Smurfy breakfast, Pam, Pat

Pam wanted a bit of help with her phone, so I invited her to breakfast on Sunday (1/8) and Michael went into action:

I got pancakes going:

and after our terrific breakfast:

I settled in to teach Pam how to add and repeat things in her calendar. I think she left with a really good understanding….I hope she doesn’t wait too long to add the rest of her entries.

After Pam left, I sat down in the living room to call Mary Lee back….we had been talking when Pam first arrived…but I absolutely could not keep my eyes open…so I took a nap! Just as I got up, Sandy arrived with 2 quilts and I did intake on those.

I headed to the studio and gave Mary Lee a call, just as I got a surprise visitor:

Pat and I really haven’t seen each other in forever….she’s been doing a lot of traveling, and had a lot of company over the holidays. She’s finally recovered from everything and came by for a long chat…it was wonderful!

When she left, I called Mary Lee yet again, and we finally got to finish our conversation. I got my bobbins wound after that, and set up the program on my customer quilt, and got started stitching around 4:30 PM. This quilt has to be off of my frame by tomorrow night, so I really needed to get going.

I took a picture of the design on the screen:

Because it is kinda hard to see on the quilt:

I got 6 out of 10 rows done by 8 PM and headed upstairs for a salad and knitting and TV with my honey.

And I think this is the last ''year end'' thing.....I believe whatever Christmas cards we sent out should have arrived by now, so here's our yearly Christmas letter:

2022 – hope you enjoy our post holiday missive….once again it’s been one heck of a year….

Obviously, the high point of January was that Arizona Mary came for a visit!! She met all of my friends at Scrap Happy, and several more stopped by the house just to meet her, and she got a quilt quilted on XENA (my longarm). The other huge news was our basement re-do, with new luxury vinyl plank flooring and a beautiful paint job (walls and trim) as well. It is so pretty down there….several of our friends said it doesn’t look like a basement at all!

In February, Michael tested positive for COVID, just 5 days before I was to leave for a quilting retreat. I tested negative…and tested negative again the night before leaving…so the group decided I was good to go. Luckily Michael’s symptoms were mild and cleared up quickly, and I had a wonderful time at QUAP with people from New Mexico, Arizona, Chicago and North and South Carolina.

The highlight of March was driving to Florida to see our friends Candyce & Ralph in their winter home. The guys got to golf, the ladies got in some shopping and lots and lots of talking…and we got to play RUMMYCUBE and SCRABBLE and shouted out answers to JEOPARDY in the evenings. This month was also significant because I started to work on a program with a diabetes specialist. I was determined to at least reduce the medication I am taking.

The weather was beautiful in April and we got to eat out on the lanair for the first time this year. Easter was also in April and we enjoyed having company for a full table of fun.

May was the first time I delivered quilts to the dialysis center in Lancaster….they were THRILLED to receive them…and of course their joy makes me want to do a hundred more! May was also the month I lowered my A1c (a measure of the sugar in your blood) to be in the non-diabetic range! I started a new program 8 weeks previously and managed to totally change my diet and health!

We saw Fiddler on the Roof at the Belk with friends of ours in June…it had been so very long since we’d gone to a professional production and it was AWESOME! Michael had his annual golfing trip with 7 other guys…this time in Hendersonville, and he came home totally excited about winning 2 ‘’closest to the hole’’ pins. June was also when I started planning the secret vacation (more on that later). Michael headed north to see Kate and Marc and Audrey for a wonderful visit, and while he was gone, I got test results that finally confirmed the reason I was anemic…. H. Pylori bacteria in my stomach. The month ended with my knee replacement surgery….please dear God, I hope I never have to go through anything like that again!

I spent most of July just trying to survive recovery from knee surgery! Candyce & Ralph (good friends of ours) had a going away party as they moved permanently to Florida, and we lost another neighbor/friend Barbara, whose death was very sudden. We were afraid our dishwasher was giving up the ghost as well…but it turned out to be a minor, easily fixable problem :~).

Michael spent a lot of evenings in August attending rehearsals for NATIVE GARDENS, a production at Fort Mill Community Playhouse that came up in September to rave reviews and sold out houses! But of course, the highlight of August was a visit from Mary Lee!!! We had a wonderful couple of days of non-stop talking before she had to head back home and get back to work. August was also the month I got to give out 2 more of my Quilts of Valor, to 2 people at my physical therapy place. Once again, veterans were thrilled and delighted to receive them.

In September I unexpectedly got cast in a small, non-speaking role in Michael’s play…so I participated in H_LL week, and then performances for most of the 3 weekends. As I mentioned, it opened to lots and lots of praise from the audience. I wasn’t in the last performance as I stayed home to make lots of food for the cast party….it all was a hoot! We had a lovely time celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary of our good, good friends Gale & Phil and I had a lovely visit with Janice & Dennis at the end of the month.

October was all about our secret vacation. In June I asked Michael if he would be willing to go on a vacation, without having any idea of where he was going. Of course he said ‘’yes’’…and I began planning our trip to THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME in Cleveland, Ohio. Coincidentally, my 50th high school reunion was taking place around that time, so we also attended that before heading to Cleveland. The R&R Hall of Fame had a huge Beatles exhibit, and Michael is a huge Beatles fan….so that’s how the vacation came about. We both thoroughly enjoyed everything about our vacation, and we even got to see the house and museum from THE CHRISTMAS STORY movie (you’ll shoot your eye out!!)

There were 2 things of note in November….the Fiber Floozies retreat…and meeting with an administrator at the University of South Carolina about setting up scholarships for low income students.

It’s been a wonderful and very full year….we can’t wait to see what 2023 brings.

*** I’m almost a millionaire…I have all of the zeros…now I just need a one! ***