Book Review: The Classmates

The Classmates by Marilyn Arnold

Theona Worley decided to settle down during her retirement back in her family home in Yucca Flats, Nevada. But she has barely unpacked in her Victorian mansion when she is found murdered. A small group of her former classmates have also moved back to their old hometown, and they are afraid. Each of them are also living alone, after being widowed or divorced. If Theona wasn't safe in their small town, who might be next? The four women decide to live together, hoping they will be able to look after one another. But soon another woman is dead, and the rest are wondering which of them will be the next victim. 

I really enjoyed this book. It's an older book, but I found it at the library. The writer was a BYU professor. There are passing references to the LDS church, but this is not a Mormon book. It's a straight mystery. The storytelling also makes it a little unusual. The story moves from describing all the events, to an unknown narrator giving his inside thoughts. Just when I thought I had the story figured out, the plot would twist again, right up to the very end of the book. Really good, highly recommended.

Thanksgiving - and 2 recipes

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! I love this holiday. Not only do I get to make and eat lots of yummy food, but I am surrounded by my family. And family and food are some of my favorite blessings! I am also very thankful to the Lord for His support and love throughout everything we've been through this year.

Sadly, we misplaced the camera in all the upheaval and I couldn't take any pictures! My sister got some, so when I can, I will add some so you can see how tasty everything looked and how gorgeous my family is!

We had 10 people at my house this year, the five of us plus my parents, my sister and her son, and Randy's father-in-law. We had to set up a table in the living room this time. We put the food on the bar/counter and it covered almost every inch! We had turkey, stuffing, gravy (from a jar, I admit! I hate gravy.), 2 kinds of cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, fruit salad, green beans, peas, olives, pasta and sauce, sweet and sour cabbage, stuffed mushrooms, acorn squash rings, punch, and finally, pie. That is what we like best, right? We had pumpkin, chocolate mousse, caramel apple, and cherry pies. Plus a pumpkin cake. I'm getting full just typing all this! 

And I thought since I haven't posted any recipes for a while, I would share the recipes for the chocolate mousse pie and for a Southwestern turkey soup I made with my leftovers.

Chocolate Mousse Pie

Chocolate Crust (bought or homemade, recipe follows)

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. cocoa powder

1 c. powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 c. whipping cream

Beat cream cheese and cocoa together in large mixing bowl until fluffy and well blended. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla. Blend well. Set aside. Whip cream until stiff peaks form. Fold cream into chocolate mixture. Pour into prepared crust; chill until firm. Garnish with chocolate curls. Makes 1 pie.

Chocolate Crust

1 1/2 c. chocolate cookie crumbs (I used chocolate graham crackers from Albertson's)

1/3 c. melted butter

3 Tb. sugar (if you use the graham crackers, do not add sugar; they have sugar on the outside)

Combine ingredients together. Press mixture onto bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes; cool.

This is a very rich pie with only a little sweetness. Great for dark chocolate lovers.

Southwestern Turkey Soup

I'm just guessing on amounts because I just threw this together and didn't measure anything.

3-4 c. chicken broth

2 c. chopped cooked turkey

1 carrot, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 tsp. hot sauce

1 tsp. sage

1-3 cloves garlic, depending on taste

1 c. medium shell pasta or macaroni

Combine broth and turkey, carrot, celery, beans, and pasta. Let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until carrots are cooked. Add seasonings and black pepper. Serves 4-6.

Yeah, we're sisters.

On my second of four trips to the grocery store to get ready for Thanksgiving Dinner (yes, really) an Albertson's employee spotted Ellen and me in the produce department.

"Are you two sisters or mother and daughter?" she asked.

Ellen and I looked at each other. Ellen said, "She's my mom."

"Oh. Well, I could tell you were related."

Ellen and I laughed like good sports. When we got in the car, we tried to decide if the woman was hoping for a tip or if she needed new glasses. Randy said maybe she was hitting on me. Possibly she was insane. Anyway, look at the picture above and see what you think. Sisters? Um, no.

Playing ketchup

Just a little 'ketchup' on what's going on around here.

Randy, Ellen, and Sarah went to see 'The Sound of Music' with our own neighborhood star. Joe was playing the oldest Von Trapp son. They saw Joe's family and the Moores. Ellen's friend Katie Beth was working as a techie. Three thumbs up!

Randy got the new iTouch from work and we've all been envious. He got the new Spore game for it and I've been playing - too much! It's really cool, but the battery sure doesn't last long.

Is everyone ready for Thanksgiving? I was going to get some cleaning done today, but it didn't happen. We did clean the fridge out to make room for the turkey. We are going a more eclectic route, with turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, plus a pasta entree and stuffed mushrooms for the vegetarians and turkey haters in the family. I'm doing the pies. I will post some recipes on my food website, so please check them out.

