Thanksgiving holiday

We just returned from spending a few days with my mother in NY. We drove up on Monday and arrived just in time to watch Monday night football - I am a big Broncos fan, so that was a good thing. On Tuesday, DH took off at 5:30 AM to go fishing, and Mom and I spent the day together. We walked despite the dreary day and ran some errands and did some of the holiday meal prep work. Bob caught and threw back 5 fish that were good fighters (and therefore fun to catch) but not big enough to keep.

Wednesday Bob fished and Mm and I walked again, this time outside, around a lake, which was a more pleasant walk than the day before. We did more food prep and a couple more errands, then when Bob came home from fishing we went out to eat. Bob didn't have any luck that day, and that makes for a boring fishing trip. After dinner I wanted Carvel (a soft serve ice cream that is not available in MD) so we went next door to get a small sundae that Bob and I would share. (Mom can't eat ice cream - we weren't being rude) As luck would have it, they were buy one, get one free! We ate one and saved the other. Very tasty.

My mother is 74 and has always been very independant, managing just about everything she needed to do even after my father died. She has recently been getting more frail and less able to do things. I know that she likes to have family over but she feels less able to manage all that entails. It was a good thing all around that we were there. We could help her physically as well as providing back up so as not to forget something in the midst of many simultaneous converstations and so many things to have ready.

Thursday, the big day, was a warm day but we were too busy cooking to walk. It became a little chaotic towards the end, trying to get everything done at about the same time, but it worked, and everybody sat down to a wonderful meal. I have 3 brothers, all younger than me, and they were all there. The wife of one and the girlfriend of another were also there, as well as a niece and two nephews of mine. It was a good visit. We all cleaned up, trying not to leave too much for Mom, and that worked well. It got cold and rained that night, but I don't think it bothered any one's drive home. My boys called and text messaged good wishes for everyone since they couldn't make it.

Friday Bob and I did a few more chores, ate lunch and then headed out. We stopped at two places Bob thought might be "fishy" but nothing was happening and the wind was very cold and blowing at about 25 mph. Brrrrrr! I stayed in the car and knitted.
We had minimal traffic issues on the way home and got in last night at a decent hour. I got a lot of knitting done while I was away. I made great progress on the merging colors capelet - I can really see the color changes going on. I'll try to get some photos today. I am down to the heel flap on Joanne's sock (the second one) so those will be finished with time to spare. I made some progress on my skiband, but really concentrated on the other two projects. I think I can finish the skiband this weekend. In the dark on the drive last night I worked on a felted bag that my MIL started for me last year and was not able to finish. I will finish it myself now - I just wasn't ready to look at it before this.

Oh, on Monday before I left for NY, DH went to the post office and picked up a package. It was my mitten swap package and it was a good one - well worth the wait! There are turtle mittens!!!!! In purple!!!! I love purple and turtles and Angela found a way to combine them in one project.



The mittens were, of course, the main item in the mitten swap. We were supposed to include a few other goodies in the package also, and here are mine: a sheepy mug and some yarn



Some dessert candles and purple candles



a notepad with my name on it and cute sheep on the envelope



and a photo album and dark chocolate. Yum. I am very pleased with my goodies and glad that I chose to participate in this swap despite my nervousness after the last one that didn't go well. My faith in people has been renewed. LOL.

The sun is shining today so I will try to spend some time outside. I will walk today for sure. I have a "few" extra calories to burn off. I will have some clean clothes to hang outside to dry. I will be doing some organising and cleaning out in a room or two upstairs in addition to making more progress downstairs. I am in that kind of mood and I like to take advantage of it while I can. We have lots of stuff that can be eliminated. I will make time for some spinning today, too. I haven't spun in a while and I miss it. Have a good day.