Calendar Giveaway

Happiest New Year

Thank you Martingale, for supporting our blog's wonderful 2010 giveaway series.

This is a lovely 12 x 12 calendar, metal reinforced hanghole, and over 1" squares for each date.

As if it's not enough to just be a great calendar,

there are patterns for the featured quilts!

Honestly.

The winner will be announced (random number generator winner)

at sundown

New Years Day.

So hurry! 

In order to be eligible to win, 

please become a facebook follower and a blog follower

AND

leave a note about one thing you're going to do

to be more

o r g a n i z e d

in 2011.

HappiestDays.

natalie.

www.beyondthereefpatterns.com

Merry Christmas Day!

Remember.

It's not the size of the gift that counts....

it's the size of the

T H O U G H T

that counts.

Merry Christmas

to you all

natalie.

beyondthereef

...believe

b e l i e v e

Buddy does.


(it's the one night a year to believe that maybe, just maybe, magic does exist)
b e l i e v e


hohoho
natalie.




beyondthereef

Santa's Elves

I just know

there's an elf out there

rolling on the floor

laughing at me

This year I worked hard to try to have a 'handmade Christmas'

Quilts.

Pillows.

Kitchen Hand Scrub.

Cookies.

cheater cookies

'gone bad'

Dear Santa

I promise

next year

I'll just wait for the morning delivery

...please ask the elves to stop laughing...

HappiestDays.

natalie.

ps:  as for the rest of you....pace yourselves

Homemade Holidays

Homemade.

Doesn't that sound great?

While I was in Idaho, I had a friend give me a wonderful recipe

for a sugar/salt/oliveoil hand scrub.

You know Kenna Ogg - from Madison Cottage.

She puts the scrub by her kitchen sink - and after a week of 'dishpan hands', 

this scrub makes hands silky smooth and moisturized with the best olive oil available.

So, I lit a few holiday scented candles, and lined up my grandmother's mixing bowls.

After all, an afternoon of gift making had to be festive!

I even put on a little pandora music mix - "Bing Crosby Christmas"

Then it was time to wrap the gifts, because, presentation is everything!

Linen twine, handmade tags, a terribly thick paper for the canning jar tops and the wrap...

(actually a roll of wallpaper that a found at Michael Levine's)

Before I knew it, the gifts were stacking up on the buffet, under the 'little tree'

Within the time it would have taken to drive to the mall and park, 

I had fifteen gifts wrapped and under the tree.

Sure, they're not those little blue boxes with white ribbon.

Sure, they're not 3 carat diamond stud earrings.

Sure, they're not that new car smell with a crazy big bow on it.

But, sure, the person that receives this gift will know that it was the biggest gift of all.

The gift of time.  The gift of creativity.

The gift of love.

There's still time...email Kenna and ask her for the recipe; it's not mine to give.

Or whip up some home made granola, coco, peanut butter balls, potholders, coasters, napkins

Give the greatest gift you can give.

Give the gift of yourself.

BeginAgain

2010

Natalie.

The Kindness of Strangers

 The Kindness of Strangers

There is nothing like time on the road.

A change of scenery.

A little inspiration.

Somewhere between here and there, on an Interstate between Utah and Idaho,

I ran into a snow flurry, icy roads and a temp of 23.

Of course, when this pic was taken, it was still just an adventure. 

And you could still see two lanes of road.

The car started to slide.

I eased onto the shoulder of the Interstate.

The highway was now only one lane, and littered with accidents.

On my right, ten feet below, was a car, upside down, against a tree.

Behind me, a man pulled over and was making his way down the hill to the wrecked car.

Even with a sleeping bag, water and food, I knew I wasn't safe by the side of the road.

Conditions were closing fast.

Out came the chains.

The car behind me started to pull away - I flagged it down.

What good were the chains if you couldn't see the road?

"You can make it, follow my tracks, I think these people (from the accident) are in shock, we have to go,"

he explained.

The road was a white blanket of snow, ice below.

No more tracks.

Tim from Twin Falls

had rescued a father and son from probable death,

and sheltered me to safety.

There are times in life when we are self sufficient.

We are all that we need.

And then there are times that we pass through life

only 

by the grace of

the Kindness of Strangers.

I, for one, am more than ready to return the favor.

Won't you?

Send a package to someone serving in the military.

Make a quilt for a child that has nothing under their tree.

Work in a shelter kitchen.

Donate your jacket.

Be the Kindness of a Stranger.

BeginAgain.

2010

natalie.

www.beyondthereefpatterns.com