July 15th - Setting the Table

"I learned early on 

that setting a table is so much more 

than just laying down knives and forks. 

It is creating a setting for food and conversation, 

setting a mood and an aura that lingers 

long after what was served and who said what was forgotten."

-Peri Wolfman 

Sarah says that we need to bring out the good stuff,

not just on holidays and for company,

but for every day occasions also,
and just for us. 

Start Quote

Ritual protects and heals, 

ritual symbolizes to all who come to your table 

seeking rest and renewal 

that they are enclosed within a sacred space.

You may think you're only laying a place at the supper table, 

but when you trust and follow your creative impulses 

to bring forth something beautiful, 

you experience the Sacred in the ordinary...

Today our style of entertaining has become more casual 
than the starched linen and polished silver of our grandmothers, 
yet the sense of harmony that can be conjured up 
with an inviting table setting has not changed.

Nor has the need...

A simply abundant setting...elevates eating 

into the exquisite pleasure of dining...

When you take extra moments to prepare an attractive table, 
you're really performing an invocation, 
welcoming Spirit to be present in recreation and remembrance. 

Choosing to dine rather than just eat

is a small but significant step toward self-nurturance, 

and one to savor as long as we live.

Creating an inviting table is possible more nights than you think, 
especially if you approach it as another venue of artistic expression
 in your daily round and confine your efforts, 
as Peri suggests, 
to "the simple, the doable, and the affordable."

Today, start using and enjoying the beautiful things 
that already surround you in your home. 

Don't save their loveliness only for other people 
to recognize and appreciate. 

Using them, you will become aware that authentic aspirations
 - from setting a pretty table to finding your life's calling - 
are legitimate longings.

End Quote

This is another hard thing for me to do in my time of life. 

Having pretty things with little kids is really hard.

It's like you can have pretty things, or you can have your sanity. 
You can not have both...



But my kiddos are getting older. 
And I'm starting to get more creative. 
And I can actually put things on the table 
and maybe the kids won't climb up on it and shove it on the floor. 


This is a goal for me for sure. 

I guess I should get some placemats huh. 


Also, in case you were never taught etiquette, 
this is how you set a table.







***
Gratitude Journal
***

1) Indy. Dogs are blessings from heaven.

2) Birthday parties! So much fun.

3) Good friends. Boy have I missed them.

4) Bubbles and bubble guns.

5) Oil change places. Drive up, stay in your car, 15 minutes later you're all set to go.