Happy Thanksgiving Eve to all

Just wanted to check in and let anyone reading that I think of all you wonderful folks quite often. Many of you realize that the often chatty Ruby has been scarce recently. Looking back over the year of 2013 I can honestly say that this year has been the most jammed packed and busiest one I can recall ever having.......That leads to my being absent so often this past year and missing so many of the events and occurrences in many of your lives....

I thank The Lord every day for the many friends he has put in my life and there are many of you reading this who are on that list......I was led to Dave's Garden about eight or so years ago when I was reviewing comments on floor vacuums......I was led to an interesting thread on Dave's and first learned of Dyson vacuums, which since I have kept the company going from the five or more I have purchased from them. Gotta love them.......all have given excellent service, but I keep upgrading....anyway.....From the vacuum chat I moved on to reading some of the other chats on Dave's. At the time I didn't realize how important that fateful day of vacuum shopping would be to me.

At the time I wouldn't regard myself as an avid gardener. Until that point I had usually hired someone to do any gardening I wanted done.....I had always loved houseplants though and have always had them in which ever residence I have lived....until becoming involved with Dave's Garden, I couldn't claim having hundreds of house plants, the way I can today.

I didn't know when first beginning to chat on the forums how much about gardening I would learn or how much I wanted to learn and how involved I would become. I also didn't know that when first arriving here that I would go through a very upsetting and trying time when within about a one year period I was diagnosed with some major health issues on top of another health issue I had already been dealing with for the previous twenty or so years......Being naïve, I believed that having an autoimmune system disease was bad enough and the Universe certainly wouldn't add more health issues....no, I didn't know that, but I soon found out...The year I turned fifty years old I was first diagnosed with Breast Cancer and during the same time period also found out that I have a form of late onset Muscular Dystrophy that has plagued many in my family over the years....until that point it had only been the males of the family to show symptoms, so I merrily went along believing I would be immune....didn't happen.....I began displaying the MD symptoms at the same time I began the two or three year long cancer treatments....I am glad to report that I have passed the five year cancer free marker with no signs or return. I am learning as I go along how to handle the walking and lack of strength issues.....I remain grateful for the things I can still do and try not to dwell or spend too much time worrying about the things I can no longer do.

All the while I found that the folks at Dave's ministered to my soul like no one else did or could have. Hardly a day would go by in the first months of starting to chat here that I didn't open my mail box and have either a friendly note or some sort of surprise awaiting that other chatter's had heard me mention......so many gifts from so many people.....Having friends at Dave's made those initial trying years a lot easier for me to swallow. I will never forget how much love and good will was extended to me.....a stranger to most until finally having the great fortune to attend a Mid Atlantic Plant Swap and meet so many of you in person. I left the first swap feeling that I had just spent time with some of the most giving and gracious people I had ever met in my life......I continue to feel the same way these years later.

I have a dmail box full of messages that I haven't had the time to read and answer recently. I promise over the next little while to catch up on those.....some of you I write to at times and truly cherish those messages......

I want to close this with saying that I am truly honored and blessed to have had the great fortune to meet and get to know so many of you. I am wishing each and every one of you a blessed holiday season. I am hoping and praying that any needs out there will be met and fulfilled soon for you. Until I have the time to be more involved and begin chatting again, please know you are close in my thoughts and prayers and I wish all you the very best from here forward. God Bless you all friends.

Ruby

Hi Ruby, it's always good to hear from you! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family!

Ruby! What a lovely note. We have indeed missed you, and are glad to have you back.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I'm really thankful to be home and having my wonderful Holly to care for me in my recovery.

Happy thanksgiving everybody.

I guess I wasn't aware of the palettes at my party. I think I was the only one to eat my dish. But I'm fine with that because I know how good it was. It really is something, I will definitely make the squash dish again. Basically it is squash, bacon, kale, and red quinoa. Mix in a little sharp white cheddar and a pinch of nutmeg. And you're done. It was great a dish. Will post the link later.

