My annual Black Friday purchases

Four gift topics posted earlier on the week. This is the 5th.

I have a note on my calendar that repeats each year, a week or two before Black Friday.

It is a reminder to buy a new set of earbuds, Best Buy. So far they have been on sale each year around Black Friday shopping. 

This year, they were on sale a little early, I used curbside.

I put them in my closet and then on the day my old pair dies, I am all set. These ear buds are an absolute necessity for me. I use them cooking, sewing, walking the dogs, gardening, cleaning, etc.

Also the week of Black Friday - I check Amazon Prime to see what streaming platform package discounts are available. This year I got Britbox and Discovery+ for two months each. I have a note on my calendar to turn off the auto renew when the first month is finished and the second month is underway.  

Pet gift ideas

These first two are presents I am taking when I see youngest this weekend. 

Then these next ones are for youngest’s kittens for Xmas - 

Oldest/DIL/granddaughter’s two cats (chewy), I asked, this is what they wanted/needed -

Middle’s two dogs (chewy) -

Another gift that middle’s dogs love. These are hard chew bones, we get the large.

Baby gift ideas - part three

Middle ordered a sensory box and we made extra “tissues” with family photos on them, to add to the box.

We used some of the same photos from the baby photo album (yesterday’s post).

We used unwashed white cotton fabric, our printer, a borrowed *iron pressing machine, and this product -

* The photo transfer paper instructions said to use an iron with no holes in bottom. My steam iron has lots of holes. My long arm quilter had a press. I drove to her house/shop and did the transfers easily. I did not think to take photos, but this is the model press she had -

Baby gift ideas - part two

Middle bought a baby photo album (Amazon).

I ordered family pictures from Shutterfly to fill it. 

All the photos were from the last two years, we included our immediate family members. 

We included all six immediate family pets (4 cats, 2 dogs).

Baby gift ideas - part one

Part of my granddaughter gift plan, I am sending granddaughter a wooden ornament each year. 

Wooden because it blends with their tree decorations. And wooden because a name and year can easily be added to wood. 

This is the one I ordered this year (below). 

I put all of our family names on it. I also added all the pets. 

The website changed the display photo to my custom names as I typed, which was very fun.

https://www.personalizationmall.com/Product/Item

Two stuffing like recipes without the bread

These have been modified by me for how I cook and what we eat.

Harvest Casserole Hash 

Do not double this recipe 

chicken sausage or 2 chicken breasts 
2 medium sweet potatoes cubed
1 lb Brussel sprouts halved (fresh or frozen)

1.5 cups raw wild rice 
No salt chicken broth 
1 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp paprika 
1 tsp cumin
1 apple (honey crisp), finely diced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup sliced almonds 
Salt/pepper to taste

Eggs

Put wild rice and 3 cups broth in rice cooker. 

Preheat Oven 425° 

Roast Sweet potatoes, *Brussel sprouts, sprayed with olive oil, salt/pepper, 25 minutes, stir partway 

*roast raw/fresh Brussels sprouts. If using frozen, just thaw, but do not pre-cook/roast.

Spray large skillet with olive oil 

cook cubed chicken. 

Add onion, garlic, thyme, paprika, cumin.
Add apples. 

Stir in cranberries. 

Reduce oven to 400° 

Spray 9 x 13” baking dish, 
Combine all ingredients (except eggs)

Add 1/2 cup broth over mixture

Remember to add almonds, salt/pepper! 

Bake 20 minutes covered

Cook eggs over medium so they are still runny. 
Serve Harvest Casserole Hash with egg on top

This (below) is a slightly different take on the recipe above. We are making this version for Thanksgiving 2024.  

Cranberry-Glazed Roasted Butternut Squash, Brussels Sprouts, and Sweet Potato Salad with Cranberries and Goat Cheese 

Roasted Vegetables:

1 sm butternut squash, peel/cubed

1 lb Brussels sprouts, trim/halved

2 med sweet potatoes, peel/cubed

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Cranberry Glaze:

1/2 cup cranberry juice

1/4 cup dried cranberries

2 T honey or maple syrup

1 T balsamic vinegar

Finishing Touch:

4 oz goat cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup dried cranberries 

1 T fresh parsley, chopped 

Roast Vegetables

• Preheat oven 400°F 

• In a large bowl, toss the butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until well coated.

• Spread vegetables on a large baking sheet in a single layer.

• Roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway through, until tender and caramelized.

Cranberry Glaze

• While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the cranberry glaze. In a small saucepan, combine the cranberry juice, dried cranberries, honey (or maple syrup), and balsamic vinegar.

• Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens into a glaze.

Assemble Salad

• Transfer roasted vegetables to a large serving bowl.

• Drizzle cranberry glaze over roasted vegetables, toss to coat.

• Sprinkle crumbled goat cheese and extra dried cranberries on top.

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

This was a book group assignment. It is not a book I would have picked on my own. 

