L-R: My daughter Dawn, brother-in-law Larry,
my daughter Valerie, my sister Martha and husband Dennis

A smaller feast than usual, but at least we had one! On the menu: 24-pound turkey, 10-pound spiral-cut ham, candied yams, green bean casserole, and mashed ‘taters with turkey gravy. (Ignore inappropriate place setting, and yes, those are kitchen tongs you see for the meat; practical and unrefined, but the real cloth napkins make up for that, right?)

Dessert was store-bought red velvet cake and a tiny lemon pastry, homemade fruitcake given by a friend, and orange jello made by my sister Martha! (She has come a long way, yay!)

Missing was my fried corn, clover leaf rolls and banana pudding, just didn’t have it in me.

Yes, I’ve already had one turkey sandwich today and might have another for dinner. Best part of the dinner is leftovers! And, oh, yeah, the vintage Chistmassy tablecloth was this season’s Goodwill find. I have several, but I can’t resist picking them up when I see them.

And then there were five...

My second to the oldest brother, George, passed away today (on my husband's birthday). He was 63. Two siblings in one year *sigh*

Quilt made from my mother's clothes; scrap afghan I crocheted many years ago

 

My daughter made my sister and me lap quilts from several pieces of my mother’s clothing, and I absolutely cherish mine. When she gave it to me, I rubbed my hand along each square, remembering how she looked when she wore that particular outfit and it made me feel close to her again. But when it came to the squares made from one of the last hospital gowns she wore I wasn’t sure how I felt. The hospital stay was a 24-7 vigil for us for a solid month. It was tough and it was exhausting.

Then I started thinking about all of the conversations we were able to have before the cancer (and fentanyl) took its toll. I cannot count the number of times we said “I love you.” It was the last lucid thing she ever said to me.

Yep, I like those squares after all.

So I'm doing this every day until Christmas!

One of my daughters bought this advent calendar cabinet a few years ago (she loves, loves, loves Christmas). She and her sister have taken turns filling it up for one another, and this year they told me it’s my turn to be surprised!

We’re all crafters, so I was tickled to discover the first three days were filled with velvet trimmings and a spool of twine. I don’t mind admitting that I’m very excited about opening the rest of those tiny doors. See my Flickr for images of what's behind the little doors.

Married 33 years and I didn't even know the man could bake!

 

I hit the jackpot on buttons at Savers the other day, $1.99 a bag! Each bag had about a dozen or so smaller bags full of buttons, sorted by color and stapled shut. My daughter and I sorted through them all, both of us taking what we liked best. (I’m going to add a bunch to the stash of things we’ve been gathering for a future give-away on Craft Discoveries.)

My daughters and I used to sort through stuff with my mom, like bags of jewelry she’d find at yard sales or thrift stores (the good ol’ days of great finds), or go through one of her many jewelry boxes filled with the same. Sometimes she’d have us fetch a box of glassware she hadn’t seen in eons, and we’d unwrap each piece, oooh and ahhh, maybe set aside a piece or two for this person or that person, then wrap them back up and put away the box.

If you don’t collect anything, that might sound kind of crazy, but if you do, you understand the fun and conversation that ensues once the seal on a box full of finds is broken or buttons are poured from an old tin…a little bit of heaven right there.

 

Tonight Dawn made mini bagel pizzas!

Last night Valerie made brussel sprouts (I didn’t even know I liked them, everyone else found out they didn’t), rice and chicken. Neither one of them cook, so I’m beside myself with munchie joy!