Time for Sharing

Well, wasn't that a wonderful time!  Thanksgiving is indeed a special holiday with its focus on family, friends, and the things for which we are grateful.  We spent time with one of David's sisters, our daughter (we missed her son and husband who were off visiting his family but sent them our love), and David's dad.  Because my father-in-law is more comfortable closer to home, we drove down and went out to dinner at a local restaurant.  Each person was able to order her or his dish of choice, be served, eat in comfort, and have the dirty dishes all "mysteriously" whisked away to be cleaned by the staff.  How's that for a Thanksgiving present!  The restaurant to which we went even had old quilts as part of their decorations; I couldn't ask for more.

We have started a new Black Friday tradition (this is the second year we've done it so I guess it qualifies as a tradition).  David, his sister, our daughter, and I go to a local farm called Noch Fiernan in Duanesburg to buy our Christmas wreath.  Check out this site: http://www.nochfiernan.com for some information on where you can buy the best wreaths, kissing balls, and table arrangements for the holiday season.  This is also the place to go for locally grown plants in the spring.  It's a small business, and the proprietress, Rita, is a lovely and talented lady.  I do believe in shopping in small businesses (just look at all the business I give local quilt shops!), and this is a fine one to patronize.  We put up this year's gorgeous wreath and kissing ball as soon as we got back home. 

Saturday Mary Ellen and I spent our day at a local quilt shop taking a class, continuing our responsibility to shop locally, and then sewing until the wee hours of the morning (and I do mean "wee"!).  It was a delightful time, and both of us finished the projects we started during the afternoon class!  Check out the photos on Joyful Quilter's Facebook page.  Some of us take photo ops seriously - others? not so much.  Guess which one I am (okay, so you didn't even have to look . . .).

Two dear friends who live in Florida but who came north to spend Thanksgiving with their son's family (including a 4-month-old grandchild!) stopped in for a quick visit on Sunday.  What a good time - lots of news, memories, and laughter!  Isn't it wonderful how with good friends you can just pick up where you left off even after years of absence?

One last item to share.  Day 2 of the mystery painting- ta dah!  Okay, can you tell what it is now?  At least partly?   Clearly, it's not finished, but I am having fun with the palatte knife.  It will be interesting to see what I can do with it as I add the details.  Should I use the knife or the brush; that is the question.  I admit to using a little brush last time, but it's still primarily knife.  Also, I really should settle on from which direction the light is coming; my shadows are off.  I'm glad I chose a relatively simple subject to start this voyage!

I hope that your Thanksgiving was all you hoped and that your weekend was successful and relaxing.