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“I have given skill to all the skillful, so that they may make all that I have commanded you. “ Exodus 31:6


“O Thou who art the all pervading glory of the world, we bless Thee for the power of beauty to gladden our hearts.
We praise Thee that even the least of us may feel a thrill of the creative joy when we give form and substance to our thoughts and, beholding our handiwork, find it good and fair. “.
Walter Rauschenbusch


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"Come, and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me.
I cried out to Him with my mouth; His praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the LORD woud not have listened and heard my voice in prayer.
Praise be to God, Who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me!" Psalm 66:16-20
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Saturday, December 23, 2017

Last workday before Christmas !

I'm getting ready to go in to work in a couple of hours, but wanted to take a few minutes to catch up here.

I accomplished quite a bit on my day off yesterday.  I had two little quilts that I was trying to finish for a brother and sister up the street from me.  They are being raised by their great grandmother, Rose (I've mentioned her MANY times), and have become my 'surrogate' grandkids, supplying me with much needed hugs and lovin'.
 This one is for Elisabeth.......it is hand-quilted because I started it earlier this year, just wanting something to work on and keep my hands busy.  I think she'll enjoy discovering all the different things there are to discover in the blocks.  She's 6.
The dots on the back are from a fatquarter packet that I received as a gift from my friend, Wanda Gayle.  I'm wild about this back, but it didn't photograph well with my phone.
This second quilt is for Elijah......it is machine-quilted due to time restraints.  These fabrics were among the many that JoAnn sent to me when she was purging her sewing room.  It's not my best work, but I hope that it will give him fun picking out the animals and learning how to spell and read their names.  He's 7.
This morning I got them wrapped and ready to give to the kids when they come back from visiting with their mom and other family members.

Kelley sent a package FULL of gifts, and because she got a new phone with FACETIME, we're planning on opening gifts together on Christmas morning.

As far as work goes, I got my new schedule for the first week of the new year.  I asked them to take me down from 33 hours per week to 27 or so.  Well,.......they went down to 21 !  So that means that I'll only be working 3 days per week that week.  We'll have to see if it stays that way for consecutive weeks , but I'm looking forward to the time.

In the meantime, I want to wish a joyous, blessed Christmas to all of my blogging friends, and hope that 2018 holds wonderful things in store for each of you. 

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Baby, It's COLD outside !

What a weinee I've become if I think THIS is cold !   This is just normal December temps....finally.  Atleast we didn't get the big snow that they predicted for the east coast and throughout Mississippi, Alabama, and even the state of TEXAS.   How delighted those kids must have been !


But, braving what felt pretty cold to me yesterday,  I dressed in a Christmas red sweater, red boots, and my Minnie Mouse boggin, 

and headed off to our church's annual Christmas outing for the widows' group.   I usually don't attend their outings because they always take place on my workdays, but I dressed for work, popped on a red sweater that could be removed later, and went and had myself a good time. 

I ordered a meal with blackened Tilapia, not knowing that it would have some HEAT to it.   But, thankfully, the sweet tea kept it under control.  We started the dirty Santa exchange of gifts just before I had to go, so I was blessed to get to keep the wonderful "Bless This Home" doormat that I picked when it was my turn.

Then it was a short night at work, one of my 2-9 p.m. shifts, that just flew by ( I love it when that happens !)

By the way, on Friday, I brought up my desire to work fewer hours, and the person who arranges the schedules wants me to come in on Monday and let her know what I want, and we'll see what she can arrange, starting with the New Year's first week's schedule.  I'm told by one of the other workers that they always start giving fewer hours in the first couple of months of the year, but this way, she'll know to keep me on that kind of schedule unless I say differently.

So.........my widow's benefits started with the first of this month, and hopefully things will go along well at work to allow me a little more time to enjoy life.

Christmas shopping is underway too, but the kids won't get to come here.   I surely had hoped that I would atleast get a few hours with my baby girl and her crew as they stopped over for a night while on their way back to his folks' place in Oklahoma.   But plans changed.  It's possible that they'll be relocating to a base only 2 hours away sometime next summer, so I look forward to that with great hope and anticipation.

My brother, John, and his wife, Deb, took me out to dinner on the Friday after my 60th birthday, to celebrate.  We had a delicious fish dinner at a little cafe near the Tennessee river.  It was a good night !
Then, on Thursday of last week, I went out to put my lunchbox in my jeep after dinner, only to realize that I had no KEY !   When I had gone to clip them onto my beltloop that afternoon after arriving at work, I had missed the loop and they fell between my legs onto the seat.   I always hit the lock button when I get out, so I locked it without realizing my mistake.  Thankfully, when I couldn't reach the brother that lives right here in town, John graciously agreed to drive in from 5 or so miles out in the country to my house to find my hidden spare set of keys.   I wasn't even sure that there was a jeep key included in that set.  I thought that I might have only added a house and storage shed key.  But I was blessed to find that there WAS one on there, thanked THE LORD, and John, and then, on my evening break,  had more keys made.  Now I have one in my jacket pocket and one in my wallet, too !

So, that's how my last couple of weeks have gone.   I hope you're enjoying a merry holiday time.  I'm quilting one small older project, and just finished piecing a new small one, hoping to gift them to the great grandkids of a friend/neighbor up the street.   They fill my need for little ones in my life and I want them to know that they are loved in return.    Hope I get time to FINISH these quilts !