Monday, December 26, 2016

Merry Christmas!!

Dear Blogging Friends:

As usual, I start my blog posts with some lame sentence about wanting to post more!  I will just let that go now--you've heard it already!

As you know, this is the busy Christmas Season, and I have been overwhelmed with music stuff, and a lot of other things, too!  But I do want to catch up and hopefully stay caught up!

So much has gone on since my Thanksgiving post!  (isn't that pitiful?!)

I am getting into a rhythm of my "new normal" since my husband has been gone now for 6 1/2 months.  It's not how I want things to be, but I've made up my mind to search for happiness and contentment, and that's where I am now.

You all know that I am a musician, and have a job as a church musician.  Well, imagine my surprise when this happened!!!

Yes, I had a little accident!  I was gluing something with plain old white glue, and got a little on my finger.  I went to wipe it off with my left hand, and heard a little pop!  It didn't hurt, but I looked at my right hand and the end of my finger was drooping!!  SO,,,I went to the doctor and it wasn't broken but the ligament had popped loose!!  Freak accident!  SO, I had to go to a hand specialist and I now have a little rod inserted in my finger. It will heal in 8 weeks and the rod will be removed.  I'm already finished 2 weeks.  Can you believe this???  I am still playing, with 9 fingers!!!!  It's not great at all!!  But I guess I'll survive! This is a minor setback!

My new grand daughter is due on January 4th!  I am so excited!!!!   I will keep you posted on that!

I did put up four trees this year..even did some with a hurt finger!  My heart really wasn't in it this year, but after I was finished and looked at them, it was the right thing to do!  I think I would have been extremely depressed to have no decorations.  


This is the family tree, full of decorations from events in our lives.  This is in the den, and where Santa always came.  We have decorations from our travels, things our son made through the years, old family items, and just a good mixture.  The last time my mother came up before she died, she stood there looking, and said that this tree was like a diary of our lives.  And it really is!

 

This is my music tree,  It has all types of musical ornaments, with emphasis on little grand pianos!  I love this tree.  It's in my music room, of course!  I can see it when I play my piano!



This is a skinny little tree for Mississippi State University!  I did not go there, but my husband and son did.  We have season football tickets and it's just a big deal!  So, I still put this up, even though my husband is gone.  But our son loved it.  It's tucked in the corner of the dining room, so we can see it when we eat!  ha


Finally, this is my cross stitch tree.  I made most of the ornaments, but have a few that were gifts or from exchanges.  I love this tree!  And I have a couple of new ones this year! One was a gift from a FB exchange that Dixie Samplar started.  I absolutely LOVE my ornament!!


Isn't this beautiful??  I am so lucky!  I just love it!


I also had a small finish--finally!  ha!  My dear friend Janie was down from Indiana to visit her mother and she came by and we did some finishing!  I will show you one for another holiday later.  I love this silly little ornament!

I am worried that I might be a no-reply blogger.  If anyone has found that to be true please let me know!  Google + has messed everything up!  It looks like all is ok but I read an article saying that just because it lists your email on your profile, it still might not show up!  I just don't know!  ha

You know I can't post without including Omar!  My son and daughter in law brought him this fabulous kitty cocoon, handmade in Nepal!  He loves it!  I think it suits him perfectly!



I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!  Keep stitching!  Thank you for your visit and please come back soon!

Frances

13 comments:

Purple Pixie Dust said...

Omar looks like he has a nice place to relax in. Love all your trees. Glad you put them up. sorry you hurt your finger. Nice to see you back. Big hugs. love Lynda Ruth

Angela Tucker said...

Good morning, Frances. I put up two trees, one about 2 feet tall, the other about 4 feet. Since I haven't found any of my homemade ornaments in the past 6 years, both are "just" trees. Honestly, I've already taken the table tree down. All done with the holiday spirit. LOL

I'm so sorry about your finger...hope that all goes well. Talk about a weird accident! LOL

Omar looks very comfy...cats have a way of making themselves at home inside anything!! LOL

marly said...

I don't know how you're still playing but when you're good, you're good! Your trees are fabulous. And I love the kitty hut. I went back to check and previously you were no-reply, but your comments from early December are not! I just assumed you still were. Enjoy the excitement of the new baby and let us know when she arrives.

jhm said...

Glad to hear you put up your usual trees. They all look great. This year we put up a modified tree. We have a kitten and he that the tree was for climbing and we caught him several times. Next year will be back to normal.
Hang in there. Your busy music schedule should help you going.

Jackie

Karen said...

Merry Christmas! I hope you finger heals so you can get back to stitching and playing music with all 10 fingers.

Vickie said...

You are amazing Frances to be playing with 9 fingers and that BIG 'ol bandage!! :D Your trees and home are gorgeous. God bless you. A big hug for you dear. May we see your piano sometime?

Kay said...

Your trees are so beautiful. Happy Christmas. x

Andrea said...

Sorry to hear about your finger but glad it hasn't stopped you and your piano. Your trees are beautiful. I'm please you felt as though you could put them up especially with so many family memories relating to the ornaments on them. Fingers crossed the baby will arrive on time, please let us know.

laceystitcher said...

Oh, my, your trees are beautiful!! I am so glad that you shared pictures of them. I also debated about putting up a tree this year; I finally did, but only one. I have enjoyed it with the lights to watch in the evening, so I plan to leave it up for awhile. Very comforting. Your ornaments are so cute - love them. I have been doing some stitching; our guild always does ornament donations to one of our charitable organizations so that was fun to stitch up a couple of ornaments for that; they will be going to a safe house location with children in residence. So sorry about your finger; it has to be difficult to continue playing. I hope it heals even quicker than expected. Happy stitching and blessings to you for the new year.

diamondc said...

Happy New Year Frances: What a lovely post, your trees are fantastic and beautiful.
I like the little ornament you did and the fabric is perfect, what a sweet one it is.
Omar looks so happy, Blondie the Cat says hello Omar.

Blessings
Catherine

Justine said...

Sorry to read about your finger Frances, I can't imagine how you play the piano with 9 fingers and a huge bandage in the way! Your trees are beautiful, definitely worth the effort of putting them up.
Hope you had a lovely Christmas and wishing you all the best for 2017.

Beth said...

Belated Christmas Blessing to you Frances. My aunt was widowed in February and I was worried how Christmas might go for her (and for you). She had a very enjoyable Christmas and I am so pleased that you did too. Very excited to hear about your new addition for 2017. Your Christmas trees are wonderful - so many happy memories.

Von said...

How dreadful for you, a musician, to have such an injury during the Christmas season! So glad you're able to manage even with your finger bandaged - amazing!
Blessings in the New Year and a safe delivery of your grandchild!