Where Have All The Flowers Gone.....

long time passing....that's what I wondered this morning as I sat at the computer. The picture at the left is the view from that window this morning about 10. Other than a bit of sun yesterday afternoon, we've been "socked in" with rain and fog for the past week. The calendar date above says December 31, 2006. The baby New Year 2007 is poised at the door, waiting the stoke of midnight. The flowers have gone and so has the year. I suppose I don't really mind all that much, the year, I mean. As with our "no snow season", I take it pretty much as it comes. It's a lot easier that way...*VBS*
But I would say that this picture, from my August 5, 2006 post is much more pleasant to look at *VBS* Same window, different season.
Rain continued through the day today, but I scooted away to have some hot Navy bean soup with my friend Jean. We ate and talked and crocheted our way through the long gray afternoon, and I headed for home just after 6. It was fully dark, and still raining but as I came into the last half mile from home, it began to snow. Driven by a west wind, it looks like a blizzard out there. Good time to hunker down and sew and dream..*S*
The Family gathering yesterday was very special. Finally all 5 of my kids, and all the spouses, etc and at last, all 9 grandchildren in one room. I'll post a picture of them tomorrow. They are a "squirrely" bunch, with 2 three yr olds, a couple of 6 years olds and lots and lots of energy. Our circle was joined by a toddler. She was one in July and seems to be about to become part of The Clan. My Princess, at 15, was NOT impressed at another female in her Kingdom..LOL. Now she knows how my oldest grandson felt when she joined our family 5 years ago. Bumped him right out of first place and a girl besides..*S*
And a new addition is scheduled for sometime in April. The Dr. heard 2 heartbeats, but an ultra sound revealed just one baby, and it's a boy...of course it's another boy....! How could it not be? After all I've had to resort to second marriages to get the granddaughters I now have...LOL
And the good news contintues. My youngest DD was there with her new husband of 7 months , and told me that have decided they DO want children, but have to work out the timing. She's 34 now, and this a first marriage for both of them. I figure she'll have to get busy if she wants more than one.

And I can say, at 10:48, on this Dec. 31st, that's been a year, alright. Not all good, but not all bad. A year of seasons, both of the weather and of the heart. What seems important tonight, is that after a difficult year, we seems to be moving closer to understanding that we are more alike than we are different. And while the difference may look small or huge, it's all in the perspective...*VBS* Happy New Year to All,and to All, a good night!

Standing in the doorway....

between these last days of 2006 and a new beginning next Monday, January 1, 2007. Oh my! And doesn't it just seem like it was the brink of 2000?? Like many, I set goals last Dec. 31st. I've done just so-so on accomplishing them. There weren't many...
1. Buy no new fabric in 2006. I only bought a little for the Civil War quilt.
2. Finish at least one UFO a month. I actually had 18 done or abandoned by July and then gave up on that.
3. Lose some weight. And that one I failed at, quite miserably!! (I just joined WW online!)
I'm thinking I will do the same resolutions or goals for 2007, and see if I can bring my weight, stacks of UFO projects, and overflowing stash, under control again.
Most of you know I'm a senior quilter..*S*..and that's NOT the same as being a MASTER quilter(as in the Elm Creek books). One of the differences, as I see it, is that I rarely follow someone elses way of making a quilt or combinding blocks. I'm pretty strictly a "block" person. If I see a quilt, or picture I like, I try to figure out what the block is, or how they combined blocks to get that effect. I seem to have mostly missed the road that lead to buying a hang pattern(or in a book for that matter) and saying "I want to make this quilt" I'm not against hang patterns, and I have used my share to get the neat Country Thread looks that were so popular in the 1990's. Debbie Mumm and Thimbleberries are another example. I don't work with patterns from either for the most part. What delights me most is the "play" part of piecing. And the idea of taking a pile of HST's and seeing how many ways they can be combined.
The little "cutout" above, is a Darlene Zimmerman pattern and kit. It a bright and good looking quilt that is a combination of 4 patches and HST's. Hers, of course, is part of the Egg Money line of fabrics and patterns.
I want to make a similar quilt, but I will use scrappy lights and baby/kids fabrics in bright colors. It on my "to do" list....hopefully for 2007. I still have lots of scraps that need cutting up...*VBS*
As for the weekend, sounds like we are going to once again miss most of the snow. It's been raining here for about 3 days now, and is suppose to continue through next Monday and Tuesday.
I have the meatballs mixed up and frozen(did that last night) and will be putting them in the roaster later this evening with their special sauce. They bake about 1 1/2 hours. I've invited my friend Jean to stop by when she gets done work at 8:30 p.m. so she can sample them while they are right out of the oven. They'll cool over night and be ready to travel tomorrow morning..*S*
The plans have changed slightly, DD and SIL will be picking me up in Baldwin, about 20 minutes from my house. It's a bit more driving for them to do that, but they offered. So if there is snow or bad weather, I will only have about 14 miles to get home on county roads. Then I am home for New's Years Eve and day, with no need to worry if it snows alot. Sound like the perfect plan to me...*VBS*

