I take very good care of this little green book because this 1950 edition of the 1922 book by Abbie Graham is only to be found for around $170 now. I bought it decades ago when Sarah Ban Breathnach quoted from it in her early Simple Abundance book. Probably many of her readers bought Ceremonials of Common Days and so now copies are scarce.
Graham writes of Sunday:
Sunday is my Festival of Beauty, of Loved Things, of Leisure, and of Worship. I reserve for it whatever I most enjoy--flowers, blue china at breakfast, books, important letters, special walks, colored candles at supper and waffles, pine incense and colored flames in my fire. On Sunday I would not do any work, nor say nor think nor do unworthy things. I may this day announce to the people whom I like the fact that I do like them.
It was easy to set aside Sunday for worship when our children were at home. Even when they all grew up and left home, RH and I still attended and Sundays were special. Then came the post-hysterectomy days for me of insomnia, always made worse when I knew I would have to be somewhere early the next morning.
One blessing to me in these days of pandemic has been the live streaming of church services, and I'm careful to be ready to sit down and watch Nashville's Covenant Presbyterian's service, enjoying hearing the hymns and anthems that I grew up hearing before the sermon.
RH and I try to have a special Sunday breakfast. If he cooks it's going to be pork chops and the grits he does so well, low and long for the creamiest grits ever. I do the scrambled eggs and bread of some kind with it.
When I cook, it's going to be either waffles or pancakes and he fries up the bacon for it.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving I made buttermilk waffles and set the table with my favorite breakfast dishes, this restaurant ware we bought over 40 years ago in an old warehouse on the river in downtown Nashville that is now full of the music and dining places that draw tourists here year round.
When I uploaded the pictures, I was surprised to see that the Moravian Star that hangs over our dining table showed up clearly in the dish.
They go well with pieces of brown drip-edge serving pieces we have. When we have company for a pancake or waffle breakfast the taller pitcher hold maple syrup and the shorter one holds melted butter but this morning they were just for show. I was out of the special blackberry jam I prefer with pancakes.
These vintage pheasant glasses were perfect for fall but got put away with the other fall things in December.
We look forward to this one unhurried morning to eat breakfast together and usually watch the CBS Morning show. And I enjoy setting a pretty breakfast table that morning and I think RH enjoys it too. Or maybe he just humors me!
Abbie Graham's Sunday Festival of Beauty is good for the soul. And our bodies need a day of Leisure. That's hard to pull off but I do try never to do laundry on that day, my one line in the sand. Not saying or thinking anything unworthy is more difficult, so thank God there is Grace for that!
Graham says that on Sunday she will "announce to the people whom I like the fact that I do like them." And I would like to say to those who continue to visit me here that I do like you, very much!
Thank you, and have a safe and lovely Sunday!
