TheBanyanTree: Brown

[Margaret R. Kramer]

>From my office window I saw our black cat making his way through the piles
of brown leaves in the backyard.  It was getting lighter, but there wasn’t
to be a sunrise this morning.  The gray clouds that showered us with rain
yesterday were still hugging us from overhead.  This clouded sunrise kept
the yard in brown shadows.

I went downstairs to let that wayward cat in the house.  Saydi, our smaller
dog, was ready to blast through the door, and when I looked up towards the
back of the yard where the bird feeders are, I knew why.  One medium sized
doe was nuzzling a bird feeder and a smaller doe was drinking from the bird
bath.  The black cat was in the house, so I let Saydi and CoCo charge out
after the deer.  The deer bounded away with their white tails standing
straight up.  And the dogs were satisfied that they chased these obnoxious
intruders away.

I didn’t see the deer right away, because they’re brown and my backyard is
now brown and everything is brown.  The summer greens have slithered away to
the south and we’re left with comforting shades of brown; light browns, dark
browns, reddish browns, and chocolate browns.  No white snow has fallen yet
to cover up the browns, so they remain our dominant color as we get ready
for Thanksgiving.

We don’t raise turkeys to slaughter, so Ray and I have to go to the store to
buy our Thanksgiving feast.  I bought most of ingredients last week, but I
still had the turkey and other assorted items to get.  Plus, there were two
new stores near our house that I wanted to check out.  So, when I got home
from work, we took off in the rain to go shopping.

The first store we went to was a Goodwill-like store.  But it was much
better than Goodwill.  It was larger, well lit, and all the merchandise was
displayed so you could actually see it.  I always felt like Goodwill was a
treasure hunt.  If I was patient and dug through the piles long enough, I
would find what I wanted to buy.  Since I’m an impatient shopper and
shopping is not a treasure hunt for me, but a drudgery, I don’t shop at
Goodwill anymore.  But, Goodwill was a life saver for me when I graduated
from college and had absolutely no extra money for clothes and household
items.  I was their best customer.

We wandered through this store with our mouths hanging open.  This store had
great clothes, blankets, kitchen stuff, toys, children’s clothes, jackets,
mittens, and scarves for just a few bucks.  I know when I have more time, I’
ll be back there.  It was a great store.

Right next door to this store was a new dollar store.  This dollar store
actually had items I wanted to buy.  I usually feel like most dollar stores
are full of junk, but this one was pretty good.  They had a lot of
Thanksgiving decorations and since I’ve been on a mission to get more
Thanksgiving decorations for home, I snapped some up.  The store had some
neat earrings for just a buck each, so I bought those, too.

Finally, we stopped at the upscale grocery store by our house.  I love this
grocery store, because it respects food.  Foods aren’t just warehouse items
here.  This store focuses on good, well-prepared and healthy food, instead
of macaroni and cheese for the masses in a blah warehouse setting.  Ray (he
works in an upscale grocery store, but not this one) doesn’t like the high
prices, which is why we stopped shopping there regularly, but he managed to
make it through the store  without passing out.

We got the turkey and dinner rolls, plus some things to eat for that night’s
supper, and we drove home in the rain.

After eating, we watched TV and I caught up with the news from the
newspapers and got through about half of my new December Oprah magazine in
front of roaring fire in our fireplace.

I love this brown time before Christmas when everything is muted and
peaceful.  I’m trying to ignore the masses of green, red, and white
Christmas decorations in the stores and the wall-to-wall Christmas music
already playing on one of our radio stations.  It isn’t Christmas time just
yet.

It’s a time to gather in the harvest, whether at a thrift store or an
upscale grocery store, invite friends and family to come over, and enjoy a
feast together.  It’s time to look over our lives and find the colorful
blessings among the browns and give thanks.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

http://www.polarispublications.com
Be a star!

http://www.bpwmn.org
Business and Professional Women of Minnesota

Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be
careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude.
~E.P. Powell