thanksgiving

We had the nicest Thanksgiving this year. My new brother-in-law invited us out to his family's farm for the afternoon, so for the first time in many, many years we did not host a family Thanksgiving supper at our house. It was so refreshing. Not that I don't love doing Thanksgiving . . . it's my favorite holiday to cook for . . . but it was a nice to do things differently this year. Of course, I still made pies. Of course. But that was all.

And it was a lovely, if a bit chilly, day. The children had a ball exploring the barn and playing in the hayloft, and it was lovely driving home that evening and seeing all the holiday lights that had already gone up.

The only drawback to our Thanksgiving was not having the big kids with us, but we made up for that by doing Thanksgiving II on Friday. Because I just couldn't get through this weekend without roasting an enormous turkey . . . so we had another very nice evening of Thanksgiving dinner and a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit . . .

afternoon walks

I've been trying to make the most of the nice weather we've been having by walking to Lucy's school to pick her up in the afternoons. It's not too far for Lucy to walk, and it is so nice to be out in the sunshine enjoying the fall colors. I know all too well that soon it will be too cold to be outdoors much at all, so we're enjoying it while we can. James rides in the stroller on the way to school, but on the return trek he walks with Lucy. They both gather handfuls of leaves and play hide-behind-tree games while Lucy tells me snippets about her day I might not hear otherwise. And of course there's the added benefit of James sleeping better at night when he has had a nice long afternoon ramble through the neighborhood!

halloween and heartbreak

James and Lucy had a marvelous Halloween, although I always think Halloween-on-Sunday seems weird. But they had a blast, especially James. This was the first time he really understood what was going on, and he really got into it. The first house or two we visited, he was very hesitant and had to be prompted to say "Trick or Treat" and "Thank You" etc., but by the third house we visited he had figured out the protocol, and quickly became a master at selecting the best houses to visit and shouting out "Trick or Treat." Lucy enjoyed herself too, although she is a little more reserved than her brother, and a little reluctant to knock on the doors of stranger's homes.

Two days after Halloween we lost our dear bunny boy, Petey Petunia. Those of you who know us or who have visited our home will, of course, know all about Petey, and how I acquired him many, many years ago when he was just a baby, and how he has lived with me for almost twelve years. Petey had become very, very elderly and frail this past summer and fall, and was suffering, so we had to let him go. I am still shocked at how upset everyone in the family was . . . we all cried and cried. I guess he had just been a part of our lives for so long that we had a hard time getting over his loss. He was a great pet, and we'll always remember him fondly.