Photo Essay  

So I had a couple requests for a picture of ME in orange. And flannel. I think I look ten years older up there. Maybe it's just the dirt.Before I show that picture, I have to torture you with pictures from the weekend. Yes, this means I am currently enjoying heat, electricity and wifi.

I was thankful there was orange to keep the dogs safe. Beanie was safe.

So was Buster. His orange was far more sophisticated.

There was a great deal of work to do to close the house for the winter.

Walter cooked a fabulous dinner the night before everyone arrived. Steak tips over the fire, sweet potatoes wrapped in foil and tossed into the coals and a wedge with blue cheese. It was still too cold to eat in the dining room, so we pulled the table in front of the fire.

After two solid days of stoking the fire, using the oven, and lighting the lamps, the house reached a warm, toasty 70 degrees.

The rain started to come down, the fog moved in and the wind picked up. It was fall in New England.

The storm system turned the weather warmer, the sea rougher.

Jake learned how to pass the time in a fog bank.

By Thanksgiving breakfast, Allan had almost finished boarding up the cottage, Walter had spent hours troubleshooting the water pump, and I had pondered how to serve bread, since I had no toaster and the oven was full of turkey.

I grilled thick slices of bread. Not bad.

Yes, I know the napkin is in the wrong place. Ben set the table. At least he remembered a napkin.

While I grew up with mashed sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner, a mixture that was clearly the filling for sweet potato pie, minus the shell, Jeanine has introduced a new favorite to the family. Sweet Potato Gnocchi.

It take time, especially when there is no running water at the time, but is the most amazing burst of flavor.

I set the table.

Dinner was great. We all shared something we were grateful for. Jake was grateful for his family, and I was grateful he could write that down on a piece of paper by himself. Allan was grateful we drove by the house in August and saw the sign. Walter was grateful for having the time to spend together, as was Jeanine.

Ben was grateful he wasn't in orange.

Jake waited for Walter to cut the turkey.

Zachary loved sitting at the head of the table.

After dinner, we all chilled, quietly, even without a football game to watch.

Even Buster, who found a home on Jeanine's side, as she napped on the couch. Rolling gnocchi is hard work.

And now that I've soothed your eyes with black and white... I'll give you some orange.

Too old. Too tired.

Great holiday.