Photo of some of my giveaway prizes.....

I have finally posted photos of some of the prizes in my Whirl Into Winter giveaway. Since the number of entries has already exceeded 100, I have decided to have a first and second-place winner. The first name drawn will receive the prizes shown above (click on photo to see it enlarged)....a Whistle Creek Productions Charming Totes Two pattern (that makes totes in 3 sizes). That person will also win the 4 fat quarters shown as well as a few other goodies that will find their way into the package. Read below the next picture to find out about the second-place prize.

The second-place name drawn will win the 4 fat quarters shown in the second photo above. There will also be some other goodies in that package.

IF you haven't yet entered, be sure to click HERE to enter by January 15. Enter only once AND be sure your entry follows the rules AND includes an email address for me to contact you if you win. I have some entries that have been deleted as there is no way for me to contact those people and that is sad. :(

Aprons......and OTHER "stuff"....

When a nice gal named Deborah entered my Whirl Into Winter giveaway, I went to look at her blog (Baba's Farm Life). I found there a very nice post about aprons and the many uses of them years ago. I found it a fun thing to read and a great reminder of days gone by! Click here to check out her posting. And maybe you'll want to bookmark her blog and look at the rest of it when you get the chance. She lives on a farm now and has a lot of interesting stories to tell.

For those who were wondering...our friends have named their new greyhound (shown on my blog yesterday) Chatsworth. He will be called Chat for short, I'm sure...just because folks tend to shorten names AND because he sometimes "talks" to people....or at least acts like he's talking. It's really cute when he does that.

And...last but not least....remember my Pay It Forward activity will end on January 7...just two days from now. Check that out here. While it does require a commitment on the part of the 6 who will be selected to participate, it is a FUN thing to do. We still need a few more folks to do this. ALSO...I am looking for someone with the screen name of quilt ma who was wanting to join the Pay It Forward, BUT...she left no way for me to contact her. So if quiltma reads this, please email me by clicking on my profile for the blog and then clicking on my email. That way, I can contact you to discuss this as I hate to leave you out, okay?

Our friends' greyhound

Yesterday I spoke about us going with our friends for them to meet Garth. Well...Garth didn't seem too impressed with them and they just didn't feel a connection. (The adoption folks said that a connection is important.) So...they considered two others and this handsome guy is who they adopted. I'm not sure what his name will be, but he is a real laid-back sweetheart and he and our dog got along VERY well and were both very well-mannered on the long (over 2 1/2 hour) ride back home late today. The second photo shows how well this sweetie already bonded with my friend on the ride home! Pretty cute, huh?

OH, NO.....some folks didn't give me contact information...

I'm just going to post this reminder one time and if it applies to you, then you'll need to correct the situation or I can't have your name in my giveaway. There are several people who entered the drawing but did NOT give their email address and they have NO blog and no way for me to contact them. If you think you are one of those folks, then you better click HERE and go enter again and INCLUDE your information. I also had one "anonymous" and those are automatically not in the giveaway as there is no way to identify them or contact them so don't enter anonymously, okay?

I don't like to delete any entries, but if I can't contact you, your name won't be in the drawing. Sorry....but that's pretty standard for all who do giveaways!

For others who didn't YET enter my Whirl Into Winter giveaway, click here to read the rules and enter. Deadline is January 15. Join the fun and click on the snowflake on the sidebar here to find lots of OTHER bloggers who are having giveaways at the same time!

Exciting plans for tomorrow...

Friends of ours have long wanted to adopt a greyhound. Their present situation will allow them to do that. They have one they are going to see tomorrow. We have been asked to go along and take our dog, too. The reason for this is.......they suggest if your greyhound will be around another dog a lot, you may want to have them meet before you finalize the adoption of the greyhound to make sure they get along. Our dog will spend a lot of time with this one as we care for each other's pets quite often. (They have cats and we have one dog.) It should be a fun day. The photo here is Garth, the dog they are hoping to adopt tomorrow. Isn't he a handsome boy?

Let's Pay It Forward this year.....

I am starting the new year off with a BANG! In addition to the Whirl Into Winter giveaway mentioned in yesterday's post, I am involved in an event that a blogging friend, Sara, was hosting..... a "Pay It Forward" .....PIF....activity on her blog recently. The first 3 to comment on her blog were to be part of her fun. I was the first to comment, so I am part of it. She was doing this as part of HER commitment to another blogging friend of hers (from whom she is getting a gift). Below is an explanation of how it goes...

For those of you that have not seen the movie the concept is this. Whenever someone does a good deed for you, instead of doing something nice back for that same person, you pay it forward. It's simple. You select the 3 people and send gifts to them....but I am doing this with SIX people BECAUSE....I have joined (at the same time) ANOTHER Pay It Forward with Mel. The only responsibility you have (if you are one of the people chosen from MY PIF) is that you promise to also pay it forward three fold to the 3 people who join YOUR Pay It Forward that you will then post on your blog after I notify you that you are one of the "winners" here. The gifts you make to send to others can be anything you want...maybe tailored to their likes (according to their profiles on their blogs)...or just something you enjoy making.

The gifts I make will be sent out sometime in the next six months. Then in return, you make the same PIF promise on your blog. You must have a blog to participate and you have up to six months to send out your handmade gifts. Ready to try to join in the fun?

If you want to participate - please leave me a comment in THIS January 2 post that you want to Pay It Forward! I know some PIF 's have taken the first 3 to comment, but I am varying that a bit and will accept all comments until January 7....and then 6 names will be drawn at random from among those commenting that they wish to be part of this...and the 6 "winners" will be notified and will have to post the PIF info on their blogs....and on and on it goes!!!

(And.....check out my Jan. 1 post to enter the big Whirl Into Winter giveaway if you didn't already do that. NOTE to those who post as "anonymous" or have their name but no blog or email address in their comment or connected to their name... please know that if you don't leave at least an email address in your comment, I can't contact you and you won't be in the drawing to be eligible to win on any giveaway I ever have here. SO...if you left a comment and there is no way for me to contact you, go comment again and leave your email address IN the comment. I hate to see anyone be left out who wants to be in this.)

Okay.....enter the big giveaway TODAY.....

Edited to add: This giveaway is now closed. The 2 winners' names as picked with a random # generator are: The Yellow Spoon (from Texas), who won first prize and num1rd (Paula...no blog...from Ohio), who won the second prize. I am waiting to hear their snail-mail addresses. If no reply within a reasonable amount of time, I'll draw new names for the prizes. Thanks, Debi for your great organizational skills with this fun giveaway event!

If you read last night's post here, you know the big Whirl Into Winter giveaway starts today. Debi (our contest organizer) had us post our "rules" yesterday so everyone could be ready to jump in and join today. We LOVE Debi!!! SO....re-read the rules from my post last night and then leave your comment here today if you are entering the fun. Be sure I can reach you on January 16 if you are the winner whose name I draw on January 15. AND...if you have a blog and post a link to THIS post on your blog, let me know you are doing that. Once I go and see that on your blog, I'll put your name into the drawing twice!

So..what are you waiting for? Re-read my December 31 evening message here for the rules (you know we all have rules and they need to be followed!!! I MUST have your little story as part of your comment or your entry isn't "valid".) Enter here and then click on that cute snowflake to enter LOTS of contests with LOTS of chances to win!!!

GOOD LUCK to all!

Edited to add: Since some have commented on my post LAST night, I will include them IF they commented on Jan. 1 THEIR time as well as count those who comment HERE on the Jan. 1 post. BUT..please be sure to tell me your favorite quilting project in your post in order for your comment to count. Thanks!