Our Christmas luncheon.....

Well....I did go to lunch with the gals yesterday and it was nice to get out for a short time. We go to a very nice restaurant that is only about a mile from the house, so that is convenient. They have wonderful decorations (as you can see by the poinsettia tree) and the food is good. My friend, Linda, picked me up at my house and dropped me at the door and then parked the car so I'd not have to walk any distance in the cold air (which could have started a coughing spell). She then picked me up at the door after we were done. THANKS, LINDA!!! (I then came home exhausted and slept soundly for 3 hours!) We had a gift exchange.......it was fun. I got a lovely set of nautical glass ornaments for the tree and a really cute snowman doorhanger with the cutest carrot nose. My gifts were from Kaye. Joann got the gift I brought....a 2010 sewing calendar with the directions for over 100 projects in it. Kaye got some nice fat quarters from Sherry. Sherry got a cute Jim Shore Santa ornament from Linda. And Linda got some cute kitcheny Christmas items from Joann and a picture frame ornament. This is a picture of the 5 of us after we waddled away from the table....from left to right: Linda, me, Sherry, Kaye, Joann. (We love their desserts and 4 of us ordered them and ate every bit of it....Linda is the disciplined one and only takes a tiny taste of ours but doesn't eat a whole dessert herself.) Seems like it wasn't long ago I was posting LAST year's luncheon photo of our group....and here another year has come and gone! HAPPY 2010 to all of us!

NO pneumonia....

I heard yesterday afternoon that I do not have pneumonia...which is very good. Of course, this also means they feel my condition is due to a viral infection and won't respond to antibiotics....so I have to let this run its course. The prescription cough syrup (while making me sleepy) has helped me have fewer bouts of violent coughing....and I guess the inhaler is helping get rid of the wheezing and chest rattling. I feel very weak and know I have a bit to go yet before I feel anywhere near normal. I have been taking a lot of naps to regain my strength. My appetite is good....so no problem there!!! I am hoping to go to the quilt gals' holiday luncheon today. My friend, Linda (no blog), would pick me up and drop me at the door of the restaurant so I don't have to walk in the cold any distance, which could trigger a coughing spell. If I'm up to it, I'll go...if not, I'll send my exchange gift with her. For pictures today, here are two photos...each one shows 4 ginger jars. 8 ginger jars have been completed so far from the kit I won a few weeks back. I'm happy with how they are looking and hope to have enough energy to do the remaining 4 soon.

Operating in slow speed here!

I feel like I'm moving in slow-motion as I'm feeling so worn down right now....can't even think of sewing or anything else for that matter. I did get to the doctor yesterday....got a prescription cough syrup and an inhaler and was sent for an x-ray as he heard rattling sounds with his stethoscope and he wants to be sure I don't have pneumonia. I hope I'll hear the results today. Thanks for all the well-wishes. The photos today are from when we were with the grandkids the weekend prior to Christmas...during the big snowstorm they had in NJ.

Driving there in "whiteout" conditions. It was scary - cars skidding off the road, etc.
Girls anxious to open their gifts.

Me and hubby with Emily and Jessi.

Emily & Jessi eating big cookies in their new, comfy (as they call them) pajamas.
Had to shovel a LOT of snow in order to head home the next day!

Christmas Eve delivery....

You may recall I was one of the lucky winners in the Fat Quarter Shop's "Dear Santa" giveaway recently...and they sure had Santa on a fast-track. My gift (the Gobble, Gobble jelly roll by Moda) arrived on Christmas Eve with a cute note attached from the REAL Santa, it says. (I think you can read it if you click on the photo to enlarge it.) Thanks for all the kind words about my bad cold/cough...or whatever it has become. I hope to get seen by the doctor today and get some kind of medicine to help me as I cannot go on like this much longer.....coughing violently about ever minute or two...hardly sleeping because of that cough, etc. I sure hope they have an open slot to see me today and I will have good news about that on tomorrow's post.

No picture today....sorry!

