Family

Our new kitchen table and chairs arrived last week. When you make a purchase based on a digital rendering on a screen, you’re never quite sure what you’re getting. But this set is exactly what we wanted— beautifully distressed and swirled wood complete with “wormholes” handcrafted by Amish cabinetmakers in Ohio. Counter-height swivel chairs offer a better backyard view of wild birds at the feeders, deer in the fencerow, and our dogs on squirrel reconnaissance. A young family

I almost didn’t set up the village this year. I bought a lovely candle set from Kirkland’s (dangerous store) that looked great sitting in that same space. Was thinking it might finally be time to retire the Christmas town and go classy instead of tacky. Some of the houses are separating from their foundations or have caved in cardboard walls and tilting chimneys. Aunt Marie’s ceramic Christmas tree occasionally has seizures of flickering lights. And then I heard some slick bl

My husband and I spent time in cemeteries this week. Every year, we place Christmas wreaths on the graves of our loved ones, because, well, it’s a tradition learned in childhood and one that brings us a sense of continuity, of keeping family memories alive. We are good stewards, using artificial wreaths that we retrieve after the holiday and store in our basement the rest of the year. Sadly, we added another wreath for an aunt who passed away in October after a rich and full

When I was growing up, July and August were filled with family birthdays. We had no sooner put away the shirt and tie boxes from Father’s Day, when my grandmother’s birthday arrived on July 7, my dad’s on July 10, my best friend’s on July 18, my grandfather’s on July 27, my mother’s on Aug. 2 and finally my great-aunt’s on Aug. 15. My husband shares my dad's July 10 birthday, and my mother-in-law's was July 24. And we always celebrated with cards and presents, photographs, a

An almost unseemly green against the otherwise desiccated garden, the peppers peek out from under a lush growth of tousled leaves. Along with a few earnest green beans, the peppers are all that remain of summer's bounty, thriving among shriveled tomatoes and bolted lettuce. These late summer days when the hot afternoon sun fades too quickly into the cool of evening always remind me of the last weeks of my father's life. That fall I took a leave of absence from my teaching jo

I think I might need an Advent calendar this year. Not those lovely ones made for adults that hold tiny bits of chocolate or miniscule bottles of wine behind each door. I mean the old-fashioned kind, with doors opening to reveal a simple toy or Christmas decoration printed on tissue thin paper—the ones that don’t provide a tangible reward for getting through another day. The kind with beautiful snow scenes showing rosy-cheeked children gathered around the village Christmas tr