Uneventful is Good.

Today is done, and I'm happy to report that it was pretty uneventful.  Jeffrey and I went with our realtor to check out a house that we have no interest in buying (or ability to, for that matter!), but wanted to see the interior of (I'm a house gawker - I love walking through houses!!!!).  One of my addictions is searching houses online and getting ideas and inspiration from them.  I'm always curious what's on the market for what price.  Back when Jeffrey and I started discussing moving from Los Angeles to Oregon, I spent most of my spare time online looking at RMLS listings.  I must have searched close to 2,000 homes online and driven by or walked through hundreds before we found Deer Park! Anyway, this house was definitely amazing; in fact, it reminded me of Madonna's Sunset Blvd. house in Beverly Hills.  I'm glad that Kathleen (our absolute favorite realtor) was willing to show us the house -- even though she knew we were just curious to see what a house like that looks like inside! Every tiny detail was finished impeccably, and the main level of the house was just stunning. Anyway, it took ages to go through since it was huge, but I got lots of good ideas for when or if we ever remodel Deer Park!  Or maybe I can just find a big group of friends, and we can all go in on it -- I think there'd be room for everyone in the 9,999 sq. ft.! It could be a commune!!!! Who's in?

It felt like we were in the Hamptons 

The rest of the day Jeffrey took charge of Ellie, and I was able to concentrate on making the last batch of quince jelly.  I must say, I love the floral aroma of quince.  It's powerful, but so unique and fruity and fresh!

This time I didn't spill the juice, so I got 12 jars from the batch

Dr. Fisher called in the afternoon to check on Boots and Dr. Frank.  Boots is definitely still sore, but is no longer sprinkling through the house as he runs outside to pee.  Frank actually looked quite good today - there was hardly any swelling in his hind end, and while he didn't eat much of the grass hay, he just looks better.  Gabby came and gave both the boys a long hand walk for me, and then to balance out the kindness she showed yesterday, let Frank roll in the mud.  Let's make this clear: the MUD!  We're not talking about damp ground or wet sand or grassy area with a little mud. No. We're talking the real thing - sticky, dirty, wet M-U-D.  In her defense, she said he was begging her, and she felt sorry for him!  I can't blame her; he did seem rather happy when I went over to give him his dinner. So, what the heck, we're not going to Thermal next week!

Dinner tonight was Fettucini with Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce and Chicken and Apple Sausages.  It really was delicious.  We have so many butternut squashes, that I think I'll be revisiting all my old squash recipes over the course of the next few months; I had forgotten how yummy this recipe is.  The Butternut Squash soup that I learned how to make from Madonna's chef Mayumi, though, is my favorite and I always serve it for Thanksgiving - which is only a few weeks away! Wow! Seriously, less than 3 weeks!!!! That's NUTS - I guess I know what I'll be doing next week!

Jeffrey and I had hoped to have a Christmas party this year, but unfortunately, it doesn't look like that's going to happen.  There's just too much going on, too close together!

After dinner, Jeffrey took EG to her bath, and I cleaned up the kitchen.  It felt like I had been in there forever, and I was happy to spend sometime with my little munchkin before she went off to sleep.  We played the piano, played with Boots, threw a few fits because we were having issues communicating, and then just crashed.

sooooooo tired!

Hanging with daddy

Giggling at the dogs

Trying to put Jax's collar on

Boots with Alien eyes

Tomorrow I'm hoping to start some pumpkin vodka (the report from Renee is that last year's is finally ready and delicious), and quite possibly make some banana bread to freeze for the holidays.  I'll definitely be roasting the leftover pumpkin for pumpkin pies, bread and cookies.  I'll be needing roasted pumpkin seeds for my yummy Chicken with Pepita Mole - which I'm hoping to make for dinner  tomorrow!  I love that I most of the ingredients for that dish, I've grown here at Deer Park.

You know what else I love? I love that it's late enough to hit the hay! Goodnight!

RANDOM PHOTOS OF THE DAY