The Twelve Days of Christmas...

and since it's only the 28th, I can still show you one last Christmas quilt. It's an older Red Wagon pattern and is based on a fragment of old quilt found by the pattern maker. I didn't manage to get Christmas quilts hung this year. So it' on my bed for the picture...LOL...and it just amazes me how fast my "picture"

changes. I had snapped the first one, and before I could add a close up shot, look who "invaded"? Yup, she's becoming a full fledged "quilt cat". *VBS* and I love it!! A cat on a quilt is just the best!
I snapped the close up anyway. This quilt has been shown before, last December. If one of you gals would be so kind as to email me, I'd love to know how to do the "linking directly" to that post thingy. The original pattern is templates of the various triangles, but based on a rectange(any size you want) I'm sure those angles could be rotary cut. In my comments, someone...I think Pauline..but I didn't go back to check, asked if the shoo fly quilt on yesterdays chair post had been shown? Yes, I'm happy to say, it was shown and explained on Nov. 15, 2006. So glad you asked *VBS*
Laundry, dishes and making some bean soup await me today. On Saturday, the 30th, a big get-together with all 5 of my kids, and if I'm really lucky, I might have all 8 grandsons and my one granddaughter in the same place at the same time...*S*S*S*S*S* It would be a first! An incoming blizzard warning is already circulating, says we will have rain, freezing rain, sleet and then heavy snow beginning Friday night. I see CO is braced for yet more snow. I hope the weather guys are wrong. Saint Cloud, MN is about 3.5 hrs from me. I will drive the 1.5 hrs to my oldest DD's house and right the last couple of hours with them. I no longer drive after dark, nor in snow, due to increasing loss of vision. I will have to stay over Sat. night and pray I get home on Sunday.
I hope all you gals who will challenge themselves with UFO again in 2007 are counting and listing them...*G* I've still gotta do that! Watch out Linda J. probably more "stuff" coming your way...*VBS*

In my opinion...

it seems that the Universe takes over at times. Today was one of "those" days. I had decided to show you the vintage quilt I have under my tree this year. I got the camera, and then decided to add some bears to the chair next to the tree. That's a chair that belongs to Ms. Ebby. She watches the front of the house from that spot(and sleeps alot too..*G*). I got the bears added and backed up to my chair to snap the first picture(shown above) And then right before my eyes, this happened.....the curly ribbon on the
little brown bear was too much temptation! She's definitely a "hit and run" cat! I got one picture snapped and then...
she was gone but the bear was on his belly headed for the floor...LOL . You can sort of see the old quilt. It's a one patch, and a neat one. I'll get a better picture without the tree..*S*
And as far as Ebony goes? Well, she sure looks innocent, doesn't she??? Showing me her pretty little bikini belly....now who would believe she was capable of terrorizing???

The Happily Everafter Part....

As with most things in life...there is a morning after. Christmas Day is no exception. But I do have to say that this is one of the more spectacular "morning
afters" I can remember. I was up about 7 and it was still quite dark outside. By the time I had eaten my orange, and the coffee was done, I spied this "beginning" to our new day.
The time between the pictures is just a minute or two, except the last one. That one I took about 30 minutes later..after I had drunk that first cup of hot,fresh coffee...truly a joy!
It's spectuacular enough to be a sunrise or a sunset, isn't it? I'm mostly NOT a sunrise person, it only happens because my normal time for getting up is 7. And in these darkest, shortest days of winter I get to see sunrises. My townhouse unit faces north east. So the sun comes up off to the right of my unit on the short days of the year.
It's all very confusing about N~S~E and W, because the highway runs straight past . So you would think the directions would be straight. But the road's placement is deceptive. The little white you see is on the rooves of houses( across the street)is frost. We haven't even the tinest speck of snow anywhere..LOL. What a year! I hope everyone had a lovely holiday yesterday and is healthy, happy and financially sound..*G* I had a dr. appointment today, hopefully the last for awhile. By the time I went,those clouds had given way to sunshine. I'm going to jump right back into my "broken dishes" block, and see what happens next.

