Silk Ribbon and Stumpwork kit from Di van Niekerk in South Africa, it took me 3 months of working every day to finish.

Beaded Lapel pin

Silk Ribbon Needle Case Kit from Australia, made in a class with Gloria Mc Kinnon.

Lapel Pin, made with silk chiffon insert and an antique german wire mesh.

Busy working all day, put away all the outside Xmas lights and decorations. Cleaned porch, cleaned plants, watered and all looks good.  Also left a hanging plant holder for the Dove family that likes to build a nest in my hanging ferns.  I bought a hanging basket and put artificial flowers and greens all around the edge of the basket, leaving room for the Dove's to build their nest.  I have had 3 batches of babies born in my ferns, so they like my porch.  Hopefully they will like their new home.  Tomorrow I will tackle the inside of my home and put away my Xmas tree, and all the decorations.

Happy New Year to everyone, and may 2014 bring you many blessings and a healthy New Year.  Have just arrived after a week in Rancho Mirage near Palm Springs, California visiting my son.  We were on the go every day visiting with friends and going out to dinner.  I thought it might be a quiet visit watching movies but it turned out to be a busy time.  He is so much fun to be with, you never know what he will think up next, and all you do is laugh. The weather was perfect at about 75-78 deg every day, with beautiful blue skies and the evenings quite chilly. It was a great week and so lucky to have a son like him.

My family had a wonderful Christmas, we gathered at my daughter's home.  We had so much wonderful food that every body made and brought for dinner.  It was wonderful seeing all the family together, and my three granddaughter's, who are so busy with their own lives. Jenny is a high school English teacher, Michelle has a PH.d in Psychology and is working at a hospital, and Jamie works for a company that makes sporting equipment, and their ski boards are going to be at Soshi for the Winter Olympics.  I embroidered silk ribbon on berets and they loved them, which made me happy.  The weather was about 85 deg's so we spent a lot of time outdoors where the great granddaughter's were riding their new toys.  Took a lot of pictures and had a great Christmas.  I hope everyone was as lucky as I was to enjoy their day with family.