In the last few weeks we celebrated Edmund's first  birthday with a party here at the house. We had our friends  Elyrond, Sherrie and Luthien join us and Edmund opened a few gifts and ate yummy cake.  The boys and Heather and I went to the Teddy Bear Tea at the Civic Center, Doyle and I took Daniel and Jonathan  to the Aztec Christmas Parade and played in the snow.  December is here!  Christmas is coming!    We are having FUN!!

We have watched silly Christmas movies, listened to Christmas music, read Christmas stories, signed Christmas cards and worked on Christmas gifts.  The nutcrackers have been played with and the nativity has entertained the boys with the true story of Christmas.   I did wonder a bit though when I heard the boys today playing with the nativity set and the angels were fighting and killing..........who?  I never figured out who they were fighting.  After I told them I didn't think that was right, I thought to myself.....who am I kidding?  Angels are in a war a lot of the time!  The boys had it right more than I did! 
 
Tomorrow we get our tree....that is if the roads aren't too muddy and snowy.   (I love the snow, but not when we have to travel over muddy, snowy roads to get one!)

Here's hoping you are having as much fun as we are at the Meyer house!  And let's not forget the true meaning of Christmas and how an angel appeared to a young, frightened teenage girl and told her she was to have a son and he would be the Savior of the world.  Can you imagine?  Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!

I've been sick on the couch for two days.  I have a nasty cold, but after talking to Heather I decided I had the easy sickness, they all have had the stomach stuff, vomiting, etc.  She said they were so sick they didn't move for 24 hours and her mom had to come feed them.  I am so thankful they live by her parents, definitely nice when you get so sick you can't take care of your family.  So a BIG thank you out to Karen!  Heather said they were back in the land of the living today, even felt well enough to clean and tidy the house.  I had my friend over today and she cleaned the house while I did laundry.  My friend, Jody sent over a nasty TONIC that I've been dutifully sipping on and I must say after doing that for seven hours or so, I feel immensely better.  I'm not sure what all is in it, but I know GARLIC is in it, since it reeks of garlic and I'm sure I reek of it now too!  It's so nasty it should kill anything within five feet of it.  Now here is the interesting thing about this nasty tonic, the first time I tasted it I thought I would throw up, the second and third time, the same, but now, after sipping it for seven hours, it doesn't bother me quite so much.  Why is that do you think???

Doyle has been working in the greenhouse, what a HUGE job!  He has leveled the walkway, dug out several feet of dirt, taken out the barrels (that leaked yucky gunk all over.....tar? or oil?) and had to work in very un-union like conditions!  Hopefully he won't walk out!  LOL!  He is a trooper though, I have to say that.  Next on the list, is replacing the wallboard on the house side.  We need to paint the beams on the roof and re-stain the deck, but I'm not sure that will get done before Christmas.

I was feeling well enough tonight to make supper and make pumpkin bread.  If I could smell, I bet the bread smells wonderful!  I'll eat it anyway, whether or not I can smell it or not.

Christmas is definitely on the way, whether or not the decorations are up (they aren't) and whether or not the tree is up (it's not!).  But Christ is coming, He is coming!  Let me prepare my heart, let me get my priorities in line with His!  It's not about the decorations (although they are nice).  It's not about the tree (although it will be beautiful), it is not about presents (although they are fun), it's about HIM!  Thanks be to God!

Thanksgiving weekend was truly a weekend filled with thanks-giving.  As we sat around the table on  Thursday, the official day for thanks-giving, we all shared what we were thankful for.  A few of the thanks shared were:
Hearing Aids, Family, Friends, a great teacher to work with, in-laws, friends to vent with, vacations to visit family and more.  Nathan read the Proclamation of Thanksgiving that George Washington wrote and we ate until we couldn't eat anymore, at least until the pies were brought out in the afternoon!  Joining us for the day were Roger and Mary Drayer, Pete, Heather and boys, Erin and Nathan, and the Lewis family; Cody (who has lived with us over the past few months, and a year ago); his wife, Stephanie and their five little ones, Annie, Ain, Kataya, Soren and Andrew.  I told them they are stuck with being friends with us and they didn't seem to mind, they just moved here from Albuquerque.

Erin and I spent Friday and Saturday sewing and working on Christmas projects.  It's so nice to have a daughter who loves to make things and forces me in a very loving way, to join her.  I love creating things, especially when I can do it with someone by my side.  It seems though that because of the busyness of life my creative side gets pushed aside.  I think that is why I love to bake so much, it brings out the creativity side of me.

