ECF - Holiday Table Edition

It's never too late to share a happy holiday table. Right? This was the table my S-I-L set for Thanksgiving. It was so festive. There were even pilgrim candles.

Thanks for the happy birthday wishes for Lindsey. This weekend she'll celebrate with a sleepover party for 6 or 7 of her nearest and dearest. Stinkette and I will watch movies and I suspect that Bruce will try to find reasons to escape the house. All the giggly girls may be a bit much for him.

Have a great weekend.

Lindsey at 14

Here is a picture of my Lindsey Felicia that I took about ten years ago.



Back then she amazed us in the way all young children do. We watched her grow and learn and savored all the firsts. It was wonderful.


Here is Lindsey today.




It's no secret that I'm crazy proud of my girl and every bit as amazed by her today as I was back then. There are still firsts to enjoy but now there are other notable acheivements as well. I can't tell you how often I just sit back and watch her interact with others with a huge smile on my face. She's grown from a cute kid into the kind of child that every parent hopes for.


I know that it's likely that at 16 or 18 or 20 or some other time she'll pull away from me but it hasn't happened yet. Right now she still enjoys hanging out with her mom and I'm so thankful for that, more than anything else. She is just so much fun to be with that I hope it never ends.

Happy Birthday Lindsey!

Sagamore Hill

It's a bit of a sore point for me that all my girls know of Long Island are the homes of our friends and family and a few choice restaurants. Beyond that it's all anecdotal. So, since we had a bit of extra time on our Thanksgiving trip I added a sidetrip to Sagamore Hill into our plans. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the place, it was the home of Theodore Roosevelt. I guess you could say that seeing Springwood when I was in Rhinebeck inspired me.



It was a fun trip full of nostalgia and funny coincidences that started when we parked our car right next to a car that sported stickers identifying it as from our area. We looked at it and felt like we must know these people and a short time later we ran into them on the grounds when their children recognized ours from a summer program they attended together this year. talk about a small world!

We all compared people we know in common as we made our way to the front door of the home (seen above) for our tour.



It was drizzling lightly but that didn't stop me from stepping out to walk around the building taking pictures. I had to get a good feel for the details.



Inside the home we listened as the guide told us about how Teddy liked to sit in his front office facing the window so he could greet guests and how Edith didn't like all the stuffed heads and furs in the house. I think I'm with her on that one.

Then we got to the only addition to the original house which you can see in the picture above. The brick clad room doesn't look like much from the outside but it's quite impressive on the inside which is probably why I remembered it so clearly from the last time I was there... in 4th grade!



What I didn't recall was that it was added on during Teddy's presidency as a place where he could entertain official guests. The intent is made very clear by the presidential seal which is on the inside of the room and outside as well.

Normally today I'd be posting a finished object so I should mention that the lack of a finished object in this post is not because I lack them but because it's a busy week. I do have a pair of fingerless gloves finished and photographed but I'm once again waiting to take pictures of other stuff like my recently finished the Kiila socks and my NaKniSweMo project. I finished 28Thirty in the car on the way home from NY - buttons on and ends woven. It's blocking now and I anticipate a photo shoot this weekend if the weather cooperates.