Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  By now we're all probably knee deep in preparations for that holiday dinner or at least have a good idea of what direction we're going.  This year it seems Food Network is not helping matters much.  I'm saying this because of what I've seen the last week or so with all their special shows concerning Thanksgiving.  The one person in particular that I think we could do without giving us his so called "expert advice" is Alton Brown.  In fact, I'm afraid he's useless.  We used to love his show "Good Eats" and get a kick out of it but I never really got into the " Iron Chef" shows. Since I'm always looking for new and different ways to do things, I've been tuning into Food Network to see what's shaking.  One of his recent shows on thawing a turkey involved rigging up a fountain through a cooler so you would have fresh water flowing around it at all times.  Are you serious?  Do you really think the average joe would go to these lengths to thaw a turkey?  To me that goes against everything Food Network stands for, which is appealing to the at- home cook.  That's what they emphasize during the Next Food Network Star shows.  It has to be easy enough for a viewer to understand and willing to do.  He also gave a recipe for gravy where he said you needed 2 types of thickening  -  flour/cornstarch and potato starch.  The latter is a commercial grade thickener that most of us don't have access to.  The real clincher was the Thanksgiving Live show they just aired.  He was the moderator, Iron Chef style, that took phone calls and e-mails from people for the chefs such as Bobby Flay, Rachel, Sunny, Melissa, etc.  He was downright rude to some of them and had such an uppity (no racial slur intended) attitude.  I was appalled by him.  He was such a turn-off.  I hope Food Network takes a close look at this and reevaluates their need for someone like Alton Brown.

Go Anya!

The new season of Project Runway started last week and once again I'm lovin it. I know I've written about it before but here goes again. Maybe part of it is because I'm sewing so much lately, but I think these people are so talented. I'm especially rooting for Anya who Heidi talked about on GMA before the first episode. She told the story about during casting this girl came in saying she had only been sewing for 4 months. Of course the other judges were convinced she was a fraud and didn't want her on the show. Heidi wanted to at least give her a chance but we didn't know until the first one if she got that chance or not. Well, she did. During the show last week, they had to make an outfit with their pajamas and 1 sheet. It was the first time Anya had ever sewn with silk and had ever made a pair of pants. She was struggling with it but managed to make one of the best projects of the week. Hooray for her!!! This week was the unconventional challenge where they got their supplies from the pet store and though she wasn't the best she was safe for another week. These designers are fabulous in my book because they do it all - have a unique idea, draw the design for it, create it, usually with no pattern and sew it themselves, in a limited amount of time. Of course there's always a twist which I love. Can't wait to see what next week will bring, especially for Anya.

GENIUS

I mentioned before about QVC having their Christmas in July special this past weekend and how I was looking forward to it. I didn't buy anything but I had a good time looking for new ideas and I think that's what QVC is all about. Here's some things that stood out.

1. One really good deal was the five candles in glass containers for $30 and S&H was free! That was a pretty good deal with the free shipping - even the maker of it was impressed.


2. Of course, the TSV from Bethlehem Lights on Sat. was spectacular! Not that it got my eye just on appearance but when they said the outlet ran the length of the trunk, I thought GENIUS!!!! What I wouldn't have given for something like that over the years. I thought when I got my prelit tree, I was home safe but I realized the work is just beginning with those cords. This is a no brainer and like I said GENIUS!!!


3. One other Christmas item caught my eye over the weekend was the hanging basket with lights and ornaments. It was $35 and had the battery operated lights with greenery in a hanging basket. That looked really gorgeous and something that would be nice at my house or eventually at the cabin but I won't pay that much as I would want more than one. They even commented how much it would cost if you made it yourself. It wouldn't cost me much because I would use some hanging planters that I already have, I would use regular lights to plug in (in the dark you wouldn't see the cord anyway), and I would use real greenery and pass on the ornaments. Voila, we have a freebie!

I'm trying not to buy Christmas stuff since I have more than what I need now. It's very difficult but at least I can get some ideas and make something. I'm glad QVC came through for me this weekend.

