Thanksgiving week

Before I go any further about Thanksgiving week, I want to share three photos taken by Emily when the Merrills were here.  I present to you Alice and Larkin!

Okay, now to the week.....Monday was an average kind of day.  Weather has been pleasant enough that Steve and I have been able to take afternoon bike rides and we had a nice one around nearby Carondelet park on Monday.  Tuesday was Larkin Preschool and we did everything turkey - we made the trace-around-your-hand turkey, we read a Thanksgiving turkey book, we made this little pumpkin turkey...

We played with stuffed turkeys and, strangely enough, a stuffed wolf

Steve and I went to IKEA that afternoon and I bought myself a fiddle leaf fig plant.  Her name is Phoebe and I hope she likes her new home (they are kind of tricky to grow, I hear).  Beckie came over that evening and cooked an early birthday dinner for me - ribeye steak with a bleu cheese/cream sauce, spinach and mushrooms, and fresh pineapple,  It was DIVINE!  After dinner, Beckie joined as we watched part one of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

On Wednesday, my actual birthday (at 65, I am now an official senior citizen), Steve and I ventured south to Fenton to a feed store to buy 50 lb. sacks each of millet and black oil sunflower seeds to mix together for the bird feeding station I got as my birthday present.  I had a lovely afternoon nap.  Steve fixed dinner - grilled pork steaks - and we watched part two of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  Elise arrived to catch the last bit. 

Thanksgiving morning saw all the gang at Forest Park at 9 a.m. for a brisk hike.  

the above photo is from the Art Museum in Forest Park.  It is called "Stone Sea"

After our walk, we all went to our own homes for small Thanksgiving feasts.  Beckie joined Elise, Steve, and me for ours.  We wore masks the whole time.  Poor Elise had to sit at her own table (she works in a public setting which understandibly makes it easier for her to catch the coronavirus) but we were still able to chat and enjoy each other's company....

Our feast which was a bit simplified compared to previous years - there were no sweet potatoes, corn, green beans and only one kind of pie: pecan.  However, Beckie brought a store-bought slice of pumpkin pie for Steve to enjoy.  Pumpkin is high in potassium so one slice is all he would allow himself.

After some visiting, Beckie left to work on Thanksgiving feast #2 with Kyle and Micah, the rest of us took a nap and then we drove to Emily's for an evening fire pit complete with marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers (I brought my own GF kind).  It was a lovely way to end the day and just might become a new Thanksgiving tradition....

While we were at Emily's, we had a Zoom chat with everyone

Friday afternoon, we made a quick trip to Columbia to spend some time with Melanie, who had to work on Thanksgiving.  We dropped off some IKEA purchases I made for my friend Elizabeth and picked up two bags of peat moss she didn't need.  We dropped off a turkey leg for Elise who was at work at Cracker Barrel. And, we briefly saw Steven and collected a bird feeding shepherd's hook that Tamara was no longer going to use.  We got home around 7:30 for a late left-over dinner and the newest episode of the Mandalorian.  

Yesterday, Saturday, we puttered around with various projects including installing my two shepherd's hooks on the chain link fence post right outside our kitchen/dining room sliding glass door.  (photos to follow next week).  Steve has been busy decorating the outside of the house for Christmas and the back deck now has lights and a tree! 

We try to walk every morning and one day this week, we found this huge stuffed gorilla on the ground next to a dumpster.  It was kind of a funny sight so I took pictures.  Kind of sad because it seemed to be in pretty good shape.

Aside from finishing up the Harry Potter movies this week, we also watched "The Family Man" and our traditional Thanksgiving week viewing of "White Christmas" and "Home Alone".  It was a very nice week and I am very grateful for so many things - for Steve, for our children and grandchildren, for our new little home, for our new life in St. Louis, for our overall health, for a car that runs, for food in our fridge and pantry, for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I have a wonderful life.