A final fall finish and Thanksgiving memories

And suddenly the house is quiet... My last visitor (youngest son) left this morning after the Thanksgiving break, and that strange feeling has set in. I bet you've experienced that feeling--the one where your house has hummed with activity for the past week and now all that's left are the lingering memories of the week's activities... the laughter around the dinner table, the clicking of the keyboards as several family members pressed on with work duties off and on all week, the teasing and measuring of heights as one son was sure he had grown taller than another. I see and hear these images in my mind and shed a tear or two. It was a wonderful, rare holiday when we could all be together for more than a day or two. And busy as I was, I treasured each moment... 

Luckily, before the busyness of last week set in, I had finished stitching two pieces which I'll share with  you today. First up is one of my favorites--the fall town scene from Book No. 93 called "Harvest Time." This was stitched on 40 ct. Vintage Country Mocha with the suggested DMC threads. Good old Prairie Schooler--I can always count on it to comfort me during stressful times. I think this piece so perfectly captures the fall season in all its glory--you can almost smell the crunchy leaves and feel the cool autumn air as you look at it, can't you? I'll, most likely, be framing this one in the future.

"Harvest Time" all finished up

The colors of autumn

I saved the farmer riding atop his straw-filled pumpkin wagon to stitch last!

And I've finished my November ornament--an oldie, but goodie from Homespun Elegance called "Jingle, Jingle." These were also stitched on 40 ct. Vintage Country Mocha Newcastle (I seem to be in a rut and always use that fabric, but colors show up so nicely on it!). I did change the colors to more of a Prairie Schooler palette, though using DMC 201, 407, 520, 610, 3031, 3828, and white. To complete the finish, I used some red Woolies Flannel and a quintet of jingle bells strung across the bottom.

"Jingle, Jingle" times three!

My finished November ornament--one more ornament left to stitch for 2019!

Yes, I made a total of three--two will be traveling to friends this Christmas.

GIVEAWAY WINNER... I only had a few entries for the giveaway for this pretty Thanksgiving chart and the winner is...

MEG!

Meg--congratulations! Please send me your mailing address and I'll get this off to you as soon as possible. I so hope you enjoy stitching this one (or parts of it!) and that you'll share your finish with us next year, Meg. For those of you who aren't familiar with Meg's blog--please visit Live To Stitch and say "hello." And be sure to check out Meg's delightful Thanksgiving freebie on her November 23, 2019 post!

The winner of the Thanksgiving chart is Meg!

A new giveaway... So should we do another giveaway for a Christmas chart pulled from an older cross stitch magazine? How about this sweet design called "This Year's Tree?" From the Summer 1993 issue of  "Treasures In Needlework," it features a young girl presenting a freshly decorated tree to her forest friends--love the little raccoon and, of course, the red cardinal flying in to get a better look. The folk art look of this design is so beautiful, isn't it? Just look at that painted red sled! If you would like to win this chart (just three pages pulled from a magazine--not the entire magazine / the pages will be folded and mailed in a legal sized envelope to save postage costs) let me know in your comments below and 1) tell me about one of your favorite Christmas gifts ever and 2) make sure to include your email address if I don't already have it. I will keep the giveaway open until Monday, December 9th and announce the winner on my next post. And in keeping with tradition, I'll answer my own question, too... One of my very favorite Christmas gifts was the Easy Bake Oven I got when I was about 9 years old. I so enjoyed creating little cakes and treats for my family and I truly believe that gift was the beginning of my love for baking. Did any of you have one?

If you would like to be entered for the giveaway of this pretty chart, please let me know in the comments below, answer the question "What was one of your favorite Christmas gifts?" and include your email address (if I don't already have it).

I had a Thanksgiving surprise when, at the very last minute, my youngest son's work trip was cancelled! Hooray--I had all three sons and my daughter-in-law home for Thanksgiving after all! It was a ton of work preparing for 20 guests, but I had a lot of help this year. Everyone brought a dish to share and helped with the clean-up.  As always, it amazes me how an event you spend weeks preparing for is over in a flash! I thought you might like to see a few photos from our day.

