Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We have been “on the go” and are enjoying the season with our “progressive Christmas” as we visit each of our children and their families. As we think about the Birth of the Christ Child we give thanks for His presence in our lives and the Peace and Joy He brings! May you too embrace Him in your life as you celebrate Christmas and enter the New Year.

Our trips began with the towing of a UHaul to our daughter Nadya’s new home in Minneapolis. Herb and I loaded the trailer with furniture, boxes of dishes and other “stuff” we thought she would enjoy. What fun to be with her and help with some little projects. We polished my mom’s (her grandma, Nanny) silver service and put it with other family pieces into the 1890’s china cabinet that came from her great grandparents. Herb put in a new dryer vent while we sewed curtains for the kitchen and pantry from a beautiful batik that went with the chocolate brown walls.  The weather was crisp but we left just in time to miss the snow!

Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, the moving van loaded almost 600 pieces. Over 300 of them boxes that Herb and I had packed. It rained the whole day so loads of mud and wet and cold as the doors had to be open. The next day we were in the car ready to leave and it would not start. We’ve had lots of problems this fall and finally found out the replacement windshield was not put in correctly so water was leaking into the fuse block and shorting it out. Never a dull minute!

Early the next morning we finally left and drove to son Herb’s home in Columbus, Ohio to celebrate Thanksgiving with them. What a great day. We are so Thankful for the blessing of family, good health and so many opportunities!

Then off to drive to California “on the way” to Arizona. We presented a program at Luella’s Quilt Basket in Redondo Beach and had a great time with about 80 ladies. Luella is retiring at the end of the year so it was a celebration of her many years in business.

The next day was our granddaughters 9th birthday celebration with us. Her class did a great job coloring the nativity ornaments on the log cabin quilt project. We helped get ready for her big party on Sunday when 14 friends would make Christmas Gingerbread Houses!

We missed the big party as had to leave for Arizona to meet the moving van which was delayed a day and arrived on Tuesday. Unfortunately it was a cold day in Sahuarita as we were outside most of the day checking in the pieces. Several of the antique pieces needed repair so that kept Herb busy the next few days and I was unpacking boxes and making some gifts. One of the first things set up was my sewing machine!

We set up for the Cathey’s Sew with Sue event on Thursday and 36 ladies sewed like crazy on Friday and Saturday. Almost all finished their 8 projects and we had a great time doing it. Many embroidered a lovely card created in 5D Card Shop as well. I plan to get a couple of the very quick cute ones posted soon. Sunday almost 60 people attended as we presented more gift ideas, ate lots of great food, learned about new notions, and “sew” much more.

For some reason I thought I had a week and a half before we would leave for our California families. On Wednesday night, I was organizing my desk and looked closely at my datebook and almost panicked! I had lost a week! We were leaving for California on Friday morning—a day away!! There was a time I would not have been able to do this. I wanted to have much more unpacked and organized before we left, but it will all be waiting for us when we get back.

Somehow we worked in buying a new refrigerator and having the windshield replaced on Thursday and off we went to our first stop back in Simi Valley to celebrate Christmas with our youngest grandchildren. What a joy they are! Now we are in San Jose with our second son and family. Their girls are 21 and 19 and sons 17 and 13 so the activities are totally different. We are enjoying every minute.

We will be teaching at the Quilt Show in Tucson, AZ January 20-22 and then another program with the Cathey’s January 29-31. I’ll do a program for the Quilters of Rincon County February 18 then on to the Sewing Expo in Puyallup February 29- March 4. We missed getting to the Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Puyallup last year so are especially looking forward to seeing all our Friends in the Pacific Northwest.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday week and very Happy New Year!

Until next time,

Sue and Herb