Snow Day

Yes, I know I haven't posted for almost three months. Do good intentions count? I think about posting while I'm doing some other task and then when I'm finished, I've forgotten about the blog. This is a new year so maybe I'll be better able to keep up.

Anyway, I'm calling this a snow day even though as a retiree I don't have to go anywhere unless I want to. We got three to four inches of snow last night. The roads seem to be clear enough, but the temperature is horrible! At around noontime, the temperature was only 10 degrees. Baby, that's cold!

What better way to spend a snow day than updating my blog. So here goes. My last post in October talked about the SWAN Halloween Party. That was a wonderful evening. Teresa always does an outstanding job as hostess. The ornament exchange was fun as always. The ornament that I made (on the left below) was drawn by Jackie and the ornament that I drew (made by Darlene) is on the right.

Ornament I made; drawn by Jackie

Ornament Darlene made that I drew

 

 

So now it's time for Christmas. The SWANs party was held in early December. Denise and I were hostesses and for the first time we held the dinner at the church where we normally stitch. I think everything went well. I know I had lots of fun. Lots of good food and fellowship made for a wonderful evening. As always, we had an ornament exchange. Well, I couldn't come up with an ornament that I liked so I made a mug rug. Apparently the fad has been around for a while, but I just found them last summer. It's a small quilted item that is big enough to serve as a coaster for a cup or glass and have room to put a snack to munch on while sipping the beverage of choice. Anyway, I made this mug rug from some free clip art I found on the Internet and I think it turned out really cute. Jackie once again drew my entry and it is on the left. I was fortunate to get the ornament that Robin made (on the right). I say "fortunate" because angels and snowmen are the two Christmas figures that I really like.

Jackie drew my mug rug contribution

I drew the angel ornament Robin stitched

I was surprised just before Christmas to receive a package in the mail from my niece. It may sound silly, but I waited until Christmas morning to open it. What a wonderful gift! Venetia gave me a book called "Jesus Calling" written by Sarah Young. It is a book of devotionals, one a day for a year. I've been reading the daily devotion now for a week and really enjoy it. And in just this short time, it's amazing how spot-on some of the readings have been. Spending 15 or so minutes first thing in the morning reading and reflecting on that days devotion has started my days off on a very positive note.

As a corollary to my devotional, the same niece shared a post on Facebook last night that she and I are going to do. Below is the photo that she posted:

I started last night and am realizing today that there will probably be days like today throughout the year when I will add a couple of notes to the jar. And I plan to keep the jar out in plain sight, too, so I will always be reminded. It's a wonderful idea and I sure hope we both can keep up with it. The plan is to then share at the end of the year all the good things we experienced throughout the year.

Whew! All these things have kept me busy, but I always have time to stitch! I'm working on a couch-throw quilt for my niece. And I found out just a couple of months ago that we're having a new baby in July (my great-niece and her hubby are expecting their 3rd) so I'm starting on a baby quilt, too. And I really want to make a quilt for the new baby we got last December (my great-nephew and his wife had their first). And there are Halloween and Christmas ornaments to make for SWAN exchanges. And I thought I would have lots of time to leisurely work on quilting when I retired! Wonder where I got that silly idea???

Now you're up to date. I'm going to TRY to do better about blogging this year although I did not make that as a resolution. Here's to a Happy and Healthy 2014!

Thanks for reading my rambling
Amy