To fit all 20 guests,  I push two tables together and we eat in our sunroom.

I love this checked table runner with the white sweater pumpkin that I found at Home Goods this fall.  The little white houses light up and were found for $1.50 each at Target on clearance.

The day before Thanksgiving I bought several bunches of flowers and combined them into colorful bouquets for the table and to set in different spots in the house. The orange gerbera daisies and yellow ranunculus were simply gorgeous!

This turkey, made of meats, crackers, and cheeses was something I saw on Pinterest and asked my oldest son and daughter-in-law to recreate. I think they did a great job!

I love this time of year because I always get to indulge in my second favorite hobby (after cross stitching!)--baking! This year, I baked two pecan pies, nine types of cookies, four loaves of pumpkin cranberry bread, and four dozen applesauce mini-muffins.

So, my "diet" between Thanksgiving and Christmas begins today! Is that even possible? There are just so many tempting treats surrounding us at this time of year, aren't there? I actually don't do a lot of baking at Christmas because I freeze half of the cookies I've made for Thanksgiving--just a little tip to save you time during December. I don't do anything special--just use Ziploc Freezer Bags with wax paper in between each layer of cookies. I then take a straw and suck as much air out of the bags as possible. This keeps them fresh and flavorful for our Christmas cookie tray.

Cruise wrap-up... Several of you had questions for me on what I liked / disliked about river cruising so I thought I'd give you a little run-down. This was the only cruise, of any type, that my husband and I have ever taken and was a special gift from our three sons for our 40th wedding anniversary back in 2017. Due to other commitments, we couldn't take it that year or in 2018, so we finally got it on our calendar for July 2019.  Our sons took care of all of the booking details and, based on some input from us, they chose Avalon Waterways and a cruise on the Danube River from Prague to Budapest. My husband and I want to thank each of them for such a generous and thoughtful gift--how blessed we are to have them as sons! It was truly a gift that we'll never forget...

The cruise line... Avalon Waterways won the "Cruisers' Choice" award for 2019 for "Best European River Cruise Line." And although I have nothing to compare it to, our entire experience with the ship and staff was excellent. The ships are fairly new (ours was just three years old) and impeccably maintained. 

Some of our fellow cruisers board the ship

The name of the ship was the Avalon Passion--fitting for an anniversary cruise, I'd say!

My husband boarding the ship

Our cabin... We were shocked to find out that our sons had booked us into one of two "Royal Suites" on the ship! They said they did it because they knew we would never do anything like that for ourselves (they're right!)... It was so roomy and luxurious-- the Royal Suite is 50% larger than the standard cabins so we had plenty of space to spread out. To tell you the truth--not a lot of time is spent in your cabin. If you aren't off touring the landmarks, you are usually eating meals or sleeping!

The Royal Suite included extra space on the side of the bed with a couch, desk (not shown), bookcase (not shown) and closets. There was a lovely  plate filled with fruit to welcome us when we embarked. The glass doors fully slide open to the outside so you can turn the chairs around and simply sit and relax as you cruise down the river.

The king size bed featured an adjustable mattress and was very comfortable!

Our cabin had two sinks, a large shower and a separate toilet room! Included were L'Occitane bath products.

There was even a gorgeous white orchid in our room!

Dining... On this ship of 150+ passengers there were two choices of dining spots: the main dining room or the more casual bistro which was set up buffet style. Dining was where my husband and I struggled. We are both quite shy and walking into a large, loud dining room with over a hundred strangers was overwhelming for both of us. In the future, if we ever take another river cruise, we will be sure to travel with at least one other couple for dinner companions. We ate with various people and did finally find another couple from New Orleans to eat most meals with. What we discovered is that we preferred the quieter buffet bistro to the noisy main dining room so we gravitated there on most evenings. The food was excellent in both places--especially the soups, breads, and desserts. The waiters were all male (for some reason!) and came from many eastern European countries like Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Romania. They all spoke English quite well, too.

