Weekend Update: Thanksgiving Edition, Part 1

Last time you saw me, I was enjoying some raspberry pancakes the last full weekend in November, and here we are in December!  CHRISTMAS SEASON.  Oh, tidings of joy to you.  :)

What have been up to since then?  Well, on Tuesday, I made this awesome apple pie:

(Yes, it was as delicious as it looks.  And that is a leaf, not a tree cut-out.)

Because I was exhausted Tuesday night, I got up super early on Wednesday to make baked beans, only to find my onion was spoiled.  So I took Zach to work, grabbed another onion, and spent a few hours at home.  Then I went in for three hours before the college closed early!  Score!

We headed home, loaded up the car with our stuff and "Pancake," and headed down to central Arkansas.

"Pancake" was such a good little pilgrim!  She sat in my lap the whole way, purring and purring.

Thursday meant Thanksgiving, and here are a few many photos from the day:

This is what happens when the photog and back-up photog are in the picture...and your back-up back-up just had shoulder surgery--iPhone photo!

That cranberry JELL-O sauce in the middle is one of my favorites of my mother-in-law's!

our nephew Sayer some of the peeps

husby ready for a nap

Sayer decorated the tree, but it took five people to hang the star!

my mother-in-law pretending to be the Statue of Liberty :)

the finished product later that evening

Sayer and Momo who is NOT happy about her too short haircut

silly Sayer

some of the animals from the weekend (Phoebe, Sasha, and "Pancake")

Pancake went to her new home Thanksgiving night, but unfortunately, she escaped out the door the next day!  I am clinging to these verses (Matthew 6:25-34).  Pray that she found a better home and is not in the cold--hungry, afraid, and missing us.  We just cried when we heard.

I did a little shopping on Black Friday by myself.  I didn't get out until 11, but I still got everything I wanted and more!  I hit up JCP, Children's Place, Old Navy, and Michael's (and Walmart--but not for BF shopping).  The crowds weren't too bad except at Old Navy, where I waited 30+ minutes to check out, BUT I got a coupon for having a pence in my pocket.  :)  (They were doing a scavenger hunt-type thing.)

Friday evening, we headed to NLR, but I will have to post about our adventures there tomorrow.

What did you do this Thanksgiving?

Five on Friday

1)  You've probably seen the macaroni-and-cheese-boiled-in-milk pin/recipe floating around for a time, but I finally tried it on Wednesday.  It was very decadent and filling, but I approve.  The only thing is, I over salted it.  Blurgh.  I will have to try again soon.

2)  To put me in the holiday mood further, the Christmas trees went up on campus this week AND we had our annual Thanksgiving feast today.  In our meeting this morning, we early Christmas celebrators were chastised with the song here.  It was coincidental considering I tried to convince Zach to let me listen to Holly on route to work today because I was feeling bad, but no dice.  For the Thanksgiving lunch, my suite mates headed over 20 minutes early, so we could get in line first, and half of us braved the freezing temperatures (literally 32 degrees) to walk across campus there.  But it was worth it!  I'm so ready for turkey day and the Christmas rush.  :)

3)  I watched this video, and now I am obsessed with learning more about Hasidic Jews.  I love learning about other cultures, and I was really touched by one man's description of his soul being attached to God (I immediately thought of an umbilical cord) and how nothing can severe that connection or break God's love for him.  (He worded it much better than me.)

4)  The night before Veterans Day, we were visited by a little grey cat.  Then that Thursday, I heard the cat mewing when we got home after my long night of teaching.  This kitten was so sweet, purring and rolling around so we could rub its tummy.  It was clearly domesticated and not feral.  So we made it a box with blanket and put out some food since it was getting skinny.  Little kitty got upgraded to a carrier and a warmer blanket, and we started calling him "Pancake."  Now, we have found him a home with my SIL's coworker, so we are keeping him inside where it's warm.  Meet Pancake!

5)  Zach and I are "adopting" a little boy for Christmas through a program at work.  I am very excited to serve and go shopping for him over the coming weeks!!  I've already spent my lunch breaks all week combing through Amazon and Black Friday previews for a game plan to maximize our budget for the most blessings.  :)

"Have a Holly Jolly Christmas..."

