An evening view

I'm grateful for our blessings on this eve of Thanksgiving.

Today was a beautiful warm fall day in the mountains of North Carolina, and the light at the end of day, reflected from the sunset, illuminated the view into the ravine behind our house in the mountains. Designed by a local architectural designer for his personal home, it's an 'ecohouse', small and spare in design, with radiant floor heat, instant-on gas hot water, Icynene insulation, and recycled materials, including using wood from the site (an empty lot overgrown with black cherry, tulip poplar and white pine).

This is a legacy house for us - our moms, now gone, are part of this place and they'll be part of our thanks tomorrow for Thanksgiving along with all of the memories that they provided for us.

My mom, a great traveler, will be remembered, too, as we travel during winter break, as will my gardening companion's (aka my husband's) dad, who was also a keen traveler. They inspired us to step up our traveling as we were reminded by their loss that life can be shorter, rather than longer, and if not now, when.

Traveling has enriched our lives, work, and understanding of what it means to live in the world and we're grateful that we have the opportunity to do that.