December moved along too Quickly.. Dang

December had got here but I'm wasn't ready and it felt like it was speeding by. On Sunday 12/7 I had a visitor from Houston. My friend Samara along with her daughter and grandson stopped by on their way home from her sister's place in Groesbeck. She had a purpose for stopping besides saying Hi. She was here to pick up the adorable Teddy Bears my friend Bekki made out of Eva's Dad's shirts. He passed in October and they wanted something made for the grand kids from his shirts and I suggested teddy bears.  Aren't they adorable?  

On Monday 12/15 I ran some errands and stopped by the Sassy Stitcher's Christmas Luncheon.  No sewing today. They could have but today nobody brought anything to work on. Everyone decided to come socialize, eat and do the white elephant gift exchange.  I just went by to say Hi and Merry Christmas.    From here I went to the post office and the Cameron Coffee Co. but they closed at 2:30pm.  ughh ! They used to close at 3 or 3:30.  Next time I'm in town I guess.

I had a quilt in my car I wanted to get some pictures of but holy cow the number of deers I saw driving home was crazy. I caught pictures of two different groups but there were more that I didn't catch.

I know they can be a nuisance but they are so cute.

The last few months have been a little rough. We've lost two family members. David's cousin Greg and his Aunt Linda, the last of his Mother's siblings. And then we lost our close friend Sylvia. She fought a long hard battle of cancer. Then a secondary cancer attacked her body but her brother donated stem cells and she was in recovery. She and I were texting about getting together and she said that by the end of the year she'd hopefully get her hip replaced.  But just a few days after our texting the family and her friends lost her due to a tragic fall.  May she rest in Peace now. She was such a sweet, faithful and very strong woman. She is going to be very missed. 

So I did a thing. I was actually commissioned to embroidery some aprons for a friend for her work team. 

Plus I did one for a friend as gift. She's a talented painter, shopper, blogger and author (biography). And an overall super nice person. Her name is Linda from Linda's Life Journal blog. Now I have to hope the one I just mailed to Linda gets there before I post this blog. LOL We met through her son in law who worked with David at one time.

  

At retreat one of my new retreaters, Dottie made/makes T-shirt decals. She's very talented in designing them, embroidery and quilting. Anyway I bought a couple of her decals then went and bought a couple of t-shirts at Hobby Lobby in colors of my choice then I went to my special friend who happens to have a heat press that would seal the deal.  I supervised. LOL    

I finally wore the blue one but managed to drip coffee on it before getting a picture but did have David snap this picture of me in the pink one.  I may have to get more decals one day to make other t-shirts of my liking. The photo don't do the colors any justice. They very teal and pink but they look faded here. Oh well.  

 I don't buy quilt patterns too often but I couldn't pass up the MSQC deals on Black Friday. The patterns were like $2 and I couldn't resist.  I bought a couple more after this. I guess I better get to cutting and piecing.  LOL Wish me luck. But first I need to finish one for a baby that is already 3 months old. I'm way behind.

By 12/21 I was ready for Christmas. Just in time. I got the stockings hung with care for all of us including our 2 fur babies and Pamela's.

My newest ornament I got from friend Kelli is on the tree and the presents are wrapped and ready.

On Tuesday 12/23 the bookclub gals got together for lunch & a movie in College Station at a place called Atami Steak & Grill. It was really good and they had a reasonably priced lunch menu. We had lots of fun and the food was yummy. Lots of fire and steam.

  

While sitting outside the restaurant waiting for everyone to arrive my friends Samara and Eva came by to pick up the memory T-shirt quilt I made from Eva's dad's t-shirts for her mom. He was a big Astros fan so she asked for the fabric to be Astro's colors and found the perfect fabric. My friend Margie taught me how to make t-shirt quilts thank goodness. I think she'd be proud of this one I did all by myself. It was made with 25 blocks that would fit a queen size bed. 