I have been battling some kind of upper respiratory "issue" for weeks now....started late November / early December when I was in the handbell concert. I kept myself on Day-Quil and Ny-Quil so I could get through that. I presumed I had a cold and it would work itself out in a week or so. It has progressed to a bad post-nasal drip and horrid cough that won't quit. I was, like most of us, "too busy" to do anything about it and now it is really catching up with me. While I made it through all the church music and Christmas day (and the snowstorm in NJ by the daughter's last weekend), I am really very worn down and not feeling well at all. I suspect this has become either a sinus infection or bronchitis...and am hoping it's not pneumonia. So please forgive me that I must delay the posts I wanted to make....telling about our church music on Christmas Eve and about Christmas day. I'm just not up to that kind of posting and getting photos embedded in the post, etc. If I don't have a miraculous recovery by tomorrow morning, I do need to see the doctor as I am not getting any better and have steadily gotten worse. I'll post as I can as I do have some fun things to tell you....but they have to wait. I hope all of you are well and happily enojoying a nice Christmas weekend.

YIPPEEE........

I'm going to start making blocks for a pineapple quilt after the first of the year and have been cutting 1 1/2-inch strips. WANDA at EXUBERANT COLOR was kind enough to send me a big "squishy" full of strips.......51 different fabrics, to be exact!!! Just LOOK at them........aren't they wonderful? And......they will go far in helping me make blocks. Imagine being lucky enough to get fabric cut into the exact width I need. THANK YOU, WANDA!!! (Gotta love our blogging friends!!!)

May your day be a blessed one.....

Taking the day off from posting......but wanted to say....

And soon........

And soon, the "magic" of Christmas will be upon all of us who celebrate this wondrous event. My wish for all of you and your loved ones is that the joy and good cheer of this holiday will fill your homes and your hearts with peace and love. The holiday isn't about "things"....it's not what is under the tree but who is around it......it is about people and giving of our love to each other on the holiday and throughout the year. Thank you all for the love you have shown to me and for being my friends and sharing both in happy times and stressful times. Every day of blogging has been a treasure because of all of you.
Merry Christmas from my heart to yours!

Siggy blocks arrived yesterday....

Twelve quilters were involved in a signature block swap to celebrate the 60th birthday of Linda (Fiber Fabrications). Yesterday I was so happy to receive my blocks and love the clever and fun ways people did their signatures. Thanks to all of you who took part in this swap. Here is a photo of the 12 blocks just laid out on my "design floor". I am open to suggestions about settings.....color for sashing, etc. I am going to make this be a lap-sized throw so I can think of all these quilters every time I use it. I didn't take photos of all the blocks as my camera batteries were running low, but I do have a few close-ups to show below the photo of the 12 blocks. AND....Linda sent a great pincushion she made (which is also show below). The green yarn on the top is the softest yarn I ever felt and Linda told me is is alpaca yarn and silk........OOOOOOO....I just love it!

Now I know the pincushion looks HUGE here....looks to be the size of a pumpkin.....LOL .....but it is not. I just took a real close-up shot of it.....it is a normal-sized pincushion. I love it. Thanks, Linda. It was nice of you to send this....and you know how I've been wanting to feel alpaca yarn!REMEMBER - I'm looking for suggestions about how to turn my siggy blocks into a top!

BULLETIN....SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT....

THIS JUST IN......I was one of the winners in the Fat Quarter Shop's "Dear Santa" giveaway!!! Yippee.....LOTS of entries and I was one of the lucky ones (along with 20+ others). If you want to see the list of who else won, click HERE.

Okay......now I'll just put a few more decorated houses on here and then, tomorrow, will move on to some photos of the visit with the grandkids on the weekend. (Don't expect any sewing photos for a bit yet......just too much going on right now with church music to do any real sewing.) I thank all of you for the kind comments about the house photos so far. First of all....can you see the apples on the tops of the fence posts? There are nails put in the fence posts so the apples can be placed on there...must be an "old" way of decorating as I saw a few houses that did this. (I think an apple may have been visible in one of the past photos I showed yesterday or the day before) Of course.......you then run the risk that the squirrels will eat your decorations......see.......!!!You might not be able to see it very well, but above the green doors on this next building, it tells you this is a lifesaving station. It WAS one many years ago in Rehoboth Beach but it has been moved to Lewes and is now a private home.This cottage belongs to friends of ours. It is so charming and the interior decorations were featured in a Delaware magazine this month!And here is an old school that is now a private home...no decorations on it, but I thought it was worth showing. I hope you enjoyed this little holiday "tour" of Lewes, Delaware.

