The Thanksgiving Apparition

Helping my grandniece label glasses for Thanksgiving dinner, I looked up and saw the apparition on the dining room wall. The ghost of Thanksgivings past had appeared lurking for turkey. Large trees had just been removed from my nieces' yard and light streamed through the windows, passed shimmering through wine glasses and projected on the wall. The result was a lovely soft piece of light art that entertained us while preparation was afoot for the dinner. 

Colette marking glasses.

Apparition on the wall.

 The rest of the house was ready...television tuned to the correct channel.

Ready for the crowd.

Autumn color.

The table was decorated with buckeyes found on a recent family hike. Buckeyes get their name because from certain angles they resemble the eye of a deer. Superstitions about them include that carrying one in your pocket will bring good luck and fend off rheumatism.


I learned from Wiki that in Britain, the game "conkers" is played with the nuts. The nuts are attached to a string and then bashed into each other. The World Championships are played on the Isle of Wight on the second Sunday of October each year. As many as 5000 people show up for the spectacle and as is true with almost every sport, there are ways to cheat, one of which is to artificially harden your conker. In fact, Michael Palin of Monty Python is a famous or infamous conker cheat, disqualified one year for steeping his in vinegar, followed by a baking process. Somehow, I don't think he was a serious conkerer.

All About Conkers

Table ready for action

 
The kitchen heating up as dinner prep is well under way.

Kitchen action.

Kitchen on overflow.

Tanya, one of the more glamorous family members doesn't look like she should be in a kitchen, but she pitches in...and the dinner was great. My photos end abruptly here as the eating began...

From the glamorous part of the family.

Generation gap: my grandniece with colorful hair tells me about her tattoo plans.