winter days and nights

My mom called me last night as I was trying to get the groceries in the house and not let the dog out.
"Oh, honey -have you seen the sunset? Go outside, it fills up the whole sky!"

It did. It was spectacular, and the harbinger of a record-breaking cold night. Some plants took it in stride,

this pansy, for instance. Some died.

We have had record-breaking cold. Not expecting a lot of sympathy from those of you who live in Montana - Helena had a high of 2 and a low of minus 7 yesterday, and we are complaining about a little frost. But the bird bath was frozen this morning, and the goldfinches were confused.

Ann and I spent the day with Pam and Nora decorating for Thanksgiving. Last year Pam and John hired movers to stash all their furniture in the garage, put three long tables end to end in the living room, with a hundred votives and zillions of fall leaves down the middle. Everyone at one long table - brilliant. Gorgeous.

This year there is a smaller crowd. The furniture stays, the table is colorful (and set) and in the dining room. We cheated a bit - Ann and I bought a flower arrangement from the divine Ron Morgan, one of the creations from his last Monday class. We fizzed it up a bit with some burlap ribbon, then spread more leaves and persimmons and berries down the table that Pam had covered with a colorful rug. 

No white china and napkins for us this year. The table looks like a celebration. It has all the colors of last night's sunset, and  the art in the dining room.  Couldn't have planned that - well, maybe you could have, but it is a happy accident for us.

At the first Thanksgiving where Ian was old enough to talk, the family was going around saying what they were thankful for - good health, peace (at least here) and prosperity, the usual thoughtful outward-looking stuff. When they asked Ian what he was thankful for, he said "Parmesan cheese! -the kind from Italy."

Gotta love that kid.

Happy Thanksgiving.