The highlight and low of my day was finding out that Sirius Radio's Holly station is back on for the holiday season!  I could listen to Christmas any time and look forward to listening to it during the summer (weird, I know), but I do try to hold off as we move into the fall and through Thanksgiving.  But today, since Zach stayed home, I caved and started listening.  I was bummed that I have missed about a week of listening already, but it made me oh, so happy!  :)

A Year Ago Tomorrow

A year ago tonight, I was sitting in a hospital bed, eating more-than-tolerable hospital food and visiting with my husband, my mama, my mother-in-law, and a friend from work.  I was surrounded by flowers and little presents.  I likely had TLC or the Food Network on and was getting two units of blood to begin the treatment for which I had been admitted a week and a half earlier to start.  Earlier that year, we never expected I would need to start such a medication so soon because my intestines had mild inflammation that could be easily treated with the usual round of meds.  But in the fall, the illness spiraled out of control, and this was our next option.  We were nervous; this was a biologic drug that could have serious side effects and outcomes.  But the possibility outweighed the risk.  So I was admitted, missed Thanksgiving, and had test after test and antibiotic after antibiotic to clear me, to make sure I didn't have TB or any infections that would put me in danger when I started the Remicade.  Of course, when the final TB test came back, it was inconclusive, so we weren't sure when I would begin.  My GI doc called in nfectious disease physicians to examine me, and they finally cleared me for take off...

Little did I know that I would wake the next morning, Thursday, December 1, 2011, in the worst pain I had ever experienced.  I knew something was wrong.  I insisted something was wrong, and as a good patient, that was hard to do--to push my doctors to do something.  After enduring a round of x-rays, they didn't pick up on anything and wanted to push forward with the plan.  But I was so afraid everything would go wrong.  I insisted they check again,  After a CAT scan (the second since my hospitalization), they discovered perforations had formed in my colon while I was in the hospital.  This meant emergency surgery to remove the perforated colon.

A year ago tomorrow, I didn't know what danger I was in.  I didn't know what it meant to have part of your colon removed.  I didn't know that I could die from what happened in my body, by my body, to my body.

This is something I wrote in response to that day in my daily Facebook photo album:

So many people prayed for me, people I do not know, some people I will probably never meet. It brings tears to my eyes when I go on Facebook and see where people said they were praying for me and sending love and support and encouragement. Prayer saved my life. I do believe that. If we had not all joined together, I do not know if I would be doing as well as I am. I have had some setbacks, yes, but, overall, my recovery has gone very well. I have tried to trust God completely and let Him carry me through this ordeal. I still have my moments when I lose faith and worry, but I know it is a result of the prayers we lifted up to Jesus together that have gotten me here. I had been praying the entire morning before my surgery, asking God to heal me from the inside and to bind Satan and to curse this horrible disease. I have been very careful not to say "my" Crohn's Disease anymore; I will not take ownership of it. It is not a part of me; it is part of this fallen world and is not part of God's promise to us. He wants us to be healthy and well and whole in His image. The thing about Crohn's Disease is that your body attacks itself and treats food, especially things that are often considered healthier such as raw fruits and vegetables, as something to be attacked as well. But God has promised otherwise in some of the first words of the Bible: "Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. '" (Genesis 1:29) I know we often skip through the Old Testament, especially those first passages, but I don't think it can be any plainer than that. I am going to be healed; I am going to be well; I am going to be stronger than before. Food will nourish not destroy my body. This experience has changed my life in so many ways, ways I could have never imagined. I am getting my life back physically and spiritually so I can go out and love and serve and do what I am supposed to do. I believed in prayer before this, but now I have experienced the true power of it, what it does, what it can do. It breaks my heart if you don't believe in God or prayer because I know that He saved my life on December 1 because we prayed to Him. I still have a long way to go and I still need lots of prayers, but I know it will be okay because I trust God has kept me here for a reason.

