Closing out the Year

   Can you believe that 2022 is almost done with?  I should believe it since it is getting colder the closer to 2023 we get.  By the time the 22nd gets here our low is supposed to be only 2F.  For those of you who don't know, I retired a couple of years ago and moved to Arkansas from Illinois.  If I was still in Illinois I would still say it was cold but would expect it.  I'm not used to thinking of Arkansas that cold.  I will survive though and it is only for a couple of days.

   I was trying to think of what else to write about and then what should appear in my email box but a suggestion.  I thought I'd share it with you in case you too have trouble sometimes thinking of what to post.  Camille Styles sent the email and this is what she suggests for "journal prompts".

JOURNAL PROMPTS FROM A FAVORITE NEWSLETTER:

~How am I feeling through this seasonal shift?
~What has been taking way too much time away from my personal life, relationships, and those I love?
~What can I do to lighten my load and be more present?
~What are the three most impactful things I can do before the year ends?
~What are three things I can crowd out today that don’t need my attention?

   I thought these were great questions for us to ask ourselves. The one that stuck out to me to answer today was "What are the three most impactful things I can do before the year ends?" I know, I know. I can hear you thinking "But Bonni, you do realize that the year is almost over with?"  It is but I've never been known for planning out journal entries and other things too far in advance.  I guess I could say that I didn't think of it earlier and that would be true too.  The other problem with my acting on that question is how do you define impactful?  I'm not even going to go into trying to think of THREE things that are impactful.

   I would like to think that my blog has an impact on people but I really don't think it does to the extent I can claim it is impactful.  I'm ok with that.  I would like to say that my friendship is impactful but that is ever going on and not just a "today" type thing.  So I guess I'm just going to say that I am going to be making some food for a friend of mine (yes, Dan) for Christmas.  He will be coming over so besides the usual meal leftovers, I am going to give him "snacks".  They really don't have a common theme besides just being snacks.  I'm going to try to make some Oreo cream cheese balls, maybe some cookies as well as give him little things that I know he is always needing.  That would be a lighter.  That man goes through lighters faster than anybody I know.  He either uses them up (the small cigarette lighter) or misplaces them either at home or in his vehicle.  I usually give him one or two each Christmas.  I also have some Little Debbie's Oatmeal cream pies that I will give him.  That is something we have recently talked about and mentioned how it is a good "stocking stuffer".  I might make peanut butter fudge but only if I remember to pick up some cream cheese frosting on Wednesday.  If I feel REAL ambitious, I'll make a stocking for everything to go into.  I don't want to get too carried away though.  :)  How is this impactful?  Good question and I'm not sure if I have a good answer but I'm going to try.

   I like to think that I make an impact in his life.  We've been friends for almost (wait until I pull out the calculator)...25 years.  I've always been there when he needed somebody to talk to whether he was deployed or just at home.  Today he will be traveling back to Aransas from Tennessee, a 5 hour trip, and I will be on the phone with him all the way.  He lives by himself and he knows that somebody is there for him, even in spirit, for him to talk things through and just to keep him company so he doesn't get road rage etc.  He also doesn't cook much (although he could if he wanted to) so by sharing food with him I know he is getting something besides just what comes out of a can.  Yes I will be giving him "snacks" but it is Christmas time and he can work on his losing weight (yeah, right) after Christmas.  Besides the Elf in me says he has to have sweets to enjoy the holiday with.  

   The other thing I just noticed was the wording on the last helpful journal topic.  "What are three things I can crowd out today that don't need my attention?"  I think that I will just stop with the first part and say "What are three things I can crowd out today?"  If I am going to do them, then they get my attention for no matter how long I am doing them.  So my three things today are:  do a blog entry (YAY...That is getting done as I type); work on stitching on a UFO block, and cook and clean up immediately afterwards.  I really hate the clean up part so I am trying to get better at that.  I have a UFO block that goes back to 2014.  They are from a Rose of Sharon BOM that I had signed up for.  For a low fee of whatever it was, I received the pre-fused patters.  I had to buy the Rose of Sharon boo by Sharon Pederson but I didn't mind that.  I have some of the blocks all stitched down but have a LOT more that aren't.  So my goal is to pick up a block from a UFO and keep stitching on it until that block is done and then get another UFO block (from a different project) and work on stitching that.  I will rotate to a different UFO pattern after finishing one block and that way hope to get more than one UFO finished in 2023.  I'm not sure if I will get the whole quilt done but at least the top.  I'll take a picture of the blocks once I finish hand stitching them (blanket stitch).  It's funny looking back at the ones I have completed already.  I used two strands of DMC floss on them so I have to continue for the rest of the blocks.  If I was starting them now, I'd use only one strand.  Funny how our habits or thinking changes over the years.

   It is time for me to get some breakfast so I will stop here.  I hope you all have wonderful and safe holidays and I'll see you in the next post.