Fog comes in on little cat feet.
We have fog forecast for this evening on into tomorrow morning. It’s not often that we have fog in December. A warm front has moved in, and the ground is still cold, covered in snow in most places. It was actually in the 40s today.
It’s quiet, the trees are still. I can hear the furnace, but the rest of the house seems to be responding to the stillness outside. Mother has created a nest, with her books and chocolates, and lap robes all at hand.
It’s a good night to light candles, play a movie and finish Christmas cards. .

Elegant Mother’s church held a Bazaar on December 1st. Her Empty Nester Sewing group has been working on things to donate for the past six or more months, diligently finishing one project and rushing into the next. Peg, who manages the group, kept everyone on track with e-mails about what had been completed and what was still in the works.
I offered two lap-quilt size tops to be quilted by a member of the church. I was asked if I would create a baby quilt from six embroidered animal blocks. I used some of my batiks, and shopped for borders and a great backing of all sorts of animals. There was also a small pre-printed panel of the 12 Days of Christmas to which I added borders. In mid-October, the four tops were handed over to be machine quilted. I went home and made binding for everything. (There are pictures of some of the binding to the right.)
Now, you’d think these projects would have been finished within four weeks. They were small jobs that didn’t require a huge expenditure of time. But, there were two things I didn’t know. First, Cheryl was the person who was in charge of the entire bazaar, and second……I’m not sure, but I don’t think she had ever used her long arm quiting machine, so there was a big learning curve involved.
With some prompting from Peg, she managed to get one piece done ten days before the Bazaar. A second one came through three days later. Of course, they were the two smallest pieces. The last two quilts came to me three and four days prior to the bazaar. There was no point in shouting about it. I sat down each morning and set things up to sew the binding to the face of the quilts, and each evening, I sewed the binding to the back of the quilt by hand. I put the finishing stitches into the last one Friday evening.
I dropped the quilts off at 7:45 on Saturday morning, and discovered that Cheryl had hurt her back, and everything had been dumped in Peg’s lap. We were very fortunate that Peg was able to rise to the occasion. Everything was tagged and priced, and laid out in inviting ways. The quilts were pinned to dividers, with a bit of the back turned over so that people could see the backing without touching the quilts.
They made an astonishing $1500! And, the Empty Nester Group was responsible for 75% of that. The quilts brought in approximately $310! Cheryl is talking about the bazaar for next year. Peg is looking cross-eyed and saying “NO WAY!” I’m with Peg, but I think I will look for some simple patterns for lap quilts that might be done and set aside until the Empty Nesters decide to participate once again.
I’m happy to say that I donated two loaves of Pumpkin Bread to the Bakery Table, too! *G*

I must say that at least once a month, but I think this may be the driest spell that I’ve had in my blogging life. I’ve been blogging in my head, but I just haven’t made the time to get things onto the computer.
While I’ve been away we celebrated Elegante Mother’s 91st birthday. She spent the day before shopping with My-Sister-The-Nurse, and having her hair and nails done. I met them for a lovely lunch, and then spent some time shopping for the gift cards that EM will be giving her family for Christmas. We have more than half of them signed, and addressed and slipped into gift bags, but I still have a bit of shopping to do, and five sets of gifts to box up and mail.
The day of her birthday, December 7, we spent a quiet day at home, then went to McCormick & Schmick’s for dinner. She was delighted. She rose to the occasion, smiling, thanking people for their birthday wishes, and flirting with the 20-something waiter. He did a great job, to the extent of singing “Happy Birthday” to her loud enough for the entire room to hear. The manager and hostesses were charming as we made our way back to the car, and even the valet cosseted EM. I think she would tell you that it ranked up there with some of the best birthdays she’s had.
The day EM went shopping with My-Sister-The-Nurse was the first day she had been out for easily ten days. The entire family is down with a wretched cold. Dear Husband, who NEVER gets colds developed a doozie, and one by one we succumbed. I was the last to get it. It’s really tough to take care of sickies, and then not get any commiseration when you get sick, too! I took today off to have one more quiet day before I have to fling myself into office work and Christmas preparations.
We’ve had our first lasting, measurable snow. The day before it arrived, I asked DH if he had put the plow on the truck. “No.” “Why not?” “There won’t be enough snow to justify it. Maybe for five or six inches…”
Want to guess how much snow is out there? Ohhhhh….five or six inches. The plow is on the truck now.
Yesterday I woke up to sleet on the skylights. DH walked down the drive to get the papers, sanded the sidewalk and fed the birds. Normally feeding the birds is my job. It was really kind of him to spare me having to dress for the cold weather. I’ve shoveled a path to the feeders, so it was a snap for him to fill them.
Yesterday, we had so many birds at the feeders that you could hardly see the snow. I’ve changed the formulation on the mix of seed just a bit, and they seem to be using it all. I added a small finch feeder this year, and filled it with Niger seed. The ground below it looks messy, but the birds seem to really enjoy the seed. This year’s crop of blue jays has one that doesn’t play well with others. I know they have a reputation for being pushy birds, but the blue jays we’ve had previously have been very gracious birds. It’s a pleasure to see them get along, but this one is more aggressive. More cardinals are beginning to show up at our feeder. When we had fewer neighbors, we sometimes had as many as eight or ten pairs of them. There aren’t that many yet, but it’s early in the season.
The tree service was here to cut down a pod of trees that would have taken out part of the master bedroom suite if they’d fallen. After they’d left, I realized there was one more tree in that area that needed to be cut down, and a much larger one to the east. I asked the boss to come back to do another proposal. This is not a company you want to call if you need them on a specific day, but they do good work. I showed him the two trees, and for the heck of it, asked what it would cost to cut the sumac out of two pods of evergreens on the front lawn. When I saw what he wanted to charge, I snapped it up! I’ve been obsessing about the sumac in the evergreen, because I was going to have to encourage DH to cut it down, and he’s allergic to the evergreens. The guys did a fantastic job! I haven’t seen it look so clean in more than 16 years! I know the sumac will return, but we may be able to keep ahead of it this time. They even cut out the wild raspberries! And….the tree trimmer has given me a bid on three trees off the corner of the garage. The trees were just $50 a piece, but I kept passing on the proposal, thinking DH could get to them. When I called to see when the trees would be cut down,for the heck of it I asked if he would throw in those three trees for free. I couldn’t believe it!! He did it for free! I made brownies for the crew. Too bad they left about 60 seconds before I got down the driveway to hand them over.
I miss reading your blogs, and hearing from you. I hope you’re all having a good month and have reached the point where holiday cheer is rising in you. Take care!