The desserts were little masterpieces! I especially love the musical notes on the one in the upper left!

The passengers: I had a question about the age of the passengers. Well, as you can see in this photo below, they all tended to be on the older side--60s and 70s with a few in their 80s. Oh, you would see an occasional younger couple (and one family who brought their teenage kids), but most were of  retirement age. There was a huge contingent of folks from one Catholic diocese in Missouri who were traveling together that made up over half of the passengers. This made it a bit harder to meet people as they all knew each other and tended to hang out together. All the passengers seemed to be from the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. We got to know the people in the background quite well who were from Canada, just four hours north of us!

Celebrating our 42nd wedding anniversary aboard the Avalon "Passion"

Time spent at destinations... This would be my biggest complaint, but I think it is just something you have to expect when on a river cruise. The ship is on a strict deadline as far as docking in the various cities so they must keep to a schedule--and that means you have more time in some destinations than others. For me, Vienna was far too brief a visit--especially the time we spent at Schönbrunn Palace on that extremely hot, humid day. I heard from some seasoned cruisers that a few people actually hire their own guides to take them around the city and are thus able to see and experience more of the local flavor of the city at a faster pace. Definitely something to consider!

Double docking problem... A little known fact--and one that isn't often mentioned in cruise brochures--is that you may be docked right next to another ship making your view not one of the city or a  pretty landscape, but of another ship's rooms! Even worse, your may be sandwiched between two ships (this only happened once, but ended up with us having to have our curtains drawn that entire day!). This seems to happen in the very busiest stops like Budapest and Vienna. The smaller towns weren't usually a problem. 

Two ships double docked in Dürnstein, Austria

More double docked ships in Linz, Austria

The staff... What a wonderful mix of nationalities were represented on this cruise! Our cruise director was Dutch, the captain was Bulgarian, and the housekeeping and wait staff were from countries all over the world. It was interesting to talk with them a bit about their lives back home and to hear just how much the job on the cruise ship meant to them in terms of helping out their families in other countries. Many would work two weeks on, two weeks off, and return home to work another job in between. There was no problem with communication as all spoke (at least some) English. I would assume the people dealing with the passengers in jobs such as receptionists and waiters spoke better English than the cooks in the kitchen and others with behind the scenes duties, but I don't know for sure. 

The actual cruising time... For me, this was the best part of the trip and I wish there had been more hours to just sit in our cabin with our doors open, stitching in hand, lazily watching the world go by as we drifted down the Danube.

It was such a joy to simply sit on the ship and watch the world go by!

Swans were our constant companions. Notice the ruins in the background.

There was a seemingly endless supply of pretty little towns with old castles perched high above!

The trips through the locks on the Danube were always interesting.

The locks at night

Mornings on the rivers were my favorites. I loved hearing the sounds of the world waking up--children playing on the shoreline, bells pealing from church towers, dogs barking in the distance...

Our last morning on the river as we approach Budapest

Would we go again? Yes! But, as I mentioned above, we would prefer to go with another couple to make meal-times less stressful for us. We never dreamed we would be traveling in eastern Europe... You have to remember that when I was growing up, in the 50s and 60s, the idea of traveling to countries behind "The Iron Curtain," was unimaginable. I mean, I grew up in the era of the Cold War, fear of the atomic bomb, and "Duck and Cover" drills in schools (like hiding under our desks would really protect us)!  So, to be actually traveling in countries like Hungary, Slovenia, and The Czech Republic--and to be welcomed there--felt a bit surreal. It was so, so interesting to hear the guides talk about their lives under Soviet rule and it made me even more appreciative of growing up in a democracy. Traveling abroad not only opens your eyes to different ways of living, customs, and history, but it also allows you to understand and appreciate your own life better. So, yes, I would definitely go on a river cruise again to experience a taste of many, many different cultures in a short period of time. 

