Sewing Is a Satisfying Hobby

With all the holiday busyness one would think sewing would be the last thing on my mind.  But, alas, some of the gifts I gave were indeed items I made.  Three years ago my husband encouraged me to purchase a new sewing machine.  My Singer that I bought in 1967 needed several parts and a newer machine, likewise, need repairs.  So we bit the bullet and made the investment in a closeout model of a Pfaff at our local "Quilt Sampler" store.

Mom in 1933 in one of her
creations.

My mother was with me the day we made the sewing machine purchase.  She was almost as excited as I was.  My mother has sewn most of her 94 years.  A neighbor lady taught her to make her own patterns when she was very young.  Mom was only 15 when she married and she had been sewing several years before then.

Mom at my wedding in outfit she made.

1967 Adcock wedding.  Mom made all attendant, flower girl & jr. usher outfits.

Mom made all kinds of dresses for my three sisters and I.  Did all the bridesmaids dresses, her dress and hat as well as white dinner jackets for my nephews for my wedding.  She created the pattern for my youngest sisters wedding gown.  And then made the dress and all the bridesmaids dresses, too.  

Powell wedding.  All dresses were made by my mom.

Mom working on bridesmaids sashes
for her granddaughter's wedding, 2007.

My niece's wedding in 2007 marked Mom's swan song for wedding attire.  She made sashes for the ready made bridesmaids dresses.  For a tribute to my Mom's sewing you can read my post of March 18, 2012.  Due to failing health and a broken wrist 2 years ago, Mom's Singer sits idle these days.

One of the big, driving forces for Gene to encourage me in the investment was language.  Yes, language.  My less than stellar language when attempting to use the newer, inexpensive Singer machine. I cursed.  I yelled.  I cried in frustration at thread backlash.  Skipped stitches would bring torrents of condemnation on the poor, needing repair machine.  I had recommendations for places to put the machine like landfills, ditches and dumpsters.

Working on puppets for church in Honduras. 

Today the sewing project was a sling for our log hauler thingie to help keep log trash off the new carpet.  Reference posts from June through August of 2012 for the complete carpet story.  But I digress.  Only one time did I have to re-thread due to a problem  And it was not the machine's issue.  I pushed the thickness a little too much.  At some point during the 6 or 7 hours of sewing, Gene noted how much different it was for him when I sew now.  A much quieter and calmer atmosphere was his observation.

Well, I still make plenty of boo boos that have to be ripped out and re done.  But all and all I really enjoy the business of making things.  No pattern, just an idea, an object, some extra material and a wonderful sewing machine makes sewing a satisfying hobby for me.

Slacker

According to dictionary.com the first definition of slacker is a person who evades his or her duty or work;  shirker.  Second is a person who evades military service.  The third definition includes such adjectives as:  purposeless, apathetic as well as being in a dead end job.

Yep, that is what I have become, a slacker.  In the 17 days since some minor surgery, I have pretty much blown off at least 3 days in a lateral position and really did not care.  The doctors and nurses told me to expect, "the recovery to be similar to recovery from childbirth.  Only, a 66 year old woman recovering from childbirth."  They were not wrong.  So I am slacking off as reaching stretches long forgotten tendons, ligaments and muscles.  Sitting can still be a bit of a challenge especially on hard chairs.  Even a deep breath can catch me off guard with a twinge of discomfort from innards that were temporarily relocated during the surgery.  But each day is better with less soreness and more flexibility.

However, this new state of slackerness could become habit forming.  I rather enjoyed not caring how the table was set for Christmas dinner.  Well, I cared but not enough to get out the silverplate flat wear.  I did manage to get the grocery store china out for us to use.  When I was working on the 8 child sized aprons, I did not use the edge gauge to make certain the hem stitch was perfectly even.  Oh, my.  Half of those were done before the surgery.  Oh, no.  It has happened just like my Momma said it would, "If you drink a little you will kill a little or cheat a little."

Doomed to hell is my soul.  I have become a slacker.

Rogers' Family Christmas

For over three quarters of a century my dad's family has gathered to celebrate the birth of Christ.  There is usually a lot of food, even more laughter, gifts and the Christmas story read at some point.  Daddy died in 2004 and is still missed.  There is no male in our line of the family to carry the Rogers surname.  The closest is my son whose middle name is Roger.  Yep, that was my nod toward tradition.