As those of you who read here know, my mother lives with us. She has been hosting the Empty Nester’s Sewing Circle for several years. The ladies decided this year that they would contribute to the Church bazaar, and have been feverishly sewing for the past six months or so. I’ve contributed four quilt tops to be quilted by another woman. Two of them came back to me just this week to be bound, and we’re hoping to have the other two by Sunday.
The ladies have also volunteered to host the monthly Empty Nester’s luncheon this month. Elegante Mother and I are committed to providing dinner rolls and an appetizer. I have been pouring over my holiday cook books, trying to settle on an appetizer for tomorrow morning, and simply haven’t been able to make a decision. I can see that I’ll have to make a dash to the store tonight.
We have spent a very quiet day here today. I SHOULD have put up the Christmas decorations, but I used my time to snooze and bind quilts instead. Hopefully, the guys will bring the fake Christmas trees up from the basement, and EM and I will work on getting them decorated during the coming week. This will be the earliest that we have been ready for the Holidays in years. I’m loathe to give up my fall decorations, but once the Christmas things are in place, it will be okay.
Dear Husband worked for half a day today, and spent half a day snoozing. We had planned to work on the leaves tomorrow, but we’ll be going to an open house for his brother, instead. The leaves will hold.
Are you ready to leave Thanksgiving behind and move on? I have just two presents ordered, I’ll have to make up my mind and get a move on!

Day is done, Gone the sun…..
Thanksgiving Dinner was a rousing success. As usual, we had enough food left over to send full dinners home with four families, and more than enough so that I don’t have to cook tomorrow.
We had most of my oldest sister’s family, and all my youngest sister’s family with us. Two of Dear Husband’s children joined us, and my stepdaughter and her husband brought their daughters for everyone to coo over. I think almost all the ladies had a chance to hold the two month old.
I’m not going to list all the items that made up our buffet. There wasn’t a single dish left untried. Even the new dressing that I tried seems to have been a hit.
There was one very sad note to the day. We were in the middle of meal preparation when the phone rang. Dear Husband answered it, to learn that his only brother had just passed away. He is now the only one of four children left in his family. DH is very stoic. Let me rephrase that……DH is VERY STOIC. He doesn’t want me to commiserate. He chose not to tell my family what had happened. After dinner, I asked if I could share it with my family. They were very empathetic, and seemed to realize that he didn’t want them to go overboard with their response. I’m sure they will find ways to tell him that they are there for him.
Sooooooo…..The good and the bad. I’m glad that my brother-in-law lived to see his granddaughter born. I’m sorry that he won’t have a hand in raising her, but I’m sure his son and daughter-in-law will do a good job, and share stories of Grampa Dan.
I hope that you all had a good celebration, with family or friends, and I hope you will remember how fragile and fleeting life can be.

