Merry Christmas

This gift from our Father,
our God,
is one that can never be equalled nor repaid.

My sinner's soul is made clean
and the eternal misery that I deserve
has been changed to a song of praise forever.
How can I not proclaim my JOY at having and believing in a savior?

Merry Christmas.

Seaside Nativity

After making Debbie's Nativity pieces, I traced and cut some smaller ones out of the scraps of plywood. I painted them all white and screwed them onto the dock. Tonight when it gets dark, I'll turn on the spotlights, they are blue! I am hoping I have everything placed just right to make a peaceful, beautiful O Holy Night.

The Daily Grind

Back to work I go. It was nice to have a week off at Christmas.

Christmas Legends Caroling Hayride

The name is longer than the hayride! Last night, the youth group and the Henderson family presented the (what we think is...) the Twentieth anniversary hayride!

\

Some of the youth that presented the hayride twenty years ago still come. Their children now play a part in the production! Let's see, Rubin played the candymaker in the Legend of the Candy Cane. Jackson G. and Ira were shepherds looking for one lost sheep in the Legend of the Holly Berry Bush. Jessica was and angel (yeah right) and Elizabeth F. was the sad little girl in the Legend of the Christmas Rose. Hannah and Victor were lonely woodcutters who were visited by the mysterious child, Janelle in the Legend of the Christmas Tree.

Then in the Legend of the Friendly Beasts they all played a role. Kasey was Joseph, Alisha was Mary and there were lots of very antsy animals singing and playing their parts. Making their very first appearance this year are; Patrick as a cow, Daniel the donkey, Ira as a cow and Elizabeth as an angel.

The weather was just perfect and the stars were out. The hay was nice and dry. The hayride engineer drove nice and slow. The cocoa was steamy and rich. The cookies were sweet and crunchy. The songs were sweetly sung by innocent little voices. The little faces were shining with happiness. Memories were made.

Gonna have a party!

Well, Gerald is gonna have a party, I'm just going to host it for him. We invited the choir, and their families of course, to come over for a party after the Cantata on Sunday. Now, normally any party I hostess, I ask for covered dishes. It just makes sense. Many hands make light work. But this time, the choir has worked so hard all year to make sure when they sing praises they are all on key! Cantatas are hard work! So for this party, I'll do all the fixins and the trimmings and so forth. I need some Christmas serving dishes. hmm.

found this box of Christmas dishes...

and these adorable little glasses, at the local antiques dealer. For very cheap!

Add a little Liquid Nails acrylic glue....

and Wall-Ahh!!!

I have a whole set of Christmas serving trays and dishes. Ready to be filled with cream puffs, eclaires, spiced pecans, cookies and special Christmas Cake! I wonder who's gonna make all that!?!?

...and in my spare time...

No holiday baking for me, yet. Like the song says, "The house is dark and the pots are cold." Poor Gerald, he should have married a 'normal' person! Bwah-Ha-Ha!

Now let's see...what can I do with this?

and this?

and some of these?

I bet I could use a jig saw and make a manger scene.

Like the one at the church.

for my cousin, Debbie.

National Champs (almost)

We won 1st Runner Up, that is to say 2nd place, in the National Gold Cup competition. It was a very exciting ride, and I am happy that we did it. I am also happy that it is over. Will life go back to 'normal' now? What is normal?

More Apron Art

Well, I did it. I painted 8, yes count them, 8 aprons in 5 days. I was asked if I could paint 7 before Monday, on Friday. I thought long and hard about it...could I actually do that? I said I thought I could but I would have to go to work right away.
Thank goodness they didn't show up until Wednesday, so I had an extra 2 days, but also an extra apron for a total of 8. The last one I painted was a repeat of the "First" slogan. If you look back at the first set of aprons, you'll notice the differences between this week and last. I was under a LOT of pressure, and to me it shows in the lack of details.



I was also out of ideas for things that represent Yulee, so I simply expanded the perimeter of  'our area'. We are right in the middle of Mayport, NAS Jax, and Kings Bay naval bases. Many of our customers are military. I sketched this out and, Alan from the paint department helped paint it.

The pirate ship from last time was a little on the cutesy side. This pirate ship looks ominous and was super simple to paint.

The flamingos were actually done first. I have always wanted to paint flamingos, and they were fun. They have rhinestone eyes that sparkle. Yes, I know we don't see too many flamingos in Yulee. Go to the zoo, they're right there!

Another quilt pattern turned into an apron. Again, just looking for subjects I can finish with a quickness.

I'm getting short on time and short on ideas, I've worked 3 ten hour days. I have a list of ideas from other associates drifting in and out watching me paint. But what can be done quickly? What represents our area? Duh. They are executives...coming to Florida.....GOLF of course.

And if you don't golf, you might like a nice bass fishing excursion!

And those don't appeal to you, we'll do the work and you can just enjoy a big plate of fried shrimp!

Without listing all the details that I would have added, if I had more time, I still think they're not bad.
The executives came and walked the store up one side and down the other and couldn't find a single thing wrong. We were the last of THREE stores in the running for the National Gold Cup. We won't know until Monday if we win or not. Stay tuned!