Tomorrow, we are going to Eureka Springs for a walking tour of Victorian homes decorated for Christmas.  It will be a time of great rejoicing and happiness and fun.  I know Zach and I will reflect on where we were a year ago and how far we have come, but I will not let what is passed be a burden on a glorious day and weekend.  I thank God for giving me back my life, for all those that were instruments in His Hands to do so--my family, my friends, my physicians.  He is my Father, my Friend, my Great Physician.  I thank Him for letting me remember, for helping me not forget, for allowing me to process these memories with both praise and mourning, acceptance and disbelief, happiness and hurt and even a little humor as I remember how my colon crapped out (bathroom humor) and became a semicolon (English teacher humor).  What a life I have!  What a future I have!  And, as the future is now, I will go enjoy the present that the Lord has given me.  :)

Be Grateful #15

1)  I'm thankful for the wonderful Thanksgiving we had!  What a glorious day!  I do wish Zach had been feeling better for the weekend, but he made it through.
2)  I'm pleasantly surprised by how kind folks were at Walmart Thanksgiving night while we waiting to buy $20 sheets.  (Yes.  I was crazy.  I must have had a stroke or something.)  I normally don't partake in Black Friday--or in this case, Grey Thursday--and I was very hesitant in light of the ridiculousness of starting even earlier.  But I thought the sheets were gold, and we have been looking for some for ages, so I thought my mama and I could pop up there, and it would give her a chance to get out and about, which she hasn't been able to do in awhile.  Well, they weren't gold; they were tan.  But I was able to pick up some grey sheets for my MIL and some cream ones for my SIL (she and her husband only have one set of sheets right now, so I was glad to get them some), and I was able to football carry some green ones for my mom (who always uses secondhand sheets).  We really had an enjoyable time, though it got a bit crazy and I don't think I will ever do this again, especially on Grey Thursday.
3)  I'm grateful for the long weekend I had to relax and knit and watch TV and eat lots of ham, cornbread dressing, and pie.
4)  I'm glad my root canal is over and that it wasn't painful.  Right now, since the feeling has come back, it is a bit sore.  Please pray that I stop stressing it is chipped or something; I'm freaked by how rough the surface feels.  (I've got to schedule my crown still.)
5)  I'm so happy that there are just two weeks until finals week!  These next two weeks should be rather  easy for me.  :)
6)  And I'm so happy that we have our Christmas decorations up and are watching Christmas Vacation right now.
7)  Mostly, I'm so blessed to have a wonderful husband...who trudged to Walmart last night after I realized we didn't have enough of the same lights for our tree.  I love that man.

Be Grateful #14

In my part of the nation--that is obviously Arkansas since this is "The Pharr Side of Arkansas" :)  --it is officially Thanksgiving!  So HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OF YOU TURKEYS!  I hope you have a lovely day with your loved ones and eat and eat and eat...and eat and eat and eat...and eat and eat and eat some more.  ;)

This is the apple pie I made for our dinner.  I first made this recipe for Christmas in 2010, and it went over very well.  So I planned to make it for last Thanksgiving, but we know how that turned out.  I think it looks beautiful with the oak leaf, maple leaf, and acorn cutouts (along with three apple cutouts in the center).  Hopefully, it tastes as good as it looks!  (I'll let you know.)

This year, I feel especially thankful.  Last year at this time, I was hospitalized and battling the worst Crohn's Disease flare-up I've had yet, planning to beat it by starting Remicade.  Eventually, this flare caused perforations in my colon, which led to emergency surgery and a colostomy before starting Remicade about two weeks later.  I almost died last year, and I am so grateful that I am still here.  Things like that really put it all in perspective, don't they?  You can read more about those experiences life-altering experiences here.

1)  I am thankful for my Lord and Savior who loves me unconditionally and saves me moment by moment.  I really would be nothing without God.

2)  I am thankful to be alive and (pretty much) well.  :)

3)  I am thankful for my husband.  God really knew what He was doing when He made Zach and put him in my life.  Since we have been together, he has never ceased to amaze me with his love, kindness, intelligence, humor, thoughtfulness, quirkiness, etc. etc. etc.

4)  I am thankful for my mama and that she is doing better this year, getting back on track, having started some things over, becoming closer with my brother again.

5)  I am thankful for my family--whether by blood, law, or choice.  "No man is an island," John Donne once said.  Nor should he.  We need each other.  I am so glad I need them and they me.

6)  I am thankful for my friends and acquaintances who inspire me, like me, support me, and guide me.

7)  I am thankful for my kitties.  They are our babies, and it's hard to picture our life without them.

8)  I am thankful to have a home with food in our pantries, heat in our house, and running water in the showers.