Today, right now my family including my son is gathered together at my youngest sister's home in Argyle, TX.  My mom will have all 10 grandchildren surrounding her, three of her four daughters, countless in laws, nieces, a sister and so many great and great great grandchildren I lose count.  It is hard to not be there this year, again.  I have missed a lot of these gatherings over the last 37 years but have made several, too.

They misspelled Daddy's name!

I will close today with a picture of a Christmas card sent to my dad around 1918.  Not sure I will be back to this blog till after the 25th so here is wishing anyone who stops by a Joyous Celebration of the birth of my Savior and yours.

Ok, this is 4 days late as it is not the 26th but it took a while to have time to get the disc with the card scan in it.  I am including a picture from the family gathering for 2012.

Winter Solstice 2012

While the hours of light may have been shorter by a few minutes today, my day was a productive one.  The last week or so my sewing machine has brought me pleasure.  I have made 8 child sized aprons and one for me.  The fabric is penguins, of course.  I had purchased 5 yards of the material on a whim a couple of years back.  As with any fabric person, I just needed the material with no idea of a use at the time.  Earlier in November I had the bright idea to make aprons for three young ones that occasionally come to visit.

When cousin Phyllis came for a stay she mentioned the grands and she would be making cookies.  So we whipped out 4 of the child aprons for her grandchildren last week.  A mention of the process to a nurse at Cox during a pre surgery exam resulted in making a single one for a staff person's grandchild.  Finally today I made the three for the anticipated young guests and one for me.  Such silly fun and no harm done.

For the historical context of winter solstice you can check on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice.  Living in a time with heat, lights and plentiful food makes the reading a little more meaningful.  More than one pastor has suggested that Christianity co opted the birth, death and rebirth theme from the ancients.

For me, this December 21, 2012, I am feeling a year with the hope of new beginnings.  A new knee as well as additional minor surgeries to make my 66 year old body more user friendly has given me new life.  I am thankful I live in a situation where this work can be done.  I want to be a productive member of this blue planet.  To relish the feel of material, of watching a garment develop from a flat piece of fabric.

And if you do not take a few moments on this day to visit Gretchen's blog for Dec. 17, you have missed a real treasure.  And a good belly laugh or two!  Hope you have had a rejuvenating Winter Solstice 2012!

Christmas Friends

Tonight I am being tired from working on trimming shrubs.  Yep, it is the time of year to trim those evergreen shrubs.  Just in time to make about a half dozen arrangements with yew, cedar, holly and flaming bush stems.  A few years back I saw an example for making arrangements for outdoor planters and containers.  That has become yet another one of my holiday traditions.  And the outdoor arrangements will hold well into February.  Adds interest outside the windows during dreary winter days.

Another tradition we have is knocking on our neighborhood doors on Christmas morning with a gift of fresh homemade breads for breakfast.  It is wonderful to see the pleasure this little gift does to a neighbor that we only wave across the yard with the rest of the year.  Last year as we were leaving town a few days before Christmas, we made the "Christmas bread" deliveries early.  One neighbor that has been receiving these breads for about 12 or 15 years now had a gift for us, Christmas angels.

Tonight after coming in from doing the yard work, the Christmas angel neighbors showed up with a gift before Christmas.  This gift is a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.  I immediately set up the tree with the neighbor watching.  I had almost bought one for our guest bedroom.  Just for the fun of having yet one more room with Christmas cheer.

What a blessing it is to live in a neighborhood for 20 years.  To watch as children grow and mature into grown men and women.  To see neighbors as grandparents or like the Christmas angel neighbors, dressing as Mr. and Mrs Claus.  These two visit neighborhood children just to give a special treat.  Yes, I am blessed to have such wonderful Christmas Friends.

Unforgettable Christmases

Last week the Spin Cycle assignment was for Christmas memories.  We had a lot going on last week and blogging time was not on the list as a priority.  Today, life has settled down a couple more notches has provided me with some extra time.

By far the most memorable Christmas Season was in 1972.  Four years earlier Gene and I had been told we would never conceive children.  After a period of time we decided to go for adoption.    We started the long adoption process in 1970.

By the first of December of 1972 we had been deep in the process for well over a year.  We were so close to having a baby placed with us.  One of the final steps was a physical exam.  During the exam I joked about the fact I was "late" this month.  One thing led to another and on Friday, December 22, just 3 days before Christmas I received a call from the doctor's office.  I was pregnant.  WOW!  To say we were very pleased is like the world's biggest understatement.  Talk about a December to Remember.