We had a lovely supper Friday evening at Beth and Paul's and Greg and Kathy joined us.  It was good getting caught up with them.  Sunday when Erin and Nathan got ready to leave their car wouldn't start, so Doyle, Nathan and Peter spent all day fixing the car.  They left this morning a day late. Because they left a day late they were able to join us on Sunday for our weekly dinner with Pete and Heather and boys.  Pete and Heather have dear friends, Wes and Bailey from Arkansas and they came to visit them for a few days so they joined us too.  They have five beautiful, bright children; Josiah, Anna, Noah, Isaiah and Elijah and another one due in January.  Anna (age 5) asked everyone at lunch to quiz her brothers and herself on the Tolkien books, and so Nathan asked them some hard questions.  They were able to answer almost all of them in the first book or two, they haven't quite memorized all of the books yet.   They are 7, 5, 4, 3 and 18 months old, so they have a few years to get polished on the Tolkien books.  Erin was a life-saver on Thanksgiving and Sunday afternoon with all the kids, taking them outside to run and play and inside drawing pictures.  The kids all have a new favorite person I'm sure!

Sitting by my wood fire; roaring in the woodstove, smelling my chicken soup bubbling on the stove and seeing a rainbow in the cloudy, windy November day makes me feel more than satisfied. To make it even nicer,  Lucy came this morning and we worked on getting the back two bedrooms cleaned and ready for our new house guest who is due to arrive on Sunday.  I hope the huge winter storm they are predicting doesn't cause her any problems as she will be driving down from Denver.  (Our  other two house guests who have been here since August moved out this week).  Pete, Heather and boys are also flying home on Sunday from Richmond, VA via Chicago and Denver to Durango, so I hope and pray the storm won't delay them.  Traveling with three children under the age of five isn't easy, and weather complications could be awful. 

But back to cleaning and having Lucy come help.  Initially when I asked her to come on Friday's it was of course to help her, as she is back in school working on getting her G.E.D. and can't hold down a fulltime job.  Of course as so often happens, she is helping me in more ways than I counted on.  She is a Navajo woman who I probably met when I was four or five years old, (she would have been  two or so), as I am a few years older than her.  When someone has been in and out of your life for almost 55 years, a lot of history has been covered!  We knew each other back when...... 

Yesterday I cleaned out two large freezers and two refrigerator freezers and of course in the throwing out dated food, I ran across some old bananas.  I throw over-ripe bananas in my freezer when I have them and then make banana bread when I have time.  After Lucy left I made a loaf of banana/walnut bread  Instead of one cup of banana pulp, I used two, since I had so much and I didn't want to put them back in the freezer.  I'm having a hard time resisting the wonderful aroma of the banana bread cooling on my counter.  (Resisting eating it I mean!). 

After getting home from Virginia on Monday evening, going grocery shopping, cleaning house, doing laundry and cleaning out freezers this week I feel quite satisfied and self-righteous.  Next week we will pick up the beef at the butchers and my freezers will be full.  Half a beef raised on our own pasture, vegetables raised in our (almost) organic garden, fresh milk and eggs picked up weekly from two local farms....we are living the life we always wanted!  Just don't ask me yet about next summer's garden plans (or harvest and canning/freezing!). 

The above picture of my adorable, charming,  intelligent and fun-loving grandchildren (but not always quiet or still....) was taken over last weekend in Williamsburg, VA.

We started the day out with  help from Analiese helping Paca make breakfast.  We had a warm filling breakfast casserole made from potatoes, cheese, eggs and onions.  Served with bacon, toast and coffee it kept us filled up for a few hours of walking around Williamsburg.

Colonial Williamsburg, VA during the Revolutionary War was an exciting place to live,  but probably not the safest.  We could hear the cannon booming throughout the day as we walked around town, hopefully it was warning away anyone that would do us  harm.
 
 
Today  we visited a brick maker

a basket maker
and a cabinet maker. 
After walking through the town we ended up at a Cheese Shop where we enjoyed a lunch of sandwiches, and various cheeses from all over the world, wine and yummy chocolate.  It made the wait in the cold worth while eating all that yummy food!

We are enjoying our time in Williamsburg, VA, where Pete, Heather and boys joined Christopher, Megan, Analiese,  Doyle and I for a few days. We are staying at Wyndham, Patriot's Place very near Colonial Williamsburg.  We will be here until Nov. 5 when Doyle and I will go home and Pete, Heather and boys will go back to Christopher and Megan's home and help them for a week with remodeling projects.  T he cousins are getting acquainted with each other and having lots of fun, as we adults are.

Stepping back in time we visited Colonial Williamsburg, (Pre-Revolutionary) today.  We had a great time visiting the town right before the Revolutionary War and the boys really enjoyed the Fife and Drums  parade down the village green.  We also visited a cobbler (the kind who makes shoes, not pies), a shop where Jonathan, Christopher and Peter tried their skill at using a quill pen and ink to write their name and the magazine, (not the kind you read), but where they used to store their ammunition. 

