Thankfully Thanksgiving

I thoroughly enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday. I haven't taken more than one day off since March, to go to Costa Rica, and I can't remember the last time I stayed home for more than a weekend.

Thursday, I spent most of the day cooking. I started around 10am, took a break around 2pm for a run with Erik, and finished right at 5pm, when we took everything over to Erik's parents' house for our holiday meal.

Friday was my day to relax. I stayed on the couch in pajamas for entire morning, watching "What Not to Wear" and "Man vs Wild" marathons. Erik raked the leaves, since our first leaf collection was the next day, and I worked on putting the garden to its winter bed.

Saturday was our shopping day. After checking out Bob's Red Mill for breakfast with Julie, we went to Lowes, Costco, back to Lowes to make returns, Home Depot, Fabric Depot, and Ikea. It was six hours of exhausting shopping, but we investigated and/or bought many things we'd meant to for quite some time.

Sunday I planted spring bulbs while on the phone with my mom, and we put strings of lights up on the house. Erik did more of the light-stringing, as he's better on the ladder and has much better reach. I climbed the apricot tree and lassoed lights around its branches, and worked more on the garden. I completely cleared and then winter-planted a small raised bed with Swiss chard and broccoli. I hope the latter fares better than my summer broccoli, which succumbed to the most incredible plague of aphids I've ever seen.

It was a rare, relaxing holiday, and over far too soon, despite the feeling on Friday that we still have a full weekend ahead of us.

now it's said and done, say goodbye to the people we don't know

There was a point yesterday during which I despaired that Monday would never end. In fact, that point was more of a set, encompassing most moments of the day.

***

Just back from the Thanksgiving dinner event for my department at work. The fairy lights are on the trees around the building with the cafeteria and coffee shop, and leaving the noise drift behind for the cool air of the main courtyard feels like waking up.

***

Midnight is fast approaching, and all of the pasta dough is used up in ravioli-making. This is the time of day when my body seems to rally against all sense and I fear for ever again falling asleep.

I've been thinking of Thailand recently.

On the way home from work, I dashed into the hardware store, slipped between the merchandise pulled into the aisles, and grabbed a handful of picture hooks. When I got home I hung a couple of the large prints I ordered, rearranging a few other photos on the walls. Erik and I walked to the European market, where I couldn't resist the canned hummus I used to eat when I was poorest, living in London. Upon returning home, we swept leaves from our walkways, worried that a slippery accident was in the making. Then I set up the light table for my most tender potted plants, which are now arranged by height and receiving twelve hours of timed light. Finally, I made ravioli in time to the Shout Out Louds and Travis, while Erik played the new Mario videogame and drifted off to sleep. Hopefully the latter awaits me, as well.