Mountain Musings

Final 2011 UFO Report

I first posted about joining Susan's Little Green Quilters' group last January. I had high hopes of wiping out everything on the list!

Well...out of 15 unfinished projects I completed five...only five! But I guess that's five more that's not in the stack...that's 33% done. I did make good progress on two others and played around with another couple of projects. Of course, throughout the year I added in some new sewing projects as well.

Susan blogs over at Blackberry Creek and is continuing with a 2012 UFO Bust for those who want to jump back on the craft wagon. Count me in for another year!

I'll have to admit that being a Little Green Quilter made me think twice before pushing "Add to Cart" whenever I saw a fabric sale on line. Maybe it's worth it just for that reason alone!

But...no time for sewing today. We're celebrating Tom's Double Nickels birthday this evening! There's a cake to make and spaghetti sauce to simmer all afternoon...his annual birthday choice for a meal. Happy Birthday to my #1 Shug!

~Deb

The Reason for the Season

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and we pray that you experience His faithfulness and love during this Christmas season and in the new year!

"Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." ~ Luke 2:10

~The Girotti Family

Muncks Quiver Christmas Giveaway!

Not to detract from the popular poll in The Great Christmas Light Debate in the post below this one, but I quickly wanted to tell you about the Muncks Quiver Christmas giveaway before the deadline. The last day to enter is Wednesday, 21st.

You can select up to 11 of their handmade items they're giving away! I picked the homemade strawberry jam and cross-stitched bread cloth. They're giving away some of Hannah's soap, too!

Head on over and take a look at all the goodies!

~Deb

The Great Christmas Light Debate

Every year in the Girotti household, there arises the annual debate over which color of Christmas lights is the best. We have some members who have the nerve to call multi-colored lights TACKY and GAUDY! Can you believe that? Of course, all sane people know that colorful lights are the perfect, cheerful, Christmas-y choice. :) So, I'm bringing the question to you in the poll below - choose well. (The poll may take a minute to load.)

Edit: Well, at the moment, multi-colored is winning by one vote - 32 to 31 with 2 votes for other! I can't really officially close the poll, so I'll leave it up for now, but I think we'll say that the best option is the official winner. :) Heheh.

~Sarah

'Tis the Season...

...for everything this month but blogging and blog reading! But here's a post to catch you up a bit!

Actually, this may be the first Christmas in quite the number of years that I'm not rushing to finish a quilt, a scrapbook, or some other crazy project I started waaay too late to remain sane! I really miss the adrenaline rush and excitement that a "gotta-get-'er-done" project generates! Tell me what you're rushing to finish this last week before Christmas--I'll pray that you finish in time--I've been there, done that!

Instead we've been focusing on other activities such as:

• Enjoying a couples' lunch date with our long-time friends, Fred and Chris
• Inviting my friend, Dorothy, to visit for some Valley adventures and overnights
• Hosting missionary friends from PNG who were passing through our area
• Experiencing a just-opened little coffee house in Crozet with Tom (for sandwiches but not the coffee, thank you though!)
• Packaging up basket and soap orders (there's still time to order before Christmas---limited selection of baskets left--contact Hannah for availability)
• And preparing for my sister to arrive in a few days to spend Christmas with us. Busy but fun times!

Here are some photos to share of the above special times together:

When the miles separate friends...you find ways to get together and keep up with each others' lives. This particular Saturday found us traveling to Richmond to meet Fred and Chris, who had traveled from Newport News to join us, and then we ate together at Whole Foods Grocery...yes, a grocery store with an out-of-this-world gourmet salad bar!

We girls talked quilts, of course! Chris brought her recently completed Christmas quilt to show me. Isn't the snowflake quilting on the back just wonderful?!

My friend, Dorothy--a faithful blog reader and commenter--came to visit last week, and we took in the sights in the area. From the Dayton Farmer's Market and Virginia Quilt Museum in Harrisonburg to Woodrow Wilson's Birthplace and the Pampered Palate and neat shops downtown, we thoroughly enjoyed the time together. Here's Dorothy just before she left:

Our friends, Kim and Annie, who have been missionaries for quite a number of years in Papua New Guinea, were headed to Kentucky to spend Christmas with family when they stopped by this week. What a treat to catch up on all their news and understand better how to pray for their situation.

Here's Annie after breakfast sharing pictures with Granny of their village and translation work:

And Kim and Jonathan enjoyed some pickin' and grinnin' and entertained us with their music:

And...all too soon it was time for them to get on the road, too. I'm reminded so many times when friends come and leave that one day there will be no sad good-byes.

Below: the Green House Coffee Shop where Tom and I enjoyed a delicious lunch yesterday. If you're ever over the mountain near Crozet, I would recommend the hot and toasty Southwest Turkey Panini.

Special thanks to my friend, Kendra over at Kendra's Korner, who blogged about her trip to Green House or I never would have known about the place.

These next few days I'll be planning the menu and preparing ahead just a bit for my sister's arrival on Tuesday. I hope you're enjoying this wonderful season, too, with friends and family. Take lots of pictures and make lots of memories!

 ~ Deb

An Evening of Blessing

This past weekend our family traveled to Prince George, Virginia, to attend the most delightful occasion and one which I'd never heard of celebrating.

Our friends' oldest daughter had just turned 13, and they wanted to honor and bless her as she left childhood behind and entered womanhood. A special ceremony--a Blessing--was held, and it was indeed a blessing to all who were there!

We arrived and enjoyed talking with our friends and the other families attending. Here we are conversing and meeting their newest addition.

Here's the guest of honor below (second from left) with three of her four sisters and their friends:

The evening began, and seven families were welcomed who had come to honor the birthday girl. We started with singing Blest Be the Tie That Binds with Tom on guitar, and we also sang Be Thou My Vision accompanied by piano.

Each of the dads had been asked to prepare some encouraging words of wisdom to present before the group. Here's one of the dads encouraging us all:

After the talks, scriptures, and encouragements from friends were shared, our friend called his daughter forward and told her that he was praying for her as she entered this new stage of life and that he was willing to lay down his life for her if need be.

This is my favorite photo of the evening because it shows a young daughter totally trusting her father to look out for her and to advise her in the coming years.

He encouraged her especially to look first to the Lord and then to her parents for counsel and prayer when temptations and hard times come. What a privilege it was to witness the signing of the covenant between a dad and his daughter and then watching as she was presented with a ring to seal the covenant:

After the ceremony we enjoyed a delicious meal and conversing around the table. You can also catch a glimpse of the "growing-up-years" collage on the wall in the background that was made for the occasion. Uh-oh...a little brother snitches some birthday cake icing!

And just before we left for home, we had a picture taken of all of us with the guest of honor. What a wonderful evening and one which we'll recommend for other families with sons and daughters approaching the teen years.

Have you ever attended a Blessing?

~Deb

Happy Quarter-Century Birthday, Sarah!

It is very hard for this mama to believe her baby is now 25! Where did the years go?

Menu for Sarah's birthday meal tonight include all the old favorites: *Snow on the Mountain, Lime Jello Salad, and toasted bread...and, of course, Funfetti cake and ice cream. So...lots to do today as we prepare to celebrate our favorite baby girl's birthday!

Happy 25th Birthday, Sarah! We love you!

~Your family

*Recipes can be found on previous birthday posts here (21st) and here (23rd).