A GRACIOUS PLENTY

Happy December times...

Placemats I made for Sher to use during Christmas. They have redbirds on them - Virginia's state bird.  She folded two as for napkins. Good idea.

Twentieth Century Club Social at Lil' Smokies.

Pantomiming Christmas Carols.

Sue telling and daydreaming about the several times she saw Elvis in concert.

My great niece Tuesday. She doesn't appear to be terrified like some first timers with Santa.

And she loves books!

I didn't put a tree in the house this year, but decorated the hall tree. This was Paul's great-grandmother Moser's hall tree. His grandfather Broughton's mother; his mother's grandmother.

Sun on the Bubble Gum Quilt.

Charlotte's house - a little party Saturday night. Sweet time. She has beautiful antiques and they just fit in her beautiful older home, one of Iuka's first. She did all her own decorating. She's a dear friend and God just put is together again after over 40 years - she lived in Byhalia and we in Wynne. She and I, Brenda, Frank, Martha, Paul all were running buddies back in the day.

Seated - Grace Long, Elsie Nunley; standing - me, Villa Mae Ledgewood, then Barbara Sweeney (seated), Charlotte Vines. All but Barbara have been in Bible studies that were at Elsie's home. Elsie's husband died this past year. Love her cheerful socks.

And there are always the candid shots...

Barbara is Brenda Rushing's sister; Brenda and I were in the same class at IHS.

Pillow cases I made for Amy and Matt. Measuring and rotary cutting the three pieces (each has 3) took longer than sewing them together. They have French seams, which keeps the inside from fraying or having to overstitch the edges.

I had two strands of lights and put one in Amy's room. She said the other day she loved coming home to colored Christmas lights. Now she has her very own.

Two pies to bake tomorrow - French silk and chess. A roast to put in the crock pot tomorrow night. Gifts all wrapped, except one, on the way from Amazon. Made Snickerdoodles today. Sher's Key West books arriving. (She and Melanie going there after she leaves here.) Christmas Breakfast at David and Sandra's. Amy and Matt here Christmas morning. Aunt Ginny to eat dinner with us sometime Christmas Day. Mike's Christmas afternoon. Matt has to work Friday so has to go back Thursday evening. Sher here the 26th. Eat, sleep, watch movies, wear jammies, drive around see Christmas lights. Maybe in our jammies. Laugh. Cry. Eat and sleep some more. Look at Sher's scrapbooks I made her. Maybe let her take them back with her. Still haven't got copies of them; maybe get photos made of the pages while she's here. Maybe, maybe. 

She sent me this text: "This year I will..." and I wrote - get this foot taken care of (neuroma); laugh more, make a quilt. She wrote - return to England, eat well, give up Cokes, learn French. Another thing I would like to to is actually read the entire Bible all the way through. I never have. I've tried and started several times. 2015 - discipline.

And today is Paul and my 46th anniversary.