Thirteen Years Ago

Thanksgiving this year was quiet and cozy,

and for the first time in history I made appropriate amounts of food. 

This year we will not be throwing away leftovers. I am feeling proud.

On Thanksgiving day my dear friend and neighbor Joann popped in as she was taking her daily walk. Not being able to resist, I bolted for the door. So clear. So warm. We all know what's coming. Gotta soak in every last second of this while we can.

We eventually made our way up to the top of the ridge to take in the view from our neighbor's barn.

Thirteen years ago, long before there was Ken and Debra, Lexi and Amanda, 192 Shaffer Road and FOUND, I drove out to the country with my sister to pick out a new kitten. I came home with two that day - an orange boy we called Peter and a chocolate tabby I named Lily. That day we drove past a sweet little farmhouse with a big name - Edgewood. It was a perfectly lovely day.

That neighbor with the fantastic hill top barn we visited on Thanksgiving day this year? Well thirteen years ago he and his eight year old daughter fostered a lovely litter of six kittens. Emily dressed them in doll clothes and read them stories every day. Every time I see him he asks after those two kittens.  And Me? Well I ended up living in that sweet little farmhouse with the big name. Isn't it just amazing how things turn out sometimes?

I remain ever grateful...

Crafty

It's the day before Thanksgiving...warm, bright and sunny.

 I spent the day baking, prepping the table, 

 and doing a little crafty project...

with Pippa's help of course.

 

Since gardening didn't happen again this year, anything that comes from it really feels like a gift.  I'll use these herbs in my stock and stuffing tomorrow.

Bergamot

Parsely

Sage

Life is rich and and full. We're basking in the gratitude of it all.

This time next year...

It's finally starting to feel a little like Thanksgiving around here! I shopped for the big meal this morning, got a little gardening done and had a proper walk after lunch. All that's left is excavating the dining room and ironing the linens. Ahhhh...I'm liking this temporary housewife gig!

We'll have a somewhat downsized Thanksgiving this year. The girls and their beaus will be in Philly and most of our usual holiday posse has other plans. After mourning the idea of twelve to fifteen folks cozily crowded around our harvest table, I find I'm now getting used to the idea of a smaller version. Gone are the days of one pie per person... Five side dishes? No way. This year it'll be two - mashed potatoes and broccoli. Soup? No. Corn pudding? Nadda. Ken's homemade pumpkin pie, made from freshly roasted pumpkin...oh yeah, it made the cut and is still on the menu!

I haven't had a proper walk in weeks and with temps in the 50's and a cloudless sunny sky, I went rambling down the road,

 

  to my favorite abandoned house.

It was built in 1817,

 and by the looks of things it's been empty for 30 or 40 years.  

Moo...

Life is good. There is much to be thankful for.

Last week I told my students I am taking a year off next year.

So, this time next year...

 I plan to spend a lot more time right here.

Ready...waiting

In true girl scout style, I was prepared for Frankenstorm...

• Propane filled, water on hand - check, snacks and wine - double check!!
• Candles, flashlights, batteries and portable radio - set out and ready to go.
• Laundry and dishes are done ahead of the impending power outage (no power = no water), coolers are in the house, extra ice is in the freezer. We are READY!
  
  

Aren't I just the girl scoutiest girl scout you've ever known?

 

Fortunately for us the big storm never really came. Yeah, we had some big winds and lots of rain, but it was nothing compared to the beating the folks in NYC, NJ and CT received.

In our neck of the woods we are safe and sound.

Note to self for next big storm: FOUND should definitely stock lamp oil and maybe a few generators and cases of bottled water too. Oh, and homemade gluten-free baked goods are not worth the work. Just sayin'...

Time Flying

Why hello there! You're still here I see. Amazing. Since I'm down to about one post a month I half expected to see my humble little page cast out into the sea of abandoned and dormant blogs. It's a little pathetic I know, but about all I can squeak out these days is one post a month. Today I'm home with a cold so there's time to catch you up on the rest of September and October (now almost gone).

