Foods, Folks, Festivals.

 Foods, Folks, Festivals.

 

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the U.S. Everyone and his sister will have company or indigestion or both. And then there are those who will be sitting around smiling at all the stuff going on in our families and among our friends. Oldest son, for instance, had planned on six at their table and will now have nine with the addition of some friends belonging to their children. Sterling said that his former wife Marion will have the entire hee haw gang at her house in Arkansas. That should be interesting. All those children and grands will add up, but at least all the women will have cooked something to bring, and Marion won’t have to handle it all by herself. Just washing up dishes can be a major chore—unless plastic, disposable cups and plates with associated plastic “silverware” are being used. Anyway, their entire family would make enough people for a small community! Give those grands time, and they will form their own city!

 

Won’t be long before it is time to go shut up the hens for the night. These two dogs have already had their case of the zoomies for the evening, and they might just get a treat before bedtime. They enjoyed the food they had today—sweet potatoes with peas, carrots, ground turkey, and rice. Lance said that he often put oatmeal in Aussie’s food, but he is still able to use Pedigree canned dog food. Not sure that is what made Sylvia ill, but we are not going to try that again for sure!

 

Rather hoping that my version of Life 360 is not correct. It says that Jennifer is still at DFW. Which would mean that she and Grayson have not left yet. Argh. Well, she did say that they would not get in until some time late tonight. SO glad she has someone dependable to stay with her critters and the house. As it is, she said the UPS man had dropped a package off inside the yard—not anywhere near the front door. Wondering how she puts up with those attitudes. We are so very blessed here in WF to have folks who care about their jobs. Oh, some places can’t get anyone to work for them at all, but that may change eventually.

 

Can’t even say what all has been accomplished around here today because it amounts to exactly zero. Woke up early enough to do something, but just did not wake up in the mood to do anything at all. Checked out some roofing companies; looked at the paper work on the insurance; thought about the “pergola” out front; thought about how to get the bushes transplanted into pots; played with my silly dogs; read a bunch; and enjoyed cooking up some bacon and mushrooms for a meal. Yes, that is a little different than most meals, but it is what sounded good.

 

Have thought about some of the folks that have been ill lately and have not heard from at least two of them. Sitting here hoping that Mariellen Rose—Ellen’s aunt—is doing ok. Not sure why her sons have not let us know one way or the other. It is difficult to face time when illnesses strike, but if we know others care, it makes a difference.

 

One of the neatest things about this time of year is the smell of wood smoke. It is not the least bit difficult to imagine a fireplace or even a wood burning stove. We used to have a woodburning stove in the kitchen. We hauled load after load of mesquite from over in Archer County and cut it up, stacked it, and hauled it in several pieces at a time to keep our house warm. Yes, we had gas burning stoves, too, but the wood was “free” and smelled wonderful. We put a fan behind the stove and heated the entire house that way. Yep, it was nice, but it had drawbacks, too. A flue pipe had to be replaced every so often. The burn box eventually had a hole in it that could not be repaired. So there went the stove. Oh, but it was SO much work. We did get quite a few laughs out of it, however. One day we were driving down the highway and saw an old cottonwood down by the fence just sitting there waiting to be cut into firewood. Lewis said, “Covet, covet, covet.” We both knew exactly what he was thinking and started laughing out loud. Yep, just any ol’ tree out there waiting to be hauled home.

 

All the hens are at roost in the metal shed; the dogs are willing to be still and quiet; and my memories of Mom and Dad’s birthdays make me think of how many times they celebrated Thanksgiving together. They were married 68 years as of July 31, 2012, but Dad died in October before Thanksgiving in 2012. Then Mom died in October the following year. Even so, celebrating 67 Thanksgivings was pretty special. Miss them sometimes very much.

 

We have so very much for which we can be thankful. God just continues to bless us over and over. We have to share that love with others in whatever way we can. May we give our Father in heaven reason to smile at our attempts to do what He would have us do.

 

Rest this night, my friends. Look for joy and comforts. You are loved.