'tis the Season for

Display at Silver Dollar City. The larger pumpkins aren't real.

Pumpkins and lots of things made out of pumpkin.

Like Sonic's Pumpkin Pie Shakes.

Which are very good, by the way.

Sorry, I don't have a photo of one.

Then a couple of weeks ago I had one of these.

A Dairy Queen Pumpkin Pie Blizzard.

It ROCKED!

Actual bits of pie crust swirled throughout the Blizzard.

I. LOVED. IT.

The following week AD and I took our trip to Branson.

There's an Andy's Frozen Custard in Springfield, Missouri.

Well, maybe more than one. But we pass right by this one on the way to Branson. You may remember because I've written about it before.

They had a sign that read: Pumpkin Pie Concrete.

We didn't stop right then but I knew we would on our return trip.

(Note that there is an Andy's in Branson too. It's just that I look forward to stopping at this particular one when we're over that way.)

Anyway - and this is just my humble opinion - Andy's Pumpkin Pie Concrete blows Sonic's and DQ's pumpkin ice cream treats OUT. OF. THE. WATER!!!!!*

There was a sign that said each Concrete contains a slice of pumpkin pie. I'm a believer too. Because:

1. The smell of pumpkin pies baking was coming from inside.

2. I saw one or two (small) chunks of pie in my Concrete.

'Nuff said.

If anyone has enjoyed an Andy's Pumpkin Pie Concrete, I'd love for you to leave your opinion in a comment.

If you haven't I'm truly sorry. But still leave me a comment. They'll be my virtual treats for the day.

Which brings me to Halloween.

I did buy Mikey a little get-up for Halloween but didn't get a picture.

So, I'll leave you with this picture from the late '70s of my two young'uns.

Son, this one's for you.

Next year maybe you won't tell me how sorry you feel for Mikey that I dress him up for Halloween photos.

He does get treats you know.

*Disclaimer: The only tie I have to Andy's (or Sonic, or Dairy Queen) is that I am a customer, period. They don't know me from Eve. And I would never turn down a Sonic Pumpkin Pie shake OR a DQ Pumpkin Pie Blizzard.

Someone Might Wonder. . .

. . . where this Oklahoma Granny has been or what she's been up to lately.

Busy is the only word that best describes it. Lots of things going on around our house lately.

One of the most important things was

Girlie's 5th birthday.

Her party was last Saturday (a week ago today) - wow! it's already been a week. The days just seem to be flying by!

Son put together a fabulous 'Fancy Nancy' soireè (that's a fancy word for party) for his daughter.

It was a spa party and he had some friends help by giving the girls mani/pedi's and doing their 'make-up' and hair.

Then each little girl had her photo made in this little setting. There were acrylic frames for the girls to gussy up - that's not a 'fancy' word. It's an Oklahoma term for decorate them to be really fancy. LOL! Then each of the photos were put into the frames as party favors.

Isn't that Fancy Nancy on the wall cute? It looks like Son painted it on but although he could do that - he's talented that way - it's actually a repositionable sticker. Umm - stickers that all go together and actually look like the wall has been painted. Even up close!

There were lots of goodies for the girls to enjoy. There were chicken salad sandwiches on croissants, dainty little cucumber sandwiches, fruit and yogurt parfaits, DARLING sugar cookies in several shapes, cake pops, Hershey's Kisses, M&Ms, Jelly Bellies and pink punch with raspberries.

It was a fun party and one I'm sure Girlie will never forget.

Because there would be so much going on at the party, Girlie opened our main gifts the night before. Are you familiar with Precious Moments? They have a birthday 'train' set for little girls that is made up of the Disney Princesses. AD and I gave her the first two pieces, the Prince that leads the train followed by Snow White.

Girlie's mom and dad gave her the rest of the set up to age 5.

**************

That was one busy weekend! Besides the party, there were also soccer games to watch the morning of the party. Then I had to leave the party at 4:00pm and drive like a crazy woman to get back home to watch G1 and G2 race that night. I drove straight to the track - no stopping by the house.

Once I finally got home I had a couple of days to rest up before AD and I left on Tuesday and went to Branson for a few days. More on that later.

One last thing. While Son and I were out and about doing errands for the party (did I say I went down a couple of days early to help out?) we tried to go to Nic's Grill for lunch. Wouldn't you just know it - Nic's was closed last week.

So instead, we ate at Smashburger. Have you ever heard of that franchise? Their burgers are great! The one shown above is the Oklahoma. It has fried pickles, pepperjack cheese, haystack onions, lettuce, tomato and buttermilk ranch dressing and comes on an egg bun. There were sweet potato fries too. I just couldn't pass those up and they were delish!

Maybe someday I'll make it to Nic's.

Anyway, I've gotta run. I have to go into town, pick up pictures from the party, get by the bank before it closes at noon, then make it back home just in time to head to a race track that's about and hour or two away. Special races tonight.

Another busy weekend. I will get some pictures posted of our Branson trip here in a few days when things have slowed down some. Like they ever do . . . . sigh.

More of a How To Than a Recipe

There's a recipe making the rounds on the internet for Cinnamon Roll Pull Apart Bread. It's a simple recipe and would be good for a special weekend breakfast with the kids or if you are having guests.

I wanted to try it last week but I was the only one at home since AD had already left for work that day.

So I tried it using a single hard roll.

Basically what you do is slice the roll (or round loaf of bread if you're serving several people) in roughly 1/2 inch cuts going one way. Don't slice all the way through - just slice until you get fairly close to the bottom but the roll (or loaf) is still connected.

Spread honey butter (I have included my recipe for honey butter below) on all the exposed bread between all the cuts.

Now turn the roll (or loaf) 90 degrees and slice the other way. Spread honey butter between the new cuts.

Sprinkle cinnamon sugar liberally between all the cuts.

Wrap the roll (or loaf) in aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes (or 30 minutes for a whole loaf).

After removing the bread from the oven, unwrap, move to a plate or serving tray and drizzle with a simple glaze made of powdered sugar and a bit of milk. It might be nice to add a drop or two of vanilla to the glaze.

For the roll I used one spoonful of powdered sugar and stirred in just a couple of drops of milk - just enough to make a thin glaze.

It was a sweet treat on a cool morning.

Honey Butter

1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2/3 teaspoon cinnamon

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth and keep refrigerated. Serve at room temperature.