It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like.....Thanksgiving!

I hear a lot of people complain that Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are all rolled into one big holiday.  Hallogivingchirstmas....in retail it certainly seems true.  A local radio station used to play Christmas music starting the day after Thanksgiving, but this year you can already hear it being played!  I personally can't start NOW with Christmas.  I need to savor each holiday as it comes and enjoy each for what it is.  So as for me and MY house...we are enjoying Thanksgiving now and saving Christmas for later! 

The Seasonal Tree

 

I even managed a craft night with my sister to work on a craft specific to Thanksgiving! 

Pinterest is amazing!  You can make your own Thom the Turkey...instructions here. 

 

 

Along with the Thanksgiving decorations I have also been checking off things from our Fall 2014 list...things like visit Carter Mountain and try a new winery.

 

Carter Mountain Orchard

 

The Blueridge Mountains of Virginia off in a distance

The vineyards of Carter Mountain

Carter Mountain Orchard, in Charlottesville, is a favorite for families during autumn months.  We visited last year and wanted to revisit but I knew better than to try going before Halloween.  It's just too packed with people to enjoy it.  We visited the third weekend in November and it was perfect.  No big crowds, no long lines, no Tonya screaming for people to MOVE!   Ha ha!  We scarfed down a dozen apple cider donuts and hot apple cider before going.  I also bought some fresh apples to take home for a couple recipes I want to try. 

 

After our quick visit at Carter Mountain we visited a couple local wineries, Blenheim and First Colony.  Trump Winery is also close but it was so busy that parking was hard to find...so we skipped that one and figured we could visit there on a later day. 

 

Blenheim Winery-owned by Dave Matthews

Visitors willing to brave the chilly temps

The view from the deck at Blenheim

First Colony Winery

Our baby girl making friends with the winery cat

 

At Blenheim we bought a bottle of the Painted White.  At First Colony we bought a couple bottles of their 2013 Rose and a bottle of  2013 Zephyr. 

 

Both had ideal spots for picnicking and relaxing.  But if you are looking for a place with a view I would suggest Blenheim. 

 

I still have a few "Autumn" things to check off our list...I mean it's not fall unless you can say you hiked in the woods with all the fallen leaves...right?  This weekend we will celebrate Thanksgiving with a dinner at Mark's grandmothers.  Then next week we will celebrate again with dinner at my sister's.  I look forward to the time with our family and to time giving thanks for the many blessings in our lives. 

 

 

The Last of November

I didn't intend to put up my Christmas decorations this last weekend.  It just sorta happened.  Mark was in the attic and offered to get down all the Christmas boxes...and I wasn't about to turn down that offer.  And I couldn't just leave the boxes sitting around for a week.  It's far too much stuff to just leave down.  So I put up away my Thanksgiving goodies.  But before I totally put them away I got some pictures and wanted to share.

As much as I love Christmas and my Christmas decorations I actually hated to see the Thanksgiving stuff get put away.  Ho hum...I'll be working on some pictures of the Christmas things I've put up.  I went with a color theme this year for some of my decorations.  Can you guess what favorite color of mine is springing up on my tree???

An Attitude of Gratitude

Several years ago I was going through a bit of a funk....ok it was a lot more than a bit....it was a big funk.  With a capital "F".  I had a lot on my plate and couldn't really shake the feeling I was sinking faster than the Titanic.  I was desperate to find my way out of that feeling but felt that I had very little resources to help in that department...So I turned to the Internet.  I actually Googled "How to be happy?"  And I started reading.  I read lots and lots of articles, blogs, opinions and I took some notes along the way.  Let me tell you there was some CRAZY stuff out there too buddy.  But what a lot of the information kept leading back to was that happy people are grateful people.  That the happiest people have something in common and that is that they thank their lucky stars for what they have.  And so I started giving it a shot.  And I have to admit that today I am one HAPPY lady!!!  Now is being grateful why I'm happy today?  Is that what changed my funk into a fiesta?  I can't really say.  But I do think that it made a difference.  I started looking for the good in life.  What about this day can I find to be thankful for?  I started finding so much to appreciate that I started to loose sight of the mess in my life.  And slowly the mess....just went away.  Now don't get me wrong.  Crap still happens.  But now I just look at the crap and think....I'll get past it, my family will grow stronger and we will be better people because of it.  So with all that blabbing out of the way I wanted to spend the days before Thanksgiving expressing my "Attitude of Gratitude!"  I've noticed lots of other people doing the same and I couldn't be happier.  Maybe they read the same articles!!!

So Day #1....today I'm greatful for this beautiful season

Watching the leaves change from their gentle greens to burning reds and oranges is just like watching an artist work magic with watercolors.  I'm thankful to live in a place with seasons and also that I can watch it all unfold right around me.  There have been times we've visited forests during leaf changing season and it has taken my breath away.  Ever notice that autumn just smells different?  I love that smell :) 

Join me by leaving a comment about what your greatful for today.  I can't wait to hear what it is.