Smells in the Kitchen

This morning as I rolled out of bed to start a pot of coffee for Josh, I walked through the living room, half asleep, and it hit me: deer jerky. We were sent home with at least 4 bags of jerky, made by my Dad and Clay. Both batches are wonderful and we're so grateful for them, but man do they have a strong smell! I've got to find some kind of airtight container to store them in, otherwise guests in our apartment (or maybe even our neighbors!) may start to think there was some kind of explosion in the kitchen as I'm sure they're not accustomed to treats like these...and we're not about to share any!

Last Wednesday morning Josh woke up to the smell of my mom's famous pumpkin pie baking. We had Christmas at my Mumern and Poppop's house (Barbara and Max) that afternoon and he ate his first slice. I think with that first bite he converted. My mom makes the most wonderful pumpkin pie because she actually buys the whole pie pumpkins, roasts them, and makes a puree with it. It takes a long time to do it all but she does it religiously every Fall because she knows if her pies aren't at a Robinson Family Gathering, she's in trouble. When Josh had finished the first couple of bites of his slice, he loudly asked me why I hadn't been using her recipe (instead, I've been cutting corners with Libby's in the can). Thanks for that, dear. So next year around September/October, I'll begin my search for pie pumpkins and continue my mom's tradition.