It's always the same -- jcarolek

I had a wonderful visit with family yesterday as we gathered together to celebrate Thanksgiving in the traditional, overeat-til-you-drop fashion. We spent the first few hours congregated in the kitchen and family room, some preparing food, others eating snack food, my niece giving free "back cracking" to any and all takers.. (I took) and my SIL demonstrating how high their two whippets can jump.... (VERY HIGH) when enticed by the toy hedgehog... you know the same old stuff... LOL


Heather cracks Jeannie's back...

We usually have two tables... the main

Looking forward -- changes -- jcarolek

I have a habit of looking back. It's something that gives me pleasure, you know, remembering the little things that went before. Today was no exception. I took a look back at the past two Thanksgivings, and the posts I made. Thanksgiving 2006 was a non-Thanksgiving for me really, as I was glued to my work with major deadlines challenging me. I had an empty fridge and even my plan to enjoy a big Thanksgiving salad was foiled by my failure to prepare for the big event by actually going grocery shopping.

Last year I spent down in SC with my husband's family... it was bittersweet... a family still deeply mourning the loss of father and husband, Bud. And we went through the motions of the Thanksgiving that had long been a tradition there.

Fat Dad --jcarolek

My father was always a string bean of a man. Pictures I have of him in those early days would make ANYONE offer him a meal... he looked downright scrawny. By the time I was in high school, though, he had begun to look better nourished, though still relatively slim. I tell you this simply as a backdrop for the memory that gripped my fancy this afternoon.

I was applying the second coat of paint to my living room and was thinking about how I really wish I:

I did not know him -- jcarolek

A few days ago my choir director called me. She wanted to know whether I would be available to play at a memorial service this morning. I assured her I'd be there, guitar in hand and ready to sing at 10:20.... the service was to begin at 11.

Last night I went to bed, reminding myself that today was the day I was to play for a man I did not know, but whose family wanted his memory to be honored with song. And off to sleep

My grandmother's face -- jcarolek

This morning as I drove to church, I marveled at the brilliant blue autumn sky, thankful that, for a change, the dreary drizzle of yesterday had taken a back seat to the sun. And then I saw it... the moon. Right there. In the middle of the brilliant blue morning sky was the lovely moon. And I thought about the man ... you know, that one that lives in the moon... the one that turns the light on at night and off in the morning, since the sun is so much brighter, the moon would seem redundant. And I thought about how old that man must be getting.... how many generations have relied on him to illuminate the night sky.

And then I thought of my grandmother... my father's mother. I think of her whenever I think of "old."

Faith and Scarlet Ribbons -- jcarolek

I had a discussion about faith with a friend one night not too long ago. We were discussing the difference in meaning "believing" and "knowing." I won't go into the discussion further except to say that it has stuck in my mind for the past few days....
On my way to northern VA today for a meeting, I popped my homemade CD into the CD player and sang along with myself and my kids...sang the songs I've sung a thousand times in my life. And when I got to the song "Scarlet Ribbons" I suddenly realized something I had never comprehended

Warming up-- jcarolek

Tonight was chilly outside and I donned an extra layer as I headed out to the final play rehearsal before dress rehearsal tomorrow night. The show is a cute one, "Nunsensations," and the players are five women and one man who all dress in nuns habits for the performance. I am working props backstage for this production.

I carpool over with a couple of others to save on gas and enjoy the company. When we arrived tonight, I helped get several boxes and bags out of the back of my friend's vehicle. It was dark and rather, umm, cluttered, and when I pulled one of the bags, a glass globe

None were constrained -- jcarolek

Yesterday as I was working, I suddenly heard my dog Killian alerting the world to impending danger. Since all of the delivery types had already made their appearances that day, and since the pitch of her yelp was high, as she affects to alert on non-human interlopers, I took my time getting out to see what was causing her such concern.

I didn't have to go far. I stepped out the front door and walked to the end of the covered porch, and looked down to the scene below. Killian, notching it up to an even higher pitch, thereby assuring me that I needed to REALLY take note, was dancing around a black snake. The snake was a pretty good sized

Teaching them the important stuff -- jcarolek

This afternoon my Dad sent me a link to photos he had taken at my son's wedding and reception last weekend. I enjoyed perusing through the photos, laughing as I recalled the fun we all had there that day. One of the images that has stuck with me all week is of my brother Ray dancing, jitterbugging actually, with his eleven year old daughter. They were so wrapped up in pure fun they appeared oblivious to the cameras of family and friends as we captured that moment.