Between do and over-do

It is the between time. The turkey is in the oven but too early to peel potatoes and that kind of thing. The table is set but too early to put the things on the table. The floors are clean but, well, but nothing, it is rare they are clean, not waxed but at least mopped! I always feel like I should be doing something but there is really nothing to do for an hour or so, might as well sit down and write for a minute.

I was remembering a couple of Thanksgivings that really stand out in my mind. When I was a teen we went down to Ran and Esther Ericson's house for Thanksgiving. It was the first time (and only time) we ever had Thanksgiving away from home, first time I didn't do any cooking for Thanksgiving. It was a good day but that is not why it stands out so much. We sat down to eat and the snow started to fall. It fell all the way through the meal and dessert. We actually left a little more early than we might have otherwise left because the roads were getting a little dicey. We got home safely but it made the holiday unforgettable for me. It snowed the rest of the day and was beautiful as only the Island can be beautiful in the snow.

Another very memorable Thanksgiving was at my new house in Auburn. Kenneth and I had just moved in at the end of October so everything was still new to me (the house was 20 years old when we moved in, but so new to me that it was amazingly exciting). I know my parents came and I can't remember others, but I remember the feeling of finally cooking the traditional Thanksgiving meal in my own kitchen with my own family. I was pregnant with Emily at the time and things were not going well. Kenneth was sick and going down hill rapidly but it still felt magical. Little did I know at the time it would be my only Thanksgiving under those circumstances.

And then I remember the first Thanksgiving Luzvie was with the family. She had never heard of such a thing but thought it sounded like a wonderful idea. I explained to her how the meal was rather traditional and why we ate certain foods for that meal. She loved it all but her little nose curled when I said we were doing pumpkin. She didn't like pumpkin. (we looked it up in the Tagalog/English dictionary because we needed to now we were talking about the same thing). I was shocked as everyone loves Pumpkin pie (Wrong, James doesn't like it!). When the meal was eaten and dessert presented Luzvie agreed to try to pie....and loved it. When she had pumpkin in the Philippines it had been as a vegetable and she didn't like it at all, and I understand that. I am not sure I would have liked it myself! From that day to this I can not make a Pumpkin pie without a little heart tug for Luzvie.

I remember Thanksgiving dinner when my grandmother was alone and could not come to the house, it was her last Thanksgiving. I took down a plate and ate with her in her trailer. It was beautifully touching to have that solo dinner with my Grandmother. I came home and ate with the family too, but it was nothing compared to that shared time with her. The same thing happened when my parents could no longer join us, I think it was Emily that took dinner down to them and enjoyed their company.

I remember Yukiko and the amazing changes she made in the traditional American dinner, and how much I loved those changes! She is magic with food and with Children. Heck, she even prepared macaroni and cheese right out of the box because it was Lawrence's favorite food and she wanted everyone to have something special!

And now I need to remember to get away form the computer and back to reality. A few more corners to clean and then food to fix. I am beyond words grateful that Linda, Curtis and boys are with us this year. Joyce and Jock are here too, but it is the children that make it special for me. All others are at family dinners but not my family dinner....it is good all the way around, but the best part is I have Linda home to share dinner with. God bless us all, everyone!

I love Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. I love the food, I love the thoughts that go along with the whole thing, but some years I love it more than others. Some years it is easy to love the holiday and other years it is a wee bit more difficult. This would be one of the latter years. My mind wants to prepare this large and lavish meal for my family, but my family is all somewhere else except the Kincaid's and they will be my God-send. It had looked a lot like it would be Joyce and Jock for the Thanksgiving meal....good and all but not special without some extra serious mental work to make it special. Each day is special and each holiday is special if we choose to make it so. I just like the easy ones that are special because there are so many family and friends around that it couldn't help but be special. Those others take work, they are well worth it but they take work all the same. Linda and Curtis will make it feel like more than a normal dinner that we have around here...you can count on Linda for that kind of stuff!

I know Nancy will be going to Jace's family for Thanksgiving. Haven't heard the plans at the Campbell house but they have family in the area so I guess they have options. Same with the LJ Godsey group, her family is all in the area so they have options too. In my own little heart I hope they are all together, the LJ Godsey group and the Campbell's, but I suspect they aren't. Having them together would be wonderful but things don't always work that way. I know Lawrence and Michelle spend many important dates with her "familish" as she calls them. And I also know there are lots of Campbell siblings in the area that Emily and James enjoy. And I must always remember, Joyce and Jock count us as family so it is a family gathering of more than it appears here.

But I still miss the days where my grandparents would come, my parents would be here, Luzvie, Emily, Linda, Lawrence and Nancy were all around the table. Good times....please take time to remember good times like that and be thankful for them, just like I am. Memories don't just happen, they are built and I cherish the memories I built around my family as they were all mine.....mine in heart as well as physically. Eat turkey and be thankful.....

Make mine RED

This would represent the beginning of the project. I decided that I wanted something different and had to limit the price greatly, so what do you do under those circumstances? You paint, and you paint something really different. I have always painted every space a shade of white. Some are tinted green, some orange but all basically white. I have this wood stove known in my heart as Belching Bertha, and she insists on putting soot all over everything on an all to regular basis. After dealing with this monstrosity for nigh onto 30 years I came to an understanding, more color means less visable soot. With that thought in mind I painted the living room gold a few years ago. I liked it. I painted the family bathroom Orange and I liked that too. Then came Nancy's joking that I should paint her room yellow (hay, I thought she was being serious!) so it is now bright yellow. Curtis said the beach bathroom would be nice in a rich copper....it is. Next step, a red kitchen with white cabinets and, while on a roll, a red dinning room.

Do I like it? Yes, I think I do. It is still in process and I will post a picture when it is completed so the jury is still out. But I think I will like it just fine. It is almost all painted now, one wall in the dinning room left and it has the first coat but I ran out of paint and it is the Sabbath so I will continue on Monday after a store run. It also helped to put in a new light fixture in the dinning room, one that actually pushes out some candlepower! It is so nice to be able to read in the dinning room and it brings out the rich red color without making it look Christmas like.

Next project, well besides finishing what is started, is the hallway. But I am thinking of waiting on that until after this weekend with Nancy being home and her bridal shower. She doesn't need to deal with the mess and my hands are saying they would like a day or two off painting. Painting puts such pressure on thumbs and mine are weak to start with. And now they are loudly complaining about the abuse! But the eyes are happy and the whole thing makes me feel good, so the hands will have to accept the problem with grace.

Now off to church. Primary program is today so it will be a strange and crazy day. I am glad these only happen once a year but I certainly see the validity of them happening. Ours will be acceptable but not a particularly exceptional presentation. I had expected more what with Karol being President, but she has been sick and others have taken charge and have not pulled it together particularly well. But it will be done and that is the big thing.