And This Little Piggy Went Wee Wee Wee All The Way Home!

Actually, I didn't. I only stopped for a couple of potty breaks in two days of driving. But I did feel very piggy, as I can't remember when I've eaten so much rich and varied food in such a short time. Oh, yes I can. In Paris in April. That tells you how well I ate this last week.

But all good things must eventually come to an end and this unexpected trip full of family, friends, and food has ended. There is more to say and share and lots more photos, but they'll have to wait until later as it's time to roll up my sleeves and get to work. I arrived home on the eve of our first snow fall. It's just a little layer that accumulated overnight but I woke up to the sound of cars sliding on the road outside our bedroom window and, although there are clear cold blue skies at the moment, a lot more snow is in forecast for several days. This matches all the lovely holiday decorations I've seen on my travels and in the homes of everyone I've visited this last week but it does NOT match the piles of half dismantled Halloween decorations left un-seasonally laying about here in my own home.

The laugh is that I got "into the holiday spirit" far earlier this year than I can remember for a long time, even before Halloween, and yet here I am behinderer (yes, that's a word. I just made it up. If Stephen Colbert can do it, so can I) than ever! The good news though is I'm not feeling particularly anxious or stressed about it. I feel like I've been spending the holidays doing the things that matter most and that everything else will happen or maybe not happen and I'm not missing anything important. It's also occurred to me that maybe this is what the holidays are like for many other people. People who a) have smaller families or b) can't or aren't expected do "everything" or c) aren't trying to hostess the holiday entirely single handedly or d) a combination of any of these.

Last but not least - in fact, MOST IMPORTANT IN A NOT FUN WAY - while I was away our old sewer system decided to gasp, choke, and crumble. Hubby and William dealt with calling the plumber and peeing in the bushes while I was gone and we now have a temporary "bypass" sort of system which allows us to use our plumbing on a limited basis but creates another problem because gray water ends up coming out in the dog kennel which means we now have no fenced yard area for our dog. We're waiting for estimates for a permanent solution which sounds like a lot of serious money will change hands, we will lose several fences, our concrete courtyard (aka our tiny backyard) will have to be jack hammered to smithereens and, most horrible of all, we will probably have to chop down our apple tree. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH! WEEEEEEEP!!!!!! WAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My poor apple tree. I really can't think about it anymore. It makes me too upset. I have to deal with it in true Scarlett fashion and think about it tomorrow.