The beginning of the week was full of preparations for Thanksgiving. We were going down to the Thayn’s to celebrate and everything had to be made in advance. On Tuesday Stacey baked pies – pumpkin, Dutch apple, and pecan, and Hannah made her sweet potato casseroles. On Wednesday morning I made cranberry sauce. We boxed up food to take with us for things we were to prepare there – eggs, potatoes, onions, and garlic.
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| I processed one of my Hubbard squashes on Monday. |
I spent the early afternoon on Wednesday preparing the chicken coop for my three day’s absence. I filled three feeders to capacity. I added a third waterer and filled them all up. I threw them some extra scratch as an early Thanksgiving treat since I wouldn’t be here on the day. I never know if they appreciate the things I do for them. It’s hard to detect gratitude in chickens most of the time. I thought they would be fine for three days and Kurt said he would keep an eye on them.
That afternoon as we were getting things ready to leave, my cousin Karen called to tell me that her mother, my Aunt Esther Rathfon, had just passed away. Aunt Esther had been in poor health for quite some time and finally was admitted to the hospital where she passed away with her family around her. She was 86 years old. The last time we traveled south, we stopped to see her and I’m glad we did. Now the only family I have left from that generation are my mother and my Aunt Dolly. We are driving down on Wednesday for Aunt Esther’s burial. It will be nice to see my cousins, even though the circumstances of our meeting are tinged with sadness.
So Wednesday afternoon, after Stacey and Hannah got home from work, we packed the car. We took so much stuff, mostly food, with us. We took a Christmas tree for the Thayns. We left at 5:00 and arrived at the Thayn’s house at 9:00. The Fosters had already arrived with their carload of food and their new dog, Maverick. And away we went.
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| Ready to head south. |
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| Setting up the tree. |
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| Maverick. |
There was so much going on over the next few days that it’s hard to keep it all straight. We unloaded and set up the Christmas tree that evening. On Thursday morning, we watched Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
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| Watching the parade. |
There was food constantly being prepared or eaten or cleaned up. Our Thanksgiving feast was delicious. And the leftovers we ate later were even better. There was a craft session on Friday to make some turkey treats and Christmas tree decorations.
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| Making turkey treats. |
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| Our feast. |
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Tosh carving the turkey.
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| Pie for dessert: cranberry custard, pecan, pumpkin, and apple. |
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| Making Christmas tree decorations. |
We played games. The new favorite toy for Florence and Russell was Maverick’s dog cage. On Friday we put up their outdoor Christmas lights.
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| Playing games. |
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| Playing in Maverick's cage. |
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| Putting up Christmas lights. |
That evening we went to the Phipps Conservatory to see their fantastic Winter Flower and Light Show.
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| At the Phipps Conservatory. |
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| At the Phipps. |
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| At the Phipps. |
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| June at the Phipps. |
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| At the Phipps. |
Early Saturday morning Tabor and Tosh went deer hunting and were gone all day. They didn’t get anything. That afternoon we celebrated Hannah’s birthday a day early. Then we had lunch, said our good-byes, and headed home again. We arrived home just after 5:00 in the last of the twilight.
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| Me and Russell. |
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| Hannah opening birthday presents. |
While at the Thayn’s house, surrounded by the cacophony of happiness that always fills every place we gather, I was overcome with thankfulness. I try to focus on the things I’m thankful for all the time, but with a little more emphasis at Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be grateful for – a good house to live in, land for a garden, an orchard, a flock of chickens. I’m thankful for the material things that make my life pleasant – a furnace and wood stove to keep me warm in the winter, good clothes, and the comfortable things I surround myself with – books, plants, music. But more than all of that, I’m thankful for my family – my wife, my children, my grandchildren – that fill up my life with love and happiness. And then there’s all the other people I love, my mother, my siblings and their families, cousins, friends – so many people, so much love and happiness.
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| A sunrise last week. |
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| Home on a frosty morning. |
Of course I give thanks to God for all of these things. I have been blessed beyond measure all my life by Him. His bounty is endless. He gave me all of this, and the world, and most of all, He sent His Son to redeem me, to redeem us all, so that, through our faith and obedience, we might inherit all that He has – a blessing we cannot begin to comprehend.
Now we are home from church. Our meetings were good. It is cold today. The puddles and ponds are still covered with ice at midday. Today is really Hannah’s birthday and this evening the Shilligs are coming over for dinner and to celebrate. So Thanksgiving is past now. It all passed too quickly. We had a great time together. In a few weeks we will be together again to celebrate Christmas and the New Year. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and that you are looking forward to the Christmas season with happy anticipation. Good Sabbath.
