leder legends

Well, grades are in and we are heading up to see the girls! No snow here but we will have a white Christmas! They say it's white and VERY cold this year. Looking forward to the snow but also packing the thermals to wear under the clothes.

I received a foodie package from Kristina in York,  PA. She sent me a wonderful assortment of local pretzels in all flavors. I am sharing all except the chocolate covered ones...too yummy! Some chocolate and granola were also in the box.  She also included a pound of the local coffee roasting company called The Green Bean. Since we LOVE coffee, the first thing I did was make us a pot. It's wonderful! So, thanks to Kristina for making my first time participation in FOODIE PENPALS so much fun!                                                 Mine!

SEWDUTCH SISTERS

I got up early again this morning but not by choice. My old body doesn't seem to need more than 6 or 7 hours in bed. So what's a person to do. I read  a comment on my blog and then started scrolling down, and down and down and reading along the way. It was a fun trip back in time. More than that I now have the answer to some questions I've been asking lately. Questions like: When did we put in this carpet? When did Sarah graduate? When did Nathania move to AK? When did....?  You get the idea. and it's all there on the blog WITH pictures! If you blog, I would suggest you do that some time. I loved it!

I know it had to happen but I really didn't want it to. The wind and the snow flurries and the low temperatures are all part of winter in Michigan but I don't have to like it. No going out to cut my own Christmas tree for me...although I hope my children have good memories of those outings. A few years ago I bought a lovely fake tree. I love it ! It's up and half decorated which is a chore I will get done over the next week or so. I'm sure every time the granddaughter stops by she'll want to help. I'm not exactly sure why I put it up since we'll be visiting the daughters for Christmas...I guess it will still be up for the New Year's Eve party.

Well, today my package arrived.  I can't say what was in  it ...yet! But I can tell you this was so much fun. I had fun deciding what to send to my person and waiting or her reaction. What I didn't expect was the crazy feeling of anticipation of getting a surprise something via snail-mail . So THANKS to Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean for thinking up "foodie pen-pals".

I am happy to report that my foodie penpal has let me know that she has received the package that I sent her last week. That makes me happy. It makes me happier still that she enjoyed my choices...and so did her kids. You'll have to wait until 'reveal day' on Nov thirty when we are supposed to blog about the packages we received. That should be fun.

I was blessed to be able to participate in a communion service at Loft tonight. Loft is the Sunday evening worship service for students held on the campus of Calvin college. It is very uplifting worshiping with a few hundred college students. They sing and pray and worship with such abandon and then listen intently to the preaching of the Word. The enthusiasm was contagious and I am thankful.

This week was the week to send out my first package to my foodie pen-pal. The challenge was to send out something interesting without going over $15. I went to Meijers and picked up the things I thought would be interesting to someone NOT from Michigan. I am not allowed to say what I sent but I can say this...when I got to the checkout I had spent $14.65! Hooray for me!. I hope she likes all of it! I am eagerly awaiting mine this week. Sarah (daughter in Alaska) just got hers on Friday so mine should get here soon. I have decided that I love snail mail. I think it's the anticipation aspect that is missing from all the modern forms of instant communication.Just call me old-fashioned.

November in Michigan can be so weird. Usually it's cold and dreary with an occasional sunny day thrown in the mix. This year it is just the opposite: sunny and even warm with the occasional dreary day in the mix. This past week it was so nice and warm and sunny that I was forced to wash windows! Today as sit at the kitchen window...the clean one...I am so glad I actually cleaned them and wonder why I hadn't done it earlier...too busy I guess. Perhaps it was also motivated by the newly painted walls in the front room, the bathroom, the hallways, the family room and the kitchen AND the new laminate floor in the kitchen.  It all looks wonderful! What I do wonder about is why it is so difficult to remember how bad it all looked before it got done? It is the way everything should look, right? I am surprised how it has all motivated me to clean everything!!

It's almost election day and I am still debating how to vote. My presidential vote is clearly going to be against one rather than for the other...if that makes sense. One thing I do know--I am more than ready for all the political advertising to STOP!! October was a good month-warmer than usual; lots of projects completed AND a great visit from daughter #1 (in age only) and her funny, loveable, talkative two year old. The two cousins got reacquainted and enjoyed a variety of activities in the unseasonably warm October weather.

So, have you heard about FOODIE PENPALS? It's a blogger that connects the penpals with each other every month and then those two send each other a food package. Sarah is doing it and convinced me to sign up. I'll tell you next month how this all turns out. If you were getting a food package from some stranger, what would you like to get?