The other dish was kale and Brussels sprouts salad. Very easy and fresh. Rip off the leaf part of the kale, disregarding the stem. I used a bag of trader joes kale which was already shredded and picked out the stems. Add in Brussels sprouts, you can peel off the layers or cut them up. I used a food processor to chop them up. And the dressing is 1/4 cup fresh lemon, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, pinch of salt, and a clove of garlic finely chopped. Simple and easy. My recipe called for almonds and cheese but I omitted them.

well, I would have eaten it! It sounds yummy! :-)

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my DG mid-atlantic family. Even though my work keeps me from getting on and chatting as much as I'd like, I am still here and I am thankful for all of you! I have been here at DG seven years now, and some of the dearest plant friends I have made have been right here in the M-A.

To all of yours, I wish you a blessed day filled with food, love, and family!

May you cup runneth over, and may your gardens always be plentiful!

Karen

Ruby- You and John are true sweethearts. We wish you all the best always. Glad you had a chance to pop in.

Paul- you get big points for two of the most nutrient dense dishes I've heard about for the season.

Karen, another truly gorgeous picture from you…

Happy Thanksgiving all!!!

Good to see you pop in, Ruby, dear!!! I couldn't have said it any better than you did. DG friends are forever friends.

Happiest of Thanksgivings to everybody.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Miss you!

I am thankful for all the wonderful friends I have made here at DG. Ruby so good to hear from you. You have been on my mind lately and I was thinking you are probably just too busy to post much like I have been. We had a great day, 3 of my children and their families were able to come and my parents plus a favorite Aunt and her daughter that both live out of state. What a great pleasure to have them join us this year. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Ditto, to what Holly said. Hope everyone had such a great day.
Paul, I really liked the sound of your first dish.

Terp: Both your dishes sound fabulous -- just the kind of thing I'd cook if I'd bumped into those recipes!

Thanks everybody.

Quinoa, Kale and Bacon stuffed Butternut Squash
http://www.feastie.com/recipe/rachel-cooks/quinoa-kale-and-bacon-stuffed-butternut-squash
When I do it again I will make 1.5x the Kale and a a less quinoa, I lost the butternut squash flavor.

Spiced Sweet Potato Bites with Kale and Goats Cheese
http://www.sonisfood.com/2013/11/spiced-sweet-potato-bites-with-kale-and-goats-cheese.html
I tried to cook these on the grill and I burned them. I will definitely try it again and serve it as an appetizer.

Kale and Brussel Sprouts Salad
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/kale-and-brussels-sprout-salad
I used Trader Joe bags of Kale and picked out the ribs. For the brussel sprouts I used a food processor to get the right consistency. Simple easy salad.

Terp, that sweet potato, kale, and goat cheese recipe sounds awesome!

I agree, I will have to give those a try. I know just where to get a whole lot of Sweet Potatoes. LOL

Ruby, it is so good to hear from you! I always love what you have to say. I'm glad everyone seems to have had a nice Thanksgiving. I am lucky to have all of my family local, so it was an easy, relaxing day with my sister hosting and shouldering most of the cooking. I was so full, that the thought of taking leftovers home was the farthest thing from my mind. Now I'm regretting it - a turkey and stuffing sandwich sure would hit the spot right now LOL.

Thank you to all who wrote.....please know that I am touched to hear from so many of you.....I didn't re-read what I had written here, but I am sure it was just what was on my heart the day I wrote.....

Yes, life here has been super busy for at least a year or more now. There isn't a day that passes that I don't think of so many of you.....heck, I can't walk very far in my home without seeing house plants that different ones of you have gifted me with.

Oh yeah, I can't wait until another get together and trying some of Paul's delicacies....yummy sounding for sure. It is not quite dinner time yet, but I am going to prepare a teriyaki style chicken with rice later.....ought to be tasty.

In case I don't get back to any of the other chats for a while, please know that I will want to be contacted when a spring plant swap is planned.....can't miss one of those. Becky, so great to hear from you and hope you are doing well....all others enjoy this rainy weekend....stay dry and warm.

Ruby

Hi Ruby,
Perfect timing. We just settled on a spring swap date of May 31st at my place. I really hope that you and John can make it.

Ruby, dear!!!! Happy New Year. We love catching up with you whenever you make it here. HUGS!!!!!!!

I'm so glad you let us know that you are ok, Ruby!