Happy New Year!!

Hi all -

Sorry for the silence. I did get all of my Christmas projects done, then rushed to get everything packed and make my way to Kansas City. I got a hat knitted up for my nephew before hitting the road:

I actually knit this hat twice. This is the first version made with thinner yarn so it ended up being a bit too small. I knit another version with thicker yarn and that one came out just right. I thought I had taken pictures, but I can't find them now so this one will have to do. They were both in the same colors so it's hard to tell the difference in pictures. The first hat I'll keep in a bag that I will hopefully fill with hats, scarves and mittens that I can donate to the homeless shelter. I've never knitted with two colors before so I'm really happy with how this one turned out.

I also finished my sister's quilt, but didn't get any extra pictures myself. The only added quilting was a wave design in the narrow border to nail that border down a bit. Here is a picture of the quilt on my sister's bed that she took for me:

She and her husband were VERY pleased! Greg was especially pleased that the bedroom walls go with the quilt so he doesn't have to repaint! Everyone else also seemed to like their handmade gifts, so I was really happy. My niece's are pretty stylish so I never know if what I make is cool or lame. (But I'm not sure if they would tell me if they were lame, either.)

We got our traditional picture of the dogs in front of the Christmas tree and all of the presents:

They are all so sweet and cute! From left to right we have Winnie, Lance, Brutus and Vada. Lance is mine and the rest belong to my sister Linda. We were also able to get a picture of one of my niece's:

Isn't she beautiful? This is Kelsey, the Respiratory Therapist who graduated from college in 2014. She and another niece, Terra, who is a nurse, had to work 12-hour shifts on Christmas night so they celebrated with us then took naps and ran off to work. Terra had also worked the 12-hour shift on Christmas Eve. Their stamina amazes me!!


I had a good visit with my family. At my good friend Renata's suggestion, my sister and I went out for Chinese foot massages. They were incredible! We went to Long Life Foot Massage in Olathe, KS. Their definition of "foot massage" is to soak your feet in hot water while they give you an ear/scalp massage then a hand/forearm massage. Then they work on the feet and calves. When that is finished, you go into a private room for a shoulder/back massage. Incredible! And the prices are great: $40 for 60 minutes; $60 for 90 minutes. We went for the 60 minute at the beginning of the week to check them out, then went back for the 90 minute at the end of the week since I ended up staying an extra day because of the weather.

I also got to have a really pleasant lunch with my friend Janet, who also lives in the area. We went to Bo Ling's, my favorite Chinese place in the area. She's so much fun to talk to -- we ended up chatting for a couple of hours again. It's so much fun getting to meet up with our online quilting friends!

The unfortunate part of the trip is that I got sick again. It started off as a bad sinus headache and some soreness of my throat on Christmas day, and, as usual with my asthma, moved into a bronchitis that I've been battling ever since. It was starting to get better at my sister's house, but the long drive home to a literally freezing house pushed back the healing a bit. Yes, my boiler died while I was away and the temperature in the downstairs part of my house was just 36F when I got home. Upstairs was even colder with the pet water dish and the toilet water frozen solid. I got the pellet stove lit, but it took many hours for that to heat up the house. Since I have the pellet stove, I decided to wait out the holidays before calling a plumber in to see if he can fix it, so hopefully I can get someone out next week. I left a voice message for one today. Hopefully, he'll be able to understand what I said since I also have laryngitis now. That just keeps things interesting.

As you've probably guessed, I haven't gotten anything creative done since I've been home. I've just been concentrating on sleeping whenever my coughing fits allow me to get some rest. But I should be able to start up again soon and will hopefully have something fun to show you next week.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!!

Nancy