I hope you've enjoyed this Danube River journey--it sure has been a long one! I appreciate the many comments I've received along the way and I'm so happy that you've traveled the Danube with me. Thank you for reading (or even glancing at the photos!).

Well, it's December--and for those of you who are long-time readers, you know what that means, don't you? I hope you'll stop by and visit me next week! Until then--thank you for visiting today--and a special thank you for those who take the time to comment. Your comments mean so much to me--they really do! Take care now and good luck with all of your Christmas baking, decorating, card writing, present wrapping, but try to take some extra time for yourself, too! I am keeping things simpler this year so I can really sit back and enjoy the spirit of the holiday--I hope you can, too. Bye for now...

Two new ornaments and cruising down the Danube (Part 5)

How is everyone doing on this mid-November morning? Have you had snow yet? We had a couple inches on Tuesday along with record-breaking low temperatures on Wednesday morning. Brrr... it feels more like January weather. But, the first snowfall is always so pretty, isn't it? I took this photo of my backyard yesterday morning--love the hint of yellow remaining in the trees behind our pond. Soon, all of the leaves will fall and it will look quite barren back there. As much as I dread it, winter is coming...

My backyard after this week's snowfall--I love the pond this time of year!

So what have you been up to this month? I've been spending much of my time giving the house a good cleaning (and at the same time purging items that haven't been used in quite a while--oh, that is such a great feeling)! Since Thanksgiving will be held here in just two weeks, it is a perfect excuse to enlist my husband's help in doing some deep cleaning--after all, it is his side of the family who will be coming. That's only fair, right? So far, we've done the basement, laundry room, one bathroom, and his den. Up next--the family room, living room, and dining room. We'll save the kitchen and sunroom until right before Thanksgiving as that is where everyone tends to congregate. And then, this winter, we plan on tackling one of our attics (we have two--one over the garage and one over the house). It would be great if we could downsize and just fit everything into one attic. Is anyone else feeling the need to simplify and thin out your belongings? I think it is just part of getting older and wanting to make life easier--there are far too many "things" that have been collected over the years!

But, I have had some time to work on a larger fall piece (which I'll share with you next time) and to finish two more ornaments--these are for September and October. I'm finally caught up--yippee! The September ornament was fairly quick to stitch up. Honestly, I often spend more time thinking about how I want to finish it than I do with the actual stitching! Anyway, here is my finish of Hands On Design's "Year In Chalk--January." Yep--another ornament stitched "over one" on 28ct. black Monaco! I used some blue Woolies Flannel fabric, handmade cording, and a blue satin bow along with a silver snowflake charm and some miniature holly trim. They don't show up in this photo, but I added four Swarovski crystals to it that simply sparkle when the sun hits them. People often ask how I finish the back of these flat mounted ornaments--I simply use spray glue to attach a piece of coordinating felt (in this case, I used black felt). I don't like leaving the backs unfinished, but don't like to waste good fabric on finishing the back either, so I go with the felt.

Hands On Design "A Year In Chalk: January" finish

Can you spot the four Swarovski crystals that I added?

My ornament for September is another Prairie Schooler yearly Santa--I never tire of stitching these fellows! This one is from 1989 and I was particularly drawn to him because of the cardinals. At first, I thought he was carrying a lantern, but then I noticed the few gold flecks falling from the left side of it so I decided he must be putting up a bird feeder for his feathered friends--I like that idea! I thought the green pine bough border was especially pretty, too. This Santa is stitched on 40 ct. vintage country mocha linen with the suggested DMC threads (although I changed the green to DMC 520 as I do on all the yearly Santas).

A Prairie Schooler Santa feeding his cardinals--I couldn't resist!

