It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving break is here once again! After a weekend away on a youth retreat, home seems very, very quiet with just Mama, Ladybird and Little Gavin (Daddy being gone on a business trip until tomorrow afternoon). But there hovers a cosy, festive spirit in the fire-lit house on the hill that keeps the four of us warm until more of the family returns on Thanksgiving Day. We have only listened to a little bit of Christmas music so far, in order to enjoy it all the more tomorrow while doing Thanksgiving preparations, and my appetite for holiday music and lyrics has been thoroughly wetted. Our little Willamette valley seems quite ready for winter, with huge rain ponds covering former harvest fields, trees shedding vibrant coats and the sound of sleepy rain or blustery wind lulling each evening into night.