Anyone remember these bags???

IfAnyone remember these? Mary of Mary on Lake Pulaski makes them and was kind enough to have a drawing to give two of them to one of her blogging friends and I was the lucky one!!! I love them. She uses carpenter's metal tape as the closure and it works really well. The bags look so professionally made....thanks, Mary!

If you are interested in an Irish giveaway, click HERE to go to Micki's blog and tell her Pat sent you, okay? (Of course, as usual, I hope to win, but I promised I'd let you know about it.) And now.....some more of the pretty decorations on some of the houses in Lewes. So many enjoyed seeing some in yesterday's post, so here are more....Still more to come.....will sort through more and post a few more tomorrow. I just love so many of these houses! NOTE: We got home safely from NJ yesterday afternoon...after staying overnight due to a huge storm and bad roads. I'll post a couple of photos of "grandkids opening gifts", etc. for tomorrow. Thanks for all the prayers for us to have safe travels. (I'm glad for the blogger option to pre-schedule posts....so I had a Sunday AND a Monday post all ready for here before I left for NJ on Saturday morning!)

Lovely decorations on home exteriors....

We have lots of outside decorations but ours is a "light show" set to music and you drive up and tune your car radio to a certain frequency and watch the lights going in time to the music. (We are still trying to get a video online somehow so you can see part of that.) BUT......the nearby town of Lewes has many very old homes with a lot of charm. I've shown a bit of the town in prior posts and also our church, which is in that town. Each year, I say we must take photos of the home exteriors with their beautiful wreaths and garlands. THIS year, we did (on Friday). I am going to start putting a few of those photos on the next several posts. (Since we took 54 photos and most of them are good, I don't want to bore you with too many at once.....LOL) Hope you enjoy looking at them! I found many of these homes' decorations to be simply elegant because of their very simplicity.....sound confusing but I think you will agree when you see the photos. Hubby and I enjoyed doing this and then walked in some of the stores on the charming main street of town and then ate a nice lunch at a restaurant on the canalfront downtown. FUN day.......More to come tomorrow!

Weather causing uncertainty....

When you read this, we should be on the way to our daughter's house in NJ. She was to come here for the weekend with her family so we could have our Christmas celebration with them, BUT......due to their work situations, they couldn't come, so we are to go there for the day. (We have church music practices tomorrow for the Christmas pageant and want to be back for that.) I am hoping the weather doesn't play havoc with our plans as I want to play with the little ones with the new games we will be giving them and this is the only time we could get to see them during the Christmas season. If it appears bad, we will stay there overnight, though, and won't take chances driving in severely bad weather. I'm still hoping we can make our way back today. PLEASE pray for us to have safe travels. I am going to pre-schedule tomorrow's blog post...just in case and, in all likelihood, I won't be doing any blog reading and commenting until we are back home, which could be another day or so if the weather is really bad. Now...for today's post....One of my really good blogging friends is SANDI from A Legacy of Stitches. She has a message board/forum on Yahoo, Wooly Buddies, for people who enjoy working with wool and wool felt and she jokingly calls herself the "shepherdess" there. SO...she sent me a Christmas card with cute sheep on it AND an adorable bell pin. She knows I'm in a handbell choir and thought this would be perfect for me....and it is! I got a new coat this year for church....a black woolen coat and the pin looks wonderful on there, don't you agree? Thanks, Sandi!
EDITED to ADD: Got to NJ safely but took WAY longer than normal and conditions were horrendous. There is no way we can attempt to head home until this is over...and it's not to stop until tomorrow morning.

No sewing in sight......

The days are going by in a blur of shopping, cooking, and wrapping and I suspect it is the same for many of you. I don't think I'll get to do any serious sewing until maybe Monday or Tuesday. Our mail carrier has also been busy and I'm getting some great things in the mail. Yesterday there was a very special mailing I received from a very caring person. I can't go into detail, but you will just have to trust me that this person did a lot to bring about happiness for a family member of mine who was having a very difficult time....and I am so grateful. She brought about a true Christmas miracle. I don't think she often reads my blog, but if she does see this, I hope she knows how appreciative I am of her kindness and generosity.

