November.... already....

.... and 'Let the merry-making begin!' (as Mary Engelbreit would say).

The house is all decked out for Christmas, with Santas and Christmas trees in all of the rooms.  Just a few unbreakable Santas in the TV room where I keep the cats... this way, if anything gets knocked to the floor, I don't have to worry that the cats will get hurt.  Cats... kids.... same thoughts about safety.

Every room has a Christmas tree... two and three trees in some of the rooms, depending on how big the trees are.  I had a great idea for a little table-top tree for the library upstairs.... a small tree decorated with miniature books.  I already have a very tiny copy of 'The Nutcracker,' so I'm sure to find other miniature books along the way..... I also have to find the perfect tree to put them on.

We're still not finished with the library.... the painting is all done, except for all the tiny triangles of window panes.  We're still talking about carpeting the staircase or sanding and finishing the wood steps........ my vote is for carpet, just for the sake of time.  Getting the carpenters back here will be another three weeks, and I'm tired of waiting for this project to be complete.  Really truly complete, as in bookshelves with books on them.

Patience..... in all things.

Speaking of patience...... friends and family in NY have let us know that everything up there is still not back to normal yet.  Some are still without power, without heat.... and the weather has not only turned cold but there's snow on the ground up there.  Another Halloween (second year in a row) had to be cancelled due to a storm. 

Thankfully, none of our friends or family found their homes and cars flooded..... the worst that happened was loss of power and heat for a week or so, which was bad enough.  My friend Fran's grandbaby-girl was all set to wear her pumpkin costume for Halloween, but that never happened, so she had to be content with wearing the pumpkin outfit around the house for nearly a week.  Sweet little girl..... when I see her smiling in pictures, I think of Fran...... the baby has Fran's smile.  Life goes on......... no matter how terrible, how awful.... life does indeed go on in a sensible way (as my husband's mother always used to tell us).

But.... Christmas aside, and Halloween a memory now, Thanksgiving is coming up.  My husband and I volunteered to serve Thanksgiving dinner at the local food pantry...... we don't know if that will happen........ they told us they usually get more help than they need. So we'll see if they call.  I've got all the fixings for our own Thanksgiving dinner, and whether we have that on turkey-day or the day before or after, we'll have the usual feast with sweet potatoes and oyster dressing and homemade cranberry sauce.  And I also see a pumpkin pie in our future.......