It Seems Odd......

to me, for Christmas Eve to fall on a Sunday. In my head, Sunday is Sunday, and Christmas Eve is Christmas Eve. It is a day filled with hustle and bustle.With travel, last minute cooking, cleaning and gift wrapping or delivering.
And Sunday is a day for church, food and family. I'm probably old fashioned but the two just don't go together in my head. So, with that said, I'll put a Candle in the Cabin window for you...to welcome you and light your way home. I don't remember when I made this quilt, sometime in the 1990. It's in one of the first issues of Am. Patchworks guide to quilt shops. The one with Rise And Shine on the cover. It's machine pieced and handquilted. And altho you saw
it last year, here is my trestle table christmas quilt table cloth. Definitely "folly". But what did I know back in the early 1980's. It made sense to me...*VBG* It's too narrow for a bed, and too long for a couch. So it usually is just folded on the back of my couch.
And in my best odd ball fashion, this is a close up of my MOST favorite of all time Christmas
fabric. It's from a small Ben Franklin in Amery, WI. I got it in the mid 1980's and couldn't tell you what the appeal is...but I love it. It's joyful, funny, happy, silly and just plain ridiculous! And I love dots and spots..LOL Lime green was NOT trendy back in the 80's and 90's. I've only shared the scraps I have left with a few people that are very special to me, and love lime green. Being Jewish, Betsy doesn't have any, but my friend Jean does..*VBS* I would happily give Betsy some, but it's her call.
And so, am I ready for Christmas? Not especially...I have stuff that needs doing and not much motivation to do it. Did I mention I'm not so much an "on task" person??? *VBG* If you are following me, you'll find you've taken the longest possible route home..*S* That's just how it is. It's like that old saying..." Do not walk ahead of me, I may not follow, do not walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me, and be my friend". And with that said, I'm going to try and keep Sunday "things" in the a.m. and let Christmas Eve "things" have the afternoon and evening. My hope is that all my dear blogland friends are in good health, happy and with family or loved ones this special time of year. Ho Ho Ho.....*VBS*

The Best Christmas of My Life....

December 21, 1967...after 9 years of marriage, and at age 27, this little angel was placed in my arms. *VBS* And she was an angel. A happy baby with a beautiful smile and almost NO hair. She had been born Sept. 1st of that year, and wasn't ready for placement until mid December. You know how the clouds can open on a gloomy day, and one perfect ray of sunshine streams down? Right where it is needed the most...*VBS* Her arrival was like that. She had been 7 pounds at birth, and arrived home with us at about 12 pounds. A nice size for Daddy to feel comfortable.
We had seen her at the Agency on the 20th, then the director drove out to our rural county and filed the papers on our behalf. That way we could pick her up on the 21st, and have her for Christmas. We got her on a Thursday, the last day of school for the kids was Friday the 22nd. Dear Ex was a teacher then, and I had been secretary to the Superintendent. I actually left the job for the last time to head to the agency and pick up our baby. What was I thinking??? LOL..I was no more prepared to be a stay-at-home Mom, and a new mother, than the man in the moon. I think those first few weeks both the baby and I cried an equal amount.
Friday morning found me at school with my precious angel to share her with all our friends and students. She easily was in every classroom for a few minutes. But it was great fun, and filled me with joy to show her off and share her with people who cared about her dad and I.
Christmas Eve was Sunday, and found her upper respitatory congestion worse, and me bleary eyed from lack of sleep and from worry about her. I think we have one very miserable picture from Christmas day. Her in the infant seat(remember those?), crying, my looking like the living dead and off in the background a HUGE basket of unfolded diapers. What had we gotten ourselves into could very well be the caption. I'm sure most first-time moms can relate...LOL It did get better with time, altho much of those first months are a blur. My mom died in Feb. of 1968 in Wisconsin. We left Michigan in a blizzard and literally followed a snow plow north, across the U.P. and into northern WI. Probably one of the most miserable trips of my lifetime. Mom was only 52 when she died of congestive heart failure, without ever having seen her first grandchild. Life can be cruel as well as marvelous.
I have pictures to document most of those hard first months, a new baby and coping with grief. Other the pics, I would have very few memories of those first 6 months. Time does heal things...and I am no exception. She crawled early, had her first tooth at 5 months, stood at 7 months and could crawl up our stairway way before we were ready for it..*S*

