Thanksgiving.....and being ever so THANKFUL

We waited all year for Thanksgiving.....and it came and was finished so quickly.....so many preparations....so much anticipation......Here, 'Shorty' awaits a little nibble or something that inadvertently might have been dropped during prepartions in the kitchen.....

                This year, Thanksgiving was at my oldest daughter's house....we had 16 for dinner.....
the little table was for the 3 children in attendance...

                                                                 It was so much fun!!!

 And a lot of hard work, too....

10 lbs of potatoes boiling away.... (in 2 separate pots!)

My youngest daughter's dog came along, too

I made pumpkin pie, apple pie and 2 pumpkin mousse pies, along with cookies and YES, Susan Branch's spiced pecans....which, by the way, were YUMMY!!

                                                      This bowl was emptied FAST!!

                                      There was some hair braiding taking place prior to dinner

There was some chess playing and tea drinking and looking at sales' flyers

And of course....watching the Macy's Day Parade....which is a tradition

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving....

We all have so much to be thankful for....

Count your Blessings

EVERY DAY

xo

My tour of homes in Estes Park on Tuesday, Nov. 15

I wanted to bring you along with me, but pictures will have to do; it was in the low 50's when I left my house; the 1hour 15 minute drive was easy as all of the snow on the roads had melted and roads were clear.  It was 37 degrees F when I arrived in Estes Park.  The river, which runs along the road for about 80% of the trip, was running quite briskly as the snowmelt had filled the river with fresh water....the wind was blowing a lot.  Just days before, Estes had gusts of 100 mph and many large and ancient trees were toppled by its forceful vengeance....the evidence of trees down was everywhere.

Here, a picture of the river and all of the 'white caps' because of the wind.

 I saw 5 homes; 2  homes I recently saw are bank-owned or soon-to-be bank owned properties.  Still quite over-priced, I went to see them to watch them as their prices drop.  This  house below is the one I fell in love with (of course); however, it is not zoned appropriately for what we want to do with it. You know, I can just SEE the house we're looking for.....but truly, if it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be.  I'm coming to that conclusion....and our wonderful realtor is doing his best to help, but the owners of some of these places are holding tight to their prices....and they just aren't going to sell in this kind of market. 

Speaking of.....I'm gettng more and more used to our little rental house.....it's the love inside that makes it a home....and maybe that's the true message here.....

 I love to see everyone's decorating style and this room had fabric that was padded half-way up the walls.  I love plaid, so it resonated with me on many levels....I can do without the cowhide pillow, but the rest was tempting me to stay....

 I love chandeliers made from antlers.  They drop them naturally, so it's fun to see them made into different things....If we ever have a log home again, I'll be finding myself one for sure.

 this was the view out of one of the homes I saw....it was quite overcast and you can't see the Rocky Mountains from this picture very well, but the view (on a clear day) would be quite stunning....

 this house had a log porch swing and a hot tub in the gazebo.......

 The golf course was filled with elk....I've never seen so many in one day.

 And, of course, they walk in the streets as well in downtown Estes Park....the famous Stanley Hotel is in the background. 

 Estes Park is about 7500' in elevation---really not that high compared to Vail or Aspen. This home had a log exterior; however, it is not a log home.  Half-logs are nailed into the sides to make it appear as such, but it has a regular interior.

 Look closely and you can see that this home lost a giant tree in the last windstorm....how sad, but blessed that it didn't fall on the house!

 And this was the view driving back home.....the sun began to shine and it was 52 when I arrived home....Of course, I bundled up to visit homes because several had no heat as they were winterized by the bank and quite cold inside.  It was a fun day, but nothing that is clear has come our way....it's either too expensive, incorrect zoning, or something really terrible wrong with it, even though it 'looks' pretty....I'm leaving it in the hands of God...I KNOW in my heart that we're being led in the direction we're supposed to be going....I'll keep you posted!!

 Oh yes, this house had quite the kitchen......BUT, there were signs around that the water doesn't work as the boiler is broken.....so see?  Sometimes things LOOK good.....but aren't really.  I'm staying positive....

