Happy Thanksgiving

 I'm posting that greeting a bit early, but I have to work everything into my schedule these days.

The table is set. The dishes are old, probably from my grandmother. I got them from my cousin, who got them from her mother. The goblets are from that same aunt. I made the runner a couple of years ago.

The flowers are from the grocery store, with a bit of added greenery from the garden. 

The Thanksgiving cactus are blooming.

Things are getting done along with continued medical appointments. Yesterday I visited two dentist offices, cancelled one appointment to wait for renewed insurance in the new year, and agreed to the procedure, but delayed, to extract a badly broken tooth and have an implant, in the new year. 

Today I was at the medical center to see one of my sports medicine docs and get a hip injection. We are "stabbing" in the dark to try to see what might be the source of my hip problems. This wasn't it and I'm glad the effects are wearing off in a few hours. I almost fell down our stairs when we first got home when my numbed muscle buckled. Good thing I always hold in tight to the rail. 

In happier news, Granddaughter Irene came to visit at lunch time today. She is home from college and she and Jill and Isaac will fly to Colorado tomorrow to be with the other grandparents. I enticed her over with Campbells Chicken Noodle soup and a nice crisp apple. She loves that soup and said the only fruit they are getting in the dining hall is not ripe cantaloupe. She didn't turn down the ice cream Drumstick either. We had a good visit before she went on to check more things off her list. She is very happy at school in Bellingham. 

The turkey is thawing. The ingredients for all the fixings are gathered. Tomorrow we'll bake pies and make cranberry sauce and stuffing and brine the turkey. On Thanksgiving Day we'll host a small group of family to share the cooking and the feasting and the family fun. 

Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful. I am. We have a lovely home, more than a shelter. We have retirement income to keep us fed and clothed and transported and medically cared for. We have loving family near and far, and friends to commune with. And most of all, I have my wonderful life partner, Tom, who puts up with me when I get grouchy and takes care of me when I need it, takes care of the garden I love, and continues to love me after all of these years. 

Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends. May your blessings be bountiful. 

On the Road, and On the Ground

 Tom, my trusty chauffer, companion, and moral supporter and I have been making frequent trips to medical facilities, especially to Capitol Hill in the city.

We decided Sunday morning was the best time to have an appointment - very light traffic! This time it was for a brain MRI. We are still trying to figure out what's going on with me. In this case, do I have Normal Pressure Hydrocephalies or not. The report was inconclusive again, but since they forget to do the deeper scan my doctor wanted, I was called back in Tuesday morning. That was a quickie. I await a follow up appointment with one of my docs to evaluate the findings.

But the trip was lovely on Sunday morning. We have been enjoying the fall colors along the I-5 corridor, each time deeper than the time before until on the last trip the leaves have begun to fall. 

The Mountain was out too. 

On Monday Jake went with us for a day trip to Whidbey Island to do some repair work in the cabin garden. They had to replant some things after work was done on the septic system. The guys are all about using natives and low water plants now to save on maintenance and water usage. 

I took my laptop so I could work on another medical issue. I had just ordered new hearing aids when I got a letter informing me that insurance coverage was going up after the first of the year, which would save me thousands of dollars. I needed advice and then made notification of cancellation of the 2023 order so I could wait for 2024 to reorder. That meant needing a new hearing test and starting all over, but I was able to get that scheduled and the audiology department is hopefully going to help me set of the follow up appointments on a timely manner instead of having to wait months like I did before.

Today our friend Jan got us another free turkey, one for Christmas, since she spends money but doesn't need a turkey.

We worked outside this morning. It was harder for me, but I like being outside and I want to help as much as I can. 

It was nice being at the cabin for a day on Monday. The lagoon was full of ducks and two Great Blue Herons were perched on pilings. 

No more appointments now until Monday, and then Tuesday. We get time off for Thanksgiving. :-)

Work

 One day this week we planted some daffodil bulbs. Tom did the work. I consulted.

Tom has been outside working most days, cleaning out beds, mowing/mulching the lawn, and putting stuff away.

The raised beds are cleaned out and covered for winter. The bonsai trees are sheltered under the hoop house.

I did some work too. I spent three hours cleaning out this bed on Thursday. I was safe. You can't fall down when you are already on your knees. This is the bed where Tom dumps the lawn mower bags of mulch when he mows. Soon it will have a layer of bright red. 

It was a pleasure to work under and around our trees, 

Tom divided some plants and potted them up for Laurie's plant sale next spring. 

Under control now.

On Thursday we slowed down. We enjoyed breakfast with friends in the morning and then went grocery shopping. I needed to spent $150 at Safeway in order to get a free turkey. I bought most of my Christmas baking supplies. I needn't have worried. With the price of groceries now I could have earned two free turkeys! But...limit one. 

Tom and Jake went to the Sounders match Friday evening. I watched at home. The Sounders won and advanced to the conference semi finals. 

This morning, Saturday, we started slowly. There was more clean up to do after last night's wind and rain so we were then outside again. I raked up tree debris on the driveway and Tom did the picking up. Then I came in but he is still out there. You can see where he has been.

I have a line up of NW college football to watch: Huskies, Cougars, Beavers, and Ducks. I'll have to miss some while I switch to the OL Reign, our women's professional soccer team, playing for the national title. 

I'll watch all those young athletes do their work.

Fall, and Driving Around

 

I guess that's why they call it Fall. All the lovely leaves will soon be on the ground.

But there is still lots of color around.

We drove down into the valley below us yesterday to shop at Costco and the street and parking lot trees were amazing.

The green belt on the hillside was golden.

Driving down and back up our hill was golden too,

Even looking down our street when I walked out to get the mail was colorful. 

I will miss it when it goes, as fall it must, but I'll enjoy every bit of it while I can. 

Intensity

We enjoyed some intense football and soccer this weekend, our Huskies doing much better than our Sounders and Seahawks. At least the Sounders match was intensely close. 

Intensity was happening outside here in our garden too.  In just a few days, since my last post, the colors of the leaves on my trees has intensified. 

The Full Moon Maple as seen from our bedroom window. 

Outside. a day apart. They will be going fast now

The tree makes the family room floor glow. 

The patio has a new layer of cedar droppings. 

In the back yard, RED has happened!

When it rains we can see them from inside too. From the kitchen. 

Dining room

Golds are coming too.

Thank you for allowing me to share the beauty, again. It will disappear too fast now.