Made with Love

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It is here!  Finally here!  This is time when all may hit the stores running.  Race up and down aisles with shopping carts rattling. 

It is also a time of befuddlement, when one will stand holding some inane present in the “one size fits all” aisle of decorative frames, pencil holders with fancy notepaper, or Christmas towels.  Toss it in the cart and mentally check a name of a long list.

Checkout and home-free!

Silly me, I think. Surely sharing my love for sewing through gifts would be better.  Silly me indeed.  My son recently told me that not everyone wants a gift made just for them and made with love.

It harkened back to the days of ugly sweaters and personalized odd stuff (a stuffed animal, like a dachshund, embroidered with one's name).  The recipient may nod and give thanks, but wonder What am I going to do with this?

Consequently, my adult children will receive gift cards and a magazine subscription each of their choice.  

So, here is my wise and sage advice: If one gifts another one with a "made with love" gift, be thankful and recognize the love that went into it.  Use it or not.  Re-gift it or not.

Maybe I will head to the stores with the indifferent, cold-hearted gift aisle.  At least I thought of those ingrates.

Happy Tomorrow!

Did your Thanksgiving table ever look like this??

Thanksgiving is nearly over, Thanks Be to God!  Although it is just a stop-gap in the days between Halloween and Christmas, Thanksgiving should be a time of family.

Memories of a frantic kitchen with Moms, Grandmas, and teenage females are made alive by the scents of current day Thanksgiving meals.  Hours and hours from the day before until the table is laden with the delightful turkeys, stuffing/dressing, gravy, mashed/creamed potatoes….so much thought, love, and hard work went into presenting a massive meal.

Memories then were fond and delicious.  Now?  Instead of carefully preparing pies to show pie-making prowess, CostCo and WalMart provide the ready-made varieties.  Let’s be honest here:  their pies are cheaper, labor free (for the consumers), and in some cases, better than the pies cooling on the counters.

Lift a glass to toast the maker of the feast!  With modern providence, family can sit down in the family room and actually enjoy each other.  With aluminum pans, plastic utensils, and heavy duty paper plates, even the clean-up allows for time to laugh, play games, or karaoke with off key singers.

Happy Thanksgiving!  

I would miss them if...

Dang it!  I did not know there was a dress code!  So I went out and grabbed this thing from Alex's site and put it up.  Whew!  I am always a day late and a dollar short....

I began blogging in 2010, when my daughter urged me to find an outlet for my writing.  Since then so many talented writers have entered my world and blessed me with their words and thoughts.

As the focus of this blog-fest, we are to choose one to three bloggers who have slipped away from the blog-world.  And we are to choose one to three who would be severely missed (by me).

I miss: 

Carole Ann Carr whose site was inactivated two months ago.  Her writing and books were delightful.  

Heather Murphy who took a sabbatical, came back, and then dropped off.  I enjoyed her thoughts.

Jon Vermilye who journaled every day as he drove completely around America.  He is a photographer and captured some incredible places.  He has completed the trip, but I miss his blog.

The following bloggers' absence would leave a hole in my life.  There are so many fine bloggers whose sites have enriched me.  HOW can I list only three?

Gail Williams, Joanne Noragon, Delores, Inger, Elephant's Child, Rick Watson, .................

Honestly, the list is long and the time is short.  What can I say?  It is difficult to find writers who portray life as they see it and choose only three.

If you want to go to more, check out Alex Cavanaugh .

Now, I am supposed to notify these marvelous people that I have mentioned them here.  Tomorrow is another day, and I will read their blogs then!