popping in

I haven't posted in a very long time. Life has been full and busy and good. Lots of wonderful things going on. As I get ready for Thanksgiving I find myself thoughtful and meditative about all that I/we have been blessed with.

I confess that I miss blogging, I miss some of the "routine" things like Grateful Grains and Tackle-It-Tuesday (boy could I really use one of those right about now!). But I know that with the ebb and flow of my life I will at some point get back to it.

On the sad news front I have to report that my farm share is over for the year. We're very sad about it. Last Friday was the last pickup. It was a good one though, the haul included a large bag of spinach, celeriac, beets, potatoes, red cabbage, red onions, garlic, hot peppers, parsnips and lacinato kale. Mmmmmmmmmm. I have a freezer full of goodies from this year's share plus a bunch of jars of canned goodness. I'll miss seeing the farm folks every week and miss the peaceful serenity of picking in the fields but I know it will come again next year.

Goods new abounds however:

S & V are coming home from college this week! I am so excited to see them. It's hard to believe the last time I laid eyes on them was in August! Of course it's also hard to believe that they are both in college. I'm not sure how that happened, they were little not so very long ago. V is bringing a guest; the Japanese exchange student from her college is coming with her. It should be wonderful and we are looking forward to meeting her.

D won an essay writing contest for the Veteran's Day assembly here in town. The Veterans Association is giving her a $50 savings bond and two people called to ask for a copy of the speech. I'm trying to get her to let me post it here. Only two essays were chosen, it's really an amazing achievement.

My knee is almost completely healed. I can't sit on my knees the way I used to but with stretching and yoga I am slowly gaining back some of the flexibility I had and believe it will all come back.

We (ahem...read Steve) finished ripping out 1/3 of the garden in the back. It's cleared and grassed over and looks much better. Steve also managed to get one of the two terraces in the middle section done. The other will be done next spring. Then to clear the final third and rebuild the walls around the two sections we are keeping. We (and this really does mean we) also managed to rearrange the "vegetable" garden (don't know why we still call it that since it no longer has vegetables) and it looks much better. It should also be easier to maintain now that everything is more clearly grouped. Unfortunately I forgot to plant my elephant garlic this year so we won't have any next year; we will have garlic from the farm so it's not a total loss.

We got to see my brother and his family last week. It was great to spend time with them. My brother was so helpful and converted some old family VHS stuff to DVD. Much better. Tobi had a great time playing with his cousin dog, the neighbor dog, and the dog down the street. He was sad for two days after we got home! While visiting them my sister-in-law very kindly took me over to the farm to visit my niece's 4-H cows. They are both Jersey's; Pumba is the sweetest, jumpiest, silliest little thing. I got great enjoyment out of watching my niece trying to walk Pumba with Pumba jumping in the air, legs splayed at different angles, and then charging in the opposite direction pulling my niece after her. Bittersweet, her other cow, is going to be bred as soon as she is in heat. Truthfully she is so small I was surprised to discover that she was old enough to breed. This pretty lady is t-i-n-y. I bet she'll make a cute calf though.

We're heading off to my in-laws for Thanksgiving. Should be a lot of fun. My brother-in-law and his family with be there. So we are going to be 13 people, one a just-walking toddler, two dogs, and an upstairs under construction. Should be fun.

I hope all of you have a wonderful, happy, safe, blessed holiday and that you are with those you love.