I took advantage of this clear day to take a jaunt to Meijer.  The snow has vanished from the sidewalks and it’s beginning to warm up again.  I only needed a handful of items so I decided to do that three-mile roundtrip on foot.

The photo above is from my neighbor’s harvest display, but its pumpkins have fallen prey to the local squirrels who have sunk their incisors right into the waxy rind.  The other homeowners’ décor along the way was a cornucopia of Summer garden flags and porch pots, some pumpkins and cornstalks, and, of course, Christmas inflatables and wire lit reindeer.  In the chill air, the occasional birdsong was magic to my ears and the squirrels were racing back and forth glad to see some of the snow had melted so that they could finally find their hidden treasures.

The store was bustling with activity, even though they are open tomorrow for Thanksgiving.  Missing this morning, however, was the man on the motorized scooter who plays the harmonica – he usually does his shopping, then parks his “wheels” near the checkout area and starts to play a song – any song.  Everyone pauses to listen and then the lavish praise begins.  Then that harmonica player pulls the instrument from his mouth and gives everyone a rather sheepish smile.

As people streamed from the checkout lanes and headed out to their cars, it was a happy crowd, eager for the upcoming opportunity to break bread and renew ties with loved ones on this annual feast day.  As I paused to don my gloves before walking outside, I watched a young girl’s delight as she rode “Sandy”, the mechanical horse.  I watched out of the corner of my eye as the horse “galloped” to the tune of the Bonanza TV show theme.  All too soon the action was over and the rider and horse came to a dead halt until Mom put another penny in the slot … then away she went once again.  It brought back some warm memories of the horse at the Dominion Grocery Store at Hopedale Plaza in Oakville when I was growing up, only it was one thin dime for me to be that cowgirl with the wide grin.

Hope you will make some wonderful memories to carry you through this Thanksgiving weekend … and beyond.