It's been one of the prettiest autumns I've seen in a long time...

clear days, beautifully colored leaves and not a ton of rain. 

In early September the campus had a few brave orange trees,

but mostly fall was just getting started.

For much of early September we were still hanging on fast to the freshness of the new school year and the let's hunker down and get to work-ness of it all. Fast forward to early October and all that newness has rubbed off a wee bit. On October 5th we had our first frost. 

It looked an awful lot like winter for the whole day.

And then the sun came out,

 the fog lifted

 and our spirits returned. We are once again in awe of this transition.

Soon the fall will be a thing of the past...

 But's that's okay. There's much to look forward to in winter. I've already started looking forward to our first proper snow, cooking soup on Sundays and gathering recipes for Thanksgiving. Time's flying. All's well here in our neck of the woods.

Human Doing

There are a million and one things I should be doing right now...  

 and sitting here is not one of them.

I think I'll pour myself a third cup of coffee

 

 and banish the word should from my vocabulary forever.

 

Wait on This

In the past few weeks I've been to Florida and back twice. First to locate an assisted living facility for mom and then a week later to pack her up and move her in. Mom is now happily settled in her new digs, and she and Maxie are enjoying their patio and the beautiful butterfly garden it overlooks. 

When my mom was better able to manage her life she was meticulous with the organization of her bills. Sadly when her mind started to fade she just saved everything regardless of importance...it took four trash bags to go through her desk alone. As I dug deeper and deeper into those packed desk drawers it became clearer that mom's mind had been fuzzy far longer than we realized.

Amongst the piles of receipts, expired grocery coupons and late bill notices were numerous little spiral note pads and post-it notes scribbled with the everyday details of her life...dates of various appointments, birthday and anniversary reminders and details of phone conversations with everyone from the car mechanic and her friends, to her children. One notebook contained an account of my dad's last stay in the hospital. A torn calendar page from May 2nd held the note my mom wrote to herself the night daddy died.

Tucked away in an envelope in the far reaches of a drawer I found an envelope marked Wait on This.  Inside were the gold pearl earrings my dad gave my mom on their wedding day. I'm pretty sure mom intended to have them made into earrings for pierced ears when she had a little extra money. That same drawer also held a copy of my parent's wedding vows and a beautiful photo of my mom at age 16.

When we left her there that first night I cried all the way to the car wondering if we'd done the right thing.

Now that she's safe and happy it's clear this was the only thing to do.

Hello August

Traffic is congested, parking is scarce and Wegmans is now selling cheap bookcases and area rugs. This can only mean one thing and I refuse to participate in the count down...

Things I've been wondering lately...

• Is there a gadget that will help me successfully track the location of my phone and keys?

• Do the lazy days of summer really exist?

This week Lexi and Frank left Tiny Town for the foreseeable future to set up housekeeping in Port Chester just outside NYC. We are anxiously awaiting news of all their adventures so we can vicariously live out our own escape fantasies!!

 There has never been a more proud dad than this one.

 We miss them terribly already.

Though we're in the midst of the worst drought on record the garden is still managing to produce.

 

Come on over and sit a spell.

Metal and Wood

There's thunder, wind, tornado warnings in our little corner of paradise today and though they're rare, a small funnel cloud was just confirmed one county away. Of greater concern for us is the threat of large hail, especially since there's no room in the garage for our cars..

Still it's hard to complain, since we need the rain so desperately. 

Since it looks like we'll get a good soaking all week, I moved two large pieces of furniture into the dining room and set up a makeshift workshop. Though I'm not actively playing anymore it feels good to work with my hands, especially in metal and wood. I think my dad would be proud.

Summertime Blues

August came into view on the calendar this week and with it came the old back-to-school blues. The stores in town have already replaced gardening items with notebooks and binders. It always feels too soon for me. Those well-laid plans for the summer? They've been discarded and revised...the only thing that's happened as planned this summer is the garden. Thank heavens...