She was and is my Christmas angel. A heart stealer, as in this picture(I think she was 6 months at that time) and my pride and joy and my sunshine all of the months and years since. A very Merry Christmas my PPB...*VBS* Love ya, Mommer's xoxoxox

Just For Angie....

and you might wonder why, when Angie wants a better look at the Laura Ingalls Wilder quilt, that I don't just snap a picture of it on the bed? Right. The
bed is currently occupied by a warm electric blanket and one snoozing black cat. Flat out on her side...right in the middle of the bed....LOL
Angie, you can see the full bed view of this quilt and a description by going to Oct. 14, 2006 or to May 29, 2006. It's been my favorite quilt for quite some time, and is currently still on the bed, set off by a new paprika colored bed skirt..*VBS* 

Ghosts of Christmas Past...

I have my doubts about "those" particular ghosts being a good thing. In my case, I wish they would have stayed in the past. In the late 1980's, we needed a quick last minute gift. I whipped together a little lap quilt for the MIL's wheel chair. The blocks were leftover from my house quilt. I suppose,in hindsight, it was a quick(and dirty) quilt, but it was more effort than her son(my ex) made. She seemed to like the quilt, and I promply forgot about it. Several years later, in 1995, she died. And lo and behold, her DD's thought the quilt should come back to me...gosh..what did I do to deserve that? I have to admit it was not a quilt made with love, just duty. I put it together and tied it. I even brought the back over to the front and zigzagged it down.. Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled to get it back. I tried to pawn it off on the kids, but they didn't want it. It languished for awhile, and one day I decided to utility quilt it.As I quilted I snipped the ties. Can't say I like it better, but I'm going to continue. Embellishments are next. It's definitely a blank canvas, and I may even try some applique. Ebby hasn't given it her snooze test, as yet. Her new best thing is the bonnet there on the bed. What fascinates her is the 1/8" ribbon. I tied it so she can't pull it out completely. It's so narrow and so slippery it drives her crazy trying to catch it..LOL The white you see on her underside is the top of her bikini markings. And just for the record, my ex is the one in the back in the dark red turtleneck..*S*

A Cup of Christmas Tea....

and Christmas carols playing softly in the background. You are cordially invited to join me for a cup of Christmas tea..*VBS* My front door is dressed for the season. Thank goodness for the bright red bow!! I snapped these two pictures yesterday while I was out snapping the Waterwheel quilt.
Good thing I did, as this morning brings very gusty winds and driving rain. Moving in from the southwest...a blizzard is forecast. Sounds like you gals down in Kansas, Tx, and even NM have gotten it already. I know CO is snowed in and flights to Dever delayed til Saturday. I'm glad I ran my errands yesterday.
Had tea and fresh lemon bread with Betsy. She has a wonderful new quilt in progress in lime greens and reddish purples and magentas.

And I have to share this delightful by-product of WI again. A very Moo-ey Christmas to one and all. The earmuffs are great, but don't you just love those eyes??? *VBS*

Something Old, Something New...