And that is part of the purpose of book groups, finding new authors, widening reading experience. Also, so great to read a book and then discuss it with other people for at least an hour. 

I started The Guncle. And then I bailed after a couple hours. I did not finish. I found it very annoying.

Clearly I did not read the sequel either, The Guncle Abroad. 

Please note - I went the discussion group for this book, even though I did not finish it. Everyone else liked the book. They thought it was funny. Several went on to read the sequel. At least one thought it should be made into a TV series.

More Peter Swanson books

I read a series of three books by Peter Swanson earlier this fall. They were written in 2015, 2023, 2024. I liked them a lot. Well written, unique voice.

https://baby-steps-v.blogspot.com/2024/08/peter-swanson-books.html

Because I skipped three assigned books for November Library discussion groups, and there is the Thanksgiving holiday, there is extra reading time this month. 

I am now working my way thru Peter Swanson’s 7 stand alone books. I hope to read everything from this author by the end of the year. There are ten novels, as of today, I have read five and am working on the sixth, so I am well on my way. 

(Last fall I did the same thing with William Kent Krueger who has 24 books. If I really like an author, I read everything.)

Of course I am reading them in publication order. So, The Girl with the Clock for a Heart, was first. I enjoyed it. Well written, unique plot. 

Then I read Her Every Fear. Also enjoyed it. Well written, unique plot.

I am just steadily working my way thru, in between my book group assignments, which as I mentioned are very light this month.

So far, I would recommend doing what I did, if you are reading this author. Start with the series, read it in order, then read the stand alone books in publication order. 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I did not read this when it was quite the topic of conversation in 2012. Yes, it would have been more fun to read, not knowing a thing about it. But it was still very good. I can see why it was such a big deal at the time. 

Two related cases -

Peacock

Dateline 

Season 24, Episode 3: 

Twisted Tale | Peacock

California, 2009: Denise Huskin's abduction is suspected to be a hoax until a similar case occurs later.

HULU

Sherri Papini's story has returned to the spotlight with the Hulu series "Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini," released 2024.

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

This was a book group assignment, author is from Pakistan. 

I got to almost the two hour mark, with almost 8 hours left to go, and simply stopped. 

It was an utter waste of time for me. I was not enjoying it. I could not retain it. There was too much history. There were too many names and dates and places that meant little to nothing to me. 

I had increased the speed to 1.25 which helped a lot. The author’s voice still sounded normal to me, the picked up pace helped brighten the book. But I still could not do it. 

I had a very creative solution - I switched to the children’s version. 

I enjoyed it, I understood it, it had almost no history, it was simply her story told in a very straightforward manner. 

It was not read by the author, but the speech was still very slow, I increased it to 1.30 and the voice still sounded normal.

I finished the simple version, easily, on time for my discussion meeting.

No one laughed at me for reading the simple version. 

Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosions by Mary Laura Philpott

This was an assignment for one of my regular book groups. 

The author, Mary Laura Philpott, reads her own book, a practice I like, and does a good job. 

I was not a fan of this author or book, which was a surprise, it is a memoir, I like memoirs. 

Half of my group did not finish the book.  I read it (Hoopla) in order to discuss it for my book group, but was not a fan. It was too ramble-y for all of us. It needed tighter editing. 

There is an underlying theme of epilepsy in Bomb Shelter. But it is not the focus. There is the underlying theme of the author’s parents health situation, it also was not the focus. We all agreed we would have liked it more if the family situations had been the cohesive focus and she had left out most of the side stories.

It had a lot of random-ness. I never fully connected with the author, I think because I do not know her.

I think if this author had a long list of previously published novels, and then wrote a memoir letting us in to her life and writing, I might have liked the random stories. 

Ann Patchett and Anna Quindlen and Dani Shapiro all came to mind. They have a nice list of well written fiction and then have treated us to nonfiction about their lives and writing too. If Elizabeth Strout wrote a memoir, I would be all over it. 

Two people in my group could not stand the author’s anxiety. One said the anxiety gave her insight to how anxious people think. The anxiety did not bother me, I identified with it. 

Everyone in the group, but me, had read the author’s first book I Miss You When I Blink (bottom of this post), also a memoir, and liked it. This title is a reference to epilepsy, but they all said the first book is not about epilepsy.

Publication Order of Mary Laura Philpott Humor Books

https://marylauraphilpott.com/books/i-miss-you-when-i-blink/

Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson

 

This was an assignment for Youngest’s book group. 

I have started reading some of her assigned books too, bonus, we can discuss. I don’t read all her club’s books. I just read the ones she suggests. This is how I found William Kent Krueger, who I consider to be one of my authors, I have read all his books. 

This was yet another book that needed edited/tightened/shortened. Oh my goodness the first half needed condensed. I almost bailed because it just went on and on. 

The second half was good. I am glad I finished. 

Apparently it was made into a movie too!