Tag: Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Roadtrip – 2019

I haven’t been with my family for Thanksgiving for over 10 years. Most of the family lives in sunny Arizona, while I’m in South Carolina. That’s a big trip, especially at the holidays. This year I started planning early, and I planned big. I let all my siblings know I was coming and I hoped that we could all be together at Thanksgiving. I talked dates with my husband, and we both requested time off from work. We planned and packed, and finally the day came: time to leave for 2 whole weeks with my family!

Day 1: Travel

We got up at the crack of dawn and drove 18 hours our first day. It was exhausting, but worth it. We hit 8 states that day, and spent the night in Amarillo, Texas. I brought a sweater with me as travel knitting. 

South Carolina

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Georgia

Alabama

Mississippi (where I did a little sweater surgery)

Tennessee

Arkansas

Oklahoma

Texas

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Day 2: Travel

On day 2 we spent about 10 hours on the road. We were wiped out from the previous day, so we stayed the night in Flagstaff, Arizona. As we went further and further west we started seeing red rock and cacti. It felt like home.

Texas

New Mexico

Arizona

Day 3: Travel + Family Time

We drove the 2 hours from Flagstaff to Phoenix, and spent the rest of the day resting and enjoying being with my family.

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My sister drew this picture of me as a Lord of the Rings character. We’re all nerdy and artistic in this family!

Days 4-5: Family Time

We laughed a lot and made Christmas cookies. We were also able to spend some time with friends. My husband made us all eggnog (pro tip: homemade eggnog is way better than store bought).

Day 6: Thanksgiving Day

We made even more cookies, and cooked Thanksgiving dinner as a family. We decorated my mom’s house with Christmas lights. All my siblings and even some adopted siblings were able to make it. This was such a pleasant, homey day. It was everything I wanted it to be.

Day 7: Travel

My grandma lives in California, so we headed over to see her, as well as my aunt, uncle, and cousins.

Arizona

California

Day 8: Sightseeing

My husband and I went to the San Diego Zoo, then watched the sunset at the beach. 10/10, would recommend!

Day 9: Family Time + Thanksgiving 2.0

We spent the morning with my grandma, then had a second Thanksgiving dinner with the California branch of the family. This was the first time my husband got to meet this side of the family.

I had brought my sourdough starter to make bread for the family, and expose it to some different yeasts/conditions, and this is the day I made sourdough bread (for the record, I don’t think my sourdough bread tastes any different now that I’m home).

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Day 10: Travel

Back to Phoenix for one last day with my family.

California

Arizona

Day 11: Family Time + Packing

Getting ready to leave is always bittersweet.

Day 12: Travel

No matter where you’ve been or who you’ve been with, there’s something satisfying about heading home.

Arizona

New Mexico

Texas

Oklahoma (it was dark and we were tired)

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Day 13: Travel

Home again, home again, jiggedy jog.

Oklahoma

Arkansas

Tennessee

Mississippi

Alabama

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Georgia

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South Carolina

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This was the best Thanksgiving I can remember. Thanksgiving is a hard time of year for my family, and it was so good to make some truly spectacular memories of this holiday. I am so glad we went, and very thankful to my husband for driving us 5,000 miles/60 hours across the country (I tried to drive, but he wouldn’t let me).

2019 Roadtrip

While we were away

This Thanksgiving my husband and I visited his family (who are also my family now. Very strange). The day was filled with food, family, and fun. I was also pleased to see many interesting textiles while we were away.

cross-stitch
Sage advice given by a cross-stitcher. 

pillow
This pillow is decorated exclusively with French Knots. I need to up my game. 

quilt
A gorgeous hand-stitched quilt. 

tatting
And here is my own small contribution: a tatted bookmark.

Thankful

There are a lot of things going wrong in the world in so many ways. I can’t do much about most of these things, but I can try to shine light in my own corner of the world.

10 things I’m thankful for:

  1. my husband
  2. my family
  3. knitting! It keeps me sane.
  4. friends
  5. a job that, while not ideal, allows me to pay my bills
  6. yummy food
  7. a roof over my head
  8. not living in a war zone
  9. good health
  10. the knitting community, both in person and online

Giving Thanks

This time of year is always hard for my family. 6 years ago on the day before Thanksgiving we lost someone unexpectedly. I was thousands of miles away at college with my brother, and we rushed home, desperate to be with our family. The next 2 weeks were a whirlwind filled with tears and impossible decisions. Funeral and burial arrangements had to be made, and worldviews had to be adjusted.

The whole ordeal  has left me a little jaded on the subject of Thanksgiving. I still have so much to be thankful for, I am not denying that in any way. But there are so many sad memories surrounding the day for me now.

They say time heals all wounds. I don’t think the wounds heal so much as we get used to the pain.

New Ring

Hi Friends 🙂

Today I’d like to announce an addition to my shop: a Split Level Ring! When I was in college Thanksgiving was always an interesting time. I didn’t live near enough to school to go home for the weekend, but I really didn’t want to spend the holiday on campus. I ended up going to a friend’s house. Her house was one of the more interesting houses I’ve been in not because it was ornately furnished or of historical significance, but because it was a quadra-level. I had never seen anything like it! When I came up with the idea for this ring all I could think of was my friend’s house that it reminded me of.

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