Good morning from sunny Vermont. I attended a memorial service yesterday in Kents Corner and will head back home this afternoon. The foliage is still stunning here, even though the fuzzy browns of stick season have taken over. I’m grateful for my eyesight–I wouldn’t want to miss the show.

As October goes, I’m turning my sights toward winter and Christmas. All my woolens are out and my scraper is in the car (though more unnecessary now that my car fits in the garage). Perhaps next weekend I’ll tackle putting the gardens to bed and figure out how to clean out and refill the feeders. These are big jobs in my mind, but not insurmountable. I just wish I were taller and had a stronger back.

As to Christmas, I’ve corralled the gifts I’ve picked up throughout the year and have started “the great list” of things I hope to find for friends and family. Our custom has been to make our gifts, with my ideas and Tim’s cleverness, but not so for this year. And of course that leads me to Christmas music and the yearly question of when I should start listening to it. For most of my life I’ve waited until Thanksgiving; this was my dad’s rule. When Covid first struck I started in October. For this year, November 15th sounds about right. Since I don’t go shopping, I’m not inundated with early Christmas displays and over the top capitalism. I can approach Christmas with quiet and contemplative steps, inch up to it with anticipation and joy. I like that part of me.

Many of you will be thinking that I’m rushing the holidays. I say whenever joy finds you then revel in it. Life is fleeting after all. Check back next week for another segment of Finding Home.

Lisa