First Thanksgiving

Well, now we've had our first Thanksgiving at the farm.   Joel and I drove up to the farm with both of the dogs in the backseat of my car.   We towed the utility trailer filled with our fire pit and adirondack chairs and the back of the Tahoe was packed to the roof.   When we got up to the farm Joel had to de-winterize the travel trailer so we could use the water systems for cooking and washing and flushing.    Didn't take us long though to warm it up as the fireplace pumped out heat along with the propane heater.   The dogs settled down in front of the fireplace and "assumed the position".  Ha!

They look pretty comfy, don't they?     It just cracked us up that they plopped down on their towels and promptly fell asleep.  It was pretty cold the next morning when I took Molly outside at 6:30am.   As a matter of fact, it was 17 degrees and a bit breezy.   A couple of days later we even had sleet!

 The leaves were "crunchy" under our feet because they had a thin layer of ice on them.

I have always thought it was goofy to put articles of clothing on animals, but when I saw this water repellant coat for Molly, I just couldn't resist.   And at least it kept her from getting so wet.....awww, come on.....she looks adorable, don't you think?

 Not only did  the temps stay in the 20's and 30's for most of the week, we also got some snow!

 Just enough snow to put a soft coating on the ground....

 ....and on the roofs.....

.....and around the trees.   It was fun to see snow again, even if it was only a dusting.

 It was cold enough outside that we put food on the picnic table to keep it frozen until we were ready to heat it up.    There just wasn't enough room in the RV refrigerator, but that wasn't a problem with the low temps we were experiencing.

On Thanksgiving Day, I put the pumpkin pies outside to finish cooling and then to chill them before we had them for dessert!

Jeremy drove in from S.D. and arrived in time for Thanksgiving dinner.   We had Jeremy call us when he was in the nearest town and we quickly got in our car and drove out to the highway to meet him and show him how to get to the farm.   Boy, was he ever a sight for sore eyes.   And this mama was just grateful that he had safely made the trip to be with us for the holiday.

And his dog, Winston, looked pretty happy to see him, too.    Jeremy took Winston back to S.D. with him as he is his dog and we were just dog sitting for a while.   Now it's just us and the little fluffy dog.

 After we had our fill of turkey, mashed potatoes and all the trimmings, Jeremy brought out his guitar and played for us.

 Early next morning I made my guys one of their favorite breakfasts......thick, smokey bacon fried crisp with biscuits and scrambled eggs and lots of coffee to go with it all.  I just love cooking for my boys.

 Later on Friday the guys went into the woods and collected a bunch of wood and we sat around the campfire, catching up with each other.   It was so nice to have the whole day Friday to just relax and explore around the farm.

 Friday night we surprised Jeremy by celebrating his birthday 2 days early.    We cooked his favorite dinner....steaks on the grill and baked potatoes.

He had asked for some t-shirts from the local sports teams so, we got him a selection of shirts and baseball caps representing Tampa Bay that he can proudly wear around Sioux Falls.

 Saturday morning came all too soon and it was time for Jeremy to "turn and burn" as he had a 16 hour drive ahead of him to get back home.    We couldn't find Molly and then I turned the corner and there she was.....sitting in the passenger seat of Jeremy's truck.   He had the door to his truck open and she jumped in and made herself at home.  She loves to go for a ride!

 One last time for the dogs to play together......for Molly's whole life she has had Winston around to play with her.   We wondered how she was going to react without having him in the house anymore.  Winston will probably be glad to sleep more as he is much older than she is.

 Ok, buddy, time to get in the car.....this time your ride is going to be even longer.

 It was hard to watch Jeremy drive away again, but we're sure he will come back to the farm one day soon.    He confided to me that when we told him we had bought the farm he thought we were nuts.   But now that he saw it all in person, he understood why we were so excited about it.   That was a really nice thing for this mama to hear.

Hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday,
Debbie