I had used this block pattern in a sampler, years ago. It's called Waterwheel in my book. I liked the look of it and the chance to use scraps. So I began making up blocks, keeping the star points blue, the rest scrappy. But what to do with the blocks? And then one day I realized that if I were to put a block with 4 patch corners next to this one, you'd get a neat secondary pattern. So I made up one of this variation Puss in The Corner and tried them together. I liked it...*VBS* So I was off and running. It got to be a fairly big quilt. About right for a double, but way too long..oh well! I added a blue border and had it machine quilted. I still really love the combination of the blocks. Here is a section of the center. I love how
the diagonals POP! And I snapped a full lenght shot of it as well. You can see that my part of WI has a lovely brown look for Christmas. Flurries in the forecast, but we'll see. The temps have been hovering in the high 30's and low 40's. Not WI weather, at all.
In making the blocks, I based every thing on 2.5" and 4.5"...you get 12" blocks that way.
It wouldn't be too hard to change the size of the 4 patches nor the HST's.
Clare has asked how is Ebby doing? She doing soooo well. We are approaching 3 months together, and I can see improvement each day. She owns me more and more, but just a little at a time. I fixed her morning eating(followed by morning un-eating) by just giving her a tiny, tiny dab of the wet food. She wants more, but at least this stays down. She eats some dry, and seems to be doing fine. Then in the evening, about suppertime, I give her the balance of the 1 tsp. she gets daily. I've also moved the hairball squeeze to evening. I think that helped too. She was just tooooooo hunger in the a.m. and ate way too fast. I've also switched over to Fancy Feast, and that way the whole gravy thing is gone...which seems to be helping.

Country Angels...

from an older Country Threads pattern. Very scrappy and done in lots of Marcus Bros. prints, as were most of the Country Theads patterns. They seem to look "right" in those slightly old fashioned looking fabrics.
The two small angels above, scattering the stars, are hard to see. The plaid against light is a wing of each, with a small brown triangle for hair, and one for the face. The star buttons were added several years later, when ceramic buttons
became popular. Remember those? In shapes like hearts, stars and carrots to begin with, and going on from there?
I hand quilted this one, as I use to do with most of my quilts. And it's weird, but I still have enough yardage and variety of Marcus Bros. fabrics that I could still piece many more Country Threads type patterns...LOL . This particular pattern is a templated one, but I think it could quite easily be rotary cut instead.

Through The Eyes of A Dreamer...

A journey across 60 years, so when do we know we are a dreamer? Either younger than you would believe, or much, much later than you would think..*S* The dreamer can't, of course, be like everyone else. It would be more comfortable if they could. And do YOU know, you are a dreamer? I don't think so. I think it is simply what you are. The years go by, teachers complain, and parents nag, you either retreat further into "that space", or you lay it aside and step up to the plate and bat.
If you are familiar at all with Les Mis, you know the song I am refering to..."I had a dream that would not die...."that and in the book Tristan Shandy.."I am not one who must have everything, but I must have my dreams, if I am to live, for they are mine....."
I stand in defense of the dreamer....whether or not any particular dream ever becomes a reality. Sometimes dreams are like castles in the air, and it's possible to put foundations under them...and sometimes the dream dies, and lays discarded like an empty container.
I think that dreamers have a lot of "what if" in their lives, and not very many "whatevers". I think the glass is always half full. I think we are all poised on the brink of something "wonderful" happening...just up ahead or around the next corner.
And I think that dreaming is memories as least as much as it is magic.

I understand the theory of "in the moment", and "living in the now". But often, as I observe my very business minded, successful oldest son, I take exception to that. If you are totally "in the moment" how can you possibly have the resource of all the dreams you've dreamed, of where you've been and what you learned? I think we must have the foundation of what and where we've come from. It may not be wonderful.
All dreams aren't wonderful. Sometimes they are scary or sad, confusing and leave questions in our minds. But, somehow, the head and the heart get in sync with our momentum and carry us across the years. I don't know if a dreamer can tell you what a dream is....a far off view of something that they know little about? Or something that come up and out of the soul? In the quilts we make, I think dreams of many sizes get played out. Success, failure, doubts, hopes, dreams, worries, memories, especially memories. Maybe not so much in the quick quilts we make to try out a pattern or an idea, or a color combination. Those are more like making a sandwich than about baking the bread..*S*. But in the quilts that take the time, the ones that stretch out through the year and slowly become complete. Pioneer women have been know to say that if quilts could talk they would dread what it would tell about them. I think the quilts DO talk, but the message is probably unique to each person who views the quilt. What do you hear if you listen???

P.S. Finn is the blond 6 year old in the picture, taken Nov. of 1946. The other child is a foster child, Nancy, who came to live with us after the death of my infant brother in Dec.1945. She was taken from our home right after the picture was taken, and placed for adoption. I've always wished I could see her again and give her the pictures, and tell her what little I know of her first year of life.