9)  I am thankful for our Dyson vacuum, so Zach can continue to do a thing he loves (vacuuming--he is so weird, y'all!) and for my Scentsy warmer, so I can make our house smell like oranges, cloves, and cinnamon (Mandarin Moon).

10)  I am thankful for tomorrow, which is already today and will soon become a yesterday.

What are you thankful for this year??

Be Grateful #13

Well, I have been so behind that I missed my gratitude journal last Monday, but I planned to do a post on Thanksgiving, so I figured it would be fine to post it today.  :)

1)  I am thankful for weekends at home and away.

2)  I am thankful for my precious students and that I haven't scared some away so that they feel okay to take me again in the spring.

3)  I am thankful for movie dates and dinner at Denny's.

4)  I am thankful to have finished Christmas shopping for Zach.  (Well, almost.)

5)  I am thankful for the friends I have at work.  Last year, I was still in my shell, but after falling so ill and recovering, I had people pray for us that I had never talked to, and suddenly, I found myself talking to him.

6)  I am thankful to help out my family and friends in any way I can.  And I'm thankful for those that ordered Scentsy to help my niece build her business as well as give me reward points.  I can't wait to get it in and try it!

7)  I'm thankful for clean carpets!

8)  I'm thankful for the kindness of strangers.  Thanks to the Pay It Forward program in our area, an Arvest Bank branch paid for my prescription on Wednesday, which made possibly having an infected tooth and potential root canal in the future easier to deal with.

9)  I'm thankful for my new and old infusion nurses.

10)  I'm thankful for my Gilmore Girls DVDs.

11)  I'm thankful that it is acceptable to put up Christmas decorations and listen to Christmas music this week.

12)  I'm thankful that I work at a place that acknowledges the holidays with Thanksgiving potlucks and a huge Christmas tree in every building.

13)  I'm thankful we have a soda shoppe (but I'm not happy they got rid of our British candy to open it!).

14)  I'm thankful for healthy babies and smooth labors and happy pregnancy for my dear friends.  Introducing my newest best niece, Autumn, who was born on the 13th at 8 lb. 2 oz.  (Y'all.  Her weight is AMAZING.  Her mama, Monica, is TI-EENY.)

Photo a Day in November #14

14.  Man-Made

A few weeks ago, I changed my Halloween banner to a Thanksgiving one.  The banner is made by me with materials made by machines, I'm assuming.  Even I used a  hole punch to thread the ribbon through.  But it will work...and I don't know where my husband put my knitting bag, so I can't show you my nicely knitted stocking for him.  :)

Be Grateful #12

The Flaming Lips at Barnhill Arena

1.  I'm thankful for a chill weekend in which we got to laze about the house a bit.  We did go out Friday night for the last First Friday:  Bentonville in Toyland (lots of toy vendors were set up on the Square, and we got some free LEGOs).  And we went to see The Flaming Lips Sunday night (mesmerizing!).  But all day Saturday and most of Sunday we just lazed about.  That extra hour of sleep was glorious.

2.  I'm thankful I am able to work from home when I am not feeling too well, like this week when I have a yucky cold.

3.  I'm thankful the election season is OVER.  ;)  Now I pray we can work together as a nation to move forward as a nation.  I've been so saddened and angered by the way some people have behaved (and are still behaving), and I am trying to embrace positivity and hope and faith and above all else, love.

4.  I'm thankful it's November!  I have my Thanksgiving banner over the fireplace and already have my apple pie planned.  :)

Yes, I know, I'm a few days late with this.  Being sick and busy is not a good combo...

Pinteresting...yes? :)

So I find all of my ideas on Pinterest lately.  Last night, we had some friends over for dinner, and everything but the dessert (which was courtesy of Marie Callender) was from Pinterest.  AND THEY WERE ALL DELICIOUS!  I made stuffed peppers, Crock Pot mashed potatoes, and homemade bread.  Ah, it makes my mouth water...

Yesterday, I gave you a sneak peek of something I was in the process of creating (for "Create" for my Photo a Day challenge).  Well, wait no more because here it is:

I made a lovely fall wreath!  I saw one on Pinterest and fell in love with it.  I loved it so much that I pinned it twice!  (No, it wasn't an accidental pin the second time around, as in I pushed the button too much.  This was my very first pin on my Holidaze board, and months later, I pinned it again.)