I finished him in the same manner that I've done for all recent PS Santas--just a simple handmade cording and hanger with a gingham bow at the top. If I ever live long enough to stitch every year, I plan on finishing them all in the same way. I like the Santa to be the star of the show and I think keeping the finish simple allows him to shine.

1989 Prairie Schooler Santa finish

Here are three all finished the same way--I wonder which Santa will be the next to join them?

Along with my pre-Thanksgiving cleaning, I've done some decorating for the holiday, of course! The corner cupboard in my kitchen is all decked out for our feast with some of my old favorites. Would you like a closer look?

My corner cupboard all decorated for Thanksgiving

Close-up of the first shelf--"Be Ye Thankful" by The Cricket Collection is one of my all-time favorites!

The second and third shelves... I stitched the pillow on the lower right after my dad died five years ago. It is also featured in my header this month and is called "Let Us Be Truly Thankful" by Heartstring Samplery. I changed the date from the charted 1827 to 1927, the year of my parents' births.

Over on the sideboard next to the kitchen table are some oldies, but goodies! Did anyone else collect Lizzie High dolls back in the '80s and '90s? I was never a doll person, but I was given one of these by my mom for a birthday one year. I fell in love with the quality and sweet details so I began buying them on eBay. This Thanksgiving set was a gift from my husband for Christmas years ago--just look at the tiny papoose peaking out from behind the Indian (I guess I should be saying Native American). Adorable! I no longer display my Lizzie High dolls except for the seasonal ones and I need to think about selling my non-seasonal ones as they are just sitting in a box in a bedroom closet taking up space. The cross stitch you see below is an old Sue Hillis design on the left along with a Prairie Schooler turkey on the right.

Even after all these years, I still treasure my Lizzie High Thanksgiving dolls!

This is what the entire corner looks like in my kitchen eating area on a bright November morning. Obviously, the photos were taken before the snowstorm we got on Tuesday!

Thanksgiving has come to my kitchen!

Giveaway time... In honor of Thanksgiving, I found this lovely chart in the November/December 1992 issue of "Cross Stitch & Country Crafts" magazine. Just look at the little creatures and the scenes of fall's harvest--so pretty. The farm scene at the top would make a lovely finish all on its own, too. If you are interested in winning this chart (two pages removed from a magazine--not the entire magazine / the pages will be folded and sent in a legal sized envelope to save money on postage), please let me know in your comments below.  Please, please make sure to include your email if I don't already have it and to make it more fun--I'd love to hear about your favorite stitching memory of 2019. For me, that would be stitching as I cruised down the Danube River. It was such a wonderfully peaceful place to stitch and relax while watching the world go by!  Now, it's your turn...I'd love to hear your favorite memory! I'll keep the drawing open until November 29th. Good luck to all!

If you are interested in winning this pretty Thanksgiving chart, please let me know in your comments below. Make sure to include your email address and tell me about one of your favorite stitching memories of 2019.

The Danube River Cruise concludes... I can almost hear a huge sigh of relief from some of you! Would Carol's posts on the cruise ever end? Thank you so much for indulging me and, perhaps, glancing at a few of the photos in my travel posts over the past few months. I hope you've learned a few things about the places I've shared with you and, perhaps, your eyes have been opened to some amazing destinations beyond your own back yards. So, if you're traveling along on this final portion the Danube River Cruise--come on board and let's set sail!

Today we'll be going to not one, but two new countries--two countries that I never imagined myself visiting. Our first stop will be in a city and country that I knew little about--in fact, I would have been hard-pressed to locate it on a map before I traveled there! Let's explore the city of...

Bratislava, Slovakia

One of the smaller capital cities in Slovakia, Bratislava has a population of about 430,000 people and has been the home to many historical figures from Hungary, Germany, Austria, and Slovakia. Because of it's strategic location on the Danube, it has always been a prosperous town and because of its smaller size, an easily navigable one, as well.

