I love, love this group around our table! Our son,Shea, his Kim and baby Lena were sorely missed and we're praying for a safe journey as they travel back home again from their visit to Kim's family ... We didn't make it "home" this year to be with the extended family - but our thoughts were with them just the same.

God Bless you all -- I hope your day was a happy, love-filled one!

I wrote this poem years ago - but it's where my mind and my heart go every year without fail ...

Pilgrims

We make our journey home
each year to pick clean
the Thanksgiving turkey
and rattle family bones.

We know our roles
play them well,
regress or stretch and swell to fit
our place at table,
our spot in photographs,
our corner.

I wander about the overflowing house
to an empty room and a seat by the window.
Voices fade, the moment surreal,
I strain to see and feel
the ghosts that swirl among
the bronzed leaves of autumns past.

They're all here.
They come to me, chilled
I will them to stay
warm themselves by the fire
that burns in the heart of a family.

Copyright ©2000 Susan M. Kennedy

He also liked the peas ... the mashed potoes -- NOT so much! ;-)

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My mother's dressing and applesauce cake recipies on one page - my mother-in-law's Asparagus Casserole on the other ... I watched tv as I cooked and baked into the wee hours - but as I recall, back when my mom was preparing Thanksgiving dinner for the hoards tv programming ended for the night at around 11:00 p.m. - with the National Anthem, the Lord's Prayer and a stern voice saying, "The time is now 11:00 o'clock p.m.; do you know where YOUR children are?"

Just got me thinkin' ....

They shall grow not old
As we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them
Nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun.
And in the morning
We shall remember them.

~ By Laurence Binyon ~

 Yesterday was the Marine Corps Birthday & 7 yr old Zachary had to try on Grandpa's gear and see his dress whites ... one more time! He plans to be a Marine Officer like Grandpa when he grows into this hat.

This is dedicated to Zachary's Grandpa, NavyMan Papa Baker, to cousin Gary killed in Iraq and to all the Veterans of this great nation. Thank you.

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Autumn on Fire

Autumn on Fire, originally uploaded by Sparky2*.

Autumn on Fire
Best to view full screen ...

I always get so sentimental at this - my favorite - time of year. Enjoy this "fireworks" show to Dr. John's mellow "In A Sentimental Mood" ... :-)

I think my neighbors are finally getting used to seeing me pressed up against their back fence with my camera pointed up into the overhanging branches of their beautiful trees! Bless 'em! ;-)

Why I've Been Away So Long ...

:-) A new grandheart makes six for us now!

She's beautiful and sweet and we're all in love. She was "scheduled" for caesarian arrival on Oct. 27th, but it seems our lovely Lena is a woman with a mind of her own; she took us by surprise and decided the 22nd would be her birthday! We're just tickled pink that she's here with us! Both Lena and Mom are fantastic ... more pics later (duh!) ;-)

So .... please forgive me for not visiting you all in a while! I'll be back up to speed again soon ... see you then! Hope you're enjoying the beautiful autumn!

A Day in the Sun ...

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We had an unexpected window of opportunity open up for a short and impromptu visit to my Mom. Finally, we introduced Lukas to his Louisiana family - just before he was six months old!

A single day of sun between many days of rain - how lucky to be with family that I don't see often enough -- in this special place -- and on a walk with their four dogs, a goose and a duck!
My brother has my dream place ... out in the country with a pond, pine trees, lots of critters and foliage and sunsets - photo ops everywhere you look without leaving your own back yard!
Here my sis-in-law is examining the Imperial Moth caterpillar that we found ... (more on that later!)

This is my sis-in-law's neighbor - her brother. Her other neighbor? Her other brother!

Callie, my beautiful niece, introduces "Duck" to Shannon and Zachary.

Meet Sydney - the cutest miniature English Bulldog ever ... and most unusual for a bulldog - she loves the water - just look at that grin!

Duck and Goose are constant companions ...

Farewell Sweet Summer

Farewell Sweet Summer, originally uploaded by Sparky2*.

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The last of summer's wildflowers ...

Warm Summer Sun
by Mark Twain


Warm summer sun,
Shine kindly here,
Warm southern wind,
Blow softly here.
Green sod above,
Lie light, lie light.
Good night, dear heart,
Good night, good night.

Traveling along the contours of leaves that have no name ...

Traveling along the contours of leaves that have no name ..., originally uploaded by Sparky2*.

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I finally made it to "my pond" ... spent several hours lost in the world of leaves, birdcalls, spiderwebs, lily pads & dragonflies. As I made my way around the huge territory I left bits of myself - a little angst stomped into the mud at the edge of the pond ... a few hopes and dreams sent drifting across the water. I sent prayers and worries scampering high up into the trees I love so much, washed my hands of disappointment and anger in the quickly moving creek - sent it dashing among the rocks and far away.

Finally it was time to head for home ... and I was amazed at how much lighter I felt without the load I carried when I arrived ... truly I am living at the edge of a new leaf.

The Shapes of Leaves
by Arthur Sze


Ginkgo, cottonwood, pin oak, sweet gum, tulip tree:
our emotions resemble leaves and alive
to their shapes we are nourished.

Have you felt the expanse and contours of grief
along the edges of a big Norway maple?
Have you winced at the orange flare

searing the curves of a curling dogwood?
I have seen from the air logged islands,
each with a network of branching gravel roads,

and felt a moment of pure anger, aspen gold.
I have seen sandhill cranes moving in an open field,
a single white whooping crane in the flock.

And I have traveled along the contours
of leaves that have no name. Here
where the air is wet and the light is cool,

I feel what others are thinking and do not speak,
I know pleasure in the veins of a sugar maple,
I am living at the edge of a new leaf.