Thankful

Thanksgiving Day may be behind us, but we're still enjoying our long weekend at home together. The weather has been beautiful, more like mid-October than the end of November. We've spent lots of time outside, and virtually no time in stores. We cooked our traditional holiday meal together, the Bear and I, doing what we always do: he separates the turkey breast for me to roast in the oven and then he puts the rest in the backyard smoker. He also bakes bread outdoors in a Dutch oven, an old favorite of ours. Meanwhile, inside, I also make smallish amounts of all the traditional side-dishes: candied sweet potatoes, mashed red potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, stuffing. I always make my cranberry sauce the day before, to help it thicken nicely, and bake a pie then too. This year I chose to make a pecan pie. It was not necessarily a success; the crust caved in under the weight of the custard and nuts as the pie baked, and there was a thick, hard candy shell under the crust. Delicious but hard to remove from the pie pan. It looked pretty, though; I will definitely try again.

The rest of the weekend has been spent at home, save for a quick trip out for coffee and some groceries this morning. I've done some sewing. The leftovers are gone, except for a little turkey. Tonight, we're going to make pizza for dinner. I, for one, feel turkeyed-out, and there isn't enough for another meal anyway. I'm looking forward to decorating our Christmas tree later this afternoon; we always do it on Thanksgiving weekend. I know it seems early to many people, but I enjoy having it around for the whole month of December. I love knowing it's standing in the living room during the day, and I adore sitting in the dark with the lit tree at night. I had big ideas about making an advent calendar by now, but it didn't happen. I've got a cute cardboard one instead, with tiny chocolates behind each door. The small Bears are used to this kind, and I don't think there will be any complaints.

I'm so thankful for this life. I love to be at home with my family, sharing simple, happy things that we all enjoy. I've been thinking about how I express this on my blog. I've read numerous posts out there lately, pointed posts about how blogs are changing and other social media sites are seemingly taking over. I've read what feels, to me, like complaints about the kinds of blogs that are available to read these days, in the absence of the apparently amazing ones which no longer exist. I've read comments in which people complained about blogs' content (not hard-hitting enough, I gather), decisions about monetizing, bloggers' interactions with their readers. I've seen certain kinds of blogs derided as "twee." I'm not even sure what that means. I realize that people must miss blogs that have gone away. But I think we still have a rich, varied community. I'd like to know your thoughts, readers, on this situation.

I know that blogging has changed me for the better. I choose to highlight the good things here. I choose to be happy. I am a happy person, after all, but it would be foolish to assume that everything in my life is happy. Trust me, it isn't. You would never come back if I chose to write about that stuff. I make things, and I share them. I love where I live and I'm proud of the life we've created here. I love being a mother. I don't regret not having a career. I don't complain much in real life and I won't start doing it here. If that makes my blog unappealing to some, so be it. This blog is not a business, it's not a ploy for attention or an online diary. I know what makes me feel good. I will continue to write about the good things - the positive, uplifting, soul-nourishing things I feel so fortunate to experience.