Monday, November 21, 2022

Weekending 11/21/22

 Good Morning One and All!

As I typed the date in the title of this post I realized GOSH!!  It's only a month till we take off for Christmas in Texas!  Our flight to Austin is December 21st (my brother Chris' birthday).  So excited!!

We've pretty much decided that no Christmas decorations will be put out.  Mabel would most likely destroy anything we left out, so we will make do with the Swarovski ornaments hanging in our kitchen windows.  They are up year round and Mabel (so far) has not bothered them.  Since I mentioned those last week after our work holiday luncheon, I decided to try and get pictures of the windows to show you.

First up is our South-West facing window that looks out over our driveway.  We can see some beautiful sunsets from this window.


It was night and dark, so not the best picture, but you can get the idea.  And, yes, that is Gumby peeking out from behind the curtain on the left.  LOL

The other window is the one over our sink.  This faces East/Southeast and is the window that looks out over our back yard (and the munching deer).


The beakers on the top ledge are from my Dad's chemist days and the two bud vases on the lower edge were my Mom's.  Yes, these areas can get a little crowded, but I love having little treasures out that mean something to me.

So here we are at Monday (again).  How was your weekend?  Mine was so nice.  As you may have read on Dee's blog, we got together (as usual) on Saturday morning for a therapy session - a little knitting, some sipping of coffee and much chatting and laughter.  We always have such a good time!

While I was out, Fletch started harvesting our Gilfeather Turnips.  


Unfortunately the greens had all been ravaged by bugs and weather, but not the turnips.  Fletch refers to the one in the upper left as an elephant's leg!  LOL.  There are more in the ground to be harvested.  I cooked up two of the smaller ones last night (cut up and boiled and then mashed with butter and S&P - delicious!).

Yesterday Fletch went across the street to our neighbor Rob's to get some firewood (Rob has a TON of wood stacked up and we are free to take as much as we want!!).  Fletch took him a couple of the turnips, but you cannot give Rob anything without getting something in return (more than wood).  Fletch came home with a plate of oatmeal cookies and pumpkin cake.  YUM!!!

Meanwhile, the kids are home!!  They left Austin Friday after work, driving with Talbot and Marcel in a large cat carrier in the back.  The cats were not amused as you can imagine.  But they survived.  They stopped both Friday and Saturday nights at hotels, but drove long days and arrived at their home around 7:30 last night.

I went shopping on Sunday for a few necessities for them:  coffee beans, seltzer (plain and alcohol), wine, raspberries, mandarine oranges, peanut butter filled pretzels, olives from the deli bar, etc., etc.  I drove over to the house in the afternoon and left stuff in their garage.  I can't wait to see them, but that might not be till Thanksgiving Day.  It's wonderful though to know they are here for 3 weeks.  And wonderful to know they made the drive safely (always the worrying mother here).

It's cold here (in the teens), but is supposed to warm up a little bit by Thanksgiving.  I think I will avoid the office this week (it's only a 2.5 day work-week anyway), but I do want/need to get to Trader Joe's - most likely this morning.  I'm still not sure what I'm making/contributing for Thanksgiving.  Probably a couple of pies and some cranberry chutney, but I need to connect with the kids and find out what else - if anything - they want me to make.

I wish you all a wonderful week.  Don't make yourself crazy with holiday plans - just enjoy the days!

15 comments:

  1. Well . . . that is ONE LONG DRIVE! I'm so glad your kiddos have arrived home safely. (When Tom and I used to live in Austin, we drove "home" a few times - which at the time was Cheyenne, Wyoming - so probably a shorter drive that C&M had to make, but still ungodly long. Austin . . . is DEEP in the heart of Texas, and that's One Big State to drive out of!) I love to see your crystals hanging in the window -- and all your other treasures, too. XO

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  2. I'm glad the kids are home safely! Jane told me about "knitting her son home safely" when he was making a long drive and I started doing the same thing when Justin drove back and forth to TX. I named one of my Hitchhikers "Long Road Home" because I mostly knit it when Justin was on the road to and from TX and it gave me something to do besides worry!
    P.S. Your snowflakes and treasures are beautiful and I bet you have rainbows all over the place when it's sunny!

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  3. What a lovely peek at the treasures in your window! I am so glad that C&M are safely home and home for a bit! What a treat!

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  4. I always worry when people I love are on a long road trip so I understand how relieved you must feel. It was so good of you to bring over some supplies for them to have when they arrived, too.

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  5. The windows are the perfect spot for those gorgeous crystals. That is one great gift from the company.
    When I first read your post, I thought the kids were home for good. Still, three weeks is a great start.
    That is definitely a long drive but I wish I would have been a "fly on the wall" to see them react to being back home. I'll bet they checked everthing outl
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  6. What lovely crystals. And how nice for C&M to be back in PA for three whole weeks. It will definitely be a special Thanksgiving for all of you this year.

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  7. I love the crystal ornaments in the windows--along with the treasures! Enjoy your day!

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  8. The window is beautiful!
    I love turnips but you can hardly find them anymore. Vegetable soup just isn't right without one.
    How wonderful to have your family home for the holiday. I'm sure going to miss the one in Michigan and the brand new Grand but traveling for them and us is just not happening with the amount of nasty bugs going after the little ones right now. It's pretty scary.

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  9. Beautiful crystal stars - you’ve been with the company quite a few years. Enjoy your time with Colin and Mailing.

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  10. Love your little collection of window trinkets. My kitchen window is covered in plants (of course) lol! The snowflakes are so pretty!

    Christmas is going to be interesting this year. Burton was really good with the tree, but he's an adult - I don't think we are going to get so lucky with Lemmy.

    Turnips... I can smell them already. My Mom's side of the family was big on turnips. Happily, Mom's the only one in the immediate family who likes them. Dad hates them, so I never had to eat them (as I hate them too).
    My grandmother always thought she was being sneaky... she'd mash the turnips with the carrots (don't ask me why she mashed carrots... ) thinking I wouldn't notice. I noticed EVERY time.
    Now.. give me a good pepper/acorn squash, and I'm a very happy girl!
    But I hope you guys enjoy your harvest!

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  11. I'm glad to hear the kids made it home safe -- you're so nice to stock them up so they don't have to worry about shopping after all that driving! I hope they can rest for a day or so now so you can all enjoy the holiday together.

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  12. so glad the kids are home and so glad you are going to be with them for the holidays!! Such exciting times to get together :)

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  13. I'm glad your family is all almost together--I hope you get to see them soon! And Christmas in Austin should be fun (and warm!). I think Mabel may wish to join you though!

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  14. How fun that your son and daughter-in-law will be around for a few weeks and that you head to Austin for Christmas. We are celebrating Thanksgiving with my sister and her family so I am making a couple of things to contribute. It should be a nice week. Enjoy.

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  15. I loved your window tour - those ornaments are gorgeous. And I'm glad you're able to avoid the office this week and focus on things at home. Enjoy the quiet time!

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