:00 am with a temperature of 28 degrees with freezing rain. I got out in the nick of time.

Charlotte stayed in Butler for a few days during my visit...we enjoyed late night chats, jigsaw puzzle marathons, and sleeping late in the morning. Mom, Charlotte, and I picked up Aunt Allyne and Aunt Opal on Christmas evening and drove around Butler to look at the Christmas lights.....took us 1 1/2 hours.....John said he didn't know Butler was that big! Ha!!!

I was so encouraged that Mac was doing well and getting better each day of my visit! John and I are looking forward visiting Mom and Mac in early March.

John spent Christmas Eve and Day with Cathy, David, and Allison. Christmas Eve was spent with David's mom and family. "Unkie" bought Allison the "Big Brain Academy" for Christmas, so much of Christmas Day was spent on the Wii with some BBA tournaments. All in all, we were relieved to get Christmas behind us!

As we enter the new year, we're looking forward to the new administration and have great hope for an economic turnaround in 2009!

I'll sign off by admitting that we've just finished a Star Wars prequel film festival and are now watching "First Men in the Moon."

Sending early birthday wishes to David and Pat.....wishing you both a Happy Day on Saturday.....and many, many more!

Learning to Live with Life

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post. Wednesday, John and I heard horrible news that his oldest niece, Megan, was killed in an automobile accident. Megan would have been 20 years old in February! She was a beautiful, energetic, smart, 'full of life' sophomore at San Diego State before her life was cut short this last week. Her accident was a one car accident and no others were injured.

Here is a picture of Megan with her sister, Allison, while they were at our house just a few weeks ago celebrating Thanksgiving. Megan is on the right in this picture.

While we work to understand why Megan was taken from us this soon, we are blessed with the love and support from our wonderful friends and family during this devastating time.

Megan always had a quick smile for anyone, her passion for her friends and family was ever present, and she managed to see the good in everyone. Perhaps this is her legacy. Rest in peace, sweet Megan! We love you!! Carolyn and your "Unkie" John

'Tis the Season.....

Can you believe it's already December and the start of the holiday season? For those of you who are here at the invitation of our Christmas card, welcome! This blog is basically our online diary of the "Life & Times of Carolyn & John."

Christmas decoration pictures will be posted soon. I'm hosting a social function on December 9th and am going to need all the space our living room can give me.....so, the tree is going up after the 9th! I'll be sure to post pictures of the tree trimming!

Our holiday party season starts this Saturday with Katie's party, a friend of John's from his Lockheed Martin days. After visiting with her, enjoying the company and hanging an ornament on her tree, we'll travel to Dick and Miriam Bettinger's Annual Soup Party! We're looking forward to finding out which soups they are making this year.....keeping my fingers crossed that the sausage soup makes the cut again this year!

Sunday, we'll head down to Monterey to visit Susan, Eddie, Spencer, and Morgan and her family....you can bet I'll be posted some pics of adorable Addyson and Riley.....looking forward to meeting Riley for the first time!

On the 13th, we're getting together with friends from John's high school days. After eating dinner at a local restaurant, we'll all come back here for dessert, coffee, and more tall tales of days gone by! It's always so much fun to get together with these old friends!

Carolyn will be heading to Missouri for Christmas Day...departing on December 23rd and returning to CA on December 27th! I'll certainly miss spending Christmas Day with my Mr. Wonderful, but it will be fun spending Christmas with my parents, siblings, and their families. You can bet Aunt CC will arrive prepared to spoil the little darlins....and the big ones, too! John will enjoy his Christmas Day with Cathy, David, Megan, and Allison in San Mateo.

John and I hope you enjoy following our adventures via this blog. It's fun to write and post pics.....be on the lookout for many updates (including pics) this holiday season.

As we approach this holiday season with uncertainty about the economy and the days ahead, we feel fortunate for the certainty of you in our lives! Since this is a "by invitation only" site, I will say with all sincerity that the love and support you all give us throughout the year is cherished and held close to our hearts!

We wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy 2009!!!
Love, Carolyn & John

Thanksgiving Day 2008

Our day started with a wonderful walk down the walking trail near our house. The weather was a bit cool and overcast...had a bit of a holiday feel. As we were getting ready for John's sister, Cathy, and her family to arrive, I took a couple of pictures of us and the table:

I spent some time creating "party favors" for our guests....a Thanksgiving themed gift box with a handmade Christmas ornament. Here's the one I did for Allison, John's youngest niece:

As John was working on this beautiful turkey, , I was bowling a bit on the Wii...not a bad score, huh?

