Giving thanks

Dateline Washington DC

Happy Thanksgiving!  Still Thanksgiving weekend so I think I can still say it. 

We came down here for turkey day in a new house! And it worked out well. Andrew made the turkey and Mary and Margaret made a ton of sides. Guests brought more sides and you'll never guess how many pies we had. Let's just say we had three pumpkin pies as a starter with others as well as a plum pudding. I bet you all had similar memorable meals. I know at least two households did not have turkeys. And speaking of turkeys, Peter found an article about Larison's Turkey Farm in Chester NJ. I know we had some Sunday dinners but maybe not Thanksgivings

And in the middle of that celebrations, there were birthdays!! Ronan turned one!!  A big one. Sankar and Andrew S also had birthdays. And we were here for Andrew's birthday party that featured a rainbow cake that Simon picked out. 

We had barely caught our breath from our Daytona trip before we turned around and came down here. Mary's brother had a successful neck/spine surgery and is home now. Mary had set up a caregiver to check in a couple days of week and transformed his home to sparkle city for his recovery. 

We stayed with Marilyn who went above and beyond the call of duty in hosting us and feeding us and chatting with us. She was going to spend Thanksgiving with Robbie and his partner. 

There was a big meal in Fairport with both Matthew and Jeffrey and families there with Paula's sister. Claire joined her parents for the big meal while her brother celebrated with Joe and Leonor in London. All over the place. Annie and Sankar were with friends at a wedding celebration. 

We head back tomorrow and then we're off again but you'll have to wait for the next letter to read where. 

Hope the winter storms won't get in the way of people heading home today and tomorrow. Out in Illinois, they're hunkered down and waiting the end of the snow. Pretty yucky out here but should be good travel day tomorrow. Safe driving. 

We just got home from church, the first day of Advent. And Margaret, Andrew and Simon just decorated their tree!  Ready for the next big event. Are you?

If not, stop wasting your time reading this letter and get to work. 

Live from down here. 

     

Ides of November

Dateline Charlotte. On our way to Daytona. Mary's brother is scheduled to have neck surgery on Monday so we decided to go down and provide support or assistance or just get in the way. We almost didn't make it but Mary had the presence of mind to check the plane reservations I made. Good thing. Genius boy here had looked at the third Saturday in December, not November. After genius boy had a meltdown he changed the flight. With Mary looking over my shoulder all the way. 

Speaking of support, David came to Pittsfield for an afternoon and dinner. He had a meeting in Albany and was kind enough to take a detour to visit. He packed his trunk with some burls that had come off one of our downed trees. By the way, we're going to open a P & G museum with all the nick nacks we've acquired. He filled us in on their Thanksgiving plans that sound full with Jeff and Matthew and families. 

We'll be in DC for Thanksgiving hosted by Margaret and Andrew. Their big news is that the closing on their old house went through, on the same day they went back to work. And Simon got his first honor roll card. That's right, kindergarten honor roll. The only thing I remember doing in kindergarten is lining up for the bathroom nicely. 

Speaking of bathroom …. No I better not. But it has been three weeks since my last treatment. Still got a ways to go. Did they radiate my brain too?

We got this photo from London this week. What do you think they're looking at?  See below. 

Halloween reports. Simon donated his candy to his dentist. John was a spitting image of Harry Potter and Thomas looked like a wizard and Luisa a princess. 

And Ronan was a soccer goalie. Like his grandfather. And he's coming up on birthday soon. 

I think I missed some birthdays last time around. Hope your days were wonderful, Billy and Kathleen. 

Annie and Sankar off on another trip to other parts of India. Hope there are no leeches. 

Did anyone else get snow? Andrew did but that's because he put the driveway snow poles out. Me too, and I put snow tires on the car and put the snow mats down in the entry way. Yup. It's a welcome mat for snow. 

Other than that, Mary had a swim meet and I almost finished the other fall chores, like putting the porch furniture away. Reminds me of Pomfret. 

Getting close to boarding for our last leg to Daytona. Love from down here. 

(Daniel and Thomas are watching a premier league game.)