Clio's Country Thanksgiving

After nearly a week at Grandma and Grandpa's in Morrison, Illinois, I have a whole backlog of pictures and stories to post; this could take a while, so look for installments over the next few days.

Look how delighted Clio is to be outdoors!


By way of introduction, let's talk about how this Thanksgiving was a different experience for us City-dwellers than the average year: Fist of all, when you look out the window in Morrison, it's a different experience than the view from Brooklyn. While we have an abundance of noise, telephone wires, highway traffic, and fast food smell (white castle, dunkin donuts, KFC, and- most notably- candy cigarettes), in Morrison you see this:


And you feel an actual sense of abundance. This sense grows when you sit down to a meal involving "Peterson Beef" (the cows on their land aren't just for show, although Clio sure did get a kick out of seeing them in real life- she shrieked, pointed, kicked her feet, mooed, and shrieked some more). Or when your morning eggs and your Thanksgiving Turkey come from Grandpa's house, right next door (next door being not a walkable distance in this case.) In fact, the turkey was one of a small group raised on the Peterson farm, two of which were named after Clio's second cousins Ashley and Shelby (seen here with Clio on the big day).


When Ashley, who is 8, came over, she asked Dave's dad if we would be "eating Ashley for dinner." It's unclear what the verdict was, but either way, this is a true country thanksgiving to me!

Other things that put the "country" in this holiday for me? "Salads" made with cheese and/or bacon bits and dressed with mayo or sour cream (oddly satisfying and delicious, if not exactly "light"), vegetable casseroles made from fresh-frozen produce from the yard, gorgeous fall leaves,


wall-to-wall carpeting that is excellent for rolling around on,



and sending Clio outside to chase cats at the barn. One of my favorite activities since I first visited Dave's childhood home back when we were dating, I'm thrilled to see my daughter take up the torch with gusto.


Her method primarily consisted of crouching down near a cat (there are, I believe, 29 outdoor/basically wild cats to choose from), saying "Hi!" in a pretty high-pitched voice, and waving.


Grandma did try to help- she even "tamed" one of the smaller ones in preparation for our visit-


but ultimately, cats are smart enough to avoid toddlers.


Clio didn't seem to mind that she couldn't get close to them- in fact, she took a few good dives into the pine needles trying.

She may make her country roots proud, yet!