holiday

We had a cool thanksgiving at the McCowen's. It was a beautiful day and we started it out with breakfast on the patio overlooking the golf course. Some hummingbirds were feeding with us. It was beautiful.

I prepared more of the meal than usual. I usually just make one item. This year I made a few. Some lessons learned.... My hand mixer broke so I used my food processor to whip the sweet potatoes. This was a happy accident, because they were so smooth and fluffy. I used fresh green beans in the green bean casserole and learned that they take longer to cook than the canned ones, and that the french fried onions on top are gross. Next time I will use breadcrumbs or corn flakes. The pumpkin cookies (recipe below) were a major hit, especially with Mark, who pestered everyone to have one all day. I also made a ham. They take over two hours to heat up.

After dinner, we talked for a while and then went home to go to bed early so we would be rested for VEGAS, BABY!

We went mainly to take some pictures, which we enjoyed. We also got to walk so much that we probably worked off some of our holiday calories.

However, since Vegas has "Taco Time," we put them back on right away. The picture below shows how pissed I am when I have to leave Taco Time behind to come home.

We just stayed over one night and came home. It was enjoyable.