Christmas is creeping up on me...

I did manage to get most of my Christmas shopping done... thank goodness for ordering on line! But I also produced a significant number of hand-crafted gifts for special friends and relatives. And it was fun to make these 'scrappy' quilted potholders as the temperatures plummeted into the low 30's and either icy rainy or spitting snow discouraged me from driving to any malls.

It is also my first-ever experience in quilting, although I know I have been encouraged by various family members and friends to try it for some while now.

So, I joined up with the Mystery Quilt group headed up by Bonnie K. Hunter at http://quiltville.blogspot.com where a new clue is delivered each Friday for about nine weeks.

This is another focus to keep me from feeling low during a time when there are a lot of reminders that these holidays are for couples - mostly.

My color choices for the Mystery Quilt at Quiltville.

Thus it's been a happier season with bright colors, a buzzing sewing machine and cheery expectations of new clues each weekend.

The Sequim "Y" (which was formerly SARC) has finally reopened and I gave myself the gift of membership for the new year.

Nothing like a fire on these very
cool December days or nights.

This gave me a chance to belong to a "Rejuvenation" group that meets three days a week, and I usually follow that up with an hour-long beginners yoga session.

There is a nice young fellow from contra dancing who comes over from Port Townsend for the yoga and we sometimes spend a little time in the hot whirlpool pool afterwards, chatting about his goals, so it makes for an energizing and rewarding, different experience from my artistic endeavors.

My Colombian friends have written on one tech avenue or another to remind me I am being missed. And I miss them also, but there does not seem to be a path back there right now.

There are so many ways I have been blessed during this past year that I could fill up this entire blog with all the good that flowed into my life from the mundane (car repairs were less than expected) to the sublime (spending time with my grandchildren) and having my art being appreciated by various folks.

My goal for 2017 is to finally feel confident and bold enough to have my own art show and then, secondarily, be able to release some of it for sale.

Over the next few days I will upload my newest works and for those of you who are my faithful readers, here is my Christmas card for you!

The greeting on the other side is
"Have a cool Yule!"