Happy Thanksgiving 2020

***I was leaving the post office at sunset on Thanksgiving Eve when I spotted the church steeple through the trees.***

**I found these little fabric pumpkins a few years ago at an antique store.**

***It is so amazing that a couple of weeks can bring about such a change in the colors of leaves and trees. I love them all they each have a beauty.***

***These two love going on our walks and they are the best of friends.***

*This is our life size Santa that we have had for over 25 years. Every year he* *stand****s in our upstairs hallway in front of the window.*** I think we bought him at Target. We drag him out of the basement every year. There was a time I wanted to get rid of him because he took up so much room but man I am glad now that I didn’t. Kitty Kitty loves him too.

***Live size Santa in the window this is the first thing you see coming down our driveway.***

Thanksgiving morning and it was 3:00 A.M. I couldn’t sleep. I guess I was thinking about all the things to do before 2:00 PM when I would have my Thanksgiving lunch. It was different this year only four of us. My sister and her husband came to eat with us. Well five if you counted Scruffy who wouldn’t leave my side the entire time I was cooking dinner. I wasn’t sure if there would be four people or eight for dinner. It was a maybe for a few people. At the last minute my nephew was sick and his brother had been around their mom, who had just been tested for COVID and we didn’t feel comfortable with him being around Mark. However, they did call with their to-go orders. HA!!! Mark’s brother and his wife were a maybe and they didn’t get to come at the last minute.

I had to work every day leading up to Thanksgiving Day. That did not leave me with a lot of time to clean my house and shop for food. I did do some cleaning last weekend but you know how that goes after almost a week. It felt like I hadn’t done anything. Plus I put my Christmas tree up last weekend and did some decorating so that took up most of the weekend. I decided to concentrate on my downstairs because I knew no one would be going upstairs for anything.

I did a little cleaning on Monday night. I stopped and bought groceries on the way home on Tuesday night. As soon as I got home on Wednesday and I had a chance to grab some dinner and change clothes I gave Scruffy a much needed bath. After that I made cornbread for the dressing I would make on Thursday. I also made the two pies. Let me tell you making two pies at once is a little tricky. One pie I had to bake, the pecan, and the other I didn’t. I constantly found myself almost putting the ingredients in the wrong pie. Ha! Luckily they both turned out fine.

So there I was at 3:00 AM on Thanksgiving morning even though I hadn’t gotten to bed until 11:30 PM the night before. I finally got up around 5:00 and started the day which always involves coffee and sitting for a few minutes with whichever fur baby hops on my lap first. Kitty Kitty won out this time and she curled up on my lap and took a nap.

It was just the four of us for dinner and we had a wonderful time. Mark wanted to know why I was cooking sooooo much food. My thinking was, it’s still Thanksgiving and that means food. Mark did not want turkey this year, he is not a big fan of turkey, so we did a spiral ham. I still did dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, baked beans, rolls, cucumbers, cranberry sauce and two pies, chocolate and pecan.

After dinner my sister and I took a walk and enjoyed the warm temperature, which was about 65 degrees F, and the sunshine.

So yes Thanksgiving 2020 was different as so many things this year have been. But you know what? I know I am even more thankful than ever. My faith and the love I have for my friends and family are something that can never change. I am here and living in a time that will never be forgotten and I am just happy to say I am a part of this big wonderful life. So how was your Thanksgiving???

Always remember,

Love your day your way!!!

Has COVID Made Us Mean(er)?

Spoiler alert, This post will end on a positive in spite of the title.

Please understand when I write this I don’t mean the actual virus I mean the repercussions from the virus and being quarantined, losing work, death, fear and on and on. It will eventually wear on anyone’s nerves. I am from the south where southern hospitality is a real thing. I guess maybe I am more sensitive to people acting more stressed, scared, mean or unfriendly or just not being themselves.