I went back to Dr. Reichman, the neurosurgeon. Still didn't get to see him, but that's okay. I am feeling so much better that I think surgery can wait, maybe forever. They gave me a new prescription that has really helped with my headaches and the massage has done some great things for the sciatica. I'm still not sleeping great, but I don't know how to fix that yet.

And I'm back at work as of Wednesday. So if you're at the mall and want to see me in my See's Uniform, stop by and say hello!

That's about it for now. Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and Count Your Many Blessings!

An assortment of random events

Thought I'd share some funny things that happened to me in the last few days.

1. My cat is so sneaky! Randy and I were changing the sheets on our bed. He was on one side, I was on the other, we both grabbed the blankets and pulled them back at the same time. There was my cat, hiding under the cover, all tucked in! She thinks our bed is hers. Every night she jumps on the bed until she's kicked out and every morning after Randy gets up she jumps back on the bed!

2. Ellen and I were watching the news about all the protests over Prop. 8 lately, and the suspicious packages sent to the temples. Ellen asked, "Why are some people so stupid?" I said, "It's the last days. Stupidness abounds." That just struck us both as very funny. I'm thinking of having a shirt made with that saying on it.

3. Also about Ellen and me. We went to Old Navy and I was about to splurge and buy her a $10 t-shirt. She picked out the one she wanted and we were heading from the dressing rooms to the front to pay. We passed a young couple with a baby in their shopping cart and overheard the dad say, "We already have 800 dollars worth of stuff in the back of the closet." The wife said, "Yeah, but some of that is 12 months."

Ellen and I both looked at each other. Were they really saying they had $800 worth of baby clothes in their closet? Is that even possible? Why does a baby need a $800 wardrobe? We spent that much on Ellen's crib, car seat, stroller, all of her clothes, and a whole bunch of diapers, all put together! And this was just the extra stuff they were saving for later! I would love to have $800 to spend on clothes. I could buy stuff for my whole family with that! If I paid $10 for each item, I could get 80 things! Some people are just nuts.

My Birthday Blessings

President Elect Barack Obama

So I got a new president for my birthday. And the whole country had a bunch of really big parties. I didn't get to attend most of them, but I sure appreciate the thought. I heard the one in Chicago was really phenomenal.

Every 28 years, my birthday seems to fall on election day. This year was the year. Last time, the election was in favor of Ronald Reagan and I was very bummed because the adults all sat around talking about the election and not focusing on the important stuff, namely, my birthday! This year I was old enough to appreciate what a great present I was getting.

I did get a lot of other wonderful presents. My kids know me so well - Will got me a book, which is always a good present for me. Ellen got me a new Nancy Drew game. And don't laugh - they are seriously good fun. Sarah got me a bunch of my favorite treats. I also got jewelry and new sheets. But my coolest present is my new ipod from Randy. I LOVE this thing! I tried posting a picture, but I couldn't get it to work. It has 8 GB! That's 8 times more than my old one! I put all my songs on there and I can't believe how much room I have left. I've been downloading songs way too much. I am so happy with it. And then there were my wonderful friends who stopped by with presents. Thanks to Maleen and Ivory and Reva. And my cake was naturally extremely yummy. And not just because I made it, but just because it's always yummy!

But as I have thought about my birthday after the fun was all over, I have decided that my best present was not one I could wrap. I feel extremely blessed to be living in my country, here and now. No, the United States is not a perfect place to live. There is still violence, poverty, and injustice, here just like everywhere else, mostly because it is full of human beings, and we are not perfect yet.

I started off my birthday by going to vote. While I was there, I saw all kinds of friends from my neighborhood - Reva, Sunny, the Hadlocks, the Redfords - and lots of them with their children. I enjoyed a chance to visit with everyone and get my sticker. Then I went on with the rest of my day, playing on the computer, making a cake, celebrating with family.

But think about how monumentous that really is. I got to vote. That puts me in the minority of the human race in the entire history of time. I am lucky enough to live in a country where I can go to the polls and vote. Even as a woman, which I feel is no disadvantage, but historically would not be in my favor. And casting that vote didn't cost me any money, it didn't involve any real sacrifice, it didn't put me in danger. And my vote counted.

And even better, I got to see my country take a huge step forward to the day when all human beings are really treated as equal. Maybe now, race will not be an issue in an election. And maybe one day, gender and religion will not matter either. Maybe the issues will matter. I think that day may be a long way off, but then there are those who thought that this day was a long way off. And here it is, in my lifetime.

Now I just have another 28 years to wait for my Election Day Birthday. It's kind of hard to imagine what that will be like. Will I be surrounded by grandchildren? Will we still be watching the election returns on the television? I don't know. But I know that the right to vote will still be one of my most valuable presents.