December Musings

Early November brought my usual family reunion, but for a sad reason this year. Instead of celebrating my sister Pam’s birthday, we had her Celebration of Life in Ohio. Every member of her blended family and my colorful family tree was in attendance, about 100 people in all. The celebration was held at her beloved Town and Country Shopping Center in Kettering, near Dayton, Ohio. She managed that center for over 25 years and was very heavily involved in several community and non-profit organizations.

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Pam never bragged about any accomplishments or talked much about her job or local efforts and it was interesting to meet a lot of special guests who were singing her praises. Except for my brother in law’s siblings from PA and AZ.  I had met everyone there over the years. The biggest surprise was seeing all the grandchildren grown up and it was fun to guess who they were. My younger sister and I remembered all the cute baby pictures from long ago. I think Pam would have been very happy to see everyone together for a big family reunion.

My adopted brother from another branch of my colorful tree arrived at my house literally minutes after my return from Ohio. He was making the rounds from Maine, where he lives, to Virginia, to me in NC and then to help a friend through surgery in AK. We spent a few days together, just catching up and cooking together. After he left it took me another week to get back to normal, whatever that happens to be at the time.

I was very happy to hear from my videographer that he is making good progress on my last udemy.com workshop video: “The Finishing Touches”. Dave had it ready to edit when he passed away and it took me a while to find someone to take on the job of getting it finished and ultimately published on udemy.com.

So sometime in the future, I will be offering an introductory coupon to all my 3,000 plus existing Udemy students and all contacts on my Mailchimp mailing list. I am not certain about the timing yet because once it is finished and posted, I am forever baffled by any promotional or marketing challenges online. But I promise, it will happen.

After things settled down a bit, I worked on an interesting filet crochet restoration. As you probably know, filet is worked from a chart and the design develops as you work continuous rows. This tablecloth was damaged by a vigorous attempt to remove food stains with bleach. Unfortunately, it dissolved the cotton fiber and created two large holes. To repair such an area, it is important to connect the restoring thread to healthy, strong cotton fiber.  Which means that on many rows I had to take out several more inches beyond the damage I could see, in order to connect to the original, healthy cotton. I was able to restore the cloth to its original beauty and returned it home just in time for Thanksgiving.

I always recommend using a clear plastic cloth over the treasured and newly restored heirloom to avoid any further damage.

Thanksgiving was low key; I started to decorate the house while keeping one eye on the Macy’s parade. The big meal was with several friends and a delicious smoked turkey, surrounded by all the trimmings. Since I love to bake, my contribution was pie and yeast rolls. There were lots of leftovers, but we love them!

The day after Thanksgiving is usually the day to get a fresh tree. Thanks to my friend and neighbor I had help to get the usual 7’ Frazer fir from the Lion’s Club. I let it sit in a bucket of water overnight while I decorated the rest of the house. There are so many decorations from my childhood in Germany and many more, which I accumulated over the years. It takes me a day or two before I am ready to decorate the tree. It will be sad without Dave, but the tree lights and festive decorations give me joy and comfort.

On December 9 through 12 is my last demo session at the Folk-Art Center. I have new Victorian ornaments, hats and scarves, masks and festive wraps; I anticipate another great weekend and many happy shoppers. Our giant Christmas tree in the lobby is a sight to behold and something wonderful for me and our visitors to get us in the holiday spirit.

If you still need some gift ideas, please visit my boutique website: www.heirloomtreasuresboutique.com and I will do my best to get your items shipped to arrive before Christmas.

So, I leave you with just one thought: I wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!

My best to you and yours and we will be back in touch next year.

“I do what I love and I love what I do.”