Holidays

I always look forward to this time of year. I start getting excited in September with the arrival of fall, my favorite season. Usually there are quite a few festivals around here starting then and it gets us in the mood to celebrate. I always try to schedule my vacation time in Sept. and October because I think it's the most beautiful time of year to be out in nature and it's not too hot to enjoy it.

There are a few festivals in southeast Ohio we like to go to each year. We didn't get to go this year because of work obligations. They are near the Chillicothe and Columbus area in the middle of Amish country. The fall foliage is so pretty up there and we enjoy driving around the area and stopping at the Amish shops and bakeries. Last year on the drive home it started to snow a bit. This was around the 22nd or so of October and one of the earliest times I'd experienced snow in the year.

November brings in gray skies and chilly temps, but also a longing for cozy evenings spent in a warm home. I'm more of a homebody in the late fall and winter. I still like to get outside though, just nearer to the house. I usually read more in the winter, as does my husband. Last year we had several weekends that we stayed at home, watching it snowing outside and reading one or two books each.

The best thing of November would be Thanksgiving. Up until a few years ago I had always spent Thanksgiving and Christmas at my grandparents homes on both sides of the family. We were sad to lose two grandmothers and my grandfather within the last few years and the family that remained had a hard time establishing a routine or traditions for the holidays. One aunt though took over Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving and does a beautiful job making everyone there feel welcome and loved. The first few years were rough for us all though as we missed them so much. All my grandparents made the holidays a special time for us by their enthusiasm for celebrating and their love. Even though our family is much smaller due to deaths and others moving away I hope those remaining, new ones who enter our number, and friends who wish to join us have the happy times that I experienced in the past.

For this Thanksgiving my aunt is hosting the dinner on this Saturday. Her daughter is a nurse and has to work on Thanksgiving. My husband is on call that week as well and might have to go in on Thursday, so this works out well for us. The past two Thanksgivings we've not really had our dinner on the Thursday for some reason or the other. My husband and I had dinner out on Thanksgiving Thursday because he was on call for work and had to go in. Actually we enjoyed it just as much since we knew we would meet up with family on another day. We'll probably do it again this year as well. The day we get together doesn't matter, just as long as we always do. Family is important and I'm realizing it more as I'm getting older and I'm losing my loved ones.

Weekend

Just now getting around to posting about the nice weekend I had. Saturday my husband and I didn't do too much, just went into town to a few new shops I had been wanting to visit. Richmond is trying to revitalize the downtown section and it seems there are a few more specialty shops now. My husband was excited that a hike and bike shop was open as we'd been by there several times and it had been closed. They had pretty much anything one could want for outdoor adventures and what they didn't have they said they could get. So hubby was pleased to hear that and started making a mental list for Christmas gifts I could get him.

There's a new collectibles type store on main street and I bought my first rag child doll. She was so pretty and was only $3.00! I thought that was awfully cheap for a handmade item, but figured they were running some kind of sale. When I got home I noticed the tag on it that said... made in China. Hmmm. Well, it's a sweet doll anyway and I've name her Hannah. I placed her hanging from the mantle to the side of the fireplace. I also bought some homemade soaps there. We went to the by-pass area and found an antique and collectibles store there that had a lot of nice things, but the candles were so fragrant they gave my husband a headache so we had to leave.

Sunday was really nice, we finally got to geocache a bit. We went to Lexington as there are a lot of new caches out since we had been last. We had our GPSr loaded up and was looking forward to caching all day. We found 3 and decided to eat lunch. We went to a restaurant on Richmond Road that I had never been to and heard some great things about. They had a nice affordable lunch menu and I chose the Turkey dinner special. My husband had a crab cake/shrimp combo. Everything was really good and we decided to find more caches after we ate. We went to a city park I'd never heard of and found one cache that was hidden deep in a wooded area. It was so nice walking along the paths and kicking up the leaves. The temperature was in the lower 60s and the sun was shining. We had our golden, Lizzie, with us and she made several canine and human friends in the park. That's the special thing with Goldens they have such a sweet nature and expression that most people want to come and pet or meet her. Anyway, after we found that cache and returned to our vehicle I noticed my stomach was hurting a bit. It wasn't a few minutes after that my husband said his was as well. We barely made it to his office before we became ill and had to rest there for a bit. After that we headed back home. Still all in all it was a nice weekend. Anytime I can get out and walk in nature with the beautiful weather we've been having it's a great time.