As 2022 ends, and 2023 is before us....

 I usually do goals and a recap of each year as a final post.  It's been a busy year, but aren't they all.  They go faster and faster as I age. I've had a couple of interesting projects this year.  We got a puppy!  My hubby has wanted a golden retriever ever since we married 20 years ago. I finally caved :) Puzzle is her name.  She is named after a search and rescue golden retriever that worked with Susannah Charleson and is in her book, Scent of the Missing.  And yes, she is a golden retriever.  We are in love with her, although the first few months were terribly hard.  My husband Jim, has a bad leg and can't easily get up and down or walk. He walks with a cane, so he could not get up quickly to take her out in the night. He does his best, but will agree that most of the work initially was left to me. Top that with her getting a parasite when she was very young and having to go out 4-7 times a night for about 12 days with diarrhea.

She is absolutely crazy about the grandkids and they feel the same towards her. The next big thing I did was teach a rock art class for the local homeschool co-op.  It was enjoyable but time-consuming.  A bit more than I expected.  There are some budding artists in the group though.  I prepared a rock each week and directions for them to copy.  We used paint pens. Below are a few we did, and a couple of others I did in the year.

Now, to the quilts.  I made a lot of smaller quilts this year.  I sold my Gammill long arm machine and purchased a Bernina and absolutely love it.  It is so user friendly. Computerized. And the great thing is, one of my friends has one just like it and is so smart and always ready and able to answer any questions I have regarding how to do something on it. Included in the quilts I made this year are two for friends who lost their husbands in 2022.  :(  Made from their shirts and both were big UT fans.

Another project I started in 2022 was to let my very short pixie har style grow out.  I've spent hours  on Youtube/blogs/instagram trying to learn how to manage my very curly hair. I cut it short about 18 years ago when I let it go grey and have wanted it longer every since.  It is now longer than it has ever been and I am loving learning how to deal with the curls. The top left pic was one I found online and a friend put my face to it!  The grandkids thought it was hilarious and said I'd look like a witch. Neither wanted me to grow it out. But that is often how our family wants to see us - the way we've always looked.  The husband was supportive although I know he didn't like it at first.  He has come around now. It's amazing to me the hair growth of only one year, with three tiny trims.

I purchased a new rug for our dining room this year and really love it.  Wayfair has great rugs.

We had a great time with the kids over on Christmas Eve.  SO happy to still have them here, but we know that is changing in 2023.  My son is taking a position in New Orleans at the Seminary.  Makes my heart so sad for them to move, but I knew it would probably happen and am trying to focus on the memories and joy we've had with them for the past two years here. I just hope the kids will always remember these times.

Since getting the pup, I've been wanting to build a special crate that is more like a piece of furniture.  I finally decided I just didn't have the skills to do it right. I found a local craftsman that agreed to build it for us.  It should be ready soon.  A crate on one side and a drawer and shelves on the other, with a removable top.  Can't wait to get it.

As 2022 ends I have two quilting projects going on.  I am doing Bonnie Hunter's annual mystery quilt.  My first time to do it. I'm have a great time and learning lots.  Can't wait to see the finished quilt.  Right now it's still a mystery.  She gives out clues on her blog weekly.  She is a great pattern designer and teacher.  This is where we are right now, but I'm pretty sure there will be an alternating block to go with these.  Love the colors!

Another project I am currently working on is a red and white quilt. I made this same pattern in 2021 for my brother.  His birth mother had hand embroidered a lot of flower designs in red.  I used most of them in his quilt.  He had given me lots of her hand embroidered pieces a few years ago.  When he told her I quilted she said, "she will know what to do with them."  I assume her other children weren't interested in them.  His quilt turned out beautiful so I'm making another with the leftovers and a panel I bought that has some redwork flowers on it.  I am using them as fussy cut squares, as I won't be embroidering them.  I just hope the red print isn't designed to wash out!  Didn't think of that until recently.

And here we are on December 27th and we had our first snow fall of the season.  Maybe 1/2 - 3/4" of an inch but still pretty and kept me from going to work today.  

I'll end this long post with my book list I read in 2022. I re-read several I've read in the past so I won't list all of those.

