Have you forgotten me?

I have been away from my blog so long, you've probably forgotten me.  Blogging crept to the bottom of my priority list just before Thanksgiving, though I continued to read as many posts of yours as I could.  We put the garden to bed in late November - composting, mulching, dividing, transplanting.  Many of the potted plants made their way indoors.  The lack of daylight in the early morning and evening put a stop to my habit of taking pictures before work or just after returning home.  And so my garden blogging  has been in hibernation.  I wish I could show you with photos that the Professor Sargent Camellia is blooming, the birds are busy at the feeders, and the holly and nandina berries are bright when I look out my windows.  Soon I'll be out taking pictures again.  But first I'll have to say good-bye to the Christmas season - just one more day to enjoy it.

Tomorrow, Epiphany,  will bring the season to an end and I will have to tackle putting it all away - a task that always makes me blue. But rather than think on that, I'm going to re-live a little of the season, beginning with Thanksgiving, and share it with you.

I love Thanksgiving - the joy of family, good food, togetherness, and gratitude.  There were 19 of us gathered at our house this year, including 8 children age 6 and younger.  It was a beautiful day with lots of outdoor activity, including a pre-feast Turkey "Wog" through the neighborhood.   The walk we took AFTER the meal was not nearly so brisk.

Soon after Thanksgiving we dove into preparations for Christmas, including two sessions of cookie-baking with the grandchildren and having their help in decorating my angel tree.

 I have always loved angel ornaments and had collected so many that they deserved a tree of their own.  But the fresh tree we put up is also decorated with ornaments we've collected and been given over the 40 years of our marriage.  Each ornament reminds us of a person, a place, or a time that we love.

The weekend before Christmas each year we travel to one of those places we love (Charleston) to be with people we love (my husband's brothers and sister and their families).  This year the weather was balmy - balmy enough for a nice run - a treat after the long drive.

I use my phone as a GPS to measure and time my route.

And then a beer at the Rooftop Bar with a great view.

Another tradition we love is hosting an open house for friends and neighbors.  

This year we took a few pictures before our guests arrived.

It has been a full and busy season full of precious moments, including the moment I opened this gift from my husband on Christmas morning

He had a little book made for me, telling the story in pictures of our sweet Bear, who loved Christmas.

I hope all of you had a joyous holiday season and are off to a happy start in the new year!

Fertilizer Friday - feeding more than just the garden

fertilizer

noun  we use only organic fertilizer MANURE, plant food, compost, dressing, top dressing, dung.

This is the dictionary definition of fertilizer, but I'm  thinking of it in more general terms today.  On this Thanksgiving weekend I am thinking of the things that fertilize and feed the soul and spirit.  On of the richest soul foods for me is time spent with family.  Our Thanksgiving family gathering this year was a smaller one but it was large in joy and love.  Those who were not there in person were there in our hearts.  I remember my mother at her happiest at Thanksgiving - she was a wonderful hostess and we always had a houseful of joyful relatives with us on that day.  My mother died at the young age of 44 but her spirit has been an almost tangible presence for me at every Thanksgiving gathering since.  My father was with us in spirit this year also (he died in March of this year).  Last year he was with us as we gathered in as many family members as possible at my sister's home.  Thanksgiving was a doubling special holiday for my dad and stepmother - it's also their wedding anniversary.  Less than a month after Thanksgiving 2009 my dad's health took a serious downturn.  I will always  treasure the memories of last year's holiday.

My mother at breakfast on her honeymoon.

My dad and wonderful stepmother Thanksgiving 2009

My husband described the Thanksgiving joy of family in-gathering well in this newspaper column he wrote in 1984.  

Of course, my garden is a source of spirit fertilizer for me as well, and I still have a few blooms in my garden.

If you have followed my blog, you'll recognize these hardy standouts from previous posts:  verbena bonarensis, hot lips salvia, cosmos, and oranges and lemons gaillaridia.
The Professor Sargent Camellias are loaded with buds and will be the next blooms to show in my garden.  Meanwhile, I'll enjoy the red berries of the pyracantha, nandina, and holly as I prepare my heart and home for Christmas.    
Hope on over to Tootsie Time for more Fertilizer Friday posts! 

A season of thanksgiving

Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863

"It has seemed to me fit and proper that (God's gifts) should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens...to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens."

On this first day of Thanksgiving week, I need no reminder beyond a look outside my window to know that I have much to be thankful for.  I'm at a loss to describe the beauty of the fall landscape in my part of eastern North Carolina.  The colors are more vivid this year than any fall in my memory.  As the saying goes "a picture is worth a thousand words"  and so I will let my pictures speak for me.

As each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily. The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world. ~Terri Guillemets

Wishing each of you a blessed Thanksgiving.

 (The Raleigh News & Observer explained the science behind this year's vivid fall color a few days ago, and Donna at Garden Walk Garden Talk had a great post about leaf color last week as well. )  I'm linking to the 2010 Fall Color Project at The Home Garden.   Click on over to Dave's blog for great fall color from all over the world.

Only ten?

I'm joining in the celebration of 10-10-10 at the invitation of Meredehuit of This Grandmother's Garden, even though it is already 10-12-10.  She and other bloggers have been sharing lists of 10 things they love.  Sounds easy, doesn't it?  If you love as much as I do - people, places, nature, books, etc., etc. - it is VERY difficult.  So I decided to leave out all of those things about gardening that I love - because if you read my blog you probably already know about them.  My list will tell you a little about the non-gardening side of my life.  The list is totally random and not in any particular order.

I love

1) the fingers of newborn babies.

Well, really I love everything about newborn babies.

2) Thanksgiving day hikes with family

There were quite a few of us, spanning three generations, spread out on this trail last Thanksgiving Day.

3) UNC-Chapel Hill home football games (especially if we win)

I met my husband in Chapel Hill but we never went to a game together as students, and we're lucky to get to one a year now.

4) The annual Christmas season gathering of my husband's family in Charleston.

Charleston is a wonderfully festive place to be just before Christmas.

5) My beautiful and sweet dog, Little Bear

She loves being outside as much as I do.

6) Decorating my angel tree at Christmas each year.

I've collected so many angel ornaments over the years, that I decided to put up another Christmas tree just for them.   I made many of the angels and others were gifts.  

7) Outdoor concerts at the North Carolina Museum of Art amphitheater

This was Patty Griffin with Buddy Miller.  They were fantastic.  It had been raining all day - thus the blue tarp.  

8)  Girl talk on the beach 

With my sister and sister-in-law last year.  I have my back to the camera.

9)  Sitting on the porch with my husband and reading on a rainy afternoon at the lake.

With this one I've managed to include three loves! 

10)  Discovering new music through NPR music - both on the radio and on the website.  

My most recent discovery was Ollabelle.

It's been fun thinking of all the things I love and sharing them with you.  If you haven't already told us about 10 things you love, I hope you'll join the celebration!