Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Brrrrr! Picnic anyone?

My heart is full and thankful for a wonderful wonderful time with my precious son and his wonderful family.  I arrived safely in Iowa from Georgia on December 20th to bitter cold weather but beautiful scenery.  Everything was covered with a blanket of white crystals even his patio and lawn chairs.  It was truly awesome to behold.  A white Christmas just for me! 
(In Georgia we don't "normally" get much snow)
First thing I did was go to see my sister in Ames, IA and we had a wonderful reunion of hugs and gift exchanges.  The next day we went to a lovely gift and tea store (sorry I did not take a single pic) We had a wonderful lunch there of quiche and chicken salads and talked and talked. 
It is awesome to have my sister as my friend too.
Next I headed south to DesMoines to my son's sweet home.  I was welcomed with open arms and a loaded schedule.  We went to all of my favorite resturants, shopped at my favorite places, beaded with my sweet Tammy and snuggled into their warm/loving home.  Christmas eve was just like a story book Christmas.  It snowed another six inches over night so we woke to a blanket of beautiful
white covering over everything. 
(I parked my car all of the time I was there because I did not have snow tires so you see what my car looked like on Christmas morn.)
Here is my son out shoveling the drive on Christmas day! 
I was then thrilled to have lunch with my cousin LaRae and her daughter Debra after tooooo many years apart.  It was just like we had never been separated by miles.  We picked up right where we left off some 17 years ago. 
On Saturday Shawn, Tammy, Ethyn and I were privledged to celebrate Christmas at Tammy's Mom's house.  We entered a table heavy ladened with every wonderful candy and deserts one could imagine.  Then she had another table around ten feet long with turkey and all the fixins'.  They even had a stocking for me filled with chocolate covered cherries and Andies mints.  They gave me two wonderful beading books and lots of other goodies.  I felt so warm and so honored to be in their home to celebrate with them. 
I said all of this to say that I am so very content to be safely home but my visit was absolutely wonderful.  Tammy and I talked beading, shopped beads and even had time to bead a few things together.  Tammy started another blog and I am hoping she will post the items she made while I was there.  Please check to see her creations at GetBusyWithCrafts.blogspot.com
(I will show you what I got finished in my next post.)
Thank you, sweet Tammy for welcoming me into your precious family and for making me feel so special while I was there with you.  I love you, dear girl, and treasure our friendship, your son, and your hubby.  I am truly truly blessed to have you in my family!
On January 2nd I decided it was way toooo cold  to stay any longer so I headed south. (it got down to -9 degrees below 0)  Guess what!  The cold weather followed me all the way to Georgia and we are to get 3 inches of SNOW on Thursday!!!  So I have to apologize to each one in Georgia.  I didn't mean to do it, it just happened....lol

I have been away for so long but my thoughts were never far away from all of my blogging buddies!  I have missed you all so much and I am anxious to get around to catching up with each one of you.
Drop me a note if you have the time and be sure to have a wonderful year!
Sharon
P.S. Lynn dropped me off a warm hat and lovely long scarf she made for me that kept me nice and warm while I was freezing up North!  Thank you, sweet girl, for thinking of me and for all of the warm thoughts that came along with your love gift. 
You are such a blessing to me!

17 comments:

Rebecca Nelson said...

Oklahoma is turning FREEZING COLD tonight and this Cali-Native-Girl doesn't like it one tiny little bit. Seeing the snow where you are makes we want to bundle up and hibernate for the remainder of the winter.

But...I'd miss all my blogging friends too much if I did that so I've decided to TOUGH IT OUT! Guess you're stuck with me tagging along ....

Hugs to you~

Rebecca

Charlene said...

Sharon I came by on New Years Eve to wish you a Happy New Year & I wondered why there were no recent posts. Now I know!!!! Looks & sounds like you had a wonderful trip. Yes, we are in the grips of another cold front coming our way tonight. Brrrrrrrrr we southern girls don't know how to handle this kind of weather. So glad your home safe. Hugs! Charlene

Debra@CommonGround said...

