Mom bought me a tall slender pumpkin while she was house sitting for me in October. I decided that it needed a companion, so I bought a short round pumpkin to set next to the tall skinny one. Then I named them Laurel and Hardy. I thought about carving them at Halloween, but then decided to just leave them. That way they could be general Fall decor. Well it is almost officially December and Laurel and Hardy are still sitting in front of my front porch. Last year I let a pumpkin disintegrate on my front porch. It was so mushy I couldn't even shovel it up so I just sort slid it off the porch. Hey, I had a lot going on this time last year. But I promise. I'm not going to let that happen this year. I will cart Laurel and Hardy off to the compost bin this weekend. (Though I did toy with the idea of just putting stocking caps on them. Who says pumpkins have to be just for Fall?) I am so thankful I built that compost bin. This weekend will be filled with cleaning, recovering from last weekend, and maybe a little fun. I am thankful that I found some extra lights in our Christmas boxes because the houses on either side of me have put out lights and Christmas decorations. I am now "that" house. I am thankful that I have this weekend to finalize all the Holiday decorations. I am also thankful that the weather is going to be nice enough to do all of these things.

I always kind of struggle with that first Thankful Friday entry after Thanksgiving. We rush through a Holiday, fill it full with food and family, trying to cram EVERYTHING into a very short amount of time. It's not a surprise that we probably feel a lot like one of those Macy's Parade balloons after the parade. Deflated. Then before we know it, we're at it again. The clock to end the year starts ticking just a bit faster and everything takes on that blurry moving fast in a car haze. I am thankful for the little reminders to slow down and to pay attention.

I am always thankful for you. Here's to a wonderful weekend and a very Thankful Friday.