The last thing I expected to see as I walked into a Fireplace store in Wasilla were ducks. They hung by door and quacked a little as I stepped around them. I jokingly asked the woman inside if they were her pets. She said they weren’t but that they hang around the stores probably because they get fed. I am not sure if it is the year we live in, or the state of Alaska we live in but why does nothing surprise me anymore?
I was moving things around in the furnace room today and noticed this board. I vividly remember putting the nails in it and I remember giving some of the kids two nails because they had more coats (hockey jackets.) That was a bit of an issue back then, the boys would always tell me they needed two nails or even three nails. Their names were written on the top and those two nails housed their coats or were supposed to. The older kids had a board and nail that were a lot higher. I didn’t feel like I should pull those nails out so I left them. There are just some things in life best left alone.
We were working hard on the addition today. Lane did the baseboards and put up a new light fixture in the hallway. While he was still working I ran a quick errand and came back home but didn’t see Lane anywhere. Suddenly he appeared with a spruce hen in hand. I guess that is what you do when you are working and you see a spruce hen. A real man runs home and gets his gun, he shoots it and proudly takes it home for dinner. Atta boy.
“One of the remarkable characteristics of young wild sunflowers, in addition to growing in soil that is not hospitable, is how the young flower bud follows the sun across the sky. In doing so, it receives life-sustaining energy before bursting forth in its glorious yellow color. Like the young sunflower, when we follow the Savior of the world, the Son of God, we flourish and become glorious despite the many terrible circumstances that surround us. He truly is our light and life.”
—Quentin L. Cook, “The Lord is My Light”
To this I say, amen.
There he stood in the doorway of my kitchen with a pie plate in his hand. It was my favorite pie plate. About a year ago I sent Lane home with a Banana Dream Pie and I said, “This is my favorite pie pan, don’t lose it.” It never came back. He then moved next door to us but always forgot to retrieve the pie plate when visiting old friends. Many an apple pie came and went with no favorite pie plate to bake it in. I thought about my dish sitting in a bachelor pad where no one ever bakes a pie. I wished it would just come home. And it did. My good son.
I did what I have always wanted to do and that is to hang something festive from our “Holly Loop” street sign, so I did. I thought the process would be easy. Not. I drove to the corner in my Mini and realized the street sign was way higher than I thought. I drove home and grabbed the step stool and leaned it again the sign since it is on a hill and I still couldn’t reach it. So, I drove home and put the step ladder in my car with the back open since it won’t fit and leaned it against the sign pole and just as I did I noticed a guy watching me. I waved and hiked up the ladder and perched my little Christmas wreath right where it should be. Then I drove home wondering what my neighbor was thinking.
Our table overflowed with scrumptious dishes on this great Thanksgiving Day. We all ate and ate and then sat. The real party began as we sent Rhea and David to go do Target shopping where they met Daniel. They did awesome and got one out of the two 60″ TV’s that were available. The tradition lives on for those two but the funniest of all was seeing them in the truck as they pulled in. Actually we couldn’t even see Rhea – that was what was so funny.
To recap the last thirty-six hours . . .
-Mom, how do you make French Toast again?
-How do you thaw a turkey?
-I don’t know how to flute the edges of a pie crust?
-What temperature do I cook at steak at on the stove? Do I put anything in the pan?
-What recipe do you use for your Dutch Apple pie?
-Should I make the Sweet Potato Crunch before I come?
-Is this how thin the apples should be?
I am so glad I am not replaced with Siri or You Tube.
It wasn’t really Deb’s birthday but it was a good day to drop off her gift. The timing seemed to suit the gift which was suitable for her trip. Being a great gift-giver is such an art form to me. I think I know Deb’s tastes but then I question myself and rethink the whole process over and over. I bit the bullet, dropped the gift and drove away. Then came the text that warmed my heart, put a smile on my face and had me floating on air all the way home. The 2016 Deb birthday gift I believe was a success.
About this time every year Deb has me do an inventory of my Willow Tree Nativity. She has given me a new piece every year for years now and I just love it. It sits on my piano during the season and it is one of my favorite things to put out. Deb goes on her trip down to Sacramento every year right after Thanksgiving and that is when she buys it for me. It looks like I will be getting an angel this year. I sure have an angel of a friend.
Tara Truly 