Sharon, I'm so glad you're back and that you had such a wonderful Christmas, I was beginning to wonder where you were! I knew you hadn't posted for weeks. I'm so glad your OK, and just had a precious family visit! Glad you're home safe!
hugs,
Debra

Linda K. said...

So glad you were able to spend time with friends and family over Christmas. And so glad you are home safely. Missed you here!

Blessings,
Linda

Anonymous said...

Sharon it sounds like your trip was everything you could have possibly hoped for! How were you feeling the whole time, with your cold? I was worried about you driving.
The photos are great..can't even imagine that kind of cold!!
So happy you had such a fantastic Christmas and are home safe.
Glad that your scarf and hat helped keep you warm:)

Love,
Lynn♥

The Other Side of Me said...

Hi Sharon,

Welcome Home. What a lovely Christmas you had. It has gotten way too cold here in Georgia. I am not hoping for snow. Stay warm!

Have a wonderful new year ahead,
Tammy

Lana Manis said...

Isn't it wonderful to visit with friends and family? My son lives only one county away, but I still miss him so much!

Thank you for visiting my blog and for leaving such very nice comments!

I was looking at your designs in the sidebar ~ just gorgeous!

Sea Witch said...

No apologies needed for bringing the cold to Georgia. My view is that if the cold came with you, then it means you brought your warm, delightful and creative self with it. I'll take that package any day. Love your work. Sea Witch

Winchester Manor said...

Happy New Year Sweet Friend! I'm so glad you had such a wonderful time with family and friends.

Boy that is a lot of snow! Thank you for sharing your photos, so gorgeous!!

I'm off now to check out Tammy's site. Enjoy the rest of the week!!

Love and hugs,
Karyn

Sweet Old Vintage said...

Oh welcome back.... Missed you...

LuLu Kellogg said...

I am so glad you are back and are safe and warm! We are supposed to get snow again tonight. Our 19 inches we got two weeks ago just melted and now more is one the way....ughhh!

Loved seeing the picture of your trip!

Welcome Home!
LuLu~*xoxo

Pellie / Penny said...

Welcome back,
Glad to hear you had such a nice holiday albeit a cold snowy one.

Seeing family again is always a treat, and at the holidays it seams even more magical.

Where is the global warming they keep talking about - it sounds more like we are in a global deep freeze.


Hugs,
Penny

karlascottage.typepad.com said...

This cold is everywhere! Its hard to escape!!

Tammy said...

Thank you for coming and braving the cold and snow with us!! We already miss you very much and hopefully we can head down your way sometime soon!! Can you believe that we got more snow the other day and our highs are in the negative?? It's crazy around here but I am planning on staying in and working on more projects this weekend. Miss you and love you!!

The Charm House said...

Sharon,
Glad you are back home safe! I am freezing here in Monroe tonight! I think I have the "chill" in my bones and it will not leave! I worked all day cleaning up my studio and hopefully will be creating again very soon! Have you ever made a garter belt for a bride? I want something artsy and different for Whit's wedding. We talk to my florist last week and the flowers and candles are going to be incredible... Almost Magical forest like! I like items made by artist for her wedding and with her being creative as well, I think she would love to have as much handmade trinkets as well!
Let's plan in the next couple of months getting together!
Yvette

Grandma Yellow Hair said...

Sharon I am so happy to read this post and find that your trip was everything you had wished for and more. I too have missed you and all my friends on here. I am having serious expensive internet problems and am in a tizzy as how to get it solved. Plus the expense of helping my daughter with her trip to Spain.....
We will catch up soon..look on my site to see what happened
Love

Maggie

Carol Anne's Boutique said...

Hi Sharon,
I was wondering where you were, glad you are home safe and sound. I am so happy you had such a wonderful time visiting your family & friends! Loved seeing the pictures of all the snow!
Hugs, Carol Anne

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