Zach and I like natural holiday decorations rather than whimsical or ostentatious ones.  We like our decor to be somewhat traditional and look as if it could have been plucked from the outdoors.  If, for the most part, Alcott's Little Women couldn't have made it, then we don't want it.  (Think pine boughs and cranberries and pinecones for Christmas.)  *lol*  So this wreath seemed perfect for us.  After all, I can hang this from September through November, and it will work just fine for Halloween and Thanksgiving.  The original was moss-covered with some realistic pumpkins and a simple burlap ribbon to tie it up.  I decided to recreate it with very few changes!

I had also seen on Pinterest how to avoid buying expensive styrofoam wreaths by using plumbing tubing instead!  The size I would have needed for this wreath would have cost me around $10 or more, according to my estimates, but I got a six-foot-long tube for $1.37!  I felt so proud marching into Lowe's and heading to the plumbing section as if I knew what things were.  ;)  This was great because we are short on our budget this month, and I didn't have much to spend on this wreath.  I simply cut where needed and taped them together.  What is even better is that this tubing doesn't flake like styrofoam does.  :)

I hot-glued moss around my tubing.  I didn't do the backs because 1) I was lazy, and 2) I wanted the wreath to lay flat, and 3) hot-gluing moss is hella messy!  I knew it would be very, very messy, but it was MESSY.  I decided to go with a variety of pumpkins to create interest, and I bought ones with picks (except for the very orange one in the center).  I trimmed the picks to fit, poked them into the wreath where desired, pulled them slightly out, coated the pick with hot glue, and stuck back in.  I had planned on using burlap ribbon, but I had some of this lovely brown fabric leftover from my bathroom shelf curtain and decided to cut a "ribbon" from it.  The ends and sides will fray, so it won't look too neat.  :)

Ah, it was an adventure making this.  Our kitties kept hopping up on the table to investigate the moss, and I was certain they were going to ingest some and die or get burned by my hot glue gun or knock the gun to the floor, getting hot glue everywhere.  Every five minutes, I was yelling, "Hobie!  No!  Dinah!  No!  Zaaaaach!"

I hung it in my kitchen to see how it will look on the door.  We have got to get a wreath hanger or put in a nail on the door.  I think it looks fab!  Don't you?  :)

G is for GREEN BEANS

I love green beans.  It was one of the first vegetables for which I developed a taste after I was diagnosed with Crohn's; that means, I have been a fan for almost nine years now!  I would have them every now and then before my diagnosis--I remember Thanksgivings specifically--but once again, I didn't eat many veggies in the days before Crohn's changed my life.  Now, I strive very much to incorporate healthy foods into my diet, especially fruits and vegetables, and if I ever have kids, I will do everything in my power to ensure that they eat and enjoy produce.  :)

I like fresh green beans, canned green beans, frozen green beans.  My MIL actually introduced me to the BEST frozen green beans ever:  these babies below.  :)

When we were in grad school, we shopped at Kroger, but that isn't an option here.  (However, a new Harp's is supposed to be opening right down the street from us in an old motel--HALLEJUAH!)  I tend to buy the generic/store brand for things like frozen veggies, but Walmart's green beans are sooo tough.  These beauties, which are found at Sam's, turn out perfectly.  (Sorry for not knowing the price; my MIL bought these for us when she was taking care of me after my surgery.)  Since I usually steam the green beans with some kind of spice (thyme, garlic, Italian mix, etc.), tonight, I wanted to do something different.  I love roasted vegetables, so I decided to give roasted green beans a try.  :)

Roasted Green Beans

1/2 pound frozen green beans

3/4 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 Tbsp. (i.e. 1 1/2 tsp.) balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 450.  Place green beans in bowl.  (I snapped mine in half so they would cook faster.)  Mix oil and vinegar together and pour over beans; toss to coat.  Arrange on a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 20-ish minutes.  Season with salt, pepper, and parmesan to taste.

These were quite delicious!  I recommend them to go alongside spaghetti, which is what we did.  :)

Menu Monday: SHEPHERD'S PIE

So casseroles kinda freak me out.

Well, they don't freak me out when I'm eating one fresh out of the oven.

It's actually the leftovers that freak me out.

The mixture of meat, vegetable and cream smells, cold and congealed food bits...ugh.

