Thanksgiving Week

 It seemed like there was a headlong rush to get ready to leave for Jonathan and Kristy’s for Thanksgiving.  Saturday we went window shopping for items for the Main St. house.  Then Tom went to church for the youth dance.  Sunday after normal services we had the Bishop’s Youth Discussion (BYD) at our house.  I’d fixed congo squares for refreshments on Saturday--- then Tom brought home left over cake and chocolate dipping and pretzels and crackers to dip into it.  After BYD he went home teaching, then back to church for Tithing Settlement.

Monday we did laundry and packed and I showed our contractor the stuff we wanted for the Main St. house.  We decided on 18” tile for the kitchen and bathroom floors and also the countertop in the kitchen... and the tub surround.  We’d planned on a fiberglass insert for tub and surround.  But the place we normally get them cheap… was out!  Each other place was expensive… or more expensive.  So that made tile a better prospect.  And I was delighted that the contractor suggested it, so I didn’t have to.  That evening we had a couple over for dinner.  Linda lost her husband to a sudden heart attack about 2 years ago.  She met Dennis and theirs was the first wedding Tom performed.  We enjoyed getting to know Dennis better and learning how they met.  It’s like watching young kids.  They are so delighted with each other!

Monday afternoon, Tom says, “I can’t find my wallet.”  Hmm.  We look in all the usual places.  I ask, are they in your old pants pocket?  The one that just went into the laundry.  He checked.  Not there.   Apparently the wallet fell out of the pocket before inspection.  It’s amazing how well things are preserved, even after going through the wash cycle.  The drying cycle:

We got a pretty early start on Tuesday for our trip to Iowa.  Keeping with tradition, we stopped at a junk yard to try to find a part for the Toyota.  For Christmas I asked that the center console lid hinge be fixed.  The darn top slides off and is very annoying! We looked for the Kansas City temple on the way up, too.  The GPS and I are having issues.  I thought, how fun to go to 5 guys for lunch on the way up.  Tom asked it to search for 5 Guys and it found one right off 35.  Sounded good.   Tom was on the phone when the turn off came.  Seemed way too early to me.  And 8 miles??? But I thought we’d eat earlier.  No.  The 8 miles was just to the first turn! We drive up the east side of Kansas City and the one I remembered was on the north east side.  Apparently there’s a second one on the South West side—a good half hour off the freeway. GRRR.  Then after we drive all this time the chirpy little voice says, “You are now at 5 Guys on the right.”  But there IS no F Guys on the right!  We drive around the two blocks of shopping centers with the GPS saying: “Recalculating.”  Did you know you can plot your course with a dotted line on the GPS?  Ours looked a lot like the Family Circus cartoon where the kid runs all over the place.  How can you give up when you’ve already squandered so much time searching for it?  We finally found it on the LEFT side of the road.  We got to Jonathan and Kristy’s about an hour later than we planned, but it worked out fine.  They were just getting back from gymnastics. I had a fun time cuddling Zachery.

We had a relaxed and enjoyable time there.  It’s so fun to see the kids and how they are growing.  We saw Isabelle’s pigeons—including the trick pigeons that tumble and roll.  She was feeding the neighbors two Border Collie puppies and we tumbled and played with them.  The new baby heifer was delivered and we got to know her.  She’s a cute little thing.  And we collected eggs.  We had a sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner.  They’d invited another family over and that added to the fun.  We played games some nights and watched a movie on their big screen. Isabelle made brownies all by her self and then gifted some to us for our trip home.

 We also shared a 24 hour virus.  It had started with David and progressed to Miriam by the time we got there.  One by one we were felled by the puke-bug.  Jonathan and I held out to the bitter end.  One good thing—no one was sick on Thanksgiving Day.  Another blessing: It’s the first time I’ve lost weight over that holiday!  I was a sluggard at taking pictures while we were there, so I made them pose the early morning before we left-- mostly still in PJ's

 On the way home, we did detour to see the nearly completed temple.

 When we left Mountain Home, it was at the tail end of fall.  The weather was still warmish and there were leaves on some trees.  We went north to winter with no leaves on the trees, although it wasn’t all that cold there either.  They were predicting possible snow flurries the day we left.  We drove through sprinkles and rain most of the way home and found our leaves nearly gone.  And the temperature has dropped and we’ll have freezing weather the next few days.  Last night, after we got home, we picked all the tomatoes and beans.  This morning I went out and picked all the lettuce to take to church and give away.  It certainly is more enticing to stay inside when the wind bites your face and hands.

I’ve decided that rather than be panicked by all the things that need to be done before Christmas and worrying about what might not get done—I’m going to enjoy!  I will take joy in each thing that gets accomplished.  I’ll cut myself some slack if it doesn’t all get done.  I will remember the real reason for the season and know that I’m loved even if my house is not spotless or Christmas cards don’t arrive on time… er… at least I think that’s true….