the holiday weekend

For us, Thanksgiving ushers in the beginning of an extended period of family, food, and gratitude. I wake up with thoughts on all of those.

It's a beautiful day. You'd have to be really down in the dumps not to notice that! I go out, the cheepers come running, even the hiccuping Bresse girl. They seem as happy as the cats, who also are not complaining! Really, a gorgeous end to November and a fitful ushering in of the winter holiday season.

We eat breakfast elegantly. I had for once purchased flowers that were not just grocery store additions to the cart, and I keep the tablecloth on from last night. My Polish friend Bee and I purchased it together, in Paris, on our trip there just before the pandemic and it has sweet memories of that innocent time. And for once, at dinner, we all kept our foods on our plates. No stains! Impressive, given our age range, don't you think? All this to say that breakfast warranted a timed release photo! Happy us.

I'd done a good job of tidying the kitchen late last night, but the play room remains under siege. Still, I put off tidying in favor of a bit of a rest. Too many nights without the requisite hours of solid sleep. So, couch time for me, for Ed as well. 

But toward the lunch hour, we move ourselves to go for a walk. How could we not? Stunning sunshine, the quiet of a forest -- it's all irresistible.

And now I'm back in the thick of holiday stuff. First comes the meetup with the young family at our favorite Christmas tree nursery. Time to pick out a tree for their house! And let's not forget about one for the farmhouse! I read the article in the Wash Po out loud to Ed to remind him about the environmental virtues of growing trees for holiday sales. Of all that we do for Christmas, this is perhaps the most beautiful, coming to us without the feeling of excessive indulgence. Trees, if grown sustainably, are never a bad thing, not before they make an appearance in our homes, not after we dispose of them with care.

So we buy trees.

Oops! Sandpiper is on the run! I'll get him -- this from Snowdrop.

Hey, how about this pot? Sandpiper does try to help out...

Finally. Tree selected. Doesn't quite fit into the photo frame. Hopefully it will fit into their living room.

(Admiring the ornaments inside... )

We haul the load of greens, the tree, the wreath, and yes, a few ornaments to their home. And then we get ready for a dinner out with the arriving youngest family!

We all eat at Craftsman Table and Tap. We are all so happy to see them!

Craftsman is the kind of eatery you hope to have around the corner from where you live -- reasonably priced modern pub food. A wonderful place to hang out with these two families! (Well, in truth, we could be stuck in a barrack with bread and soup delivered in thermoses and it still would be fun to hang out with these guys.)

(my beloved young families)

Ed's sleeping off the last of his period of Great Lethargy (that followed whatever bug he had last week), but he's up when I come home, and we sit back once again to an evening of farmhouse quiet. The tree will go up tomorrow. For now, we eat our chocolate, snuggle the couple of cats that always come in for an evening greeting, and smile at the sweetness of the day.

with love...