It approaches.

An addendum to last week's Preparations: series should've been Preparations: Thanksgiving. I'd been bopping along mindlessly through October, only to realize, with sudden shock, that Frog Pond closes next week and I don't have any idea what to cook for Thanksgiving.

Make that didn't. While Patrick made dinner yesterday evening the cookbooks and magazines came out, along with my meal planning notebook, and I drew up a list.

Dried Currant and Orange Stuffed Squash.

Brussels sprout slaw with mustard-maple dressing.

Scalloped potatoes and fennel.

Brown sugar Pecan Cupcakes.

Are you coming?

What are the favorite dishes in your family's Thanksgiving? Do you stick to a rotation of tried-and-true classics, or change it up every year? At my family's table, it was mostly tried-and-true classics, until I took over. If you want to be eating Brussels sprout slaw at Thanksgiving, hire a foodie to cook the meal.

Preparations: blooming

I had so much fun with my Preparations series this past autumn, I've decided to do another one for Spring. This week, it's all about getting ready.


This season is raking, raking. Sweeping last autumn's fallen leaves off the lawn, the garden, the driveway, uncovering new greens and wet browns.

Shuffling between the bright-and-sunnies and the gray-and-rainies, waiting to see what each day will bring-- always eager and happy for the turning away from winter.

What I'm Wearing: Nonplussed

Sweater: Thrifted, buttons swapped by me

Dress: Thrifted (Ralph Lauren)

Jeans: JC Penney

Shoes: Thrifted

Belt & Pin: Antique

Earrings: Gift from Mom

I had a wardrobe crisis this morning. Half my closet (approximately) is piled in a heap on the bed-- because I tried out about eight different outfits before I settled on this, looked at the clock, screamed, and dashed to work.

It ended up.... well, western. And while I do own cowboy boots, and also, a cowgirl hat... I typically don't resort to those props unless I'm attending a Fred Eaglesmith concert. Or Halloween.

I blogged about the belt and pin here, and am delighted to be wearing them for the first time. I've never been the type for accessories-- usually earrings and a necklace are all I bother with-- but they're slowly growing on me.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

My "Preparations" series will be back tomorrow.

Christmasing

This corner was made for a Christmas tree. Seriously, when I walked into this room for the first time, I thought, Christmas tree there. 

We haven't decorated it yet-- Patrick claimed November 30th was too early for husband participation-- and besides which, I need to buy more garland. Tomorrow night the ornaments will come out en masse. 

Something about that first Christmas in a new house. I'm ordinarily pretty into merry-making, but this year has brought seasonal spirit to new heights. I drove over hill and dale to collect the Christmas tree, which I found on Craigslist. I went to JoAnn Fabrics and Michael's and spent hours, hours, looping yards of garland over my arm like a female Clark Griswold. 

I'm going back again tomorrow. I'm worried.

I told my mother-in-law that hosting Christmas gives women a special kind of mental illness. This I said to a woman who hosts a lavish Christmas day dinner in her house where quaint snow villages and caroler figurines occupy every horizontal surface. Strangely, she didn't seem offended.

I think I understand it, now. I'm beginning to long for snow villages and caroler figurines of my own.

If I somehow find the time to squeeze in a craft project before the actual day, I might make toilet tube owls. Or a light bulb hot air balloon. Or a single, perfect, glittered snow house.

Sigh. What holiday preparations are underway at your house?

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Preparations: visiting

Everyone knows about the power of motivational speaking. Each night, cup of tea in hand, I take a stroll to visit my seedlings.

"Hi guys. You guys are really good," I say. No, I don't think they can hear me. And yes, I'm sure the neighbors think I'm nuts. But, I planted them and they're growing, bigger every day. Right now in my life, this is my most exciting thing: growth.

Christmas fever, in full swing

I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't bring myself to put my Christmas decorations up so soon after Thanksgiving. I need time to think and reflect, digest and spend a few more days in the company of fall leaves and Indian corn before breaking out the tinsel. Thanksgiving is, after all, a farewell to autumn before we move solemnly into winter. As you can tell, I'm a little reluctant about that. I needed time.

