Turkey hunting

All I want for Christmas is a turkey dinner, and I may not get it. There isn't a decent turkey in this town. The local grocery had a huge one for $42 and change, but that's ridiculous. I'm not paying that much for a turkey. I have two steaks in the freezer and they are my fallback plan. Anyway, I'm going to cross the state line and go turkey hunting this morning. 

We had our first snow of the season a couple of days ago. It barely covered the ground and didn't last long, but I was glad to get to see it. Apparently, it was done for the early riser because it was gone by eight o'clock. 

This year, 2023, is winding down. It wasn't my best year ever, but it was close. I was happy with my garden, and I'm pleased with the amount of firewood my cousin and I have on hand. I did better with my writing in 2023, but I still have unanswered questions. That is to say, I have decisions to make. I blogged about it at Between the Keys. One of those decisions is whether or not to keep Between the Keys and Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway separate or to go back to posting only at Between the Keys. When I was working, I viewed my writing life as separate, but now that I'm retired it's a case of my worlds integrating. 

Between now and the first few weeks of January is typically the time I rest and make plans. This year is no different. It's time to make choices and choose a road to travel. I know that if I choose the wrong one, I can always backtrack. That's one of the gifts of growing older. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor/The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, life choices, country lifestyle, rural living, first snow, Between the Keys, a writer's life, gardening, retirement, romance fiction, turkey, Christmas

No way to judge

Turkey......        check
Potatoes......     check
Stuffing.....    check
Gravy.....        check
Cranberry sauce....    check
Sweet potatoes.....    check
Corn.......       check
Green beans.....    check
Wine.....            check
Bourbon......        check
Pumpkin pie....    check
Butter.....        check
Rolls......    check
Jelly.....    check
Whipped cream....     check
Coffee.....    check

It looks like I have all the ingredients I need in the pantry to fix Thanksgiving dinner for two. It'll be just him and me again this year, and it doesn't bother me much. The world turns. People come and go. Family makeup changes. We take it as it comes.

We are very blessed to be able to look forward to a traditional turkey dinner. Having worked hard all our lives, we were able to get in this position. I got my first job at sixteen, and Himself was working on a farm by the time he was twelve for a dollar a day. In our families, we were expected to work hard just like our parents and grandparents. So we did, and we did it without complaint. Complaining, or acting victimized, were not options. We were not given or taught those options. 

We will give thanks when we sit down at our table because we are thankful.  We'll remember those who came before us who taught us to work hard and manage our resources. My grandparents struggled through the Great Depression and survived. His grandparents had even less. And yet they laid the foundations for us to have a better life, and we do.

He and I do not forget how easily it could have been different. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)