finally . . . giveaway time!

Happy National Quilting day (again) and HAPPY SPRING!!

I bet you were wondering if I was really going to pull this off today, huh? :) We had a wonderful day, wandering hither and yon, shopping here and there, eating and catching a movie . . . but I digress (and I'll tell more tomorrow)!

Finally, I've got it all together . . . we're having a giveaway!!

First: Heart for a Hero - a signed copy, personalized for the winner. Great story, great read.

Second, we've got the current issue of Tea Time magazine, along with a box of my favorite tea, Pomegranate Pizzazz, and to celebrate the first day of Spring, a copy of Celebrate Spring! The two magazines are both offerings of Hoffman Media, a privately owned publisher out of Birmingham, Alabama. They publish all of my favorite, non-quilting magazines, including the two I'm offering and Southern Lady, Sew Beautiful, Victoria, and Cooking With Paula Deen, to name a few!

For the final offering, I traveled here . . .

Hooked on Quilting, one of my favorite local quilt shops. She has a wonderful selection of novelty fabrics, as well as 30's prints, baby prints, batiks and more. I know this was the place to find something that spoke of our cat commonality, and I wasn't wrong!!

I found these darling Timeless Treasures prints . . . which blogspot refuses to put in my blog correctly. Whimsical fat cat quarters!

And we'll top if off with a pattern for a darling cell phone 'catty'!

Books, tea, spring, cats . . . this is fun stuff! You want it??? You know you do!

So here's the deal:

Leave a first (1st) comment that just says anything you want to say. That simple step will give you one entry.

Want another chance? Become a follower of my blog and leave me a second (2nd) comment saying that you have (or that you already are--God bless you)!

Want an even another chance? Good enough; blog about my giveaway (including a link back to my blog) on *your* blog, then leave me a third (3rd) comment with a link that confirms you've done so!

Easy-peasy!

Make *sure* you leave me a way to get in touch with you in one of your comments, especially if you're a no-reply blogger. If I can't get in touch with you, well, it's counter-productive.

Make sure you leave a comment for EACH entry (so you get all three of your chances).

I'll leave this active until Friday, March 26th, at 7 am, and then I'll let the online random number generator do its magic and select the winner!!!

Good luck!

:)

dinner and dashed hopes . . .

Todd & I enjoyed a lovely evening with Jocelyn & Jason. Joc has done such a marvelous job of making their house a beautiful and comfortable home. Plus Joc sets such a pretty table!! I love the red chargers with her china. Nice! It felt festive and special!

Plus she served yummy food -- Ravioli Soup, garden salad, and wheat rolls. *And* homemade lemonade! Deeee-licious!

Cute domestic moments . . .

This is Joc's baby. Princess Leia is her name. She is beautiful as can be, but mean as spit! Well, to me she is. But she's so darling! I can't resist {trying to} petting her!

But she's even a bit of a pickle with her mom . . . no kisses, mom!

Ah well. The cheesecake I brought was a hit . . . so good it stayed with them! Much to my husband's dismay. It's okay; I promised him I'd make a whole new one just for us! :)

Here's the recipe for it:

Sugar Free Cheesecake

12 oz. Light Cream Cheese, softened
1/3 cup granular splenda
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups skim milk
*2 packages sugar free/fat free instant pudding (any flavor)
*3/4 cup sugar fruit spread (to coordinate with pudding flavor) (I prefer Polander's)
**Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Beat cream cheese, vanilla, and splenda until mix is creamy and smooth. Add milk and continue to beat until well blended. Add both packages of pudding and beat some more until mixture is thickened and smooth.

Spread scant half of mix into graham cracker pie and smooth surface. Spread fruit spread on top. Pour and spread the rest of the cheesecake mix on top to form third layer. Cover and allow to set for at least four hours (over night is better). (NOTE: there is usually TOO much filling for the pie shell. When that happens I pour the mix into 1/2 cup containers and we just eat the filling . . . who really needs the crust anyway?!?)

Cut and serve with sugar free cool whip and a dollop of the fruit spread, if you like!

*Good combinations are chocolate pudding and strawberry or cherry fruit spread; cheesecake pudding and apricot or blackberry or raspberry (or really, any kind of fruit) spread; or vanilla pudding and whatever. I throw in a little almond extract with my vanilla extract, especially with chocolate and vanilla pudding.

