One More Thankfulness Post

I'm getting my last post on thankfulness in right under the wire.  In less than an hour it will be December, and then in the blink of an eye, it will be 2013, and all the things I planned to accomplish this year will still be on my "To Do" list.

It has honestly been difficult on some days to find just ONE teensy thing that I was thankful for.  That is why this is such a good exercise for me, a naturally pessimistic person.  To find some good in some little thing makes me think hard about my interactions with others each day.  Consequently, I have found that I am trying harder to listen to others, and even JP has commented that I seem to be yelling less.  That's BIG!

So...even though it would be really wise for me to continue this exercise indefinitely, I will not.  Some days I would rather do something besides blog, believe it or not, so for the sake of adding a few minutes of "free time" to my day, it will go by the wayside.  Perhaps I will re-visit my thankfulness in February, the cruelest of months.  It could possibly help me be a less bitter person in the dead cold of winter!

Tonight, the whole family drove into town to enjoy the "Open House."  This is the 3rd or 4th year that our little town has rung in the Holiday season by having the shops stay open late, had fires on the street corners to warm your hands, and carolers on the courthouse steps.  It has been fun in the past, and we usually meet up with our buddies and walk around together.  The whole experience just oozes "community."

This year it was really busy.  I mean, so busy that there is no room to even get inside the door of several of the little shops on Main Street.  It was so crowded that we couldn't walk down the sidewalks, but had to veer into the streets.  The line at the Hot Dog vendor was close to a block long, and the one at the Coffee Shop was all the way out the door.  Crazy.

I promised J that she could look for a prize at 10,000 Villages tonight, since I coerced her into getting a vaccination at her Well Child Exam on Wednesday.  She found a cute leather ring there that I gladly bought for her.  Unfortunately, by the time we arrived home, the ring was missing, and J's heart was broken.  We back tracked a little and made a couple of phone calls, but it hasn't turned up.

It hurts me to see my girls hurting, either physically or emotionally.  I want to make it better, which isn't always possible.  In the end, it soured the whole evening for me, probably for all of us.  Perhaps a similar little ring will find its way into the girls' Christmas stockings in a few weeks?

So what am I thankful for today, after our downer of a finish?  I'm thankful that JP got home while it was still light outside, and that we all sat together in our bright little Library to chat and joke and play games on the computer.  I'm thankful that I ran into my friends in town tonight, and that the girls danced down the street arm in arm with their friends.  I'm thankful that the weekend is here, and though I don't plan to sleep in tomorrow, I should be able to watch the sun rise from our little tree house while I'm on the look out for deer.  I'm thankful that we had a good day under our belts before disappointment struck, and I'm thankful every day for my beautiful girls and my loving husband.  I have a lot to be thankful for, and I plan to be mindful of that, even if I'm not writing about it every day.

Once More Before the Snow Flies

We actually had a little more frozen precipitation yesterday, nothing sticking or accumulating so far.  Perhaps that is because we have these gorgeous sunny and warmish days in between.  Every morning feels like winter lately, and the chickens' water is frozen, but the sun warms up everything nicely by afternoon.  It won't last forever, but today was absolutely beautiful.

L threw a fit at lunch time because 1) she wanted to eat her lunch outside, then 2) she wanted to change into short sleeves and capris, then 3) she was starving.  Of course the whole time I was dealing with the screaming fits, I was not getting lunch made.  I hope she remembers these days when she has kids of her own!

Some time after lunch and Science lessons, we hopped in the van and drove down the lane to wait for J's bus.  We waited, and waited, and then I finally realized that we were there a full hour early!  An hour later, we tried again, and on the way up the hill we unanimously decided to dress in orange and go for a walk.  We typically save our walks for Sundays during November, but since my Dad was called out of town to attend to some of my Grandfather's estate issues today and tomorrow, no one was hunting on our property this afternoon.

The dogs were thrilled, as there were plenty of new smells to whiff.  Kali looked a bit stiff in her coat with hunter orange stripes.  Stella sported a neck bandanna of the same color.  The three of us wore our orange hats.  We walked and walked, careful to keep inside the boundaries of our own property.  It was amazing!

I am so thankful that we had the chance (and took the opportunity) to take a lovely long walk all around Poplar Ridge during hunting season while the sun was shining today. 

So Much for "Nothing to Do!"

I am canning turkey tonight, and when this canner-full cools down, I have a few quarts of chicken and turkey stock to can.  I am very thankful that I finally learned to use the pressure canner last year, after many years of fearing it.  (I'm also thankful that my Mom lets me borrow hers just about whenever I ask!)  Frozen left-over turkey never ends up being a crowd pleaser, but these jars of poultry are tender and perfect for dumping into chicken and dumplings or whipping up into my favorite curried chicken salad.  As an added bonus, the dogs enjoy the juice poured over kibbles.

