So much closer!

Thursday and Friday were designated "no house work" days. Thursday we had a lovely Thanksgiving with 44-51 of our closest family and friends. It was at my cousin's house again since their house is the only one that can comfortably hold that many. We had a great time but were missing some cousins (the family in Sweden and his sister's family who were with their other family this year, and my dad's cousin who has a herniated disc in his neck) and were realizing that this might be the last year we have grandpa with us. We got a really cute picture of him with most of his grandkids. We couldn't get Andrea into her chair and the chair into the picture but all others that were there are in the picture.



Friday, Mom and I met my uncle and Andrea at Washington Square Mall and took Andrea shopping. None of us bought too much. I think the idea was more to be together and out of the house. I did wish I had a lot of money when I went into the tea shop. Otherwise, mom bought me a couple of clothing gifts but she won't buy anything more with me or I'll know everything I'll be getting for Christmas. Tami and Therin joined us mid-afternoon--just in time to enjoy a treat at the cheesecake factory. Much to Tami's disappointment, only one of the cheesecakes seemed to be gluten free so she didn't have many options. However, we greatly enjoyed our cheesecakes. My aunt and uncle's instructions when they gave mom Andrea's money were that she couldn't buy anything for them and she couldn't buy any clothing because she still has things she hasn't worn. So we made sure to visit Godiva so that when her mom asks for a bite she can say. "Oh, I'm sorry, these are mine. I was told I couldn't buy anything for you." (it's good natured of course but a little dig at them for not allowing gift buying) She also bought a sampler set at the tea shop.

Oh...the tea shop. It should be a sin for any shop to smell so wonderful! *sigh* They have quite a racket going, though. In order to buy the tea, you also have to buy the tin ($10.95 each and if you buy more than one type of tea, more than one tin is required) and of course they have all sorts of stuff that's "required" to brew the tea. Oh, I'm sure I could have spent hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars in there. I didn't buy anything for myself though. Now, I'm really wishing I had.

Saturday, we were back to work on the house. With my brother's help, Dad was able to finish the closet and fix the mailbox- things that probably would have taken him another couple of weeks without the help.



The closet is now very stable! It's a little hard to get hangers on the rod but I'll manage it. I even got an unexpected shoe rack out of the deal.

My SIL and I worked on putting my craft room together. It's getting there but it's not quite ready for use yet.

Mom invited company over on Sunday so I did a quick clean of the kitchen and living room. The only boxes left in the living room are for the donations.





The kitchen is done and in full use but the dining room has a row of boxes along the wall that hold my breakable figurines. I don't have any place to put them yet. We were able to get six people seated for dinner quite comfortably.



Overall, I feel like I got my house in much better order. There are still a few curtains to hang and one more closet rod to reinforce but everything is in good order otherwise. I'm pleased and happy to be settling in.