This past weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving. At Monty's, I ate a plate of the traditional Thanksgiving meal: turkey, beans, potatoes, squash, gravy and of course stuffing and cranberry sauce. I took some photos of my meal and then Monty's snarky cousin, who shall not be named, but who sat in the corner, said something along the lines of, "Geez, look at her, taking pictures of her FOOD!" As if that was the craziest thing he'd ever seen.
Monty's snarky cousin and I usually trade banter back and forth, so I said,
"You won't be laughing when I'm a famous food photographer!"
He just chuckled.
"Actually, you probably WILL be laughing. You're always laughing, aren't you?"
"No, not all the time, girlie."
This is the way we interact. My banter with him is like a big arm keeping him a certain distance away from me. I'm sure he'd never hurt me; he's not creepy like that, but there are certain boundaries one must keep. At the same time, though, in a small place where everyone knows each other, you can't be icy to people. Hence, the banter.
Then, today, I met up with Janice and we had a very "fall in a small town" afternoon: lattes and cheesecake at a cafe, then walking along the streets, picking up the Sears catalogs for her Nanny, then taking in a quilt show. This photo above is some Virginia Creeper vine growing beside her Nanny's house. Each year when leaves turn red, yellow and orange, it takes us by surprise. That's part of the beauty.
Here is a detail from one of the quilts we saw. This was from a circular tablecloth that was done in shades of pink and shades of green. There is something so wonderful about quilts. The skill they take, as well as the time, not to mention the pleasing textures and contrasts of which they're made. Then there's the fact that they're practical as well as beautiful! Both Alice Munro and Whitney Otto, as well as Carol Shields, and no doubt many other people, have written about quilts, and all that they symbolize, so I won't add to that here. Suffice it to say, I think they're important.
Happy Thanksgiving! May your harvests come in plentiful.
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