6-7 Granny Smith Apples peeled, and cut into slices
1 Cup of White Sugar
1 Cup of Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
2 Tablespoons of Butter
Directions:
In a mixing bowl, mix up the shortening and flour. Add in water, a tablespoon at a time until dough is more malleable. If you add too much and it is too liquid-y, then just add a bit more flour to firm it up.
Put dough aside.
When cutting up the apples, make sure to remove the hard pieces where the seed grows along with any spots or blemishes.
Preheat the oven to 375°
Combine the apples, with the brown and white sugar.
Add the flour and cinnamon, mixing them all together.
Divid the dough in half and roll into two balls.
Take a cutting board and put a little flour on the surface, rubbing it. Rub flour on your rolling pin as well.
Place the dough down and roll it into a large circle.
Place the dough in a cake pan.
Lay the apples down on the dough in the pan.
Put the two tablespoons of butter on top.
Repeat step 8.
Place the second ball of dough down and roll it out into a large circle.
Place it on top, to be the top of your pie.
Cut a small incision on the top of the pie to allow steam out.
How many of you out there are artists or crafters? Hands up.
Well as all artists or crafters will tell you, when we are at work things can get messy.
From splattered aprons…
To residue under our fingernails and dyed skin.
Not to mention burns from hot glue guns, kilns, etc.
Well the experience I had the other day was quite different then I’ve ever had.
So this month at work we are all about space; astronauts, aliens, the sun, planets, etc.
So the other day our theme was the moon. We pretended to be walking on it, read some adorable books: Moon Rope by Lois Ehle, Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes, and Happy Birthday Moon by Frank Asch (all some of my favorites).
After, it was time for our craft in which we were making moon rocks.
I was following the recipe the Crafty Chicks gave out, but things didn’t go exactly as expected.
So the recipe was drier than I expected. We kept trying to make the balls but they weren’t sticking together.
But never fear. I am a prime tortilla and pie dough maker, so I know exactly what to do in this situation, add more water.
So I knead it all together like making pie or tortillas and it comes out great. Except that now my hands are dyed a very dark green.
Yes, the food coloring I used to dye the rocks came off on my hands, like the Crafting Chicks said it would, but I was not prepared for how much.
My hands were super dark green. And then when I went to wash the, it wouldn’t come off.
I tried as much as I could, but they were too stained. Guess I should’ve worn gloves.
The kids all said I looked like an alien.
I told them, maybe I am an alien and my human makeup came off…
But they knew I was just joking. Although it did make me want to go out and say “Klaatu barada nikto” like in The Day the Earth Stood Still.
But there is a limited demographic that will understand what I’m saying. That is what happens when you are an old soul.
It still was weird walking around with green hands. I kept getting all these strange looks from people as they were trying to figure out why my hands looked like that.
And I love food and this holiday, so I am all about chowing down.
But Not This Year
Majorly
I just had my wisdom teeth out.
So I will not be able to partake in eating tons of food.
And to make matters worse, I am also on my period. So I’m enjoying pain in my mouth and my lower half.
No joke this enters m mind every month
But while it is easy to get hung up on the negatives in life and be unhappy, that is not what Thanksgiving is about. In a world where it seems as if things are getting worse and worse it is easy to get hung up on the negatives, to just hate on everything, be unhappy. And Abraham Lincoln knew this. As he was facing a time of unrest and uncertainty, just as we are, he decided we needed a day set apart to focus on the positives on the good things we have in life.
“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come..No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens…”
So I decided I was going to do the same. I am going to accentuate the positives, eliminate the negatives, and latch on to the affirmative.
So here we go, what I am thankful for.
1) My Family + Friends
They are always there for me and support me through everything
2) A Roof Over My Head + Food
I am happy to have a home, and food to eat. There are these all people should have, and not all do. I am thankful to be one of those who do.
3) My Country
I know it is not perfect and there have been problems past and present, but I love living in America where I am given rights that all should have.
Many criticize the pilgrims who came to America to begin with, but these people weren’t coming to destroy a nation, they came so that they could have a little bit of land in which they could worship as they please and live in harmony. They tried to work with the Native Americans, not harm them. The negative things came with later colonies who didn’t share the same ideas, mostly because of the people that were ruling Europe and the politics they were playing.
Anyways, one thing that my country does right is give us a freedom of speech. Something some people are trying to restrain all the time, but is currently still something we have. And it allows me to have this blog in which I can discuss whatever I want.
So know I may not be able to eat everything, but I am going to enjoy and eat the few things I can. Hello mashed potatoes and pie.
And I’m going to focus on all that I am grateful to have.
One of the most painful things I have ever been through.
So Friday morning I had to wake up early so I could take the valium and the other drug an hour before the procedure. Now I have heard all kinds of stories from my friends about weird things they say or did while on the drugs, but I was pretty normal. The only issues I had was when I walked. I kept bending my knees lower than I needed to, like a monkey. Or Tarzan.
When we got in the office and I paid and answered some questions, they could tell I was walking funny. and they made me sit down. Not too long after they made me move from the waiting room to another room,until it was time for surgery. I guess I was too loud on my comments of the Frankenfish, they were showing on TV. All I said was that I wouldn’t call it after Frankenstein as that story didn’t end well.
