Thanksgiving Day is almost here. It is one of the best days of the year. Preparing for this big day involves much more than cooking. Cleaning the house thoroughly and then ironing tablecloths and napkins are the first chores. If you are rolling your eyes at ironing napkins, I understand. It’s a once a year thing for me.

Our food choices have been discussed by all and some dishes have been eliminated but most have stayed. Green bean casserole was eliminated years ago. At least two people have to like the dish in order to make the menu. Mincemeat pie made the cut this year. I imagine some of you are groaning but with a lot of fresh apples added to the mixture I think it’s good.

Wednesday will mean my kitchen will be in chaos as three granddaughters will assist in making noodles and pies. I expect a fine coating of flour to coat the counters and floor. Think of it snowing inside and you’ll have the picture. I’ll make the pie crusts because I’m not ready to relinquish that job, but the girls can make the fillings. I’m excited to have them working with me and the mess will be worth it.

The best part of Thanksgiving is having my family here. I’m lucky to have many family members live close by. I give thanks for my blessings every day, but Thanksgiving is a day when I bask in them. Thanks be to God and may you feel his blessings especially on Thanksgiving.

Summer is pie season at my house. Fresh fruit calls me to showcase it in a flaky crust. I read that Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) enjoyed fruit pies and cherry was her favorite. Early settlers brought their love of pie to America with them. They imported bees in order to have honey to sweeten their pies and maple syrup, molasses and cane sugar was also used. Pies were cooked in long narrow pans called coffins and coffins became known as crusts in the late 1770s. I’m glad that change occurred!

The first pies were meat pies and and were eaten in Egypt. These had a single crust that could have originally been made from reeds. The early crusts were not edible. This was true for centuries because they were designed to hold the filling. Hand pies were meat pies that had thick crusts for workers to carry in England in the 1800s so taste was not a consideration. The Romans created the first top crust and in the 16th century was used to hide a surprise for guests of royalty. The nursery rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence was based on fact. Live birds and other critters were baked in pies to impress the guests. (Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.} If a bird flew out of my pie, I’d never eat pie again!

A recipe for American pumpkin pie is found in American Cookery written by Amelia Simmon’s in 1796. It was called pumpkin pudding and was baked in a crust. Apple pie became known as America’s favorite due to soldiers in WW II writing they missed mom and apple pie. It is almost apple pie season and the types of apples that are best for baking can be found online. Cortland apples have always been a favorite, but I use a variety.

Many are familiar with the saying eat humble pie. Humble pie (originally umble) was a poor man’s pie frequently made from deer innards in medieval times. To admit you were wrong means is to eat humble pie.

The peach pie in the picture tasted as good as it looks. Labor Day will require more pies. It’s just not a holiday unless there’s a pie!

I love my garden and so do the weeds, rabbits and deer. I spend a lot of time tending it, and I enjoy doing it. The quiet time spent in my garden gives me time to think and reflect on life. I realized that the events that occur in a garden can be compared to life’s events.

Everyone experiences surprises in their life. Some are good and some are not. A visit from a deer is not a good surprise for the plants. Having their buds eaten deprives them from showing their beautiful blossoms. Illness and accidents alter many of our plans and may keep us from showing what we are capable of producing.

Plants need water and sunshine and so do we. Plants also need to be divided and weeds need to be pulled so the plants can thrive. That’s where people may have difficulty. Pulling weeds out of our lives is not always easy. It’s not always easy in a garden either. Sometimes a shovel is required.

Identifying the weeds is step one. Weeds that interfere with a person’s life can be an attitude, another person, a habit or even a job. Pulling out the weed changes the entire look of the flower bed and it changes lives.

I use fertilizer to help my plants grow. My personal fertilizer is prayer. Talking to God is uplifting and I highly recommend it if you don’t regularly pray. Seeing God’s creations in the garden is a great starting point. Praise comes first and then prayer. August has arrived which means summer is going quickly. Enjoy the plants of summer and consider pulling the weeds in your life that are keeping you from blooming.

I remember being in a group and was asked to share something no one knew about you. I was appalled and didn’t think anyone would share, but they did. Some were serious events that were shared and others were funny. I think I shared castrating my cat in cat anatomy by mistake and the instructor telling the class he thought it revealed I had deep seated psychological issues against men.

Many of us have scars on our body and we can tell others what the injury was but people can’t see the scars that are inside. Those are the ones that frequently don’t heal and some of us pick at them to make sure they don’t heal. Asking God to help us forget and forgive is the only thing I know that works.

We all probably know people who never appear happy. They complain about others, their job, and various others things. When they enter a room, a cloud of despair is with them. It is difficult to even talk with someone like this because nothing positive seems to get through the doom and gloom. I don’t know the scars that are inside, but I believe God could help heal. I know he helped me heal my inner wounds.

I believe we all have gifts to be discovered and shared. We need to feel good about ourselves. So much time is spent on electronics, I wonder if both young and old are finding time to discover or remember their inner gifts. Would it make them happier?

I’m not much for making lists or keeping a journal but I know many are. Keeping a gratitude journal helps them have a positive attitude and to have a relationship with God. I just thank God every day for all my many blessings and this time of the year I praise him for the glorious nature that surrounds me. My garden, the baby birds in our tree, the rainbow and the beautiful moon this week have all filled me with gratitude. One of my gifts is the ability to appreciate God’s glory!