Now for photos of two packages I got from "bloggy" friends. The first is a package I got from Cecelia. She said it's a PIF, but...for the life of me, this old brain cannot recall that I should be getting a PIF from her. LOL (This package did jog my memory, though, that I OWE some PIF's and I really need to get them DONE!) I love what she sent.... a really lovely trivet she made in Christmas fabrics. I've often admired this pattern and hope to try it myself (with a tutorial link she provided). There is also a candy cane ornament with my name on it that is already on the tree and also two pieces of chocolate that were eaten yesterday afternoon....YUMMY!!! I like the card she sent, also. Thanks, Cecelia.Then I also got, the same day, a package (below) from "Ooglebloops" (LOVE that nickname!!!) A short time ago, she posted on her blog a really adorable Christmas postcard she made. I found it charming. She was offering it to anyone who wanted it and I was lucky enough to speak up first! You can see that little sweet card in the photo below. Ooglebloops emailed me that she was sending it along with something else to keep the little girl on the card safe during her travels to me. I was pleasantly surprised to get the stitcher's tote / clipboard you see in the photo. (She sells these in her etsy shop....pocket on one side and clipboard on the other with a magnetic area to hold a needle and a handle to easily carry it.) Thanks, Pat (aka Ooglebloops) for another nice surprise in my mailbox. I've been really "gifted" lately with kindesses and I truly appreciate all of them.Today will be a very busy day as I finish all the last-minute details to be ready for a daytrip to see daughter and family tomorrow for our Christmas with them. The weather report is kind of ominous, so I hope it doesn't spoil our trip.

Showing some penguin love......

Among the many ornaments hanging on my family room Christmas tree, there are about 30 penguin ornaments. I thought you'd like to see some of them. And...I also included one that is a favorite of mine but it is NOT a penguin ornament. This first guy is making a Christmas list.

Love how the polar bear is trying to ice skate with the penguin in this next one.

And here the bear is taking the penguin for a bike ride.This is my most favorite out of all my penguin ornaments. Click on it so you can see the detail. I just love these guys raiding the fridge for a midnight snack!And finally we have some mice playing a game of Scrabble...a favorite game of mine!
Aren't they adorable??

A suprise gift.....and a letter to Santa....

Two days ago, an unexpected package arrived in the mail. On the outside, it was marked "Do Not Open Until Christmas". I could see it came from a good friend (Ev) in Michigan. I immediately emailed her and told her I'd gotten a package from her and told her she should NOT have sent me anything. She emailed back and said I should go ahead and open it...said when she saw this, she just had to get it for me. (She's not a quilter, I should add....but her daughter does a lot of sewing and Ev said her daughter loved this item when Ev showed it to her.) So........I unwrapped the gift and this is what I was delighted to find.....this 2010 quilt calendar. Isn't that great?Each month has another quilted piece on display...and after the December page, there are complete directions for making all 12 of the items. It is really a fun calendar and will hang in my sewing room....and I plan on making several of the items shown on the calendar. Below are a few sample pages. Needless to say, I got back in touch with Ev and told her, "I LOVE my gift!!!"
Now...you will excuse me while I write my letter to Santa. He has told the people at the Fat Quarter Shop (click HERE) that he will be reading all the letters and will grant a few requests. So...here goes...


Dear Santa, you jolly, plump, old elf (whom I am resembling lately in plumpness, but...I digress).......I have discovered, to my dismay, this past fall that I really don't have a nice Thanksgiving-type quilted wall hanging and something needs to be done about that. I therefore request that you might stop by the FQ Shop and bring to my house a "Gobble Gobble jelly roll". See...isn't it wonderful? Keep reading as I have more to say yet to you.
I could do very nice things with that jelly roll, so I hope you will read my letter and act on it. I find myself wondering if there is any connection between the name of the shop...you know....FAT Quarter Shop and your size (and mine, of course, too).....hehehe......OOOPS....sorry, that was kind of naughty of me to say that, wasn't it? Would it help if I said I'd leave you an extra-special treat and some nice tummy-warming beverage, like spiked egg-nog, on Christmas Eve??? Or maybe I could leave you and Mrs. Claus an open invitation to visit us in the warm weather in our nice, beachy area of southern Delaware??? hehehe.....you know...just a little bribery.....whatever it takes. (Uh-oh....there I go being naughty again.....*sigh*) Your plump and always adoring friend -- PAT