Thanksgiving Day

We had quite the fun Thanksgiving Day.  We got to hang out briefly with Peter O. & Leigh-Ann, and more extensively with James and family.  As we reflected upon our last couple of Thanksgiving Day celebrations we were saddened to not be gathered with those we love in El Salvador, but we did get a nice dinner down the street at Uncle Peter's.  We got stuffed instead of the bird.  We are thankful to them for the nice dinner.  Here are some photos of the day.

 To work up an appetite some of us went on a hike down to the river to look at the rapids.  here are a couple of photos of my nephew's sons.  They are plenty photogenic and have obviously been trained well by their mother how to look good in pictures.  We are glad to have Chris & Family living in California now.

 Y abajo tenemos los viejitos con los barbudos.

So why is it that the tall family got even taller kids, while the short family got shorter?

What we've been up to.

Baby, it's cold outside.

We have been experiencing a real cold snap here.  The lows have been pretty consistently in the 20's for some days now and it is predicted to continue.  In fact, this last Saturday there was a bit of snow mixed in with the rain for a time.  Nothing stuck, but what fun!  This photo shows the frost on the compost pile awaiting my return to yard work.

It's beginning to look like Christmas.

Yes, we have our tree and it is up.  There are even lights on it.  These are the lights we used on our tree in El Salvador the last two Christmases and we love the way they twinkle.  One of these days we will put the rest of the ornaments on.

 And the lights are up outside.

This also happened before it got really cold . . . or else it would still be waiting to be done.  Also responsible is Peter O., who kept me motivated through the whole job.  I even got a trip to the hardware store out of it.

And a wreath on othe door.

I love Christmas wreaths and have been begging to buy one every time I go to the hardware store (which is just about as often as I can come up with a reason to go).  But I was told we have one already, although a synthetic one.  But it looks great anyway.

 

 We also got to spend some time in Elk Grove this past week tending our granddaughter.  She got to dress up in my hat and scarf.

 And we let her play outside in the sandpile.  Don't let the sunshine fool you, it was colder than a brass monkey out there.  Grandma braved the cold all bundled up, but grandpa stayed inside.  Notice that she has no shoes on.  She must be related to that little girl who went wading in the Boise River recently.

And of course I found some time while someone was taking a nap to get in some reading.  That is a fascinating book I have there, but that is another blog post.