Blowing Hard

Our Thanksgiving celebration in school was very pleasant. Three of my afternoon students stayed in our classroom and cooked all morning. It was a lovely, fun time. Robin's class joined us for turkey dinner with a yam casserole, corn, mashed potatoes, pureed squash, and stuffing with gravy. I brought in my farm booth checkered tablecloths which Robin kindly washed for me in the handicapped classroom washer, and we borrowed extra pots from Gretchen's kitchen. There was the usual annoying competition over who will pick the music, but, for the most part, it was very enjoyable. I found it extremely gratifying to see students who have "issues" peeling and dicing potatoes and happily washing dishes. We put together plates of Thanksgiving Dinner for several of our favorite teachers in the wing and sent them around. Tomorrow we'll get the carcass simmering and make soup. Could I let good bones go to waste? Never! I drove home in an icy rain with the wind coming up. Now it's blowing hard with the waxing gibbous peeking intermittently out of the black clouds racing across the sky. Not a good night to tip toe out before dawn to watch the Leonid Meteor Shower, which I was looking forward to. The hay mow over the little apartment is shaking and making the familiar creaky music. Some of the sheep have found their way back into the lower barn. They seem to like walking on the narrow corridor of concrete floor and gaze around at their old haunt. Maybe they are wondering why the ceiling is so much higher. Now I can replace the light bulbs I smashed with my head. Stan and Son will come back in the spring to do the rest of the cleaning out. We'll take down the old wooden cow stanchions and clean all the way to the sides. Many of the old windows need to be replaced. I wish I had a picture of this barn in it's glory. It must have been magnificent. It's still the most beautiful barn around.