In 1982 I had the opportunity to write and perform a bit of prose in the Aurora Community Theater Christmas program.  Gene and John Roger ( our only son ) were performing in several of the musical numbers for the group.  They had been in several previous productions.  I was not one to perform scripted material.  Not a lot of good memorization nodes in this brain.  Anyway, here is the "bit of prose" that is part life experience, family history and fiction.

First Christmases

by Janice Adcock, 1982

My sisters,
Suzie & Margaret

The first Christmas I remember was at PawPaw's house.  I remember my sisters, Momma, Daddy, Aunt Sissy, Uncle Claude and their kids.  But mostly I remember Nona Pat.  She was Marsha's beautiful, new doll.

The first Christmas I realized that one did not always spend Christmas with family was the year a neighbor boy was in the service.  We spent hours cooking goodies to send to him so that on December 25 home would not be quite so far away.

Aunt Sissy's children,
Marsha is the infant.

The next big "first Christmas" held two new experiences.  A man named Jake, big and handsome ......... and so full of love.  Not a showy, bowing, loud kind of love but a quite, sky, smiling kind of love.  And salmon soup for Christmas Eve supper.  Definitely two new experiences.

Then, there was our first Christmas with our infant son.  We felt so akin to that Holy Couple.  Jake allowed as how, "God had a powerful lot of love for us all to allow His Only Son to die on that tree to save us wretched souls."

There were so many joyous Christmases with our folks and our children.  There were weeks of gettin' ready, cooking and cleaning.  Making a fresh wreath for the front door.  And the tree, it had to be just right!  I near drove Jake mad that first Christmas in our new home.  That tree Had to be Perfect!  It took two trips before the perfect one could be found.  And then it was too tall!  I could tell just by looking at my man that he was pretty upset.  But some hot chocolate and a batch of fresh popcorn and maybe a little peck on the cheek soon had things set right.

I know the tree mattered to him 'cause I remember how he fussed the first Christmas we had electrified lights on the tree.  REA had not reached our house yet so he strung flashlight bulbs and a car battery somehow or other and cellophane over the bulbs and it was beautiful.

The first Christmas our kids started leaving home, well it seems that Christmas became even more special because we could all be together again.  Next the Christmases started changing faces as first one parent then another went to meet The Maker.  Those were hard.  But, Dear Lord, that first Christmas without my Jake ..... that had to be the hardest.

Now my first, wide-eyed, great-grand daughter has just bounded in the front door with a new doll in her hands to show me.  It is beautiful!  Do you think that just maybe she might name it Nona Pat?

First Christmas with a camera that had a flash!  Note the tree has a power cord strung to the  light cord hung from the ceiling.  This was the "front room" at Paw Paw's house, the Farnsworth homeplace.

And do not forget to visit the other Spinners!

Comfort and Joy

In the wake of yet another shooting all I can do is pray for comfort.  The song, God Rest You Merry Gentlemen, reminds us to let nothing bring dismay.  As a person of faith, today I am certain there are families and friends living the horror of the loss of family members.  The tragedy of the shootings in Connecticut is but one of many tragedies throughout our world.  Today is a time for comfort and a prayer that joy will eventually seep back into the lives of people worldwide.

Another Busy Day

While it is the time of year to expect to be busy, it just seems this year is being a little extra busy.  Maybe it is because I am attempting to get things done before some minor surgery next week.  Yes, I scheduled a simple procedure one week before Christmas.  With the prospect of a trip to Disney World sometime next spring, I am just wanting my stuff in working order.

Besides, I am 66 years old and several of my parts are due for some tuning up this year.  New knee is doing outstanding.  Hoping this little procedure will take care of a nuisance problem.  Then if I can just get the correct combination of shoes and arch supports to get the left hoofer to being a little happier things will be set for a while.

But today was busy getting cookies for an exchange made.  Christmas cards for the group designed, printed and addressed.  Cookies and secret sis gift wrapped and myself dressed.  It was just really busy trying to get all this done.  How did I ever work full time, share care for our son and generally be a a productive member of society?  Now it is all I can do to just get the basic things done.  So much for my simple life and just another busy day.

Cycles

Today we went to church where The Real Story was presented by our church choir, orchestra and actors.  The joy of watching young children participate in this centuries old tradition brought tears to these eyes.  To see the cycle of life from the 95 year old lady that walked up to the balcony just behind us to the infant in "Mary's" arms was reassuring.