Afterwards they went over the rules I’d have to follow following the surgery was and took me into the room where they were going to operate on my mouth. Now as I was to have all four removed I had opted for anesthesia. So they hooked me up to all these machines, monitoring my heart and blood pressure. Now another side effect for me with the drugs was that I started acting like a little kid. I was like Josh Baskin from Big.
I was all what’s that for? Why are you doing that? And on and on. I really annoyed the technician.
Then they got ready to put the IV in. Now I HATE needles, so I was freaking out the whole time screaming (internally).
I tried taking some deep breaths and then knocked out.
I then woke up in another room in a gurney the operation over
They took me home in which I immediately knocked out.
Now when I became fully awake, boy did my mouth hurt. In fact a lot of ways its like having your period in your mouth. You are intensely sore, you are bleeding a lot and have to change out these pads. And you are in sooo much pain all you want is medication.
The only good thing was that my cat stayed by my side. Thank you Ginger.
Now a lot of people say they get chipmunk size swelling, but mine wasn’t too bad. I pretty much looked like Michael Corleone after he got punched in the face.
The worst thing about getting my wisdom teeth out now is that I’ll be missing out on Thanksgiving. Oh, well. At least I’ll still be able to have pie!
Justice, ain’t about bringing back the dead, white man. Justice, is about justice. Your friend the policeman, your friend the judge, they make sure nothing happen to you. They keep you safe. But I make sure something happen to them. That justice, white man. Gypsy justice!
It’s that time of the year again. Our annual Stephen King Post. Now some of his film’s I do like, The Secret Window, Children of the Corn, The Shining, etc. Thinner is not one of them.
Now this doesn’t have all the usual tropes:
But it is kind of a lame story. Let’s get started before I give too much away.
So Billy Halleck is an obese lawyer.
{Now the film is set in modern times, I just felt like using an old photo from a previous post.} Anyways, he lives with his wife Heidi and their daughter Linda. Heidi tries to get him to stop eating:
Heidi Halleck: Billy, you’ve got to stop eating like that. I want you to stop digging your grave with a spoon and fork.
But Billy can’t stop, he loves food too much.
Billy has just helped a Mafioso, Richie, get off from going to prison. Something his wife also finds fault in him.
Meanwhile, in the town Billy lives in, there is a carnival, one which is run by gypsies. One day his wife is distracting him, by doing oral sex, and he hits and kills a gypsy woman.
You need to leave gypsy women alone. They can lay some serious curses.
This gypsy woman, however, dies instantly. The death is ruled an accident and no charges filed. The dead woman’s 106 year old father, Taduz Lempke, is angry that Billy got off so easily and curses him, saying to him “Thinner”.
So Billy keeps losing more and more weight. No matter what he eats, he keeps getting thinner and thinner.
He’s getting emaciated, almost as thin as this guy.
Heidi calls in a doctor, Dr. Mike Houston, who can’t find anything to help him. So the doctor decides to help himself to Billy’s wife.
Billy enlists the help of Richie and they begin to wage a war on the gypsies. Billy’s friend, the Judge who let him off, also gets cursed, “Lizard”. He commits suicide as he can’t stand looking at himself anymore. It all comes to a head when Richie kidnaps Taduz’s granddaughter, Gina, intending to kill her, but stopped by Bill.
Taduz finally agrees to lift the curse, but only if they promise to leave him and his family alone. With Billy’s agreement, Taduz makes a pie from Billy’s blood. Whoever eats the piewill die, and Billy will gain more weight.
Taduz tells Billy he should eat the pie himself, and die honorably, but Billy has decided that this pie is going toward the people he wants revenge on.
In this case it is fattening as it will help Billy gain weight.
He calls his daughter and tells her that he is doing better and she should spend the night at a friend’s house. He then goes home and gives the pie to his cheating wife.
That night he puts the rest of the pie in the fridge and goes to sleep. The next day he wakes up and Heidi is dead.
AWESOME!!!
But when he goes downstairs he discovers that Linda has eaten some of the pie. That means in his quest of selfishness, to get revenge on his wife and her lover, he has just killed his own daughter.
He decides to head the gypsies advice and eat the pie, killing himself, when the doorbell rings. It’s the Dr. Houston, the man his wife was having an affair with!
Billy then decides to give this doctor the pie and complete his revenge.
Billy Halleck: Dr. Mikey! A bit early for a house call, isn’t it?
Dr. Mike Houston: Oh, Billy! It’s- it’s not what you think! I…
Billy Halleck: It’s okay, Dr. Mikey. I was acting like kind of a big jerk. But, everything’s fine with Heidi, I’m even starting to gain a little weight. In fact, I was just about to dig into this breakfast pie. Care to join me?
Dr. Mike Houston: I couldn’t possibly…
Billy Halleck: Oh, it’s no trouble at all…
[Dr. Mike Houston enters the house]
Billy Halleck: …white doctor from town [chuckles and shuts door].
Yeah, he seemed to get over the fact he killed his own daughter pretty quickly. What a jerk.
So yeah, I didn’t like it. I thought it was boring, the main character unlikable, and I hated the fact that He KILLS his daughter he supposedly doted on and had an incredible bond with, and a second later he’s over it and planning revenge. A true dud King, a true dud.
Thanksgiving is a time set apart so that we can be thankful for all the good things in our lives. It is also time to spend with family and friends. It is a time to eat tons of food as we celebrate. And what says Thanksgiving more than one special treat? Pie!!!
