It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

My holidays started out like this on Thursday as I prepared to drive to Jacksonville for Christmas:

The back seat was similarly packed as was the front passenger seat. I had a pleasantly uneventful drive to Jacksonville. I had my iPod with me and listened to podcasts of interviews with authors such as Jeffrey Archer, Ken Follett, Daniel Silva, Ree Drummond (aka The Pioneer Woman), and Pat Conroy. I didn't know until recently that Barnes & Noble has such an extensive list of author interviews available for download on iTunes - and they are all free!

We had a lovely day yesterday - lots of gifts and great food! We feasted on standing rib roast, squash casserole, broccoli rice casserole, and the best mashed potatoes that Anna made with sour cream, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and chives. Anna's mom made a beautiful apple pie and we also had a sinfully good peppermint bark cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory.

I have to tell you about my special gift from Andrew and Anna. I don't think I have ever been reduced to tears over a Christmas gift before, but I have now. Andrew gave me a large, very light gift to unwrap. He had dropped hints on Christmas Eve about having to assemble my gift so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. What I didn't expect upon opening the gift was to find a gift certificate for Rent Amy for a Day! Can you believe it?  Do they know me or what? I get to spend a whole day with Amy! I can't imagine a more wonderful, thoughtful gift. Andrew and Anna are even talking about taking the road trip with me to Memphis whenever we work out the schedule with Amy. Details to follow....

I have had some time to sit and stitch on Noel this weekend so I've made some progress on the beading.

The third and final lesson in the Mystery Class arrived just as I was leaving on Thursday. There were all kinds of fun things in the package - green jingle bells and cute buttons that will be added to the bottom border. I appreciate the designer of Noel, Beth Gantz, dropping by to comment on the blog last week. Beth and Ruth are make for a talented combo!

While I've been in Jacksonville, I have actually missed some snow in Augusta! I think it could probably be described as a dusting - but snow, nonetheless. I hope all my stitching friends along the east coast have all the food and drink they need and don't have to leave the house for the next couple of days. Sounds like you're going to be hit with a big storm! Be careful!

Hope you all had the best of Christmases with your families and friends.  I know I did!