We're thanking God for another year filled with his blessings. We celebrated by frying a turkey for the first time. No explosions, and a tasty bird: success! The back-up roasted one (in case of catastrophe) was equally delicious. Aunt Hilary's pies were a hit, especially the pumpkin ginger crunch and coconut cream. And we may have started a new tradition with collard-green dolmades.
We seem to have begun a yearly tradition of buying our "Advent tree" (which we've renamed to keep our heads on straight that it's
not Christmas yet) the day after Thanksgiving. It fits beautifully in our new space. Dave and Lolo spent the rest of the day stringing the huge evergreen tree in our front yard with LED lights. It now stands as a neighborhood beacon, and the spectacle of Dave scaling this mammoth of a tree from within attracted several neighbors. One neighbor, a history buff, informed us that a Civil War skirmish took place in our back yard. Lo and behold, there was indeed a historical event called "
Action at Annandale" that took place on the land behind our house, part of which we own. Dave can't wait until next Halloween scare the girls with stories about the ghosts lingering from the skirmish.
The Advent wreath is ready for lighting tomorrow. We begin the season of expectation, preparing our house and our hearts for the sweet Child who changes hearts and saves souls. Happy Advent!
