Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the living room again . . .
. . . painting began.
Unfortunately, this painting project is not just a matter of Steve and Gage swooping in with brushes and rollers and being done lickety-split. There was wainscotting on some walls and wallpaper on other walls. When those were removed, the walls underneath were damaged. So there is the painstaking process of repairing and sanding all those areas before the painting can even begin. If you’ve ever done house renovations, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
But life goes on in the midst of it all.
This photo reminds me of another couple at another table.
After driving part of the Pacific Coast Highway, we turned our Toyota toward the Sequoias.
It didn’t occur to me that we would actually be seeing snow that day. So cool!
If you look closely at the bottom of the world’s largest tree, you will see a teeny, tiny Steve and Becky.
God’s creation is beyond words–so huge to us, so small to Him.
it was time to drive the lovely roads back to the Las Vegas airport, coming full circle on our journey.
So thankful to have had this memory-making journey with my beloved husband of 40 years.
we will be making some more of those Friday when this crew arrives in town. (As far as I know, they are bringing their parents, too.)
We will be eating the Thanksgiving meal with Steve’s brothers and Sarah and Gage will be in Fayetteville for Thanksgiving. But we will all celebrate big once everyone gets back to the house on Friday.
This will be a memorable visit because it will be their first time to walk into this house with the new Grandma and Grandpa Smith in residence. It will be a grief-tinged but happy time of looking back and looking ahead. I can’t wait to celebrate the making of new memories.
What about you?
What does your Thanksgiving week look like?
Are you traveling or staying put?
Are you doing most of the cooking or just a dish or two?
Do you have a specialty dish you are always asked to make?
Oh My Goodness! You got to stand by the General Sherman tree!!! The Sequoias are like my favorite place to visit and it is only 1-1/2 hours from our home…. I get a little spoiled with what is here for us to see any time we want — see God’s giant creations and all. To think that THE Steve and Becky Smith were sooo close to myyyy house…. Glad to see you enjoyed the west coast. 🙂
Beth,
Yes! We are General Sherman-ers! 🙂
I can’t imagine living in such a gorgeous place; I know you know how blessed you are. We were honored to be in your neck of the woods.
Becky, thank you for sharing pictures from your West Coast trip! The Sequoias were amazing. My favorite photo was the one of your little grandsons with their travel bags!
Fred and Lucy,
Yes, I really love that photo of the kids. It will be even more precious as the years go by.
Happy Thanksgiving Smith Family! We are going to have a pretty full (for us) house tomorrow to celebrate! Hoping my MIL is feeling better so she can come. She’s been sick for about a week. She is NEVER bedridden, EVER! But she has been these past 6 ish days. All tests have been negative for covid & flu. Bloodwork looks good. Dr says “it’s just a regular cold.” She has ZERO cold symptoms! She’s feeling better each day so hopefully she’ll be okay tomorrow and isn’t contagious. Prayers would be appreciated. Much love to you & your family Becky! And I’m praying someone comes along and scoops up your Manteo house soon!
Lizz,
I hope your MIL felt well enough to join you yesterday and celebrate with the family. A lot of stuff going around!
Thanks for the prayers over our house. Open House today so I’m hoping someone will fall in love with it.
WOW – your sequoia pictures are spectacular! We’re “staying put” and doing Thanksgiving at my brother-in-saw’s here in the same town. I’ll do the turkey, a broccoli cheese casserole, stuffing and rolls and My daughter is doing a 5-6 cheese and a garlic parmesan roasted potato dish. Others are doing a ham and I think smoking a turkey and other sides. Looking forward to lots of good food followed by shopping Friday, then leftovers and football. I hope you and yours have a wonderful time creating new memories as the new Grandma and Grandpa Smith in residence.
Sue Ellen,
Sounds like you guys will be having quite the feast tomorrow!
I tried shopping the day after Thanksgiving one time and decided I would never do it again. 🙂 But I hope you enjoy your outing and your time with people dear to you.
Thursday morning, I will go see my parents in the nursing home for a while before lunch. I will leave there and drive to my brother’s house in Marshall, MO. It’s a little less than 100 miles. It will just be my brother, sister-in-law, nephew and my SIL’s two sisters. My niece and her husband are in Houston so they’re not coming up. I’m bringing pumpkin pie. The realtor that sold me my house has a pie giveaway every year so I’m getting a Costco pumpkin pie from him and taking it. They are huge and you really can’t buy the ingredients for what they sell them for. I have done all the cooking for several years so only bringing pie is a rarity.
I had my work department Christmas party at my house for 2 or 3 years. The first year, I made a sweet potato casserole that one of my coworkers loved. Almost every Thanksgiving and Christmas since then he has asked if I made it and if I have any leftovers.
Your pictures of the sequoias are beautiful. We didn’t make it to see them on our Highway 1 trip.
Phyllis,
Enjoy not having to do all the cooking this year; what a nice break for you! Once you get all your traveling done to your parents and your brother’s, you can sit back and enjoy the good food and great folks.
