January 4

A Gift Old, New and Blue

Hmmm.  I didn't read the list this morning so I didn't go through the day with these particulars in mind. 

1.  Last year Mema downsized when she moved into a new community, and she gave us some of her treasures.  The bronze bust of William Shakespeare now greets people when they enter our house, and Granddaddy's Tiki Bar is in our newly tiled great room downstairs.  When we were going through all the boxes in an attempt to organize the storage room in the basement, we ran across a huge box containing her silver tea service.  I already have one from my own grandmother, stored neatly in its custom case.  But I brought this one upstairs, spent an evening with the silver polish, and now it resides on a table (also inherited from Mema in the Great Purge) in my living room.  Yes, it's a bit fancy for my house, and it takes up the entire table top, but I love it.  It reminds me of the many dinners at their home, which were a huge treat for me when we lived near them in Miami, since I'd never lived in the same town as my own grandparents. 

2.  In 3 months we're going on a Disney Cruise over Spring Break.  It was our big "family gift" at Christmas, and for my birthday Bret's mom gave me a spa treatment on the trip.  I can't wait.  It's going to be a fantastic trip for all of us, and I will quite happily spend some time in the spa.  Last night Josh went exploring on the web site and informed me that the spa is directly above our cabin, so it will be about 100 steps for me to get there.  Nice to know, I guess.

3.  For Christmas last week my boys gave me a Willow Tree figurine.  I already have a lot of the angels and family figurines, as well as the Nativity, but this is one of her new ones -- the Holy Family.  It's not really a nativity, so I think I'm going to leave it out year-round.  And unlike most of her other figurines, this one has color.  Mary's robe is a beautiful shade of blue.  I just love it.