You may already have an inkling of how much I love fall. Cool weather, rain, sweaters--I love all of it. And now, Vacaville is doing Mother Nature proud. We are amassing quite a quantity of the most gorgeous autumn colors. Hard to believe these pictures are taken here in Vacaville. 
Look how picturesque we are! This could be some little town in New England. I've heard that the fall color is diminishing in the eastern states due to climate change. Maybe we'll get to have our own fall color now.
We won't talk about the fact that the Christmas banners are already up downtown. The city is probably just being efficient. But look! It's just so pretty!
Okay, last one, this time of one of my favorite haunts, the Vacaville Public Library (the old new library, as opposed to the new new library--I love them both). Yes, we have two. It's fantastic.I'm in the process of getting ready for Thanksgiving. We are an intimate little group this year, so I tried to decide which of the usual side dishes should get the axe. Due to extensive lobbying, all have been spared. There will be lots of leftovers, that's for sure. This way I won't have to cook until about Tuesday! What's the line-up, you ask? Well, hors d'ouevres are minimal--don't want everyone filling up, what with all those side dishes on deck. Bacon-wrapped water chestnuts and marcona almonds are the extent of the pre-dinner snacks. Oh--and prosecco. Then we move on to a little salad with pears and blue cheese, with shallot vinaigrette. We have a jello salad, a vestige from 1967, that we cannot bear to part with (and plus it's really good--it has a little wine in it!). Cranberries, just the recipe on the bag. Rolls--this year I'm trying the buttermilk dinner rolls from the Williams Sonoma book, Cooking at Home. Sweet potatoes, corn pudding, creamed spinach, brussels sprouts with shallots, peas with bacon and garlic, traditional bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, the make-ahead gravy I made a couple of weeks ago that has been relaxing in the freezer, and, of course, turkey. The option of pinot noir or sauvignon blanc to wash it all down. And then pumpkin pie or pecan pie. Whew! My waistband is tightening just thinking about it. An embarrassment of riches, yes, but certainly nothing expensive or extravagant.
Thankfulness, certainly, is the theme of the day on Thursday. Hasn't been a great year, all in all. But then I look around, and I see so many struggling so hard, and I am thankful we're still hanging on. Some months it's by our toenails, but hanging on we are. Jean Paul Richter (1763 - 1825) said that "For sleep, riches, and health to be truly enjoyed, they must be interrupted." So true! Maybe these past few years have been our interruption. Maybe we were a bit complacent, a bit spoiled, and now we are paying a price. So let's be thankful for any lessons we learn, however painful they may be, so that we don't get in this mess again. And be thankful for families and friends, the most important things of all.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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