Contentment...

This will be a short little post. It's about contentment.  I am writing this at 6:30 in the evening.  I had a perfectly lovely day; it was busy at work but not too busy, and the day flew by in a blur of nice people and pets. 

I took a break mid-day to check on the critters, toss them fresh hay, make sure everyone had thawed water. I threw the ball for Bravo and delighted to watch him stretch, flat out, and race after his quarry.  He always tosses in a few leaps and twists, all glossy in the sun. It makes me happy to see him, young and strong, handsome and glad.

I had thawed some local, grass fed,  ground beef for supper. All day I pondered what I would do with it. Around 4:00 PM I decided I'd make a meatloaf. About once a year I want meatloaf, and this was the night.  So when the last dogs left at 5:30 I dashed to the kitchen and threw one together while the oven heated. Then I popped it in to bake and went outside to feed more hay, and check all the water containers again, and make sure the poultry were locked up safely in their nice, freshly cleaned coops. 

Once back inside I fed the dogs, put on the super cozy, soft, comfy PJ's my sister gave me, (she lives to make sure people she loves are warm and snug,) and cooked the rest of the supper.  And now I am tucked under a quilt on the sofa. The dogs are snuggled in next to me. It's very quiet, except the hum of the washing machine taking care of the days towels.  The house smells of supper, and my husband will be home any moment.  And I am steeped in contentment.  It is one of my very favorite feelings.

Thankful...

Most years Thanksgiving is our biggest entertaining event, and I spend a lot of time planning, cleaning, organizing and getting ready.  However, since we've recently had a wedding here, the place was in pretty good shape.  It was a good thing, too, because food poisoning or a virus or such laid me low for days before the event. 

And since you probably don't know this, the days just before a major holiday are always very busy grooming days, because people want their pets clean and sweet for company visiting.  Our grooming  schedule was full, and I didn't want to disappoint anyone, so I soldiered through some 10 hour days, (with a LOT of help from my sweet Rachel.) I was better by Wednesday, but far from my usual self, but I got much of the the food prepared and house company ready. 

 Thursday I felt more like myself. I finished up the the food preparation, tucked the turkey, (which was raised on a sweet farm a mere 2 miles from our house and butchered by, then sweetly donated to the feast,by my friend Rai,) under a blanket of butter-soaked cheesecloth. 

Soon the house was filled with people and my favorite moment happened... when I stop and look around and see everything looking warm and festive, and hear the happy sound of chatter and laughter.  At the core, this is what I am most thankful for. The people in my life. I am so grateful that they come here to share the day with us. Each of them brings joy. 

 I did a bit of cuddling with some of those special loves this Thanksgiving. 

(OK, not "people," but much loved!) 

As always, sister Deb helped SO much. We make a great team in the kitchen. And then nieces Aimee and Elyse, along with the ever-stalwart Rachel, chimed in to bring food, help prep, decorate, clean up, and so much more... 

They are learning how to prepare and present the feast, so that someday the baton can be passed, and they can carry on the traditional gathering, with a flavor all their own. Meanwhile, it is my fervent hope that they are tucking happy memories of these events into their hearts and minds. 

Friday dawned, cold and clear. It is sister Deb's birthday.  She is one of the unfortunates who has a birthday that kisses a major holiday and she is short shifted on celebrations. But she SO deserves a celebration. She is one in a million, and I am so glad she is related to ME. 

As tradition has it, we gathered for breakfast (or brunch, or both!) and decorated gingerbread houses. Because, in our family, the next big holiday starts now... 

We start with generic Ginger Bread House kits, then embellish the heck out of them.  Meanwhile, we snack on leftovers, talk, giggle, conspire and have a peaceful and lovely time. 

I know that many families are ripped by strife and angst. For the most part our family is cohesive, and for that, I give many thanks. And now I gird my loins for the upcoming holidays. My first decoration is prepared. 

 I hope the holidays are sweet for all who read my blog!

November and gratitude ...

I love the month of November.  Even in New England the weather is often mild, with lots of gray, crisp, days that make cozy clothing and a fire in the wood stove seem just right. It's a month to make hearty casseroles and fragrant soups, home made bread, or pans of corn bread steaming in a cast iron skillet.  With the busy days of summer behind us, the firewood stacked and the gardens put to bed, it seems a time to take a deep breath and rest a bit.

And there is Thanksgiving, like a bright promise on the calendar.  Usually this holiday marks our biggest party of the year here at FairWinds.  This year, however, the wedding overshadowed it, and the thought of feeding a mere 15-20 people instead of 80 seems like a walk in the park. Besides which, much of the normal preparation of the house and yard has been done in advance for the wedding festivities.  And, because we have hosted Thanksgiving for so many years, and because we quite like the same old menu we have been been preparing for all this time (with a few slight variations along the way) cooking the meal is a familiar and comfortable exercise.