  

I loved the t-shirts I put down the center. And my quilter Donna @ Donna's Lavender Nest picked an awesome quilting theme. Eva had bought a heart patch that I added to the label. They loved it.  Yay

Now I'm in trouble though because they want me to make more t-shirt quilts. The hardest part for me now is picking the right fabric for the sashing and back.  

Christmas is here and Santa dropped off a few things for Braxton and Killian and Pamela and Kaleb brought all their gifts up here.  The presents have exploded.

They picked up the boys at noon and headed our way for presents and food. Now I didn't actually get but basically two pictures of the day. It was a whirlwind with these two boy ripping through presents. LOL 

Braxton opening up presents as fast as he could. I couldn't see Killian behind some big boxes. LOL But I got a picture of all four of them before they left in front of the tree minus all the presents.

    

It was a great day except for poor David. Never fails he's usually sick but this time he was hurting and has been for a couple weeks. His back is trash. Doctors terms. Waiting to see the Pain Mgmt Doctor in January.  So long to wait when he's in so much pain.

Even though he's not going anywhere at the moment he sported his new hat from Kaleb.  He'll wear next time the Bell Gang get together and have lunch. Not sure it'll be the January luncheon since it'll be February now before he sees the doctor again. They sent him for an MRI this past Thursday (1/9). Maybe an injection is in his future directly in his back. 

That's it for now. Our New Year's Eve was spent quietly at home just watching TV. I had been up for some dumb reason since 3:30am that day and by 11:30pm I couldn't keep my eyes open. Yes I know it was only 30 more minutes but I didn't make. David was right behind me but I'm not sure how much he really slept.

Sure hope 2026 brings many more adventures and no or minimal back pain for my man.

Here's hoping your 2026 brings happiness and good health.

Until next post...  Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” – Christian D. Larson

Thanksgiving is done time for Date night & Music

 We survived Thanksgiving with family and friends with no problem. Might have ate a tad too much but it was all so good. Thanks to Pamela and Kelli bringing food to share also.

On Saturday (11/29) David and I had a date night. We hadn't done that in a while but one of our favorite Texas country musicians were playing at Wilson Valley Mercantile. It's a family owned Distillery, tasting room and working ranch in Little River Academy, Texas.  Fun place with good drinks and food. We've eaten there on their steak nights a of couple of times. Pretty tasty.  We hadn't got to see Max and Heather in a couple of years but it worked out we could this time. They're great! Did I mention we really like them. Their son, Logan took our picture for me at the end of the evening.  Such a sweet couple and entertaining.

Heather plays a mean fiddle and harmonizes with her alto voice to Max's smooth sound. He's a fighting Texas Aggie too. I'm probably not giving you a good description here of their style but click here and you can see a quick clip of them from that night. If you get a chance you should catch one of their shows. We first heard them in Tomball at Main Street Crossing a few years ago. A great venue to listen to music. 

David might have even sprung for a couple of adult drinks while listening to their music. He had the spicy Whiskeyrita and I had a John's Caucasian.  (White Russian)    A Fun and enjoyable evening .

To clear out the leftovers once and for all from Thanksgiving I followed a Pinterest suggestion.  I put turkey, ham, dressing, cranberry sauce, some cheese and mustard on a bun 

Brushed the bun with some butter, sprinkled some Everything bagel on top and popped them in the oven till the bun looked toasty. I may have put something on there but I can't remember now but it was actually pretty tasty. It passed David's taste buds so I feel okay about it.

I had two quilts I needed to finish by Christmas plus I made Prayer Pocket Hearts to hand out at our Book club Christmas celebration on Thursday 12/4.  All the hearts had a cross but  I add an Angel wings charm to 3 of the ladies hearts in memory of their husband who have passed. 

But I seemed to have help the day I was making them.  Sadie got between me and my machine. That sweet face didn't think I was giving her the attention she needed. LOL  I couldn't say no.

