Looking Back

Why is it that magazines, many unread, stack up and you end up wondering why you kept them?  Just to be sure I hadn’t missed anything, today I went through many of them , saving a recipe here and there but mainly putting the publications in the recycling bag.

Reviewing them made me think about the year just ended.  Other than the fact that it passed way too quickly, it was a year dotted with memories far more lasting than the magazines.

High on the list were welcoming a new grandson and watching a granddaughter (watch here) confidentially perform solo, O Holy Night no less, on Christmas Eve, a night filled with sadness as well as joy.

I enjoyed few things more than Chef Michael’s Foodie Adventure in Tuscany

and spending time with a fake daughter in Venice.

Maine, where I am fortunate to spend half the year, provided many wonderful boat outings

and time with friends who find many ways to enjoy being together.

I challenged myself to post blogs on a regular basis and was rewarded with several awards and by a growing number of loyal readers whose comments are so much appreciated and give me the impetus to keep going.  Thank you!

While there are so many positives to remember, there are also  bumps in the road that are a little harder to digest, but they, too, have value,  contribute to  growth and reside in the memory bank.  Is all this what is called life?

Now that I have looked back, I’m ready to move forward.  How about you?

i love your thoughts, so jump right in and share yours

Trees Top the Table

Hopes that these trees fresh from the studio would provide the inspiration for a holiday table were rewarded.

With the trees not being the traditional reds and greens, it took a little effort to find just the right combinations for holiday decor. This cranberry runner topped with flexible gold mesh and ornaments of pink and turquoise do the trick.  All were pieces that had been used at one time or another which meant the only investment was time.

With the centerpiece in place, it was time to move on and set the table for the annual Christmas brunch enjoyed by friends who have walked many miles together, sharing their joy, problems and concerns along the way.

Dark green chargers are first on the table

followed by a favorite fun collection of holiday tableware, Santa plates

and cups and saucers that are almost but not quite red and green, at least not in the traditional sense.

Now the table is set, friends have gathered, brunch is ready to be served,

the door is open wide, so won’t you come join us for laughter and cheer?

Here’s wishing you the happiest of holidays with friends and family.

i love your thoughts, so jump right in and share yours

Joining Tablescape Thursday and Pink Saturday

A Blank Canvas

A table is a blank canvas waiting for the wonder of creation.   Preparing for the Thanksgiving feast is an opportune time for creativity coupled with tradition.

First onto the table are my always favorite pumpkins made from dryer hose and purchased from The Women’s Home many years ago.  I don’t remember how much they cost, but I have more than gotten my money’s worth.

This year they sit on an April Cornell tablecloth folded as a table runner, and they nestle among turkeys of straw and glass.

No Thanksgiving would be complete without the Della Robbia dishes.  The challenge is presenting them differently each year.  This time around they will rest on dark green chargers from Michael’s.

Added to the setting are salad plates from another set of dishes purchased at Target

and finished with green glass bowls from World Market.

Utensils are wrapped in napkins and tied with ribbon that has all the colors of the table.  Could someone tell me why I have 50 yards of it?

Now the table is set, the dressing is made, the turkey is roasting.

 All we need are family and friends to arrive to share another Thanksgiving and express gratitude for all that has come our way.

I am grateful to all of you who spend time with me, and here’s wishing you a bounteous Thanksgiving.

Joining you at Tablescape Thursday

The Weft of Life

“Shall we liken Christmas to the web in a loom? There are many weavers, who work into the pattern the experience of their lives. When one generation goes, another comes to take up the weft where it has been dropped. The pattern changes as the mind changes, yet never begins quite anew. At first, we are not sure that we discern the pattern, but at last we see that, unknown to the weavers themselves, something has taken shape before our eyes, and that they have made something very beautiful, something which compels our understanding.”

- Earl W. Count, 4,000 Years of Christmas

As a weaver, I particularly like weaving being used as a metaphor for Christmas and am appreciative that a blog friend introduced me to this quote.

To all of you, I wish you love and laughter as you go about the business of weaving your own tapestry.

Happy holidays!

i love your comments, so jump right in and share yours

A Special Tradition

“Friends are God’s way of taking care of us.”

Taking time out from the busyness of the holidays and spending time with friends can’t be beat.  Each year women with whom I have walked many miles gather for breakfast to celebrate the gift of friendship.

The table is set,  napkins folded with care for the gals who will soon sit there.

Holiday trees and flowers in small vases rest on gold mesh in just the right places.

There’s a touch of whimsy in the Santa plates

that with traditional glassware make perfect mates.

French toast is baking, herbed eggs wait to be served.

Hopefully, nothing goes wrong to throw me a curve.

But if it does, nobody’ll care because what’s important is the time we share.

Dishes: Bella Ceramica

Glassware: Spode and garage sale etched glass

Chargers: Michael’s

Vases: Crate & Barrel

Linked to: http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

i love your comments, so jump right in and share yours

Passing the Torch

After writing about traditions, it occurred to me that it might be time to introduce the next generation to some of the preparation.    What fun it was to spend the afternoon with a 9 and 7 year old making dressing and setting the table.  Oh, and let us not forget the jello salad which the girls informed me they can’t eat because it has artificial flavoring and food coloring.   The lessons we do learn from the youngsters!