**The graham cracker pie crusts are NOT sugar free. The low fat crust has the same amount of sugar (6 grams per serving) as the regular. I used chocolate with my chocolate. :) You can also make your own graham cracker crust; this may cut down on your sugar.

I play around with most recipes I try, just because that's how I roll. This one is no different--or rather, it's quite different from how I originally found it!

A NICE giveaway I found today is over at A Little Bit Biased . . . check it out for yourself!!

Another NICE (and purple-ly) giveaway is happening over at Lila Tueller Designs . . . oh my goodness!!!

Oh yeah, and speaking about giveaways, remember yesterday when I talked about the offer of a sponsor for a giveaway? Total spam/hoax. I had a lovely lady, Kim from Sherrod Studio, who read my blog yesterday on Quilter Blogs.com, and said she'd had a similar experience from the same company that went bad. Ah well.

I'll be my own sponsor. How's that? I'll do a, "I'm a GRANDMA!" giveaway next month.

Yay! I'll be a grandma next month (in TWO weeks)!

Sweet!

:)

rv living and round robins . . .

I still consider us in the transition stage of RV living; a full year of all the seasons truly needs to pass before I feel comfortable saying, "We've made it!" Not because I don't believe we will--I most certainly do--but because pride cometh before the fall, and bearing that in mind, my humble side would like to give it a full year. After all, there's still the floods of spring, the heat of the summer, and the majority of fall to behold in our perky RV. There's birthdays and holidays and anniversaries (and grandbabies) and family gatherings all to be celebrated. Yes, I think a solid year is a good measure.

In this past month we've both had our share of sickness, so we know how that will go. Something about living in closer quarters makes you more aware of those you live with. I think this is a good thing. You can't afford to be selfish, if you want your relationship to continue to grow and flourish. Todd is better at this than I am. This is a personal growth opportunity for me!

The breakdown of chores is a little different. I'm just now getting the hang of the washer/dryer process, so I've been the one handling the laundry. There are a lot more outdoor-related chores with the RV; flushing grey & black water tanks, changing out propane tanks, keeping water lines warm & running, etc. I need to know how to do them (just in case), but Todd takes care of these things on a regular basis. So I feel compelled to keep up with the interior housekeeping. Granted, it's not as large a space, so it's not as time-consuming a task, but scrubbing a toilet is still scrubbing a toilet, and it's not my favorite thing! But it's really important that it gets done at least twice a week, because it doesn't flush like a normal commode, so the bowl doesn't get rinsed as well after each flush. Ugh. Stop me now, please!

So, while I'm confident in the outcome, I am not going to say yet that we've conquered RV living. But we are making great strides.

In another train of thought, last night I e-mailed my monthly contribution to our family's Round Robin. My dad's paternal grandmother had quite a few children. As they grew up, she kept up with them (and so kept them up-to-date with each other) by sending out a newsy-chatty letter to the oldest, who read her letter, added one of his own, and sent it to the next sibling, and so on, until all of the children had received their mom's letter, added one of their own, and the youngest sent it back to mom. Great-grandma Fowler would read the letters of all her children, replace her original letter with a new one, and start the cycle again.

Through the years, as she and her children passed away, their children and grandchildren have continued the tradition. Through the middle of last year, the Round Robin continued to be a postal wonder, sharing family news from coast-to-coast. Two of the original Fowler children were still contributing, as well! My Great Uncle Bill and my Great Uncle Frank (the baby of the Fowler's and lovingly referred to as "Grand"). Unfortunately, Great Uncle Bill, who always typed his contribution, got stuck. His typewriter broke, and he was not able/willing to carry on. And the Round Robin was grounded with him.

Luckily, enough of us still wanted to continue this awesome tradition, so Grand proposed that we do it by e-mail instead of regular mail. Each participant would send out a newsy/chatty e-mail each month, on the date of their birth (so, for example, I send out my blurb on the 10th of every month). If you were overwhelmed with life and couldn't send something, it didn't matter, because it didn't hold up everyone else down the line, and you could just jump back in when you could. And if you were a couple of days late, that was no big deal either. It was about keeping in touch with family.

