The Little Things....

I'm not sure when it happened? I'm not sure when I stopped doing the little things? You know the little things...the things that don't cost money, but make memories...the things your children will talk about when they get older. And that's true you know. The things I talk about from my childhood and growing up usually never involves what we did that cost money. Being that I grew up on the poor end of the scale and the fact that we didn't have money anyway is no never mind. If I talk about my childhood from a poverty perspective, it's usually that I'm grateful. My memories are that my Mom fixed the best ham ever on Christmas and Easter. And I fix that ham today at Christmas, and my mother-in-law tells me it's the best ham ever. My memories that my Dad fixed the best pancakes ever. And they weren't really pancakes, but flapjacks. There's a difference.

So, I used to do these things that made memories. The Bob did, too. Like when he would fix Green Eggs and Ham. Like when I used to set the table nicely for occasions or events.

On any given day, this is what our dinner table looks like...

It doesn't look like this every day, but any given day. Can you see the laundry hanging over the doorway and over the chairs? Fep's bird puzzle she's been working on here and there for weeks. Lovely, isn't it?

So, Saturday was Valentine's Day Eve. The meal plan was Pioneer Woman's Lasagna (which she says is the best ever. While it is absolutely the best recipe I've ever had to make at home, I find the best ever lasagna belongs to Avellino's Pizza in Mississippi...just in case you're ever in the area and want some Italian ;) ) Creamed Spinach, Garlic Bread, and Turtle Cookie Bars with Ice Cream for dessert. Yum. It was to be our Valentine's Dinner as Sunday yielded itself too busy with Church and stuff to think about creating such a meal. I walked into the dinning room, and the above scene just wouldn't do. I have not set the table nicely in forever. Years maybe? So, I started digging through the China Hutch to see what I could use. And this is what I came up with. Simple. Very simple. But so much nicer than the above, don't you think?

And it looked even nicer with the candles lit. Cause candles make everything look better.

Fep walked through after I was finished and said, "The table looks so nice!" Moose walked through and said, "WHY IS THE TABLE ALL DINNERY?" (and please say that loud and with a heavy Southern accent). Moose is a grammar lesson waiting to happen. And when The Bob got home for dinner he was quite pleased. Quite. I have not taken the time to do this in forever. And my time and my thought was all they needed this Valentine's Day. It's the little things.

I was so pleased with myself, too. So pleased that I gave myself a thumbs up and took a very cheesy picture....

Cheese. I'm full of it :)

The little things are worth unwrapping