                                                       Thank you for coming along!!!
                                                                    xoxo

11-11-11 Odds and Ends

I'm starting to get holiday things in the mail, and with Thanksgiving less than two weeks away, I guess I need to step it up. My goal this year is to enjoy it more....to savor it....to drink in all the blessings of the season. 

I just laid out my recent Holiday magazines (and one old favorite)

  I'm looking through my cookbooks for some new recipes to try.....

  I'm beginning to put out some of the Thanksgiving decorations.....just getting started; however, the dinner will not be at our home this year.  The dining room really can't seat more than 6 comfortably...

  And.....I'm feeding the homeless....(I'm just being funny here).  I am making it an absolute goal to reach out to those in need and find a place where I can help.  In the meantime, I'm attracting neighborhood kitties to my front porch, which is kind of fun....

Here's the little black one:

 And here's the orange tabby.......this one does not NEED food.....hubby calls her 'tubby'  but I love her just the same....

I hope that you all feel blessed..... on this special day to honor our Veterans, may I just say THANK YOU for all of the sacrifices made to give us all the freedoms we share. 

Blessings to all the families here and faraway who serve.............

Healing Touch

The power of the human touch is quite amazing.  I remember, a long time ago, reading about orphanages in the Soviet Union after the war where row after row of beds were filled with children....all just lying there all day long without a mother or father to pick them up and cuddle them.  Certainly their diapers were changed and they were fed, but quickly and efficiently....there was no time to give individual attention to any of them.  Most of the children were perfectly healthy as infants; however, their immune systems grew weaker and weaker over time and their health quickly deteriorated.  (STORY READ HERE)

That proved to be a powerful message to me.....I have always been a 'hugger,' but as a teacher, especially one in high school, that is highly discouraged.  However, it soon became clear to me that my role as a teacher had a calling much different than teaching grammar, literature, or composition.  I always wove personal stories into the teaching; I always taught what I call 'life lessons.'  Yesterday, during my break from taking a class I'm about to tell you about, I walked into a tiny shop and a friendly face greeted me at the door....Erik, a student of mine from about 11 years ago.  He was looking quite dapper....a tie and a vest and a big smile.  My mind raised to remember his name....soon it came to me.  "I need to give you a hug Erik," I said to him....and he quickly reached out to me.  Yay!!!!!  Erik had already graduated from Law School and had practiced Law in California for 3 years but quickly learned he 'hated it' [his words].  He moved back to Colorado and took this little job because a friend of his owns the shop....but he wants to TEACH.  He wants to be a TEACHER!  He wants to help others, connect with others and he said....'the money doesn't matter.'  I need to love what I do. 

I'm so excited that many young people are learning that very valuable lesson earlier in life....I didn't until MUCH later.....

So, that brings me to what I've been doing.  I haven't told many people this, but I'm learning HEALING TOUCH.  Now you see why my earlier Russian Orphanage story comes into play.  I'm not a nurse nor do I want to go in that direction; however, I do have a strong interest in energy medicine and feel called to learn all I can. I don't know how it's going to 'play out,' but I know I need to do it.....so I just finished LEVEL II this weekend and I have to be in class this week on Friday from 1-5 and on Saturday and Sunday from 9-5.  This coming week's class are more 'Reiki-centered,' whereas this past weekend's class was completely healing touch.  I'll let you know how it all goes.... but thank you for being trusted readers with whom I can feel safe in sharing this.

And now.....to lighten the mood, I thought I'd just share a picture of my dog who you've probably never seen.  This is MOOSE....we had him for almost 7 years but he died 2 years ago....so this picture is old, but here he is with my granddaughter Josie.  He's a Bernese Mountain Dog.  We were out gardening together that day....

 And then....just to make you laugh....this was taken awhile ago on one of our California 'girl trips.'  We went to Sprinkles cupcakes and my youngest daughter Amanda thought this was pretty cute.....

                                                            Hope it made YOU smile, too!!!!!!
LOVE YOU GIRLS!! xoxo