The wonderful benefit about opening it up to e-mail was that lots more family members contribute these days! It's been awesome to get to know family that I had that I didn't realise I had. What's even more awesome is to learn of the great faith in Jesus that some of these family members have! That has been *so* exciting to me! It's a really cool tradition that my Fowler family has carried on through five generations, and I wanted to share it!

On a last, light note, the shop cat has really been good for entertainment value. She eats weird things. She's mostly a carb-eating cat. She likes cheetos, bugles, and chex mix. But she also likes things you'd never associate with a cat -- like organic, roasted red pepper and tomato soup. Only she doesn't lap it up like a saucer of milk . . . she dips her paw in and licks it off her paw! She must have repeated this forty or fifty times before she realized she'd cleaned the bowl!

Tomato soup. Go figure!

:)

cat's in the house (or, in the office . . .)

This is Reese. She's the shop cat where I work. Or rather, the office cat. She tries to be a shop cat--and sometimes she escapes and is successful--but that is not our preference for her.

She's a big help. Uh, yeah. She's big, anyway. She came to us as a stray; and the guys in the shop fed her bean burritos and she went from being a tiny stray baby, to a HUGE cat. But then she went to the vet and the doc told us she needed to diet extreme. So.

But she looks pretty! (Pretty greasy.) She has lots of nicknames . . . Reesey-peasey-butterball-obesey. . . Greasy Reesey . . . Stinkin' Cat . . . oh wait. That was Merlin's nickname.

If nothing else, she's good for our entertainment.

See how wide & wild her whiskers are? Did you know a cat's whiskers grow as wide as the cat's girth, to help them know if they'll be able to fit into small spaces?? Okay, do you *see* how wide her whiskers are?!?!

This is her "hen-pecked" look.

She wasn't pleased.

She knows how to get away from the torture....ummm, I mean, playing. (See the sag in that in-box?)

She *loves* a good cuddle. Yeah, I know, she doesn't look very happy in the above shot, but I *did* say a _good_ cuddle. That was an aggravating cuddle. Just ask her.

She really is a sweet-tempered cat, who puts up with about anything. She's very chatty and loves people; not a stranger ever walks into our showroom! If you don't pet her, she'll put her head under your hand, to give you inspiration. She's the only cat in my life on a daily basis now. I think she understands the responsibility; she's become my best buddy since we moved and my darling Merlin went to stay with James & Kim & Belle.

The only thing she lacks is a quilt to lay on while it's being worked on. She settles for payroll.

Droll.

:)

Can you believe . . .

. . . that it's been two and a half weeks since I blogged last? :(

. . . that I haven't shared a single thing about our move since they physically moved the RV?

. . . that we've been living full-time in the RV for, well, two and a half weeks?

. . . that I am no longer a cat owner?

. . . that I see deer on a daily basis, from our picture window?

. . . that I have done no significant quilting in better than two weeks?

. . . that I do laundry in a single machine that is both a washer & dryer? (And it's pretty cool, too!)

. . . that Thanksgiving has come and gone?

. . . that I went out, for the first time EVER on Black Friday? (Even if it was just as a chauffeur.)

. . . that for (also) the first time ever, our tree is artificial?

. . . that I'm excited I have an artificial tree??!

. . . that it's DECEMBER?? Where did 2009 go?!?

. . . that Christmas is in 23 days?!?!?!

. . . that there are recipes for sugar-free, low-fat eggnog?

Me either. But it's all true!

:)

today's the day!

So . . . it all comes down to today.

We loaded up all my quilting stuff. Ha! Todd was amazed at how much all that fabric and those notions weighed!! I was so tickled to be able to fit all our boxed DVD sets, my whole Jan Karon collection, *all* my tea-related books and a dozen cookbooks in the cabinets over the sofa. I feel better already!

We decided against loading *everything* into the RV before pulling it. Clothes were a problem because the washer/dryer hasn't been installed yet. Because it's in the master closet, we knew we'd just have to unload everything for the guys to be able to get into the space to install it.

We bought some tubs and racks at WalMart last night to use. We didn't get lots of stuff -- just enough to try out. Until we're living in it and have our stuff put up, it's hard to know exactly what we'll need!