Santa checking out the Bratislava Castle from the Danube River. This is the same Santa with the cardinals that I showed you all finished up in the photos above.

Another rendering of Bratislava Castle in shown on this graffiti wall.

The massive Bratislava Castle dominates the city;  parts of it date back to the 13th century.

A row of pretty pastel homes lined this main road in Bratislava

St. Martin's Cathedral, completed in 1452, was the scene of coronations for 11 kings and 8 queens during the 16th to 19th centuries.

The interior of St. Martin's Cathedral

Of all the things in the Cathedral, these beautifully hand-carved figurines in the choir area were what truly captured my attention.  Just look at the detail in these animals which sat at the end of each pew! I tried to find out more information about them online, but wasn't able to. I've included some close-ups for you.

The lamb with the cross

The lion with a serpent in his mouth

An armadillo? Not sure of this one!

And my favorite--the fox reading a book. There are many more that aren't pictured. I would have loved to have had the time to study each one!

In medieval times, Bratislava was surrounded by walls and entrance was possible only through four fortified gates. In this photo, you can see Michael's Gate--the only remaining gate from those 13th century walls. At the very top of it is a statue of St. Michael and the Dragon put in place in 1758.

Many of the older buildings in Old Town Bratislava survived WWII as the bombing was centered more in the oil fields outside of the city.

Just look at the remarkable carved door and surrounding arch and pillars in this beautiful entrance!

Special plaques like these can be found on buildings throughout Bratislava. Of the 95,000 Jews in Slovakia during WWII, over 60,000 were deported and sent to concentration camps where most died.

The old Slovak National Theatre Building in Hviezdoslav Square. Christmas Markets are held in this Old Town square each December.

I thought this vignette of bakers was particularly charming in the window of a Bratislava bakery.

I would have enjoyed staying longer in Bratislava and exploring some of the "off-the-beaten paths," but we had to be back on the ship for a farewell dinner (they hold it the evening before the last dinner so that everyone has time to pack up their suitcases on that last night) and our overnight cruise to our final destination...

Budapest, Hungary

The cruise director advised us to rise early the morning of our last day so we could witness the ship's arrival in Budapest. I took her advice to heart and rose way before the sun was up. When it finally appeared, the peace on the river was something I wish could have lasted forever--it was so relaxing gliding down the quiet Danube watching the world slowly come to life!

The sun rises over the Danube as we cruise toward Budapest.

As we rounded the bend, we got our first look at Budapest, the capital of Hungary and the tenth largest city in the European Union. The three smaller cities of Buda, Óbuda, and Pest were officially unified in 1873 to become what we now call Budapest.

You can't miss Budapest's impressive Parliament Building looming in the distance.

Such lovely old buildings lined the shores of the city. And look at all of the other visiting riverboats--from countries all over the world!

The river boats fly the flag of the country in which they are cruising so that day the red, white, and green flag of Hungary was raised.

When we got off the boat, we boarded a bus for a quick ride up to Castle Hill which offers a number of  top tourist attractions and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 

Looking up toward Castle Hill with Matthias Church (or The Church of the Assumption of the Buda Castle) in the center.

On the left is Fisherman's Bastion which was built in the late 19th century to replace a former castle wall. There are seven turrets which provide amazing vantage points to view Budapest and the Danube.

One of the seven turrets of Fisherman's Bastion. Why seven? They were built to represent the seven tribes of Hungary:  Jenő, Kér, Keszi, Kürt-Gyarmat, Megyer, Nyék, and Tarján. (Don't ask me to pronounce them!!)

The views from Fisherman's Bastion were stunning.

Statue of St. Stephen, the first king of Hungary. He is credited with bringing Christianity to Hungary in the early 11th century.

Matthias Church was built in 1255, but has undergone many changes since. When the Turks captured Buda in the 16th century, it even became a mosque! It fell into disrepair and very little remains of the original church other than a few columns. Fortunately, it was fully rebuilt and renovated in the late 19th century, restoring the church to its former splendor.

