"Be well, do good work, and keep in touch."

Garrison Keillor signs off with that phrase each Saturday night at the close of his Prairie Home Companion radio show. I grew up listening to that gravelly-smooth voice, and was excited to receive tickets to PHC as my 32nd birthday present on Saturday morning from Jake.

This Thanksgiving weekend was marked by wellness and good work. Our house was full of family- my sister, her husband, and our two neices, my mom and dad, my grandpa, and my aunt and uncle. Not ones to while away the daylight hours, they helped us fell trees and split logs and stack firewood and button up this wee farm for winter. The long dark evenings were spent playing cards and board games, and eating, of course.

The weekend leaves me feeling immensely thankful for my family, my kind and earnest husband, our warm and comforting home, and a life that challenges and amazes me at every turn.