Week 48

I got the rest of the lights up on the house. It was a beautiful day that day and they were calling for bad weather the rest of the week. I’m sooooo glad I paid attention to that, because it’s been cold, rainy, and windy the rest of the week.

 I met with my friend, Carolyn, for lunch again this week. I took the prayer shawl that I knit for her. She acted like she liked it! She gave me a book called “Block Magic” by NancyJohnson-Sredro.

 

It’s just chocked full of the neatest blocks for everyday and holidays that can be made from just squares and rectangles of fabric. It has charts for each block that shows what shapes to use and how many of them to make for four different-sized blocks. They’re all fun and whimsical. I’ve already picked out several that I’d like to make. (She’s going to make a quilter out of me yet!!) She knows me and what I like!  Making one of these blocks will have to be one of my first projects for the New Year!

I left early the day I met her for lunch so I could get some shopping done. I shopped ALL day, stopping to have lunch with Carolyn, then off shopping again. I didn’t get home till almost 6:00! I was really tired. I hit a lot of dollar shops to pick up stocking stuffers for all the kids – grown up ones as well as the little ones. I’ve fixed stockings every year for my children since they were born. Even after they left the house, got on their own, married, and had kids of their own, I’ve fixed stockings for them, then their spouses, then their children as they all came along. It’s become a big part of Christmas for me because I LOVE doing this. I don’t spend a lot of money on the gifts — it’s just the challenge of finding different things and specializing for each person. Everybody ACTS like they enjoy tearing into the stockings on Christmas, so I guess they enjoy getting them. ”Opening the stockings” has envolved into a kind of game we play as part of our big get-together. By the way, each stocking gets ten different items, and I WRAP EACH ONE! That’s not really the best part for me, but it’s worth it when I watch them all tearing through each one. What a fun game to play! You should try it at your Christmas party!

 I’ve actually been playing with the idea of just giving money to everybody, then having the stocking game for unwrapping gifts. Most of the grandsons are getting old enough now that they would rather have money anyway. Of course I’d still get something for the two youngest ones to open. That would save me a lot of time and I’m sure they would be getting something they could use!! I may do that next year. Maybe not. But. . . . it will probably happen one of these years.

While I was out shopping, I got Hubby his gift from me. A LAPTOP computer! 

 

He’s been wanting one for years now, but too cheap to buy one. I got an extra discount coupon at work for Christmas, so I got him one. I’ve already given it to him. There was a 15-day return policy from the date of purchase in case something was wrong with it. Christmas is past that 15-day period, so I just gave it to him when I got home that evening. (Besides, I was anxious to give it to him!) I had the trunk of the car loaded down with packages and groceries with the computer under it all. He came out to help me carry everything in. I was just waiting for his reaction when he saw it. It was priceless!!

He’s spent three days on it now trying to get all of his programs, etc. transferred to it. He’s enjoying it, but at the same time, he’s been having a little difficulty getting some of his programs to work and having to try to figure out how to “fix” it so it’ll work. He was up until 2 am one night! Poor guy! I’m beginning to think that my gift to him wasn’t as wonderful as I thought it would be.

 

Well, he finally got all his “stuff” transferred and has it in a temporary home. He’s beginning to enjoy it now!  

We had our “Chistmas Party” at work this week. It wasn’t really a party, though. The store bought food to be placed in the lounge and everybody would eat on their breaks or lunch. If you were off work that day, then you either came in for it or missed out.  Everybody was asked to bring their favorite desserts. I cooked all day making cupcakes, a red-velvet cake, a big gingerbread man complete with gum drop buttons, and a whole lot of little gingerbread men cookies. It was fun and everybody had a fit over the big gingerbread man. No one wanted to eat it, though, because it reminded them of the one in the movie “Shriek”. Finally on my last break, I broke off a piece of his foot so everyone would start eating it! I’m sorry I didn’t get a picture of it, but here’s a picture that came with the pan:

Mine pretty much looked like that.

Daughter #1 and I were going to make a trip to meet Daughter #2 at the Lake of the Ozarks to shop at a big mall there. But the weather didn’t cooperate. There was a big icy mess when it was all over. We didn’t get to go shopping even though it didn’t get that bad on the roads. You never know about the weather in Missouri, though, so you learn not to take chances.

I’ve got another busy week ahead of me. More about that later. So much to do and so little time. Until next week. . . . . .