I love the teal and copper colored tiles of the roof. Such an intricate and unusual geometric pattern!

One of the prettiest statues was the Trinity Column built in the 18th century to celebrate the end of the plague (and protect the city from another plague) which had ravaged the citizens of Buda. Aren't the tiny angels on all sides of the column lovely?

The onion-domed spires of this beautiful synagogue are absolutely stunning. Dohány Street Synagogue, built in the mid-1800's, contains nearly 3000 seats, making it the second largest synagogue in the world. During WWII, the Nazis used it as a stable and a base for German radio. It was badly damaged during bombing and only repaired in the early 1990s after the fall of Communism.

A café filled with red and white topped tables awaits its lunch customers.

One of the very severe looking Soviet era buildings that our guide showed us. Everything was built to be utilitarian and nondescript.

Compare the building in my previous photo to these older ornate Hungarian buildings we saw as we rambled around town.

Look at these pretty embroidered linens and shirts I spotted in a shop window. Those blouses  remind me a bit of the decorated "peasant tops" that were so popular in the '70s! Did anyone else have one?

This massive car reminds me of something out of an old  gangster movie. It was parked in front of a lovely older hotel.

I spotted the House of Terror (notice how the cut-out letters shadow the word "Terror" onto the building's facade) on our bus ride. This is a museum dedicated to exposing the fascist and communist tactics that were used to torture and interrogate Hungarians and is also a memorial to the victims.

Heroes' Square is another UNESCO World Heritage Site that was built in 1896. In the center is the Millennium Monument with a statue of the angel Gabriel on top. Surrounding the monument is a colonnade with statues of famous Hungarian men (no women?).

One of the biggest surprises was to see a statue of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan "strolling" through Budapest! Apparently, Hungarians wanted to honor him for his role in the fall of Communism. Just a few months after he left office, Communism began to collapse, in part due to his efforts.

After our tour of historic Budapest, we had the option of going on a "Bites and Highlights" tour of the food and architecture. These were some of the yummy foods we tasted along our way.

Our final evening of the cruise was bittersweet, but we couldn't have had a lovelier farewell sunset. While eating our last dinner on the boat, we enjoyed this gorgeous view.

Budapest positively sparkles at night--I'm sure a night cruise would be breathtaking! I guess we'll just have to go back some day...

The next morning, we boarded our plane for the U.S. Bye bye Budapest--you are one beautiful city!

Whew! I did it--many, many hours went into putting together these Danube River travelogues, but I'm so glad I forced myself to sit down and write them as I've already forgotten so much from our July cruise. Thank goodness I have the internet to help me identify buildings and landmarks in each country as there is no way I could possibly recall the details of every site we saw or fact we heard from our tour guides. Many of you have asked me questions along the way about the cruise itself so I will be doing one more post to wrap up my final thoughts on the whole river cruise experience. I'll discuss the cruise line, the cabins, the staff, the food, among other things. If anyone has a specific question about river cruising, please just leave it in the comments below (or email me) and I'll be happy to try to answer you in my next "cruise overview post."

I looked out my kitchen window last night to find this flock of turkeys marching toward our bird feeder! Thirteen of those funny looking creatures. They are just a bit too early for Thanksgiving, though!

I want to thank you, as always for your sweet and supportive comments--they mean a lot to me and I enjoy reading them so much. Welcome to my new followers, as well--so glad you've joined us! What are your plans for Thanksgiving? I'm so sad to say that my youngest son won't be home this year... He has a work trip in Antigua that week (tough life, right--it's in the 80s there this time of year!). I'll miss him so much, but we'll try to Facetime with him at some point during the day.  I'm sure I won't be back until after Thanksgiving so I hope all of my friends here in the United States have a lovely day with family and friends. Bye for now...

Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving!