Thanksgiving Afterglow and Self-Portrait Reveal

I hope those of you celebrating Thanksgiving had a lovely holiday, whether you were solo, with family or, as we did, enjoying a Friendsgiving. 

 

Our holiday weekend began a couple of days earlier when Rick got me along-awaited new toilet and installed it. Two trips to the hardware store later, it's a beauty (everything going down all right!). Now, what to do with the old toilet, presently sitting by the garage? I am contemplating decorating it for Christmas. We shall see. I don't have the energy to actually figure out how to get rid of it right now! 

My little squirrel buddy, Black Bushy (not to be confused with the original Brown Bushy) has been sampling delicacies from the bird feeder. I lost the cap to this one long ago, and it wouldn't matter because the squirrels would take it off anyway. 

 

As long as he doesn't get stuck, I'm fine with it. He has to eat too. 

 

And, Rick and I enjoyed a good lunch on Thanksgiving day of leftover chili!

 

I am so grateful to my friends Kate and Mike for hosting us for Thanksgiving dinner. We had a most delightful afternoon and evening and the cooking was easy. Kate had some fabulous appetizers and I brought deviled eggs.

 

Then she made some delicious Reuben sandwiches with a crunchy cole slaw for dinner and cranberries. They were huge sandwiches and no one left the table hungry!

 

We were joined by Kate's brother. Like Rick, he was an Eagle Scout and both brought their memorabilia to share. I know how important scouting was to Rick and he had a kindred spirit in John.

 

After dinner, Rick entertained us with a piece or two that he's been working on. I love hearing live music in a home.  

 

And now the holidays have officially begun. I'm in a decorating mode and powering through, though there is much to be done (photos soon!). My goal is to finish by Sunday evening. On Monday I'm having a pacemaker implanted and there are some restrictions after the procedure so I want to be able to settle myself in with lights and color when I get home.

Today is also the day that blogger Nicole is having her self-portrait challenge. These portraits could be newly done or (fortunately) done in the past, as long as we shared a photo from which the portrait evolved. I have three and as you can see, they are different styles, done in different years, some decades apart.

The first was a self-portrait done around 1969 or 1970 when I played Lucy in a production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." Here is the original. 

 

And here is the self-portrait, done in acrylics.

 

Skip ahead to 2020. Here's the photo...

  

... and here is the portrait.

 

And finally, skip to 2025. The photo was taken in Bath, England in October 2024.

 

The self-portrait is part of my England journal. As you can see, my art style has seriously regressed, at least when it comes to self-portraits!

 

It was a fun challenge. To see the work of lots of others, check out her link HERE.

I may be a little slow getting around the next few days, or answering comments. But I'll be back!

 

Meanwhile, have a good weekend and celebrate every day!