Fall and the Upcoming Holidays
As the wind blows and the few remaining leaves cling to the trees, I am looking forward to the holiday season. This is probably our last day of nice weather - we have been so fortunate lately with unbelievable warm and beautiful days! Although spring is my favorite time of year, I love the cool, crisp, clear blue sky days of autumn. Hearing the leaves crunch under our feet and feeling the cool air does something to clear my head of the clutter and craziness of summer. It is easy to lose sight of the important things in life when you are running from here to there making the most of long, hot days. The fall and winter months force us all of slow down and appreciate the things that we have - and we are extremely blessed compared to many people in this world.
So what are my plans for the coming holidays? Well, before I completely skip over the Halloween adventures of the year, DD and I spent several days making fun Halloween crafts including a ghost from her footprint and a bat using her hand-prints (I love these simple and fun crafts that I put the date on and store to reflect on in future years). We hung our creations from the light in our dining room and enjoyed them everyday though DD got into some trouble for constantly climbing into a chair in an effort to reach her artwork and swing it! We also carved pumpkins and put up some old Halloween decorations (courtesy of my mom). It was a wonderful experience! And then on Halloween night, we went to a friends house for a cookout and trick-or-treating in her neighborhood. DD REALLY likes her son - they are the same age. We had a great time and then had to confiscate the bucket of goodies to prevent total sugar overload. Left to her own will, DD would have eaten all of the candy in one sitting! But we only gave her 1 or 2 pieces a day for a few days and then it was ‘all-gone’! Of course, DH and I had a few treats as well! We took some great pictures of our little Cat and then, after putting up an enormous fight in an effort to ‘play’ with her loot, she passed out from exhaustion!
For Thanksgiving, we will be doing more fun crafts and DD will get to watch Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving. She likes Charlie Brown and Snoopy and this is a pretty educational movie - something lacking from most of the holiday movies that are available. We have also ordered a turkey from Mandy at Schacht Farm and are planning on spending Thanksgiving at home. We are planning to head to NC for Christmas if my doctor doesn’t give me any travel restrictions for the pregnancy - not sure how favorably she will feel about a 9 hour (one way) car ride so close to 8 months pregnant! We will see. We will have to order a Christmas tree from my family (we usually just go pick it out at Thanksgiving but since we won’t be there…) and have it mailed to us (to support my family in their business). As these precious holidays draw closer, I will try to provide more details including our plans for presents without spending a lot of money (we will see), menu and recipes for the big meals, and extra activities that we will participate in with friends and community (Bloomington has live reindeer at the Holiday Market - that should be a hoot)!
One thing that I wish I had done more of - preserving local foods - but I was just so miserable with morning sickness during harvest time that my plans went in the toilet (seriously)! Hopefully I will be able to do a better job next season! It would be so nice to have Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner from my own garden or from preserved local produce! Something to look forward to next year!
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