Not only did we step back in time today, we stepped into pre-winter, it was a chilly day not fun for Megan who has a horrible, nasty cold and Heather, Analiese, and Daniel who are recovering from a cold.  A warm winter jacket and long underwear would have been nice!

 
Falling leaves
Warm weather
turned cool...
burnt red leaves,
dried seed pods
blowing against the house.

Porch picnics 
little granddaughter
fuzzy blonde hair blowing
picnic basket talking...
grapes oozing juice down her face.

Leaves falling...
wind blowing
air turning cool
All is well....

Farmer's Market
Vendors talking
selling wares to the wary
Flowers blazing brilliantly
Guitar twanging,
man singing mournfully...
Coffee brewing,
Donuts sizzling...
Vendors calling......

Leaves falling....
Wind blowing
Leaves burning red

Orange pumpkins pileda
Across the field tumbling
Children laughing
Children crying....
Old man talking..
Tractor balking.....

Leaves falling...
Wind chill falling
Analiese calling
Burning red and yellow........

House projects piling
Painting calling
Porch falling
Old attic floors cracking
Windows blowing....
Ditch digging
Cement filling...

Leaves falling
Wind rising
Chill rising
Hurricane coming.........

Sunday church
Historic church
Stained glass 
Organ piping
Choir singing
Children speaking
All is well
All is well..........

Leaves falling
Wind rising
Cold increasing
Hurricane coming.........

All is well
All is well............

  Fall is such a gorgeous time of year and it seems like no matter where we are it is especially colorful, beautiful and fragrant.  In Fort Collins we enjoyed smelling woodsmoke in the evenings and loved the colorful trees in the park and neighborhood.  Erin and I enjoyed tramping through some antique stores and found a few Christmas presents, and a vintage tea set for Analiese, which she has already enjoyed with us.  Flying through Detroit (where we were forced to spend the night unexpectedly) it looked like early winter; rain, clouds, and no leaves on the trees.  But here in Richmond, it is all still  gloriously fall!  The colors are wonderful and the weather is still warm, although it is forecast to turn cooler next week. 

Megan picked us up from the  airport and we drove to Christopher's office at Prophet and then we all went to lunch at an old firestation turned restaurant  (Station 2).  Christopher's office is next to the old Libby Prison site where during the Civil War Union prisoners were held.  If only walls could talk, what would they say about the area where Christopher now works in an old industrial building on Cary Street, that used to be  a Seed and Feed store in the 1800's?  Christopher thinks it was also a Tobacco store or maybe storage building.  The streets around his office are cobblestone and bumpy.  We enjoyed getting a tour of the building and meeting some of his co-workers.

Megan then took us to Analiese's day care, where we picked her up (sleepy from a nap) and then home to their house.  After a shower and a rest we walked to Forest Hills Park, a beautiful park within walking distance of their house.  What a gorgeous park and a restful lake and quiet paths....we are always amazed at all the vegetation here..... no need to irrigate here!

Analiese loved her little dress that Auntie Erin made for her out of an old work shirt of Uncle Nathan's.  It was a hit right away, and she wanted to put it on.  Today she went to "school" with her new dress, her new mis-matched socks and jean purse we bought for her in Fort Collins.   She looked quite "spiffy"!  Analiese is such a charming little girl, very outgoing and very talkative.  She is definitely a "keeper!"

A beautiful tree on our little country road this morning.  Such a glorious time of year!

Autumn Outing by LaVerne P. Larson

The flaming hills of autumn
Are a wonder to behold
When all the countryside
Turns to red and gold.

To walk a wooded pathway
Through this fairyland
And see the magic wonders
Wrought by the Master's hand.

Bright autumn skies above me
And the air so fresh and clear,
The pungent smell of nature
Is sweet and very near

I gaze at all the treetops
Wearing lovely rainbow crowns,
And beneath my feet a carpet
Of leaves with crunching sounds.

Each songbird still singing
Such a gay and lilting tune,
And the golden sun is shining
Like the merry month of June.

Furry, lively forest folk
Are darting to and fro,
Enjoying fruits of autumn
Before the winter snow.

Then when my walk is over,
I pause to say a prayer,
To thank God for the beauty
I have viewed beyond compare.

The golden days of October are such that if I could bottle them, I would be a millionaire, (or billionaire);  words cannot describe the beauty of this time of year.  I wish my camera could capture the days, the quiet, the leaves rustling in the breeze, the horse nickering in the nearby pasture (upset because he is so far away from us and his buddies, the goats), the water falling off the rocks at the pond.  Peaceful and quiet........ it's one reason we have chosen to live in the country.  The older I get the more I want peace and serenity.  Not for me the noise, pollution and crowds, just give me a seat by our pond, watching the gold fish flit by while trying to hold on to these golden days.