Little house

Using the shelves in the kitchen to display some of my beloved doll house furniture. I saw a wonderful live stream from The Thorne Rooms the other day, and I was inspired to open some of the tiny little boxes....

A photo a day over at Chicken Blog, too.

Nature's version

The sparkling droplets of water, lit from the morning sun, make me think of my version at home -- and wonder how to invent THIS kind of lit up tree for the house....

A photo a day over at Chicken Blog, too.

No progress

Always some little part of me, in these days when I've managed to get the tree up and lit but not decorated, that wants to just leave it like this....

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Should have remembered the umbrella

Slogging through the post-holiday let down, without quite the next pre-holiday zip in the air yet. We're all feeling it.

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Frozen

We've had just some snow flurries so far -- nothing lasting. But it's been freezing, and there's a glaze each morning over everything on the ground. The weak, filtered morning sunlight does little to warm things up, and there's no pretending that it's autumn anymore.

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Natalie knew

 ...right where that tree would go. Feeling accomplished that the Thanksgiving dishes are done and the lights are on the tree. Also feeling overwhelmed, and trying to parse it out. I've made a secret pact with myself to ease off a little this year -- simplify, choose some but not all of the decorations, get things done and not fret over what's undone. I make a little more progress each year, and it's important to me. I just want to find the balance, and be happy.


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Sure sign

...that it's getting to be that time.

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Lingering

Learning the game.

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Worth it

Grateful, especially in the midst of all the insanity going on in this country right now, to be able to sit down with my family and celebrate making it this far.

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It takes about 15 hours or so

...to make all the Thanksgiving feast ingredients, no matter how many people you are serving. Are we there yet?

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Leaving

Heading home from work, thinking about getting some Thanksgiving meal prep done tonight; Ken and Dean are planning to have dinner in Boston to wait out some of the traffic. And the sky shows me a picture I've never seen before. A reminder to pause, to see, to breathe, to be.

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Season's first

Didn't stick around for too long, but a dusting of snow this morning announced that we really have turned from fall to winter. Not ready.

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Since forever

Spanikopita for appetizers = every Thanksgiving since forever. Made ahead, frozen, and then baked for about 12 minutes -- then they disappear until it's time to make more next year.

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Date night at the rink

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When the accidental photo tells the story

Caution: holiday approaches.

A photo a day over at Chicken Blog, too.