Gathered...

 The last guest has gone home, and the house is very quiet. It wasn't that way... the first visitors came Wednesday, and at one point, we had two additional air mattresses inflated and tucked in spare rooms as more family arrived. 

Rachel, Deb, and John all pitched in with cooking, and the joint effort was delicious. 

Niece Emily and her family brought whimsy and laughter. The Owlet was thrilled to have her big cousins here. There were shrieks and giggles, tickles and laughter, visits with goats and snuggles. 

Inside, the air was fragrant with the scent of our favorite seasonal foods. The dessert table was laden. 

My grandmother's silver sat side by side with gifted China, thrifted butter dishes, and salt and pepper shakers. In addition to doing all the shopping, Chris brought me buttercream roses to decorate with. So pretty! 

 

I got to hug my baby and her soon-to-arrive baby simultaneously. Lucky me! We wore matching dresses for fun. 

If our calculations are correct, Chris and I have hosted Thanksgiving for 34 years. The menu has varied a little from year to year, as has the location and guest list, but this holiday is special for me. The preparation, the teamwork, the cooking, and, best of all, the gathering of the ones I love. 

This year, we missed some favorite faces around the table, but we had the added joy of 
anticipating a new babe and watching the three youngest of the clan play. It was an excellent gathering. 

Straddling the Seasons...

 We are excitedly gearing up for the Thanksgiving feast. This will be the twentieth year we have hosted it in this good house. The guest list varies. This year will be a smaller than usual group, just sixteen around the table. In readiness, I catch up on lots of things that I have procrastinated ... like cleaning the pantry, washing the China, and polishing the silver. The groceries for preparing the meal have been bought. A locally raised turkey is nestled in the refrigerator. The guest room is ready. 

The weather has been mild, but it won't last. I wanted to do some exterior winter decorating while I could, so today Chris helped me cut down a few small pine trees and bring them to the yard. I snipped and cut and filled the old iron clawfoot tub at the end of the driveway and a big galvanized tub with them. A nice neighbor friend let us steal some brilliant winter berry boughs from her land to brighten the tubs up. It was great to get this done before the cold weather freezes the soil in the tubs, making it difficult (or impossible) to secure the branches. 

  

                                                  

Next, we put batteries in all the little window candles and set them on every sill at dusk. Then we took a break and went out for an early supper. The house looked so pretty when we drove away. 

I like to celebrate each holiday in its own time and, in an ideal world, not decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving is over, but this year, I am straddling the seasons. There are busy days ahead... Thanksgiving, birthdays, Christmas, and a new grandbaby expected before the New Year. I plan to embrace each happy moment. Preparing a bit in advance will help. 

Kind November...

 The weather has been kind to us, and I have been able to get more yard projects done. To make the jobs even more enjoyable, I invite the goats to leave their pasture and join me in the fenced yard. Since the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, they are delighted when I prop the gate open, and all rush to explore the more novel space. We don't allow them into the backyard during the summer because they destroy the gardens and poop on the picnic table. But now that the outside dining season is well past, they can do as they please. 

They nibble on the plants I am trimming, dance on the lawn chairs, and make me laugh while I work. There is something joyous about them. Last week, a car pulled into the driveway, and a couple got out and asked if they could see the goats. They were visiting from Cape Cod and had never met one. I was working, but Chris was here and kindly took them out to the pasture. The little herd dutifully charged up to them and showed off their cuteness. The people told Chris the visit was the highlight of their trip. 

The Owlet was here yesterday for a little while as her mama worked on a project. She loves to be outside more than anything, so she joined me as I put a garden to bed. "Owl help," she proclaimed and carefully picked up the foliage I was discarding and placed it, piece by piece, into the wheelbarrow. She turned two this month and is becoming competent at many things. Her vocabulary grows by the day; she is interested in counting, loves books above all toys, has firm opinions about things, is fascinated by big trucks, and is generally the most delightful and happy little spirit. Seeing so much of her is an enormous blessing; this grandparenting stuff is even more fun than anticipated. 

My focus is turning toward the annual Thanksgiving feast, preparing the house for guests, plotting the menu, and planning the supplies needed. I look forward to this holiday all year and am excited to hear the voices and laughter of my nearest and dearest filling the house once more. I have so much to be grateful for. 

A Very Good Day...

 I've always liked to mess around in the garden. For the past few years, my knee was so painful that gardening ceased to be fun. Walking on uneven ground caused shooting pain, forget trying to shovel or kneel. Fortunately, I have friends who were willing to come to help me keep the yard looking pretty, but it was sad that I couldn't easily participate. 

A few weeks ago I had four yards of mulch delivered and dumped in the side yard. My gardening friend has not been able to get here and that mountain of mulch has been vexing me. Last weekend I grabbed a shovel and tried spreading mulch in the garden right next to the mulch pile. My new knee didn't hurt a bit, and the job was soon done. I felt so happy and satisfied. That feeling stayed with me all week and today I decided to tackle a larger project, mulching in the big circular garden in the front yard. 

I filled the big wheelbarrow with shovel after shovel of fragrant mulch. It made for a heavy load, and I had to push it up and down to get where I wanted it. It took 5 trips of the stuff to fill the big bed and one more to do a couple of smaller beds in the same area. I raked it all smooth and stood back to admire my work. 

To my great joy, I still had energy. I weeded a small garden and pruned a shrub, then hauled more mulch and covered up that tiny space. 

And then... I wasn't done yet. There was a messy garden that needed pruning, weeding, and cutting. I got to it, hauling a full barrow of tired plants off, then loading up two more barrows of mulch. Chris got home right about then and helped me push and dump the last two loads. By the time I finished raking, I also felt... done. 

But I also felt incredibly happy that I had been able to do a bunch of gardening. I shoveled and pushed and dumped and raked and weeded and pruned, and it was terrific. There is more to be done, but today seemed like a turning point. There will be future gardening and similar delights to come. My new knee has healed, and I feel... good.