My Super Saturday

That's how I'm feeling about today, partly because I haven't had many Saturdays this summer where I could just relax and sit in front of the tv for one reason or another. It began in the middle of the night with some rain. I was so happy for my hubby because almost every day this week he's been watering the garden. Then I slept in a little, got up and while drinking my coffee, I realized all my sewing shows are on today. Thennnn, I thought I'd flip to QVC and saw that it was CHRISTMAS IN JULY!!!! Wow, was I excited. I didn't even think about it and it just sneaked up on me. What a great day!!!! I'm sure some of you are puzzled by my enthusiasm but when these things fall into place like this, I get excited. Of course I won't be sitting in front of the tv all day - my nephew's birthday party is tonight so I will get out of the house for a while but I'm sure I will be itching to get back home to see what else QVC has to offer tonight.

More Commercials

It doesn't take much to get me going on commercials and as I read my DIL's blog it reminded me of one I first saw in the hospital. They are actually selling a spiral telephone cord with a full size handset that you can plug into your cell phone and talk. Who would want that??? Isn't that the whole point of having a cell phone so you can tuck it in your pocket? This was for real, not one of those commercials that make fun of products. Some more of my favorites lately have been the ones about "Missing something" and ads for eyeglasses. I especially like the one about the girl who's on her cell phone and gets into a police car thinking it's a taxi!!! I can't help but chuckle and give a high five to the creator.

Commercials

There's always alot of talk about the commercials during the Super Bowl and how some people just watch it for that reason. We flipped around Sunday night just for the score but didn't watch anything except that I did see the Chevy commercial with the Glee stars (I liked that). What gets me is that there have been fabulous commercials over the years that I'm amazed people could come up with these. The best, in my book, has been the California Raisin commercial singing I heard it through the grapevine. What a genius! Lately I've been fascinated with the insurance commercials with Flo and Mayhem. I think the real stroke of genius is having a single actor in a recurring role - that really seems to draw us in and what distinguishes them from a single commercial on Super Bowl Sunday. Save your money and come up with something decent to run for awhile.

Two in the Kitchen

I just love watching the house hunting shows like House Hunters, Property Virgins, My 1st sale, My 1st Place, etc. I even got my husband watching one day and we really got into it. One guy in particular built his house himself, hired his girlfriend as his realtor and had definite ideas of how he wanted it sold (no sign and he wanted to be there for the open house). One thing has always amazed me is when they say this beautiful kitchen isn't big enough for the both of them. That has never been an issue for me since I'm usually the only one in mine, until now. It seems for lunch, anyway, my husband and I are both in the kitchen making something different to eat and we are starting to run into each other. I've been trying to wait a little longer to have lunch and give him time to finish up. Of course, that's really the only meal we're in there together so I think we can work it out. The other thing about these shows that we can both relate to is how they do their staging in order to sell the house. This might come in handy when the time comes to put our house up for sale.

Don't touch my junk!

Yea, you read that right! "Don't touch my junk" is all we seem to hear on tv about the airport security issue. If we listen to the media, there's going to be huge delays because everyone will be fighting over this issue. In reality, the media is probably the only one that is worked up about this. Travelers just want to go home and enjoy Thanksgiving with their families. Why do they do this? They grasp at any little straw and tear it to shreds, most of the info being false. Remember the Chandra Levi case where they were hell bent on blaming it on the Congressman. And I've really had enough of Mel Gibson and Charlie Sheen! There's gotta be some real news out there somewhere. It seems like everything is so exaggerated anymore, even the weather and how long the lines will be on Black Friday. And thank goodness Dancing with the Stars is over and give Bristol a break - she's a single mom living in Alaska!

Rocky and Glee

I was a little under impressed with Glee last night. I love the music and all but it seems like they are moving further and further away from any sort of plot lately. My daughter mentioned that it was too much singing and no plot to which I disagreed at the time. Usually there is a plot and the songs relate to it but last night was more an opportunity to put out an album than anything else and I wasn't liking what they were singing. In this case I would prefer the original Rocky Horror Show. What I did like was seeing Barry Bostwick and Meatloaf make guest appearances! At first I wasn't sure who the guy with Barry was but he sure looked familiar, then it hit me. At the end of the show my ears perked up when I saw they are putting out a Christmas cd and I already know that they sing "Last Christmas" . It'll be interesting to see the Office show that relates to Glee.