I go into a store and am working my way to the check out counter. A man is standing sort of not in line but just beside the line of people. I am not sure if he is observing the six feet social distancing or just waiting for someone. I ask him ” are you in line?”. He turns around and practically screams “YES I AM!! I HAVE BEEN STANDING HERE FOR ABOUT TWENTY FIVE MINUTES SO GOOD LUCK WITH THAT” Wow I didn’t know what to say I just stood there and waited for my turn remembering the day you could strike up a friendly conversation with other people waiting in line. Now you have to be six feet apart and if you’re wearing a mask no one can understand what you are saying anyway. I would like to say this was a one time incident but it hasn’t been. Remember this is the south and everyone talks to everyone. I am the queen of striking up conversations with people. My husband will say “who was that you were talking to?” I say I have no idea I just met them. That is the way it is where I am from. I will not stop being that way.

I guess I have noticed this shift mostly at work. I work in tourism, so yes things are different and people cannot just come and go at any time and expect no wait times or even the possibility of not visiting. To help with social distancing we do have long wait times. This makes some of our customers angry. Really angry. I have been verbally abused and threatened, on the phone, to the point I actually had to call the 911 help center and have them send extra patrol to our area. I know it was probably just someone blowing off steam but it was still very scary. You can’t be too careful. I think when people have this unreasonable reaction it is just because they are so fed up with the “new normal” way of doing things that they just take it out on the nearest person they can find. Not a good thing to do.

Some people berate you and make fun of you if you wear a mask or they glare at you if you don’t. I have been hit with both of these on several occasions.

You may be one of those people that have not let COVID interrupt your life, or so you think, you go on vacations, you go shopping and out to eat but it is still different. YOU KNOW IT IS!!! No matter what you do things are different and you feel it and you see it and there is not a dang thing you can do about it, it is affecting you in one way or another.

I go to work and I go to a few outings, I even went on a short trip with my sisters, and to the grocery store but nothing like I have done in the past. There is a big part of me that doesn’t mind because I am a bit of a home-body anyway. I wear a mask when I go out. I sanitize constantly. But there is also a big part of me that wants things to be just the way they were before COVID. I am not sure that will ever happen. No matter what I think this will leave a lasting memory or scar for most people. WahWahWah!!! I know I know. I am blessed that I haven’t had COVID or lost a loved one to it. We are in stressful times people. Be nice, be patient, be kind. When I say this I am yelling this to myself the loudest. I know it starts with me.

Now on the other hand I have also noticed some people being kinder and gentler and giving. Some people go out of their way to do for others during these trying times. Which way do you want to be remembered? we are making history here let’s make it the best we can moving forward. Too many bad, senseless and unthinkable things have happened this year. I hope we can end it on a better loving note. Are you with me?

Always remember,

Love your day your way!!!

Hello November!!!

I barely made it out of my house yesterday without Scruffy strapped to me. We spent the two days over the weekend cuddling and chilling at home and if anything that makes him even more needy. He won’t let me out of his sight.

I decided that I was going to splurge this past weekend and do absolutely nothing. I have a couple of really busy weeks coming up and the plan was that when I pulled my car into the garage on Friday evening I would not get it back out until Monday. I felt like I just needed the down time. With the election looming, covid, work and everything I just needed that time to regenerate. Do you ever feel that way? Well that is just what I did. I stayed at home all weekend and didn’t go anywhere!!!!

Visions of all the things I would do over the weekend were dancing in my head on Friday evening. I would watch movies, read, knit, catch up on my writing, etc. etc. And a lot of that did happen but of course life gets in the way sooooo, backtrack just a bit.

On Thursday night, the night before my big forty eight hour sabbatical, Mark told me the sink in the kitchen was stopped up. We have had some issues with the pipes under the sink. We built this house over twenty years ago, I think the pipes have held up pretty well. I may have mentioned that I do all the plumbing in the family. Mark says it’s because I have smaller hands. Yep that’s what it is. Turns out we have a major problem under the sink and it is probably going to take more than this plumber can handle. We will have to call in a real life plumber. So I had some cleaning under the sink to take care of. I couldn’t run the dishwasher because of the pipes under the sink being clogged or whatever. I was having to wash dishes in the sink in my laundry room. Luckily it’s right next to the kitchen. This did hinder by downtime just a little.

