November

Jim unearthed this poem the other week, on a cloudy and crummy day, and sent it to me.  With all credit to the poet, Thomas Hood (1799 - 1845), I'd like to share it, as I look out on a foggy skyline.

No!

No sun--no moon!
No morn--no noon!
No dawn--no dusk--no proper time of day--
No sky--no earthly view--
No distance looking blue--
No road--no street--no "t'other side this way"--
No end to any Row--
No indications where the Crescents go--
No top to any steeple--
No recognitions of familiar people--
No courtesies for showing 'em--
No knowing 'em!
No traveling at all--no locomotion--
No inkling of the way--no notion--
"No go" by land or ocean--
No mail--no post--
No news from any foreign coast--
No Park, no Ring, no afternoon gentility--
No company--no nobility--
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member--
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds--
November!

Thomas Hood

Happy Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving Day and I'm not even at home - see my posts in the other blog on the Remodel for details.  But it's a beautiful day, and the laundry will be done in time, and we're spending Thanksgiving with my cousin Mary for the first time in years.  I'm thankful for all of that.

I'm thinking how we lose contact with our family, with our old friends - if you haven't talked to someone in a while, pick up the phone.  Very few people object to being called for a "Hello, how are you?"

I'm thankful my sister seems to be getting better, and finally got a decent doctor.  (That's a whole series of posts I'm still deciding whether or not to write.)

I'm thankful we can afford to fix up the house; we plan to stay there, it's a great house.  For that matter, I'm really thankful that it's "we" - life wouldn't be anything like as good without Jim.

It's about time to leave for my cousin's, so I'll stop here and just say, I hope you all have as happy a Thanksgiving as I'm having.