I did get all our toiletries and stuff over there. Not all my hair accessories and jewelry, though. I do want my necklace rack over there today! :)

So much to think about! Todd's swept all the leaves off the roof . . . we're getting ready to pull in the slides and hook her up . . . this will be a busy day!

This evening we'll drop Merlin off at James and Kim's. Sigh. He snuggled with us this morning before we got up and going. He has no clue!

Tonight we'll spend our first night in Camp Macoba in our new home!!!

Pray for us, please!

:)

wrapping it up . . .

The week, that is.

I've not gotten a schedule from Tate Farms this week, so I guess I'm not scheduled to work tomorrow. It's not really a big deal -- I don't work there for the money. I may go by and pick up my free pumpkin! I think I'd really like to carve one this year. It's been a while since I have done that myself . . . I think I'd like to get one pumpkin for Halloween carving, and one for the turkey stand. :)

James and I went to lunch today and had a nice chat. Marriage and impending fatherhood has been very good for him. I've always had a soft spot for my boy, but I enjoy his company more and more as he becomes the man, husband, and soon-father, that God's whittling out of him. James has perceptive insight into situations -- I love to hear his thoughts on a subject.

Both James and Jocelyn have, by God's grace--not through anything I've done, matured into pretty cool people whose company I enjoy. And they both picked most excellent spouses, making for a double blessing; one for them and one for Todd & me! I love my family.

Todd and I will probably spend a quiet night at home this evening. He's been to Camp Macoba and chatted with that committee today . . . we're moving right along!

Today is better than yesterday. Both James & Kim, individually, offered to take care of Merlin. I am still not sure I want to burden these two like that! But last night, as I spent kitty-cuddling time with Merlin, I decided that I would just enjoy him each day that I have him, and that I would trust God to do what was best. Seems silly to spend time crying now, when I could be spending that time doing something productive . . . like scratching under Merlin's chin!

I got the cute little sewing accessory kit in the mail this week, along with my teapot BOM from The Cherry Pit, a beautiful Jerusalem's cross that Cynthia, my sister, brought me back from her trip to Jerusalem, the most current issue of Eating Well, and I think that's it for mail. Overall, not a bad week!

It wasn't a bad week for James, either. He's inherited (or stolen) my lucky gene! He won an xbox 360 yesterday on the radio. He goes to pick it up today!! Go James!!!! Now he's walking around twice as puffed up ... because it was bad enough when they found out they are having a BOY!!!! Yay! A grandbaby boy will be so much fun! His name will be Sawyer Graham Panter. I cannot wait to meet him next March! Let the baby boy quilts begin!

If I don't work tomorrow, I'll post some pictures of this week's treasures.

Hasta la vista!

:)

Awww!

Have you ever had a day where you were dealing with something that was just plain hard?

That's my today. My day hasn't been bad or traumatic or anything like that. We (Todd & I) are just facing a tough decision with our cat, and it's really heart-sad. I shared yesterday that Camp Macoba is a go, and that we're moving the RV up there on November 14th. I'm *really* excited about that and looking forward to having a couple of months to make the transition--living in the RV, but still having access to our home, so that we can decide what we _really_ need to hang on to, and what we _really_ didn't need to take in the first place!

One thing that just can't go is Merlin. I understand, I really, truthfully do. I can't imagine trying to live with a cat box in that small of a space. Something about a cat's box makes a small space even smaller! I know that Todd is even more sensitive to odors than I am -- but no one likes the smell of cat box! And since this will be our home *and* Todd's office, a cat just doesn't make sense.

But knowing that cold, hard fact, and being able to easily accept it are two different things. When we first started talking about RVs, it was down the line, after Todd retired. No biggie. Then, when we were able to get a GREAT deal on the exact RV we wanted, the soonest we were thinking was along the lines of March/April 2010 -- still a half year away! No biggie! Now? It's three weeks -- twenty-one days! Reality crash! And my heart is heavy.

Let me reiterate. I know this is the right thing. I know what we are doing is God's will, and I understand that obedience comes with a personal cost. If doing what God wanted was always easy, there would sure be a whole lot more folks being obedient! Laying my will aside so that I might do my Father's will is a great honor for me, and I'm so excited that we're ready to move forward. I need to lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets me, and run with patience the race that is set before me. God's grace is good.

Flowers help too.


