I won't be home for Christmas but Great-Grandma's tablecloth will

Mrs. RWP's mother -- in the family we refer to her as Great-Grandma -- had very little formal education, but she was very talented at knitting and crocheting and passed along many of her things to her daughter (Mrs. RWP). There was an Albanian word she used to refer to her lacy handiwork: b'danna (not spelled right, I'm sure, I'm being phonetic here). A doily was b'danna. A dresser scarf was b'danna. If a table was small enough, the thing that covered it was b'danna too. Her home was filled with it.

We didn't put up a tree this Christmas (again) because we're going to our children's houses (again) rather than vice versa, but we didn't want the house to be completely lacking in pretties for the season. So Mrs. RWP broke out one of her mother's tablecloths for the dining room. Here's the table on a dreary, rainy, overcast day with insufficient light, but you get an idea of how her mother's tablecloth looks:

The piano, which sits along one wall of the dining room, has a matching b'dana or bedanna or bidënë or whatever the word is. The sunlight was better the next day and the true color -- white -- is plain to see:

And Mrs. RWP put together a centerpiece of pillar candles we have had in a drawer from another Christmas season. I like the look very much, and Great-Grandma's handiwork is gorgeous:

The few cards we have received are displayed on the raised counter between the kitchen and the family room:

The nativity set is on the credenza in the foyer:

And the front door is sporting a Christmas-y wreath:

But with all the grandchildren now grown up and having significant others of their own, our small house just can't accommodate the whole family any more. I'm more than happy to get together with the gang elsewhere -- what choice do I have, really? I'm no longer calling the shots. I'm looking forward to the food and the fun and all the family fellowship -- and the gift exchange, of course. We mustn't forget the gift exchange.

I think our house looks very nice for a place that will probably have no (or very few) visitors this Christmas. Mrs. RWP and I will enjoy it anyway, especially Great-Grandma's tablecloth and piano accompaniment.

I do miss the days when everybody came to our house, but time marches on and we make adjustments.