The Holidays Begin
Suddenly the neighborhood is naked. The leaves on all the deciduous trees are on the ground, bermed up against my fence and strewn about the street, and the branches above are bare and skeleton-like. The storms of the past few days brought high winds and now all vestiges of fall are vanished. It seemed like a surprise when I went out with the dogs today as there have been several days when the weather seemed too fierce to venture forth.
The season shifts to the inside now as we begin the celebrations to keep warmth and light alive in the long, cold nights. Gone are the sunscreen curtains and that dinnertime setting sun is no longer a threat. Now the shades are drawn early and the lights turned on to brighten the rooms. A knitted afghan drapes the back of each piece of furniture, ready to wrap around chilled shoulders or legs.
The new stove triggered a realignment of the kitchen counters and now the crockpot is out and waiting to make those soups I love in winter. The pantry is stocked with rice and pasta and other comfort foods. We are ready to draw in and wrap our house around us. Weary already of the pounding rain and piercing winds.
This Thursday my family will all gather here and we will sit down to dinner at the 126 year-old walnut dining room table extended to its full “banquet” length. Scott, Phil, Andy & Laura, Windy & Chris, and a friend of Chris’ from Japan will all bring covered dishes or desserts and I will cook the turkey. (My annual digression from my vegetarian diet.)
In addition to good food and drink, we will have music with all the guitars. And games, of course, like Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit and SceneIt. We’ll walk with the dogs and play with the cats and tease each other and rejoice in being together. Some will nap or slip off to read a chapter in a book. Laura and I will have our knitting. There will be football on TV and perhaps some good music on KBOO. This party, I should add, starts Thursday but lasts all weekend, with some people rolling out sleeping bags on the living room floor. Others will go back and forth, taking care of animals at home, or in some cases, working on Friday.
If you were here, you could join us. I wish every one of you the very best and I am thankful for all my wonderful friends near and far. Happy Thanksgiving.
The season shifts to the inside now as we begin the celebrations to keep warmth and light alive in the long, cold nights. Gone are the sunscreen curtains and that dinnertime setting sun is no longer a threat. Now the shades are drawn early and the lights turned on to brighten the rooms. A knitted afghan drapes the back of each piece of furniture, ready to wrap around chilled shoulders or legs.
The new stove triggered a realignment of the kitchen counters and now the crockpot is out and waiting to make those soups I love in winter. The pantry is stocked with rice and pasta and other comfort foods. We are ready to draw in and wrap our house around us. Weary already of the pounding rain and piercing winds.
This Thursday my family will all gather here and we will sit down to dinner at the 126 year-old walnut dining room table extended to its full “banquet” length. Scott, Phil, Andy & Laura, Windy & Chris, and a friend of Chris’ from Japan will all bring covered dishes or desserts and I will cook the turkey. (My annual digression from my vegetarian diet.)
In addition to good food and drink, we will have music with all the guitars. And games, of course, like Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit and SceneIt. We’ll walk with the dogs and play with the cats and tease each other and rejoice in being together. Some will nap or slip off to read a chapter in a book. Laura and I will have our knitting. There will be football on TV and perhaps some good music on KBOO. This party, I should add, starts Thursday but lasts all weekend, with some people rolling out sleeping bags on the living room floor. Others will go back and forth, taking care of animals at home, or in some cases, working on Friday.
If you were here, you could join us. I wish every one of you the very best and I am thankful for all my wonderful friends near and far. Happy Thanksgiving.
posted by Free Spirit at 7:23 PM
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