After church we did a little grocery shopping preparing for a guest that will arrive tomorrow afternoon.  As we were walking up to the store,we had to stop for Gene to find the member card so we would be allowed to enter.  One of the young women from church came up to us just to say hi. We were both so pleased with this brief interaction with this expectant mother.  Kim is a beautiful young woman with two daughters.  This child is her husband's first child.  They are both teachers.

Yes, it is wonderful to see the cycles of life as traditions such as faith is being handed from generation to generation.  During our recent trip to visit relatives in Texas, we did our part for the cycles of life and the passing of traditions.  This is now the third year we have spent Thanksgiving with our son and three grandsons.

For decades I have made breads, sometimes even took orders and sold for a little cash.  The last three years I have made homemade cinnamon rolls for The Boys love them.  This year the oldest grandson who is eleven gave me a totally unsolicited, genuine hug when he saw the size of the rolls.  The rolls were about 4 or 5 inches across so they would have lots of icing as requested him.   Pretty sure that hug assured more rolls in years to come.  And The Oldest ate five of the rolls as did The Youngest.

The other tradition that has kind of just happened is doing crafts for games with the boys.  This year The Youngest was needing some farm animals so we crafted some sheep and a pig out of felt, pompoms and pipe cleaners.  The addition of wooden feet made these critters stand alone.  Reports are The Youngest is still having fun the the homemade animals.

This year's game was actually a puzzle of TCU's football helmet.  The Boys loved the challenge as did I.  Time spent with The Middle Pickle playing Battlefield or some battle game as well as making his recipe of homemade pizza was a treasure for me.  And the pizza, including home made crust was excellent!

Tonight I close with nothing more than wishing each and every person that might stumble across this little blog a life filled the the joy of positive cycles.

Light the Night

Been working all week long on the interior Christmas decorations.  I am finally down to a little something in a couple of rooms ..... and the penguins.  My plan is to have a couple of special young ladies come and help with the penguin collection.  I have about 150 separate penguin items that will require some work to have enough area to display all the little darlin's.

These two young ladies are such sweet girls.  They have stayed with us a few times while Mom could do some errands.  One of the times they were here I had the penguins on display.  They loved them especially the mechanical ones.  E even brought a penguin to a meeting where she knew I would be just so she could show me.  I have some penguin material I want to get made into either pillowcases or aprons for the girls before they visit.  Hope it works out for them to come visit.

Today Gene rewired one of the mechanical deer for the yard.  He figured that the dollar set of lights we already had would work.  And sure enough he was able to remove the old lights, rewire the frame and solder/splice the new light string to the portion that was still working.  Sure am glad to have him around.  Handy as a third hand.

While Gene was rewiring the deer, I was in the backyard hanging the lighted garlands on the fence. I plugged in the first 60' of garland and it was good to go!  The second set was the older length.  Only one section of lights were working ... bummer.  I had picked up about 10 sets of lights a couple of years ago during the end of the season.   So Mr. Third Hand came out back and did more than his share of stripping burned out strings of lights and putting on the new strings.

I hung a few more lights around a tree, on the outbuilding and it was dark.  With the addition of a lighted wreath at the end of the garland on the fence and the bows along the garland, I was done for the day.  Well, for the night.  And the view out our back windows is looking a little more festive now that we have added Light to the night.

 

Friday Fun

The Christmas decorating in the living area and dining area are almost done.  Just need to press a few things for the table setup and I will call that part complete.  Gene has most of the front of the outside of the house decorated.  Still trying to decide if I want to do the back yard this year.  A lot of work for just 2 or 3 weeks or enjoyment.  I will see how the left hoofer is feeling tomorrow.

Yesterday David and Mary dropped by to pick up a table and chairs for a Christmas gathering they are having this weekend.  David of the helped put my tree together has been pining for a beautiful set of chimes he heard at a relative's home.  He kept speaking longingly about the perfect pitch of the chimes and their beauty.  Repeatedly I suggested it would be a great gift suggestion to give his grown sons.  Or he could use those miles points on Amazon to get a set of the chimes.

All was to no avail as the old farm boy in him just could not justify the expense in his mind.  By now Mary had even joined the chorus saying the wind was too strong for chimes at their home.  So my final suggestion was to record the pitch perfect chimes.  Then he could play the sound and even pipe to his patio.  This suggestion sent them both into gales of laughter.  Mary rushed to hug me for being such a special friend.  And they drove away with a table, four chairs and a project of recording chimes.