Everyone brought food, drinks, some brought gifts for everyone and we had a friendly white elephant gift exchange at book club Christmas celebration. I think there was only a couple of steals because everyone loved what they got on their first pick.  We didn't have a book to discuss so it was all about friendship and laughter. There were 3 girls missing and they were missed but not forgotten. Peggy had her spare Cabin B, it's called, all decorated up and festive. It was a small and intimate setting for us girls. It was great.

If we do it at the cabin again we'll need to take our group picture at dusk. That way we'll show up and so will the decor' and lights. We need a tad more light for our group picture at the end of the night.

 

I had a Tea towel made with all our names on it and a few titles of books we read on a snowman. I need to figure how I can do this but by embroidering it.  I guess I have 12 months to figure it out. LOL

This one went to the hostess.

I forgot the damn selfie stick which would have made it a tad easier but nope it was at home sitting on the table.

The next day we drove John and Kelli to Bastrop where we had Lupper and drinks. We ate at 602 Brewing company then we headed down to the Copper Shot Distillery. We were having a late birthday celebration for John.  

It was a great afternoon.  They can now say they've been to Bastrop and had food and drinks somewhere new.

Well I'm into December activities finally. I'll try to catch up a little better on my next post which will be after Christmas I'm sure because the next 3 days are filled with busy and some fun activities too.

So until next post..“A smile doesn’t always stand for a perfect life.” ~ Faraaz Kazi

November happenings

I'm only a month behind in my posts. LOL But hey I've been busy. The weekend after I got home from Missouri David had a race to go to. And he came home with a trophy and some money.  Yahoo!  He was a happy man.                                

I treated David to a new recipe he sent me called Spicy Cajun sausage and Orzo. It was a winner so I'll add it to my cookbook to make again.   I better get busy cooking because he sent me several recipes to try but it seems like we tend to fall back on recipes we've made forever. 

Maybe that should be my New Years Resolution for 2026.. Make at least one new recipe a month. Maybe.

It's hard to believe that these plants were in 1 gal. buckets and tiny but now they almost hide the plow and the sign. 

The little wire looking thing is a solar decorative light I guess I need to take a picture of it at night. It's cute like little fairy lights blowing in the breeze. 

While sitting on the front porch having a happy hour I snapped this picture of our Belinda's Dream roses but in the background you can see the fairy lights.

On Sunday 

(11/07) I met Samara and Eva at Masfajita's in College Station to pick up some T-shirts to make a memory quilt and cotton shirts to make memory teddy bears that Eva's Dad wore. Pamela and Kaleb joined us for lunch. Samara and I get at least one picture a year taken together. This actually might make 3 for this year. LOL  Kaleb and Eva had a lot to talk about. He works for Huntsville prison and she used to. They had stories to share.  It was nice getting to visit with them.

What a beautiful night! Who knew that all around the world people were getting to see the Northern Lights. I always heard people talking about going far North or in Alaska to see the Northern Lights but November 11 they came to Texas. I would have missed the whole thing if Pamela hadn't called and said go outside to see the Northern Lights and take pictures. I'm like what are you talking about.  I walked outside and didn't really see anything and then I put my camera up and then I saw it.  Wow! AND the stars in the sky. So many Stars. 

I even saw 3 shooting stars but poor David missed them.  He turned around just as one would shoot across the sky each time.  Oops.

What a beautiful amazing night.

Thursday 11/14 was Book Club night. We did something different and drove into Bryan for dinner at Shipwreck to discuss our latest book "It Girl by Ruth Ware.  This made it easy for Emily to get there and not stress over getting to the meeting on time. There's a couple of the girls who still work. Almost everyone liked the book. It's one of them that you have to read at least 20 pages to really get into the book.  We rated the book an 8 out of 10. Great discussion, great food and friends.

I have 4 orchids that I rescued from a plant shop for free that were just hanging out in a former container that held my protein powder. Not very pretty but I got the idea to decoupage it with fabric. Since our home is western/rustic I used some of my Texas themed fabric and covered the container.  Came out okay I think. The one in my sewing room has sewing themed fabric. 

