Thanksgiving Eve

Remember God’s bounty in the year. String the pearls of His favor. Hide the dark parts, except so far as they are breaking out in light! Give this one day to thanks, to joy, to gratitude!

~ Henry Ward Beecher

Are you in the thick of kitchen duties? I hope that the turkey is thawed! ッ

Although I am not hosting this year, I am indulging in a wee bit of baking. That makes the house seem properly Thanksgiving-like. I am baking Pioneer Woman's Pecan Pie and Karen's Kitchen Pumpkin Bread. If I have any extra energy, I am considering baking some of Mary MacDonald's Molasses Cookies.

Though the tree is up, I haven't been able to decorate it yet. Apparently, I have great loyalty to Thanksgiving. Friday will be time enough for that. In the meantime...

I became so charmed by a vignette seen at Susan Branch's that I tried the impossible—to copy her. 

In the end, I did something quite different, which is just what Susan suggests in the first place. 

It's a charcuterie of objects instead of meats, fruit, and nuts.

It's nowhere near as darling as Susan's...  The best that can be said is that I made it my own. I borrowed the recipe box, the cookbooks, and the wooden spoon. I tossed in a wee Christmas tree and a squash.

Source: Pixaby free images


Wishing you a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving... 

A Beautiful Day...

Laurel and I sniffled a bit off and on all the way back to my house after the movie. 

It hit a lot of our buttons. Great movie! My recommendation? Go see it. Just go. Trust me. That's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood with Tom Hanks playing the role of Fred Rogers.

It is based on the article Can You Say...Hero? written by Tom Junod for Esquire magazine in November of 1998, which can still be found my searching online. Why the writer's name is changed to Lloyd Vogel in the movie is the director's prerogative. 

Anyway, I don't do movie reviews so I'll quit talking about the movie and start talking about why I loved Fred Rogers as so many others did as well.

When I first began teaching, I realized immediately that something was "off" with many children. Their attention spans were almost nothing and they seemed easily annoyed and upset. I blamed it on societal woes such as drugs and the lack of cohesiveness in the home. Even decades ago there were few children whose parents were married to each other. And so many people were involved with drugs. Sadly, all of this continues to be prevalent today only now we not only have parents who are involved, we have grandparents and great-grandparents. The poor children!

In the early 1990s, I attended a seminar on children's television programming. Seems that the popular PBS network program featuring a big, yellow bird may have been responsible in part for those short attention spans. Their segments were fast moving and short. 

The instructor shared two stories of taking his own children to shows, one featuring the big, yellow bird and company and one featuring Mr. Rogers. In the first, the children were literally bouncing in their seats and off the walls. When the characters came on stage, the place went wild. It was like a rock concert. He, and probably every other adult there, had a massive headache.

At the Mr. Rogers concert, the children were also bouncing off the walls. Then the beautiful Lady Aberlin came on stage and, with her finger to her lips, smiled at the audience and said that Mr. Rogers was a quiet man who needed quiet spaces. If the children would be quiet and sit in their seats, he would indeed come out and they'd have their show. The children settled down immediately and spent a rapt hour listening to Mr. Rogers tell his stories and sing his songs. 

My daughter did not begin childhood as a Mr. Rogers' fan, though she has become one. My son, on the other hand, was a Mr. Rogers' fan from the beginning. Perhaps he best loved Lady Aberlin and Daniel and the Land of Make Believe folk. I'll have to ask him. I know that I was smitten then as now with Mr. Rogers himself, a gentle man if ever there was one.

Mid-November

Boy, is it ever Novembery! I am thrilled that the snow at least waited until November 11 and I am very happy that there will be a warm up next week that will take most of this icy mess to the nearest drainage ditch. I have been housebound, not even daring to go to the mailbox, for three days. I am beginning to feel antsy. 

I have been playing one game of Sudoku after the next. Yes, it's a little dull around here. One thing is certain, I am not listening to any Congressional hearings on impeachment. On second thought, 
some of the reviews were very interesting. 



Let's move on, shall we? 

Thanksgiving decor is hanging around until the day after Thanksgiving. Of course, a week from this weekend, I am asking the guys for help to drag in my Christmas tree. I like my tree too much to give up an entire week of it with Thanksgiving being so late. Once again, the Pilgrims will be hanging out with the Nativity scene and my vintage papier-mâché Santa. It'll be one big happy crew for a few days. 

My sister Kim has invited Laurel and me for Thanksgiving this year. Adam and family will be off to Bangor to enjoy Thanksgiving with his wife's sister, also a Kim. This confused the boys to no end when they were much younger. They thought it was odd that they had an Aunt Kim and their dad had an Aunt Kim. Do you have more than one named the same in your family?

These are the wee houses I purchased at Target last Monday. 

The houses were only a dollar each and I wish that I had purchased a few more. The tall house is an evergreen color, though it looks very dark here. (That quote is not one that floats my boat, but the cardinal is beautiful and the sentiments written inside are as well. It was sent by an old friend, a former classmate.)

The ubiquitous kitchen pic just so you know that you were here. ツ

Are you thinking about Christmas decor? I am pondering putting up a Christmas tree in the upstairs window of the garage as a way to bless my neighbors. The house is so dark on these short days. I need to up my game. 

Perhaps I'll see you next week! Until then, have a great one. Oh, are you hosting Thanksgiving this year or what are you up to?

Early November

Can I get away with saying hello and just tossing in a few pictures? I know, I might as well move to Instagram for good. What's the point of blogging without words? 

Shabby 2019

Freshly painted former year

I need to up my upkeep game, though for obvious reasons, I was not able to this year. My sister made the large bittersweet wreath for me. She even rounded up the bittersweet from her daughter's yard. My niece is not very happy with the way the bittersweet is taking over the world in her yard and I was duly warned about not putting it anywhere I didn't want to see it growing. I shall have to be careful. I never put it behind the house that's for certain.

around the outside lamp

tucked into the apothecary

the mustard and deep purple leaves were so pretty in combination...all gone now...

Trying to disguise a tired sofa with a ten dollar throw from Wal*Mart. It's working for now...

You wouldn't know that you had visited if there were no windowsill photo. The very last rose delighted me and is still blooming yet. I hope that all is well with you. I am happily in my good week and I am trusting that next week will be good, too. 

Thanks for popping by. Have a great day!

Rest

Bittersweet Wreath Made by Kim

One can't go wrong to read Hebrews 4 today or any day. Faith makes the difference.

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