Table

"The table is a meeting place, a gathering ground, the source of sustenance and nourishment, festivity, safety, and satisfaction."

--Laurie Colwin

"Whether we're single, married, with or without children, we all have to eat dinner. The evening meal should be the highlight of the day. If the day has been peaceful, pleasurable, and profitable, it's time to celebrate. If the day has been difficult and discouraging, it's time for comfort and consolation - blessings by themselves and reason to celebrate. Either way, the celebrating table bids..."

--Simple Abundance

"We need time to defuse, to contemplate. Just as in sleep our brains relax and give us dreams, so at some time in the day we need to disconnect, reconnect, and look around us. We must turn off the TV and the telephone, hunker down in front of our hearths, and leave our briefcases at the office, if for only one night. We must march into the kitchen, en famille or with a friend, and find some easy, heartwarming things to make from scratch, and even if it is but once a week, we must gather at the table, alone or with friends or with lots of friends, or with one friend, and eat a meal together. We know that without food we would die. Without fellowship life is not worth living."

--Laurie Colwin

Often, dinner is my favorite time of day. The hubby and I decided a couple of years ago, that we would do our best to eat dinner together every night... Busy schedules were getting in the way - late nights of work and early bedtimes were making it hard to connect at the end of the day. Since deciding that dinner is a priority, it's become my favorite ritual in our house. We get home from our workdays - often I will have to return to mine, but it's a nice break - we make dinner and talk over our days. We disconnect from the world, reconnect to each other, and feel ready for whatever comes next.

That makes the table (or breakfast bar) a place of celebration. So invite the friends and family, prepare an easy and comforting meal, and celebrate the simplicities of life together! The table is calling...

Things I am thankful for today:

1. Toast with homemade plum jam... Yum.
2. No staff meeting today.
3. Catching up on reading - and finishing "If Grace Is True." I love this book - it really makes you think, with the head AND the heart!
4. Book group - always a fun way to end the day.
5. The book group ladies liked the Ginger Almond Grapes - I was worried!
6. Eating dinner with the hubby.
7. Playing with the dog when I got home tonight - squeaky ball!
8. Less of a headache today. Thank goodness.
9. A new bird at my birdfeeder... I haven't looked it up yet. I'll let you know!
10. Eye cream. Does wonders. Ha ha ha.