Thanks To Be Given...always

This family has certainly seen its share of sadness but we weren't raised to dwell on sadness. Indeed, we have always been a happy-go-lucky sort of bunch and throughout the years this manner has served us well. I won't say it hasn't been challenging nor will I go into the details. If you're reading this, you're likely aware of everything anyway.

And so it is with a heavy but healing heart that I find things to be thankful for this year. In no particular order, I'll try to give you the gist of it all. Is gist a word though? Am I spelling it correctly? I suppose it doesn't matter, I should just be thankful for the ability to type and the fact that the internet is working (so far) today.

On a sunny but chilly Friday I awoke to a beautiful sunrise with the roosters singing their "cock-a-doodle-do" and the horses whinnying to let me know they were ready for breakfast. The birds had been hitting the feeders long before I walked around the porches.

I was in some nice, warm sweat pants that Ernie gave me on my last trip to FL and the cute jacket that goes with them. I had my mom's slippers on and I had a flashlight in my hand. The sun was coming up but it was still dark out there in the chicken coop and beyond that where the horses stood. It's this time of the morning that I can't resist taking a few minutes, no matter how cold it is, to appreciate the wonder and beauty of this place where I live. Thankfully.

It's quiet except for the leaves blowing round and the woodland animals scampering about looking for their morning feast. The birds and squirrels chirping and chattering are ever more present in the early morning hours just before dawn. But to me none of this is noise. These sounds make your ears feel good, really, really good. Thankfully.

There are no sirens, no horns blaring, no airplanes tracking the traffic, not even a passing car. Or, if any of these are out there, we can't hear them out here. Thankfully.

The sun turns the sky a brilliant pink color as I stand at the kitchen window stirring up a batch of mayonnaise biscuits while the bacon fries crisply in the cast iron skillet. We don't drink coffee but I imagine it would be a welcoming scent to those of you who do. I crack my fresh eggs into the skillet and fry them to go with the biscuits. Gotta have something to dip in the creamy yellow of these eggs. Thankfully.

As I put away the breakfast dishes, I watch for the deer to come up from the holler and it's not long before I'm rewarded with their presence. They come silently and quickly and they munch away at the sweet grasses without ever disturbing the dogs. Some days I see 2 or 3, other days 8, 9, or 10. They're difficult to count when they're on the move and with it being hunting season, they're always on the move. They're safe here for right now as we have one in the freezer already. Thankfully.

With so much venison taking up so much space, I figured it would be nice to have some ground into sausage. I don't have an electric grinder and there was simply too much to try and use a manual one so I asked a friend if he could help out. His cousin has an electric grinder so with his permission we made plans to meet up on Sunday and get the sausage made. My friend brought the seasonings and knife and I brought the meat. A cooler full of it. We cut the meat, seasoned it with sage and other spices then added pieces of smoked bacon (the store was out of pork fat). Once it was layered in the tray we fired up the motor and began feeding the mixture into the grinder. It was an awesome sight to behold and the freezer is now stocked with venison sausage. Thankfully.

The farmer who provides me with my veggie baskets sent an email to let me know the farm was still being harvested and if I was interested, I could get another basket from her. Well, of course, I was up for that! She gave me directions and I went to find the farm. I was so excited to be going there. To actually see where all that beautiful, healthy food was being grown was truly the highlight of the week for me. You can imagine - I hope :) It was everything I expected and then some. Thankfully.

Trish gave me my basket and pointed out what everything was. It was packed full of goodness including a jar of sorghum from a neighboring farm and a package of Jacob's grass fed beef tips. The sorghum is better than syrup in my very humble opinion. I like maple syrup, don't get me wrong. But the difference is like night and day. This sorghum flavor is decidedly strong and sweet at the same time, much like I imagine some folks will take their coffee. This sorghum comes from a farm right here in Hickman county and it was harvested fresh this season. mmmmmmmmm it is so perfectly thick that it soaks into my whole wheat pancakes rather than running off the edges and onto the plate. Thankfully.

While I was at the farm I was offered a tour of their house. The house isn't finished but it's going to be a fine one when it is. It's not large but neither would I call it small. Rather it is just perfect for their family and it seems it will suit their needs in all ways. It is in every way a farm house. From the sage green paint on the outside and tin roof on top to the walls of windows providing not only a hilly view but also some great ventilation. There are three floors, each with a bathroom. Trish said she didn't know what she would do with three bathrooms after living in the camper for so many years. I told her she would likely be doing lots of cleaning - she laughed and thought that would be just fine. All things considered I think I'd feel exactly the same way. I know they will all thoroughly enjoy being in their new home, very soon. Thankfully.

While the growing season is over for me, I'm finding ways to still enjoy the outdoors and keep myself busy. The flower garden seems to fill up with leaves every day and no matter how many times I shoo them out, the next day they're back. They are so deep that the pansy pots barely show through. The tall grasses I bought are blooming - which surprised me because I had no idea that was going to happen. They have a frilly little fan at the very top and the frills wave gently with the wind. I'll have to put them in the ground before too long but the ground hasn't frozen over yet so there's still some time for that. Thankfully.

Thanksgiving is forcasted to be a very pretty day with the temperature reaching 68 degrees around two pm. We'll have our turkey and gravy, our collard greens and our barley stuffing. We'll have our green beans and dinner rolls and sweet potato pie for dessert. A couple friends will be coming to share the meal with us and we'll probably all be ready for naps shortly after the feast. Thankfully.

I'll be with Wally. I'll be on the farm. I'll be missing all of you and thinking about you too. Mostly, I'll be happy.    

THANKFULLY