I snapped this just before we sat down to Miss Moira's birthday dinner last week.  I really do enjoy a nicely set table and while we don't eat like this every night we do set things up regularly.  

There is nothing precious here. It has all been gleaned from flea market boxes and discount stores for a dollar or so a piece. Somehow it comes together, though it has taken years to gather enough for our family. It's been thrifty, but it has not been quick nor easy and probably is pretty old fashioned by today's standards. But at that moment after I lit the candles I felt so very blessed to be able to dine graciously with this crazy bunch of people I love. 

 Between you and I, the candlesticks were wedding presents and one of them has since been superglued together.  We folded the napkins by directions found here and now are experimenting with more folds for future dinners.  I am terrible with flower arranging, so much so that I was afraid to take the little bargain bouquet out of the market wrapping.  In the end I didn't!  I just trimmed the stems and set the whole thing into an old glass bowl.  

For those of you who weren't in on this conversation in the past – our table has a 1/4inch plexi-glass topper on it. I got the idea from another big family many years ago.  You can spill and wipe and bang forks with wild abandon. It's indestructible.  At the moment we have our runner underneath it.  It never gets dirty <g> And, while some days that plastic top drives me batty, the tabletop underneath looks exactly as it did when we bought it a decade ago. Probably right up there with clear vinyl slipcovers…. ; D