At lunch on Thursday I had been treated to a birthday lunch with 3 friends.  The time even included gifts of earrings, wine, wine glass, Christmas sweater and a holiday scarf.  The highlight of the gift opening is always the cards.  My friends seem to always find the best, funny cards.  Gene even chuckled when he read them.

Tonight was our sorority Christmas party with friends and spouses.  Met at Logan's then moved to Fran and Bill's for yummy desserts and warm drinks.  The conversations covered everything from new grandchildren to movies to book series each of the women were reading.  Not sure how all those busy women have time for reading entire series of books.  I do good to get the cooking instructions for reheating the frozen pizza read!  Just hearing the ladies visit about their lives made for some Friday fun.

Oh, Christmas Tree ....

Today I put the decorations on the tree that was put up yesterday.  A very kind gentleman worked to stack the 3 pieces of the tree together.  After David, the kind gentleman, and Mary, my friend and his wife, left, I spent time shaping the limbs of the 9 foot tree.   This is only the second year for this pre lit tree so I am still learning how to work it the best.  I pulled the main extension cord down the trunk and plugged into the nearest plug.  Of course that required a chair, lamp table and various room decor to be moved.

The middle part of the tree lit perfectly.  I failed to get the plugs for the lights fished to where I could plug them in before the pieces were stacked together.  Oops.  And we had not thought to attach the plugs to a point where we could easily see them when putting the tree away in 2010.  I wiggled, contorted and crawled all over that tree looking for the plugs.  Finally located the plug for the top of the tree and fished it through to the main receptacle.  Now 2/3's of the tree was lit.

It had become woman against tree now.  I dug out the trusty head lamps.  This is a flashlight attached to an elastic band that fits on one's head.  These are great for campers.  We first used one for reading to each other after a major ice storm left us with no power for days.  Irregardless of the overall look I hit the floor staring up through the tree limbs.

Headlamps, quite the fashion statement.

Please note that by this time I have been wrestling the tree for 2.5 hours or more.  But I was able to locate the elusive plug.  Like a deer in headlights the white of the plug glowed in the light from my headlamp!  More reaching and maneuvering for the plug to meet the receptacle.  I had 100% of the lights glowing.

Time for a coffee break and some time off the gimpy foot.  A banana and a couple of crackers were tasty additions to the coffee break.  But success could only be savored for a short while as there were still two tubs of garland and ornaments to be added to the 9 ft. tree.  I was only able to get the 4 bolts of bronze and blue poly mesh garland applied last night.  Then it was birthday dinner time.

Back at it by 10 this morning.  It was time for all the ornaments, icicles, snowflakes and one "partridge" for the top.  All of these "new" decorations are in the bronze, gold, silver, cream and white tones.  Once these were all up, older, special ornaments were given preferential consideration and placement.  There is only one red ornament on the tree.  It is a flat ceramic box with a first grader's face smiling back at us.  Our one and only child.  I love that ornament cause he made it for us 33 years ago.

And an only begotten Son is what this whole season is all about for me.  Not my son but God's.  So we Christians many centuries ago co opted the various ancient Druid, Roman, German and other Northern European celebrations.  The use of evergreens to represent new life evolved into the Christmas tree.  Today I completed the decoration of our tree.  Oh, Christmas Tree .....

"

Birthday Goodies

My family and friends spoiled me today with gifts, cards, calls, emails and food!  Our son started the day with a call.  That always pleases this mom and I get all happy.  Then a friend drops by with a card and calender for devotions.  Gene disappeared for several hours on a mission for John Roger and himself.  His return brought a book from the son and a love bracelet from him.  More cards in the mail.  Emails from sisters and a call from my 94 year old mom ended the pre dinner out greetings.  A perfectly cooked steak and shrimp dinner rounded out my birthday goodies.

All I Want For Christmas .....

This week's Spin Cycle assignment is our Christmas List.  You know, a letter to Santa.  Oh, my gosh.  Can I really just sit here and tell the world, or at least the viewers of the blogs what I want?  Right out there.  I am 66, yep, it is after midnight, so I am officially 66 years old and I can't think about what I want for Christmas until after my birthday on December 4.

This December birthday thing is sort of a pain for me.  I do not really like the decorations up till after my birthday.  For years I would spend my birthday work holiday decorating my house.  I am getting so slow now that I cannot get everything up inside in 3 days.  Another 2 days for the yard stuff.  And then there is still time for shopping, baking and most important, partying.

