Happy Thanksgiving

I'm not even going to try to make excuses for my lack of blogging as of late. Each time that I think things will slow down somewhat I find myself laughing at the idea. I know that Thanksgiving's arrival means Christmas is just around the corner. Where has this year gone?

We will be celebrating our Thanksgiving on Saturday as we do each year. It allows our children to travel to their in-laws for their Thanksgiving dinners. This year our group is a little smaller than normal which means we will be serving dinner for about 40. Everyone brings side dishes so our contributions are turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pies. Perhaps the biggest job is setting up the table settings for everyone. We always have a grand time just visiting and hanging out. We are blessed that these get togethers are not a once a year event in our family.

I made these wood cutouts to greet the guests.

We took a few days last weekend to head up the coast to visit our son and DIL. My sister and her husband went with us and we stayed in Pismo Beach. It is such a pretty area of the coast. The weather was glorious while we were there.

This was our view from our balcony...sunrise and sunset.

One of our favorite stops is this Cinnamon Roll shop. It has been there for years and the freshly made buns can be smelled for blocks in all directions. I really wanted to take a photo of the delicious roll but my husband was ready to abandon me if I pulled the camera out. Guess I will have to leave it to your imagination, but they are F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S and I'm sure they do not have one countable calorie in them. I did manage to snap this picture of the "Senior Nutrition" van that pulled up as we were leaving. I am thinking it may not be so bad to be a senior if they feed me like that.

We did a little shopping and I could not pass on this little Christmas outfit. Is this too funny or what?????

On Sunday we ran into a couple of our children at church and we all grabbed brunch afterwards. We frequently will do this at this restaurant so they are always prepared for our gang of thirteen children and six adults. No reservations needed!

Last evening we were blessed to be present for our newest grandson's christening. It is always such a special event. The little guys was christened in the same gown that his mother and his uncles wore for their baptisms. The ceremony was performed by our very dear friend, Fr. G., which makes for a treasured memory.

Mom, Dad, Fr. G and J

The adoring cousins.

To add to all the confusion this week we are also having indoor painting being done. We had been on the painter's waiting list for sometime and he finally had some free time. So....I have officially become a furniture re-arranger, duster, window treatment remover and all those other good titles. It is always nice to add a little chaos to the mix.

My intention was to get out in the garden to get some flowers planted before our series of expected storms hit. It did not happen. We have been plagued with a large number of rabbits in the garden this year and it is so frustrating to have the seedlings munched on by them. This week I found some welcome help with the problem.

This hawk was sitting on the gate while keeping an eye on the garden. Too bad I can't keep him there all the time.

I have been tagged two times this week for a meme about me. First Midlife Mom tagged me and then Baba so I hope that I can come up with a couple of unknown things about me. Let's see....

1. I was born a fiery redhead with hair below my shoulders at birth.
2. The nurses tied my hair up in a ponytail on the top of my head with umbilical tape.
3. I stayed a redhead until I stupidly decided to weave blonde into it when I was in my 20s. Little did I know that I would loose that gorgeous red hair to gray so early!
4. I was an undrugged hyperactive child whom my mother turned onto a sewing machine.
5. I made my first skirt for myself, by myself, when I was 5 years old.
6. I graduated from nursing school and had my R.N. when I was just 19 years old.
7. I married my brother's best friend. My brother did not marry mine.

Now, I am suppose to tag six other people but think I will let anyone who would like to do this contribute their information. It's always such fun to read about other bloggers.

As I wish all of our American bloggers a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with blessings, I will leave you with this thought.

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!