dual personalities

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving and my nephew’s birthday (Happy Birthday, dear WRC!). I know that it’s Saturday and therefore not actually Thanksgiving, but we had to postpone so that we wouldn’t be alone. Son #1 arrives sometime later today to join his parents for the Big Meal which we’ll start preparing shortly. We had hoped son #3 and his girlfriend would make it, but they cannot come, so there will only be three of us.

This famous N.C. Wyeth painting got me thinking about those first hardy pilgrims. I know it’s not politically correct these days to appreciate the hard lives they led and how brave they were to venture over the ocean in little wooden ships, but they deserve to be celebrated. After all, they risked everything and they died in droves so that they could live free (and, yes, I know that there were indentured servants and a few slaves). But think about the challenges they faced!

Being thankful for the first settlers does not take anything away from Native Americans or anyone else. Nor is it meant to. When we study the past, we need to study all of it and take it on its own terms, both good and bad. I, for one, think those early settlers were amazing, and on the whole, set a great example for those who followed.

But back to the present! After our perfect meal, we’ll move seamlessly and quickly to Christmas decorating. We’ll whisk away all signs of Fall and turkeys and make the switch to Christmas. We don’t have much time because our son has to leave again on Sunday afternoon. I’m not complaining; I’m grateful that one of my sons can come home! That’s about it for this Saturday. I hope you’ll forgive the short post but I’ve got to get into the kitchen to make pie!

Happy Thanksgiving from Katiebelle! Here she is wearing her fancy holiday outfit.

Yesterday I had one of my routine breakdowns where I call my mother and sister in a fit of “I can’t take this anymore!” (This being trying to work and parent full-time in a 2-bedroom apartment with neighbors who seem to slow-cook broccoli for 8 hours a day). But really, once I release a little of that pent-up stress (and light a Christmas candle) it isn’t hard to remember that there is plenty be thankful for, and I think we all know who tops the gratitude list: our healthy, remarkable baby!

This popped into my head yesterday, and I hope it stays there…

A thankful heart is a happy heart!
Be glad for what we have,
That’s an easy way to start!
For the love that He shares,
‘Cause He listens to our prayers,
That’s why we say thanks every day!

My mother’s post got me all excited for Planes, Trains, and Automobiles tomorrow night. I’m also excited for all the starches and carbs including, but not limited to, cheesy potatoes. And wine. We’ll be socially distanced, of course, and socially isolated.

Anyway, over here in my neck of the woods, I did NOT travel to St. Louis this weekend and instead spent approximately 48 hours in my craft room working on finishing some Christmas projects. I can’t show most of them because they are gifts, but this one is for me:

Also, can you tell it is online shopping season? Would you believe that despite ordering two of the same thing at the same time, they came in separate boxes on different days? And, they took over a week to arrive so I must have mistakenly selected the option that took longer to reduce boxes. [insert the shrug emoji]

In other news, I’ve entered the Hallmark sweepstakes (from last week’s blog post) three times. Speaking of Hallmark, I managed to catch A Nashville Christmas Carol starring several notable country singers including Sara Evans, Kix Brooks, and Wynonna, playing the role of Jacob Marley without the whole being tortured in hell aspect..

This was a, shall we say, loose interpretation of A Christmas Carol. They didn’t even have a ghost of Christmas Yet to Come! I would love to know who at Hallmark was like ‘I’m just spit-balling here, but you know who would be GREAT as the dead producer who took her job producing the Nashville Christmas Live special so seriously that she forgot to enjoy her life and fall in love? Wynonna!” [I guess insert another shrug emoji]

Anyway, imagine my surprise today while walking home in the pouring rain when I spotted GRASS at the Capitol!

The Capitol has been under construction basically since I started working in Jefferson City. All of that grass was, until today, a dust pit, that sent dirt into my office (very old windows that clearly don’t seal) on especially windy days. It looks like they will be done in time for the inauguration we can’t have. For once, a construction project finishes on time and the event gets cancelled!

Well, that’s enough from me. Hope you all have wonderful Thanksgiving, however they look. There’s plenty to be thankful for, even if things are weird. xo.

I had a fairly eventful week, which is to say that one or two things happened to break the mind-numbing monotony. For starters, the furnace died and we spent two cold days huddled around space heaters while we waited for the new one to be installed.

We didn’t quite achieve Ron Swanson’s level of cold, but we were chilly. The hardest part was trying to look occupied while big men traipsed through the house and made ferocious noises in the basement. It all worked out in the end, and we are now both toasty warm and ready for winter. There’s nothing like losing something and then getting it back to make one feel grateful — and we do.

While sitting around at home basking in the warmth, I bid on a couple of dressers at an online antique auction.

I’ve never attempted to bid at an online auction before, but since I know and trust the local auction company, I figured I would try.

Unfortunately, the pieces I wanted went for more than I was prepared to pay (especially considering the 13% buyer’s premium), so I controlled myself and ended up with nothing. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that bidding restraint is essential! It is possible to find the right piece at the right price if one is patient.

Having failed at the auction, I got in the car and drove to the Market Barn (“antique mall”) in Malone, NY.

Actual antiques were in short supply but I did have a good time poking around, and I bought a nice little ceramic lamp for $10. It now sits on my parents’ desk in Tim’s room.

Thanksgiving is upon us, and for many of us it will be odd one. Although the DH and I will be alone on the day, we hope that sons 1 and 3 (and possibly 3’s plus one) will drive up for a meal on Saturday. Arrangements are pending. Maybe we should break with tradition and eat curry for Thanksgiving. Why not? It would be easier than cooking a turkey and fixings. Nowadays, people seem to want to recreate or overturn traditions, rewrite history, and generally blow conventions to hell. What’s the harm? Discuss among yourselves, but consider — as if you were at an auction — what price you are willing to pay.

However you decide to celebrate Thanksgiving, do so with a heart full of gratitude!

*“Be happy, noble heart, be blessed for all the good thou hast done and wilt do hereafter, and let my gratitude remain in obscurity like your good deeds.” Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

We take one week off from the blog and all of a sudden there are multiple milestones to discuss! It’s been a big couple of weeks for our 5 month old.

First of all, Katie ROLLED OVER for the first time on Tuesday. Because it is 2020, I had to “bring her” to a 90-minute staff meeting that overlapped precisely with her wake window while DN ran his institute’s annual conference from our living room, and she was not having it. Katie finds Zoom entertaining for precisely 3 minutes before she loses her cool, so, you know, like mother like daughter. At one point I put her on her playmat and attempted to focus on the call, which is when she chose to roll over. Katie does not exactly stand for multi-tasking when it comes to her mother’s attention!

The not-so-wee babe also tried out her high chair for the first time. As you’d expect, she loves to be high up and have a new, upgraded vantage point on the apartment activity. We tested this seat out earlier in the week in the service of…

…baby’s first solids. Katie’s favorite activity is watching us eat, so we knew she’d be thrilled. We were right! She might have been disappointed that we fed her organic baby cereal instead of potato chips, but she has to wait for some of life’s pleasures, right?

Well, we love her dearly. She is growing up and it’s wild. What’s next?!?