Thanksgiving 2010 (and Friday dog blogging)

This year, I journeyed to Princeton, NJ to spend Thanksgiving with a friend who was dogsitting. At 9:50 on Thursday morning I read a Facebook message from Frances Slade, conductor of Princeton Pro Musica, asking me to come to the 10 am rehearsal and sing the community Thanksgiving service at the Princeton University Chapel. Since we were in Princeton rather than Cranbury, I was only a few minutes late and got there toward the end of warmups.

This is the window with the party horns at the rear of the U Chapel.

There was a very short procession of religious, university and government people.

Eric Plutz was the organist. Those folks were the sopranos and, I think basses. Frances is barely visible in the lower left of the photo.

There was a solo handbell ringer at the service - Hyosang Park. She was excellent. I know you can't see her very well. Neither could I. She was accompanied by Akiko Hosaki on the piano.

This is Erasmus, our charge. He is a gorgeous, HUGE, ivory colored golden retriever.

We had a scary incident this morning just before I left. Erasmus has arthritis in his hips - he's 11, I think. The deck was wet and slippery and he lost his footing when he bounded out of the house ending up lying flat on his tummy with his back legs splayed out behind him. He wouldn't move. I massaged his legs and hips and rolled him over, back and forth then pulled his back end off the deck so he could stand more steadily and easily which he eventually did then went back into the house. We let him rest a bit then I took him out on the leash via the carpeted steps. He did his business and didn't want to come back in but I needed to get on the road. Nothing worse than a pet problem when the owners are away! And there was no way the two of us could have carried that dog. He is too large and too heavy. I called on the way home and she had walked him with success. Whew!

There was a little slush on my windshield after the Thanksgiving service. When I left this morning Princeton was warm and wet. On the way home, however, the rain and mist stopped and the last half of the journey was in chilly sunshine. This is one view I always look forward to on I-80 - what appears after a long downhill run between cliffs.

Other than the episode this morning, the brief vacation was good. Good food. Good company. Good traveling. Good dog. Good Thanksgiving.
And lots to be thankful for.

Nighttime 11.21.10

The moon was behind thin clouds tonight making trying to photograph it irresistible.

This is my neighbor's woodstove which heats their water and their house. The light illuminating the smoke is behind one of the trees on the right.

The third photo is the only one taken with flash on which is why they are a little blurry.