Daily Gifts

In looking for the gift in each day, they were easy to find this week. 

We did need a little R&R on Wednesday after the celebration march on Tuesday, so we were off to a slow start. As I walked out to get the newspaper at the box out on the street, the sun was up on a cold, crystal clear day and the frozen gravel made a lovely crunch under my feet. A gift of a day. 

We spent much of Wednesday getting ready for our lunch party on Thursday. There was grocery shopping to do, some spiffing up of the house, and setting up the dining room table with holiday finery. 

The McMicken Lunch Bunch, made up of mostly retired teachers who at one time or another all worked at McMicken Heights Elementary School, had not gotten together since last June, so I decided to do something about that. I invited them all to my house for a holiday lunch. I made the soup, and cookies of course, and they brought the rest. 

A big pot of corn chowder for a cold day.

Lots of salads and homemade rolls. 

And desserts! Thanks, Andrea, for the photos. As usual I didn't remember to photograph my own party. 

Having the company of good friends, lots of visiting and laughter and catching up was a great gift for that day.

But then the Seahawks gave us the gift of a victory on Thursday Night Football, and since Jill was at the game, Tom transported Isaac and Irene to their activities, and then we hosted Irene for dinner. She was quite happy about the homemade mac and cheese and broccoli, two of her favorite things. 

Friday breakfast was the usual bunch, minus our friend Mavis. She fell several weeks ago and cracked her pelvis, and then in trying to move without assistance, she fell again and dislocated her shoulder. That required surgery. Mavis is 89 years old and we were worried. But she made it out of the hospital and back into the care center at her senior living complex, and when we all went to visit her after breakfast, she was her usual spunky self. She is a gift. 

We got in a walk in below freezing temps on Friday and then in the late afternoon we fought the traffic on I-5 to get to Olympia for a holiday dinner with my siblings. My sister Ilene took the photos.

You know Tom and me. 

This is my brother Hank and wife Cindy.

My sister Laurie and her husband  Arnie.

And since my lovely sister Ilene didn't get a photo of herself, I borrowed one from her Facebook page.

We had a good dinner and a fun evening sharing old memories of times gone by. 

This morning, Saturday, was even colder. It was 22 degrees when I bundled up to walk out to the street to get the newspaper.

So on the way back I stopped at Tom's greenhouse, where the brugmansia was in bloom. 

It gave off a lovely fragrance in the relative warmth of the greenhouse, a great gift to start the day. 

We managed to keep busy, taking care of small projects, finishing up a few Christmas cards, getting in our cold walk, and attending Irene's first basketball game. Now we are very happy to be settled in for the evening. 

Tomorrow we tackle gift wrapping!