Black Friday

Turkey Coma

Gathering Supplies

Not Bad for a Cat

So Many Placemats

Today, many of the children at my Boulder church made placemats for a Thanksgiving dinner for people who have no other place to go.  It's an awesome opportunity to show children how they can serve the least of these.  Unfortunately, I was so busy goading the kids to complete their placemats that I did not take any pictures of them . . . the kids that is.

Shoe Boxes

Collection Week just ended for Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse.  Donors pack shoe boxes - the plastic kind are easiest - with hygiene items, school supplies, and toys for a boy or girl, ages 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14.  Samaritan's Purse inserts a copy of the Christmas Story in each box.  Boxes are distributed by churches throughout the developing world.  I always have fun packing boxes.  This year, Ebenezer did too!

Pick a label, any label.

How far will this stretch?

Mine!

Caramel Apple Treats

I love Caramel Apples.  More specifically, I like treats that taste like caramel apples.  I don't think I've eaten a whole caramel apple since middle school.  Lately, I have been making my own warm caramel apple drink in the microwave.

While I don't like the fact that the caramel topping is chock-full of chemicals and preservatives, I have neither the time nor the ambition to make it from scratch.  I only use about one teaspoon caramel topping and a shake of cinnamon per large cup of apple cider.

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I also like to make a caramel-like dip to serve with apple slices. 

CARAMEL APPLE DIP

Mix about one cup light brown sugar with two eight ounce blocks of softened cream cheese.  Add about one-half cup finely-chopped nuts of your choosing and one tablespoon vanilla.  Stir.  Serve with slices of raw apple.  This makes a bunch.  You might want to halve the recipe if you aren't serving guests.

I Heart This Book

I purchased the ZooBorns Cats! book for my cousin's daughter Maddie Grace.  Not surprisingly, I broke down and bought a copy for myself.  I love this book.  It contains pictures of not only newborn lions and tigers (the Denver Zoo's triplets born this past summer are here), but also more exotic felines such as the Kodkod, Iberian Lynx, and Rusty Spotted Cat.  According to the blurb on the back of the book, "Every sale of ZooBorns Cats! supports the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Conservation Endowment Fund."

Such A Great Plate

I saw this great license plate in the church parking lot on Sunday.  It's particularly poignant because my mom drove a green VW bug when I was little. 

Those Bell Peppers Look Awesome