Update from Sammie and Cash

Hi everyone,

I'm using my mom's computer since she and dad are at my club (Sam's Club) shopping for Thanksgiving. Cash and I have settled into living in Lexington. My mom says it's funny how a lot of folks ask about us and want to make sure we like the new place. They seem more concerned about us than my parents. That's very thoughtful of you, so I thought I'd share some photos my parents have taken this fall and let you know we're doing well in the Bluegrass. I'm also working on writing my annual holiday letter, so you can expect to see that on here next month.

Before we left Knoxville, I decided to jump on top of the fridge one last time. Mom couldn't find me any place in the house and was concerned until she looked up and realized where I was hiding. 

The paint was so cheap in our Knoxville house that when Cash and I ran behind the bed, we actually made our mark on the wall. My dad says that all you had to do was look at the wall, and it would leave a mark. We don't miss the cheap paint.

On the afternoon we left Knoxville, Cash and I decided to explore the back of the Jeep Liberty as Dad loaded it. We had no idea that we were about to ride in a car for almost three hours to arrive at our new home. I wailed a lot, and Cash whimpered, but once we arrived and had special canned food for dinner, we got over it.

One of the first things we found in our new house are the stairs. Cash runs up and down them more than I do. I prefer to sit on them and look at everything below.

We spend more time sleeping on the couch next to each other up here, and I'm not sure why. I think Cash is still a little scared when my parents are gone, and he wants to stay close to me. My parents often come home after being gone all day and find us sleeping the day away.

My dad must be a great chemistry teacher because his students nominated him to attend a faculty appreciation dinner on campus last week. He wore a tie to work that day, and Cash decided to try it on when Dad got home.

My parents say the nicest feature about our new house is the gas fireplace. It took several weeks to get it working since water had gotten into the gas line outside, and a plumber had to flush it out before the gas company could install the tank. However, it was worth the wait. Cash enjoys lounging on the floor in front of the fireplace.

We're looking forward to a visit from Grandpa Sam for Thanksgiving. It's going to be very cold next week with highs around 40 and lows in the 20s. Hopefully he won't wear his jacket in the house like he did in Knoxville last Thanksgiving. We're going to stick him in front of the fireplace and give him a cup of hot coffee. Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,

Sammie and Cash

Dinner in a pumpkin

I had never heard of making dinner in a pumpkin until I saw a recipe for it online last month. I thought it was a unique idea and decided to try it. After searching for recipe variations, I developed my own list of ingredients. The hardest part was finding a smaller sugar or pie pumpkin in the grocery store.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground pork sausage (I used the sage-seasoned package)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons of soy sauce
• 1 1/2 cups long grain and wild rice mix
• 1 sugar or pie pumpkin
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 (4 ounce) cans mushroom stems and pieces, drained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can French cut green beans

 Directions

• In a large skillet over medium heat, brown sausage and chopped onion. Cook and stir until evenly browned. Mix in salt and pepper, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar.
• Drain meat, and mix in chicken stock and rice. Cover, and cook 25 to 30 minutes, until rice is tender.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove and reserve top of pumpkin. Scoop out seeds and stringy pulp.
• Mix soy sauce, cream of celery soup, cream of mushroom soup, mushroom stems and pieces, and green beans into the sausage and rice mixture. Spoon mixture into the pumpkin, and replace pumpkin top.
• Place pumpkin on a large baking sheet, and bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until pumpkin is tender. Scoop out portions of filling and parts of the cooked pulp to serve. 

The sausage and rice mixture was great, but we couldn't taste much of the pumpkin even after we baked it. I'm glad I added the pumpkin pie spice since it helped bring out a pumpkin flavor. While it's fun to bake it in the pumpkin, the sausage and rice mixture would be a great meal on its own.