Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

 Everybody knows the chestnut Christmas song.  I don't even know the real name of the song, to me it's always been "the chestnut song" and only Nat King Cole can sing it.  
We were at my daughter's on Sunday to celebrate Colin's birthday and he roasted chestnuts for us.  One of their fun things to do in fall is to go gather them. The girls run around the grove like squirrels scavenging and filling a large tote bag with the nuts.   I can't remember ever really eating a whole hot one.  I've taken "no thank you bites"* before but there was something really intriguing about them Sunday.

 They came off the fire hot.  They smelled heavenly.  They tasted like something I just couldn't put my finger on so I kept eating them trying to figure it out.  They were sweet,  a little smoky from the fire, the consistency (I have a consitency issue so that had to be ok or I couldn't/wouldn't go any further) was solid but soft.  What WAS it????   As we talked, Colin casually mentioned baked potatoes.  That's it!  They taste a lot like a baked potato with a little fire smoky baked potato peeling flavor.

 

Elizabeth ate them like she had a bowl of pretzels in front of her.  Colin couldn't peel them fast enough.

 It stormed huge that day and after it was over it left this gift.  You can't see it well, but it was a double rainbow!  Way up at the top left corner, see it?

 Today I can finally mention the Secret Santa gift exchange I'm in.  I sent the package off today.  Hope Santa can swim!  This has to cross lots of water.

This is the square I'm sending off to our round robin with friends in Germany.  I will mail our group's package of eight center squares the first of January.  This is finished except for the corner triangles.  Before I cut I want Friend Marilyn to see it because she has to do the math for me.  I don't cut without her math. I love applique, don't like or do much machine work and this caught my eye.  It's from the book Pretty Petals by Sheri Howard.  She calls this a geranium.  I think you need a couple glasses of wine to see it, but I love geraniums, especially red, red ones.  So.

 I do think I'm getting a handle on the stray projects laying around. Finished three pillow cases for the kids today, this is done, the table top is cleaned off except for this.  Whew!

*"no thank you bites"
We always told the kids at school they had to take at least one bite before they said "no thank you."  You can't say you don't like it till you try it, right? ( Except for me and the texture thing.)  Last year one little girl offered that she took 11  no thank you bites of something - just to make sure, she said - and what do you know?  She decided she liked what she was tasting!  She made me laugh and I'm still telling that story.