Nuthin’ but an H thang, Baybay…

Thanksgiving this year has been strange. I suppose every holiday this year has been strange for me. It doesn’t even feel like The Holidays with both my Grandma and Grandpa gone. Alas, another holiday has come and gone and it was nice: my Auntie Cindy had a wonderful turkey dinner for several of us at her house. She really worked hard and I really appreciate her for that.

I’ve decided in the spirit of trying to stay positive, I’ll post a list of things I’m thankful for. Here’s to keeping things in perspective:

1. I’m thankful for my hunny, Adam. He’s kept me afloat in my darkest moments this year and I love him for that.
2. I’m thankful for my family. They are my memories, hopes, dreams, heart and are the all-around best people in the world.
3. I’m thankful for my stepdaughter, Kay. Watching her grow up so beautifully is such a joy.
4. I’m thankful for my kitty, Garet. He knows just exactly when I need a purring fur-monster to cuddle me.
5. I’m thankful for my friends who listen to me ramble on and on about nothing. They’ve helped me move about 20 times and they make my life full and fun.
6. I’m thankful for my wonderful new home with Adam. We are so blessed to have a place where we can celebrate Christmas with our family this year.
7. I’m thankful for my job. Though it stresses me out, it takes care of me too. It challenges me in good ways and forces me to grow.

This list may appear short but it’s much longer in my heart. Happy Turkey Day, all.

On Friday morning of last week, we headed up to Park Rapids for the weekend. The idea was twofold: Adam hadn’t been to his parents’ cabin this year yet and I have dealers in the area that I needed to visit. I dropped Adam off at the cabin and went to take care of business. That afternoon, it started to snow – the first snow of the year! Thick snowflakes dropped silently to the ground as I drove. When I returned, Adam’s mom cooked a delicious pork chop dinner for us and we enjoyed lots of good wine. They showed me around their gorgeous cabin with its knotty pine walls and vaulted ceilings. The lake view from a 4-season porch is wonderful. And it has plenty of guest rooms! Adam and I were finally able to get some much needed rest.

On Saturday morning, I took a scenic ride down to Detroit Lakes to visit dealers there. I ended up with two additional prospects, so it was a worthwhile trip. On the way, I found this radio station that played Ray Charles, Etta James, etc. Adam’s parents told me that the guy who owns it is kinda crazy. He usually plays really random music and does a morning talk show which sometimes doesn’t receive any call-ins because he’s so “out there.” The music I was hearing was part of a piped-in national program called “The Music of Your Life,” which was perfect for my drive.

Later that afternoon, Adam, his mom and I ventured out to a couple of the cute little tourist-trap shops around town. We perused the church bazaar and then a little unique home decor shop. We also found a candle shop and a place called “World of Christmas,” where – as you can guess – they sell Christmas stuff. We were pretty tired out when we got back to the cabin though. Despite this, Adam’s mom still made a complete Thanksgiving meal for the four of us with all of the trimmings. It was filling! We cleared the table and relaxed for awhile. Adam’s dad got the itch to go out for a “moonlight walk.” So, we all bundled up and took their puppy out walking along the moonlit trails behind their cabin. It was surprisingly bright out for being so dark (if that makes any sense). It was brisk out there too…

We left Sunday morning for home. It had been such a great experience. I’d never celebrated Thanksgiving at the cabin before, so I was glad for the opportunity. We had to arrive home early in order to have time to clean up Adam’s old house for the closing. THAT was no fun. We scrubbed everything from top to bottom and I found myself pondering, “I thought our house was clean.” Guess it wasn’t as clean as I had thought…

A funny thing about unpacking after a move is that you come across things you haven’t seen in awhile. Or perhaps they were in plain site but you just hadn’t paid them any attention – as in the case of a special book my Auntie Bon gave me years and years ago. As I look at it today, it is worn at the edges, well-loved. It’s called “A Light in the Attic” by Shel Silverstein, who famously wrote wonderful poetry for kids over decades. My aunt inscribed in the cover: “For my special Heather…a delight to watch you grow -Auntie Bon.” When I was a kid, I poured over this book a plethora of times. Usually, I was trying to decide which poem was my favorite. I always came back to one that I can almost recite by memory to this very day:

BEAR IN THERE

There’s a Polar Bear
In our Frigidaire–
He likes it ’cause it’s cold in there.
With his seat in the meat
And his face in the fish
And his big hairy paws
In the buttery dish,
He’s nibbling the noodles,
He’s munching the rice,
He’s slurping the soda,
He’s licking the ice.
And he lets out a roar
If you open the door.
And it gives me a scare
To know he’s in there–
That Polary Bear
In our Fridgitydaire.
-Shel Silverstein

I’m so thankful that I held on to certain things like these. They invoke such priceless childhood memories. Shel Silverstein died in May, 1999, which happens to be the same month and year when my Grandpa passed away.

Adam and I have only been moved into the new house for a few short weeks and already we’ve had guests stay with us three times! This past weekend, Adam’s brother, sister-in-law and their kids stayed with us. It was their daughter’s 6th birthday, so we celebrated with cake and ice cream on Friday. I went shopping with them on Saturday and ended up completing my set of vanity items for the main bathroom courtesy of BedBath&Beyond. Brian and Wendy were looking for a couch but didn’t find anything they really liked. All in all, I was happy to spend more time with them. Before this past weekend, I’d only met them once over the Christmas holiday of 2003.

Saturday was my sister Audra’s birthday, so I attended a fondue party at my mom’s. We went fondue-crazy! My mom served nine diverse sauces for the meat. They were all good, however, they were no match for the Benihana’s shrimp sauce I brought over. I would eat shrimp sauce on absolutely anything. Really.

On the home front, Adam was stressing over wires. Yes, my man is stressed and obsessed with wires. He had a crew of electricians here all day on Saturday hooking us up with phone/fax lines/DSL. I can finally move my office out of the basement, which makes me a happy girl. I arranged for my new desk to be delivered and I pretty much cannot wait for it to arrive. It’s hard to focus at work when my stuff is all over the place.

Also, I’ll be putting more photos up tonight. Those of you who wanted to see the Halloween photos will finally be able to do so! Enjoy!!

Finally, the election is over! The political ads gracing our TV screens every five minutes were driving me nuts; it’s nice to be rid of them for the time being. I suppose we do have to give thanks for the fact that there were no “hanging,” “pregnant” or other obnoxious “chads” to deal with this time.

All I know is that I need ya’ll to get out there and buy a car! Yes, it’s been slow in the car business. I can only hope that people will feel at ease enough will the demise of this election to get out there and spend some money.

As for me, I’m enjoying spending money on my new home. Tomorrow and Friday, my boss has given me a couple of days off (for free, even) to get some painting done. I’m excited to get it going because a coat of paint makes all the difference in the world. The mismatched colors that currently reside here will no longer give us headaches: the living room is painted pumpkin orange, lavender, grass green and wine red (all in one room). Adam has been threatening to take some “before” photos to help us remember how bad it truly was.

It’ll be great to get people over here to see it as it changes.