Trimming the Tree

A mosaic of our tree decorating fun. Talon hangs most of the ornaments but I always hang my favorite little red cardinals. 

Which reminds me... I need to put out bird seed for our colorful little feathered friends. Cardinals always cheer up the drab winter view out of our kitchen window.

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My Little Angel?

At Talon's new school, the kindergarten and first grade perform a program together.

Cute as can be-- and isn't the little angel with an attitude too funny!

A few shots of my sweet little curly topped angel...

Oops... spoke to soon...

A mischievous angel but still sweet to me.

But I guess that is why he is in the chorus instead of playing a 'holy' character.

Hahahahaha

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Now That's A Big Christmas Ball

Talon spotted a trio of huge two-story size Christmas trees in Oklahoma City.

And said: The Christmas balls are as big as my head!

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Perfect Pecan Pie Recipe (Super Secret Foolproof Tip)

Making pecan pie can be a persnickity job. It always takes longer than the recipe states for the filling to set. And it so aggravating when the nuts and crust burn before the filling sets!

Well, no more persnickity pecan pie! I am about to share with you the super secret foolproof tip for perfect pecan pie.

Warm the filling in a saucepan before pouring into the crust!

This allows less baking time because the filling is already hot when it goes into the oven. So no more burnt nuts/crust!

Isn't that absolutely amazing?! 

*While tossed bouquets and accolades to my brilliance are always welcome, I must confess that I discovered this tip in a magazine years ago.

Lesa's Current Favorite Pecan Pie Recipe

ingredients

one refrigerated pie crust (dust both sides with flour like the box says to do for a high sugar pie, fit into 9 inch piepan, fold edges under and crimp. )

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 stick of butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

enough coarsely chopped pecans or pecan halves to generously cover pie

Steps

1. preheat oven to 350

2. whisk together eggs and next six ingredients in a saucepan over low to medium heat until butter is melted and all ingredients are well blended (don't have to stir constantly but keep an eye on it)

**Beginning cooks: Don't scramble the eggs! Incorporate the eggs before the mixture gets too warm to avoid curdles

3. pour into prepared piecrust

4. sprinkle pecans on filling

5. bake for 35-45 minutes till filling is set. If it jiggles like jello, it is not set yet. 

Easy as pie!

 I so wish I had known the super secret tip back in my teen years. That Dear Abby Pecan Pie recipe used to give me fits!



Try this super but not so secret anymore tip with your favorite pecan pie recipe or with my recipe above. 

Let me know how it turns out.

Happy Pie Making! 

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Life Is About... Surviving Bad Juju!

If the Universe sends a strong message... you better pay attention! 

And by a strong message, I mean bad juju. Have you ever been stalked by bad juju? Like one bizarre incident after another? And after awhile it doesn't seem so coincidental, does it. Cue Twilight Zone theme.



Thanksgiving week was one big bad juju extravaganza for my family. (Yes, I know it is time to blog  December fun but I can't move on till I make peace with blog about the bad juju. Blogging is cathartic, you know.) 

Anyhoo,  back to Thanksgiving. We get a week out of school to deerhunt  celebrate Thanksgiving. Oh, how my family loves this week. We don't hunt. We travel, dine, shop and frivolously entertain ourselves. And spend time with family and give thanks, of course. We aren't totally shallow, after all... just partially shallow.


This year, our destination was New Orleans (NOLA). Did we make it to NOLA? NO! Such a disappointment since I was so looking forward to introducing the delights of NOLA to my mother and my little boy.




So how did the bad juju begin?


It was a dark and stormy... Ha! Just kidding! Actually, it was a beautiful sunny day when we headed south towards my mom's house in East Texas.

What could possibly spoil such a promising beginning?

Forgetting our NOLA music (Harry Connick, Louis Jordan ect) to set the festive mood of the trip, that is what!  



Just an inconsequential bummer, or so we thought at the time. But from that point on, the Universe thwarted us at every turn.

Really, it was as if the Universe channeled the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld: No music? No NOLA for you!

It took three loud clear messages before we finally got the hint. Yeah, we can be a bit thick, unfortunately. 

Bad juju one:  Hub forgot his blood pressure pills-- but he was able to get an emergency week's supply from a pharmacy in Texas.


Bad juju two:  A tiny scrape on my knuckle, that I spotted as we left our house in Oklahoma, morphed into a raging painful swollen oozing staph infection by the next morning at my mom's house in Texas. A red stripe was actually streaking past my wrist. Scary! Thankfully, a Saturday clinic set me on the road to recovery.

