Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays

The happiest of holidays to everyone.


Christmas morning has come a little early in Fort Worth. My extra-special niece and her amazingly good-natured, patient, tolerant (not to mention talented, gregarious, generous and comically gifted) husband are making this holiday one to remember. My force of nature sister less than a mile away, rests in a home that has been transformed into a Christmas wonderland.


At last count there were six different pies awaiting our enjoyment and the buffet is straining beneath the weight of sundry confections.





An enormous tree is twinkling at the heart of this wonderland and there are too many gifts to count gleefully offered by everyone who enters. What should be especially interesting this year is that some family members made a commitment to hand-make every gift. The day will be interesting indeed.

Have a magical and forgiving Christmas. May your families be tolerant with one another and happy just to be and let be. Whatever brings you happiness, whatever brings you joy. That is what I wish for you today.


My very best wishes to all.

Aunt Melissa

Welcome Home Endeavor!

Welcome Home Endeavor!

We climbed up on the roof for the fly-over yesterday afternoon, but unfortunately the sun concealed our view. Those sonic booms were pretty exciting, though! The loud BOOM, BOOM shook the roof a bit and prompted a neighbor to shout out a question if someone had dropped something on her roof.

Oh well, didn't see it in person, but at left is a shot from NASA online once Endeavor was safely on ground.


After all the excitement we celebrated with:

Welcome Home Endeavor Alfredo

1/4 c.Heavy Cream
1/4 c. Half-n-Half
Splash of Milk
3 T. Butter
1 cup Parmesan Cheese
3 cloves of Garlic
2 T. Parsley
1 cup Roasted Turkey Breast
Steamed broccoli & cauliflower Florettes
Spaghetti (Cooked)

Steam vegetables and set aside. Place cream, Half-n-half, Milk, Garlic, Butter, Parmesan Cheese and Parsley in Blender. Pulse until garlic and cheese grated and cream is whipped. Transfer to microwave safe dish and microwave for 2 minutes. While sauce is warming, cube Turkey into bite-size pieces. Pulse sauce a few more times in blender and pour over spaghetti, turkey and vegetables. Preparation time: 3 minutes for the sauce, 20 minutes for boiling water, steaming vegetables and cooking spaghetti. If using leftovers, dinner can be on the table in 3 minutes. I'm serious. We can't have it too often because of the the cream and butter, but occasionally this is a GREAT dinner for weeknights.

Bob wanted some, of course, but alfredo is not for puppies.

He DID however take me on a very brisk walk/jog to work off the calories. =)

Happy Monday!



Aunt Melissa