The pumpkins are once again the focal point of the table, this time arranged on an April Cornell tablecloth folded to look like a runner.

The dishes are Della Robia and only come out at Thanksgiving.  You’d think they would have disappeared in the kitchen remodeling, but they were the first dishes I ever bought and have sentimental value.  Who knows, one of the young ones may want them some day!

There weren’t enough placements so the girls had the idea to use the orange napkins in their stead and alternate two different napkins on the plates.

They decided to place the silver in the napkins and tie it with the same ribbon used with the pumpkins. The wheat stems were from a Thanksgiving past, but hey, they work just fine here.

What I like best is the birthday candles in the little turkeys which are supposed to have slender tapers.  Ingenious, huhn?

The turkey is repeated in the placecards from Crate & Barrel. These were this year’s new touch.

Good job, girls.  All of us will enjoy the tablescape even more because you did it.

i love your comments, so jump right in and share yours

Traditions

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was “thank you”, that would be enough.

Meister Eckhart

Isn’t it interesting how traditions evolve?  It seems that certain things keep repeating themselves until, at last, you realize they have become tradition.

Thanksgiving is the most traditional of our family holidays.  We have the same food which is prepared by different hands and served on the same dishes year after year.  Deviled eggs which were once made by Granny are still part of the menu because our good friend Judy recognized the need to keep them coming.  We love her for that and for the sweet potatoes she brings.

The hubby roasts the turkey, and I now make the dressing since Mother is no longer able.   The daughters have taken on the desserts, and this year I’m thinking will be a good time to introduce the granddaughters into the mix.  Maybe they can take over the jello salad!

My favorite tradition, however, occurs when all are seated and we go around the table giving each person the opportunity to share that for which he or she is grateful.

What are your special family traditions on Thanksgiving Day?

i love your comments, so jump right in and share yours

How Lucky We Are

Sunday, July 4

a nearly perfect day for tennis

celebrating with friends

singing patriotic songs

eating cake

watching fireworks

How lucky we are to have access to so much and how grateful we should be for all the things that make life special, not only on summer Sundays but every day.

I love your comments, so jump right in.

Perfect!

Remember that cake pan I bought a couple of weeks ago at The Cottage Thrift Shop?

I was thinking it would make the perfect Easter dessert since the outer edges resemble a woven basket, and the middle was indented just enough to allow a cake to be topped with loads of fruit without it falling off the sides.  Actually, the pan design is so cute it actually doesn’t need much embellishment.

Well, it worked great, and the finished product looked and tasted scrumptious!  That’s saying something since I am not much of a cake maker.

The cake tasted as good as it looked, so I am going to share the recipe which is pretty easy.  It’s kind of a cross between a shortcake and a pound cake.

Fresh Orange Cake

1 1/4 c. butter, softened

2 c. sugar

5 eggs

3 3/4 c. flour

2 1/4 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

grated zest of 2 oranges

Glaze

1/2 c. sugar

2 T. butter

3 T. orange juice

Heat oven to 350. Lightly grease and flour pan.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Add alternately with 3/4 c. milk to butter/sugar mixture. Stir in orange zest and pour into prepared pan.  Bake for 55-60 minutes.  Cool in pan 15 minutes.  While the cake is cooling, heat sugar, butter and orange juice over medium heat, stirring often for 2 minutes.  Invert cake onto serving dish and glaze.  Serve with fruit and whipping cream.  YUM!

By the way, don’t you love the table runner?  My daughter got it at Pier 1, and I went directly there to get one.  To its credit, the store was closed to allow employees to enjoy Easter with their families.  Obviously, all the other stores didn’t think that was important.

Things Are Changing

For the first time in many a year, I sat alone at the Easter service.  Well, not exactly alone because there was the usual overflow Easter crowd, but no one was with me.  My hubby was home since he is still hobbling after having foot surgery a couple of weeks ago, and my daughters have gone their own way, but as the ALLELEUIAS   swirled around me, I couldn’t help but smile as I remembered how in days past the girls and I quietly substituted HOLLYLEWIS  for alleluia.  I don’t remember how it started, but it was one of those special things we shared, and somehow the memory made the music more special.

For most of our years as a family, we have had an egg hunt and brunch at our house, but this year our younger daughter  asked if Easter could become  her holiday since her sister has laid claim to Christmas, and Thanksgiving is still ours.  That seemed a fair request, so we gathered in the Heights for a delightful time together.   The table was lovely, the food was tasty, and it was no surprise that the egg hunt was beyond the usual.  The big girls had hidden goodies all over the yard and provided each of the little girls with a map defining the areas where eggs were located.

Though everything was eventually found,  it took some time as the kiddos concentrated so hard on the map that they walked right by the the hidden treasures!  It was fun to watch, and even 6 month old Caleb “found”  a plastic egg to gum and drool over!

As our daughters hold on to the idea of tradition, they add their own touches making our shared time have a fresh new energy.  No matter what the changes, the best part is being together.  As I grow older, it seems that these times become more special, and GrandP and Lulu are happy to sit back, observe and enjoy the grandkids.