Carla has been home with me since the Friday before Thanksgiving, and finally goes back to school tomorrow. My husband took Thursday and Friday off. We've been watching movies together and playing games and doing our separate creative pursuits. It's been lovely spending time with them and I know I'll feel a little sad when the house is empty. But we have all of today together, although I think it will be mostly a day of laundry and cleaning and preparing for our houseguests.
Here are a few snapshots of what started out on a low note, but ended up being pretty lovely.
`1. Carla decorated the table for Thanksgiving.
We put out a selection of cheeses to munch on while cooking. I am partial to the caramelized onion cheese (right most) from Trader Joe's. And yes, those are Hanukkah plates we used for the cheese and crackers.
2. We were in the car and Carla was marveling at how gorgeous the sky was.
She asked me to hand her my phone and this is the photo she took. I love that she is so attuned to the beauty of the world around us.
3. The only finished room in our house.
My husband and I finally hung artwork up in our bedroom and it finally feels finished. It's smaller than our previous bedroom, but I love it. I am also loving our flannel sheets, which are SO soft. It is very difficult to get out of bed in the morning when I'm so cozy in these sheets! I still don't have a lamp for my bedside table, but my husband ordered some this weekend.
4. A funny tweet (if one with questionable grammar) that I sent to my best friend and her other best friend.
My best friend and I have slowly been rebuilding our friendship and it's such a relief and a comfort to me. The three of us are going to plan a Zoom call, 2020 style, later this month since we all live in different states. I don't know why we don't do them more often, but we got out of the habit.
5. My breakfast for the past three days.
These are the only Thanksgiving leftovers I care about: garlic goat cheese mashed potatoes and gravy. (With plenty of pepper.) For some reason, the gravy didn't turn out particularly well this year. My mother saved it, but it wasn't the rich, dreamy gravy of Thanksgivings past. Some combination of me messing up the proportions and our new oven not cooking the turkey and pan veggies to the deep caramelized brown necessary for developing rich, delicious pan drippings. But Past Suzanne was smart and ordered a container of mushroom gravy from Whole Foods, and it is QUITE delicious. Especially when paired with mashed potatoes.
6. I can hardly believe it, but our holiday cards are IN THE MAIL.
The only reason we pushed to get them out so soon this year is because they are serving as change-of-address notifications, too, and I'm hoping they reach most people before they send their own cards. We'll see if that calculation works in our favor. But they are OUT. Woo! This is literally the only thing I have done to prepare for the holidays.
7. The very first hint of Christmas around my house.
My mother is much better at being on top of holiday planning than I am. This beautiful wreath arrived the day after Thanksgiving. It smells like Christmas! That doesn't mean I am ready yet to decorate, but I am ready to think about decorating, which at least is a step in the right direction.
Happy Sunday, Internet!
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