I have cooked Thanksgivings dinner for the past few years, but am taking this year off and going to a dear friends this year. If it snows they someone in the family will pick me up and bring me home. I am bringing my famous cheesecake covered in cherry pie filling. It is a large crowd with lots of kids so I am really looking forward to it.
Cindy,
What a fun day ahead of you. And how nice to be known for your famous cheesecake. What you make will be great because you are SUCH a good cook.
Enjoy Thanksgiving with the laughter of children around you.
I’ve always wanted to see those giant sequoias. So amazing!!
We have already celebrated Thanksgiving with our kids since I leave tomorrow for Las Vegas on a girl trip. It should be lots of fun!!
My favorite traditional Thanksgiving food is homemade stuffing. Oh my goodness. This year though, we went completely non-traditional and served smoked brisket. It was fantastic!!
LeeAnne,
A non-traditional Thanksgiving sounds like a nice change of pace. I don’t know if I’ve ever had smoked brisket but since you recommend it, I’ll have to put it on my eating to-do list. 🙂
Oh, those beautiful pictures. Yes, I did see tiny Steve and Becky. Those trees are beyond anything else I have seen. As far as your living room is concerned, yep, been there, done that. But this too shall pass and soon it will all be done. We were to have Thanksgiving dinner on Wed. eve (we are leaving on Thurs. morn for vacation), but got a note today that one of her daughters has influenza. Sooo since it is contagious, we will not be going there. thankful it is not Covid. She has already had that. Have a blessed time with family and enjoy Thanksgiving! Blessings to all!
Sharyn,
Sorry your Thanksgiving didn’t work out the way you had planned but I’m glad you have a wonderful vacation to look forward to. Enjoy!
I love the redwoods – so big and majestic! Your pictures are wonderful as always.
I”m so thankful that you’ll have all your people “home” for the holiday. What a blessing to break in the new house filled to the brim!
I’ll be working M-W but my younger son is HOME for the week so my plan is to enjoy every second I can with him. I’ll cook whatever he wants and he’ll help me put up the tree and he’ll help his dad work on cars and motorcycles. I will miss having my older son and his family around but I’m thankful for the “little” one.
We will go to my SIL/BIL’s and they fix the main things and the rest of us all bring side dishes (we usually wind up with about 15+ different side items not to mention desserts). It’s a HUGE meal and we usually have about 30 people. I love spending that time with my extended family! If the weather is nice we’ll send all the kids out to play while the adults all sit around and comment that we ate too much! Sometimes we’ll go play, too, but we like to digest a little longer than the kids.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!
Suzanne,
I know, right? How is that kids still have sooo much energy after a big meal and can run around like it’s no big deal? After the meal you all are planning, I’d be more than happy to sit for a few extra minutes with the adults and do some conversing and digesting! 🙂
Enjoy having your younger son in the house. I know it’s such a great thing to get to cook a child’s favorite foods and spoil them a little bit. Have a wonderful time together!
Thanksgiving the last couple years has been a challenge with our new lifestyle. I always enjoyed preparing the Thanksgiving meal and having my niece and nephew stay over the night before to “help”. Spending this holiday away from them last year with Ken and I in the RV in Florida wasn’t quite the same. This year we are going to attend the campground’s potluck Thanksgiving dinner. They roast the turkeys and everyone brings this sides. Looking forward to this new experience but missing family. Enjoy having your family in your new home! Love seeing the pictures from your trip and the visit with Aunt Bonnie. Happy Thanksgiving!
Ginny,
Oh yes. I remember cooking bigger meals in an RV. It can be quite the challenge.
I’m glad the campground you’re at is providing a potluck for everyone; a great opportunity to embrace a new tradition and get to know fellow wanderers.
We had such a great time with Aunt Bonnie and her family. Definitely the highlight of our trip.
How wonderful that you will all be together for Thanksgiving…..my son just moved back with us in NC from KS and my daughter lives here as well so while it will be a small Thanksgiving gathering, just the 4 of us, it will be a happy one, first time both my kids have been living in the same state as us for almost 10 years!
Dale,
How exciting to have both kids in the same state with you. That’s a BIG reason for thanksgiving. I hope it was an extra special day.
Love the moon shot from your trip. You really packed a lot in and saw a lot of CA.
Thanksgiving week this year is low key. Our CA and MN family couldn’t get in this year so it will just be 3 or 4 of us. My husband does the cooking and I make the pies. In CA my family always requested “Frog Eye Salad” or “The White Stuff” as one family called it. It is a pasta and fruit salad similar to Ambrosia. I have tried it a couple of times here in MI and no one wants to try more than a bite. It is so good and I miss making it. It makes a big batch so it is hard to make for just myself.
Thanksgiving Blessings to you and your family
Patti,
Frog Eye Salad is definitely a new one! I looked up the recipe and it looks interesting. If I was there, I would let you make some for me. 🙂
Your pics show such a pretty world… all this and heaven too!
Ruth
Ruth,
Yes, indeed.