We received telephone greetings from Janie, Pat, and Charlotte (kids were watching a movie, I believe) as they were driving back to KC from Columbia, Mo. Sending out special thoughts and prayers to Charlotte as she transitions to living with the wonderful and loving memories of her Scotty.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was especially delicious this year! In addition to the turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy (courtesy of John), I managed to sneak in sweet potatoes and oyster dressing that most enjoyed (I LOVED it); Cathy made an excellent cranberry mold; David prepared a spinach salad with bacon, pear, and curried cashews (here he is with Kay) ; Ida Marie treated us to a green bean casserole (and a game of Wii golf and bowling with Allison) ; and Kay topped off the meal with a delicious pumpkin pie! A wonderful time was had by all!!

Today, John and I enjoyed a drive out to Lake del Valle (about 30 minutes from home) before heading to the cinema to see "Australia." What a terrific production....great story, beautiful scenery, and wonderful talent! Highly recommend.

Happy 53rd birthday, John!!! Here he is in the birthday hat eating his yummy chocolate cake. We had a fun birthday party with Cathy, David, Allison, Richard, and Viki on Sunday night (John's birthday was Tuesday). We met for dinner at Hap's in downtown Pleasanton. Highlights included a very yummy Vox vodka martini for me and delicious prime rib for John. After dinner, we call came over to the house for presents and chocolate cake...and, of course, the Birthday Hat!!!

For John's actual birthday, we had a nice dinner here at home. I made his favorite meatloaf and am including the recipe in case you'd like to try it.

Country Meat Loaf (Carolyn’s)
Ingredients:
2 T. salad oil 1 ½ t. salt
1 medium onion – chopped ½ t. pepper
1 celery stalk – chopped 1 egg
3 white bread slices 8 oz. tomato sauce
2 lbs. Ground beef (I like sirloin) 1 T. light brown sugar
1 med. Carrot, finely shredded 1 T. cider vinegar
1 T. chopped garlic 1 T. prepared mustard

Instructions:
2 hours before serving – or day ahead:
(1) in 2 qt. Saucepan over medium heat, heat salad oil and cook onion, celery, and garlic until tender (10 minutes or so)
(2) in large bowl, tear bread into small pieces, add onion mixture, ground beef, carrot, salt, pepper, egg, and ½ of tomato sauce. Mix well
(3) in a 12 x 8 baking dish, shape mixture in 8 x 4 loaf (or 2 smaller ones). Set aside.
(4) In a cup, mix brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, and remaining tomato sauce. Spoon mixture evenly over meat loaf in the baking dish.

Bake @ 350 degrees for 1 ½ hours. 8 servings

Oh, I made a new Happy Birthday sign for John's birthday....yes, you guessed it.....it involved stamping.

Also this week, we celebrated Allison's birthday (John's youngest niece). She turned sweet 16! We went over to Cathy and David's for a dinner celebration, presents, and an entertaining evening watching Allison and her friend, Jen, figure out a way to go to the midnight showing of Twilight. The key to the strategy was talking Jen's dad into picking them up after the midnight show.

Speaking of keys, Allison did get a new "used" car for her birthday....and from her Uncle John, she received an engraved keychain from Tiffany. We do love those Tiffany blue boxes.

We're sending "Happy Birthday" wishes to Spencer Wilson and Mary Scott....both will have birthdays right after Thanksgiving!

Saturday night stampin'

Saturday night was Stampin' on Crossridge Road night! Neighbors Tina, Quinn, Terry, and Maureen were joined by my friend Mona from Half Moon Bay. We all had a great time eating, drinking wine (and ginger ale), and stamping, of course.

I'm including recipes for some of our snacks: Spicy Grilled Shrimp and Sweet Potato-Feta Rounds. Here they are:

Spicy Grilled Shrimp

1 large clove garlic
1 T. coarse salt
½ t. cayenne
1 t. paprika
2 T. olive oil
2 t. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 ½ to 2 pounds shrimp, in the 15-to-18-a pound range
Lemon wedges

Start a charcoal or gas grill, or heat the broiler. Make the fire as hot as it will get and put the rack close to the heat source.
Mince garlic with salt; mix with cayenne and paprika, then make into a paste with olive oil and lemon juice. Smear paste on shrimp. Grill or broil shrimp, 2 to 3 minutes a side, turning once. Serve immediately or at room temperature, with lemon wedges.
(TIP: I usually make the paste, smear it on the shrimp, and let it “marinade” for a few hours (refrigerated) before putting on the grill. Also, if using wood skewers, I usually soak them in water for 10 – 20 minutes before assembling the dish.)
Makes 4 servings

