Welcome to our Three Beautiful Things of Thanksgiving edition. Please have a seat and pass the mashed potatoes. Would you like some wine?

1. Several years ago I asked my grandmother to write down some of the recipes that she makes so I could have a copy available at my fingertips. In the last week, I’ve made a batch of raspberry-almond shortbread thumbprint cookies to take to a party and consulted it for Mum, who needed Gramma’s pumpkin pie recipe so we could have pie for tonight’s dessert. It’s one of my treasured possessions because not only does it give me family recipes, but it’s also like having a bit of Gramma nearby when I’m far from her.

2. We got a bit of a later start than I’d hoped for yesterday and the roads heading out of D.C. were bustling. But the snow held off until after we left, accidents had been cleared, and most people seemed to have left earlier than we did. So we sailed through Maryland, paused for a while in Delaware, and then had a quick drive through New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut to get us in shortly after midnight. Less than nine hours on a holiday weekend with a stop at a grocery store and a stop for dinner on top of our normal bathroom and refueling stops seems really lucky.

3. Rudi awoke me this morning just before dawn to tell me it was snowing. By the time Dad and I went to get the doughnuts at breakfast, the driveway was coated and slippery. But the world looked very Currier and Ives as the deer sprang through the yard and the snow covered the remaining fall leaves that had eluded the rake. The perfect start to the holiday season.