We gather together....

Thanksgiving is a week away ... hard to believe it's almost here already ... and we're preparing for my Texas sister and her family to join us. The Middle Sister is coming home to Virginia and we'll all gather as we do each year, cooking and playing board games and being thankful that we could all be together for another year. My parents, sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces, and my husband and children ... savoring our time as a family.

Meanwhile, Christmas is coming as noted by Mike, and I've seen decorations beginning to appear in the area. Many Valley residents hang outdoor lights while it's still warm enough to feel your fingers, and the SWAC house is no exception. It will be very cold in these parts before long and snow could be right around the corner ... lights and outdoor decorations are hard to handle when it's so cold you have to wear gloves.

SWAC Daughter caught the Christmas bug earlier this week so she pulled out the 33 RPM records of Dean Martin and Doris Day's Christmas music for the record player (yes, that old-timey thing where a round disc goes round and round). She was feeling nostalgic ... so we pulled out the tree (this is why we don't have a live tree) and stood it in the corner where it now waits for the lights and decorations to be added.

Then she put the "Charlie Brown Christmas" DVD in as we passed around the popcorn, and we had our first showing of that eternal holiday classic. Others we will be watching in the upcoming weeks will include "White Christmas," "It's a Wonderful Life," "Elf," a Muppets Christmas special featuring John Denver that was taped while the kids were young but still a favorite year in and year out, and others.

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!