This year comes to a close

My quilting group, Crazy Quilters, got together for our holiday party. We joined with another group, Sew Busy, to have a pot luck meal and play games.

Lots of goodies on the buffet table!

Chips and desserts too!  That big cake is a cheesecake. I absolutely had to have a small slice of that.

One member even brought her fancy punch bowl and put together a holiday punch recipe.

We all played a dice game to bet with fabric fat quarters. The winners take all.

Some members bring in their unneeded sewing items, some wrapped, for door prizes. This time there were even a couple of potted plants in packages.

I won this jar of M&Ms by guessing closest as to how many were in the jar.

Yes, it was full at the time but I've eaten a few.

It's a battle dealing with diabetes at Christmas time. The little bag of Hershey Kisses was a holiday treat from the leader of my non-fiction book club.

Then any sense of control over eating sweets went out the window when I received this box of Sharps saddle candies (like Turtles) from the pizza company.

So hard to resist and it's a good quality candy. At least I was able to send a large portion of these home with the Sasquatch.

I got another fun package in the mail that didn't raise my blood sugar...a fabric order from Connecting Threads.  They had a huge sale in November and all these fabrics were $3 per yard. It took them over a month to get caught up shipping orders.

They always package the fabric folded inside-out. Here it is refolded and ready to put away. I certainly didn't need more fabric but who could pass up such a good deal?

I finally got concerned enough about an issue with my heart beating too fast (I have a-fib) and I was also feeling a new fluttering sensation occasionally.

I went to my cardiologist and he had the nurse fit me with a Holter monitor to wear for 3 days.

These monitors are so different than just a few years ago. They used to be a black box sort of thing that you wore from a strap hanging around your neck.

Now it's a stick-on device that you remove at home after 3 days, then just mail it in the included box. So easy. Okay to shower with it on too.

Last year I cleared out and donated a lot of Christmas decorations.

I now just have a few of my favorite and simple things left. 

Just right for a quiet peaceful holiday.

The Sasquatch made some festive holiday drinks to celebrate.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Lots of snow days!

 Snowfall on December 2nd let us know winter season is here. 

Pretty to look out and see every branch and little twig on the trees frosted with a layer of snow.

The sky was gray and gloomy. All color erased - almost.  

And the snow stayed around, with a long cold spell.

Then, on December 8th...more snow! Big fluffy flakes fell quickly!

So cozy to sit in the recliner, covered with my Christmas quilt, watching the snow come down.

On December 12th...more snow!

Quite a bit! You can see how much accumulated here on the chair and flower pot on the back porch.

I'm so glad I don't need to go out in it for any reason...or worry about having the driveway cleared.

The highway department has done a great job keeping the road  here cleared.

One more light snow fell on December 14th. Not so bad because the forecast was for warmer weather so it would all be melting.

Poor Puss found it very irritating...you can tell by how she has her ears turned back. She doesn't like to walk through snow with her dainty little paws.

The Sasquatch and I made a big batch of fried fish. He has been trying out some Weisenberger products so we used their batter mix and hushpuppy mix.

Both were good! The batter clung to the fish and stayed on while frying.

The hushpuppy mix was tasty.

The fish was a big package from Costco so we each had leftovers to eat the next day. 

I forgot to take a picture after it was all cooked.

We had originally planned to do the frying outside on an electric burner but it was too cold to get good results like that...so yes, it left a fried fish smell in the house for a few days.

After we finished a jigsaw puzzle, the Sasquatch bought another that will be a real challenge. It's Van Gogh, Starry Night, and it's double the pieces...2000!

We turned the dining table sideways to make it easier to work on.

Puss keeps us company near by in her bed by the heat vent.

She looks pretty cozy!

Late November

 There has been a bit of activity in the field next door.  They made an attempt to mow down the brushy growth next to the property line.

It was too thick and dense to handle with that equipment.

Looking out the window...you can see how close that property is to my driveway. 

Another day I looked out and saw a truck pulled in there with a garden shed on a trailer. 

I thought at first that it was good news, and that they only wanted a hunting shack over there.

But nope...it was only a shed delivery company parking there...to deliver a shed to the house across the street.

That shed looks like it's missing a wall, but now the homeowner has hung plastic sheeting on that side. I guess for a greenhouse?

Not very attractive.

I need to mind my own business, I guess and focus on happy things.

We did have a lovely rainbow on November 18th. Sort of unusual to see them at this time of the year. I can't remember ever seeing one in that position in the sky. In the summer I see them more over to the right.

Looking out this same window one morning, two small deer munching around on some of the remaining brush line.

The ladies in my quilting group have been busy and productive sewing squares that we will use to make a couple of quilts for donation in 2026.

The mix of everyone's bright fabrics will make a cheerful happy quilt.

The blocks are just laid out here...not joined together yet.

For the first time ever, I got a Buckeye off of my tree. Only one and it's a small one.

The tree has bloomed several times but as far as I know, never developed the buckeyes.

The Sasquatch and I have started working on a jigsaw puzzle. It's something different for us and a good thing to do on these evenings when it gets dark so early.

This one is 1000 pieces.

It's fun and maybe better than sitting like a slug in front of the TV. 

The Sasquatch has already picked up the next one to put together. It's 2000 pieces!