Monday, November 29, 2021

T Stands for the Holiday Weekend

Hi everyone. Happy new week everyone.

It is time again for another T day over at Bleubeard's and Elizabeth's blog .  It is also now Hanukkah so let me wish all of you who celebrate a wonderful holiday of lights.  And lastly, since it is the final day of November, I want to thank Leah for hosting another wonderful month of Art Every Day Month.

My last piece of art for this monthly share over at AEDM Day 30! are the  mittens I first posted back on Day 6 of the month.  They are now finished and ready to wear. 

Here's the front.


And the back before I blocked them.


I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving had a wonderful day. My husband and I went to my sister-in-laws over in Maine. Here's a group photo, minus my husband who was the photographer. That's me on the left  front  scrunched up (so my sister in law wouldn't be block by my head) with the scarf. 


The man at the head of the table is my SIL's husband Dave. He is a professional chef and baker so the meal was quite delicious.  He not only roasted one turkey but smoked a turkey too. 

My ticket to T this was this drink which was not wine, but a festive pomegranate sangria that Ally, the girl in the grey near the head of the table made. It was quite delicious.


It was a relaxing and fun holiday weekend. Besides eating too much for Thanksgiving, my husband and I went out early on Friday to cut our Christmas tree before the rain started. 


Not cheap by any means, (buying a fresh tree is still a tad but more),  but it is always fun to go find and then chop a tree. Plus the tree farm  is located in my town and it is always good to help support a local small business.


Here's my husband with the tree once we'd picked it out and before we'd chopped it down.


We had just paid for our tree and put it in the back of his truck when it started to rain.  Since the rain was supposed to, and did, turn to snow later in the day, we put the tree in our garage until Sunday and then wrapped up the weekend by putting it up. 


The other weekend project was to finish winterizing the bees.

You might remember I wrapped them in an insulated waterproof blanket. I also put an insulated hive box on the top under the cover. You can see the insulated bee blanket (it is the black layer), and the insulated winter hive box is the yellow box on top.


We wrapped the base and lower boxes with some landscape fabric and then went and picked up some hay bales. The bee blanket and insulated hive box should be good, but they don't insulate the open space under the hive. That's what the  hay bales should do. Now, I just have to keep my fingers crossed that all is well in the hive and wait for warm weather next spring before I find out how they fared. 


 I left the hive openings uncovered, so the bees are able come out on a warm day.  

It was a low key but nice weekend. And as usual, it flew right by. Next up, Christmas.  Unless time slows down, it will be here before we know it.

I'll  have some more California photos to share with you next week for T.  

Have a great week and a happy T day too.














 

21 comments:

Mae Travels said...

How interesting that you have to protect bees from winter weather. I thought they were adapted to the climate in northern states.

best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Looks like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and meal. I emember smokinig tureys and salmon in my smoker, but I didn't even want to think about turkey this weekend. Some friends served duck, but I'm not fond of dark meat, which duck is. Thankfully, I didn't go hungry even without the duck.

Loved seeing you and your husband cutting your tree. It is rather a bit more expensive, but I agree that you are good to support your local business. It's a beautiful tree and nicely decorated, too.

So glad you got the bees taken care of. I hope this keeps them warm and safe over the winter months. And your snow is magical, too.

Thanks for sharing your Thanksgiving meal, your tree cutting and decorating, your bee insulating, and your sangria with us for T this almost Tuesday. Thanks again for joining me again this year at AEDM, too.

kathyinozarks said...

Your Thanksgiving gathering looks wonderful, so nice to be able to celebrate together.
Your bees are going to be well protected from the winter cold and storms.
and so fun that you can still cut down a tree-I enjoyed that when I was a kid at home.
Happy T wishes Kathy

Angie's Recipes said...

That looks like a really yummy holiday meal! Love the gloves..beautiful colour and look so warm too.

Iris Flavia said...

Winter can come I´d say!

Lovely group photo and yum, it looks great and makes me hungry!

My Dad would also always have a real tree. Mind you, I never witnessed where he got it from or how it got up in the house. Yours looks beautiful. My Dad always had the boring traditional deco. Hope your bees will be fine in the cold!

