Happy Thanksgiving!

"But now, on Thanksgiving, we still have the November

sun, and the clear deep blue of the sky, and the white glory

of the stars, and the loving-kindness of friends, just as our

forefathers had.  If only we can preserve the real things--

the love of man and woman, the peace of an evening by the 

fire, the sweetness of music, and the gay sound of children's

voices--we shall not have to hear the sound of the world

disintegrating into chaos."

 

~Gladys Taber, The Book of Stillmeadow

 

The turkey is in the oven, the rolls are rising and the pies are made.  Next, I'll peel the potatoes and put together the garden salad and fix some green beans.  Daughter is making the dressing at house and will bring it.  Son came in last night and he will get to carve the turkey for me when it is done and cooled down.  

 

The rest of this post is a repeat from last year.  I need to get those potatoes peeled!  

This Thanksgiving finds me thankful for so many things....I would have a very lengthy blog post if I tried to list them all.  As always, I am thankful for all my blogging friends.  I am wishing each one of you a very happy Thanksgiving Day and weekend!  And to those who live outside of the USA, I wish you a happy day and weekend ahead.

Love,

Cheryl

Thanksgiving is a week away!

We have clear skies with chilly temperatures this morning.  I'm fixing myself a cup of sugar free hot chocolate and sitting down to make out my shopping list for Thanksgiving next week. 

I'm running a bit behind this year in preparations as I've had a flare-up of vertigo and costochondritis again this week.  The vertigo is much better today and Advil has been helping the chest pain tremendously.

My menu for Thanksgiving is the usual turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans or corn, garden salad, and rolls.  I used to fix extra dishes such as a fruit salad and scalloped oysters, but we just don't need that much food.  I'll fix a pie or two and I'm  hoping I can find the recipe for the sugar free pumpkin pie I used to make for my dad who was diabetic.

Do you fix the traditional turkey dinner or will you skip the cooking and go out to eat this year?  

My daughter got started on blood pressure meds this week and I'm hoping that will help bring those numbers down soon.  She stayed home from work a few days to rest...doctor's orders. 

She's ready to begin decorating for Christmas when she has the time and energy.  As much as I love fall, I'm already getting a bit tired of the orange pumpkins and decor around the house and am thinking about getting the trees out, but will probably wait until after Thanksgiving.  Do you put your tree up before Thanksgiving?  I've seen a few already up and shining brightly in the windows as we drive by at night.

The Pioneer Woman has her new Christmas line of dishes out at Wallyworld.  They are very pretty and oh so tempting, but I don't need more dishes and I still love my Pfaltzgraff Winterberry plates and mugs. 

Do you have Ree's new cookbook?  I'm going to put that on my wish list this year.  It looks interesting and I have a few of her other cookbooks.  Even though I don't cook like I used to, I love to read cookbooks! 

I'm wondering if the squirrel has a nest in this tree.  It's interesting to me to see all the squirrel nests that have been built high up in the trees.  They are much more noticeable once the leaves begin falling.

With the vertigo and being lazy, I haven't been able to fluff my nest as I'd hoped to do.  The painting will most likely have to wait until spring.  I do want to make a few other changes but they won't be as time consuming as painting would be.
 
Such is my life these days.  Exciting, huh?   Trying to get well and puttering around with one thing or another, but not accomplishing very much.  I've been limiting my time on the computer due to the vertigo, so that means I've visited less in blogland and am lucky to get one post a week done.  I'm also hoping to be well enough to take a little road trip soon.

When I get the laundry caught up today, I'm going out to shop for the Thanksgiving turkey.  I have a recurring dream that the day has arrived and I haven't yet bought the turkey.  lol!  That's actually never happened, but I still have the dream each year. 

Happy Thursday to you!
xo Cheryl

Changing Trees and Changing Plans

Let's hop in the car and take a drive and check out a few pretty fall trees and I'll tell you about my week.  

It's a cloudy day on the afternoon of this drive last Tuesday but it was still an enjoyable day as I had spent the 3 previous days trying to breathe without pain in the center of my chest.  I have had this 2 or 3 times before and it is called costochondritis which is an inflammation of the cartilage in the rib cage.

Sleeping was impossible the first night and I stayed in my recliner as lying down worsened the pain.  The second day was only slightly better as the Advil began to kick in.  By the third day, I was beginning to breathe easier.  

And on Tuesday, I was feeling good enough to get out of the house and go for a drive.  While I was out and about, I needed to stop for a few things.  BG and I were planning a little getaway for Friday through Monday.   

On Wednesday, my daughter called and asked if I would come take her to the doctor's office.  Her blood pressure was 142/122 and she had called the office and they told her to get there asap.  

After she got to the office and had her bp taken there, the numbers were down slightly.  They made her wait awhile and took it again and the numbers were down to a more reasonable range.  

An appointment was made for her for early next week.  They will decide the next route to take.  In the meantime, they want her to try to eliminate as much stress as possible.   Which is easier said than done with her responsibilities at work and constantly dealing with staffing issues.

I've stayed with her the last 2 nights, to be on the safe side.  She stayed home from work yesterday and rested.  Her blood pressure is still running too high but not quite in the critical range.  I'm not quite sure why they didn't go ahead and start her on blood pressure medicine.

