I don't think I've ever put together a Thanksgiving table in October -- at least, not in recent years. I'm always too far behind schedule to do that. This year, things are a little different. I've offered committed to having my family's Christmas Day gathering at our house, so I'm going to start decorating for Christmas earlier than ever before. It will feel strange, but I need to get as much of a head start on things as possible.
Our Thanksgiving tables in previous years have always featured my Johnson Brothers "His Majesty" dishes, and my centerpiece was always a cornucopia overflowing with the bounty of a harvest season. I enjoyed using these pieces, because the "horn of plenty" has always been a big symbol of Thanksgiving to me. This year, I was in the mood to do something different.
Fall is finally starting to make itself felt here. We're having a late fall this year, but the signs are there. The nights are cooler and crisper, it smells like fall outside, high school football is back in town, and front porches are sporting mums and pumpkins.
I've been making some changes in our den recently, and earlier, I promised to share those with you. Since I'm not quite finished yet, tonight will be just a few sneak peaks at the room as it looks for fall.
Hello all! Are you having a good month? Today it finally feels like fall here in our part of North Carolina. What a month it's been. We got the effects of Hurricane Michael here yesterday, and oh wow! I told Mr. Forest Manor that I spent almost a whole week worrying about Hurricane Florence (which was a disaster for the N.C. coast) because there was so much hype about it beforehand. I barely gave Hurricane Michael a thought, until yesterday that is, but Michael was actually worse for us in the Piedmont area than Florence was.
So what have I been up to since I last posted here? For starters, spending time with family. On Friday, September 28th, Hal and I took his parents to see the Chihuly exhibit at Biltmore Estate. We had a beautiful day to travel up there, the exhibit was amazing, and we had dinner at the Stable Cafe on the estate, which was a lot of fun, too.
