Pictures from the last few months and Thanksgiving

Pablo continues to be a silly dog- he is begging for treats here.

In late October, I did a "take and make" class at the local garden center and this was my porch decoration until last weekend.   

We took a trip to Michigan.  When we got there, these sunflowers were in full bloom.  That weekend, the temperatures dropped below freezing, so they did not last much longer.

The hotel room.

While we were in Michigan, we visited with some of my former colleagues and Aidan fund a new friend.

On our last day in Michigan, we had lunch with my best friend at our favorite Middle Eastern resturant.   This is the yumminess  for lunch.  We brought 6 sandwiches home with us to have for later in the week.

In November, we had lunch with my aunts and a couple cousins.  It was good to be out.  But it reminds me how much mom is loosing.  She can't stay up with conversations, she watches without understanding.  It is so hard.

Mom, Cousin Leslie, and Aunt Jan.

Leslie's mom is Joan, who is my mom's older sister (she is the oldest of 12 kids).  Leslie is the same age as Laura

Aunt Jenny (with the sun across her face), Aunt Juanita , and cousin Tammy faced away form us.  Tammy is Leslie's oldest sister and the oldest of the cousins).

All the fall leaves in the neighbor's yard.

I baked some oatmeal date cookies one cold weekend in November.

Sunrise one week day morning.

The Weekend of 20Nov, I got to make a new porch pot at the garden center- this one is for Christmas.

Mom took a nap- getting a shower (thanks Laura) tires her out.

Thanksgiving prep on Wednesday.

Pumpkin pie ready to go into the oven.

Apple sauce in the crockpot.  This was not for Thanksgiving, but since I was peeling apples, and there were only 7 apples left in the bag, I figured I would just peel them too and get them into something that I know mom will eat.

 

The butter with herbs, softening so I can make herbed butter for the turket.

Cranberry apple Chutney- way too tart for me, but my brother liked it.  I think next time, I will use orange juice instead of apple cider, and also use pears instead of apples.

We went to the zoo- back to a pre-pandemic traditions.   We have gone around 3 pm in the past to see the animals, but we learned this year that mom can't do that any more unless she is being pushed in wheel chair.  Just 2 years ago, she could walk the zoo with a few rests, now it is a rest at every bench, even with her walker.

The red pandas were out and about- so cool to see them so active as usually they are sleeping when we come to the zoo.

We ended up leaving before the zoo lights came on, but these lights were so cool in the daylight.

Thanksgiving breakfast

Mom having breakfast while we watched the parade.

Making the stuffed celery once Dave arrived.  Aidan is working on the crackers for the cheese tray

Lunch on Thanksgiving.  Normally, I don't put out stuff for lunch because we typically eat at 2 pm.  But today, we were eating much later because Laura and Darrell were going to his family's Thanksgiving dinner and they would be over to visit with us in the afternoon.  So dinner was planned for 4 pm this year.

Laura in her turkey hat

Finally, dinner!!!!  The green bean mushroom skillet was YUMMMMM.   I think we did pretty good this year.

The small group for Thanksgiving this year.  

Uncle Dave was worn out from cooking with me today.

I think we are all caught up now.  

Love and hugs,

Deb

 

Thanksgiving festivities 2021

 Pictures will come later tonight.   I have been thinking a lot about my dad this week.  I think because we are more than 6 months since his death and we are further along in our grieving that we can let different thoughts in- not so much in the fog of dealing with the tasks after his death.

Some commercials spark thoughts and then watching the Lions vs Bears game today, the national anthem was sung in a Motown style which Wads would have loved.

We continue to get his estate closed out, 2 more tasks (selling the house and paying his taxes for 2021) and his estate is closed and we focus on mom and getting prepared for her final journey.  It sounds so horrible, but I see it coming.  She can't remember her neighbors (we had one of her closest neighbors/friends over 3 weeks ago), she can't stay focus more than 30 seconds on a task- makes it hard to play games with her and have her help with tasks.  It is hard to watch and then with her not walking as much, I think by Easter she will be a wheel chair every time we go out.  I feel sad, I think she will be gone within 2 years.   

I am grateful for this time with her, but it is so hard to watch.

Love and hugs,

Deb

Homecoming- Junior Year

The boy, or maybe I should start calling him the young man, had homecoming tonight.  There is a story about buying the suit that I will save for another day.

But here he is all cleaned up and ready to go.

He is Lukas' running mate when Lukas (Falco) runs for EU President or Prime Minister of Austria.

He took Y to homecoming.  Y is one of the local Guatemalan adoptees.  They reconnected this year and he asked her to go.  We have not seen her for 3 years or so.  Come to find out she swims on a team with a few of the boy's friends.  It is a club team, not a school team, so we have never gone to a meet.

Y and her mom T who is also a single mom.  She is raising a lovely young woman.

The kids wanted to have Tortilleria Garcia for dinner, so off we went to Northside for dinner  The plan was for them to meet up with friends, and mam and I would get dinner at the same place, but walk 2 doors down for adult beverages with another momma.

The kids are set for dinner and have space for their friends to arrive. Off mam and I go to Brinks Brewing.

My dinner (mam had tacos and a diet coke).  I only drank 1.5 of the beers in this flight.  the pink one and the darker one next to it.

The others were either YUCK or just not as good as the other 2.

Me and the boy.  His dress shoes and puffy hair make him look taller, but he is still a half inch shorter than me.

After dinner, I took the 4 kids to a friend's house for pictures.  this is the group of kids going to homecoming.  

The lovely young ladies

The handsome young men

Showing off their modeling skills.  The boys still has it from modeling in the backyard at Mireya's house.

I picked the boy and his date up at 10:30 from the dance.  Apparently the dance was not too good because the music was bad.   The kids then went to another friends house for an "after party hang out" for an hour.

I think overall they had a good time.   Can't believe these kids are juniors already.

Love and hugs