Last week I:

Last Thursday I canceled my out-of-town visit to swap these packages and


try out my new heater.


Then, some last minute change of plans had me visiting some friends who


had a gorgeous garden.


Possibly the most peaceful time of the day,


this garden barely showed the heavy freeze (18 degrees F, - 11 degrees C)we had experienced the night before.


In my opinion, it was still beautiful.


I took in all the sights


because every corner of this garden


still provided stunning views.


Little details were everywhere.


Every view was enjoyable.


Paths led to places of interest,


and showcased all the roses in the garden.


Follow another path


and you found forks in the road.


The choices were like in life. Follow one path, it leads one way,


follow another, and light and shadow play with your choice.


Beauty was everywhere.


One path led to the arbor,


where, even the compost bins were beautiful!


Then it was time to give thanks and eat.


After eating, I finished the swap and took the packages I could to the PO for mailing.


On Friday, while others were busy snapping up bargains, I was standing in a line at the PO since I needed to buy stamps for those people who sent money.


Finally, the line was beginning to move once the clerks returned from the back.


While attaching the stamps I purchased (YES, I could have just metered the mail, but what fun would that have been for the swappers), I noticed how the light played on the deserted mail box side of the post office,


a stark contrast to the area where clerks were needed to help with a purchase.


Then it was off to my friend Scott's.


Where he was busy building his own gingerbread trim,


and hanging other trim.


He had me nervous when I saw him doing this!!


Inside, the light from the soon-to-be-installed windows


contrasted nicely with the various geometric shapes of the ceiling.

As night approached, we headed to Scott's bank. I took the opportunity to snap a picture of downtown Wichita, as a transit bus blurred its way through my photo.


A quick photo through the rear view mirror showed Christmas decorations were up at the bank, as they should have been at my place.


Instead, we were off to Harbor Freight where I looked for Christmas gifts and Scott bought some more much needed equipment as a result of his recent break-in.


We returned to my place to dine on wonderful leftovers that I missed out on the day before. Sorry, no pumpkin roll! Pie would have to do. And I even ate turkey, something I didn't do on Thanksgiving. It was the first time I'd had meat in so long, it was actually quite good!


On Saturday I grieved for the loss of a dear friend, while I drug boxes and boxes and bags and bags of Christmas decorations to my kitchen.



Although I planned to decorate my house yesterday, I realized what a horrible mess I had in my house. I'm a neat freak and cannot work in clutter.


This was a result of my laziness over the past week and a half!


Messes were EVERYWHERE. I didn't even have a clear path to anything.


Last night, it looked even worse. I spent the entire day sorting and rearranging. I want to make and sell my sewn visual journals and need a way to easily get to the pieces I want to use. I think I can cut the sewing time a bit, if I can get to what I want to use easily. I don't yet have a system, so I hope my new system (the one currently in my head) will do the trick. At least I now have corralled all the wonderful art and gifts I have received that I have yet to open,


and I'm closer to being able to reach the bathroom door! I bet you know what I'll be doing today! I sure hope I make some progress before I have to show this mess on Wednesday.

Today, I'm still having problems with Blogger, and it sounds like my e-mail is bouncing, too, although I have plenty of space. So, if you need to get ahold of me, just leave me a message in the comments and I'll see what's up. I won't be back onto the blog until late tonight, though.

Today is another link I "snagged" from Seth Apter's blog. Chris Beck works in metal. His art is stunning. I was especially taken with his bird series because birds are a favorite theme of mine at the moment. I also liked the trees and several other categories. But I'm not going to spoil it for you. This is one web site you cannot miss if you like metal much as I. So, I hope you'll take time to visit Chris Beck's web site today.