Bittersweet weekend...

Thanksgiving went by without a hitch. The table was beautifully set, the house cleaned and scrubbed, and the food was delicious. We had family surrounding our dining room table, and we had a nice visit afterward.

Friday, we received some terrible news. . .Brandon's grandmother--who was just here the day before, helping me cook and then clean all the dishes (the dishes had to be hand-washed)--had blacked out and fallen down her basement stairs while carrying her vacuum cleaner. Turns out, she had anemia (no one knew, not even she!) and it caused a brain aneurysm, making her black out. Her fall caused severe neck damage, and she never regained consciousness (as far as I know). A few hours later, she was gone. It was such a shock, since she was the healthiest out of all of our (mine and Brandon's) grandparents combined. The uncertainty we have now is, who will continue to take care of Clair, her husband? Right now, her sister is taking care of him. We are to drive to Bellefontaine tomorrow by 1 to be with family for the viewing times, and then again on Wednesday for the funeral.

In the midst of all this, minutes after receiving the first telephone call, I received a call from one of my dearest friends...she's expecting! Yay! A new baby to spoil! (Her name is withheld because not everyone knows yet...If you think you know who it is, try guessing again because I have several friends who might possibly fit the bill!!)

Needless to say, Friday was one of mixed emotions. I've been helping Brandon adjust to his grandmother's passing, and I've had to really restrain myself from truly bouncing off the wall over my friend's good news.

Despite all this excitement, I've been working on various gifts for the next few weeks. I finished my FIL's afghan for his birthday (yippee!), which he's been waiting on for a while now. I started both of my SILs' Christmas gifts, and began several sock monkey hats for my cousins and various friends for Christmas. Also on my to-do list are snowflakes, dishcloths, and another afghan for a friend who purchased the yarn. I keep praying that I get everything done and fast!!

I borrowed some Gooseberry Patch books from the library, and one of them had a great idea for recycling felted wool sweaters--you know, those sweaters that seem to shrink every time you wash them, only for you to discover they were wool and should have been hand-washed? Turns out, you felt them even more, turn them inside out, and cut out a stocking shape, using the neck of the sweater as the cuff of the stocking. You sew the sides together, turn right-side-out, and embellish as you desire. I think cabled ones would look wonderful! I think I just might use this idea for next Christmas, gathering up wool sweaters from thrift stores over the year and felting them for stockings. Hmmmm...

Well, I need to go. Since Brandon's off for bereavement leave, we're going shopping to find him some appropriate clothing for the next 2 days--his suit no longer fits!