Life of Wry

Nothing in the whole wide world like a dark, rainy day on which to enjoy a calm and quiet house post a five-day visit with a gaggle of Petersons, reflecting on a smooth, drama-free and most of all fun and delicious Thanksgiving holiday. Amiright?

Holy transition between Thanksgiving and Christmas, batwoman. A little quiet before yet another holiday storm.

I’ve written plenty about it these past few days, but let me just revel in the richness of family (in all its quirky, frustrating, funny glory), a well-planned-and-executed bunch of meals, a setting I was pleased to share and show off (thanks Northern California for fall beauty and some dramatic weather for our Southern California beach town dwellers) and a comfy, cozy home to host them in. I enjoyed our conversations, our times of easy non-conversation, our comings and goings that suited our respective needs, our collective reflections on the elders and others in our family on their various paths–meandering, bumpy, uphill, downhill alike (some might call it family gossip). It was all good, even when it wasn’t perfect. Which is good. Maybe perfect.

A few pictures on the day:

A walk in the rain to a later-than-usual brunch:

Capturing Peter studying the chords on a Pink Floyd song (nice look):

The views out various windows at seasonally-transitioning yards front and back, conducive to reflecting while standing and drinking a cup of tea:

Some parting shots of family, taken yesterday, that fit no where else:

Chris dozing by the fire, Jay showing Jim pictures on iPad…

Matt taking on wall phone to Aunt Ellie (“wall phone,” isn’t that quaint?)….

Jim and Aunt Joy at Aunt Joy & Uncle Vic’s house last night:

Matt, Conner and Celia (Conner’s Pepperdine classmate, sand volleyball star, and not-sure-what-kind-of-friend-at-the-moment)….

And finally, a rearranged living room to move into the final chapter of 2014, because it seemed like a good idea (raise your hand if you’re getting tired of my interior shots):