It rained all day yesterday (oh, how we needed it!) and right before dinner as the rain stopped, I noticed a bright light coming through the windows. It came from the sun on the western horizon and it lit up our yard. Don went outside, and then I joined him.

And as I turned toward the house, THIS was over the back forty:

We could see the entire rainbow and it was extraordinary. We haven’t seen one around here in a few years.

And, as the sun dropped below the horizon, this was the view to the west.

Then, later, as it grew darker:

Extraordinary. It felt like a message of hope.

We had a lovely day. As we ate our scrumptious dinner, we took turns stating something we were grateful for. And that continued for the entire meal. We’ve never done it quite that way before and it’s now going to be a tradition.

I’m grateful for all of you.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Last night’s sunset. Note how green our grass is! The one plus of all the rain this year is that there were no brown spots and here we are, almost at the end of November, and it’s still green. That being said, it’s turned very cold now, with nighttime temps in the twenties. Though not official yet on the calendar, winter is here.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner, though Don miscalculated timing and we ended up eating very late. We had our usual Gardein “turkey” roast with stuffing – it really is fabulous. What else? – some steamed green beans, sweet potatoes, canned cranberry slices (we love them) and cloud biscuits. We were stuffed, so we held off on the apple pie until yesterday.

Last night we had the leftovers, with mashed potatoes and steamed organic carrots. Yum!

I had a nice long talk with my sister yesterday – Z was with his father this week and she was alone on Thanksgiving. This is, of course, the hassle of divorce – having a parental agreement that can be painful, especially at holidays. Christmas will be better and Christmas is much more important to Mere.

I started reading Tom Lake by Ann Patchett last night. And I’m still rereading the third book in the Deptford Trilogy  by Robertson Davies. And the Barbra Streisand autobiography, but that’s a bit hit and miss at the moment. I haven’t read enough of it to get really into it, but I will.

I’m looking forward to sparkling Christmas lights and a tree, though we’re going to wait until about December 8th or so to buy one. Last year’s was purchased too early and it was dried out by Christmas. We had to take it down much earlier than we’d prefer. (We like to have it up through New Year’s Day and depending on the tree, even longer.) Personally, these next months will be difficult for me – I have SAD; increasingly so as I get older. This year, I’m going to find a way to have some indoor Christmas lights up into January and February. We already do that with the porch lights, but I think we need to do that indoors as well.

I hope you had a joyous Thanksgiving if you live in the States – quiet or boisterous, whatever your preference.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.