The last day.

Is this the last day of giving thanks? I hope not. It is, however, the last day of November. It has been a good month. Less posting. More living. And giving thanks. Appreciating the joy of the present.

Bad storms are the story of the week around here. No damage, thank goodness. We welcomed the rain that came with the winds that blew through.

Last Sunday we began celebrating Advent. I am not in a rush to take out all the decorations. I did take out our advent wreath. Then I placed our nativity scene on the piano. But first I made up my mind to set about a change in myself. I'm trying to let go of negative thoughts and just be kind. I have already failed. But I have not given up. Change doesn't come without setbacks. I can do this. Because. I can do hard things. You see, love does win. 

Peace on earth. Good will toward all.

After glow.

Thanks have been given. We enjoyed an abundant feast and a mostly quiet day. 

With the onset of evening a happy chaos arrived. In numerical order our children, and their children appeared. Laughter was shared. Warm bodies found their nooks to sleep in. Breathing was premium. The next morning it was reported that our oldest granddaughter hums in her sleep! 

After a big breakfast on Friday we all made our way over to the local state park. Though it was damp and chilly, we stayed and played some of our calories off. Silly selfies were the order!

Miss Cecilia was a little out of sorts...but she sure enjoyed the wide world of outdoors!

After lunch our children and grandchildren kicked off my 60th birthday celebration! (Actual birthday not until next week.) DIL baked the yummiest almond/amaretto birthday cake. There were candles and sparklers on the cake - and a good loud singing of the 'happy birthday' song. I guess this was the first birthday party I have had since I was in elementary school. 

We went outside and played a long, fun game called sardine. We hid. We laughed some more. 

I was sorry Cc missed this photo op. 

Mr. Macho and Beach Boy raked a big pile of leaves and the kids had a blast playing in them. 

After dark a rousing game of spotlight was the ticket. We will repeat these games at future gatherings. 

Saturday. Bacon and pancakes for breakfast. Some of us took a walk in the woods, some went for a quick shopping trip, the rest of us just played outside for most of the morning. 

Leftovers for lunch and it was time to pack the cars for return trips.

Then it got quiet. Sheets and towels have been washed. A quick vacuum on some of the floor. Then we settled in to enjoy primo rivalry games. All in all I will say it was one of the best Thanksgivings we have had in a long time. 

We will continue to dine on the leftover for the rest of the weekend. We might rake some leaves tomorrow. The house feels empty. Our hearts feel full.

We are so thankful. 

Guess who came to breakfast?

When we finally rolled out of bed this morning I went in search of grits...thought I had some in the cabinet. Alas, no grits. Mr. Macho opened the kitchen blinds and it looked a sunny day. I settled on oatmeal and after taking the box out the cabinet I passed the window and looked - a fog was rolling in. I was amazed. I got Macho and we stepped out on the back porch and watched it. Talked about it. Then we went back inside. I got the oatmeal ready and was about to put it on the table...I glanced out the window once more. And? It was gone. The fog was gone. It was the strangest fog I have ever experienced. Period.

At breakfast I brought out the old video camera and we watched and listened to Macho's dad recount his childhood. It was from Christmas 2003.

And so begins our day of giving thanks. For the past. For the present. And for the hope of the future.
Thank you, Lord.
Amen.

Offspring.

Just now I went out to put a letter in the mail. I smelled rain. Then I saw some drops on the mailbox. Oh thank goodness. We've been in the "scary drought days" for months now. We need this rain.

This next bit is for my children. So if you aren't one just bear with me.

By some miracle of parenthood we won the offspring lottery. No earthly reason that our three have grown into the wonderful, strong beings they are today. We certainly were partial ingredients, but the credit has to be given to higher powers. It isn't because we were such great decision makers or that we knew just what we were doing all the time.

Our discipline probably dipped on the positive side of the meter. We protected, sometimes too much. We provided, hopefully what each one needed. It wasn't always equal. I hoped it was fair most of the time. We made so many mistakes. So many wrong turns. I think, for the most part, they have forgiven us? The thing we did right was we loved mightily.

We are so proud of each one of our three children. Each one is smart and strong. All three are funny. They love each other. And somehow they still love us.

I thank God for you my children.
Peace.

Natural light.

Early morning sunlight in the trees. Clear skies. Cold air. Leaves on the ground.

The promise of a full house at week's end.

Thankful for the abundance of my life.

Namaste.

Buzz.

The week of Thanksgiving has begun busy as a bee hive. It has started just as I suspect it will end. With a flourish of activity. 

Two batches of blonde brownies are cooked and wrapped. I am a member of the cookie patrol (it is as fun as it sounds) and we are delivering tomorrow to the men's recovery house here in town. 

My sweet potato casserole is put together except for the topping. That will be last minute add on. 

I am cleaning floors, fans, and tweaking my feng shui. Vacuuming, steam mopping, dusting...a table has been moved from living room to back bathroom in  hopes that my new table will arrive before Christmas?! 

Out-of-Town Son dropped in for a quick visit and a sandwich for lunch. He and his family will be back Thursday night. I love the unexpected drop ins. Always welcome. 

I needed to sit for a few minutes and that is why this is getting written. 

I am thankful that if finally feels like Thanksgiving. We went from shorts last week to heavy frost and freezing temps over the weekend. About time! 

Back to the grind stone.

Namaste. 

Skippidy do dah.

So I skipped a few days. I'm not sweating the small stuff.

It is a thankful-wonderful kind of day. I hope it just keeps on going until I fall asleep. The slow wake up was delicious. It didn't feel cold in the house. Weatherman said possible storms last night, but that didn't happen. I ate my usual cereal and cooked Mr. Macho bacon and eggs. It makes the house smell so good. The bacon. After breakfast we got our clothes on and drove to town with several "to do's" on our list.

First stop - the Holiday Farmer's Market. A variety of local vendors sold their wares. I was hoping to get an idea for a Christmas gift for a friend who is hard to buy for. Well bless my soul! The first booth I came upon was a renowned local artist with small acrylic paintings. Perfect for my friend. Done. And done.

We visited with many friends and the Christmas spirit shimmied her way into our hearts. Second purchase was a huge cream cheese pound cake. We ate a slice after lunch then I put most of that in the freezer. You just wouldn't believe how big this cake was.

At the suggestion of my friend, Margo, I made my way over to a crochet artist and purchased, for 75 cents apiece, three pot scrubbers. Margo says that are just the ticket for those dirty pot jobs.

Last purchase was a quart of local honey. Had the wind not picked up, or had I been wise enough to bring an insulated jacket instead of a windbreaker, we would have shopped longer. But the cold air hurried us back into the truck.

Second stop - pick up the cooked Boston butt we ordered last week. Our church men's group does this every year as a fund raiser. This was our main course for lunch. Once again, I froze the rest.

Third stop - to purchase new light fixture for the kitchen. One of our old ones had bought the farm. So we purchased a box of two. After lunch Mr. Macho installed them and voila! They have good light. And can you believe it? There is no light bulb?! I know. Crazy right? And. These are much more attractive than the florescent fixtures that were there. Happy? Yes, thank you.

We have filled the rest of the afternoon with picking up some wooden boxes from the estate, cleaning up around the garage and shop, putting plants inside due to impending freeze tonight.

Finally we are getting some cold air. Maybe that is adding to that Christmas feeling.

I have chopped some vegetables and beef and put it all in a pot for supper tonight. Soup. On a cold night.

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Thank goodness!
Be sweet.