The day after

As I write this, my niece is sound asleep upstairs, there's a fire burning in the fireplace and outside it's cold, windy and rainy. I'm in heaven!

Yesterday morning, I sat at the table outside, newspaper before me, coffee in hand, and listened to a flock of geese fly unseen overhead, their distant honking such a delight to my hears.  I smiled and thought, Good morning, Dad. 

When Catherine woke up, we took our dogs for a long walk through the neighborhood, chatting, laughing, talking about her impending graduation and her future. I marveled at the simple joy of walking and talking with my niece on Thanksgiving morning. Such a delight.

Later we made cranberry pies to bring to the two homes that we were visiting for the holiday.





When it was time to chop the pecans for the pie, I handed her a knife and then said, Wait! I have that thing that Mom always used.  I pulled it out and of course Catherine recognized it.  We smiled at how many times we saw Mom put this thing to use, and Catherine set about chopping the pecans in the nut chopper thing that was my mother's.  Good morning, Mom!



Between the long walk and the smell of sugar, vanilla extract and cranberries wafting through the house, Cheyenne's excitedment wore her out.



With the cold and wet weather and the fire in the fireplace, I am pretty sure that the world outside of my house is not going to see me today.  The world inside of my house, however, that world will be getting decorated for Christmas.  Happy days!