Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
We Gather Together ...
...to ask the Lord’s blessing. A favorite song or sentiment around many Thanksgiving tables across America. This cultural holiday tends to focus on the food served. I thought it would be fun to explore ways to enliven and enrich the sense of “gathering” with family and friends.
GATHER IDEAS
If your home will be the gathering place, begin early planning by asking your guests for input on the meal and activities. Or, if you prefer to set the menu, scan and email food and beverage recipes to willing guest cooks. Possibly, you found a new twist on an old favorite that you just know your sister would enjoy bringing.
GATHER MEMORIES
To make your Thanksgiving table a more meaningful gathering spot, ask guests to bring a small object to add to their place setting. This item will serve as a conversation piece when they share their “thanks-giving”.
Or, surprise your guests, and place an item at each dinner setting which reminds you of how they have touched your life. Get creative and have fun. The simplest of items can evoke a cornucopia of memories and gratitude. It will spark other guests to relate similar stories about someone gathered at the table. Voila! recognition and appreciation are served with style!
GATHER PERSONAL TOUCHES
An event lingers with us when we’ve been individually affected. Create simple, personalized touches to let each guest sense their uniqueness. Photo place cards can be rendered via computer or by hand – a nice children’s art project. Clean white plates (think Dollar Tree), either salad or entree size, can have each guest’s initial or monogram stenciled or hand-painted. Even, clear glassware can be personalized with simple to do etching or painting. Local craft stores sell the products you’ll need.
GATHER MUSIC
Create a collection of music that appeals to every generation of your guests. Send a CD home with each guest with liner notes identifying which song belongs to each relative or friend. It’s another layer of sentiment that says you care and builds a bond between loved ones.
GATHER PHOTOS
Create a movie CD, album or photo board - a virtual family reunion around the TV throughout the day or after dinner. When an out-of-town relative cannot make it to the gathering, include them via photos or videos. Even more fun, ask them to send photos that they have which possibly no one else has ever seen. So many opportunities for laughter and reminiscence will be born of this creative endeavor. Techy-teens can thrive with a project like this and it enhances their sense of belonging in a larger family – so put it on their chore list soon!
GATHER DECOR
Decide whether you’ll serve buffet style or sit-down. Buffet service is visually more appealing by creating height differences between dishes (think, catering service style). I like to use table cloths over large baking pans to provide solid support for casserole dishes. Pedestal cake plates make lovely presentations of finger foods. Incorporate fresh flowers and/or dried natural materials for an interplay of texture and harvest color. Play with these buffet service idea and create solutions unique to you to layout a beautiful Thanksgiving meal.
For sit-down meals, try some original decorative touches:
• Use upside down martini glasses as pillar candle holders and display something pretty in the bowl area beneath. Place three to five down the center of the table for best effect. Add small vases of floral nosegays in between.
• Hollow out mini pumpkins to hold tea lights or votive candles.
• Buy conical shaped Styrofoam and attach autumnal elements, e.g., acorns, dried kumquats, nuts with hot glue. Alternatively, attach small fresh fruit or gourds with toothpicks or bamboo skewers, depending on the weight of the decoration. Place the centerpiece on an appropriate metal, wood or glass base. A charger plate or silver tray works well. Add Fall leaves to the base and place the cone in the middle.
Your gathering will take on extra meaning as your creativity blossoms for your family and guests to enjoy. Happy Thanksgiving 2010, everyone.
GATHER IDEAS
If your home will be the gathering place, begin early planning by asking your guests for input on the meal and activities. Or, if you prefer to set the menu, scan and email food and beverage recipes to willing guest cooks. Possibly, you found a new twist on an old favorite that you just know your sister would enjoy bringing.
GATHER MEMORIES
To make your Thanksgiving table a more meaningful gathering spot, ask guests to bring a small object to add to their place setting. This item will serve as a conversation piece when they share their “thanks-giving”.
Or, surprise your guests, and place an item at each dinner setting which reminds you of how they have touched your life. Get creative and have fun. The simplest of items can evoke a cornucopia of memories and gratitude. It will spark other guests to relate similar stories about someone gathered at the table. Voila! recognition and appreciation are served with style!
GATHER PERSONAL TOUCHES
An event lingers with us when we’ve been individually affected. Create simple, personalized touches to let each guest sense their uniqueness. Photo place cards can be rendered via computer or by hand – a nice children’s art project. Clean white plates (think Dollar Tree), either salad or entree size, can have each guest’s initial or monogram stenciled or hand-painted. Even, clear glassware can be personalized with simple to do etching or painting. Local craft stores sell the products you’ll need.
GATHER MUSIC
Create a collection of music that appeals to every generation of your guests. Send a CD home with each guest with liner notes identifying which song belongs to each relative or friend. It’s another layer of sentiment that says you care and builds a bond between loved ones.
GATHER PHOTOS
Create a movie CD, album or photo board - a virtual family reunion around the TV throughout the day or after dinner. When an out-of-town relative cannot make it to the gathering, include them via photos or videos. Even more fun, ask them to send photos that they have which possibly no one else has ever seen. So many opportunities for laughter and reminiscence will be born of this creative endeavor. Techy-teens can thrive with a project like this and it enhances their sense of belonging in a larger family – so put it on their chore list soon!
GATHER DECOR
Decide whether you’ll serve buffet style or sit-down. Buffet service is visually more appealing by creating height differences between dishes (think, catering service style). I like to use table cloths over large baking pans to provide solid support for casserole dishes. Pedestal cake plates make lovely presentations of finger foods. Incorporate fresh flowers and/or dried natural materials for an interplay of texture and harvest color. Play with these buffet service idea and create solutions unique to you to layout a beautiful Thanksgiving meal.
For sit-down meals, try some original decorative touches:
• Use upside down martini glasses as pillar candle holders and display something pretty in the bowl area beneath. Place three to five down the center of the table for best effect. Add small vases of floral nosegays in between.
• Hollow out mini pumpkins to hold tea lights or votive candles.
• Buy conical shaped Styrofoam and attach autumnal elements, e.g., acorns, dried kumquats, nuts with hot glue. Alternatively, attach small fresh fruit or gourds with toothpicks or bamboo skewers, depending on the weight of the decoration. Place the centerpiece on an appropriate metal, wood or glass base. A charger plate or silver tray works well. Add Fall leaves to the base and place the cone in the middle.
Your gathering will take on extra meaning as your creativity blossoms for your family and guests to enjoy. Happy Thanksgiving 2010, everyone.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
My Life As Guitar Strings
Found this message from God on a piece of lined yellow pad paper from January 26, 2009:
"Oh, Lord God, what is Your word to me today?"
"I sing a song of peace over you. My soul, the heart and nature of Me, reaches to your soul for connection. I want vibrancy in our relationship. Think of a guitar string being played, see it vibrate at the musician's touch. Be like that string. Allow Me to make music of your life -- what a world of music awaits us. My touch, your response. Vibrancy."
"Oh, Lord God, what is Your word to me today?"
"I sing a song of peace over you. My soul, the heart and nature of Me, reaches to your soul for connection. I want vibrancy in our relationship. Think of a guitar string being played, see it vibrate at the musician's touch. Be like that string. Allow Me to make music of your life -- what a world of music awaits us. My touch, your response. Vibrancy."
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