Before the pressure canner, I froze all my green beans.  Last year, when the beans in my garden went absolutely crazy and I couldn't even give them away fast enough, I ran out of room in my freezer.  That was the turning point, since pressure canning is apparently the only safe way to can beans.  Now I'm even considering canning dried beans, will they cook as they can?  I need to google that!

So I ended up with some work to do tonight after all, but it is not difficult.  I have also tried to time it so that all is finished well before bed time.  I think that the girls are on the verge of coming down with something, so we all need some extra rest right now.

I need to go work on a Subtraction Facts Chart for L.  The addition one turned out nicely. 

Here goes nothing...

Waking Up is Hard to Do!

Getting out of bed was hard this morning...mostly because I stayed up too late mopping the floor (it's SOOO much easier when people aren't walking all over it), and partly because I REALLY enjoyed having a few days off from school and work last week!

So here I am again, up late ironing and blogging.  Will getting up tomorrow be any easier?  Nope.  At least I don't have any chores hanging over my head until the next weekend.

I enjoyed being with my kids yesterday.  We played with toy animals in the morning, read books and magazines together until I nearly fell asleep after lunch, and carved our Halloween pumpkins in the afternoon.  Yes, we carved pumpkins, but we convinced ourselves that these were Holiday Pumpkins.  Thus was born...the St. Nick o'Lantern:

Too many times, I tell my kids that I'll do something "later".  I'm thankful that we just did whatever came along yesterday, since today was all schedules, school and work.  True, I was grumpy after dinner, when I realized that the cleaning up still needed to be done (pumpkin guts all over the kitchen floor...ewww!).  Tonight, when I look back, I have no regrets.

Tomorrow morning when the alarm goes off, I might feel differently...better get to bed!

Hunting Buddy

I spent a little over an hour this morning hunting from up in the tree house.  I startled a doe and yearling when I first went outside, but they were the only deer that I saw the whole time.

About 10 minutes after I got settled up there, I heard a commotion on the deck, and noticed Lizzie Kitty knocking on the window.  I let her in, and she kept me company for a while, purring and taking over my chair.  She got bored after half an hour and knocked on the window again to be let back out.  She maneuvered her way down the tree, and a few minutes later, I saw her attacking a pile of dirt down below.

By 8 AM, when JP was due to leave for work, my coffee had run out, and so had my patience.  While the tree house wasn't as cold as JP's tree stand out in the woods, I still wished for my long underwear and more hot coffee.  This morning I am thankful that I don't depend entirely on this meat for food, as we would surely go hungry.  I'm also extremely thankful for my warm house and hot drinks to return to.  Finally, I am looking forward to one bonus day that I can spend with my kids...so let's get the party started!

P.T.S. (Post Turkey Syndrome)

So here we are, the festivities are over, and it is time to look ahead to Christmas and L's Birthday.  Although we were able to unload a few of the left overs yesterday, the fridge is still packed with turkey, dressing and taters.  I am still working on washing and putting away towels and sheets.  Things are winding down toward the return to normalcy.

Luckily, the girls have one additional day off school tomorrow, for the first day of deer (rifle) season.  I am planning to head up to the tree house at 6:54 tomorrow to look for that big buck I've been watching for the past several weeks.  Last year the regulations changed to make the first week of hunting for antlered deer only, and those guys tend to make themselves scarce.  I can't go after does/antlerless deer until Dec. 1st.

It is quiet right now in the house.  JP is working on his medical records, and the girls are working on a puppet show downstairs.  We went to Outback this afternoon to finish celebrating J's birthday, so with those doggy bags plus the turkey left overs, there is no need to cook.  I am thankful for a quiet evening, with no pressing schedule.  It is a nice way to ease back into the routine of school and work!

Switch-Up

This morning, JP's family left for home.  Several hours later, 2 car loads of our friends arrived.  My good friend, who moved away this summer, was in the area for the Holiday.  We invited them, along with the available ones of our remaining group of friends, out to Poplar Ridge for a post-Thanksgiving get together.

It was really great to have part of the old group back together again.  We could compare how our children and our selves have changed in the past 4 months since we've been together:  taller, more talkative, greyer hair, etc, etc.  I am thankful to have friends with whom the passage of time means nothing - that we can start up again where we left off after time apart!

We had a post-Thanksgiving Buffet for dinner, with everyone bringing left-overs from the feast to share.  Wish you folks out West could have stopped by for the evening, it was fun.

After everyone departed for their respective homes, we were left completely drained.  I fell asleep on the couch watching first Indiana Jones, and then again while waiting to see Mumford and Sons on SNL.  (We are getting TV reception again...can't believe it!)

So...to all of our friends and family, both near and far, we wish you safe travels to back to your home, or an easy return to normal after the departure of loved ones.

And as promised, here is a picture of the finished concrete (can you see the snow flakes falling in the foreground?)