Gifts from the heart

Today is Christmas Eve.  I will be working tonight so that others can spend time with their families.  I hope you don't feel sorry for me, as I like doing this for others.  I did have lots of warmth and caring these past few days.   Lori Anderson started the Bead Soup Cafe over on Facebook.  We have many members who do everything jewelry from wire, bead weaving, stringing, mixed media, and about anything else you can think of. She thought it would be fun to match people up to do a Christmas gift sharing.  I was lucky to get Andra Weber as my partner.  Andra & I wrote a couple times to get to know each other and both were so excited that we were both bead weavers and bead embroidery girls.  I had a great time getting a package of things for her.  We decided that we'd open our gifts on the 23rd.  I worked last night, so I waited until this morning.  What a delight it was to open her box filled with all kinds of goodies.  Did you hear me laugh and shout with joy?  First off she had lots of tins of coffee for me.  Then there was a bundle of beautiful batiks is all the colors I adore.  Then a box filled with beading delight with everything from beads, cabochon, lampwork, and a wonderful piece of ultra suede.  Now this is the fun part, as Andra called me yesterday right before I went to work & we were discussing things we make.  I told her I don't make earrings & would declare 2013 the year of the earring for me.  Well...guess what?  she sent me THREE pairs of wonderful earrings.  I just love them!  And I'm going to wear the angel ones this afternoon when I go to work.  I have to say that these swaps are not to get things...but to met people and build a relationship with them.  We have a wonderful community of beaders on Facebook, and now I've added another new friend to my list to share my life with.

Also last night at work, the three guys I work with every other weekend wanted to do something special for me for my retirement.  We have the best time laughing and telling stories all night long.  They got dinner from Olive Garden for all 4 of us.  It was delicious, and they made me so happy.  Our laughter and fun feeds my soul...and last night they fed my tummy too.  I'll miss these three guys.

Harry, Mesfin, and Zak