The seasons have always been dictated by plantings and harvests. Bonfires were built to boost the sun’s energy and to ward off any demonic spirits. Flowers and herbs were worn to ward off evil spirits and St. John’s Wort is thought to be very powerful. The name of the herb is attributed to John the Baptist whose birthday is celebrated around the summer solstice.

When Christianity spread through northern Europe, pagan customs and Christians beliefs were combined. This affected the Celtic Calendar. There are four quarter days for the four seasons, but the Celts had four Cross-Quarter days that are in the middle of the season. For example, February 1 was considered the first day of spring (not March 21) and Christians called this day Candlemas. I wrote about Candlemas in a previous post.

Lady Day was March 25 (spring equinox) and was the day for hiring men to plant. The church called this the Feast of Angel Gabriel in celebrating Gabriel’s visit to Mary and announcing she’d be the mother of the long awaited messiah.

The summer solstice (Midsummer Day) marks the midpoint of the growing season. Bonfires are still lit today in some communities to ward off evil spirits while St. John’s Day is celebrated with festivals and prayer. The importance of having a good crop to harvest has not changed. It was also a time for weddings. Couples met on May 1 which was celebrated because it was halfway between the spring and summer solstice. They then married on Midsummer Day. The couple had six weeks to get to know each other!

August 1 is the halfway point between the summer and fall equinox and was called Loaf Mass because it celebrated the harvest of wheat. Farmers took the first loaf of bread to be blessed by the priest and then broke the loaf into four pieces. The pieces were placed in the four corners of the barn to protect the wheat that was stored there. Festivals continue to be held to this day.

The fall equinox is known as Michaelmas and it is the beginning of harvest. The angel Michael is celebrated and festivals are held. It also was the time for elections because it was a time when people gathered.

October 31 was Samhain and many believe this was the Celtic new year, but I also read many believe February 1 was their new year. Meat was slaughtered at this time for their winter supply and of course bonfires were lit to ward off evil spirits. Fortune tellers predicted what the new year would hold for the people.

The year ends with Christmas and the winter solstice. Since today is hot and humid, I’m thinking the cold of December sounds pretty nice. I hope you enjoyed learning about the Cross-Quarter Days.

The first Decoration Day was held in Arlington Cemetery in 1868. President Ulysses S. Grant officiated. It was held to honor and remember the 620,000 soldiers who died in the Civil War. Decoration Day became known as Memorial Day and was celebrated by states before it became a federal holiday. New York was the first state in 1873 and Waterloo, New York was named the birthplace of Memorial Day because the citizens placed flowers and flags on soldiers’ graves.

It is interesting to note that women laid flowers on soldiers’ graves in Columbus, Mississippi, in April,1866, to honor those who had died in the hospital from wounds and disease. Research showed prior to that year in 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina, former slaves and missionaries gave the 257 Union prisoners a proper burial. These graves were placed in rows and a ten foot fence was built around it. The sign read “Martyrs of the Race Course.” Ordinary people did extraordinary things to honor those lost in war.

In 2005, Jeff Miller and Earl Morse formed the Honor Flight Network to honor those who served in the military. Honor Flights take veterans to Washington DC to visit the nations’ memorials. It began with WWII veterans and now Vietnam veterans are the primary recipients. Today there are 128 hubs throughout America and approximately 22,000 veterans make the trip each year.

As a little girl, I remember watching the soldiers march down the street behind the band. My mother picked flowers (mainly peonies) and we went to the cemetery to put flowers on relatives’ graves. We honored veterans and remembered loved ones.

This week 19 children and two teachers were killed by a disturbed young man in Texas. The shortest verse in the Bible is Jesus wept, and I believe Jesus cried with us as we wept. On this Memorial Day we pray for the families of those who mourn their loved ones, whether they were lost many years ago or as recently as this week. I pray that God will bring comfort and strength to all who have lost loved ones.

My grandmother was born in the late 1800s and saw many things in her 98 years. She went from riding in a horse and buggy to seeing a man land on the moon. She lost loved ones to disease and wars and the only thing that was constant was her faith in God. Even though there were many times she thought the world had gone crazy, she knew God was with her.

I shake my head in disbelief at what I recently saw in the news. I can honestly say I never thought I’d see this and I wish I hadn’t. Satanic groups are opening after school programs. Why? They say they are just offering arts and crafts and games. Many other groups do the same, so why do they really want to work with children if not to indoctrinate them.

I’m a Christian, but I know people of the Jewish faith and Muslim faith are taught that Satan is evil. Why would communities allow a group that proudly uses Satan in its name be allowed to work with children?

Over the last couple years children have been told they can’t wear crosses, can’t bring Bibles to school and can’t meet for prayer in schools across America. Now they can meet in a group sponsored by Satan worshippers?

When religious statues were vandalized and torn down I waited to hear the outrage. I didn’t. When churches were vandalized and some destroyed I thought people would be furious. It could be those voices were raised and the news media didn’t care to share the distress of Christians. Now I wish all those who love the Lord will speak out against these Satanic groups whose only purpose must be to bring them to Satan.

This is not just a battle for Christians to wage, but it is a battle for all those who believe in God. Please pray for our children and our country. I know I am.