Happy Birthdays, Soup, Holiday Walking And You

Dear Dawn...I do hope you will forgive me being so late with this wish. I feel just awful but I hope you know how much I adore you. You are a bright spirit with a sweet heart. I wish I could be there to give you this bouquet in person....please join me in wishing Dawn a happy birthday! Now, this pretty soccer ball is to honor Dawn's oh so pretty daughter Jayla! Birthday greetings are sent to her as well! She is a special little soccer star and a total sweetie. Happy Birthday to a darlin' young lady! Soup weather is here, although, to be totally honest, I love soup so much that any weather is right for me to eat a huge bowl of goodness. Our wonderful Penny recently asked if anyone had a recipe for cream of broccoli soup. I have one from my late mother in law. She loved to make this for me whenever we cam home and passed the recipe on to me. It is easy to make...well...for me to make it you KNOW it must be easy right? Penny? I don't know if this one will pass the taste test at your house but I hope you will give it a try! I know that after reading Penny's post, I decided that we should have it for dinner tonight! Grace and I did our grocery shopping (and oh how crowded the store was! I can only imagine how awful it will be over the next 2 days!), came home and made a big pot of this soup. Dan always loves it and Grace does too. It is a warm reminder of Bill's mom.

Helen's Cream Of Broccoli Soup ~~~ 1 lb frozen broccoli, 8 oz. butter, 1 cup flour, 1 quart chicken stock (homemade or boxed/canned or 4 chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in 1 quart of water), 1 quart half and half, 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. white pepper, ~~~ Cut broccoli in 1/2 inch pieces. Steam in 1/2 cup of water until tender. Do not drain. Set aside. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the flour to make a roux. Cook for 2-4 minutes. Add chicken stock, stirring with a wire whip and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and add broccoli, half and half, salt and pepper. Heat well but do not bring to a boil. Enjoy with crusty bread and a nice salad.

We had a busy weekend. Our dear friends J & B came up from Tennessee and, along with our buddy T, spend Saturday evening with them. Great dinner, good conversation and happy laughter. On Sunday we picked up my mother and we all went to church. She tires easily since the surgery but was happy to get back into her favorite pew! The service was lovely and the music was especially lovely which my mother always enjoys. There was a Thanksgiving dinner at the church after services and we all enjoyed that event. Our minister and his wife sat across from us and they so enjoyed talking to Grace. I think he has a soft spot in his heart where she is concerned and gets so tickled by her giggles, her conversation and her facial expressions. Our community had a Holiday Walk along Main Street that afternoon. It was cloudy and quite cool but Bill, Grace and I had a lot of fun. All of the sweet shops were open, as were the historic stone houses, old town hall and the near by churches including our own. Lots of smiling faces passing by, carolers, dancers and horse drawn carriages. The restaurants were served hot spiced cider and baked goods, all free of course! Each shop had special sales and many fun, free giveaways. The theme this year was "It's A Wonderful Life". There was a Jimmy Stewart impersonator that was marvelous and a Mr. Stewart look alike contest. All of the shops and buildings had screens showing the film and all the folks participating were dressed to represent the era in which the film was set. After our walk we met our friend T and went to see "Fred Claus". Grace just had the best time! It was silly and sweet all at the same time. After the movie we all had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. Just a sweet, simple day and exactly the sort I love. I hope your weekend was especially nice. Have a great Tuesday! Turkey Day is fast approaching!