Wednesday, November 28, 2018
A Pictorial Post
I'm in the middle of one of the busiest weeks of the year for me and so I apologize in advance for the excessive use of pictures in this post. I don't have a lot of time to write, so there's not much substance here, but I wanted to check in with my people. Think of this as Motherhood and Muffin Tops, the board book edition.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We never have anywhere to go until Thanksgiving night and so I stayed in my pajamas until 4:30 and that was glorious. We had a big crowd, even though we were missing six. One was playing in the Mississippi State band at the Egg Bowl (Hail State!) and the other five were in Kansas City, because it was their year to be with the in-laws for Thanksgiving. You know, we talked about holiday scheduling challenges, recently.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We never have anywhere to go until Thanksgiving night and so I stayed in my pajamas until 4:30 and that was glorious. We had a big crowd, even though we were missing six. One was playing in the Mississippi State band at the Egg Bowl (Hail State!) and the other five were in Kansas City, because it was their year to be with the in-laws for Thanksgiving. You know, we talked about holiday scheduling challenges, recently.
My mother and Aunt Gloria always use Grandmother's recipe for the dressing, which I also have hanging in my kitchen in her handwriting. It calls for "2 pones of cornbread", but I'm pretty sure it took more than 2 pones for this crowd. It was divine is all I really know for sure. I think Grandmother would be so proud to know her memory is still very present at our Thanksgiving gatherings. She worked so hard in the kitchen to make so many wonderful Thanksgiving memories for us. I'd say it's safe to say she'd also be amazed at how much her family has grown.
Here are the creators of all the goodness.
Aunt Gloria, left, and my Mama on the right.
We took the annual "kids on the stairs" picture even though four were missing. And the ones at the top of the stairs are starting to grumble about still having to be in the picture. Like marriage or college enrollment would exempt you from things such as the annual cousin photograph. Psshhh.
So, the next morning, with our cornbread dressing hangovers, we drove to south Alabama to participate in the 2nd Annual Blair and John Samuel Move on Thanksgiving Weekend. They were leaving apartment life for a house and both families went to help. According to my calculations, this is the 3rd move in 15 months that we've all assisted with, so we're hoping they'll be here for a little while.
Blair fed us well, while we worked for them. Breakfast was candied bacon, which should be illegal because of its addictiveness, cheese grits, and orange rolls that were NOT made from busting the can like her Mama taught her.
She's such a wonderful cook and, later, turned the leftover cheese grits into this....
It's hard to keep newlyweds on task for very long.
But, we got it all done and left them all settled in by the glow of their Christmas tree in their new place.
When we got home from that project, I set out to get us a fresh Christmas tree, but, apparently, the Monday after Thanksgiving is the new Christmas Eve as far as selection goes. I paid way too much for a minimally attractive tree with flaws that are hard to ignore. Davis and Carson thought it was smaller than usual, too, but I couldn't help that there was only kindling left to choose from by the time I got there.
Blair and John Samuel gave me my very first gift of the season, which I obviously adored.
It's been a month, but it seems like an eternity since I loved on my Sugar girl. Melissa, who is a sweet Muffin Top reader, sent Sugar's picture to her artist friend, Katie, who did this amazing portrait for us, a couple of years ago. It meant so much to me when it arrived then and now it means that much more. It hangs above my desk and warms my heart to think of the years we had with our old girl and the dear and thoughtful hearts that were behind this most precious gift.
The inside of my house is mostly decorated for Christmas now. My mediocre tree is decorated and, yet, pumpkins and mums still adorn the front porch. Kind of like a mullet.....Thanksgiving in the front, Christmas in the back. My goal for the weekend is to take Christmas outside and roll the pumpkins in the woods.
I'm just exhausted, y'all, and it's starting to show. Last night, while I decorated our Christmas tree, I washed a load of laundry.....except I forgot the laundry, so that was productive. Those were two Tide Pods that died in vain. Then, I got my lighted trees all hooked up behind the nativity and plugged them into the power strip and the lights didn't come on. "Dang it, these stupid trees," I said as I watched the plug of the power strip dangle down by my feet. Sadly, it took a minute for me to realize the problem. But, at least, the inside of my washing machine was being washed, while I got it all figured out. Don't say I can't multi-task.
If I can get through this week, I'll be in good shape.
Let's meet up, next week.
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Love Family pictures! We took ours Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant, first time for me, nothing to clean up:). Blair and John looks so beautifully in love:). What a wonderful Sugar Christmas ornament, love, love it:). The portrait of Sugar is stunning, a rememberence of your little doggie:). Wished I had your Thanksgiving food, it looks so scrumptious. Heading back to Arizona in a few days. I helped put up our moms Christmas tree and decor last weekend so I can enjoy a bit of Christmas with her, dang I wish I lived closer. Your busy time at work, don't over do and take care Joni, Kathleen in Az
ReplyDeleteIt was my honor and blessing to paint sugar! I am so sorry your sweet girl is not here this year but thankful I was able to capture her on canvas leaving a beauty mark in her wake! katiejwilson.com
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