The idea of not doing anything for two whole days sounds wonderful and just plain decadent. But in reality doing nothing for two days sort of bores me. It makes me think of all I need to do around the house. It makes me feel sluggish and unmotivated. I guess there has to be a happy medium in there. I did read an entire book over the weekend for Book Club. More about that book later. Plus Daylight Savings Time ended and the time changed and Sunday seemed like forever long. I am actually one of the only people I know who likes Standard Time more than Daylight Savings Time, Yep I do. I love that it is daylight earlier and I don’t care about the darkness. I go to bed really early anyway. Hee hee!!!

For Halloween we did nothing except watch It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Luckily we have had this on DVD for years. Mark says I am a cross between Sally’s character and Lucy’s character. He says I can be sweet like Sally but bossy like Lucy. What??? I can’t see that. Well maybe. We don’t actually have trick or treaters out where we live. It would probably be scary if we did. I don’t know what I would do if a little costumed trick or treater came to my door. If I ever live in the city where hundreds of children visit and trick or treat I will dress up and have the time of my life. I told a friend at work that if I did have some trick or treaters I guess I could find something for them. She said ” I can see it now, oh come on in, do you want a scarf I just knitted, some cookies or bread,” HA!! Yes that would be me. But it sounds kind of old lady creepy. Anyway!!!

***A lot of cuddling with this girl as well.*** ***Her and Scruffy take turns being on mom’s lap.***

A good weekend a lazy weekend and just what I needed to get ready for the upcoming week. What lies ahead. I am going to be optimistic and say whatever this election holds it will be just what we need. I have faith in that.

OH!!! But on Saturday night I did get an awesome picture of the Blue Moon. The sky was so clear. I remembered to charge my camera battery. I waited patiently until the moon cleared the trees in our woods and AHHHHHH!!! So worth the wait. About 10:00 PM I went out to the deck where I had the tripod and got some photos.

I am off to bed. Headed out tomorrow for a work trip to Gatlinburg only an overnight so only minimal packing. How many pairs of shoes do I need?

How is your week going? how was your weekend?

Always remember,

Love your day your way!!!

“YOU” Have To Make Things Happen

This morning I was staring out the window watching the sun’s reflection through the trees and I felt so peaceful. At the same time I think to myself what do I want to accomplish with my life that I have left. Heavy thoughts for someone feeling so peaceful. I don’t mean this in a morbid way or anything like that, totally the opposite, just reality and thinking of exciting possibilities. It seems like as I get older if I want something to happen I just sit back and wait for it. Like maybe it is going to come strolling through the door and say “Oh hello here I am, that great idea that you thought about but kept putting off, Now let’s get busy.” Let’s face it that is not going to happen. If it did I would probably be sitting in a chair drinking coffee and wouldn’t even realize it for what it is, was, could be.

I am the world’s worst at believing that things will just magically happen whether I take the time to make them happen or not. I have started to realize this is not so. ONLY YOU CAN MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!!!

It seems like when we are younger we have goals we get a plan, we start working towards it, we set higher goals, We fight to do whatever it takes to make it happen. ONLY YOU CAN MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!!!!!

And then it seems like as we get older we get busy. Life, work, family and lots of other things get in the way. Sometimes our day to day work, job, etc., can suck the ambition right out of us. Those hopes and plans and dreams that we think about fleetingly, in the early morning hours or as we drive to work or do laundry or grocery shop just get pushed to the back of our brain. But you know what?? they shouldn’t. We have to keep them alive and we have to make them happen. ONLY YOU CAN DO THIS!!!! Only You can make things happen. Things are not going to magically fall into your lap and be wonderful. Life is tough but so are you. Do it!!! Do it now!!! Even if it is a small step to something you have been wanting to do in your life, do it now!!! Write a book, open a shop or an online shop, start a blog or a vlog, develop your passionate hobby, take online classes, go back to school, volunteer, travel, mentor, learn to play an instrument learn a new language. So many wonderful challenging things await you. ONLY YOU CAN MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!!!!

I would like to __________________. Fill in the blank and then make time for it in your life. ONLY YOU CAN MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!!!

Are you ready??? I can’t wait to hear what you are up to and I can’t wait to share some things with you that I have in the works. Isn’t it exciting!!!!

Always remember,

Love your day your way!!!!