Today I unpacked some favorite Thanksgiving decorations.  A cornucopia basket to hold some squash and such...

the handsome, colorful turkey and a copper bowl full of dried flowers join with hand knit pumpkins from my niece to cozy up the top of the 'fridge.

I gathered up some of the remains from the wedding flowers and made a happy decoration for the dining room table.  I like how Bravo is photo bombing the first shot.

As I puttered about and placed holiday items here and there I was warmed to think about how soon the house will be filled with family and friends and the savory scents of the traditional feast.

And the clocks changed to standard time. Most people I know complain bitterly about this, but to me it feels like I've been given a whole extra  hour to do with what I will.  I like how evening gathers early and the warm light from the house spills out the windows, welcoming.  It feels so cozy. It makes for long nights cuddled up with a good book (or my laptop!) and early bedtimes.

The leaves are mostly gone from the trees, the ones that are left are coppery and rich.  Now I can see the pond from my windows, glinting beyond the barren branches.  The horse, goats and donkey grow thick, luxurious coats. I push my fingers in deep and feel the warmth held close to their skins. They lean in for more attention, enjoying the sensation. The garage walls are lined with bale after bale of hay, perfuming the air in the sweetest possible way. I carry it by the armload out to the animals, and lean on the fence, watching them greedily pull mouthfuls of summer-scented food into their ever-hungry mouths.  Flocks of Canada geese V overhead, transporting me back to my childhood home when I hear their lonesome calls. In an instant I am raking leaves with my father, and smelling the scent of them burning from their fragrant piles, as tendrils of smoke climb up into the pewter sky to meet the migrating geese.

Yes, I love November.

The kind of man I married...

This morning I had things planned rather tightly.  I had two dogs that belong to friends here for a sleepover, so I was up early to take them for a nice walk.  Then I did animal chores, prepared my weekly deposit from work, and then bathed, dried and brushed one of the dogs that had stayed here.  I had to leave the house by 9:30 to get Bravo to a training class at 10:00.  Chris got up early so he could take my truck, which was filled with bags of trash and bins of recycling, to the transfer station.  He didn't want me to have to drive all the way to class with a truck bed full of things that might fly out.  He timed things carefully, and filled my truck with gas while he was at it.  He takes great pride in filling my gas tank each week so that I never have to do it.  He pulled into the driveway at 9:29, truck pre-heated, tank full, bed empty, and a bonus.  A fresh donut, which he had carefully wrapped and stashed over the defroster vent so it was toasty warm when he handed it to me.  Ahhhh.

He had spent the time while I was gone running errands and catching up on laundry. We had more than usual due to being without electricity for a couple of days, and because, to be honest, I stink at doing laundry.  When I got back I finished grooming the visiting dog, and then Chris suggested that it would be nice to go for a little drive and grab a bite of lunch out.  I mentioned that a favorite store was having a big sale, and I happened to have a generous gift card to that store from my nice sisters-in-law.  "Saddle up!" he said, and we were off.  We had some excellent seafood and I couldn't help but notice that several other couples in the place sitting, eating, and not talking.  Chris kept the conversation humming along, and I laughed so loudly a few times that heads turned.  This guy is never boring.

Next he took me to the store with the big sale, and waited very, very patiently while I tried on a lot of things. He weighed in on color choices when I found a very cozy jacket to buy. Back in the car he took an unexpected detour and explained, "You'll want ice cream." Well, of course I would. I always do.  He treated me to a cone and we headed home.

Chris works hard at a job that marries complicated technology and users of that technology.  He has this amazing gift of being able to explain the perplexing working of computers, cell phones, tablets and the like, to people, without ever seeming condescending.  4 days a week he has a one hour commute each way, and one (or sometimes more) days he also has to drive an additional hour or so to different offices.  Many a day he leaves the house by 6:00 AM and does not get home till after 7:00 PM.  He never complains. But on the weekends he really, really, likes to indulge in a nap. And he likes it even better if I join him.  By and large I am not big on sleeping in the middle of the day. Napping can make me oddly grumpy. So most times I'll go snuggle up with him and read a good book. This time of year, when the temperature is a bit crisp, my hands, arms and shoulders get cold because they are not under the covers, but rather, are out in the air.  And sometimes after I've clutched the book for a long time I get to feeling really chilly, and I'll set the book down and draw the covers up over my icy skin.  And then I feel drawn to my husbands warmth. "The furnace of my being glows brightly," he often quips, and when one is feeling chilled to the bone, snuggling a very warm husband seems like a good idea.  So I snake my frozen arms around him, feeling a pang of guilt because I know how perfectly horrible it feels to be all warm and somnolent and have someone who is the opposite of warm touch you.  He never flinches.  Instead he wraps his big arms around me, pulling me tight, and sharing his toastyness. That's the kind of man I married.  Warm donuts, warm conversation, and endless patience, even when confronted with frosty skin.