Over the river and through the woods...
Over the river and through the woods..... well, okay, we won't be going through any wooded forest as we drive (unfortunately, but maybe once we arrive), but we will be going through the Columbia River Gorge which is beautiful and one of our favorite drives as we head our way to Depot Bay Oregon for this years Thanksgiving holiday. The Oregon Coast.... oh my ! It is so special to us. We will be just an hour from Heceta Head Lighthouse where we got married. I hope we make the time to go and see the beautiful bed and breakfast and sacred lighthouse, where I walked arm in arm with my dad, towards a very handsome, tall, bald, nervous man who was, and would become even more so, my whole life. This is a place we always go with Josh's mom. She has a timeshare there, and the week we spend there with her and the children have become such treasured moments. The kids love being there with Grammie. Reading, playing games, helping her sew ( she is so patient with them ), interrupting her as she tries to read her book, making her famous "Grammie rolls", eating her M&M cookies, waking up excited to eat her cinnamon rolls ( these are different from her other Grammie rolls. Those are rolls for dinner/lunch time... or really, any time you feel like eating a roll !) I think you get the idea... we eat a lot of good food and relax on this vacation ! Clark Grizwold (Josh) even takes a vacation from all the planning and scheduling. We just fly by the seat of our pants in Depot Bay. The weather pretty much dictates what we do and where we go. For the most part, we sit and stare at the gorgeous ocean that is right before our eyes. Waves and mist crashing up on our windows. Mama Hooker likes to eat Thanksgiving a few days early, so we can have leftovers during the week. I am not a fan of this, but go along it. In years past, the table has not been set pretty with candles and an actual table cloth. Josh serves the mashed potatoes out of a big pot ON the table. Hello !! No no no ! This will not do ! But, I mean, who wants to pack all that stuff that makes a table beautiful, when you have to drive 9 hours and you already have suitcases and kid car entertainment stuff jammed into the car ? Well... I haven't for so many years, but this year... I.am.doing.it !! I'm packing what I need to make the table BEAUTIFUL this year. I'm even bringing my gorgeous silverware. I don't care ! I'm not crazy enough to bring all of my charming polish pottery. But I am bringing pretty serving platters. The condo has plain ol' white dishes, so I supposed I can live with that. (insert my pouty face here ! )But, I'm determined to make it feel and look like Thanksgiving, not just taste and smell like it ! I had all of the dishes set out on the table for Josh to pack. I thought for sure he would give me grief about bringing it all.* Why do men always have to argue ? Just DOOOO IT * . But when I got home, he said "I packed all the dishes for you in the bin so they will be safe and not get wet if it rains". And just gave me a big smile. Now that's what I'm talkin' about !!
Anyway, enough about my OCD when it comes to a beautiful table, even for Taco Tuesday.
We all shared a wonderful evening watching Noah and his class chums perform for the Veterans Day concert. He and Liam are so proud of their Poppy for serving in the Vietnam War, and constantly tell me that they are " so glad he came back or they wouldn't have their Poppy ". It was emotional watching all of these sweet boys and girls sing, and to have the Veterans stand up in the audience where they could all be recognized and praised. I emailed the music teacher a picture of Poppy, and it was include with all of the other serviceman's photos during the video presentation. Josh took a video but it is too big for me to attach here. Noah sang his little heart out and at the very end of the video it stops...right on Poppy's picture. PERFECT TIMING !! Our hero.
That's about it for now... until Thanksgiving
The video below: I found this on YouTube and have become obsessed with it. I put it on full screen and it's as if I have a fireplace crackling right on my desk as I play Christmas music during the day, flittering around the house doing laundry and cooking. I love that it's an actual recording of a stormy night in front of the fireplace. It's so relaxing.
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