Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement   Dust Settles     When I was little, my grandmother often used the expression, “When the dust settles, I’ll——–” fill in the blanks. The expression meant that when whatever was stirring the air enough to cause the dust to float suspended in the air stopped and the dust

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement   Clouds   “It’s an old grey day.” A dear friend often commented whenever we had a string of cloudy, somewhat dismal winter days. The effect of days on end without sunshine has even earned a name in recent psychological writings. It’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder. SAD. One cure

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement   Cheerful Red     One of our Christmas presents is still spreading its red cheer in our home. The gift of a living poinsettia spreads it’s uplifting red long after other decorations are taken down and packed away. What a beautiful flower God created to bloom at the

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement Routine   Holidays are fun. We look forward to them and enjoy the change of pace they can bring to our lives.  I’m always amazed to discover that as delightful as it is to celebrate a holiday, the return to routine is also a blessing. Babies and small children

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement A Fresh Start   We tell children that moving to a new school or a change of teachers is an opportunity to make a fresh start. Adults recognize a change of jobs or a move in a new direction sometimes offers the same chance. Any time we make a

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement The Best Gift   As a child, my Christmas excitement centered around what I would find under the tree on Christmas morning. Several years a wonderful doll greeted me, and one remarkable year a puppy, wildly wagging his tail, greeted me Christmas morning. But my parents always provided opportunities

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement Decorations   How enjoyable to see the beautiful ways people adorn their homes for Christmas. Because we traveled long distances to grandchildren graduations for the last three Decembers, we curtailed decorating to almost nothing. This year, I’m enjoying doing some Christmas decorating. Some well used items are on fond

Mary’s Monday Musing to Quilt Encouragement Gift Wrapped   My mother was a gift wrapper par excellence. She gave her creative abilities free reign when she wrapped a present. She matched the tones in the wrapping paper with the several kinds of ribbons she used to make all sorts of lovely looks on the outside

Lights Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement Lights That Dazzle   What fun to see the Christmas lights go up on Neighborhood homes and trees wrapped with lights! It’s even more fun to go to parks or other places which put up special shows with unbelievably large numbers of lights in all kinds of colors,

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement Bless this Food Many of us take a moment before eating a meal to say a short prayer of thanksgiving over the food we’re about to eat. We often refer to that custom as ‘saying grace.’ When we are in a group, someone will request a person to “bless