Posts Tagged ‘holiday’
December’s Here!
Crashes and spinouts. That is what the first significant snowfall produces for commuters. My hour-long drive to work yesterday morning almost doubled in time due to the first wave of snow that flowed over the region. Wave two, which started last night, added enough new depth that I expect the trip to work today will be slow once again.
That’s okay. It’s December!
Time for wish lists and holiday parties, gift planning and benevolent scheming. Bring on the holiday good cheer.
Sadly, our sweet doggy isn’t feeling very cheerful today. No sooner did we get her back to her normal old self, when she suddenly returned to vomiting again last night.
Is this the same issue or something different? Hard to say. Cyndie did recently give Delilah a couple things to eat that were not her ordinary fare. That will be curtailed entirely while we nurse her back to normal. It may be that we will need to restrain her to a strict diet indefinitely.
In honor of December, I’m including this picture of a wreath that Cyndie made this year while horsing around with some ribbons and tree branches.
Makes our place look festive, as if it were the holiday season or something. Of course, that was taken back in November, before all the white stuff blew in. Maybe I can get a new shot of it this afternoon while I am out plowing the driveway.
I’ll want to get things cleaned up and ready for the big melt that is forecast to be following this snow event.
Happy December!
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Day Later
It took us the better part of the day to clean up and disassemble our Thanksgiving feast paraphernalia yesterday.
Extra leaves came out of the table, chairs were moved back to all the corners of the house from which they had been activated for duty, and serving bowls, plates, pots, pans, silverware, and utensils were washed, dried, stacked, and ultimately returned to their usual storage location.
Full disclosure: the baking sheets and casserole dish that Cyndie had stashed behind the curtain in the bathtub during the pinnacle of heroic meal preparations Thursday were not overlooked.
In addition to cleaning up after the holiday celebration, we had a frozen waterer that needed attention. My previous under-thought attempts to work around the problem had all proved insufficient. Luckily, Cyndie had provided an alternative bucket of water from the hydrant in the barn that the horses were using whenever the automatic waterer became a solid block.
In the crisp aftermath of Thursday’s burst of snow, it became evident that the heaters on the waterer were not getting any power. It was time for me to quit fooling around. I reassigned a non-GFI circuit breaker from unused outlets in the barn and made certain there was voltage to the heater.
We reached a brisk 13° F overnight last night and this morning the water is not frozen. The horses were a little frosty, but the water was good.
Our snowscape bears a lot of evidence of frolicking fun from the visiting kids who took advantage of Cyndie’s stash of boots and snow pants to do some sledding.
Delilah showed some extra excitement with the conditions yesterday, racing to and fro in the snow outside each end of the barn, sprinting through the doors to get to the other side and looping around for another lap. She had us laughing in concert with her actions, which fueled all of our energies and bolstered her momentum with each subsequent pass.
As evening settled in, we decided to give her a chance to stay on her own in the house while we stepped out on a date to St. Paul. Cyndie’s parents had given us tickets to see Leo Kottke in concert at the Fitzgerald Theater.
We had a grand time. It made our day after Thanksgiving feel as festive as the one before. Thanks, Fred and Marie!
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Family Feast
Our Thanksgiving holiday was blessed with family graciously agreeing to travel the distance to our home, despite the onset of our first measurable snowfall of the season. We feasted and visited with full Thanksgiving spirit.
In the morning, our favorite neighbor, George Walker, brought some of his family by, enriching our holiday more than ever. The wet morning drizzle transitioned to snow and the day became a blur of kids, boots, sleds, food, and food, and more food.
I have no idea how many calories I consumed, but due to the fact that I found myself snacking non-stop from early on, up to the main event dinner, and beyond, I expect it was well past normal. That’s part of what makes a holiday feast event special. It is definitely not normal.
I captured a shot of 7 precious people working on preparations in the kitchen, with Delilah lingering close to keep the floor clean in case of spills.
We had all 5 leaves extending the table to full-size and then added a card table at the end, which serves to really make it seem like a holiday feast.
Food was superb, family supreme, and a grand time was had by all.
It was a fine day of thanks. We have much for which to be thankful.
Above it all, family and friends.
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Relative Something 