Merry Christmas

1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

 2Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. --Matthew 2:1-2

We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas as we celebrate the birth of the one true Lord, Jesus Christ.

Dustin & Gina and Sunset

Dustin came home from Northern Youth Programs in Ontario, Canada yesterday. He met his girlfriend, Gina from New York, in Atlanta and they flew the last leg of their flights here together. We're so glad to finally meet her in person and learn to know her better.

It is my week to clean the church house and they were great help.

The other evening we had a most beautiful sunset.

I think it was the prettiest I have ever seen.

I'm not good at photography so I kept changing the settings on my camera and just snapped lots of pictures in the 'folige,' 'kids & pets,' 'underwater,' or 'beach' settings. I don't know. I just picked the best ones to post here.

Housing Department #20 and Orca Bay

Just look at this wonderful little quilt made by Laura Wasilowski. It is her Housing Department #20 which now belongs to me. How did this all happen? You see, last evening I was rummaging through the mud room trying to find some cardbord and padding for a Christmas gift I was wrapping. There, among the used envelopes and boxes I found this flat padded bag with Paul's name on it. It was stapled shut and I wondered what could this be? So I opened it. (Whatever belongs to me belongs to Paul and whatever belongs to Paul belongs to me. So you see, I had every right to open that bag!) And, oh my, I was so startled and delighted and happy. I couldn't figure out how such a lovely little quilt would have gotten into my piles of discarded envelopes and bubble wrap. And here it was signed by Laura especially to me.

I ask Paul about it but he didn't know anything and thought it was some sort of poster I was so excited about. He couldn't figure out why I was so happy. So I thought I need to blog about this and see if anyone knows what it's all about. Then Paul thought maybe it was some sort of mistake and I should wait a while. So I ended up calling my sister, Polly. She couldn't talk long and at first she tried to fake innocense, but then she finally said that she and Barbara had made arrangements with Paul way back in July while we were at the AQS Quilt Show in Knoxville to purchase the quilt for me as a gift for Christmas from Paul. They somehow got the quilt to Paul and he stuck it in the mud room where I'd never find it and then he promptly forgot about it.

Then when I told him all that Polly said, he kinda stared and jumped and caught his breath. It all came back to him. We laughed and laughed and now I smile and smile that I have a lovely little quilt from him from Laura.

My Orca Bay mystery quilt is getting pushed aside way too much. I'm still lagging behind and haven't even finished step 4 and we already have the directions for step 5. I decided to try sewing strips together and then cut out a 3.5" strip horozontal from those strips. Then I'll cut my triangles from that strip.

Welcome Tina

Paul and I are grandparents again.

This time to, Tina Sue, born to our youngest son, Craig & Ang.

We took lunch to them after church today soon after they arrived home. And I got to hold her again.

Julian & Jodie left yesterday morning. I was glad that we got her "Disappearing Nine-Patch" quilt finished. She was so tickled and now I think her friends are quite envious.

Recently I found an older quilt top in a local antique store. I didn't purchase it right away because I just wasn't sure that I wanted to quilt it. After I got home and thought on it a while, I decided that I really should go back and inspect that quilt top and really see if it would be worth the time and effort to quilt. So I did. After considering that it was hand stitched and in very nice shape and only cost $27.50 with a 10% discount, I purchased it. Now that I have it home, I feel like I really found a treasure. Unfortunately I don't have any history of who made it or how old it is. If anyone can help me on dating it, I'd be so grateful. I put it in the quilt frame yesterday so as to have some had quilting available for over the holidays and this winter.

Guests, Quilts, "Christmas Comes Alive"

My nephew Julian and his wife Jodie are here for a week.

He is helping with concrete work for a local farmer. We are also keeping Tony, another fellow that is helping with the job.

While the men are off working during the day, I have been helping Jodie make a quilt.

We used the "Disappearing Nine Patch" pattern which is turning out marvelous. She is doing a great job!

My Orca Bay Mystery Quilt is coming along very slow. I've only made 14 of the 128 triangles.

But now that I have found  Solvi's way to make the units I think I'll be able to tackle it much faster. So, you see, there is a benefit in not trying to be the first one finished.

The other evening our whole family with Paul's folks went to Gordo, AL to see "Christmas Comes Alive." We waited in the church's auditorium until it was our turn to get on the wagons.

It was a chilly evening and we were glad to be bundled up warm.

The first scene was Isaiah giving the prophesy of Jesus birth.

Then there were the shepherds, the inn, the angles, the wise men, and then we were ushered to the barn where we found Mary, Joseph, & baby Jesus. We sat on hay bales and listened to the Christmas Story read from the New Testament and heard a few carols and ...

... enjoyed the Nativity Scene.

They didn't stop with Jesus birth but went on to tell about his ministry, ascension, and His coming return with emphasis on salvation through Jesus. "Come unto me all ye that labour and are are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." --Matthew 11:27

Then we were served hot chocolate and cookies in the church basement. It was a lovely evening.