we gather together

this year for thanksgiving our guest list kept growing and growing. eric would run into someone who didn't have plans, I'd invite another neighbor I hadn't seen in a while, those friends would invite another friend who didn't have plans. this explosive inviting is hardly uncommon at mudflower. rabbit just rolls her eyes at me mostly. but this year was different because our wonderful friends lindsay and travis offered the use of their summer house while they are in florida for the winter. here's my thank you to them and to everyone else who joined our family to give thanks this year.

travis and lindsay,

I know it is hard to believe, reading this in sunny south florida, but we woke up to snow flurries thanksgiving morning. no accumulation, nothing to get too excited about, but I couldn't help thinking how different your thanksgiving was probably starting out. there were socks involved in ours, just for instance, and we built a fire in your fireplace first thing. I can't imagine thanksgiving without either one, actually.

you hosted twenty-two people for thanksgiving this year. people came from as far as connecticut and as close as just down seeoff mountain road. we covered the gamut in professions (a chef, a couple of farmers, some graphic designers, a school guidance counselor, theologians, authors, a former auto mechanic, and a first grade teacher, just to name a few). we covered a wide age range, too: in utero all the way to 87. we had people present who have wikipedia entries in their names and people haven't had a "real" job in years and couldn't be happier about it. a whole spectrum of people living a wide spectrum of lives, but, boy we had a really great time.

jamin and cora were so thrilled to be in your house. it was comforting to them to have a place so familiar, even if the season for visiting was all wrong. cora knew just where to find annie's playmobil babies and jamin made a beeline for the games cabinet. they were the ones to show people where the bathroom is, to offer the view of the lake from the deck, to explain your collection of heart-shaped rocks on the back porch. jamin settled right in to a settlers of catan marathon, eager to play after a three month break from this summer. somehow they ended up being the only people present under ten, but they didn't seem to mind at all. we were at coopercameronandannie's house! everything else was just details.

I could hardly wait to introduce people to each other. we had farming friends visiting from new england, and I was super eager to show them the community we have fostered here. there were two alison (allyson) cheeks in the house that had never met each other. there were representatives from non-profits across the county that needed to get to know each other. we had artists that needed to compare notes and a landlord that needed to find housing for someone looking to move to the area and people passionate about community and how to make it stronger that needed to cheer each other on. listening to the conversations buzzing around your living room, so many that I wanted to jump into and be a part of, so many people I love getting to know other people I love, made my heart full enough to burst. it wasn't the only time I wished you were there with me.

and the food! we have managed to surround ourselves with people that not only love and appreciate good food, but that are also quite talented at preparing and presenting it. jason (our chef friend from connecticut) handled the turkey and fixings. it was a bird from busy bee farm and she was a beauty (if you are into that sort of thing, anyway). stephanie (eric's farm friend from new england) brought her own turnips and made this amazing appetizer-y thing that involved pomegranate seeds and goat cheese. rabbit made stuffing with dried cranberries and cashews. nancy made a mystery pie, later revealed to be parsnip. parsnip! there's no way I can tell you everything we had, but suffice it to say there was plenty of it and it was delicious.

I never take enough pictures and thanksgiving was no exception. there are a few of the spread and of eric's plate of leftovers, my children choosing their dessert and people fixing their plates. but how could I capture the magic of that room, the laughter in the glow of the fire, the laid-back feeling that everyone seemed to have? there was no cliched scramble to get things made at this gathering, no stress of who to sit next to whom at the table. we sat where we wanted, we ate as we felt like it, and we gabbed with whoever was nearest. the circle we made just before the serving line started took up the entire living room and kitchen. we held hands, connected ourselves to each other, and connected each other to that moment. it was powerful stuff.

after eating there was football in the front driveway (we need to loan you our ball pump next time you are up here), a walk down to the lake, more settlers of catan (my boy might be a touch obsessed at this point), and everyone took a turn listing what they were thankful for on leaves cora and I had cut out earlier in the week. those leaves are works of art, prayers of gratitude, reminders of what matters. I plan to use them as part of our holiday decorating tradition for years to come.




















people stayed til 930 or so before we finally called it a night. eric and andrew had their annual arm wrestling competition (it is just as giggly as it is macho, rest assured) and the final toast of the night was not with the last of the wine or a good ol' sammy smith's cider, but with crackers topped with tiny dab of mika's ghost pepper relish. the perfect way to end a perfect feast day.

the only thing that could have made the day better was having your family right there with us, and I mean that most sincerely. you would have loved this gathering, the laid-back feel to it, this particular grouping of people, all this happy relaxation in your home. so start planning your visit for next thanksgiving now. I'll be watching for sales on socks for you.

love in all the thankfullest of ways,

wendy