much to be thankful for...

i've returned home from another wonderful trip down to nashville for thanksgiving. mom and i accomplished A LOT of things on our 'to do list' over the last 4 days. to counteract missing my own pooches i played with their dogs, zip & posey. they got a little taste of my puppy-paparazziness...


after spending a few hours clearing out the dining room out from under mom's 'sewing/craft room' supplies (don't ask) we kicked the weekend off by stuffing our faces on a super delicious thanksgiving dinner prepared by my step-dad, who happens to be a superior chef. mom of course had the table decorated in style for the event...


speaking of decorated...can i just tell you how many awesome things mom has in their house. like this lovely display case which I begged and pleaded for her to gift to me someday (soon i hope!)...


or these cute candy egg molds she hung with her egg wreath...


or pretty much this entire vignette around the fireplace...



my mom is a serious sewer too, she has an entire room over the garage dedicated to her craft. And she often collects vintage sewing items that she decorates the room with...


we did a few sewing projects while i was there this time around. first she took me to sally's in madison to practice on an elissimo embroidery machine at the store before i used hers, where i made a little ornament for my tree this year. when we got home i worked on embroidering our names onto christmas stockings i bought a few weeks ago. i took a little cell phone footage of the machine in progress, it made me laugh so hard watching it go to work...




they turned out great, don't you think?...


mom and i also made our way to the tennessee state fairgrounds for the fleamarket. we started early and did 2 laps just so we didn't miss anything...


i managed to find a vintage metal milk carrier with a wooden handle (almost identical to this one)...



i also found a few old blue mason jars (for $1.00 a piece) to fill it with...

and of course i picked up a darling little pair of hens for my salt & pepper shaker collection...


the entire point of this trip was to spend time with both of my grandparents, which i did. i'd be lying to you if i told you it was an easy trip, not that mom & my step-dad didn't make my time there wonderful as could be, but seeing both my aging grandparents is very difficult for me.

my grandfather is in better health than my grandmother. and while he needs a walker to get around these days he's still as mentally sharp as a tack. i had a great time talking to him about the projects i'm currently involved in at work, showing him photographs of various projects, blabbing about what me & the rest of my cousins are up to these days, and listening to him tell stories about his working days. he even took mom & i out to lunch the afternoon i was leaving town...

me & grandpa (2006)

my grandmother is in advanced stages of alzheimer's disease. and although she was in remarkably good spirits and very alert it's still sad to not see any recognition of me in her eyes. i'm the oldest of all of my cousins and was very close to my grandmother subsequently, what breaks my heart is that a few of the younger ones will never really remember her for the woman she was...the woman who used to wash our feet at the edge of the tub and then pat them in baby powder before bed time calling them sleepy feet. the woman who used to let us eat yodels for breakfast. the woman who we used to gossip about new love interests with. the woman who we could call when we had a huge blow up fight with our parents.

i miss my grandma very much and the only thing that made me feel a little better was when i said "i love you grandma" as I was leaving the nursing home on sunday to fly back to boston she said "oh,i love you too honey"... a brief moment of clarity in her unclear mind...

me & grandma (2006)

this dixie chicks song, 'silent house', has the perfect lyrics for remembering someone who has alzheimers.

i have to commend my mom for taking such good care of both of them. it takes a great deal of patience, a virtue neither my mother nor i possess very much of, to deal with her aging parents. they are very lucky to have her, as are my moms brothers & sisters. i only hope i can do the same for her someday...

mom & grandma, virginia (fall 2005)

the young family, lake george (summer 2006)

this year i am most definitely thankful that i got to spend another thanksgiving with my grandparents.