My darling husband had flowers sent to me at work today -- just acknowledging that he knew this was hard, and that we'd figure it out, and that he loved me. Aren't they fun & pretty? They made me smile and I knew that he understood; and I know that He understands, too.

I am blessed. I am truly blessed.

:)

more weekend pictures . . .

Okay. Because I realized I had not uploaded all the pictures I would have liked to, and because I finally figured out that if you compress your pictures they upload a LOT faster, here are some more glimpses into my super-wonderful weekend!

Here's that lovely breakfast I told you about . . . note that the napkin is still on the table with the spider! I had tomato juice (which was very fitting, considering our table setting, I thought). And please also note the truffles & ice cream appetizer! YUM!

Our second course of eggs, toast, bacon & grits! Doesn't it look great? And I kept the coffee coming! (As I told Jane -- Todd's a one cup of coffee person, and I'm a one pot of coffee person!)

One cat . . . Spot

Two cat . . . Maddy! (And three and four cat, too!)

More festive decorations! (And more cats.)

And more . . . most everything had cats!

See what I mean?

I loved this guy, hanging out at the bottom of the stairs!

This was Ginger, one of the upstairs cats. She was very shy. In fact, she bolted as we came up the stairs to take a look at the other guest bedroom, and only peeked around the door when I called her by name. I think, by her look, she's wondering who the heck I am to call her by her given name. She really did look rather indignant!

These are pictures of the quilts I found in her church . . . they really were beautiful.

And finally, a darling hand wreath which was on the wall in one of the children's Sunday school rooms! (We got the royal tour!)

The heavens declare the glory of God. That pretty much sums it up, perfectly.

:)

God is so good!

Not for any particular reason or because of anything particular that happened to me.  He just is.  :)

Joc and I had a lovely day together yesterday.  We hit the road at about 8:30 yesterday morning and took a trip to Franklin, Tennessee (about 88 miles or so) to cruise the aisles of the Whole Foods store there.  It was very easy to find; 3 minutes off of I-65 at exit 69.  It's a pretty store and full of lots of wonderful things!  The first thing we saw was a jackpot find -- local grown mums (that were quite beautiful) at $6.99 a pot!  I think the mums made it worth the trip for Jocelyn!

We started in produce and worked our way around the perimeter of the store, then when back and cruised the aisles.  They have lots of interesting organic foods.  Plus, both hot and cold food bars (lunch for $7.99/lb).  And a bakery, cheese counter, an olive bar, a meat/seafood counter that was really beautiful; we really did enjoy browsing (and putting select items in our cart)!  One thing they had which I've not been able to find anywhere in Huntsville (except as a bulk item at Garden Cove) is quinoa (pronounced keen-wah).  What else?  Oh yeah, they had sodas made with regular cane sugar instead of corn syrup.  Plus it was kind of neat to see what regular stores carry that actually is organic.  They even had vegan cookies! 

After our trip to Whole Foods, we went to Dave's BBQ and had lunch.  Please don't comment on what an oxymoron that is!  It gets worse.  We stopped at Wal Mart (cotton balls and some other details) and I got a Hershey bar with almonds.    But on a positive note, I did drink all my water!

Whole Foods aside, it was nice to spend time with Jocelyn, just chatting and enjoying each other's company.  I like what God has done with my children so far.  :)

I finished the table topper Sunday evening; I'll post a picture before it goes in the mail.  I was very pleased with it -- I hope my mom is as well!  I'd sent her a pdf file from a 2005 (?) issue of Martha Stewart's Living, that had instructions to make some really cute squirrel favor holders.  I think they'd be darling with the table topper!  The squirrel favor holders can be found here.

Tonight Todd and I are heading to Jason & Jocelyn's for dinner.  And I'll get to see the cutest kitten in the whole, wide world!  Only she'll have just gotten back from surgery, so she'll probably be a little delicate.  S'okay, can't wait to see her and cuddle her!  I only ever get to see her on FB!

Oooh!  In yesterday's mail I got a birthday card and check from my mom & dad!  What perfect timing!  I'd wanted to watch Babe in my laptop, but I don't have it on DVD.  Then I wanted to watch Hocus Pocus, but I don't have it at all!  So, me and my little birthday money hopped on to Amazon.com, and both those movies (dvds) and Arsenic & Lace *and* To Kill A Mockingbird are on there way to my collection!  Whoohoo!  So what did I watch instead, you ask?  Twilight.  Don't laugh.  It goes with my Hershey bar.  Thanks Mom & Dad!

