Surprises and Fun With Friends!

Happy Saturday, everyone! It’s been a very cold but good week. We have brilliant blue sunshine this morning and it’s very breezy.

It’s been an interesting week of doctors appointments and a morning at the lab having 11 vials of blood drawn. Still no results from the tests, but from someone who they have a difficult time just getting one vial, 11 was an experience. 😲

I received an absolutely beautiful birthday gift in the mail from my blogging friend Pamela in Florida. She has the blog “Closed doors, Open windows” over on my side bar. She sent me this beautiful tray that was made by her son and daughter-in-law, Benton and Rose. And it has Psalm 23 on it! It was the most unexpected and lovely gift. I’ll treasure it always. The workmanship is perfect. I love the handles on either side and it has rubber feet on the bottom so you don’t have to worry about scratching things. Every detail was well thought out. I can’t say thank you enough, Pam! And a big thank you to Benton and Rose too for the love that they put into making it. I was so shocked when it arrived. I never expected anything so beautiful. She had told me a package was on the way and to be watching for it. It had been held up for quite some time, somewhere along the way, so although it wasn’t a surprise to receive a package, the contents were totally unexpected.

Dennis got me some flowers at Trader Joe’s on Monday while we were out running errands. They still look beautiful. That’s one thing I like about Trader Joe’s flowers, they last a long time. And don’t they look nice on my new tray?

In this photo, I have four pair of mittens made, but there are actually five done. I finished another pair of lavender mittens yesterday afternoon after I took this photo. I’m excited to have a place to donate mittens again.

Please excuse the wrinkly blanket and the sunlight streak. I haven’t had time to wash this one yet, but another baby blanket is ready to go to the open door mission as soon as it’s washed.

Last night we had our valentines cake decorating party here. On Thursday I baked 25 little heart-shaped cakes and a dozen cupcakes. The ones on the right with the little hearts on the lids are gluten-free for our friend Amanda. I’ve been gathering up decorating frosting’s, sprinkles, edible glitter, and candies to decorate with. And those cute gnomes that are over a foot tall for only $1.25 each at the dollar tree! Aren’t they cute? I was puzzling on how everyone would be able to get their cakes home in one piece and I found these perfect little baking pans with lids on Amazon.

So last night, Jeff and Angie, Curt and Barb and Amanda all came over and we got Little Caesars pizza for us and a gluten-free pizza for Amanda and we had a fun-filled dinner together before settling down to decorate the cakes. There was so much fun and laughter along the way. I think the cakes turned out great! We decorated the cupcakes and ate those for our dessert.

This is the same group that carved pumpkins in October and made gingerbread houses together in December. It’s a fun way to look forward to things throughout the long winter days. The other five go bike riding once a week during the summer. Unfortunately, my back doesn’t allow us to join in on that activity, but this is also our camping group and we already have two camping trips planned for this coming summer.

Each of us hosts one of these activities at our homes. We have so much fun and laughter together. From left to right, front row, is Jeff, our minister, his wife Angie and yours truly. Back row is Barb, Curt and Amanda. Dennis is taking the photo. Curt is Dennis’s cousin and you may remember the story of how we went on our first date with him and Barb almost 50 years ago.

You also get kind of an aerial view of our condo. The living room is to the left. The first open door on the left is my yarn room/office and straight back is our bedroom. If you turn right behind the kitchen wall, you’ll see another big closet and the door to the garage Behind Dennis is the front door, the laundry room, the main bathroom and the guest room.

Well, it’s a short but sweet post, literally. A lot of sugar in those cakes! Oh the fun we had last night. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, finding joy in your heart.

Blessings and love,

Betsy

JESUS LOVES ME

Text: Anna B. Warner

Music: William B. Bradbury

1. Jesus loves me! This I know,
   For the Bible tells me so;
   Little ones to Him belong;
   They are weak, but He is strong.
   • Refrain:
     Yes, Jesus loves me!
     Yes, Jesus loves me!
     Yes, Jesus loves me!
     The Bible tells me so.
2. Jesus loves me! This I know,
   As He loved so long ago,
   Taking children on His knee,
   Saying, “Let them come to Me.”
3. Jesus loves me still today,
   Walking with me on my way,
   Wanting as a friend to give
   Light and love to all who live.
4. Jesus loves me! He who died
   Heaven’s gate to open wide;
   He will wash away my sin,
   Let His little child come in.
5. Jesus loves me! He will stay
   Close beside me all the way;
   Thou hast bled and died for me,
   I will henceforth live for Thee.