November Flies By...

Thanksgiving was wonderful for us. 20 of us spent the evening up with my family at Nana's home. Food, laughter and relaxing fellowship was the topic of the evening. We all made our contributions to the feast. Mom and Nana did the turkey and stuffing; while my cousin made scalloped potatoes and a yummy pudding fruit mixture. My sister-in-law did 4 amazing pies and I went over board with trying out new recipes. I made Cranberry Apple Chutney (pictured here), Ginger Glazed Sweet Potatoes, Chanterelle Green Bean Casserole and a huge batch of sweetened dinner rolls.

After feasting until our bellies were stuffed beyond belief, my cousin set us down and showed us her latest craft adventure, no sew Christmas Tree ornaments. I lost my surge of energy so mine is not quite finished yet. But here is my progress so far. It will be topped with a swatch of yo-yo coordinating fabric and then some ribbon for good measure.

 

It was such a treasured time to be together.  Some highlights included....Our foster son coming by to surprise us with a visit that turned into 2 days of relaxing together and catching up on happenings. A dear new friend was able to share in our celebrations and she has now been lovingly "adopted" by my whole family. My little Miss Angel-girl still knows her Auntie and blessed me repeatedly with snuggle hugs and showers of adoration.

 

Now the new week is about to start and we are quickly rolling into December. Icca Chou and I are working on the wedding plans. Funny how there seems to be tons of time left and still not enough time for February 12th to arrive. At times we feel just about ready and at other times overwhelmed with all the tasks left to do. Then I remind myself that the best way to tackle anything is one task at a time.

My current task is to sew these little 4mm beads onto the lace trim of her wedding dress. The dress already has baby pearl and sequins accents but adding the aquamarine crystals really brings a unique touch to the princess design.  By my calculations I figure to put roughly 120 bead accents on the dress and I am about 2/3 of the way finished. As with any project I do, I get so excited to see it all coming together.

In my other adventure, my cello practice is coming along. My instructor has given me a good handful of Christmas music to study and has been encouraging me to actually play before an audience. We usually do some sort of talent sharing this time of year, so I am trying to muster up the courage to commit to playing.  Or better yet, asking our resident violinist if we could do an arrangement together. I know God keeps telling me not to compare and that He is proud of me just the way I am. But I do have to admit to feeling a small amount of trepidation at the thought of my 8 months of practice in comparison to her 25 years of playing. She (the violinist), as well as everyone else for that matter, are all such encouragers. It is my own self that I have to get out of the way.  We will see what happens.
 
For the moment though, I see that the clock has clearly run away with me and my pillow is calling my name.

I pray that you have a blessed week in all that you do. While you set your feet and hands to all your tasks, know that you are loved by Papa God, creator of the universe. He did it all for you, to delight you and make you smile, to light up your world and cause you to know that no matter what circumstance you are in, you are truly surrounded by a never ending and unfailing love that holds onto you as the greatest treasure imaginable.