Fiddle-dee-dee, tomorrow is another day!

:)

HOW COULD I FORGET???!

I can't believe I forgot to share this! A couple of weeks ago, I entered for chances to win on Mel's Own Place for her "blogiversary" event. She had some really *great* prizes and guess what? I WON! I won the 4th post - Swaps. My prize came in the mail Monday -- look what it is!!!!!!

Fat quarters! My favorite! Aren't they pretty?!?! I love the colors -- and they make me think of my sweet daughter-in-law, Kim. She's a brown and turquoise girl! Mel sent the fat quarters in a cute little pillow, along with a sweet note. Thank you, Mel, and congratulations on your anniversary!!!!

Today is TGIF! Don't forget to check out the Freebies Friday button on the left! They are giving away an inchie quilt book and tool. Fun stuff! Also, speaking of giveaways, check out the Gum Tree button to the left. This is a new group of nine Australian designers, and each one of them is doing some significant giving away, too!

Today is also the first day of our local quilt show!!!! HURRAH!! So much hard work has gone into this event. From the organizers, to the promoters, to all the show contributors -- it amazes me! We had the judge, Kathy Kansier, as our guest speaker at our guild meeting last night. Wow. She's quite fun to listen to and a fount of information. I was impressed with her guidelines for quilt judging, and it made me feel a little better about knowing my quilt probably had no business being in that show! :) What really impressed me about Kathy was that she incorporated her faith into her program. Not in an in-your-face kind of way, but in a way that let you know it had made a difference in her life and was a part of who she was. Neat lady. I'd like to take classes from her. She and her students will have a special exhibit at the Houston show!!!

I'll work tomorrow as a hostess, from 10-12, and then in the booth, from 1-3. Then I'll wander around to my heart's content!!! Oooh, and the craft show is also at the VBC this weekend, so I'll probably stop in there, too. Then, as a special bonus, Todd and I will go again to the quilt show on Sunday afternoon. My husband is such a good partner. The best.

One of my favorite web stores, Pumpkin Patch Primitives, has a new blog. You can check it out here. She has lots of fun projects and fabrics and is very personable too. Enjoy!

On a more serious note, here's a blog to take a look at: Building the Blocks. What an incredible family this is, with a passion for children needing adoption, and helping families fund those adoptions. They have a pretty incredible testimony. You can "click to give" to help a family adopt a precious one. Good stuff. :)

I had orientation for Tate Farms Cotton Pickin' Pumpkins yesterday. Whoohoo!!! Bring on the pumpkin season! I will be working on Saturdays in the admissions office, and sometimes in the country store (which is my favorite). I don't work here because I need the work; I do it because I really enjoy being out at the farm during the month of October! I love the crowds and the color and the air and the smell and the atmosphere! What a super-fun place! Maybe next year I'll see if they will let me have a quilt booth there on Saturdays! Wouldn't that be a fun thing???? I could do fall and Christmassy things. Bet they'd be big sellers! :) Hahaha -- this coming from the woman who's wondering why she put her quilt in the local show! Anyway, all the money I make from Tate Farms will go to outfit our RV and get it ready to take on the road. We are blessed.

Early, early, *so* early this morning, my friend Jennifer left for Nicaragua. She's going with a team up-river to help build a church for a small village -- Asang. That's what they are doing during the day. At night they are going into even smaller villages and sharing their testimonies and showing the Jesus movie. They will be speaking with people that have never heard the name Jesus before! I'm honored to be one of Jennifer's prayer partners. She will be on my mind and in my heart for the next week!!

Merlin found a sunny spot by the door. He's a good fellow and a sweet companion.

It's Friday -- the kick-off to a three day weekend. Yay!

Tenga un buen fin de semana!

:)

MORE GIVEAWAYS!

Okay, so I'm finding all these fun blogs! Here's one ... Mama Spark's World! She's got a "400th Post" giveaway going on right now. Right now! It ends tomorrow (September 1st) at noon, est. Check it out! The prize package is some darling Christmas fat quarters!

