Here I sit on this Friday after, Black Friday, It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas Friday, still in my robe Friday but still very thankful Friday!
I’m joining in with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story with my favorites from this past week. Five (or so) faves but lots more than five photos!
1. I’m thankful for this leftover photo of when my kids were all together a couple weekends ago.
2. I’m thankful for our Son-in-law, Andrew, serving his country in Afghanistan. He had to have Thanksgiving in what he calls the sandbox.
This photo is from his cold weather training for Afghanistan.
3. I’m thankful for some leisurely shopping the evening before Thanksgiving with Dear and Katie topped off with Happy Hour at Daniel’s Broiler in Bellevue. I know from here on out it will be crazy out there in the stores. I am still sitting here in my robe on this Black Friday with no intentions of going anywhere.
A good meal with a lovely view with people you love…priceless.
We could see all the way across Lake Washington to downtown Seattle.
I’m always grateful to see a glorious sunset!
4. We were invited to our friend’s home for Thanksgiving. There were forty five of us gathered and the food was amazing and oh so plentiful. I made double the amount of yams needed and I could have fed a whole neighborhood with just the yams. Oye. By the time we ate my memory card was full so I can’t show you the ginormous pan of yams with marshmallows on top browned to perfection. You’re going to have to take my word for it.
The cousins table, the kid table and the collective table. The collective table was for those of us who had the most collective Thanksgivings…translation ~ the old people table! We had those of us starting in the 50’s to two matriarchs that are very close to 90 represented.
Some of the younger guests!
When you see a crowd on the deck poised with their phones, quick, grab your camera and fun out there, too!
There was a cloud layer resting above the Puget Sound and at sunset we got a fun view of the Olympic Mountain range peeking out above the fog with the lovely colors of the sunset above. What you see with the naked eye is very hard to capture with a camera or phone. The view with the eyes God gave me was so much more spectacular than this photo.
5. I’m thankful that with our technology we can talk to and communicate with people across the world and in a different hemisphere than us. Our hosts’ youngest daughter is on a 2 year trek around the world living in different countries. We were able to communicate with her and see her on one of the I-phones from Australia.
Hi Jamie!! We love you and miss you! (Jamie was our Katie’s maid of honor)
Did I mention I’m still in my robe? I love the morning after Thanksgiving when there is nothing on the calendar and I can just dilly dally the day away!
Sunday starts another week of celebrations around this old house. Now that Thanksgiving is behind us I’ll start getting serious about Christmas, too. How about you? Have you started on Christmas?
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 
Well, I have one stocking stuffer bought so far …
Love all your photos – especially the gorgeous sunset and the cloud layers!
I love a day to dilly dally away, too.
It;s so nice to relax and putter after a full day day. I enjoy that too. And I need it đŸ™‚
Nice to see your Thanksgiving photos. Was Andrew in Afghanistan in that picture? or training in Canada? đŸ™‚
Love the sunset pictures. Especially mountains.
I’ve started on stocking stuffers – but I need to get my act together and send a Christmas pkg to the UK. It’s getting close to the deadline!
Hope you have a lovely relaxing weekend – smart girl for staying home on Black Friday!!
What a lot of fun you had this week! I am in my robe still, too. We had the family at our house but not near as big a crowd as you were with! Oh my. Even imagining where to put 45 people makes me dizzy, but what a great time to all be together. Your pictures are wonderful. I am thankful for your Andrew too and will pray for his safety.
I’ve got the dishes done and the tablecloth soaking in Oxyclean but not much else done yet. Today is my husband’s birthday and tomorrow we are decorating the church…and on it goes!
Love the relaxed quality of your day after Thanksgiving. Wish that I had declared a jammie day as well. Your Thanksgiving looks wonderful! Have started Christmas pursuits, but not seriously.
That’s my kind of day – jammies all day! I worked till noon today, came home and started…..the pre-decorating cleaning – eek! It has begun. Your Thanksgiving gathering looks just wonderful and I’ll bet those yams were soooo good! I hope Andrew is safe and will be home soon.
Enjoyed a peek into your Thanksgiving…..family near and far….lots of love and support.
A good looking bunch of people there! Love the photo of everyone taking a pic with their phones!
Good heavens what a full post. LOVE the picture of your kids and Andrew’s picture…just makes me stop and pray for our military. That is a beautiful sunset picture. My Black Friday shopping was done on Thursday, on my computer in my home….the ONLY way to do it. lol. We put up our tree today and might have some fun decorating the front porch tomorrow as we are supposed to have a warm up into the low 50’s. Hubby will mow off the last of the leaves before we head back into the 20’s later in the week. Time is FLYING.
I’m glad you could enjoy being in your robe this morning with no where to go. That is the best feeling. I know what you mean about the naked eye seeing so much more in a sunset. It has happened to me too, but your picture is still beautiful!
Taking time to relax and ponder the delights of the celebration sounds like a great way to continue thankfulness. Lovely tables, lovely food, lovely people and sunsets. So many things to enjoy in this post. Christmas is beginning slowly here, but it’s time to get up to speed!
Lovely pictures – wow, the joy and fun you must have had at your 45-people Thanksgiving celebrations!
Noooo — I can’t think about Christmas yet until I get a few things checked off my list, but alas, December is upon us as we speak.
Isn’t it so lovely *not* to feel the pull of Black Friday??? I love that you’re still in your robe, ruminating over your blessings, and enjoying the time for quiet.
What great photos from your Thanksgiving celebrations! It looks like you had the best of times. Are you still in your bathrobe? đŸ™‚
It looks like you had a most wonderful Thanksgiving, Ellen! The company, the food, the setting, the lovely views and camaraderie all look and sound so lovely! I’m sure you missed your brave son-in-law. I hope he will be home for next year’s Thanksgiving.
No crazy Black Friday shopping for me–I like cyber shopping and door delivery..lol!
We decorated the outside of our house today as the weather was so beautiful and unusually warm. I heard we will get an arctic blast by mid week, so we were happy to have that finished. Now to begin the inside đŸ™‚
Great photos of your loved ones. Love it when Christmas is approaching. I enjoy the excitement.
Hazel
Stay in your robe….enjoy and linger after the busy days. I am not a Black Friday girl either. Looks like you had a great time with all your friends. I loved the table settings.
Wow, you had a ginormous Thanksgiving. And I thought eight around my table was a lot đŸ™‚
Beautiful photos of WA! I do miss the grandeur of the Olympic Peninsula.
You asked about WA visitors? Our Marine’s sister and her new hubby joined us for Thanksgiving having driven the two days down from Tacoma.
What wonderful pictures, Ellen. The “collective” table made me laugh. That is quite a crowd for thanksgiving. So wonderful to be with all those family and friends!