- Why The Universe Is The Way It is by Hugh Ross (loved this nerdy book, read it 3 times! He is a Christian astrophysicist)

- A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (the above book caused me to want to read this also)

- The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

- I Survived the Children's Blizzard of 1888 by Lauren Tarshis

- Jimmy by Robert Whitlow (read this years ago)

- Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone by Diana Gabalden (Outlander Series)

- The Shephard's Wife by Angela Hunt

- The Auschwitz Escape by Joel Rosenburg

- Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayen (true story of immigrants)

- A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman (supposedly a great book, but I didn't like it the much)

- Churchill by Andrew Roberts (absolutely loved reading the true stories of Churchill, a fascinating man)

- The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

- The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (great true story of the 1936 Berlin Olympics)

- Code Girls by Liza Mundy

- Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (loved this one too)

- The Secret Keeper by Amanda Cox

- The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

- The Undoing of Saint Silvanus by Beth Moore

Goals for 2023?  I'm still thinking about those.

Merry Christmas 2022

 Merry Christmas to all our friends!  Blessings to you for the new year.

November/December 2022 Happenings

 Let's start with the quilts.  I finished the Christmas Cabins. Love it, although I wish I'd quilted it a bit denser.  I was afraid to because of the minky backing, but it did great.

Next up are the two memory quilts I made this year. One for a childhood friend who lost her husband to cancer earlier in the year, and the other for a work friend of 40+ years who lost her husband a few months ago to a fall and neck injury.  Both were made from the shirts of the husbands and both were big University of Tennessee fans. I incorporated some of the shirt embroidered UT emblems in each quilt.

The above quilt pattern is called Nova. And the lower one is called Bricks and Stepping Stones by Bonnie Hunter.

These next two are in-progress quilts.  I joined Bonnie Hunter's annual mystery quilt and am loving it!  Learning some things to help my piecing work, and it is fun to try to figure out what the final layout will be.  I suspect we are only a few weeks away from finishing.  Great for me too, since it forces me to slow down since I can only have instructions a week at a time.  Kind of like a block of the month but it's a block (section) of the week.

The next one is a remake of one I did last year for my brother.  I used hand embroidered blocks made by his birth mother.  There were a few left over so I decided to make another one, I loved it so much.  I didn't have enough of the embroidered blocks so I ordered a rework panel with flowers to supplement. No, I won't be embroidering these, but I think they will still look good in the quilt. Hope to have this one on a bed by Valentine's Day.

Other goings on .........my favorite little boy was sick with strep a couple of weeks ago, so I babysat him. Well, I should say me and Puzzle the golden pup babysat him.  She was by his side all day long.  Thankful he was on medication so he didn't feel so bad.  We also made some paper snowflakes for his Christmas tree at home.

I never tire of making these beauties.  SO easy!

We took the grands to see the play "The Sound of Music" and they both loved it, especially our girl Emma.

It started at their usual bedtime of 8 pm, so the little guy did his best. But by intermission at 9:30, he was done.  Papaw volunteered to take him out to the car, maybe go get some ice cream while they waited on us. He was asleep before he could take more than one bite of his sonic blast. Bless his heart.

Emma was a trooper and stayed focused and enjoying the show to the end at 10 pm!

My hair has continued to grow throughout the year, with just three trims. I'm loving it. It is now longer than it has ever been in my life. I'm able to put it up.

I just can't believe how much it has grown in one year.  The right picture is with it wet so it the curls were lengthened out some that shows more of the length.

And it the pic below comparing last year at Christmas time to now, I had worn it is a bun all day so the sides were more lengthened out than normal.

So, I am still letting it grow. Not sure how long I will let it get but I am enjoying the journey of learning how to deal with my curls and wearing it different ways.

I did a 5k on Thanksgiving morning. Decided to at the last minute.  I've tried to continue running three times a week this year but most of that has been inside. I wasn't sure how I'd do.  But, I am very pleased with my results. I placed 8 of 31 in my age group (60-64) at a time of 38:15. (Notice the dog and her favorite toy in the background!)

Christmas Cabins

 This is a super cute pattern by Wendy Sheppard.  She designs such neat things!  I'm waiting on some grey for some sashing and borders.  I won't say it was easy, because it has so many pieces, and I still struggle with my 1/4" seam.  I don't know if I am just always in a hurry, sewing too fast or what, but I inevitably end up cutting off some points.  Overall I am still happy with it and will enjoy having a new Christmas lap quilt in 2022.

Fall 2022

 Wow, been a while since I posted.  Life is busy and good.  Here are a few of what I've been up to. Hair is still growing, kids are still in the area and we cherish any time we get to spend with them.  The pup, Puzzle, is growing so fast!  I've done some more painting and am leading a rock art class for our local homeschool co-op. Also recently finished a memory quilt for a friend whose husband passed this year from cancer and did a little Christmas wall hanging, pattern called Christmas Cabins by Wendy Sheppard. No particular order for the pics!

(No, she isn't allowed on the bed, but snuck up there for a moments nap....shame on her!)