Thanksgiving

The table is set to have dinner with our neighbors. We jokingly called it our first Block Party.....we are the only two houses on the block. I used the cross-stitch placemats my Nana made and got some new plates at Target...wish I had gotten more as I really like them. The gourds were grown in our garden.

We started the meal with margaritas on the west deck....it was sunny and 70 degrees!

The turkey is ready to be carved. Randy used the "Cooking for Engineers" classic roast turkey recipe. The unique thing about this recipe is that you roast the turkey upside down to cook the breasts at a slower rate. Starting breast side down gives the legs a head start on cooking. This is desirable because drumsticks and thighs need to be cooked to a higher temperature in order to remove any trace of pink flesh. The breast would become very dry if cooked to temperatures as high as the legs.
You also roast the turkey for 15 minutes on each side and then rotate it so it is breast side up for the last 30 minutes.

We had a delicious meal......mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry, acorn squash, carrots, green beans with bacon and onions and our neighbor's special southern dressing. Our neighbor also made a superb pumpkin cheesecake for dessert.

Randy made soup the next day.....got this whooper of a carrot out of the garden. We still have lots of carrots.

This is a bad iPhone photo of Randy and Cooper post-Thanksgiving meal. Yes, Cooper got some turkey too. Someone should tell him he is too big to be a lap dog.

Blue Point Beach

Our photography class drove 60 minutes south of Payson to Blue Point Beach.

This is the lower Salt River Recreational Area. It's a great place for hikers, bikers and tubers.

Don't you just love this saguaro? I bet it has stories to tell.

Wildlife in the area consists of coyotes (I saw several), mountain lions, foxes and occasionally herds of horses from the Salt River Indian Reservation located nearby. Several tarantulas kept us company on the trail.

A Sprinkling of Snow

We woke up to a sprinkling of snow this morning. It was 23 degrees so we may be saying goodbye to Fall.

They say that the pansies will make it through the winter.....hope so......we put them in all of our window boxes.

Maybe it's time to put the umbrellas away........hard to know as the sun comes out and it's lovely to sit on the deck even in the middle of winter.

Fire Wise

We are in a drought period in AZ. Many fires get started from lightning strikes. Our local fire department wants everyone to be fire wise. We need to cut and rake out the dry grass.

Randy weed whipped the front portion of our lot. It looked so much better but we needed to do more.

The back section of the lot is difficult as one has to climb over and through lots of rocks.

We got a permit from the fire department so we could burn the brush instead of hauling it all to the dump.

Weed whipping definitely helped but we needed to hire someone to prune the trees up 13 feet from the ground and take out some of the manzanita.

Guess who supervised?

The next photos were taken after the pruning was done and manzanita was taken out.

You can see the rocks now and our lot is more clearly defined.

This shot is in the front of the house, facing the street, to the left of the driveway.

We also got a cord of nice oak to burn this winter......half the price of a cord of wood in CA.

Cooking Class.....En Papillote

The focus for Judy's Cooking Class this month was En Papillote (In Paper/Parchment). Twelve women gathered in her kitchen for a demonstration lesson. She has a class every Wednesday and repeats the "theme" for the month. (iPhone photos)

We assembled Salmon En Papillote and Lamb Shanks en Papillote with Leeks, Carrots, Rosemary and Orange.

The lamb was cooked in individual foil packets with vegetables, herbs, vermouth, and a silver of butter then roasted until luscious and fork-tender. Foil was needed as this dish bakes for 2 1/2 hours.

The salmon was cooked in parchment as it only took 12 minutes to cook. It was cooked with sautéed mushrooms and herb butter.

The lamb was so yummy and the carrots were incredible.

The cool thing about this dish is that you can cook the lamb the day before and prepare the bags 1-2 hours ahead of cooking. Judy served both the lamb and salmon with polenta with parmesan cheese. Mashed potatoes would also be a nice side dish.

Truly elegant dishes for company.......and easy to prepare!

Cemetery Tour and Fall Color

The Northern Gila County Historical Society sponsored a tour of the Payson Pioneer Cemetery one Saturday this month. I am now on the Board of the Historical Society.....a great bunch of volunteers who maintain the Rim Country Museum and the Zane Grey Cabin.

Jinx Pyle, local historian, led the tour. Jinx has so many stories about the folks that are buried in the cemetery. The Payson's Women's Club maintains the cemetery. You have to be an important person in Payson in order to be buried there.

John Meadows moved his family to AZ from CA in 1877 to homestead an area called Diamond Valley Ranch. In 1882 a band of renegade Apaches raided the Meadows ranch, killing John and his brother, Henry. John was the first person to be buried in what would become the Payson Pioneer Cemetery. The raid ended at the Battle of Big Dry Wash, where the Apaches were defeated by General Crook and his troops. John's son, Charlie, better known as Arizona Charlie, was the co-founder of the Payson Rodeo. Charlie also spend some time with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and met folks like Annie Oakley, Zane Grey, and Will Rogers.

Our photography class was searching for fall color this past week. We ended up in See Canyon in the "town" of Christopher Creek. (About 25 minutes east of Payson.)

Christopher Creek is a beautiful spot. There is a creek running through town which includes a general store, restaurants and campgrounds.

There are maple, aspen and oak growing along the creek which is lined with mint, ferns and grasses.

Our fall color has not been great this year but we are managing to find a bit. We will probably be headed to Sedona next week.

A Wedding at Leonard Lake

Family and friends gathered at Leonard Lake Reserve (between Ukiah and Willits) for five days of fun, food, togetherness and celebration.
Son-in-law Stuart, and grandsons Wren and Dakota enjoyed rowing on the lake....and also fishing. Wren ate a small mouth bass that he caught for breakfast!

Randy enjoyed canoeing. He tried to coax Cooper into getting into the canoe....no dice.
We drove to the lake from AZ so that we could visit my son Jake in Sacramento and take Cooper.

We were surrounded by beautiful redwoods.

We relaxed, ate wonderful food and enjoyed badminton, ping pong, swimming, fishing and hiking.

Dakota found a fort in one of the redwood trees.

The water was cool but still a lot of fun for the kids.

Jake got his seven month old puppy, Roscoe, into the kayak.

Such a picturesque spot. We rented all 5 houses on the property. The houses had beautiful antique furniture in all of the rooms. We stayed in the "Big House" with a kitchen that could seat over 30 people and sleep about 20.

Wren enjoyed climbing trees and exploring.

Tents were set up on the deck of the "Barn House" and places were set for the wedding feast.

Jake and Kirsten are all dressed up and ready to enjoy the wedding festivities.

Emily and Alex after the "I dos." We blew bubbles to celebrate. Alex is from Wales and that's where they are living.

A family shot........it was a wonderful time!