Sweet Potato-Feta Rounds

3 long, thin sweet potatoes, peeled (about 1 ½ pounds)
1T. plus 1t. extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
4 ounces reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled (3/4 cup)
2 T. chopped fresh chives
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
Cut potatoes into 30 (3/4-inch-thick) rounds. With a melon baller, carefully scoop a pocket into each potato piece, being careful not to scoop through bottoms; discard scooped-out portion.
Combine potato pieces, 1 T. of the oil, and garlic in a large bowl; toss to coat. Spread potatoes out on the baking sheet, scooped-out side up, and roast until potatoes are just tender and edges are starting to brown, 18 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, mash feta, chives, and remaining 1t. oil together in a small bowl. Season with pepper to taste.
Remove potatoes from oven and fill each pocket with a heaping ½ teaspoon cheese mixture. Return to oven and back until heat through, about 5 minutes. Serve warm.
(Make-ahead note: Cheese mixture can be prepared up to 1 day ahead; refrigerate in a covered container until ready to use. Sweet potatoes can be roasted (without cheese mixture) up to 8 hours before the party; cover and leave at room temperature. Fill the cheese mixture and warm through just before serving. )

In addition, I also served a Roasted-Mushroom, Lentil, and Balsamic Vinegar Pate (no organ meats). Since this posting is a bit lengthy, just let me know if you'd like that recipe.

Now, on to the stampin' samples.....Mona is pictured with her first card (yeah, Mona!!). She did fall in love with the "indulge" stamp set that Terry brought over. Next, Maureen, (who has tried to pass herself off as being 'not crafty') had a production line of birthday "thank you" cards going. Very impressive, Maureen!!! You're a natural!!!

Next, up, we have Quinn and Tina (aka, the Bennett girls). Magnificent job on your cards.....Tina's has a Christmas theme and Quinn's features the power of blooms. Gorgeous!

Terry wowed us with her creativity and her generosity.....she surprised us with good bags filled with buttons, ribbons, small gift cards....and more! And, she brought the stamps and supplies to make the wonderful "indulge" cards (see the one by Mona above). Here she is with her new chef:

As you might guess, we had a great evening chatting, creating, and sharing great ideas!

Halloween and the day after

We've had a busy October! In early October, we went to Denver for the weekend to attend the Clive Cussler Collector's Society conference. What fun!!! We met Clive, all of his co-authors, and his family....super great people! Highly recommend for any Cussler fans.....also met Steve Berry!

After being home for a few days, we then flew to Maui. I know, rough life. Cashing in frequent flyer miles and Marriott points proved to be a great strategy for a wonderful week in Maui......it's worth splurging at Mama's Fish House for dinner if you're planning to go over any time soon.

Halloween was great fun on Crossridge Road!!! Kick-off party Tina and Richard's (our neighbors) featured many scary kids, pizza, goodies. We came home to hand out candy to 40+ little ones. This was the first Halloween I've been home in about 15 years (was always on the road), so it was great fun for me. I dressed as Glenda the Good Witch....and handed out these great treats to our special neighborhood trick-or-treaters. Oh, the best quote from a little one re: bookcases......"wow...wow.....you live in paradise". Out of the mouths of babes!

Last night, we hosted two couples who won the bid for "dinner at John and Carolyn's" at a P.E.O. silent auction. I set the table with some spiffy gift bags filled with truffles....hopefully, this picture gives you some detail:

Walt & Anne Hayden and Irv & Patty Stowers won the bid and here they are with John toasting their winning bid:

The menu for the evening featured:

Pureed Wild Mushroom and Potato Soup

Beef Tenderloin with Cracked Black Pepper Coating and Red Wine-Thyme Pan Sauce

Asparagus Spears

Sauteed Cherry Tomatoes with Garlic and Basil

Roasted Red Potatoes

The dinner menu was straight out of Pam Anderson's "Perfect Recipes for Having People Over" cookbook. For dessert, I served the most yummy chocolate cake (Beatty's Chocolate Cake) with some vanilla bean ice cream. This recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook and here it is:

Story of this cake as told in Barefoot Contessa at Home…..
Michael Grimm from Bridgehampton Florist made this wonderful chocolate cake for me (Ina Garten). His grandfather used to have a milk route in Pennsylvania Dutch country and his grandmother baked this chocolate cake for him to deliver to customers with their milk. It’s so chocolaty and the secret is a cup of hot coffee in the batter.

Beatty's Chocolate Cake

Butter, for greasing the pans

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

2 cups sugar

3/4 cups good cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk, shaken

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Chocolate Buttercream, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.
Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Frosting:

6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (recommended: Callebaut)

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

We're both anxious and eager for the election on Tuesday. Wishing you all a peaceful and relaxing Sunday!