Right above that post she's got one with a very darling wall hanging in it. Cats. I do love cats.

Enjoy!!!

:)

BLEH, I SAID!

Bleh.

I spent most of this day feeling that way. I don't think it was something I ate; on the other hand, I don't think it was the H1N1 flu, which everyone near me worried about. Except Merlin -- he licked my face while I was napping, so I know he wasn't too concerned. Ah, the comforts of a cat!

I'm feeling a little better . . . just . . . foggy. Which might actually be an indicator it's sinuses. Oh the joy!! :) No, really -- at least I'm breathing, right? Count it *all* joy! Harrumph.

I did stop and pick up some black thread, so I can continue working on the BBS quilt. I've been searching fabric shops (online and in person) looking for the perfect flannel to back it with. Is that bad juju, backing a regular cotton quilt top with a cotton flannel? It just seems to me that it would make for a nice, warm quilt, that a boy (young man) might be more willing to wrap up in on a cold day. If anyone is reading and has a notion about this, please let me know!

I read something in Proverbs 26 today that really caught my eye. The first eleven verses refer to qualities/characterizations of a fool; a dog returning to its vomit, one who binds a stone in a sling (think about it for a second), an archer who wounds everyone (this could mean two things), and so on . . . and then, in verse 12, it states that there is more hope for the fool than one who is wise in his own eyes. I finally caught that today. To carry on for so many disparaging passages about a fool, only to say he has more hope than one who sees himself as wise? Wow. That I could read and re-read that Proverb and have it just speak to me today is further proof that it is the living Word.

I'm nearing the end of Jeremiah. Woe to stubborn. I want to plead with them to wake up and smell the coffee!! Why do they refuse to see? Why did they persist in their own way? Oh. Never mind. I have only to look to my own stubbornness to realize the answer. Father, please don't harden my heart to Your commands. Thank You for the saving grace of Your Son!

I'm on to Shepherd's Abiding for my current read. I looked at Jan Karon's website yesterday -- the newest in the Father Tim series doesn't come out until October 2010! Good gravy. I guess it'll give me another year and I can re-read the series again just before it comes out; it takes me about six weeks to finish all 10 books. That's my plan.

Speaking of which, I'm using my infirmity to call tonight a book night. I made a pot of French Vanilla tea. Tea, a good book, and a cat. Sounds like the perfect storm. Hasta la vista.

Baby.

:)

Addendum:

Shepherd's Abiding is probably my all-time favorite of the Mitford series. I adore Christmas and its season; perhaps that explains it.

I found a picture of the Patchwork Puppy -- I forgot that the mommy of the puppy's owner sent it to me!! I'm ready to make a new one for Fowler -- good thing I've got a photo pattern -- placing all those multi-colored squares was tedious enough the first go-round! I do *really*really*really* enjoy quilting. But I do NOT enjoy trying to put pictures in this blog!

BARK!

:)

The following 20 entries, between now and September, 2005, are entries copied from an old Xanga account, so that I could maintain posterity, and delete the Xanga account.

Currently ReadingClassic Crafts and Recipes Inspired by the Songs of ChristmasBy Martha Stewartsee related

The beasts are prowling anxiously at my feet this morning. They are very restless, for some reason, earlier than usual. They *know* I won't feed them until 7:30, yet still they yowl. Especially the baby-cat; he's been particularly wild this morning!

Cookie swap is Saturday! I'm going to make six dozen, and swap two -- give one away -- perhaps send one back with Jocelyn (this is a test to see if she's reading my Xanga) -- and give one to Todd, 'cuz they're his favorite Christmas cookies, Apricot Thumbprints. Did that make six? I don't think so, hmmm. Perhaps I'll send TWO back with Jocelyn (so she can share).
I finished up The Patriarchs study yesterday -- our final DVD session is on Sunday. I have so enjoyed every single week of this Bible study. I will miss it. And I will miss Beth Moore -- she's so quirky!

I need to start another study very soon, but I'm not sure which one. Anyone have any ideas? I'd like to do a semi-short one, because I'd like to lead another women's study when they start up at church again in January. I can do two at a time, but I prefer not to. So, help!

Time to get a cuppa going. I slept until 6:15 this morning!

Guten morgen!

:)