Childhood.....

and memories. Memory is a funny thing. Not in the ha-ha sense, but in that our minds alter our perception of what "was". The scary monster, the defeat, the victory...all soooo much bigger or worse in our memory than in reality. And the same with good memories. They remain just that, good...maybe even excellent, but our minds have embellish them to fit our needs. I was reminded of that last week when I posted the picture of Christmas 1951. A modest size tree, but my younger sister remembers it as being 15 feet tall..*S*. You get my point. A quilter friend of mine, and one who has had a book published by That Patchwork Place, Carol Fure, did a series of quilts about summers spent on her grandparents farm. I have really excellent notes from the lecture she gave at our guild meeting, but those are not at hand today. There were several quilts in the series, but the one I remember was a pattern called "Crosses And Losses". She did it in blues and gold. The conclusion she had drawn was that our memories are neither as good(gold)nor as bad(blue) as we remember.
And maybe for me, it stayed in my head because it's how it is with almost everything....somewhere in between.
As with many children, I can't say my childhood was ideal, or magical or even always fun. I fell into a category of kids who are "too old for their years", the ones with a slightly "too adult" view of life. The normal magic of imagination isn't there. At least not as a plan of action. I created the magic I needed. I found it inside my head and in words. In the angle of sunshine slanting through young green leaves and making patterns on the water. In the way the wind whips the snow in tiny tornadoes, and in the endlessly fascinating blinks of the fireflies(or lightening bugs as we called them). I found magic everywhere, but not in the hands of society or my parents.
What YOU remember is truly YOUR gift from the Universe, chances are, it was neither as good, nor as bad as you remember. And there is nothing wrong with that. It's personal. It's yours. Whether it's a gift or a lesson, it's what you do with it that matters.

Dearest Friends and Neighbors....

I am reading on some of the blogs all sorts of problems with postings, comments, being "shut out"
and such. And like the slightly tardy, day late, dollar short person I am, I finally did what was required to switch to Beta. But as luck would have it, the invitation to join was gone from my Dashboard. So I signed into my Google account, and did what they asked of me. Alas, I'm NOT one of the ones who will be switched on the first go-round. Sooooo....
if you like reading what I think about, wonder, observe, etc, please continue to do so. And don't worry about the comment part. I know that my friends and neighbors will be back with their cheery comments when everything is working better again.
I have faith in Blogger and Google, and I am grateful for having had this medium to connect with soooo many of you. I know it's easier when things don't change, but if that were the case, we might not even have this thing called the "web". Who could have imagined world wide connections with the stroke of a typewriter key??? Certainly not me...*VBS* So as Maud would say "put your big girl panties on, and deal with it". It's just an inconvenience...not a disaster...honest! Sending love, hugs, prayers and an angel to watch over you, Finn

Departures and Arrivals....

and a soft gray beginning to the day. As if we weather watchers hang poised, in anticipation of what comes next. The frosty, gleaming, wildness of Winter has yet to make a grand entrance onto the stage of our lives. We wait, peering this way and that, smelling the air for wood smoke, watching the weather forecast and the clouds that scurry by, heading east. The stage is all set, the shortest day of the year is approaching. The longest darkness and the turning towards the light will come, with or without snow and Ms. Winter. We can count on the turning of the seasons. On the home front, my closest neighbor has gone to her daughter's for the winter. She is quite elderly and frail. News came this week of her decision. It was a big yellow moving van. It loaded all her furniture and took it to storage. I'm sad. Lucille was such a sweet neighbor. Our paths only crossed occasionally, but I was fond of her. On the cold, windy days of mid winter, if I hurried, I could get both of our garbage cans to the curb before she had to bundle up and come out. And if I listened for the truck, I could get them back up to the gargage again...*VBS* In return, if I forgot it was garbage day, she took my can, along with hers. I will miss Lucille.
A call from the resident manager last evening confirmed what I already knew...a new person is moving in as soon as the carpet is cleaned and dries. Probably later this evening or first thing tomorrow. My new neighbor will be Gloria. She is 63 and very, very happy to gotten a unit out here, just a mile from town, and is such a lovely complex. I'm sure it will be a good thing, but for today I'll think about Lucille, and miss her a bit more...*VBS* I often think of Robert Frost's poem "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors", and while I understand the sentiment, I think maybe smiles make good neighbors too.

