Giving thanks

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  Visitors have come and gone.  My cold and cough is hanging on, but I guess you can't have everything.  :-)

We are thankful the Sailor Son was able to come down from Virginia with the Grands for a day and night. Also thankful the Eldest Daughter (ED), the Led Zepplin Fan (LZF) and their dog were here for three days.  ED and LZF also come with residual cat hair on all their belongings so of course my allergies kicked in as well.  I'm not too sure I can be thankful for that.  :-)  And the leaf mold outside hasn't been helping either. 

Stardust has had her seven month photo session.  I'm sure she is thankful to have such a doting mommy and daddy.  We are thankful that MD and Poyla opened their house to The Tramp a week ago when he had to make a sudden trip up to New Jersey for a funeral.  The Tramp says she is the happiest, laughingest baby.  Of course I wish I could have been there.

I am fortunate and very thankful to own several excellent cameras.  It's really shameful I don't take better photos!  Most of my Thanksgiving pictures are fuzzy due to some setting on the camera I didn't realize I had set.  But I'm thankful to have the pictures anyway!  We had a very tasty gluten-free turkey-dinner-with-all-the-trimmings and I'm truly thankful for all the wonderful folks who share their gluten-free recipes.

The Grands had fun decorating a gingerbread house with their aunt.  Grand #1 just couldn't understand why we wouldn't let him eat the house when it was all done. 

They had fun trying on auntie's glasses.  I'm not thankful that Grand #2 has inherited the family allergies.  As the day progressed his nose became completely stuffed and he was wheezing badly.  I guess he is allergic to our dogs and any cat dander carried by ED and LZF.  He was amazingly cheerful even so!  After they got back to Virginia he ended up in the hospital for treatment.  I'm thankful to report he now has an inhaler and is doing much better.  I remember scary nights in the hospital emergency with Middle Daughter when she was that age and am very thankful for all the medications that make a normal life possible for those of us with asthma and allergies.

ED was born on Thanksgiving Day 34 years ago and this year her birthday fell on the holiday again.  I made her a "Church Ladies Apron." 

Grand #1's birthday was a few weeks ago.  The Tramp vetoed all my birthday gift suggestions and picked out a simple set of police vehicles saying that's what he would have liked if he was four years old.  I'm sorry I wasn't taking a video at this moment as Grand #1 is proclaiming, "This is AWESOME!"   (Always listen to your Tramp!)

The Tramp had some loving time with the dogs.  I assume they are thankful to be living with us.  :-)

LZF and The Tramp spent Friday afternoon putting up the Christmas lights.  We were thankful for his help.

It was a lovely warm day (thankfully!) and the dogs helped from the front stoop.

We are thankful for LED bulbs, so we can afford to go a bit crazy. This year we are finally 100% LED.  We haven't quite caught up with the Griswolds though.  :-)  We took the tripods and cameras out for some experimental night-time photography.   

While the dogs slept away the evenings....

LZF and MD took over my cutting table....

and I actually got a bit of sewing done.  New camera strap covers for ED and I, and a bag for her flash.

 ED and LZF were thankful I was able to patch all the ripping seams on Patrick's favorite shirt.  :-)

A vintage zigzagger for my 301 arrived in the mail, thanks to The Tramp. 

And I'm thankful to have won this package of goodies from Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs and Kristyne of Pretty By Hand.  Woot!

This morning we watched from the front door as LZF packed the car.

Had a last cup of tea and coffee and watched the geese, ducks and heron on the pond.

Happy Thanksgiving!