Hi Everyone! Here is your morning MUSICA!  Thinking about Blessings, this cold frosty day on Martha’s Vineyard!

I was at the supermarket at 7 am Monday morning, buying my bread for the turkey stuffing, because the first “dry day” was Monday (in order to get my three solid days of bread drying in before Thanksgiving), and I also needed to be on the 10 am boat that day . . . before I went, I laid it all out on the ironing board…

And off I went … to meet Joe on the other side, better known as “The Mainland.”  He went to see a Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler concert in Boston with his friend on Sunday night, and then he met me (who stayed home and painted like a happy bunny) so we could go shopping on the Cape. It was so fun!  Besides having lunch out, and meandering . . .

We stocked up at Trader Joe’s and visited a huge festive garden center (Mahoney’s) to see what Christmasy things they had.  But mainly, I was looking for inspiration, something that would make me say, “Oh Wow, I have to git me some of that!” That’s what I had on my list, “Inspiration, please.”  Looking for some ideas to decorate for a cute Christmas.

We did the only Black Friday we’re ever going to do, and stopped at JoAnn’s, The Christmas Tree Shop, and Michael’s Crafts on Meandering Monday — LOOK at all these wonderful little goodies we found!  Do I know what I will do with them?  No, I do not!! HOORAY!!! 

Well, I do have a vague idea of what I’m going to make, I won’t know for sure until I get at it, but I definitely feel inspired!  (Jack is going to LOVE this stuff!)

And then, as I’m unpacking and putting everything away, in comes Girl, just as the sun was coming up, elegant, calm, looking beautiful in the light, not interested in any colorful pom poms. Just a little light snack and some staring.

I think she’s secretly a saint!  So much goodness and trust in her little face.♥

So nice of her to stick around and let me take pictures… she’s a very shy girl. But very cozy, lovely to sleep with.

Outside, Joe was hanging up bird feeder number FOUR, outside the kitchen windows.

This is our own kind of fish tank, prettiest view I can think of, right in front of my kitchen sink.  Makes winter a joy.

Since Jack was having his morning nap, I thought NOW would be a good time to lay it all out on the dining table/craft table. When I got done playing with it and mulling it all over, I covered it with my coat, so maybe he won’t see it for another day.

I got lots of birds. I have no idea what I will do with them yet, but I’m a bird woman and I’m sure I will have fun with them!  The cupcake bird was a gift from a girlfriend . . . she made it! Somehow I have to figure a way for it to take center stage.

Oh yes, I am going to have fun.  I started cutting up the straws to string them for garland — I have this compulsion toward garlands, lots of garlands, and swags, and bunting, festooning, flounces and flourishes with fruity spangles, trims, and pom poms. That’s the direction I’m going!

While I was playing with scissors, ribbon and glue, this was my background music: Christmas in Connecticut.  If this doesn’t put a person in a good mood, nothing can! I promise, as I get some of my decorations done, you will get the pictures first!

So then the phone rang, it was Kellee, calling from my studio in California.  Guess what? We got the bird cups back in . . . which reminded me, I need tea!

She wanted me to tell everyone they’re BACK!

Here’s our yard today, Turkey’s tempting fate.  These guys have it made, they are free wanderers and safe on Martha’s Vineyard, going from yard to yard, keeping things rather insect free. So nice of them to decorate the garden for the season.  Thank you Turkeys, in more ways than one.

Early this morning we went on our walk . . . which I thought I’d show you.  So, in the spirit of the busy-ness of the season, before you click on the arrow here, take just a moment, turn down any noise around you, take a deep breath of what you imagine to be cold, clean ocean air; pull your sweater around you, sink deep into your chair, breathe deeply and relax . . . OK, go.

This is my living prayer.  Everyday, when we’re out there on our walk, I look up and say, Thank you God.  It’s the best part of my day.  We have walked here almost every day since 1991 and I could not love it more.

This is where we do our dreaming as we hunt for beach glass and listen to the seagulls . . . we’re often rewarded . . .

With a little bit of nature, made by nature, one of a kind…

We get to the water by walking down a mile and a half dirt-road through the woods . . . the quiet color-splashed woods filled with cardinals, deer, squirrels, drifting leaves, and wafting woodsmoke, which reminds me of this, from my Autumn book, I thought you might like to read …

And that’s how I feel, we are not alone.   We have the most wonderful and simplest things to be grateful for . . . just being alive to enjoy walks, pompoms, the smell of turkey on Thanksgiving, and this . . .

At this very moment, I am sitting very far forward in my chair, because Jack has inserted himself between me and the back of the chair, warm against me, for a nap. Am I lucky?  Yes, I am.

I can’t wait until Saturday!  It’s “Small Business Saturday,” and we’ll shop around the island and do our part to keep our Main Streets alive and thriving and happy. It not us doing them a favor, it is them, doing it for us.♥

Our shop owners (read: friends and neighbors) do such an amazing job decorating their windows — look how cute this snow globe is! I owned a shop for a while, and now I know, and will never underestimate, how many hopes and dreams are tied up in a little store.  What a charm and quality of life they give to our community, and how I never EVER want them to go away. ♥

My dad gave me a “Be an Elf” pin years ago, I love to wear it during the holidays, put on a holiday scarf, and go shopping. But elfing can also be a life plan.  The world could truly use a few more elves. ♥ Opportunities abound.

OK, so here comes the first wonderful holiday weekend with our friends and families! There are so many new movies coming; I’m very excited to see Lincoln, and Anna Karenina — which I would go to for the costumes alone!  I think Les Miserables (OMG the music!) is coming at Christmas — and there’s a new romantic comedy I’m hearing is good …. Silver Lining Playbook.  Do you have any others we should know about? While you’re cooking or wrapping gifts, nothing is more wonderful as background “music” than an old movie . . . treat yourself to an early gift, add to your video library — there are so many to choose from, perfect for holiday viewing, and worth owning . . . two of my favorites . . . Midnight in Paris (with the delicious music) or the wonderful Falling for a Dancer. They also make lovely gifts, turn someone on to two hours of magical story-telling.

 And from me to you, here’s a little holiday bookmark for you to print out …

Bless you all Dear Hearts, have a wonderful Thanksgiving; go for a walk if you can, and drink in some of God’s gifts. Be an Elf. ♥ XOXO