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

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement Laughter   I find the laughter of babies and toddlers irresistible. I’m sure I’m not alone. Nothing can make a person break into smiles or giggles better than a little one chortling over some simple sight, sound, or action. A good laugh makes us feel lighter and happier, chasing

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement Losses An astonishingly large number of people in Florida have suffered at least some measure of loss all the way from destroyed tokens of treasured memories to the falling of a beautiful tree to the loss of entire homes and the devastation of death. Something about the suddenness, the

Storms Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement Storms   The pictures were devastating. We saw whole vistas of trees toppled, uprooted or broken in half, roofs ripped off, or homes reduced to splintered wood lying on a foundation. Hurricane Michael left loss and devastation behind as it barreled through Mexico Beach and Panama City, Florida.