Packages & A Little About Me

Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.
~Oren Arnold

Sounds like the best gift list of all.  And none of it costs a thing monetarily.  Some of it might be a little work like the forgiveness and tolerance.  But wouldn't the results be worth it?  These are gifts that can and should be given all year long.  Some are very easy to give:  Your heart to a friend and a good example to a child.  Probably one of the hardest of these gifts is the one to yourself - respect.  I think we all have a tendency to be lacking in that area.  Which one of these gifts do you think you think you would have the hardest time giving?

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Nine Ladies Dancing

The nine ladies dancing evokes images of music and dancing which were a big part of the celebrations at this period of history in England.  The term ladies probably refers to noble ladies as in a Lord and his Lady or a lady in waiting (high born ladies who waited on the queen at court – not servant women).  In this case ladies would be women dancing socially and not professional entertainers. For the most part women were not entertainers in this era so it is unlikely that this refers to a troupe of dancing women.  Again, the emphasis is on celebrating and having fun during this nearly two weeks of non-stop nightly partying. 

At least this description didn't alter my thinking like 8 Maids A Milking - lol!

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On Friday, I only was able to view my sewing machine in passing.  The needle stood idle and no thread was touched.  Instead, I prepared my January Let's Bee Together packages.  First I had to select enough fabric to be sent to 22 different people.  Yes, 22!  I am a member of both groups of 12 resulting in my having 22 members to send to.

Here's what I came up with.  All of the colored print fabric is from the line, Amelia's Garden for Benartex.  Each cut of fabric is 1/2 yard as are each of the white on white fabrics.

Next I  had to cut the fabric and make 22 different piles.  Each member will receive over 2 fat quarters of fabric to create a 12" block of their choice.  I had to lay these out on the floor since there is not enough table top space for 22 stacks - lol!

Here are the envelopes all ready for the mailman to pick up today.  I have blurred the addresses in the picture for confidential purposes - I didn't want  you to think that I hadn't already addressed the envelopes.

To get all 22 packages ready took around 3 1/2 hours.  Then in the afternoon I worked on preparing emails to be sent out to the Block Swap Adventure members for the partner assignments for January.  By the way, if you would like to joint the block swap group, we are still accepting members!!

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Since I didn't do any crafting, how about something a little different today? 

Who Are You & Who Am I


KQ Sue posted this fun little Q&A a while back and I thought it would be fun to participate:
Copy and paste, and then answer the questions, and tell me you did so I can learn about you, too!

1. Sweet or Salty?  Definitely salty.  I could sit down and eat a whole bag of potato chips all by myself.

2. Dresses or Jeans?  JEANS.  I haven't worn a dress in over a year!  And then only because I absolutely had to.

3. House or Apartment?  House.  However, there are times I have thought that an apartment or condo might be sort of nice so you don't have to worry about any of the upkeep.

4. Shop Online or Offline?  I did 99% of my Christmas shopping online - thank goodness for Amazon.com.  I usually buy most of my fabric and supplies online too.

5. DVDs or Downloads?  DVDs.  We are able to download through Netflix but the selection isn't always current.  Of course, it would help if we weren't four years behind in our movie watching.

6. Cocktails or Juice? Most definitely juice and then either apple or orange.  I haven't had a cocktail since about 1982 (now I'm showing my age).  I'm not against drinking in moderation, I just didn't like the way it made me feel.  My DH has a 'medicinal' glass of wine every night with dinner.

7. Chocolate or Strawberry?  Now this one is harder.  Depends on my mood.  How about together?  I really like chocolate covered strawberries.

8. Laptop or PC?  Depends on which room of the house I'm in or if we are traveling.  If I'm having lunch and reading blogs, then I'm on the laptop.  If I'm in the office/sewing room then I'm on the PC.

9. Magazines or Newspapers?  Both.  I read the paper every morning.  I am getting fewer and fewer magazines - I think many of them are getting too pricey.  We have been getting Reader's Digest for over 35 years.  I do receive a couple of quilting magazines but I have even cut way back on those.

10. Facebook or Twitter?  Facebook.  I can't figure out the Twitter thing (there I go showing my age again)

11. CDs or MP3s?  CD's.  It's another age thing I think.

12. Kids or Pets? Currently pets.  We raised two daughters and I do love my two grandsons.  But I can't imagine my life without two or more little fuzzy bodies in my life at all times.

13. Cookies or Cupcakes?  There is that 'it depends on my mood' thing.  Usually cookies though.  Trouble is, it is way too easy to eat several of them in one sitting and then come back for more.  Plus you can eat them one handed while I don't do that very well with cupcakes.

14. Walk or Run?  Walk!  I can't remember the last time I ran.  However, I am pretty speedy in my power chair.

15. Breakfast in Bed or Breakfast Out?  Breakfast out.  I think I have only had breakfast in bed maybe four times in my life and two of those were when I was in the hospital after the birth of each of my daughters - lol!

16. Market or Supermarket?  Does the Farmer's Market count?  I wish we had a nice neighborhood market that I could shop at but we have to go to the supermarket for everything but our produce.

17. Sourdough or Grainy?  Sourdough.  I do like the new thin whole grain hamburger and hot dot buns though.

18. Heels or Flats?  Flats.  That's another one of those things that I can't remember  - when was the last time I wore heels?

19. Late nights or Not?  Definitely not.  Late night for me is 10:00.  We are usually in bed before 9:00 reading and soon sleeping.

20. Coffee or Tea?  Coffee.  Full strength in the morning and then decaf for the rest of the day.  I really don't drink that much coffee but I do have a can of diet 7-UP with me most of the time.

Well, do you think you might know me a little better now?  How about you?  Will you share your choices with us?

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GIVEAWAYS

Susan Brubaker Knapp over at Blue Moon River is giving away a copy of Confetti Naturescapes.  You must enter by noon EST on Wednesday, December 22.

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FINAL THOUGHT

No pearls of wisdom from me today, just one of my favorite lines from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.......

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.
 ~Dr Seuss

Monday means only 5 more days until Christmas.....are you ready?