Pie + Turkey = Oh, My!

I am thankful I live in a town that hosted its first annual Pie Auction.  Oh, yes.  It was awesome.  The Valley Ford Young Farmers Association put on quite a community bash last week and it is sure to be a yearly event.  It has been well established that I love me an auction and "winning" auction items, ahem, I mean bidding & buying items at an auction.  Well, this was no exception.  The old schoolhouse was decorated to the nines with cute, country kitsch.  The farmers were decked out in their best cowboy chic attire & the auctioneer was a hoot.  I left with three pies & a one year membership/subscription to our local U-pick veggie stand, Bloomfield Farms.  It was the best way to buy pies for Thanksgiving.

1.  Quinoa Salad w/ Fall Fruit
2. G's pancake flipping lesson
3. Charlie's homemade lemon meringue pie

Food has been a focal point over the last few weeks.  Crab season opened up and we had it two nights in a row!  There is nothing better than the first crab of the season.  When paired with sparkling wine, friends, laughter, stories & topped off with a little sweet finish...nirvana.

The art of correspondence is a constant lesson for the boy.  I think it's so important to be thankful and show appreciation for other's efforts and gifts.  We spent a quiet Sunday morning ticking thank you notes off of Grady's to-do list and adorned the envelopes with stamps and stickers.  A little something extra to make the recipient smile.  And since this month's focus is on being thankful, it was a great conversation starter about why we send the notes in the first place.

We spent Thanksgiving Eve prepping for the big day, playing cards, getting the table set and making the world-famous secret cranberries.

Color and inspiration were all around me this week.  I thrifted some vintage linens, foraged for herbs, persimmons & blood oranges (a surprise find!).  There is so much beauty just outside our door and I needed the reminder to stay grounded during this crazy time of year.  Keep it simple.  And I did just that.

Our guest list was small this year, but out planned menu was fit for a King!  We all pitched in and helped to create a meal to remember.

Steve brined the turkey this year and it was the moistest turkey we've ever had.  We must do that again next year.  Scott gave Grady a mashed potato tutorial and gained a fan for his whipped potato method.

Scott & Jill brought over the most beautifully presented appetizers and Eric K. shared Petaluma Creamery's delicious ice creams with us.  And let us not forget the pies.  Oh, Patty O. gifted us a homemade cherry pie that was the favorite of the evening.

As usual, G was the only kid.  He spent time up in his tree, helped with set-up and cleared the table.  He got dressed up in his favorite shirt of the moment and asked me to take the shot of him above on the picket fence.  He kind of loves himself right now and can't stop looking in the mirror any chance he can get.

And while I tried to get a family photo that wasn't blurry, I clearly did not succeed.  It's the best I could do and I feel lucky I convinced the guys to stop for a moment, pause and join me.

The gusto I had preparing for Thanksgiving left me late that night and I was ready to hunker down, do a little crafting, read and enjoy the long stretch of days in front of me.  We filled the time with movies, books & housework.

Melancholy set in with me for my siblings & parents this weekend, as holidays seem to do.  As I fill up my social calendar and work hard to create traditions and holiday cheer for Grady & Steve, I am often left feeling empty about it all.  And so, I am going to try and make a concerted effort to focus on experiences this coming month and not on things.  I will do, as Yoda says, there is no try.

This weekend was also the Mathers' tree-trimming party.  It is one of my favorite nights of the year.

We trim the tree with hundreds of white seashells, lovingly searched for and turned into ornaments by Suzann and her daughter years ago.  Her tree looks like it should be in a magazine by the end of the night and I love that she lets us go to town on it!

Grady had a little playmate named Lucas, who is four years old.  He was so enamored with Grady and was his little shadow all night.  He was funny and sweet and reminded me a little of Grady.

The weekend ended uneventfully, as each of us retreated to our corners of the property.  Steve in his shop finishing a piece of furniture for our living room; Grady in his studio listening to books on tape and creating origami masterpieces; and I read an entire book and enjoyed the quiet meditation of laundry, dishes and the occasional nap.

