This is Shane on the floor of the dining room by an old trunk. Not too interesting, I suppose, but he and I often find ourselves looking eye to eye this way. Same look, different places.

See that sticker on the trunk? Could have been one of Great Aunt Sara’s travels – by Greyhound. Once, long before this, Aunt Sara was riding with my grandma in her old Buick and her hat wouldn’t fit in – so she rode with her head sticking out the back window.

Here’s one of our tradition deviled egg plates. Actually we could use a little conveyor belt on which the eggs could ride past us in endless delight. Or perhaps just lie under the table and let the eggs drop right into our mouths.

Ah, and here’s the reindeer that we call a moose. He’s standing on an old radio console that often has a CD player hidden inside.

He’s little blurry; I think the light coming in from the neighboring window affected the exposure. Or perhaps he and Der Bingle have been trying out eggnog recipes.

And, for now, here is the end of the table as it moves into the upcoming Thanksgiving mode.

Oh, wait. This is the picture of the corner – table and reindeer/moose. Well, the table’s still in the picture.

First it will be the cake-holding table for Cameron’s birthday cake. It’s on the 16th and he will be 18. The first time he had a cake here on this table, he was seven. He had a birthday party and his great-grandparents were here.

Daddy was reading on the porch with the dogs and keeping the French doors closed . . . but Sydney and Little Ann kept showing up. We thought Great Grandpa was slacking on his job, but it turned out Cameron was slipping up and opening the door enough for them to join the party.

Mother was supposedly keeping Summer occupied, but every time I turned around the two of them were peeking in at the party. (Peas in a pod)

That was the last Cameron birthday, the last Thanksgiving and the last Christmas my father saw.

I think the coming year we left my father’s place empty at the Thanksgiving table . . . and then the next year, I decided to sit Cameron there. I believe the dogs sat beside him and he gave them table treats . . . just the way his great-grandfather always had.