It has been a while

since I last posted.  It's been a while since I have done a lot of things including going home to Kentucky to visit family and friends.  It's been longer still since I've been home with family for Thanksgiving but I put an end to that  on Wednesday when I  flew  home to Kentucky to  hug my Mom and eat some turkey.

My Mom, Catherine, the wife  of my youngest brother James, my Aunt Helen (my father's sister.

I hugged my Mom several times.  The fact that I didn't eat any turkey  while I was there was not because there wasn't one very large bird oozing dressing from the stuffed cavity but the fact that there was a whole lot of other stuff that I put on my plate before I made my way down the tables filled with food and reached the bird.


     Our family Thanksgiving dinners are always held someplace that will accommodate a lot of people; church basements, firehouses, clubhouses, etc.  Our gatherings are very casual affairs so everyone from the oldest to the youngest feels welcome.   This year about 75 of us gathered at the Marriot hotel near the airport. 

     The Gibson clan long ago outgrew being held in a family members home.  I was the last to do so about 20 years ago.  Back then I had to borrow folding chairs from a local funeral home in order to have enough seats for everyone.  Even with 75 present at this gathering  there were half again, at the least, that many who could not come because of travel distance, in law commitments or jobs.

      Our Thanksgiving dinners are always  pot luck affairs with lots of food.  Some items you would think of as Thanksgiving faire and other items that aren't.   So picking and choosing your favorites rules the day.  The fact that I can't eat wheat, removed from my list  cornbread dressing,  rolls, my daughter Rene's  mac and cheese everyone raves about and  my sister's lasagna that one stands the risk of missing out on if you are at the back of the line.  Then there were the pies, and too many cakes, to count let alone name.  But believe me there was a whole lot of other stuff for me to eat.


Granddaughter Olivia, my sister Vivian, her daughter Shevika and my daughter Rene' before the eating began

     On Wednesday when I got in I met up with my friend Kathy A. We had dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant "Lemongrass" located in the neighborhood where I used to live.  I was surprised to have Kath's daughter Stephanie join Kathy and me for dinner and surprised more when her youngest son Willie stopped by.   I was so happy to see both of them and to meet Willie"s girl-friend who came along to meet me too.  After dinner Kathy and I stopped  at  "Comfy Cow" an ice cream shop in her neighborhood , (it's never to cold for me to enjoy a scoop or two of ice cream).  before we went on to her home to sit talking for hours.

     Woke to a dusting of snow on Thursday which reminded me why I don't like traveling north of the Florida/Georgia state lines after the first of November.  And it was cold.  I used the zoom lens on my camera to get this image, from our hotel window that  faced the airport.

I know there are homes in Florida with fireplaces but I've never seen one lit.  So this one in our hotel suite was a nice touch.  You know the Christmas Song with the line about roasting chestnuts, well..  I've never roasted any that way or anyway for that matter,  but as I sat sipping a cup of coffee Thursday morning that line kept running  through my head . 
 

  And there I was with no coat, hat or gloves.  I wore layers and was not outside very long, just long enough to move quickly from  doorways to the car and from the car through another doorway.  Ahh heat!
     After dinner a friend came to the hotel where Rene' and I stayed and sat chatting with me in the lobby  til after midnight.
     I was glad I went and oh so happy when I got home after a rather bumpy ride on a plane with crying kids.  The crying kids on planes heading to Orlando to see the Mouse or out of after seeing the Mouse is something that comes with the territory. 

   Because my blog is for the most part about what I create with cloth, here is a look at the last piece I finished.  It's been trimmed, but still needs a facing and sleeves.  When that is done, it will measure 20" by 23"