Delayed

I wrote the following post in the car on Sunday, but of course didn't get around to posting it until today. Such is life at this time of year...

Another Thanksgiving weekend is coming to a close as we wend our way south to Atlanta. We had a full house at the Gilliland’s (my husband’s family) 17 people spread across the kitchen and dining room tables and two more card tables set up in the living room. 

The groaning table was set on an old door propped atop two vintage singer sewing machine tables – treadles of course. One of the new additions to the family is a delightful teenage girl participating in a Foreign Exchange program from South Korea. After dinner she and Grace spent time cutting coupons to go shopping later. Of course none of us realized until later that we had neglected to explain what a coupon is. We all had a good chuckle over that.

Later in the weekend we had dinner out with many of my husband’s friends from school days. He is so lucky that so many of his close childhood friends have stayed close together in this rural patch of Southern Illinois where he grew up. We see them all often and have been able to keep up with their lives.

Tucked in here and there were trips to Aunt Pat’s basement studio to see what she is working on, and I had a little quilt fashion show with the three quilts I've been working on for Christmas gifts. I even managed to find a few minutes to finish the binding on the last one. Whew! Didn’t know if I would ever get those finished in time and now I have time to spare.  Patterns and pictures coming after the big reveal!

On a sad note we and our dog Lady said our final farewells to Buster, a family dog that has been a joyful playmate for all the years we have been taking her to the Farm. He isn't doing well, and we know he won't be there the next time we visit, but we are glad that we all spent time with him, and he seemed happy despite his infirmities. And it was sweet to see how gentle Lady was with him. This is how we will remember him.

Tugging

Retrieving

Running

So we head back to Atlanta, and our normal life – or as normal as anyone’s life is in this crazy season between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The next couple of weeks will be crammed full of busy. Food to make, a house to decorate, gifts to make, purchase, and wrap. And I have a neat idea for this year’s holiday ornament. As always, it seems in my head like it will be a snap and quite unique. Tomorrow I’ll head to the studio and give the technique I have in mind a try. I hope you are ready for the controlled chaos to come. Personally I can’t wait!