Thanksgiving at our house..........

It's a quiet day at our house today. No store (s) to rush and open, no yoga class to get to, the dishes are already done and the house is all picked up. Thanksgiving is a day of rest at our home, and as we sat here this morning and had our coffee, what we did do was plan out the family phone calls, webcam visits and thoughts for the weeks ahead.

We are blessed with a wonderful family, but unfortunate on days like today, they are spread out all over. We will make a phone call to Robert's Mom & Dad in Brunswick, Ga. here in the next few minutes, and then one to my brother David and his family in Ft. Lauderdale. Then we will call his brother Ralph and his family in Homestead, Fl. The phone call to his sister Lisa in South Carolina was enjoyed last night. We will finish up the morning with our most anticipated, a webcam visit with our daughter Sara, and grandson Cash. You might have seen one of the commercials on TV for webcams, or enjoyed a visit on one yourself, but if you don't know what a webcam is, it is a small camera that attaches to your computer. It allows you to "dial up" the person on another computer in real time, and visit. It is as close as we get to visits with our children when they are at their home in Maine. Cash is now at the age, 17 months, that he understands and remembers who we are, so he is anxious to get up close to the screen and "talk" to us. He shows us his newest book, his latest feat on his play truck, how he can carry a chair across the room, and occasionally he trys to get to the back of the computer screen with a "hey....where did they go" look. We look forward to these calls and it keeps us connected in a way we would not have with phone calls alone.

The one phone call/webcam visit we can't make this year on Thanksgiving is to our son-in-law Travis. He is overseas at the moment, but I know he reads these posts when he gets a chance, so this is to you......."I know they don't celebrate Thanksgiving where you are, but we want you to know how thankful we are that you are in our lives, and the father of our grandson. Come home quickly and safely, we can't wait to see you in December, love Sue & Bob."

Yesterday as Lucia and I spent the day at Red Zinnia, it filled my heart with joy as time after time the door opened and in came a family from Fallon with visitors from out of town. The usual "teasing" from one relative to the other, the family histories and recipes that were shared. The swapping of tales of Thanksgiving's past. The new memories that will be created by one family as they planned a new family tradition, the simple act of taking a small book in our shop called "Gratitude" to place on the table for everyone to write in. The phone call from my daughter asking for my Mom's recipe for Green Bean Casserole and Waldorf Salad .It is one of the wonderful parts of living in a small town when you know most of your customers, and they become in a small way, your family also. These "visits" at the store mean so much to me. So even though our family is spread out all over the world, we are thankful for our friends that are close by, and we will joining with some of them around the table this evening.

We are blessed with good health and great family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving, to one and all! Susan