We were supposed to be on the road to Branson today, which I hinted about in my last post.  But we didn't feel comfortable about leaving town while worrying about our daughter.  That wouldn't make for a very enjoyable time.  

So on to plan B...we'll go to Branson another time.  Daughter is going to work for awhile today and BG and I are going to the Big Town this afternoon to look for some warm, fire retardant clothes for him to wear to work this winter. 

I drove through our park this week and saw a few pretty red trees.  At least they looked red with my sunglasses on.  When I took my sunglasses off, the color wasn't all that great.  So, I held my sunglasses up to my camera lens and clicked.  The above photo is the result.  Have you tried to do this?  I know I learned to hold a sieve in front of my lens to get a sparkly look.  What other tricks to I need to learn?  If you know of something fun, please share!  :)

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day and I won't be posting again until next week.  I want to say Thank You to all the veterans who have helped to keep our country free.  God bless our veterans and God bless America!

Happy Friday to you!
xo Cheryl

A Few Fall Trees and Etc.

We are still seeing a few pretty trees in our area. 

My favorite trees are those that are a shade of red.  

Our neighbor's trees are prettier than ours but the colors aren't quite as vibrant this year as in others.  

I was sad to see a For Sale sign posted in the neighbor's front yard yesterday.  The woman who lives there broke her hip some time ago and has been in a care facility since.  She lost her husband a few years ago and lived alone.  I know she hoped to be able to come back home.  

This is our huge oak tree in the Back 6.  Most years, the color of the leaves turn a beautiful shade of deep, dark red.  But like most of the trees this year, it doesn't have much color.  

I wish someone were standing in front of the tree in order to give you an idea of just how big the tree is.  There was another just like it to the right and one year a bad storm blew it down.  The storm was so bad that BG and I went to the basement and were looking out the window and saw it fall.  After the storm passed, we could see that the trunk of the tree was hollow.

* * * * * * * * 

After my doctor's appointment yesterday...which was good, by the way.  Doctor was proud of my blood sugar numbers and I've lost 6 pounds.  To be honest, I can't tell it.  I did mention the vertigo and we think the cause is most likely nasal congestion caused by allergies.  

Back to yesterday...I went to the Big Town after the appointment to look for some comfortable shoes to walk in when I go shopping or go to Branson.  Hint, hint.  :)  Wish I could wear my Skecher's flip flops all year long.  After trying on around 2 dozen pairs of shoes, I finally found a pair that were comfortable.  They are a Skecher shoe that is sort of like a tennis shoe.  Do you have a favorite brand of shoe? 

One of the stores I went to was playing Christmas music.  Really?  Already?  I think I said it out loud, too.  I still think most businesses just skip right over Thanksgiving.  

The weather is chilly one day and warm the next.  I turned on the a/c in the car yesterday.  It's a little chillier today, but this weekend is supposed to be in the 70's.  I hope BG will help me this weekend to pull out the dead and dying flowers and put away flower pots.  I also want to transplant some lilacs that are coming up around the main bush and plant a couple of little redbud trees that have sprouted up in a flower bed.

Do you have big plans for the weekend?  Hope you have a nice one.

Happy Friday to you!

xo Cheryl

First Day of November Thoughts

It was November...

the month of crimson sunsets,

parting birds, 

deep, sad hymns of the sea,

passionate wind songs in the pines.

~L. M. Montgomery

 

I reluctantly turned the page on the calendar over and said goodbye to October.  Where did the month go?  Time seems to pass ever more swiftly these days.

November 1 was my older brother's birthday.  He would have been 75 today.  It's hard to wrap my mind around that and I find myself wondering what he would have been doing and what he would look like at that age had he lived.  He passed away at age 49 while he was still relatively young...at least it seems to me now...and so strong and handsome.  Well, until the ravages of ALS took over his body.  He was a good brother and I still miss him so much.  As I also miss my younger brother and parents.  

November seems to be a month when I miss my birth family most.  Maybe it's because one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving, is coming soon and, for many years, it was a time when all the family would gather around my grandmother's table for a delicious turkey dinner and lively conversation. 

I think about the loved ones who attended those holiday celebrations and most of them are gone now.  And I often think now of things that I wish I could ask them.  Things I've forgotten or didn't think to ask when I had the chance. 

During the past week when I was feeling bad with a bout of vertigo, I thought of many things while I was sitting still in my recliner.   And before I go any further, I will say that I am almost back to normal.  I still have to be careful and not turn my head too fast.  Thank you for the good thoughts and advice in my last post.

One of the things that I thought of was how much I have to be thankful for as we head toward Thanksgiving.  Truly.  In spite of feeling lonely at times for my loved ones who are no longer here, I know that I am blessed for having had them in my life.  I am blessed for having a loving husband and children to share holidays with now.  And I'm blessed to live in this beautiful country that I love.

I will close by saying that I hope your November is filled with happy and healthy days.  It's the time for snuggling under a warm throw and reading a good book while sipping on a cup of hot coffee or tea, if you prefer.   Which do you like best...tea or coffee? 

Happy Wednesday to you!

xo Cheryl