Wish 1:  A crew to help put up my decorations.  I checked online and found one down in Nixa.  A quote can be requested.

Besides as the name of the blog indicates, I got nothing in the way of answers to simple questions like what size of coffee or what show to watch.  And most of the things I really would like to have are not necessarily tangible.  You know, stuff like:

Wish 2:  Watching the grandsons open gifts on Christmas morning.

Wish 3:  Gene's mom being able to make the 25 mile trip to our home to eat a meal.

Wish 4:  Having my Granny Chandler's hot rolls one more time.

I am beginning to feel the child bubbling to the top so here comes another!

Wish 5:   A pair of custom made arch supports or if OTC fits the gifters budget one pair of each of these would be good.  Reference my Wish List on Amazon for size and pricing.

Here's another!

Wish 6:  A pair of New Balance 928 walking shoes, 8.5 wide in tan, please.

http://www.newbalance.com/New-Balance-928/WW928,default,pd.html?dwvar_WW928_color=Tan&start=2&cgid=400745

Yes, I am beginning to really get into this whole Dear Santa thing.

Wish 7:  A high rise commode!

Wish 8:  And a couple of new caps for some of my teeth!  Just a slight change from my 1953 Christmas wish.

Wish 9:  New pajamas that are slick on the outside and fuzzy warm on the inside.  Size needs to be enough to cover my double wide trailer behind size.
http://www.pajamagram.com/Category/leopard-short-leopard-lounge-ss-gallery.aspx


And I will stop with this one last request as I am feeling the greed begin to slip into my soul.

Wish 10:  A new car.  Not much as my current one has 209,000 + miles.  

And, Santa, that's all I want for Christmas....

Friends From The Past

The week before and after Thanksgiving was spent in Texas visiting family and friends.  Friends from childhood, grade school, high school some not seen since 1965 the year of high school graduation.  Others not seen since 1975 when I moved to Missouri with my husband and son.

Women of the Chambersville Methodist Church.  Some are relatives as one patriarch headrighted several sections of property in Collin County.  His descendants inherited the fertile farm properties and remained to have their own families.

Congregation of the Chambersville Methodist Church around 1944-45.  I have grandparents, sisters, parents, aunts and innumerable cousins in this picture.  This building was replaced  by the red brick building just after the end of WWII.

It still amazes me how friendships can just pick back up so easily.  Close friends that have not seen each other on a regular basis can still use code to catch up on the missing years.  Reba Jane my friend and cousin that has graced the blog previously was at the Chambersville UMC Harvest Festival.  Best we can figure out the festival started when we were about 2 or 3 years old.  Both our mothers worked to cook turkeys, pies, turnips, mashed potatoes and dressing for this major fund raiser for this small, country church.

Anyway, Reba and I were able to discuss in just a few looks and sentences our recent presidential voting.  Yes, it is secret ballot but not between BFF.  Still in agreement and happy with part of the election results.

Two other ladies with whom I spent one entire day were high school friends.  Carolyn sat in front of me in sophomore English with Coach Barton.  Dona was part of the 14 member class in Allen where I attended 10th and 11th grades.  Both Dona and Carolyn were in my wedding party.

Janice, Carolyn and Dona, 11/27/12 at Dona's home in Collin County, TX.

Dona's home set in the crook of a wet weather creek was the setting for our day long visit.  We spent time remembering other high school friends and catching up on each other's lives.  Our own small children that we had when I moved to big MO are now parents themselves.  And all three of us are now experienced grandmothers!

Picture from telegraph.co.uk

So it was a great couple of weeks.  But I am worn down to a nub.   I have refreshed myself today by watching mindless TV.  Then tonight I watched a Downton Abbey and was once again was reminded of one other friend, Donna Glenn.  The actress Michelle Dockery of Downton Abbey bears a striking resemblance to Donna.

Donna was a lovely woman that I knew during my Litton/Northrop Grumman years.  Donna had a beautiful, pale complexion with just a hint of freckles.  Her dark brown eyes could melt steel when she was upset.  She was smart.  Her memory about every 60's singing groups was amazing.  Donna passed away almost 5 years ago from pancreatic cancer.

Thoughts of Donna make me so glad I took the time to reconnect with friends and family during Thanksgiving holiday.  Time to hug so many of my friends from the past.