Christmas Cards

[dforseth]

I got a LOT of cards today, thanks they are all great. It is really neat to have a mailbox full of cheer.

Merry CHRISTmas
Debbie

[dforseth]

Thank you to everyone who sent cards, they were all GREAT. It was nice to learn something about each one of you.

Happy 2009
Debbie

[scrappie66]

I want to thank each and every one of you who sent me a Christmas card. I enjoyed looking at all of the cards and especially enjoyed reading all the personal Christmas letters. Its fun to put a name to a face plus all your interesting activities. I made you all a Christmas postcard (wanted to do something different), which was alot of fun to do. I hope you all received them. Just a brief little info about me. My forum name is scrappie66 and I live in West Central very rural Minnesota. My husband and I moved here from sunny southern California 2 years ago to be closer to our seven grandchildren. Have not regretted a minute of it.
I learned to quilt from Eleanor and her staff at her Quilt in a Day San Marcos store. The lessons that I learned there have stood me well in all my quilting ventures.
I am a retired hospital nurse which now gives me ample time to sew and quilt. My DH still works part-time which gives me even more time that he doesn't know about.
I sew and quilt almost every day from 5-8 AM. Its amazing what can get done when not interrupted. I occasionally will quilt again from 5-7 PM if my husband is working. Winter in Minnesota also affords me extra time to sew which I do not have in the summer months.
I have an awesome sewing studio in the lower level of our home with all my fabric, etc. kept in an adjacent bedroom. I call it "The Happiest Place on Earth".
Again, I hope you all had the happiest of Holidays and I wish for you all a fruitful New Year. :>) Always in stitches...Susan Thorson

[Sandy5689]

I really enjoyed getting all these cards in the mail, it was wonderful.

Everyone have a great new year. Hugs Sandy

[Tulpje]

*Smile*

I really have enjoyed all the cards and letters as well.
They really have brightened my days.

I was on the Christmas exchange list, but could not send out a single card/letter myself because I was diagnosed with MRSA which was located behind my left ear. I went through numerous app. with the woundcare nurses and a few days of IV anti-biotic therapy, including one for meningistis. MRSA this close to the brain is pretty dangerous. After that I was placed on home isolation and oral anti-biotics Clindamycin. MRSA is HIGHLY contagious, so I had to drop out swaps, SSP and the card exchanges. This home isolation is driving me nuts, but I hope soon to her the clearance from the Docs. that I at least am allowed to go OUT of the house.

As a contribution to the card/letter exchange I would like to write something about myself in this thread.

My name is Susanna. I was born and raised in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. I am the youngest girl of 8 children. My oldest sister is 67 and I am 54 (still for a few more days). I have 1 brother who is younger then me, he was my parents suprise baby. My parents had 4 boys and 4 girls.

I moved to the USA with my husband and our 3 children to Austin, TX in 1982, due to his work for Texas Instruments we've been moving between Holland, USA and Germany. In 1982 we decided to have to settle down in one given language, and we choose the US to do that in. At times it could become pretty commical how 3 languages could be used within one sentence by our boys.

We moved to California in 1990. My husband passed away in 1991. My boys were young teenagers, 12,13 and 15. So it is not that I could pack them up and move them back to where I was born. Since they lost their father, I just could not up-root them again.

Later in life I met my DH over the I-net. We chatted for about 3 months and met up with each other at a mutuals friends house for a New Years party. It was Love at first sight. A year later we married, he brought 2 of his children with him into our marriage, so now there were 7 of us. I went FT into school at that time, while keeping a FT job (three 12 hour night shifts in the weekends), and raising 5 children. Once I graduated from nursing school and took my state board license I went to work into the hospice field.

10 Years ago we bought our first home just about as much south you can go here in California. We're about 5 miles North of the Mexican border.

Over the years I have tried off and on to learn to quilt. ALL those projects from magazine and books, ended up as UFO's. Then a female friend of mine gave me a link to QNN (Quilter news network) That is where I learned about QIAD. From there I found EL's web-site, which I joined August 2007, and I could hardly believe my luck that QIAD is faiirly close by where we live.

Since that time I have actually been able to finnish quite a few quilts. Also since then I have met EL in person numerous times. Attended her QIAD retreat twice now together with a few more of 'EL's Angels'. Jeff and I even drove up to Paducah, KY last April. Alina pulled me into going to El her monthly BOM block parties.

I have made SO many friends here in this forum. I enjoyed meeting many of the 'EL's Angels' in person. LOL, too many to even name them. Joining this forum has perked up my self esteem, and I still can't see an end in sight where I won't have more and more to learn that is to learn about quilting.

I truly hope that my health issues will be resolved next year, because if it is up to me I would go back to Paducah, KY again in April to be able to attent the 'meet&greet' of as many 'EL's Angels', and especially Mama Parker, who all got us here in the first place.

I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas, and I wish each and every one of you a *HAPPY* New Year.

***Tulpje***

[maryq]

I'd like to add my "thank you" to all of you that sent Christmas cards!! It was such a wondeful treat to having something nice in the mail every day! I especially enjoyed the little letters that came along with some of them, and wished that I had remembered to write a little "story" to share as well.

I hang my cards around the archway between my dining room and my "porch" (heated because it gets COLD in MN !!! right Susan??) and the archway is FULL. I'm keeping all the letters that came with the cards to help me remember who is whom!! Loved getting pictures too and will keep those handy as well!

You've all given me such happy memories this year and I thank you from the bottom of my heart

marymargaret