As these late November mornings begin to unfold, a soft, blue light filters through the windows. The light, grey in hue, reflects against the darkness and barely luminates plants, books and other objects scattered about. Slowly daylight fills the room casting shadows about. The sun is in no hurry to make her presence known; she will rise above the trees in a little while. Meanwhile, I sit still, hot coffee in hand, watching the shifting shadows and allowing my mind to drift. I treasure late November mornings.
This has been a busy week. No big camping adventures but some travel, nevertheless. On Wednesday we drove the van to Dayton, Ohio to have an awning issue corrected. We knew when we purchased the van that a recall was imminent but honestly, we had hoped to have it fixed in Knoxville. As it turned out, the local Winnebago dealership, (head quartered out of Tampa, I won’t mention the name Lazy Days), did not want to do the work because we had purchased from another dealer. So, we drove back to Dayton.
The drive was long, and we dreaded the wait but noticed a little sub shop within walking distance of the dealership. When the van was pulled into a service bay, we began to walk. Wind blasted through the gaps in our clothing as we were not dressed warm enough. A handful of snowflakes dusted our shoulders. Snow? Snow was definitely not in the forecasts we had monitored for weeks.
The awning fix was completed within two hours, two hours less than expected. We had packed to spend the night along the way but, in what would put us home almost 15 hours from when we left, we decided to attempt the drive to Knoxville.
Not long out of Dayton, threatening skies went from spitting snow to a light snow. The closer to Cincinnati we drove, the heavier the snow. We passed in and out of falling ice and held our breath as we inched further south. Finally, just over the Kentucky line, we popped out of wintery weather into subdued sunshine. This had been a long day, but we had no regrets waking in our bed on Thursday, and the awning was fixed!!
On recent day, in his recent cleaning of upstairs bedrooms, John discovered a little red rocker and wooden school chair that had belonged to his boys, when they were quite young. He cleaned both and had them ready for our regularly scheduled Tuesday evening visit with Laurel. That blue eyed, curly haired little missy could not have been more excited.
At her insistence, we carried the chairs back and forth between the living room and kitchen as she pattered about. She told us stories of seeing Frosty the Snowman (in Gatlinburg) and sang the 1st stanza of the Frosty song over and over. The Frosty song was interrupted only once or twice by a spontaneous burst of “Old McDonald.” Finally, she and her grandpa sat in the chairs as I fixed dinner and sang and talked, mostly Frosty talk. Miss Katie was so jealous! John and I are now busy brushing up on nursery rhymes and children’s songs. Thanks, Alexa, for your help in our schooling.
On an outdoor note, I have been pretty regular about running and walking. The temperature this week suits me just fine, upper 20’s when I leave the house and only slightly warmer when I return. The difficult part of the cold is at home within the interior where once the cement board walls get cold, they don’t warm up until spring, challenging our heater. As a result, we bundle up and dream about a working fireplace.
While I often walk and run along the same roads and trail, there is so much to see. I love the way Ginkgo leaves turn yellow then seemingly fall, all at one. We have three old Ginkgoes in this neighborhood, each is spectacular as the next.
Frost heaves along the trail are quite prominent as winter nears.
As soon as the leaves fallen, I go in search of mistletoe that is tucked in amongst the branches of trees growing along the river. John never fails to remind me that mistletoe is a parasitic plant, but I prefer to think of the romantic story where the plant is considered a sign of love and peace.
Our new carpet was delivered this week. John ordered it for the living room a week or so ago, after several years of living with a pup rendered the old carpet undesirable. With colour on the floor, the look and feel of the room have changed significantly, but I like it. A few minor tweaks need to be made to the lampshades and pillows, but this rug will suit us just fine.
Finally, flowers this week are vibrant magenta and yellow with touches of pink. I didn’t think I would like the combination but my choices at Trader Joe’s were limited so I brought them anyway. The colours have turned out to be a favorite.
That’s it for me this week. The next few weeks are filled with Thanksgiving, lunches, parties and such, and of course preparations for the holidays. This is a fast paced, fun time of year and I look forward every minute.