Mr. Sandman...

bring me a dream...and gentle slumber after a long day. That fits the bill for almost everyone, doesn't it? Whether it begins with tired eyes, weary feet, a heavy
heart or gentle yawns that remind us to seek a place of slumber, that's how it happens. We rarely fall "instantly" asleep, altho at time we get woken up that way. Lying in bed, waiting for sleep to find me, a perfect time for thinking about things. I was thinking about night...last evening. Did you ever think about how many "kinds" of nights there are? And how many way we describe the "event" of night? The dictonary describe the noun "night", as the daily period of darkness between sunset and sunrise. A time of darkness, and also obscurity, depression or death. If I'm talking to you, I might say "call me tonight". It wouldn't be poetic or romantic or obscure. But when I think about night, that's another whole story. In winter you'd find that stepping outside would take you into a world of crisp, clear darkness, with pinpoints of light in the arch of the sky, all of them sparkling and shedding light. Or it might be you step out into a soft caressing, cool darkness, with no sharpness anywhere, but soft shadows that blur into patches of light. Where you can't tell exactly where something begins and where it ends. Or it might be a very dark, damp night with fingers of ground fog sliding in around you, confusing your journey.
But the chances are good it could be a drippy, misty, rainy night with all the lights blurring as the rain drops shatter the patterns of light...and the sky is dark, with no stars in sight. Or a moonlit night, where darkness and illumination seem to be battling for dominance. I love all the "it came upon a midnight clear" nights, but equally as much, I love the soft warm almost touching your skin quality of a summer night. Like the caress from loved ones hand.
And do you also find that each particular "period of darkness from sundown to sunrise" has a specific smell as well? There is something in that elusive quality called "darkness" for all the senses. So remember to use them ALL when you step outside to see what the night has to offer in your corner of the world.
Taste is the hardest, but all the others are right there...every night...like a prize in a box of crackerjacks.

A Tiny Bit Of Christmas....

and begging your humble pardon, if you are Jewish. These angels, and a few more, live on my china
cabinet. I only have "special" angels since I got my Christmas Angel 39 years ago, Dec. 21st. I don't collect angels, they seem to collect me. I do, however, collect(or gather) the bottle brush trees. The snow flake angel is from a friend, the seated angel was given to my by one of my grandsons, CJ. It has a special story. DS#2 brought CJ to my house one day in August. It was very close to the anniversary of CJ's brothers death. CJ wanted to put some things on Jacob's grave. He was going on 6 at that time. We had lunch at the local deli and gift shop, Granny's. After we ate, CJ picked out a birthday balloon attached to a pail and shovel, and a small seated angel draped in blue. At the cash register he was told the angel was part of a set and didn't he want all 3 So three is was. He was quiet in the car on the way to the cemetary, and once we were there, my DS was having trouble telling him about Jacob. So I sat down on the grass with him and I asked him if he had questions. He did. Very quietly and gently I told him about Jacob coming into our world, and it being too soon for him to stay. I told him each person that is born, comes for a reason. Some of us are destined to stay a long time, and for others the time is short. I have pictures taken at the hospital, and told him I would share them when he was just a bit older. Sitting there, he put the balloons on the headstome, and then sat with the 3 angels in his lap. After a few minutes, he handed me the one draped in pink, and said he wanted me to have it. He gave the one in blue to Jacob and told me that the one in white was his. It would remind him of both me and of Jacob. So you see, it's a very special angel. The one on the right is ceramic bell. It came to me from a very, very dear friend who lost her life to ALS. She and her sister were both my friends, and I was touched to receive one of Dar's angels.
The larger bottle tree is 5" high, and with base is 7". The small one, which is semi-older, is a 1" tree. With it's base, it's 1.5". I know the minature shops sell this small size now, 4 or 6 in a package, for doll houses. My eye is feeling some better this a.m. The skin on and around the eye is "parched" from temp. and the eye drops. I decided that if I greased it well, with Vasoline, it might not hurt as much, and sure enough, it worked. Some of the redness is gone, but it's still pretty awful looking. Thanks for all your good wishes and prayers, I am grateful...*VBS*