How sad would be November if we had no knowledge of the spring! ~Edwin Way Teale, Circle of the Seasons, 1953

We seldom think of November in terms of beauty or any other specially satisfying tribute. November is simply that interval between colorful and dark December. Then, nearly every year, come a few November days of clear, crisp weather that makes one wonder why November seldom gets its due.
      There is the November sky, clean of summer dust, blown clear this day of the urban smog that so often hazes autumn....
      There is the touch of November in the air, chill enough to have a slight tang, like properly aged cider. Not air that caresses, nor yet air that nips. Air that makes one breathe deeply and think of spring water and walk briskly.
      ~Hal Borland, November 1970

“It was a beautiful bright autumn day, with air like cider and a sky so blue you could drown in it.” 

― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

“In November, the trees are standing all sticks and bones. Without their leaves, how lovely they are, spreading their arms like dancers. They know it is time to be still.” 

― Cynthia Rylant, In November

The Sunday after Thanksgiving these green limbs popped out of this box in our living room ....

.... and suddenly (six hours later) became a Christmas tree

Grandpeeps after school

“November; Crows are approaching - Wounded leaves fall to the ground.” 

― Sir Kristian Goldmund Aumann

The only color left in our back yard except for the faithful evergreen shrubs

The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year,

Of wailing winds, and naked woods, and meadows brown and sear.

~William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878), "The Death of the Flowers"

I've never seen this one before. White paws. When the bird feeders are full,  the squirrels don't stop until their bellies are full and the feeders are empty.

This may be the last picture I get of granddaughter Shelby with scarecrow Jeff. She's outgrown him.

“Autumn is the time of year when Mother Nature says, “Look how easy, how healthy, and how beautiful letting go can be.” 

― Toni Sorenson

Thanks!

"Our Father, fill our hearts, we pray, 

With gratitude Thanksgiving Day; 

For food and raiment Thou dost give, 

That we in comfort here may live." 

~Luther Cross, Thanksgiving Day

Daughter Kelly and sister Ann loading up their plates with our Thanksgiving feast.

Daughter Holly, granddaughter Shelby, and grandson Elijah 

Kelly and her hubby Kerry hosted our dinner once again this year. Thanks, you two! Everything was really nice.

Bro-in-law Terry pointing the way to the macaroni and cheese he made. It had double doses of every kind of cheese known to mankind. Seriously. And bacon! Yum!

Son-in-law Jerry says Hey while my hubby Neil is either ready to give him a big hug or showing him just how big the turkey is.

Shelby and Elijah digging in. And that plate full of food right there belongs to Holly who never met a turkey drumstick she didn't like.

Thanksgiving Feast. Turkey, dressing, ham, deviled eggs, grit casserole, potato casserole, mac and cheese (with bacon!), green beans, fruit salad, broccoli casserole, sweet potato casserole, and of course, cranberry sauce.

"Give me the end of the year an' its fun 

When most of the plannin' an' toilin' is done; 

Bring all the wanderers home to the nest, 

Let me sit down with the ones I love best, 

Hear the old voices still ringin' with song, 

See the old faces unblemished by wrong, 

See the old table with all of its chairs 

An' I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin' prayers." 

  ~Edgar A. Guest, Thanksgiving

Dessert! Pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and chocolate pecan pie (hadn't made it to the table yet). After that meal, nobody had any room for it but we ate it anyway.

Shelby putting the finishing touches on her signature dessert ~ Candy Bar Caramel Apple Pie (not sure if that's the official name) made with Granny Smith apples and Snicker candy bars and (I think Cool Whip) and drizzled with caramel. It is my fave dessert, and it was totally decadent. 

We all enjoyed this fantastic feast and sitting around the table after we were stuffed, talking and laughing (mostly laughing) and never wanting to see another bite of food ever again.

Thanks to Kelly, Kerry, and Knox for hosting a great dinner and to everyone who made all that delicious food.

So thankful for those of us who could gather together this year and missed those who couldn't join us.

Thankful for so many people and so many things that bless my life every day.

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, 

for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Psalm 107:8-9

"I ate too much turkey,

I ate too much corn,

I ate too much pudding and pie,

I'm stuffed up with muffins

and much too much stuffin',

I'm probably going to die.

I piled up my plate

and I ate and I ate,

but I wish I had known when to stop,

for I'm so crammed with yams,

sauces, gravies, and jams

that my buttons are starting to pop.

I'm full of tomatoes

and french fried potatoes,

my stomach is swollen and sore,

but there's still some dessert,

so I guess it won't hurt

if I eat just a little bit more."

    ~Jack Prelutsky, I Ate Too Much

Happy Thanksgiving, America!

"Autumn is marching on: even the scarecrows are wearing dead leaves." - Otsuyu Nakagawa

Fear not November's challenge bold—
We've books and friends,
And hearths that never can grow cold:
These make amends!
~Alexander L. Fraser (1870–1954), "November," c.1918

~November 2~ 

And November sad,—a psalm
Tender, trustful, full of balm,
Thou must breathe in spirits calm.
~Caroline May, 1887

~November 2~ 

The world is tired, the year is old,

The faded leaves are glad to die...

~Sara Teasdale, "November"

"For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together.

For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad."

--Edwin Way Teale

~November 3~

"Swinging on delicate hinges
the Autumn Leaf
Almost off the stem"-  Jack Kerouac

~November 4~ My street. Just me or has this November been even more dreary than usual?

~November 5~

Along the road

Your steps may stumble

Your thoughts may start to stray

But through it all a heart held humble

Levels and lights your way.

Dan Fogelberg, Along the Road

Pumpkins on sale at K-Mart. Is it any wonder they're going out of business? The store here is closing soon. Sears too. It's a shame.

Dabbling in the Waterlogue app...again

~November 7~Hubby Neil (the bearded guy in the black frames) joined the food box packing gang at Churches of Christ Disaster Relief in Nashville, Tennessee ~another 1500 boxes ready to go wherever they're needed

~November 9~Grandson Knox on the path from school to granny's house 

Picking up grandson Elijah after school~I rarely do this any more since his sister got her driver's license this year

~November 10~iPad time for Knox

~November 11~Our neighbors' massive leaf piles~Thankfully the city came by and sucked them all up  just before the fierce winds and rain blew through here Friday night (Nov 17)

Flying the flag on Veteran's Day

Daughter Kelly, grandson Knox, granddaughter Shelby hanging out at Blue Coast

~November 12~daughter Kelly's birthday~brunch after worship service at Grandma's Pancake House

Granddaughter Shelby gave her brother Elijah a new hairdo

The drifting clouds are dark and drear,
The blossoms die of cold and fear,
The wild wind mourns the fading year,
And winter threatens near.~Elizabeth Chase Akers Allen (1832–1911), "November," c.1864

~November 14~Some people have clouds in their coffee. I have hearts in my Cheerios.

~November 17~Flags are flying not just on Veteran's Day

"She calls it "stick season," this slow disrobing of summer,
leaf by leaf, till the bores of tall trees rattle and scrape in the wind."-   Eric Pinder

Knox received his prizes for the laps he ran and money he raised for Cougar Run, his school's only fundraiser each year. He requested this one, a virtual reality headset

His mom downloaded an app on her phone that works with these glasses. You pop the phone into the glasses compartment and suddenly you're under the ocean in a shark cage!

November is whizzing by!
It's Thanksgiving week already. So remember ....

.... every day ....