Thankfulness

It's a quiet Monday morning. As I work on the this post, I am alone for the moment. I have my pumpkin flavored coffee in my favorite snowman mug, my mosaic is designed, and I am enjoying the piece and quiet. We are waiting for the Big Storm to arrive sometime today, with a prediction of 18 inches of snow. I am skeptical that we will actually get that much snow.

We also have company who arrived last night from the Western Slope--the other side of the Rocky Mountains. Their grandchildren who live north of us are expecting their first baby, the first great grandchild, momentarily. Labor will be induced late Thursday if the baby boy does not arrive sooner, so our friends will be here for the week. It's always nice to have company in a normally quiet house.

I'll begin baking--I thought this morning--, but I am short some ingredients, which means a trip to the store first. Can you guess what I'll be making?

Jen and her husband will be hosting Thanksgiving brunch, so I'll take a pumpkin pie, a pecan pie, and cranberry relish.

I am also crocheting the little beanie hats that the grandchildren like so much. These are Nathan's. I made the one with the orange band and it seemed too small, so I used a larger hook on the second one and it seem to be sized better. Easy little hats. I'll make him a pair of mittens and fingerless gloves to with them. 

The house has worn its fall colors since the first of October, beginning with Halloween accents. I love the warmth of the fall colors, inspire of being a very pastel person, especially pink. Still I enjoy the fall colors both outside and inside.

I made the pompom turkeys a few years ago. They are silly little birds that make me smile. The candles, looking so realistic, are battery operated. They photography pretty 

realistically. 

We have so much to be thankful for with a full, rich life, surrounded by good friends, loving family, and good health. I spend some idle brain moments contemplating the reasons to celebrate Thanksgiving, which really is a relatively modern holiday. I think a lot about John Howland and his wife Elizabeth Tilley, my great grand parents, (13) who were brave enough to get on the rickety wooden ship to travel across a lot of water to start a new life. Howland was a 21 year old indentured servant to John Carver who served as governor of Plymouth colony from 1620-1621. The governor died tending his field of corn, probably as a result of a heat stroke and his wife soon after passed. His fortune went to John Howland as the eldest household member since they didn't have children to pass on their estate. 

John Howland is probably more well known for falling overboard on the Mayflower during a storm. No one knows why he was on deck during such a bad storm. He clung to the ship's halliard until he was rescued. 

You can read about John Howland in William Bradford's journal as he recorded daily life on the Mayflower voyage.

So I honor may family heritage as I celebrate Thanksgiving, realizing that I am a part of a very large family, for the Howlands have 11 million descendants, along with the couple's dozen children who combined have millions of descendants. Isn't that just simply incredible!

To you my dear friends, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving with lots good company, delicious foods, and abundant blessings.

Linking with Angie for Mosaic Monday. Join me there.

Stepping Out

Our family doesn't have a military background. My father wanted to join the Navy during WW II, but due childhood eye injury, he didn't qualify for naval service, nor would the Army accept him. Instead he worked in a munitions plant in DesMoines, Iowa, where he met my mother. I think he carried that stigma of not being fit for duty for a life time. He never spoke about not serving; instead, he told stories about working in Iowa and other jobs that he had as a chemical engineer. He was smart man with a degree from the University of Denver, a private university. He never understood that he did contribute to the war effort in his own way. He was never really specific about what his job was, but I am sure that with his degree he developed and tested munitions.

Even more since dad didn't go off to war as all of his friends and even his brother did, I respect, appreciate, and honor the men and women who did and do serve our country. That's one reason that I joined Daughters of the American Revolution. Along with it being a service organization, I appreciate the patriotism and honor of country that I was taught as a child. This last week, then, was devoted to honoring our veterans.

I spent several days making cards for the patients at the VA hospital in Cheyenne, Wyoming, only 35 miles north of us. While it was meant to be a group project, others were not able to help, so I spent quality time with myself making cards. I've always made my own greeting cards, so using my Circuit to out the stars and the other tools that I have collected over the years to do scrapbooks, too, I was able to make variety of cards. Making the cards for the veterans certainly was a labor of love.

Monday, my daughter Jennifer and sister-in-law Karen drove to the VA where we met, 

Sam, a representative who introduced us to Taylor, a sweet young woman who is the nursing home's recreational therapist. We gave her 20 packets of Christmas cards that I shared with you in my last post and another 50 cards thanking the veterans for their service. Our guide then took us through the nursing home, including the new addition that is modern, bright, and cheerful. I wish had taken more photos. He talked to us about the VA's services and their future plans. It is a very small facility compared to others across the country, such as one in Denver that just opened and is a multimillion dollar project.

Most notably and astonishing are the demographics of the patients who range in age from 20 to 100 years old, with the younger soldiers the majority of the population, all suffering from various war injuries and illnesses. 

Making and delivering a few cards to show the veterans that they are not forgotten is a very small but honorable pleasure. 

 Since card making and  blogging require much too much sitting, I've been trying to get in  more steps. While I am not a slave to my FitBit, the little device does keep me moving and lets me know if I need to move more. The best way to get my steps in certainly requires longer walks besides going from my chair to get a drink or doing other minimal duties.

I like walking in the fog the best, probably because we don't  have many foggy mornings here.

The Garden Spot takes on a mystical, magical aura with the frost covered landscape.

While we enjoy the fog, we are glad that we don't have to drive in it.

 I knew that morning as I was taking photos that I didn't need many, but the landscape was so ethereal and mystical, I had to take more.

Fall has been messy this year. The trees still have their leaves, now dead and dry, desperately clinging to the branches as if in hopes that life might return. I am hoping that I can convince the Head Garden to put the Christmas lights on the trees this year. It's not one of his favorite chores.

Even dry and dead, summer's blooms bring a certain beauty to the garden.

On another day, the sky was clear, the air was crisp and the wind brutally cold. I hurried that afternoon and finished my walk sooner than planned.

From the guest room window, this morning's landscape with a dusting of snow and 12 degrees.

 If I am not making cards or piddling with a dollhouse, I am working on this afghan for my friend. I am safe to show you because she doesn't follow the blog. I'm working with four colors and doing twenty rows for a more bold look. I wish now that I would have made each band a full skein because I will have yarn left over. Hats and mittens, perhaps.

And finally a grand celebration, Elinore's birthday. Can you believe that she if 13? Her color this year is lime green, so Hank, her horse,  got some nice lime green accessories for show. Can't wait to see him in his green leg wraps and boots with a lime green show halter. 

Instead of buying or even making their girls' birthday cards, I am making them photo album pages. They love the photos that I take of them and the photos don't do much good hiding on my lap top. 

Thank you for joining me today.

I'll be linking with Angie for Mosaic Monday

Thank You to Our Veterans for Their Service and Sacrifices

God Bless America