The last of David's Mom's 9 siblings passed recently. While together all the cousins and Uncle Ernest gathered for a picture. Good looking group. Later they all began sharing stories of Aunt Linda and the siblings and past holidays. Bitter sweet memories.

Well that just happened. Some how when I turned around and stepped down my toe on my left foot bent under my foot. OMG! I felt and heard it pop and stretch. I thought I might have broken but I think I just really bruised and sprang it. Besides they don't do anything for a broken toe but you add this injury to my right foot that has plantar fasciitis I'm in a world of hurt.  Leave it to me to do things up right.  As of today the toe is doing fine and back to normal. 

Sunday 11/23 we went to Kaleb and Pamela's to celebrate the Twins upcoming 6th birthday.  We had fajitas, beans, rice, chili con queso, 7 layer dip and buntini's. Fun afternoon. The boys ripped through their presents.  Later they got to eat the cookies I made for them. Braxton got chocolate chip with a drizzle of icing and some fruit that I figured he'd give to his brother. LOL and Killian got a sugar cookie with icing and fruit.

So Wednesday I finally got in to see the podiatrist about my right heel hurting so bad. He confirmed I do have plantar fasciitis. Yay, Not!  I got a shot in my foot. I nearly broke David's hand trying to squeeze past the pain and not scream bad words. Unfortunately the next day was Thanksgiving and I had cooking to do. When I woke up that morning the foot wasn't killing me but within about an hour it was starting to hurt pretty good and by the end of the evening I was glad to put my foot up. I have an exercise to do for 10 minutes each day, and I can take Tylenol Arthritis along with putting Voltern on my heel multiple times a day.

Thursday - Happy Thanksgiving 

When you leave your phone out and unattended....

Your daughter and SIL take selfies.

Thanksgiving was spent with those two and our good friends John and Kelli. Good Food, Good Friends & Family

On a sad note:

Late the night before Thanksgiving we got a text from our good friend's son saying that Sylvia wasn't doing very good. It can't be true I thought because she and I were just texting 2 days before about getting together but sadly it's not gonna happen. She passed Friday from a devastating fall Wednesday in the early morning hours. Our heart aches for this family/ our dear friends. Sylvia was a fighter and beautiful inside and out. She is going to be so missed.

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal."  ~ From a Headstone in Ireland

Just want to end by saying Thank you to all those folks who comment but come through as Anonymous. I wish I had a better way of replying to you other than in my blog like today but it is what it is.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Creativity Time and Completion":

Love this!

Thanks so much for reading and leaving a comment. I got several projects started and finished a few. It's an ongoing process. 

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Part 2 of Quilt Retreat Activities and More":

Oh no, sorry you found out the hard way. Your little guy Butch is cute! Oh and I love that blue quilt!

Thank you. Farm life can be sad sometimes but life continues. Butch is a cutie.  He's actually growing into that ear tag these days. There was a lot of pretty quilt tops completed at that retreat.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Landscape enhancement, Reading and Family":

Love the landscaping!

Thank you. David is my landscaper for sure. He works hard trying to make it beautiful but the country dust carry's plenty of weed seeds into his flower beds and it drives him crazy. Might be a short drive.  LOL JK

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Pets and Family it's the best":

How hav I never in five years seen that shop in Hearne ? Love the pics of the family !

Actually it's just outside of Hearne. The address I realized is actually Bryan off Hwy 6 and FM 2549.  The address is 8285 Jackrabbit Ln.  It's a cute shop and the ladies are really nice.

Last Anonymous for this post. I do more in the next post to catch up

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Babies to Bee and Quilts":

I just watched the movie the girl in cabin 10it was very slow had an ok ending but I want empresses by the movie

The book was pretty good. Haven't seen the movie and probably won't. The movies rarely equal the book. Thanks for reading along and commenting.

Well that does it for this blog..

Until next blog post....·        True friendship resists time, distance, and silence.”