wednesday's words and wanderings and wonderings

I didn't go far from home this past week. By last Tuesday everyone was here and we all cooked a ton of food, played with the the little ones, visited with one another, one-by-one shared our gratitude and then the Thanksgiving meal, the kids caught up with their in-town friends, we hosted a small engagement party for Patrick and Kelsey, and when Sunday arrived and the last of the gang had left, it was SO QUIET. 

Shoes, shoes, and more shoes!

We read lots of books in Owen's "teepee."

First thing in the morning with these little rays of sunshine on my lap. 

I used my mom's silver for the Thanksgiving meal. She set the standard for using your best dishes and china for holiday meals. And yes, I made sure it sparkled before setting the table. She set that standard, too.

The traditional post-Thanksgiving pot of soup using the turkey carcass. My mom had a set of Le Creuset cast iron cookware. As she got older, the cookware became too cumbersome and heavy for her so she gave it to my daughter when she moved to Cincinnati for her first job out of college. Fast forward, daughter got married and received a new set of pots and pans as a wedding gift. All of mom's grandchildren have fond memories of Grandma's orange pots and pans so I gave one to each of her grandkids. I kept the soup pot.

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"Be present in all things and thankful for all things." ~ Maya Angelou