I do not recall Thanksgiving Day being so cold as this past week. This is only, of course, in Vineyard memory. Thanksgiving in Rew, Pa. was another story. We always went down the valley to grandparents Kate and Bill Irons, Dad’s family. He was one of 12 children so there were boatloads of cousins. There was usually snow on the ground already. The sleds and snowmobiles were located in the barn and we were off until dinner was served.

Speaking of the dinner, now, as an adult, it is hard earned. Let’s see, three days of preparation, 20 minutes or so of actual eating, and then three more days of dealing with leftovers and clean up.

This year I spent time holding my new great-grandson. Now that’s a holiday. What a treat and a blessing.

I made a cranberry sauce out of Cranberry Acres organic berries — one pound of berries and a cup of turbinado sugar cooked for quite some time. Then I ran them through a food mill so it was seedless and skinless. I’ve been enjoying it all week mixed with Mermaid Farm yogurt.

The big freeze wiped out much of the hoophouse plantings. The pea shoots will not recover and I’m losing hope for the radishes. The tops are blackened.

Spinach, lettuce and kale are untouched and seem to be thriving.

I’ve been watching Christmas decorations going up all week. Honestly, I’m barely finishing fall clean-up and feel pressured. Television has been talking Christmas since Halloween for Pete’s sake.

Don’t even get me started about Black Friday. I, for one, am a big fan of shopping local. I stopped in at the Tea Lane Nursery Christmas store at Woodland. It’s very festive. I bought some paperwhites. Last year’s planting actually bloomed first on Christmas Day. I wish I could remember when exactly I planted them.

Back to leftovers, briefly. I divided up Thanksgiving dinner into single servings and froze them. I have family members who are not particularly fond of repeat meals. I’m not one of them. I am looking forward to several delicious meals for lunch this winter.

I have a small crock pot which I take to work so I can enjoy hot meals. Working outside in the winter can be challenging but, I confess, I prefer it to unbearably hot and humid. My workers, not so much.

There is a lot of pruning to be done and what better time? I do avoid any chopping of spring bloomers, however. They can be addressed in late spring after the bloom.

I hauled out the sprouting equipment. I do both alfalfa and fenugreek seeds. It takes a full week in my chilly kitchen but it’s wonderful to have them for salads and sandwiches. I purchase in bulk and store in the freezer for years. They always sprout. The essence of life stored in a tiny seed. Love that!

What I don’t love is General Motors closing five plants in the Midwest. This is after our tax money bailed then out a decade ago. Corporate greed at its finest. Wait, there’s more — they benefitted from the big tax break last year but not the 15,000 or so blue collar workers about to be jobless. Shame on GM.

While we are talking shameful — I never though I’d love to see an American President proud of tear-gassing women and children. Then again, the man has no shame.