Farewell To November

Gathering the November moments... Goodness, I just didn't take as many photos in November, but let's see what I can do. *** I have posted so recently about the Pilgrim ancestors that I'll leave that on its own, but they were the ones who excited me the most this November. It has been a little more difficult to excite the closest members of my family. I have been very busy researching and I like what I read for the most part. Oh, yes, into every life trouble falls; into every generation some tragedy or another, though  on the whole, those men and women were remarkable with a capital R. Just goes to show what one can do when trusting The Lord. ***  On Thanksgiving evening, I shared "the story" with the family and read the names going back through the decades. They didn't look at me. Their eyes were lowered as if to look at me might suggest interest or perhaps more correctly concern. My son gently teased me and I told him, "Listen, if I take Myles Standish out of your lineage, you are NOT here. Ditto Alice Carpenter Southworth Bradford. Ditto John and Priscilla Alden." He said, "Nooooo...really?" "True, you are as related to these people as anyone in your generation can be. They are all your many times great-grandparents." ***   After a few minutes of uneasy silence, my grandson Sam said, "You've taken us back 500 years, Nonni. Well done." And I said, "Let's think about the math again, okay? ☺"  *** In addition to saying hello to the Pilgrim relatives, in recent days, we have said hello to Thanksgiving pie and Thanksgiving snow. I'd like to say goodbye to the pie, but must pace myself; the snow can stay until December 26.

We said goodbye to pumpkins and autumn decor...

~bird banquet table~

***

Hello to the very beginnings of Christmas...

~the Christmas tree ☺~

A Christmas corner... I find that I must pace myself with all things these days. Christmas decor will not be all up in a day nor even a week as in years' past. That's okay. It will be accomplished in spurts with God's help. 

Thanks for reading... I'll be around to see how you have gathered the moments, too. You will find the others right *here.* (Cheryl will be posting on Sunday.)

A happy weekend to you...

Cozy Thanksgiving

It's the day before Thanksgiving in the United States. This means that most of us are busily preparing the pies and goodies that will grace the table tomorrow. We are so very blessed. If we are participating in Thanksgiving, we are obviously thanking someone Someone. This holiday remains my favorite. I love the cozy ambiance, the yummy foods, the fact that no gifts are involved (usually) and that we can gather together.

Speaking of gathering, I have been busy doing that for a few days. We went shopping the first of the week and gathered in our supplies, which I set aside in this basket. 

It's so much easier than rummaging through the cabinets later. My daughter arrived with the turkey Monday morning—a gift from her employer. Thank you, Nestlé! Thank you, Darling Daughter!   Dishes from all corners have been brought to the counter for a good scrubbing. And I found my Thanksgiving lights. This may be the last year I can use them as they are half burned out.

We are three this year so I have had fun deciding which of the Friendly Village dishes to use.

The three large dinner plates  in the foreground I think. At Christmastime, I switch to the smaller plates with the little country church. (At Easter, I use the spring buds and blossoms dinner plates seen at the top right.)

I'm off to make some pies—apple, pumpkin, and pecan. (I doubt that any of my toppings will look this pretty.) John has already purchased a three-berry pie at the library pie sale. Our odds on pies are getting better all the time...three people, four pies. What a family! ☺ I am also making Parker House rolls at some point and I must get Tom Turkey ready, too. I'll be using that Bell's Seasoning, of course.

A corner of my kitchen where the Christmas gingerbread boy and the turkey plate seem to be getting along famously. The meat thermometer is waiting at the ready. Gathering...always gathering.

Wishing all who will celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow a blessed holiday. 

Thank you for reading or looking. The good news is that you are off the hook for commenting. There's just too much to do and how well I know it!

My Pilgrim Story

My Pilgrim Story
If you read here, you know that I have been pretty scarce, especially in September and October. It was good for me to take the break from writing and commenting. Further, it allowed me the time to pursue some other interests and areas that had been neglected. 

One of those areas was my interest in genealogy. Last year, I shared the story about finding my mother's mother's mother's family. I learned that that line came to this country in 1635 where they settled in the Worcester area of Massachusetts. I also learned that I was related to my  blogging buddy Jill!  It is true that, if you hang out in Blogdom long enough, you might find your relatives. Ha! That post was called *Land of Light.*

Today, a week before Thanksgiving, I want to tell you my Pilgrim story/ies. Did I hear a collective groan out there? ☺

This time, I turned my attention to my father's side of the family, specifically his mother's mother's family. You may have seen my great-grandmother — she's that little lady in the vintage photo in my header just below her six times great-grandparents John and Priscilla Alden. Can you believe it?!

Long-time readers have been introduced to my great-grandmother before in a post called *Old Photos* and another called *Treasures.* I was an adult when my great-grandmother passed away at the age of 92. How blessed I was to have known her! To my knowledge, she never knew who her famous ancestors were. (In fact, her memory of ancestry was pretty vague. She once told me what her mother's name was and I dutifully wrote it down in my notebook, but that person turned out to be her grandmother. No wonder I was having such trouble pushing back!  She can be forgiven for this because she was only eight years old when she lost her mother.)

~my paternal grandmother's parents~

I have been so excited about this discovery that I can hardly see straight. We are descended from the Aldens' daughter Sarah who married Andrew Standish. He was the son of Myles/Miles Standish. You may remember, if you are of a certain age (about 150 or so), the epic poem "The Courtship of Miles Standish" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It tells the family legend that Little Henry often heard when he was growing up of the two suitors of Priscilla Mullins.  My father used to often quote the phrase, "Speak for yourself, John Alden" when I was growing up. I did slog through it recently and I liked the description that either Priscilla or John gives Myles..."he's a little chimney of a man" or something like that. Yes, Myles was a soldier and he had a hot temper. 

And while that is all exciting, there's more! When my thirteen times great-grandmother was a young woman  living in Leiden, Holland  (where The Separatists first relocated), she also had two suitors. One was Thomas Southworth who became her first husband; the second was William Bradford. Her name was Alice Carpenter and you can read more about her by googling. It is a fascinating story and I am only going to hit the highlights. William Bradford (the writer of The Mayflower Compact and the second governor of Massachusetts) would go on to marry Dorothea and they would travel on The Mayflower to the New World.   One day, while William was scouting for a good place to settle, Dorothea either  leapt or fell overboard and drowned. She had been distraught over leaving their son behind with family so there has always been some question. It was a tragedy to lose her that way after making the harrowing trip across the Atlantic.   Meanwhile, back in England (where The Separatists were living after the time in Holland), Alice's first husband (my ancestor) died leaving her a widow with two young sons Thomas and Constant. When William Bradford learned the news of her loss, he wrote Alice a letter asking her to become his wife. Within two years, she had joined him in Plymouth and they were married. Her sons came later and grew up with William Bradford as their step-father. They were both named in his will. Alice's son Constant was my ancestor. Constant becomes a popular name in the family with a number after him also being given the name. I think  it's a great name.
Many interesting connections can be found between those early Pilgrims. Let's face it, for a while there, they didn't have too many others around. One is that William Bradford officiated at the wedding of John and Priscilla Alden.
  From there, we had a slight name change from Southworth to South*** ; in fact, my little Grammie was the last to have this name in our family (her maiden name). Following the name change, there was a settling of successive generations in Maine. I  found more Revolutionary War soldiers (a father and son) and another Civil War soldier. And, oddly enough, I discovered that some of these Pilgrim descendants were born and lived in the town where my sister now lives. 

I had my own beloved step-grandfather and my grands do love John who is their step-grandfather so it is a thrill to know that William Bradford is another in a long line of step-grandfathers. This is what he had to say about the Pilgrims' departure from England

With mutual embraces and many tears, they took their leaves of one another, which proved to be the last leave to many of them...but they knew they were pilgrims and looked not much on those things, but lifted their eyes to heaven, their dearest country, and quieted their spirits.

Now I hope that I have not bored you entirely. My own children are completely unimpressed with my revelations. Thankfully, a few other relatives show more interest.

I shared the news with my grandsons last Saturday. They are 8 and 7.  "Do you know anything about the Pilgrims?" I asked. They knew a few things mostly about The Mayflower and Squanto. "You're related to the Pilgrims." They sat quietly taking that in. Then they wanted to know their relatives' names. They wondered why their surname did not match. The youngest grand's eyes lit up, "I have a friend Tommy (name changed) Alden. He must really be related to them." I'd not be surprised. He and ten million others. 

They were learning, like me, that just because your surname doesn't match any on the passenger list, doesn't mean that one is not related. In fact, I am very close to proving that the other side of my great-grandmother's family was also related to yet another Pilgrim. Both her parents were from Pilgrim stock! When my daughter found out that I had told her nephews the big news, she groaned audibly, "Mom, they're going to tell everyone at school! They'll think they are crazy!" Now I can't imagine why that would be because the boys would only be telling the truth. It's just a good thing I didn't know when I was a child because I would have been insufferable!   If you're still here, thank you for reading all this. Say, are you also one of the ten million? You may be and not even know it!

Edited to Add October 13, 2016: I have continued working on My Pilgrim Story in the months following my initial discoveries and have gone on to find more connections back to the Aldens specifically. Apparently, I had a few multiple great-grandparents who married cousins who were also descended from the Aldens. No surprise there as there weren't that many people to choose from back in the day.
My father was a bit confused about his connection to The Pilgrims. He was trying to connect his surname to them and could not. "How is the H family related to The Pilgrims?"
"They are not except that your father had the good sense to marry your mother whose family is related to them,"  I replied. 
My grandson Sam had had similar difficulty. "The Mayflower must have sailed by Italy on the way over, " he said. I know I shouldn't have, but I laughed out loud. We are going to have to have a little math lesson on family trees. Not to mention another history lesson. He will like that!

Bookmarks and Things

This morning I was on a mission to be dressed and out the door to capture that fleeting two-hour window when our post office is open in the morning. Has your post office cut back its hours a lot? Ours sure has.  

~morning light~

Then I remembered that I had received beautiful gifts last week from Linda at Linda's Life Journal that have gone unacknowledged.  Linda is an extraordinary woman who really does it all. In addition to being the grandmother of quadruplets and other lovely grands, she is an artist, a decorator of her charming abode, Love of her Beloved, and a wonderful daughter, mother, sister, friend. You would be blessed to visit her blog where you can read all about it. If you like a prolific blogger, Linda's your gal!

These are my precious bookmarks. My address book of blogging buddies has become a scrapbook of sorts, though my bookmarks are being put to good use elsewhere, trust me. You can find the little artists in training right on *this post.*

I love these kiddos and family and can see a lot of promise in these budding artists.

Thank you so much, Linda! Hug those quads for us!

***

This morning I was shipping a few things off to my friend Vickie who, like Linda, also happens to live in Texas. 

These little cottage-style tea towels are fun and easy to make. They also are charming little Christmas gifts, don't you think? 

One time, when I had featured a little box of Bell's Seasoning, Vickie commented how much she loved the graphics. I do, too, and often have it sitting out as a little Thanksgiving decoration. Can you get Bell's where you live? I think it may be just a New England thing. Anyway, Vickie will have a wee box of her own to display this Thanksgiving. When Vickie blogs, she does so at Sand Flat Farm. 

Another connection between Linda and Vickie is that they are both artists. You will find a link to some of Vickie's work in her sidebar. 

Consider this a warning or a promise and act accordingly, but if you come back tomorrow, Friday at the latest, I have another Pilgrim story to share.  

A happy day to you!

Meanwhile, Courage!

Sometimes an answer comes before the question is formed. I knew that my knickers were in a knot, but had not one clue why for days. It seemed as if my mind was too filled with concerns—my own,  the country (they didn't end with the election after all), the church, and, because I walk in Blogdom, many other concerns. Perhaps you can add the workplace to your list. So my prayer list has become exponentially longer through the years. Suddenly, it was if I could not handle it any longer. What pride! It was never mine to "handle" in the first place.   Max Lucado has begun a wonderful new program called Before Amen that you might enjoy looking into, if you haven't already.

Source (for Tablet Folks)

In it, he shares a specific prayer that I have found so very helpful. Perhaps you might, too.

This quote has been powerfully meaningful to me. I can use it to process what is going on in my mind and heart. For example, I am tired and ready to quit... Meanwhile, courage! Your moments of nervousness are not your real self, only medical phenomena.  I don't feel well... Meanwhile, courage! Your moments of nervousness are not your real self, only medical phenomena. I am worried about this person... Meanwhile, courage! Your moments of nervousness are not your real self, only medical phenomena. You see? It works for any. possible. thing.

And who is this "real self"? The real self only applies to those who have given themselves to Christ. (The very best news ever is that all are invited to give themselves to Him.) When we have, He lives in us and through us. There is nothing that we can do without Him. 

...For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us...

Ephesians 2:14

I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:16–19

A blessed Sunday and a blessed week to you!

Sunday comments are always closed...

First Snow

  This is what I woke to...a mere dusting. I am not ready for snow so I am glad of the reprieve — a dusting instead of six to eight inches. After the winter we last endured, I'm not ready for winter again. Even a lovely summer and a pleasant autumn have not dulled the memory of that foul winter and frigid spring. Mercifully, the snow is already gone. Now the grass will probably green up and we'll have to mow. Yes, I will take a little cheese, thank you. I think I must put myself back in the corner for another week. ☺ You have a pleasant one and stay cozy.

Trees

Oh my it's been so long since I last linked to Donna's Photo Challenge. I'm out of practice and though I am linking there, I am not adding my post to the list of participants. This gives me great freedom to visit all, but not comment everywhere like the prattling wonder I used to be. If you visit, you will learn a few nifty things I can promise!

My difficulty with autumn photos was that the intensity of color was often incorrectly portrayed. Everything seemed far too washed out. This was the best of my back yard photos. I have added some sharpening and, of course, cropping.  Donna had a great suggestion for remedying the color issue on her Trees post.

The same stand of trees taken yesterday afternoon toward evening. 

I was taking a photo of a burl (first learned about at Judith's — you should see her photo at Lavender Cottage — incredible), when this squirrel hopped into the photo. Thanks a lot, little guy, you've  added some interest as this burl is nothing to write home about. Do you have any trees with burls?
Thanks for looking. You will find all the other participants *here.*  A happy and blessed weekend to you!

Better Late than Never

...perhaps. Right off the bat, I'm letting you know that I am closing comments today with a promise that soon I'll be back in the swing of things; albeit, on a much lesser scale. This post is for me as a way to document October. That said, you're so welcome to look or scoot, whichever you prefer.

 ~October was a month spent thinking a lot about the country this cap represents in addition to my own.~

There were plenty of "oh no" moments. By the end of soccer season, my grandson was pretty weary of being the goalie all game, every game.(Everyone else on the team bailed.) That's a lot of responsibility. He did a fantastic job and only wishes that I had captured some action.

I just love this photo. I may have been hanging out with Norman Rockwell too much, but I could not have set this up any better. There's  so much story here. It cracks me up. My Jake looks as if he'll be ready for basketball. ☺

Had to smile seeing this trail marker behind the soccer field. There were a whole lot of proud parents and grandparents for sure.

~October's Header~

Early in the month, John and I did make it to the Fryeburg Fair. We were able to meet up with my aunt and uncle for lunch, which was fun. Then it was off to the races for them and off to the quilts for us.

John walked right past an entire contingent of his family without recognizing a soul — his own daughter, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I had to point them out to him. Ha! 

Then we got separated, which can be a little frightening. John says that he heard me say, "There's the governor!" Thing is, I didn't see the governor so it wasn't my voice that he heard. Blast! I would have liked to have taken the photo that I can only describe. John walked right up to Governor LePage calling out his first name as he went as if they were long-lost buddies. (A little scary to think about really.) They shook hands and John told him that he was doing a fantastic job. We are both delighted this morning that The Governor has won his second term in office.

I worked on quilting in October. Hahahahahahaha... I love quilts, but snack mats are probably the biggest project I shall ever in this life do. This was for my dear friend Sandi who has had a rough go of it lately. It's just a way for me to say I love you and I'm thinking about you.

 ~my daughter's new property~

~a beautiful copper tree~

 ~coppery hydrangeas~

 ~We can see the barn through the trees again.~

~a little autumny corner~

~October Ends~

My Scary Story

Let's see, here I am a lot like Hilda, wanting to do a thing while not quite being able to pull it all together.

Source

On Thursday I could smell the dust in "the office." That's never good. Thus began a day of intense cleaning, which involved the moving of the desk that holds the PC from in front of the picture window 90 degrees to the left. John's help was employed and we were so very careful, moving just inches at a time. 

It made no difference for when the PC was booted, it didn't. An error message I had never seen or even heard of before popped up: USB device over current status detected will shut down in 15 seconds. It wasn't telling tall tales either for down she went on the dot. 

I have one word for this — accckkkkk! 

So I have investigated and done all that I know how to do. The USB ports have received close inspection and I see no problems. I have removed USB cords, even the keyboard, all to no avail. I hoped that a good night's rest would cure the overload problem and my jangled nerves, too. Nope.

All this to let you know that I won't be around much. Working with the iPad (beyond just visiting you) is nearly torture and I know that it's only a matter of time when that connection will be lost, too. (When the wi-fi goes I am able to use the PC to reconnect. Obviously, that isn't an option.) So until the PC heals itself, we can afford a computer geek or a new computer (ha, I do crack myself up), The Lord calls us or whatever, I am over and out. 

The irony of this is not lost on me. When I wanted to be away, the computer worked fine and all was well and good, but now that I want to be more present...

Hope that all is working well at your place! 

Many blessings to you...

Edited to Add: My son is a genius or else he's just a good computer geek. I'll be seeing you one day soon. Thanks so much for toughing it out with me.