– J and I were able to take a small overnight trip to New Hampshire last weekend to attend a wedding. It was our first overnight without children since our cruise last November. The venue was gorgeous, seated right on Lake Winnipesaukee, and the bride’s family graciously provided open bar. As such, we chose to partake of our favorite adult beverages (scotch and champagne), and consequently were on the first trolley back to the hotel at 8:30pm. Still, it was a beautiful evening, and we got some much needed sleep.

– The next day, we were on the road to Elmira, New York, to spend Thanksgiving with J’s mom and family. The girls and I collected pinecones to make a garland, which we then hung over Grandma’s kitchen sink. Thanksgiving dinner was a mess of noise and children – we were joined by J’s brother and girlfriend who have four kids between them, as well as their grandmother, giving us four generations in attendance.

– We were able to meet up with J’s best friend from middle school and her family for the Christmas parade on Black Friday. I had previously only known her through Facebook, but had the impression that we’d be fast friends in real life, and was glad to have that confirmed. I’m hopeful we can all get together again before too many years go by.

– Our sweet neighbors’ chickens have started laying, and they brought us a half dozen eggs, and almost three pounds of home-raised beef. J scrambled some for dinner the other night, half store-bought and half fresh. You can clearly see the difference in the yolks.

The leaves are all gone, and we’re lucky to break 40* these days, but it’s still so beautiful. We went and cut our Christmas tree this morning at a little farm just down the street. They also tap their maple trees so we picked up some syrup for ourselves while we were there. I’m glad to support our neighbors and keep our money here in our community.

We decorated it when we got home, and listened to Christmas music. I’m looking forward to crafting some of our gifts, and slowing down a little bit. The past few weeks have been very frantic, and I’m not sure how we managed to live like that all the time before moving here. I certainly don’t miss it.

I’ll share some of our handmade gifts with you later this week as we get into them, and I’d love to hear about what you’re crafting these days!