But I do like casseroles a good bit. Yep, I'm a fan. It's so nice to throw everything into a pan and into the oven. The casserole comes out piping hot, and everything compliments one another so well. And casseroles have been around for awhile. Well, cooking food in earthenware dishes has been around for awhile. So I feel like I am continuing and contributing to a well-kept tradition.

From what I understand, the term "casserole" is French for "saucepan"...and we know now it has come to mean both the dish being cooked for consumption and the dish in which it is cooked and served. Casseroles tend to have a meat (chicken, beef, or tuna are common), lots of chopped vegetables (at least ours do :), a kind of starch (flour, pasta, potatoes, etc.), and a liquid or two (like chicken stock or wine). There are far too many variations to list, and many a dish can qualify as a casserole.

But poor casseroles...they can be notoriously disgusting. For instance, take any kind of tuna casserole. It goes in the same category as meatloaf, which can be the best at times and the worst at others. Even though I like tuna casseroles, I still quiver and shiver at the sight of them. Especially the leftovers. Yuck. :) Certain occasions still call for such dishes, however: potlucks and pitch-in's, church gatherings and family reunions, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I LOVE green bean casserole now, and I used to hate it. (I think part of my former dislike has to do with my continual aversion to mushrooms.) I do wonder what other recipes call for French-fried onions because I adore those and will eat them out of the can as I prepare my casserole. Goodness, I love onion.

This week I learned a new term for the casserole: hotdish. It is an upper-Midwestern term for the one-dish meal I have been discussing, although it can run a bit more Scandinavian or Germanic. On the other hand, a favorite seems to be the tater tot hotdish. Tater tot hotdish: now that is an American food dish! I like the sound of "hotdish" perhaps better than "casserole" because it doesn't hold any negative connotations for me as the French term does. Besides, we all know casseroles are at their best when "hot." ;)

SHEPHERD'S PIE isn't a casserole with which we may be familiar, unless you've ever ordered it at Dixie Cafe. *lol* (Of course they just take their meatloaf and top it with their smashed potatoes...which is a-okay with me because I still like it.) It's another traditional British dish--I'm sorry, but I'm nuts about all things British and Irish right now!--and my version isn't technically SHEPHERD'S PIE, but Cottage Pie. SHEPHERD'S PIE is made with lamb while Cottage Pie is made with beef. However, nowadays people tend to call both SHEPHERD'S PIE. Besides, Cottage Pie reminds one of cottage cheese, and there are plenty of bad vibes regarding that dairy product. (Now, I do like cottage cheese, especially with canned peaches, but I can see why it is creepy and gross to others. It's in the same category as tapioca and rice pudding) I hadn't meant to go on and on about casseroles when I chose this dish for this week, but I was reminded of casseroles when I went to reheat the leftovers. (Actually quite a few things appear rather disgusting as leftovers, but once you nuke 'em, it's all better. And let me tell you...our microwave nukes things. You just have to see how B I G it is.)

SHEPHERD'S PIE

1/2 lb. ground beef

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 med. onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. flour

1 c. chicken stock

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1 carrot, chopped

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

4 c. mashed potatoes

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

-In a skillet, brown the meat until it is completely browned and crumbly. Drain the fat off the meat and transfer to a dish. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel if needed.

-Add the oil and heat. Add the onions and garlic; saute over medium heat until the onions turn golden brown. Return the meat to the skillet and stir to combine.

-Sprinkle the flour over the meat mixture and stir it in. Slowly pour in the chicken stock while stirring. Add the tomato paste, carrots, salt, and pepper. Raise the heat and bring to a simmer. Cook until the filling is think and bubbling and the carrots have softened (about 15 minutes).

-Pour the meat mixture into a 11 x 9-in. baking dish. Spoon the mashed potatoes on top. (You can make peaks and swirls with the back of a spoon or a crosshatch pattern with a fork. You can even pipe out the potatoes using a pastry bag and a star tip, though this might take awhile. *lol*) Bake the pie until it is bubbling around the edges and the potato crust turns a deeper yellow (about 45 minutes).

-I recommend you serve this with some peas!

[Serves 8]

And because no blog is complete without some kind of picture:

The Lake District in 2009: view from atop Helm Crag

I think this is Derwent Water.