All is quiet and peaceful after the holiday weekend on Johns Street.  

I am thankful for pie.

I am thankful for friends.

I am thankful for my son.

I am thankful for nature.

I am thankful for family.

I am thankful for this life.

Red (for Love) State Visit

Voting at the Bodega Bay Grange

Well, the election came and went.  I voted and a few measures passed that I cared about and, well, a few didn't.  President Obama & Senator Feinstein are still in office - whew.  Our local Measure C passed and our schools will reap the benefits for another eight years!  I'm so very glad this election is over and all that goes with in terms of the media coverage (and I don't even have t.v. and it was too much!).  Steve reported out from the comfort of his leather man chair the results and I just kept sipping my martini and hoped for the best.  The day after the election, I felt a little drained and relieved and happy to move FORWARD.

One of our neighborhood llamas, Ollallieberry, passed away.  She was 23 years old and we got to visit with her just days before she died.  What a big-eyed, beautiful creature.  Grady was able to get close enough to pet her and tell her very pretty she was.  While visiting with Ollallie, G found a rat skull and owl pellets and quickly came home and busted out his microscope.  He found larvae in the pellets and totally grossed out his mother.  Mission accomplished, I do suppose.

G played hookie from school one day last week and we hopped a shuttle bus to the airport and got on a plane headed for Phoenix, Arizona.  The boy packed like he was never coming home by stuffing his backpack with books, art supplies, Legos, baseball and glove, journals & his favorite writing utensils.  It was bursting at the seams and his little back had to carry quite a load.

Grady was so nervous to fly and had so much anticipation at the thought of seeing his Grandma Gigi.  He was almost in tears as we readied to take off from Oakland.  As soon as we landed, he hightailed it to baggage claim and eagerly awaited our personal pick-up from the lady he loves so very much.

We hit the mall twice, yes, twice in less than 48 hours.  When in Rome, when in Rome, as the saying goes.  G stocked up at the Lego store and we embarrassed him by dressing up in the JC Penney women's department.  Welcome to my childhood, Grady.

Cousin Love

My mom put together a family shin-dig on Saturday and several of my aunts and cousins came to eat, drink & be silly.

Aunts Glenda, Cheryl, Me, Phyllis & Mom

It was so nice to catch up with everyone and introduce Grady to his extended family.  He can't wait to go back.

And while the desert was not what he thought it would look like, he took in the scrub brush, cotton fields and the occasional cactus siting.

Happy Grandma Photo?
The elusive cactus of Surprise, AZ

Our final stop was to see my Grandma Mary (Great Grandma Bounds to Grady) and have a quick lunch at her home.  G played basketball with his cousins and loved on her sweet dog, Meta.

Valley Ford sunsrise

There is nothing like going on a fun trip and then returning to our cozy abode.  The sky welcomed us back as we awoke from our slumber on Tuesday morning.  We shuffled around the house and got back into the morning groove of packing school lunch and cooking a warm breakfast to help soften the chilly morning that was just outside our door.  Our trip was so needed and overdue, but being home?  There's no place like home, as Dorothy would say.

Salas Kids circa 1979

This trip conjured up a lot of childhood memories for me and made me miss my siblings something fierce.  I have such fondness for our summer sojourns to South Phoenix.  We played in irrigation ditches, played hide in seek in the citrus orchards, went to the weeknight rodeo with my grandpa and danced with my aunts and cousins to the tunes of Hank Williams, George Strait and Conway Twitty.  My grandma would bathe us, feed us the best roast and biscuits and share candy with us just before bed (but only if you were one of her favorites!).

And while I've made my home here in this tiny town in Northern California and have carved out a different life for my little man, I know that home will always be where my mother is.  A mother's love is a powerful thing.

And a grandmother's love?  Forget about it!