Another beautiful morning in Western Wisconsin

A friend sent a message this morning: " What if you woke up today with only the things you were thankful for yesterday?" I did, and do, every day. But some days it is good to be extra thankful. We made dinner for family close enough to drive- and had 9 at our table. Aunt Harriette, who is 97, graced us with her company.

We have had so many good meals in Harriette's kitchen, we will never even the score.

We share a meal with Irene every day, and we are very thankful as otherwise we grow lax in our cooking efforts.

Michael's brother Johnny and his family, and our daughter Artemis and her husband Matt all came to enjoy the fruitfulness of this land. One of our 10 pound broilers fed everyone, with leftovers. Potatoes, squash, carrots, and kale from the garden rounded out the menu. The stuffing had wild mushrooms, onions, garlic, and venison heart. Plum and pumpkin, also from the backyard, made into pie.

Michael is now gently snoring by my side. Tomorrow we tackle another project. Waking up every day by Michael's side, working on something new, and falling into an exhausted heap at the end of the day is indeed cause to celebrate.