Friends, it didn't take long. Four days, to be exact, and driving homeward in the early dark one evening, belting out White Christmas (the Drifters' version, it was on the radio) and seeing all the other homes with their pretty, twinkly lights and Christmas trees inside their front windows... I cracked. I pulled into our driveway, turned off the car and sprinted inside, straight up to the attic, and began hauling down the boxes.

When Patrick came through the door fifteen minutes later, he stopped dead in his tracks: the tree was lit, the stockings were hung, and I was drinking tea from a santa mug. He claims I had a "crazed gleam" in my eye, but I'm not sure about that part.

After dinner, we decorated the tree together. Scenes:

Diesel, the tenth reindeer. He's wishing you the merriest of holidays this year.

Pete, who likes to participate (but is shockingly well-behaved when it comes to tree etiquette).

The finished tree.

Thanks be to my sweet husband, who gamely indulges me in Christmas preparations. He even endured Christmas music this year, including Little Drummer Boy (Johnny Cash version) my personal favorite. Whoa.

In a couple of weeks, I'll be posting my bloggy Christmas Tree Tour, a link list of fellow bloggers' Christmas trees. If you've got one on your blog (or will soon) leave the link as a comment and I'll be sure to include you in the post!

Preparations

Today I filled jars and freezer bags, stuffing in as much summer as I could. By noon, scarlet jars lined the countertops, a sauce-pot sputtered on the stove, and every window in the house was covered with a thick, runny layer of condensation. Patrick's glasses fogged immediately when he came home from work and ventured into the kitchen.

Christmas village

Oooooo. I've been wanting to do this for years. Almost exactly five, actually. I "discovered" the blog-o-sphere not long after Christmas (or was it before Christmas?) 2007, and one of the first blogs I started reading was Posy Gets Cozy. I fell in love. I started working backwards, and found Alicia's snow village post. Almost exactly five years ago. Ever since then, I've wanted one.

I loved our mantel in Binghamton, but it was nowhere near big enough-- maybe six inches deep and 36" long, not enough for village. Our mantel here is probably nine or ten inches deep, and longer, and there's even that extra shelf on top I plan on expanding into next year. It is a very, very ideal mantel for a snow village. Maybe the most ideal one ever.

I built my little village buildings in the early hours of this year, from some old gift boxes. The only things I purchased for this project were: a bag of different-sized bottlebrush trees at JoAnn's, for $20 (lots of trees!), a bottle of chunky glass glitter, and a bottle of charcoal gray craft paint for the roofs. 

I got the templates from here, and after building the house, the school, and the church, I branched out and copied a building from Gilbertsville's downtown. This is the Gilbert block, which holds an ice cream shop, a quilt/book shop, and a general store.

If I add more buildings to my village, they're going to be Gilbertsville replicas. Post office, grange, maybe a little teal house with a yellow front door and a cat on the porch?

So satisfying to see this come together. What Christmas preparations are taking shape at your house, friends?

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Preparations: baking bread

Nothing like coming home to a 58-degree house to inspire one to turn on the oven. Since this week has brought us lows in the 30s, there's been a lot of baking going on at our house. A lot of baking, and roasting, and card-playing, and generally hanging out in the warmest room of the house: the kitchen.

This time of year, it's always a battle of willpower to decide when we'll wimp out and turn on the furnace. October 1st is usually the point at which we cave in, but with sunny mid-60s weather on the way this weekend, there's the motivation to stretch our furnace-less time a few more days. Why not? There's plenty of baking to do.

And there's nothing nicer than a warm and aromatic kitchen on a raw autumn day. When I came back from a twilight stroll to the garden with a handful of muddy carrots, stepping through the door and into a bright and bread-scented house was divine.

A hot mug of tea, quilt-covered knees, and many pieces of warm seedy toast with butter later, the house was a habitable 62 degrees, and I almost relished putting on flannels for bedtime.