Traditionally, my family comes to my house for Thanksgiving. My brother has a bigger house, but he doesn’t have the time to organize the gathering. We have celebrated at other homes, but I can seat most of the family here, and it’s now second nature to pull the menu, seating and decorations together.
This year, my second sister announced that she was holding Thanksgiving. She didn’t discuss it with any of us to see how we felt about it, she simply staked her claim. Her sons will be coming in from out of state, and she wanted to host them in her own home. Unfortunately, she just had surgery last week for two hernias. We invited her to participate in our celebration, but she was adamant about doing Thanksgiving at home. I really hope this turns out all right. She thinks her boys will cook the dinner….
Dear Husband’s kids have decided to share Thanksgiving with us, so I opened my home to any of my family that also wished to participate. We seem to be hovering at roughly 24 people at the moment, but there could possibly be four more. I plan to set three tables of eight, and I have enough room to seat the four guests who have been invited.
I’m excited about having my family here. I love it when they come together for a meal.. The food will be wonderful, but even better is all the chatter and interaction. My youngest sister will bring her family to us Wednesday night, and they will help with the early morning chores, like making dressing and setting the tables. The rest of our visitors will begin to arrive between 1:00 and 2:30 in the afternoon.
Of course, we do all the traditional parts of a Thanksgiving meal, but we’re adding a few things this year. DH requested either cold corn salad (in a vinaigrette dressing), or corn with crackers casserole. I think he’s getting them both. I found a mashed potato with Gouda cheese casserole, and a cornbread dressing that I want to try. We’re also going to ask my nieces to assemble a torte-like dessert made with brownies, chocolate pudding, Cool Whip and Heath bar chips.
I began grocery shopping today, and I already have a list for tomorrow. I’ll do some of the baking on Tuesday, and DH will make the lasagna that is traditional in his family. Wednesday, we’ll pick up the linens, the rental chairs, flowers, and any last minute things that we’ve forgotten.
I’m REALLY looking forward to this. I wish you could all share it with us. Adding guests to family is the perfect finishing touch….and I keep saying “They don’t bite!”
If I don’t make it back….I wish you the Happiest of Thanksgivings!

I saw the doc today. I was working in the gardens a month ago, trying to do some cleanup and get the perennials ready to deal with the coming cold. I worked two weekends in a row, putting in roughly five hours on several of the days. I was having fun, and wasn’t uncomfortable at all. A couple of days later it hurt to walk, to sit and to rise from a chair or bed.
I thought that the herniated disk in the small of my back had been hurt. I could function, even go to exercise, but I was getting jabbed in the back with pain on a regular basis. I put up with it for a month before I finally called the doc, and as soon as I made the appointment, I began to feel better.
Doc. G asked me several questions, walked around behind me, and pressed on four or five places across my hips that HURT! He knew exactly where to push to identify what was hurting. He said that if he were to take an MRI of my back, it would show that there were microscopic tears where the muscles attach to my pelvis. He showed me some stretching exercises to do, and gave me three prescriptions. Based on my ability to move, he thought I’d be well in a week.
Heavenly relief! I can sit without being afraid of that awful jab of pain. I can get a decent night’s sleep!
The next time I see Doc, I’ll have to ask him what to do to prevent this from happening again. Meanwhile, I should be in good shape to host my family on Thursday. YEA!

We’re all still alive here, just in the holiday preparation weeds. I love hosting Thanksgiving. It gives me the incentive to get cleaning done as we’re closing up the house for winter, and I find that I tend to change over decorations and quilts this time of year, too.
Of course, all of this takes time, and it means that I disappear from the blog scene. Most of the world doesn’t even know I’m away from my blog, but for those of you who come to read now and then, we’re all fine.
I find as I work I’m composing blog entries in my head. I really need to take a page from Blue Witch and get a voice recognition program. Then, I could multitask! For now, all those entries are lost, like smoke in the air. Early next year, I’ll be back to more regular posting AND reading.

Joy, at The Joy of Six, asked how things were going for my family, because I mentioned that four of them had been hospitalized in the past two weeks. It’s been a very difficult time.
One of my nephews has clots in his lungs, and he’s likely to be on disability for some time while they work to improve the situation. On of my nieces has been diagnosed with herniated disks in her upper back, one of my sisters had surgery for two hernias, and my brother-in-law had a foot amputated.
I’ve been afraid to answer the phone because the news has been so grim. Another of my nephews cut his hand at work, and required stitches. Elegante Mother was ill over the weekend, and is just now beginning to feel better.
I’m gathering prayers for my family, and hoping that things will get better, SOON! It’s simply not possible to think of loosing any of them.
Sooooo…..we’re hanging in there, and hope you are, too!