earlier in October

Now, rewind all that and you get October. Still so much green turning yellow turning red and orange, but as the month creeps on, the colder temperatures shock the system into scrounging for warm clothes and hats and mittens. Then suddenly there are more leaves on the ground than on the trees and everywhere you walk, your path is softened by leaf litter, the best specimens tucked into many different books to keep flat as they dry and maybe even waxed later.

Is this post too long? I just mentioned Thanksgiving so I thought I would slip in some photos from that weekend.
Once I had the kitchen under control and the tablecloth kind of ironed, I took a few minutes to raid the garden for some floral centerpieces. The flowers are legit, zinnias and marigolds. It’s the greens that look suspicious: celery leaves and carrot tops, thyme and oregano. Somehow it all seemed to work and the arrangements lasted for close to two weeks.
My husband is not big on centerpieces; he would prefer to not have to look through or over or around to see the food or his fellow diners. So I’ve learned to keep the table trinkets low-key and maneuverable.
The little girls’ table also was given some attention this year, including a very exciting tea candle which was immediately the center of much attention as to when they would get to blow it out. It lasted a couple minutes after the last forkful of food had been consumed and then the candle was promptly extinguished. Ambiance appreciation comes with age, I think.