Looking forward to California - happy T-day!

Valerie-Jael said...

You had a great visit with your family. Nice to see so many of you sitting round the table and enjoying lovely dinners. You picked a great tree, too, and it's always good to support local producers. The tree looks beautiful with the decorations. And the bees look cosy for the winter, I hope they all do well! Hugs, Valerie

nwilliams6 said...

Wow, Erika, the food looks wonderful - the drink too. So great to spend time with family (especially if one is a professional chef - lol). You are such a great beekeeper - thanks for sharing that information about keeping them warm - I learned something.

Your mittens are wonderful - you are so talented.

Love your tree and that you and hubby chopped it. So fun.

Happy T-day!

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Lots of food on that table and it all look delicious! I am quite sure you should soon be receiving the Beekeeper's Order of Merit, for taking such good care of your hives. No doubt the bees are deeply grateful (it's Thanksgiving after all) and will reward you with copious quantities of honey next year!

wendy kirk said...

Lovely warm mittens and a gorgeous tree. I couldn’t get onto your blog from the AEDM site, could be my computers or the AEDM site, I can’t comment on Monica’s at all. Looks like a great family get together.
Hugs Wendy

Jackie McGuinness said...

I am heading out on this snowy morning to get some wool!

craftytrog said...

Lovely photos Erika! The mittens look very cosy and beautiful, the family meal looks fun and delicious, and your Christmas tree looks very festive. You've been good bee parents, and I'm sure they'll be very warm and toasty over the winter.
Happy last day of AEDM!
Alison.

craftytrog said...

Oops! Meant to say that your link on AEDM Day 30 took me to 'Creative Every Day Blog, AEDM Day 30', and not to your blog post.

Linda Kunsman said...

a wonderful photo and Thanksgiving feast around the table with family- the way it should be. And aren't you lucky to have a chef in the mix:):)
Love the mittens- they came out perfectly.
Glad you were able to get your tree- it looks fab! Fingers crossed for the bees in the spring. Happy T day!

Divers and Sundry said...

What a festive table! It looks like you've found the perfect tree. It looks great in your home.

Those bees fascinate me. They're now all warm and cozy for the winter ahead.

Happy T Tuesday!

ashok said...

Wonderful to read this post

Empire of the Cat said...

Oh you finished the mittens! They are fab Erika, I love those colours together. It looks like you had a lovely time on TG day, and pomegranate sangria sounds delightful. It would be fun to cut your own tree, and yours looks lovely all dressed up. I do hope the bees are OK over the winter, looks like you did a good job insulating them against the weather. Happy T Day! Elle/EOTC xx

CJ Kennedy said...

Such a delicious gathering. Looks like you made the bees all comfy cozy for the Winter. Your tree looks so pretty. We're debating putting the tree up inside the house. Out in the sun room might be better this year with the kitties. Speaking of Winterizing, I sent an email asking how you Winterize your screen porch. Looking for ideas to get the greenhouse through the Winter.
Happy T Day!

Kate Yetter said...

Sounds like a delicious Thanksgiving meal with your family. I would certainly eat too much if we had a chef in the family.
Fresh trees are the best! We used to cut our own but it got to be SO expensive, more work and we had to drive a ways. Now we just purchase pre-cut but I miss cutting our own. Yours looks lovely in your home.
Happy Tea Day,
Kate

Lisca said...

Great photos of your family round the table at Thanksgiving. The meal looks delicious. I've never heard of smoked turkey, but I suppose you can smoke anything if you put a mind to it.
Interesting to learn about the bees in winter. Do you now just leave them alone until spring?
What a beautiful tree! A shame you had to cut it. Could they not sell it to you with the root ball? It means that the tree will die which is a waste of a beautiful tree. A tree in a pot could be planted in your garden after Christmas....
The tree looks fun with all the coloured ornaments.
Well done you for knitting those beautiful mittens. It looks quite complicated. I'll stick to socks.
Sorry I'm late,
Happy T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca

DVArtist said...

Wow what a lovely time with family. The food looks amazing too. So glad the bees are warm and comfy for the winter. Have a wonderful day.

NatureFootstep said...

it is obvious, winter is here and I love the mittens you created :)