Hi, everyone!
We had a little bit of snow for one day just before Thanksgiving, but it melted right away! Since then, the weather has been very warm for this time of year. Yesterday it was 50 degrees F. during the day and it might be even warmer next Saturday!
This time of year there are lots of holidays and gatherings with friends and remembering times. On Thanksgiving, Grandma and Grandpa and I had dinner with Joe-san and Nancy-san and Moose-san and Tilly. I helped Grandma make the apple pie we always bring. We had enough apples off our own trees in Fairport to make three pies, so we took one of those. Our Golden Delicious apples make especially yummy pies! This was Tilly’s first Thanksgiving with us, so she didn’t know what to expect. We liked all the food: from Joe-san’s pumpkin ravioli appetizer right through to the apple pie and Nancy-san’s traditional steamed plum pudding!
December 2 is the remembering day for Uncle Bill, so that’s when Grandpa switched the outdoor light power over to the lights Grandma and I put on the apple trees. It rained all day, but Grandpa watched for a break in the heavy rain to plug in the electric cord. The rain stopped after dark, so Grandma was able to take a picture of the lights then.
We got our first Christmas card yesterday! Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s church to decorate it for Christmas. Grandpa puts the stars in the tall windows in the sanctuary, and Grandma decorates the Christmas tree underneath the windows. She puts bird ornaments on the very top in memory of Uncle Bill and another young man, Timothy, who died the same year. I made sure the birds understood their special purpose! I helped put the burlap skirt around the Christmas tree, then I made friends with the Advent wreath of candles. Each week, somebody in the church lights an additional candle to count the time until Christmas. I practiced with the candle lighter, just in case somebody asks me to do it! Then I made friends with one of the church Christmas wreaths before we took our own wreath home to put on the front door.
When we got home from decorating the church, Grandma decided the apple trees needed more lights! I helped put another two strings of lights on the last apple tree in the row and the gap between that tree and the one next to it. We finished just in time for the lights to turn on for the evening!
James and Thomas and their mommy came from the Netherlands last Tuesday night to be with Grandma Ginny. They were very tired when they got here and have colds now, so I haven’t had a chance to play with them yet. This week and next week I hope we can have lots of holiday adventures together!
Love,
Lion-san
It was fun having you for Thanksgiving and doing the Christmas tree at church. Your lights look nice. There are never enough lights and they look soooo pretty. Nancy-san thought we had snow this morning but it was just a heavy frost.