Greetings, friends! It’s Friday AND we’re less than a week away from feasting for Thanksgiving, so I’m feeling good. I am completely infatuated with the trees right now - just oohing and aahing every time I make my daily commute through the display of colors that make thee trees look like they’re on fire. My kids don’t share this same enthusiasm unfortunately, no matter how hard I try. Their loss honestly. I think this (fall to winter) is the most beautiful seasonal transition we have, and it’s got me thinking a lot about how our time is limited with these enchanting leaves, that everything is already preparing for what’s next. Here’s a poem from Mary Oliver that better explains what I mean:
In the deep fall
don’t you imagine the leaves think how
comfortable it will be to touch
the earth instead of the
nothingness of air and the endless
freshets of wind? And don’t you think
the trees themselves, especially those with mossy,
warm caves, begin to think
of the birds that will come — six, a dozen — to sleep
inside their bodies? And don’t you hear
the goldenrod whispering goodbye,
the everlasting being crowned with the first
tuffets of snow? The pond
vanishes, and the white field over which
the fox runs so quickly brings out
its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its
bellows. And at evening especially,
the piled firewood shifts a little,
longing to be on its way.
I hope you are soaking in the autumn beauty while we still have it, friends. Do you have any fun Thanksgiving traditions you’re participating in this week? Share them in the comments!
Now on to this week’s treasures:
🧣 For my fellow Swifties - this video got me good.
🍅 If Silly Songs with Larry lights a reminiscent fire within you, you should enjoy this post about the sexiest veggie tales characters.
🕯️ Dis/entangle is officially over (today is the last day)! Thank you to those of you who have been along for the ride. It has been such a special time and I’m grateful. We have a break in-between studies, but then will start a study of Advent this year called Thunder In the Desert, which will begin so soon on Sunday, November 28th! We’ll be digging in to Isaiah 40 as we journey through the season of Advent together. Here’s a sneak peak of the cover:
If you’re interested in being a part of the study, you can sign up here for only $6 a month! As always, if the mention of dollars makes you sweat and you can’t make that monthly fee happen right now, send me an email at hello@erinhmoon.com and we’ll make sure you’re included!
✝️️ We are doing some fun things over on The Bible Binge - one of which is the newest episode of Favored or Forsaken where we talk through the show Midnight Mass. If you’re done binging the show and need a support group, add this episode to your listening queue (PSA there are spoilers in the episode!)
🍞This is less of a treasure and more of a PSA, but lady Sister Shubert has now discontinued the sausage wrap rolls and I’m not okay.
🧶 I saw this post last week (about the response of many pastors to deconstruction) and I cannot stop coming back to it.
Let’s do some Tweets!
LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK
Alright ladies and gents, hope you have the most lovely weekend. If there are any gorgeous, fiery trees in your vicinity that you’re in love with right now, please share a pic! Can’t wait to see you in the comments.
All our leaves are gone now, and I just put the garden to bed this morning - pulled out all the dead plants, spread fireplace ashes and compost and leaves over all the beds, dug up the dahlias, divided some perennials. It was a lot of work. I was hoping to put up the outside Christmas lights today too, but I ran out of time.
My turd this week is that my husband's brother and his family are coming into town the first week of December, even though my MIL told them to maybe wait since they're unvaccinated and Colorado's ICU beds are 95% full. They have a place to stay, but obviously want to spend as much time with us as possible, and refuse to wear masks. And! They object to us wearing masks because it "inhibits natural interaction" and "feels judgy". My husband's family absolutely sucks at handling conflict, as do I, so there's all this emotional labor going on trying to figure out how to manage the whole disaster. I'm so over it, and wish they'd just cancel and come back when it's warm and we can all be outside and avoid the whole conflict. Gah.
My treasure is that we got our very first brand new, expensive couch that we paid for ourselves. We've been married for 21 years, and before this purchase had paid a total of $25 for couches. This is the first one where I've gotten to pick out the style and the fabric and had to wait months for its arrival! I feel like an adult, you guys.
Happy Friday to the best group on the Internet! You have Pie Night Traditions, and it is brilliant. I am totally copying you next year.
Erin - our area is also beautiful this time of year. It almost stops my heart just running errands. Grey, foggy days are the best because the color really stands out. I grew up in a town with the most boring tree canopy. All brown all the time. So I am so glad that my adult years have been in a place with glorious color in the fall. I am on an IG break and have not yet fired up my old blog, so I can't post pictures, but it is stunning.
Just back from my booster, and i tell ya. My appointment was at a small, local pharmacy. I live in a very diverse neighborhood. And when I left the shop the line was out the door and around the building and it was one of the most beautiful things I've seen. All races. All ages. All ability levels. Young men who had driven and were helping their non-english speaking grandmas and grandpas. Old couples holding each other up as they waited their turn. One guy installed himself as door man so wheelchairs could maneuver in more easily. A mish mash of languages. Lots of crinkly, smiling eyes above their masks. Everyone cheering each person as they left the building. "Yay! Good for you! Hope your side effects aren't too bad!" I teared up. It made me feel the same way that watching people go up for communion makes me feel. Gah! That is the good stuff.
Thanksgiving is my fave. We are prepping this weekend, for two, actually. We are not gathering with family, because those relationships are still too painful. But we feel like we need to celebrate anyway. So we are gathering with friends that have also separated from family and that have been extra isolated this year and a half. Thanksgiving is a rough holiday for them even without a pandemic, and I'm hoping we can boost their spirits with pie and a salad. But my husband loves making turkey, so we are making a whole meal and then packing up to go boxes to deliver to a few of our single buds with flowers from my friend who does centerpieces. It is not the usual thanksgiving with everyone gathered, but it has lifted my heart to plan dropoffs and plan fun surprises for people. Tiny bottles of champagne! :D Anyway. A weird, but hopefully still joyous day to look forward to.