A Quiet Saturday

Today, I spent most of the day working on a dress for Kameren. I also baked two pumpkin pies and an apple pie. Mary is having her "Giving Thanks" dinner tomorrow and I am bringing pie. Tonight Austin will be here so I can give him his quilt. I sure hope he likes it. Hubby is making a pot roast for dinner and the house smells just wonderful. The moving van with Sandi and Jerry left about noon.

Farewell dinner

Tonight we took Sandi and Jerry out to dinner. The moving van comes tomorrow morning. Sandi was upset because her cat, Tiger, got out while they were going in and out. Even though it is cold and raining he hasn't come home yet. We promised that if he does come home after they are gone we will take care of him until we can get him to them. Jerry travels a lot with his job and so Tiger is a lot of company for Sandi. Cats who like to get outside even when they are not outside cats can be a pain in the butt.

Book Club

Today my book club met. The club is made up of 8 women I have known a long time. The shortest being 20 years and the longest being 54 years. We choose a book and then meet on the fourth Thursday of the month. We rarely discuss the book but we talk for several hours. Good friends are real treasures. Unfortunately one of the group, Sandi, is moving to Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday. We will miss her a lot.

The Dollar Tree

I made my tote bags to fill for the Haven ( a program for abused women and children). Today Mom and I went to the Dollar Tree to buy stuff to fill them. We had a ball. We bought toothpaste and kid toothbrushes, sudoku books, shampoo and conditioner, hand sanitizer, hats and mittens, paddle ball games, a flashlight, hairbands, glow sticks, puzzles, nail polish and manicure set, sewing kits... When I was done I had trouble getting the bags to close. I felt that some woman, young boy, and young girl might enjoy these bags but not half as much as I did finding the stuff to fill them.

Moratorium on Buying Needlework Kits

I decided I cannot buy anymore needlework kits until I finish the ones I have. Understand that I am a finisher. I know people who start lots of kits or anything and never finish them, but that's not my style. I have one kit I never finished because when we moved 32 years ago I lost the directions. Anyway I figured it will take me 14 years to finish the kits that I have. That will make me 80 years old and then I can buy some more.

Pillowcases

When I was younger, at my parents home, as soon as Santa arrived there was a mad scramble and everyone opened all of their presents. There was always the feeling "is this all?'' But at my Ex's home it was different. Beginning with the youngest each person chose a gift, not his own, to be opened. Everyone saw what that person received. In a large family like ours, especially now that there are spouses and grandchildren. This can be a long process. In fact by the end no one says,"Is this all?" in fact even the kids reach a point where they don't care if there are any more presents. I decided three years ago that instead of wrapping all the presents I would go green and make each person a pillowcase(couples have matching) and I would put all of their presents from me in it. It has been a real hit. The kids use the pillowcase as a sack to carry all their treasures home.
Now you wouldn't think a pillowcase would be that hard to make but I have made every error possible. Starting with making the line for the piping in the wrong direction on the material(a narrow long pillowcase) Attaching the piping to the wrong side of the material,(who wants piping inside the case) starting the French seam with right sides together and of course having the machine on baste when I want sew. I have 19 pillowcases to make. I have to get at least two a day before we leave on our cruise because when we come back Christmas will be upon us. I wonder if this was such a great idea.

Sunday Shopping

I told Hubby that I was going to run to Joann and Target today.(I really just wanted to get out of the house) He said that it didn't make sense to go shopping on Sunday when we are retired and the stores are so crowded on weekends. I didn't take him too seriously. I should have. At Joann's I took a number "58" when they were serving "32". The number was in the high nineties when I finished. I did get a cute blouse from Target to wear on my cruise so it wasn't a total loss.