The Thanksgiving holidays have been good to us in recent years: peaceful, productive, loving, and healing.  I can’t help contrasting them to the dinners I had as a child, hours of family brawling.  Maria and I are fortunate, we love the company of one another. But nothing stays either of us from working hard almost every day. Today, we are discussing what it means to live a mindful life. For one hour or so every afternoon, I put some earphones on and listen to music. I am really loving that.

It’s a Buddhist idea, and I am curious about parts of it. Maria and I have been discussing how I can eat my food slowly and savor it rather than gobbling it down. Maria is out on the porch hanging holiday lights. I love these lights because I can see when the farm is in the dark. I often go sailing right past it.

Dinnertime was no fun in my house as a kid, so I had to practice eating slowly and savoring the moment. I like the idea of “mindfulness,” I think the opposite is craziness.

The Farmer’s Market will be winding down until Spring – twice a week, then a month or so off. The market has had a terrific year, with many exciting vendors showing up (a fresh scone baker) for next year and Lobster Rolls next week. I got my regular weekly bar of Cindy’s soap, the best I’ve ever seen or used; this one is Eucalyptus flavored.

The Farmer’s Market has become integral to our lives; we have made strong friendships there and gotten wonderful vegetables and cheeses (and soap.)

Zip and I (above) meet twice a stay outside, weather permitting. He hops up on my shoulder and purrs while I scratch his neck and back. I never had a barn cat like this. He seems very happy here, and why not? He appears to be in charge. I did kiss him on the hose today.

(Edwin is as hard-working a person as I’ve ever known. The crowds at the Market are getting smaller as we approach the winter. Edwin is the source of most of the vegetables that we eat. His stand is the most beautiful at the market; it is getting smaller as winter approaches.)

Book Club alert: I’ve ordered a book called North Woods by Daniel Mason; it looks fascinating. Daniel Mason is one of the most interesting authors I know about (Passage Up On The Earth.) His new book is a historical novel, the story of a house in Massachusetts during the Pilgrim Rule. The book begins with a pair of young lovers in colonial New England who are in love and flee the suffocating rule of the Pilgrims and head out into the then wild woods of western Massachusetts, grim Pilgrims in persuit. The novel follows the lives of the inhabitants in the house they built over the next three plus centuries. Rave reviews everywhere. I’ll get the book on Tuesday.

I’m going with Casey to paint the interior shine on her Horse Cart Turned Coffee Shop this week. I got some of her excellent tea; Maria usually gets warm and delicious hot cocoa.

We’re getting close; she has arranged for a fish wholesaler to come to the Farmer’s Market next week and sell some Lobster rolls for lunch. Small miracles do happen.  Fish might be sold regularly at the market next Spring. Go, Casey, it’s very close to opening your food cart in the heart of town.  Her dream is coming into focus.

I hope she sells lobster rolls in her new cart.

We had a soft and beautiful sky this afternoon. I sat out on a chair with Zip for half an hour.

Cindy is selling her soap everywhere in the county and to wholesalers farther away. She will be staying at the farm in winter, and we are making plans for her to visit the farm. She had a very good year. We are crazy about her goat cheese and are planning to get them through the winter.

We seem to be friends with Cindy. She makes for a wonderful friend; she is extraordinarily nice hard-working, and intelligent. I’ve enjoyed seeing her soap business grow and grow.

We had a beautiful winter sky yesterday. I’m getting excited about the change to capture the winter pasture. I’ve found a new, used, and banged-up Leica 60 mm macro lens, great for close-up flower photos and some portraits. I got a great price on it; it is old and perhaps risky, but it is the only affordable Leica lens, and I was lucky to find it. Brian, a salesman at the Leica store where I got my camera, tipped me off to it. It’s coming Tuesday; I have a 30-day trial and am excited to try it. Leica lenses are by far the best and also by far the most expensive.

If the reviews are close to accurate, this could be a great addition to my photography, particularly my flower art. As you know, I like to get close. And I need to keep moving forward in my photogoraphy.