I’ve mentioned in a few posts before that I’m making a major effort to appreciate the simple good and small beauty in the world around me. I’m doing well with that, I’m proud to report, and I’m thankful to be able to share some of those views with the rest of the world.
These pictures don’t have big stories behind them, or epic adventures spent getting to where I took them. They’re in town, by my office, or found on simple walks around the park… but they’re no less exquisite for that nearness.
The simple good in the world is key – Mountains and grand vistas are fine goals, and serve to add spice to life… but eating an entire meal of spices alone wouldn’t be particularly enjoyable. The day-to-day can be just as excellent.
After coming back from Massachusetts after Thanksgiving, I swapped with my neighbors – they left for their own adventure right when I got back!
Not usually something worth commenting on, but in this case it was a bit impactful since I got the chance to pet-sit for them! Oregano and Poppy are exceptionally cute kitties, and I very much enjoyed getting to swing by every afternoon after work!
A few years back, I started up a rotation for Thanksgiving – Massachusetts, Arizona, Friends, repeat. 2020 was “Massachusetts”, in a virtual sense… 2021 was a flight down to Arizona for a lovely high-desert turkey dinner, and then 2022 found me driving down to Sacramento for a dinner that couldn’t be beat. This year, I flew out East for an equally unbeatable meal… combined well with a week of family and friends!
It’s hard to summarize an entire week in a blog, without rambling on too long or simplifying it to the point of missed joy… but I’ll try, keeping it short and sweet so as to not steal time and energy from the other posts and photos that deserve posting and attention.
So let’s see…
I flew out early – taking the full week to visit with everyone in Medway. I worked remotely, with many thanks to my sister for loaning me her work from home setup while she was in the office. It was lovely – and I definitely understand why so many people are so protective of their freedom to work remotely. On top of the joy of just relaxing and working all under the same roof… My friend Bri flew out to join us! This was her first year joining us, and it was awesome to be able to bring her along and share some of the Eigner family Thanksgiving fun with her!
I got to meet up with friends! Dillon and Liz, getting to have a lovely mid-workday lunch, and see their awesome new home, along with hitting my first climbing gym ever with Daniel and Bri! Turns out, the grades there are surprisingly similar to those in Portland… which is neat, since a few years back they were radically different. Advantage of a more interconnected world, maybe?
My Mom, Bri, Hannah, and I had a spa night! It was excellent, and led to some… slightly horrifying… group photos. No regrets, and they’ll make excellent Halloween decorations for next year.
Thanksgiving itself was in Amherst, at my Aunt and Uncle’s house. I got to spend some excellent time with my cousin and her kids, and even let him fly the drone around a bit! Amazing food, excellent times… It really was a gift to be able to see everyone in person and spend time just relaxing and catching up.
Second Thanksgiving in Medway was, also unsurprisingly, glorious! My sister cooked up a storm, with assistance of course, making a stellar second meal along with dangerously decadent desserts.
We took a hike to the Stoney Brook, the Audubon society camp where I spent summers for ages and ages. It’s just as lovely as I remember it being, and was a great walk (literally) down memory lane.
I brought the drone along! As mentioned, my cousin’s son has a blast flying it around… and it did a pretty good job of getting a few aerial photos of everyone!