At this point, we should have seriously rethought our travel plans. But no, so...

Bad juju number three:  Four plus hours into the trip, between Lafayette and Baton Rouge, the check engine light came on.  Oh, yes, it did! And it took two cranks to start the car. Not a good sign. All this at a Welcome Center too... some welcome!  

Finally, the Universe had our undivided attention.

Way too much weirdness on top of a weird day so since it was almost dark we stopped at a hotel in Baton Rouge hoping the car would magically unglitch over night. Of course it didn't--- in fact, the car was even more difficult to start the next morning so we headed back towards Texas. 


We did not turn the car off the rest of the way back which meant tricky bathroom and snack scrounging breaks at convenience stores. Hub even put gas in with the engine running-- Now that was really taking a big chance considering the bad juju!

No explosions but the Universe sent one last parting shot to make sure we kept skedaddling out of Louisiana.

Bad juju number four: At one stop, my little boy noticed a hubcap was missing! Who loses hubcaps anymore? Actually, we think it was stolen at the hotel because our hubcaps are held on with screws. 

Bizarre, just bizarre.

After crossing the stateline back into Texas, we felt less on edge and things started looking up. The car needed a new fuel pump which, thankfully, was covered under the warranty and was repaired the next day! Yippee!

We may have missed streetcars, pralines, beignets, po-boys  and jazz but we ended up having a wonderful hometown Thanksgiving week anyway. Lots of laughs, eats, movies, shopping and games... so there, big bad juju! 

Whew, did you make it this far? If so, thank you. I love all my readers but you are my favorite reader! 

I certainly feel much much better... festive and merry even!

Wishing you and yours a holly jolly and good juju only holiday season! 

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100 Followers Giveaway! Win Set of Four Thirsty Stone Coasters! ($22RV)

How exciting! Dusty Us Diaries has achieved the one hundred followers milestone! 

  In all honesty, I blog by the seat of my pants  according to the capricious laws of serendipity, frivolity and whimsy. So where is this dusty little blog headed?  Don't ask me, I'm clueless. But the journey is so much fun!   

  

Thank you for coming along on the ride, lovely bloggy friends. 

To show my appreciation, (since I can't have you all over for a cuppa) I'd like to offer a quickie little thank you giveaway. 

The winner, chosen randomly by Rafflecopter, will receive a set of four 'thirsty' stone coasters in a wooden crate.   

The winter scene on the coaster is darling-- just perfect for a cozy cup of tea or cocoa. 

And have you ever used this kind of coaster?  I love them: they actually soak up all moisture. It is like magic-- sometimes I drip water on my coasters just to watch it soak in.  (Yes, I'm easily entertained.)

This giveaway is managed by Rafflecopter. Love me some Rafflecopter, don't you? 

US/Canada entrants only please. Ends 12/14/11.


Thanks again and good luck!

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First Snow of 2011

Oklahoma has been so icy and snowy in recent years. I  like the occasional snowday but I sure hope we catch a break this winter.

The snow is starting out gentle at least.. which is good because I need to ease into it. 

This is what I saw when I opened the door today...

It flurried for a couple of hours but melted.

Nice big fluffy flakes that didn't show up good in the photo but  made for a pretty drive to work. And it was the perfect backdrop as I stopped  at the bank to drop off sacks of Talon's outgrown coats ect for the clothing drive. There are 100 kiddos in this little town needing warm clothes and they need them quick if Old Man Winter has his way!  

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A Bucket O' Pup!

Aw, isn't this sweet...

This bucket loving puppy is the progeny of Snowpaw, our dumped doggie non grata.  And after three weeks under a barn, pup says a cozy bucket is 'moving on up'! 

Yep, Snowpaw had her pups way under a barn where we could not really see or help them in any way. With a flashlight there appeared to be three but by the time she moved house to under a barn with better access there was only one.  When pup finally sat up in it's little hollow under the barn, I gently pulled it out with a hoe.   

Now we have one fat little snoozing pup in a bucket on the porch.

or attempting to snooze. *sigh*

Lady, please... enough already!

Can't a puppy get a little shuteye around here!

Poor little funny looking thing. Kinda cute though despite her unfortunate appearance, don't you think? And considering the ugly sour faced no-tail father, pup is actually quite fortunate in the looks department. Relatively speaking, that is.

As much as pup loves sitting in the bucket, she does come out for a little waddle now and then.

 Did I mention this pup is a butterball? So low and wide to the ground.  Really, if she didn't have a tail, she would look just like a fat guinea pig waddling around.      

