It is Tuesday and the wind has finally calmed down. It has been bone chilling cold with the wind blowing, but the sun is shining and the sky has been beautiful. The battle with the leaves is still on. Even with the wind they are still hanging on the branches and seem like they are coming down a few at a time. It will be Christmas by the time they are all off the tree and we can put the rakes and blowers away.

Happy Birthday to all who celebrated their day this past week. Big balloons go out to Yasmin Sena and Kiara Hanson, who celebrated their day Nov. 15; Madeline DeLaive, Nov. 16; Emanual Lage, Maple Kaeka, Nov. 17; Jaslyn Oleveira, Emanual Nieblas, Nov. 18; Francisco Franco, Nov. 19; and to Nickolas Rocha, Cornelius Van Rooyen and Jaxson Flanders who all celebrate their day on Nov. 21.

Thanksgiving is upon us. The turkeys are piling up in the Stop & Shop, there are loads of cranberries for the ever-popular cranberry sauce, jelly, chutney and even an appetizer. People are shopping for all their favorite fixings and getting ready to travel or welcome their family here. I know it still happens in some families, but the good China comes out, the silver is in the process of being polished and the cloth napkins are being washed and ironed, to present the perfect dinner table. The Norman Rockwell “Freedom from Want” comes to mind as the perfect family dinner.

Meanwhile the roping and balsam wreaths have arrived at the nursery. We have all been busy getting the accessories together to decorate the wreaths and roping. We also have a wet wreath that the girls have been working on for the past three weeks. Wet wreaths (say that 10 times fast) are a labor of love. It starts out with a very large bag of moss that is placed in a big barrel of water and soaked for at least a full day. The moss is then put in a wreath ring and molded so it can be wrapped with green wrapping. Then comes the pinning of the ribbon for the backing to keep the door or wall from getting wet and holding in the water. The girls picked in different greens one stem at a time to form a beautiful unique wreath that will last through the winter months as the greens are picked one piece at a time into the moss which helps them stay fresh.

They are pricey but the hours put into them and the fact that they last for the winter make it all worthwhile.

Wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. If you are traveling, please travel safely.  Those of you staying here I hope you can enjoy some family time.

Have a great week and keep the home candles burning.