Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, here it is, Thanksgiving already. The day started out early for me--another 4:00 am start time so that I could spend some time on my story.

I also spent some time getting stuffing prep work done. Then I went out for a nice, brisk Thanksgiving Day walk. It was cold and crisp--just the way I like the fall to be. Frost on the cars, mailboxes and roofs. Squirrels and birds scurrying about.

I saw an old man walking ahead of me. He turned down a side street before I caught up to him.

I expected other early morning walkers but only passed one man jogging.

I went all the way to the end of Town Creek Drive and back--a 3 mile walk round trip. And, I passed the same jogger. We past each other just about the same place we past each other the first time. Then I saw a lady out walking her dog. Quite a few cars coming and going. People must be heading to or arriving at Grandmas's.

Now I am back refreshed and invigorated. I feel so good after exercise. Now I am ready to make the stuffing and get the turkey into the oven.

The Macy's Thanksgiving day parade will start soon.

I will put sheets on Shawn's bed, and start clearing the table. I think I will put my computer in the sewing room after a while.

That's it for now.

another picture in another travel guide

This time it is a picture from the lake at Downtown Disney. We were on the tour boat and took a picture of the Rainforest Cafe. As with the Belfast guide, scroll down on the right until you see the widget for Orlando. Click where it says "see review." From there look for Rainforest Cafe. When the larger pictures pop up in the right hand corner, click the arrow until you find aries_djs78@yahoo.com. That's mine!

Eeyore and canned food

Well, every so often, when I open a can of tuna or salmon to make a sandwich, the cats are on the receiving end and get a little treat. (they get their treat before I add the mayo and seasonings)

So, now whenever I open a can of anything, Eeyore comes running, sure it's a treat meant just for him.

Yesterday I took out a can of mandarin oranges. I wanted a small dish of them to go with my dinner. Sure enough, as soon as he heard that familiar "pshhhhhh" of the pop-open can, he came running over and was climbing up the cabinet trying desperately to get to whatever that was in that can. He didn't believe me when I told him it was just oranges and he wouldn't like oranges.

He did eventually give up and went into the dining room to sit on his favorite chair, having never tasted mandarin oranges.

Belfast widget

Have you noticed the widget on the side bar? It is from a guide to Belfast. They saw our picture of the Grand Opera House, Belfast, Northern Ireland, in my Flickr photo stream. They asked my permissionn to use it--and I gave the permission. If you click on "view guide" it will take you to the guide. From there, you click on the Grand Opera House and then on the right you will see a picture of the Grand Opera House. If you keep clicking on the left arrow, you will eventually see a shot of the Grand Opera House taken by aries_djs78@yahoo.com that's me!

Annual fall trip

Today is November 1st and today Bob and I headed out to Virginia for our annual fall trip to see the color on the trees. We usually drive out to the Blue Ridge Mountains. But this year, we did something a little different. Instead of actually going to the mountains, we drove toward Fredericksburg and into Culpepper, then west toward Mineral and from there south toward Ashland. We had lunch in Ashland and then continued our journey, heading north again.

We took the slow, scenic routes, some of the trip went into very rural parts of Virginia. Virginia has plenty of rolling hills and roads that twist and turn in all directions. Parts of the drive took us along narrow country roads with trees on either side, which reminded us a little of our trip to Ireland. They, too, have narrow winding, twisting roads that take you through the country.

We saw plenty of farms and farm animals, stopping a couple of times to take pictures of horses who were close to the road.

We drove through towns with funny names, like Cuckoo, Mangohick, Passing and Supply. We went by Fort A.P. Hill Army base. Once we left the town of Supply, we came to Rt. 17 and turned north. (We have traveled down Rt. 17 often, on our way to/from Virginia Beach.)

We were only on Rt. 17 a few minutes then we came to Rt. 301 and turned east--toward Maryland and home, completing a circle. Another circle trip--but a much smaller circle this time--which was finished in one day.

The colors were beautiful--reds, golds and yellows. The scenery was beautiful. I have always loved that part of Virginia--it is so pretty.

Normally, we get a room and stay overnight for our annual trip, but we decided to do a shorter version of our annual trip this year. For one, we both have been battling colds and didn't want to stay overnight in a drafty hotel room. We did a lot of traveling this summer and I think we both were tired of hotels. I just prefer being in my own bed when I don't feel well. It's not as cozy and homey at a hotel. I had been feeling pretty good--felt like my cold was gone. But, by late afternoon my throat was bothering me and I was glad to be heading home.

Plus, I think we both just wanted to get home--long "to do" lists this weekend. Lots of projects going on around the house.

But, that's ok with me -- I was happy to get one day in the countryside. It's always nice to get out for the day--but nice to get home, too.

We have been talking about taking a week one of these years and take a trip through New England for the fall color. I've seen pictures and can only imagine that to see the color in person would be spectacular.

And, speaking of pictures, I will upload my pictures from today's trip and post them soon.