a slice of sunday

Here's a shot of the setting of our Sunday evening. The Christmas tree is now decorated, and there ARE presents under it, though you can't see them in this picture (they're small). Ken loves to have a fire going on a cold day, so once we got home from a friend's party he started it up. I have also redone the mantel. It had pointsettias and cedar sprigs along it, but alas, I lack my mother's green thumb and didn't tend the pointsettias very well. They dropped their leaves like crazy and looked like they belonged in Charlie Brown's conservatory. I have opted (close your ears, Mom) to go with artificial, which I can't kill. Fortunately I found very real looking garland and some red berries, along with sprigs of ivy that now decorate the stretch of mantel with some festivity. It isn't a well lit space, so it is hard to see even when standing in front of it, but I'm working with what I've got. I did manage to put a couple of candle fixtures up on the ends (not lit in this picture--I forgot about that detail), but nothing else will fit.

And a word about that chair and footstool on the right. We picked that up at a warehouse that sells off hotel furnishings when hotels remodel or refurbish. This set came from the Opryland hotel, and I've got two of them, plus a pair of standing lamps, at my office at the church. The chair and footstool cost $89. Talk about a find!

Anyway, back to Sunday. One of the nice things about being back at Epiphany is the people there. There are old friends from my time there before, but I am also enjoying getting to know and building relationships with those who are new to me. Among them is Yolande. Like Ken, she's the kind of person who never met a stranger, and we both enjoy her so much. She hosted a holiday open house Sunday afternoon and demonstrated that she deserves the sobriquet given to her by her friends: the hostess with the mostess. Check out this spread!

But besides being a wonderful hostess, Yolande is one of the giving and generous people I know. In the short time that I have been at Epiphany she has "been there" for me more than you can imagine. When Ken has had his health blips of late, she's the first person I call. It is a blessing for me to have such a person in my life, especially when the rest of my sisterhood lives so far away. And Yolande, I'm not just saying this because you are reading this blog, I would have written this anyway! Hugs to you!

And hugs to the rest of you all. You all bless my life and make it richer.