Stitching and More

 Oh the troubles I weave sometimes. I stitched like a madwoman--- even when I did not have time. I quit working on my Florida sampler and ---went down a rabbit trail. I was obsessed in stitching the Christmas Bells. I remembered the pattern from the past and ordered it this year after seeing Faye (Carolina Stitcher) finish them for a client with blue ribbon like on my Christmas tree.

I got them all stitched last week and dreaded the cutting, because I figured it would be hard to get it just right.

And things went fine for  the first one I finished up. I was feeling confident. 

It turned out quite cute. I am just going to tell you straight up; the second one was a big ole bust. I cut it out and things looked promising once again, but when I stitched it things didn't come out so well. It simply was not repairable, so this pattern will be set aside until next July when I will stitch some Christmas in July. Sometimes it just doesn't work out!

So my Stitching Post is not all that noteworthy. I will share some oldies, but goodies.

The next 2 ornaments are from the early 80's. I stitched them both for Mom. I retrieved them this summer to bring to my tree.

The next 2 are also from the mid 80's and have graced our tree for all our married years.

Some of you probably did these too way back in the day.

That is the stitching post. 

Lesson moving in to '24. Stitch for fun and at a slower pace. 

Oh and I have mentioned many times that I would love to transition to a more Blue Christmas in my home, but have never been able to actually do it. One thing I have learned this year about actually pulling it off is that GREEN would weigh huge in that idea for me. I love the blues, but the green ribbon I have used this year would be the key to making that kind of transition. All that said....I really like what I have done this year. It is the right combination of traditional red and green and tartan and a nice amount of blue and green that matches my house

Now, for the more....

This week was about so many things to do each day and night. 

We had Jeff's retirement party at church on Monday evening. We decided to do it at church rather than at the schoolboard since it would be much prettier and take lots less work to decorate. The church is simply beautiful right now. We have a lady that is an interior designer who attends our church and is a worker bee and giver of her time to make everything just amazing each year...well, actually year round. 

I can't say enough about how nice the reception was. My good friends showed up and helped me get everything in place. Paul Allen was our worker to move tables and such. Lindsay kept me calm and all was so pretty.

Here are a few snaps of the goings on while we were getting it all in order and the tables of food and such.

I have kept my mom's and my mother-in-law's punch bowls all these years. I am so happy to see them making a comeback. They have even been borrowed by the young girls. I decided a while back to let go of all my decanters and just go with them. They are no more trouble and actually don't make the mess that those spout things do.

The memory table was a last minute thought. I am so glad Lindsay thought of it. I was more organized than I thought. I pulled out some highlights from each place he worked. I think Jeff loved looking back. I hope to make him a scrapbook in the next year. I did that for myself when I retired.

One of the ladies who works in his office made this wonderful cake. So much thought and love was in this. And then, she stayed and just worked behind the scenes to make sure the punch and food trays were full. I could never thank her enough.

My friend who has a lunch restaurant also put so much thought into the food. She had all Jeff's favorites from her restaurant.

At the end, my friend Anne grabbed all the tablecloths and took them home with her to wash. My friend Cindy was there early helping me set up and brought the flowers. I am blessed, people.

Paul Allen caught this picture of me after we had finished setting up and were waiting on the guests. It says it all for me. My happy place....

Lindsay posted this on social medias that evening. It was perfectly said. Jeff will be missed but I am gaining him at home.

Night of honor went well and Thursday was his last day.

Tuesday evening we went to see Tucker's little Christian school Christmas concert. I wish I could show pictures of how cute, but I don't have the time to blank out all the kids' faces. They were so precious. It was just the right amount of time and just perfection all around to this Mimi. 

I couldn't help but remember all the ones my own children were in. My favorite memory of those performances  is Paul Allen being Baby Jesus. He was 6 months old and they were going to sing a song where the younger girl would hold him while the adult lady sang. He was sheer perfection in all the practices. The night of the actual performance was different. The lights were different. They popped a spotlight on him about halfway the song and he erupted. I was standing up in the choir alcove and my heart sank. A nervous mama ---worrying about him and hating that he was messing up the performance. I couldn't wait for them to hand him to me so that I could comfort him. Everyone was so nice later and said that surely Baby Jesus cried. 

It wasn't until I actually saw the recording of him that I realized it sounded much louder and unnerving in the little alcove I was standing in and he didn't ruin anything after all. 

Moving on....

Thursday evening was a church staff and elder's dinner. I had thrown a pity party for one earlier that day and was dreading going. Pity parties are never very fun, but sometimes they just come.  They seem to come despite our knowing full well they are not all that fruitful. The dinner ended up being just what I needed. 

This has gone on long enough.

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.