Memorials and snow--

This snowing stuff is abrupt, eh? 

I got the blinking lights up in the crabapple tree, and I put in a row of lighted snowflakes, with a garden stake of Santa holding a lantern. My outdoor decos, with the exception of wreath on the door and maybe a lit garland on the railing, are done. Just in time. It's cold.

That said, the lights are cheery, even if the muddy/brown landscape is not. I need to get those thermal curtains up, either tomorrow or Saturday. The dishwasher repair guru is scheduled to come, as well. And I have to find my heavier sweaters in the closet, do errands, and squeeze in my dentist appointment. Busy weekend, for sure, and I'm glad of the extra day.

And it's Veterans' Day on Saturday, though for some reason, we are "observing" it by having Friday off. Again, I don't mind, I need the time. But odd, eh? Especially since the younger school kids are doing Vet-related things today at school--singing patriotic songs and doing a special breakfast for local Vets and the middle school did interviews and recorded them. 

And it's the 40th observance of my maternal grandmother's passing, and the 38th of my maternal grandfather's passing, just two days later. Strange stuff: my maternal great-grandmother's birthday was Nov. 11, and she passed away on my uncle's birthday in August. We do tend to complicate things. November used to be the hardest month for me and my family-- even one of my maternal uncles died on Dec. 10--too close to the others, so the whole late autumn was one long holding of breath, hoping no one else died in the same cluster of days. My husband's makeshift ofrenda is pretty crowded with photos. Now it's springtime that is also filled with memorials, most of them around May. Isn't it strange how family members all seemed to die conveniently (?!) in clusters? 

From the looks of the roads and sidewalks outside my window, this is also the decline of 2023. Snow that sticks is partly pretty, and partly stressful. I don't have my appointment to get winter tires on yet, so add that to my list of things to get done this weekend. I should probably get going. There will be window-scraping to do.

Take care,

C