Thanksgiving 2018

For the first time ever, we hosted Thanksgiving for my family last year. We had the space and most importantly, we lived in New England once again! I took pictures before the meal and hardly any after that.

These are from the evening before when I set the table. 

These are from Turkey Day itself. It was super-cold out that day but things were warm and cozy and fragrant inside.

Sam made Star Wars origami place settings for everyone. They were really cute!

I think these were extras that he taped to the table at his spot.

I love how the sun shines into this room.

Just desserts!

It was a busy but fun Thanksgiving! 

I'm In Love With My Dog

I love Boo Boo so much. He is my dog husband. It's not as crazy (or as sick) as it sounds, I promise! With Peter away as much as he is, Boo Boo has come to be more than ever a guardian and watchdog of our family, and his steady companionship is always a source of quiet strength and comfort for me.

 He's funny and smart and friendly and mostly obedient. He is a faithful eater of leftovers, thereby reducing my concern about food waste, and he makes quick friends of house visitors. He has silky soft ears and fur that I love to stroke and if I say "tummy rub" he lays down and rolls over onto his side. If I say "huggy" he stands there steadily while I hug and embrace him. I'm not a big hugger but I am of Boo Boo, and it feels so good!

I have silly nicknames for him, and I alter the lyrics of songs and sing them to him, such as Ed Sheeran's "The Shape of You" becomes "The Shape of Boo" -- "I'm in love with the shape of Boo..." 😂.

He is such a good companion and I love him so much. He's not allowed to die and leave me, ever. I've spoken with him many times about this and I think he understands and will do his best to fulfill my request. 😊 His reunion with his beloved brother Yogi will just have to wait a bit longer until after the Second Coming happens. Ha ha...but I'm not kidding!

Lying in the sun feels so good, and stroking his sun-warmed fur feels so good too!

Don't be fooled by his somewhat forlorn and resigned expression. He loves me lots too! Though I suppose he's resigned to life with a sometimes overly attentive and exuberant me. But it's a good life in which he is a very much well-loved member of our family. 💗

November Sunrises

This was a particularly pretty one...

This one wasn't as much of a show-off as the other one, but it was pretty in its simple, unassuming way.

I'm throwing this in for good measure because as much as I love a pretty sunrise, I also love a gray cloudy morning with the chance or promise of rain to move in that day! 

October Roses Redux

Lest you think my amazing October roses were only October roses, I'm here to show you that they even lasted into November! And I don't just mean November 1st either!

Okay, full disclosure here. I thought the following pictures were further evidence of the impressive longevity of my October roses, but I'm seeing that they're pink, so I guess not, but is it possible that the October roses took on a pink hue as they (finally) dried out? It doesn't seem scientifically likely, but I thought I documented their entire life span to the time that they had mostly dried out. So I'm not sure. This is one of the drawbacks of blogging about things almost a year after they happened!

Anyway, whether they're the October roses or new November roses, look at how pretty they are!  

These were additionally notable for the fresh green leaf shoots growing out of the stems even as the roses they supported were delicately dying in beautiful fashion. There are some really nice metaphors for life and death and the circle of life there. (None of which I will expound upon at this time. Ha!)

After giving it some more thought and looking closely at these photos and doing a quick Google search about roses, I'm pretty sure that these are in fact the October roses! They lasted for well over a month! They lived great, and they died great. They were truly amazing. 🌹😍💗

The Babydoll Ninja

Like his brother, Sam is also into American Ninja Warrior. He tried some team sports in the past (soccer and basketball) and didn't like them, and he had even less interest in trying baseball and football. He did a gymnastics class when we lived in Iowa which he liked, but he would have been fine not doing it. He really enjoys ninja warrior though--the obstacles and the challenges and the individual nature of it all while also learning with other class members. Plus there's the fun TV show that goes along with it, and actual stars from the show who he's met over the last year. When we moved to Massachusetts, I signed him up for a class at a nearby ninja gym, and he loved it. He's been taking classes there ever since. At the end of each of their three-month sessions, they have a friendly fun in-house competition. Sam's first one was last November and he did great! He came in 2nd place! It was a huge confidence boost for him.

These pictures are from his competition. Sam and John are down on the left side. It was all pretty low-key and relaxed, which was great.

He was a little nervous, but he was mostly calm and excited to compete!

John was also excited for Sam to compete. As you can imagine, he's fully supportive of Sam's ninja "career." I'm glad they have this in common; it's something fun that they share and can do together.

Getting ready for his turn to run the course

He made it up the warped wall...

Done!

He completed all of the obstacles in the second fastest time, so he came in second place.

 

He was so happy! It was really sweet. It feels good to work hard and do well!

I'm really liking the growing sport of ninja. It's a great option for kids (and teens and adults) who are athletic but for whatever reason don't like traditional sports as much. It's a supportive community, it's fun, it's great exercise, and it provides good opportunities for growth and goal-setting. 

These are some cute pictures I got of Sam wearing his "Real Life Ninja" t-shirt, autographed by Drew Drechsel, who Sam and John met at one of his gyms in Connecticut. Drew won the season of American Ninja Warrior that just ended.

 

He really is my babydoll ninja!

The Diversity of November Holiday Decorations

November always starts out with Halloween decorations still up, then those get taken down and the fall and Thanksgiving decorations go up, and then it's on to Christmas. It's an exciting (and rather onerous!) time for holiday home decorating. Last year was a little different because we were in a whole new house, so I had to alter my decorations a bit and find new places for some of them, but nothing too challenging that I couldn't handle. 😉

This built-in shelf in the family room is so great for displaying lots of holiday and seasonal decorations.

(There be my beloved roses!)

For Thanksgiving decorations, I keep all the fall stuff out and most of the pumpkins and just put away the Halloween things and replace them with a few Thanksgiving things and fall things. (Did that make sense?)

I like to decorate for Christmas the weekend right after Thanksgiving, but that didn't happen last year because we went to the Cape, so the Christmas decorations didn't come out until the first weekend of December. I did however end November with this festive evergreen wreath on the door, thanks to a cute Cub Scout who came selling them door-to-door.

This year I have a new decoration that I'm excited about. A few months ago I finally bought a Lenox ornament tree, which I've been wanting for years. It can go with any season and holiday as long as you buy the right ornament set for it. I love it! Pictures to come at some point!

October, November, and December...'tis the season for holiday decorations galore!