And she does have a waggy little tail.

After an outing, pup heads... where? 

Back in the bucket, of course! 

And that tail spot! Funny but it matches the one on her head, I suppose.  

So anyhoo, pup goes in and out of the bucket... sits in the bucket... sleeps in the bucket...and sometimes...

Falls out of the bucket!

But mainly...

Sleeps in the bucket!

Sleeps and sleeps.

In the oddest positions. 

And did I mention this pup is a bit on the chubby side?

Upcoming: a jealous mama dog post and puppy naming post and... well, rest assured there will be plenty of puppy posts so please stay tuned. 

Linking up to these fun photo meme linky parties:

Camera Critters

Ruby Tuesday

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A Yellow Harbinger of the Season

Yes, I know we are already deep into autumn but I wanted to share photos of my little mountain ash tree.  

This tree is always the first to change colors and I've been tracking it's progress since early October.  Most native trees in Eastern Oklahoma change in November so this little guy is our very own harbinger of autumn.

Over several weeks, one small patch of yellow spread to reveal this...

 Glorious spectacle!

Such a vibrant yellow!

Now it is November and my little mountain ash's show is but a lovely memory. I didn't post a photo of the poor naked thing because while I love autumn-- I also dread winter. And it's bare limbs are surely a grave portent of the bad to come...

Snow, ice, windchills, power outages and overall dreariness, ugh. 

But instead of moaning and groaning, I will enjoy the show all the other trees are putting on right now and dream of snow angels, snuggly sweaters, furry boots, cozy blankets, good reads, hot tea, cocoa, homemade soups, baking and...

Yeah, looking on the bright side is always better, isn't it.

What wonderful things are you looking forward to this winter?  Please share, I need more goodies to imagine to keep the winter dreads away.   

Linking to: 

Mellow Yellow Monday

Macro Monday

Mosaic Monday 

Creative Bloggers' Party

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Up Up and Away!

Friday, I went to the Veteran's Day program at my little boy's school.  The veterans stood at attention then...

fired their guns about three times. It was very loud!! And startling! I was too startled to video... but I'll be ready next year.

Each student had a balloon to release.

There they go....

Up!

Up!

And Away!

Talon reckons they will float all the way to Canada...

Almost out of sight, I think he may be right!

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Talon's first grade class signed the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of the program.

Linking up to Blue Monday hosted by Smiling Sally!

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An Incredible Hulk of a Dog

Hmm, wonder who this pup's favorite superhero could be...

Linking to Camera Critters

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Halloween Photo Diary 2011

Can you guess whose shadow this is?

A cowboy?

No!

It is...

Indiana Jones!

Talon is a big fan of the movies and the Indy Jones Legos XBox games. He has  been making pretend whips out of stray long strings, straps and cords for two years. Now he can dress up as Indy anytime he wants.

Here is a photo of a random stranger taking a photo of Indy. 

That is my shadow in the bottom left corner.

It is a cute costume, isn't it.  And it isn't a storebought costume but bits and pieces thrown together which makes it look more authentic, don't you think. The toughest part to find was the shirt. There was nary a boys expedition type shirt to be found anywhere. So where did I find it? Goodwill. And don't you dare tell him it is actually a ladies size small.

So yes, Indy was quite popular and greeted by name at almost every stop. Except by a couple of folks who said: Safari Man!

Hmm, where have they been the last thirty years?

The community Halloween festivities in Oklahoma are quite charming and very convenient. 

 Downtown shopowners wear costumes and pass out candy to  parading trick or treaters. Churches and organizations set up trunk or treats and free carnivals (games/bouncy slides not rides) in parking lots.  

Some parents and most of the canines dress up too.

And the kids are adorable...

This year, Talon tackled two nearby towns. One is best for candy and the other is best for games. And Talon is boy who likes to cover all the bases.



A mosaic of a few of the games and sliding. Talon tried and tried to win a cake but it just wasn't to be this year. I won a bag of peanut butter cookies though. It was an all encompassing combo cake/cookie/cupcake walk.

The most ususual game this year was this sanitary apple bobbing game:

The apples swing on strings and it is quite the challenge to catch one. Each child keeps their apple and a new apple is impaled on the screw for the next contestant.

 

Here is a video to see the game in action:

There were a few creeps and ghouls out...

But Indy wasn't scared!

Is this the set for Raiders of the Lost Ark 2?

Ha, no-- it is just a treasure hunting game but it made for a perfect Indiana Jones photo op.

Happy Halloween 2011!

Linking to Shadow Shot Sunday and Camera Critters

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