Every Morning

   Across the Bayou there is a housing development that has huge, expensive homes.  This is in high contrast to the Little Bayou House.  It is neither...but it is home...and it is exactly what I prefer.  Not that I have any misgivings about people who wish to have their fancy homes, it is just not for me.  I do enjoy seeing the homes and I am sure the people who own them are fine folks.  I will stick where I am comfortable, though.  Also across the way, is a gazebo-shaped clubhouse for the people who live in those fine homes.  The gazebo is right in line with my view of the sunrises so I have become very familiar with it.  In fact, it is probably one of the most photographed buildings in this area.  Every morning, I take photographs of the dawn and sunrise.  EVERY MORNING...every last morning that gazebo has its picture taken.  I have thousands of pictures of a place that I have never stepped inside.  

  Several years ago, I showed my daughter some of the photographs and she dubbed the gazebo "The House of the Rising Sun".  Yes, we know that is a song and there is an actual inn with the same name down in New Orleans.  Our "House" is none of the aforementioned.  It is just a gazebo that is in line of the sunrise.  During certain times of the year, the sun illuminates the entire inner portion of the clubhouse and literally makes it glow...thus, "House of the Rising Sun",

  Since the pier is still in the process of being repaired, I have to settle for different positions of photographing the sunrises.  I cannot get my usual "perfect" shots but the time spent is still my favorite.  The peace is still there.  It is all good.

It Has Become A Tradition

  For the past few years, I have tried to slip out of the kitchen long enough to get a photograph of the sunrise on Thanksgiving morning.  Sometimes it is hard to do since cooking for the "Big Day" involves a major undertaking.  I was smart this year, however!  I did something that I have never done before and it was one of those "smack my head" moments.  Duh!! Anything to make any mealtime easier is a happy thing but when it comes to large, all inclusive, family meals, a few moments saved here and there can be a lifesaver.  This brilliant idea was such a no brainer that I cannot believe I have never done it before!  

  I am one of those folks who has a myriad of crockpots or slow cookers.  Duh!  Use the crockpots!  Yep, with Mark wanting all traditional foods, Darling Daughter being a vegan, Son and Son-in-law being big meat-eaters and me being a pescatarian the meal preps were a bit overwhelming so I solved it all by pulling out the crockpots.  Mark's traditional green bean casserole, the sweet potato pone AND the ham were all cooked in the slow cookers!  Brilliance!  That freed up the oven for the turkey and dressing (a regular giblet type and a vegan cranberry sauce filled one).  Of course, the stove top came into play for the mashed potatoes, gravy (vegan and turkey), plain green beans (for those not able or willing to eat the casserole), plain cauliflower (again for those not willing to eat roasted cauliflower soup).  Elizabeth and Robbie brought the soup, a delicious salad and some of the best yeast rolls that I have ever eaten!  We finished this all off with 3 different desserts!  But! It was those crockpots that saved hours!  Everything was in place and ready to go before sunrise!  I am thankful for so many things but added to the list this year are two more things.  I am thankful for brilliant ideas and for the invention of crockpots!

  The Thanksgiving sunrise custom came into play several years ago when I had a houseful of people all wanting a huge meal.  Well, with that many folks, a gigantic turkey had to be roasted so I was up in the wee hours of the morn.  Once the bird was in the oven, there was nothing else to do but head to the pier to collect my thoughts before the hubbub of the day started. Once everyone else was awake, it would be ridiculous to even think of escaping to the pier.  While I was there, the sun peeped up over the pines and crept into the gazebo across the way.  It appeared as if the sun was housed by the large gazebo.  When I showed Darling Daughter the photo, she dubbed it "The House of the Rising Sun" after the well-known song.  That first photo was taken nine years ago and I am still scurrying down to the pier each Thanksgiving morn to get my "House of the Rising Sun" photo.  This morning did not disappoint.  

Rainbow Brite.uhh..Bright?

I seem to spend a lot of time on the end of my pier. It is one of my favorite places to sit and contemplate life in general. There are a lot of answers to be found in and around the water..answers to questions about anything. Why, there are even answers to questions you have not asked yet! Actually most of the time, I am not really pondering anything. It is the sheer beauty of the water that draws me. The other evening, my sister-in-law visited the pier. We sat, chatted a while and then meandered back to the house. On the way, I noticed a gorgeous sunset and then turning eastward, a beautiful rainbow. As we admired the splendid view, another rainbow appeared a bit further south. A double rainbow! I have been seeing lots of reports of double rainbows lately. The media is full of clips of excited people viewing double rainbows. There is a lot of mysticism attached to these spectacles. Then again a lot of people are searching for signs in anything. A deep thought entered the brain about this point..do we need a double rainbow? Rainbows have almost become synonymous with a new beginning..a new hope that things will be better. This is a lovely thought..but is the world in such dire straits that we need double rainbows to lift us? Wow! I hope not! I will enjoy my double rainbow just because it was there. Then again..viewing a weather phenomenon as a sign of better times might not be a bad thing at all.

Speaking of rainbows, there was a color-play dancing about the dining room with the setting sun. There is a shelf in front of the windows that is filled with bottles of all sorts and colors and when the sun poured in the window, these bottles seemed to be trying to catch each ray. It gave the room a rather unique appearance for a short time until the sun slipped behind the trees. Beauty is all around us if we would just be open to seeing it. A dozen old bottles, a bit of dust (ok..a lot of dust) and a sunbeam.. breathtaking sight in the making to those who can visualize it. Maybe it is the artist in me but I find pulchritude in the most unusual things. (There is a word for you.. pulchritude. Whenever I hear or use this word, it almost makes me think it has just the opposite meaning of what it really does. Pulchritude.. somehow doesn't paint images of loveliness now does it??)