Michele Bilyeu Creates With Heart and Hands: Christmas and Other Winter Holidays

Showing posts with label Christmas and Other Winter Holidays. Show all posts

Dec 1, 2025

Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem by Maya Angelou

Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem was first read by Dr. Angelou at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree in Washington D.C. in 2005.

Although written in the spirit of Christmas, the poem is intended to be a gift for people of all faiths and encourages us to celebrate and embrace the promise of hope, peace and unity during the holiday season.

The poem offers a beautiful message of acceptance and love that seems to be as current today as ever.

Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem by Maya Angelou

"Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes
And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses.
Flood waters await us in our avenues.

Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche. Over unprotected villages.
The sky slips low and grey and threatening.

We question ourselves.
What have we done to so affront nature?
We worry God.
Are you there? Are you there really?
Does the covenant you made with us still hold?

Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters,
Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope

And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air.
The world is encouraged to come away from rancor,
Come the way of friendship.

It is the Glad Season.
Thunder ebbs to silence and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner.

Flood waters recede into memory.
Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us. As we make our way to higher ground.

Hope is born again in the faces of children
It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets.
Hope spreads around the earth. Brightening all things,
Even hate which crouches breeding in dark corridors.

In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now. It is louder.
Louder than the explosion of bombs.

We tremble at the sound. We are thrilled by its presence.
It is what we have hungered for.
Not just the absence of war. But, true Peace.
A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies.
Security for our beloveds and their beloveds.

We clap hands and welcome the Peace of Christmas.
We beckon this good season to wait a while with us.
We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and Muslim, say come.
Peace.

Come and fill us and our world with your majesty. We, the Jew and the Jainist, the Catholic and the Confucian,

Implore you, to stay a while with us.
So we may learn by your shimmering light
How to look beyond complexion and see community.

It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.
On this platform of peace, we can create a language
To translate ourselves to ourselves and to each other.

At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ
Into the great religions of the world.
We jubilate the precious advent of trust.
We shout with glorious tongues at the coming of hope.
All the earth’s tribes loosen their voices
To celebrate the promise of Peace.

We, Angels and Mortal’s, Believers and Non-Believers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at our world and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at each other, then into ourselves
And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation.

Peace, My Brother.
Peace, My Sister.
Peace, My Soul."

May Peace fill all of our hearts during this blessed season where our ancients roots -- the original not often recognized pagan celebration by the Celts/Druids which was the very basis for the timing of the Christian adaptation into our holy Christmas and the strength into glory of the Jewish Peoples during *Chanukah/

Hanukkah now overlap in one season and even over one day, a special and rare event of great significance.

Holy of Holies in all ways filled with Blessings for All - all colors, all races, all religions, all belief systems. A time for peace and acceptance and joy in all that makes us alike, and not different.

The light casts out the darkness of all of the projected shadows that seem to overwhelm our world right now. We must always keep in mind - that is what projections are. The deepest and darkest parts of each of our collective selves being brought forward for acknowledgement, transformation and atonement or at its truest "at-one-ment".

The light casts them out and ushers in glory and goodness and love. For whatsoever you do to one you do to all of our brothers, our sisters, you do to

**There's no single "correct" spelling for Hanukkah in English, but Hanukkah are widely considered to be the two most common and accepted variations.

💜🙏💜

Michele Bilyeu Creates With Heart and Hands as she shares her imaginative, magical, and healing journey from Alaska to Oregon. Creating, designing, sewing, quilting, and wildcrafting - from my heart and with my hands.

Dec 21, 2024

Bringing Forth the Light

From ancient times, the winter season has been seen as part of balance of nature, a time where the balance point changes between the darkness and the light.

As with the falling of the leaves, it is a time for change and a natural time for letting go of all that which seems dark within one's life. A natural time for making choices to bring in the light, both to lessen the darkness within, and to open ourselves to life's full grace and beauty.

Throughout history, in all of the world's cultures, through belief systems, festivals, traditions and practices, the changes in the cycles of birth, death and rebirth have been intrinsically and symbolically honored. From this honoring comes our holidays, our 'holy days.'

When we walk between the veils of one season and the next, or one change or one emotion and the next., or even one 'holy day' and the next, we find ourselves always balancing our emotions, balancing the dark emotions, the very ones which create power and change, or the light emotions, the ones which bring in joy and abundance.

As with both the winter and the summer solstice, the balancing of the dark and the light is part of the deepest of the shadow work inside, as well as outside of ourselves. Everything and everyone is connected and our connection to nature is the deepest and truest example of this balancing and the deepest of needs for that connection.

Winter Solstice can vary because of place or time but it falls on December 21st or December 22nd and is the moment when the earth is at a point in its orbit where one hemisphere is most inclined away from the sun.

Solstice is of a Latin borrowing and means 'sun stand', referring to the appearance that the sun's noontime elevation stops in its progress. It is both the shortest day, and the longest night of the year. Many cultures the world over perform solstice ceremonies. At their root is the ancient fear that the failing light would never return unless humans intervened with some vigil or celebration.

The Winter Solstice has always been associated with the birth of a divine king in many different cultures, long before the rise of Christianity and the blessed birth of the holy infant, Jesus. Yet with all connections this same archetypal pattern is also seen in other belief systems around the world.

Since the Sun is considered to represent the male divinity in many pagan traditions, this time is celebrated as the return of the sun god where he is reborn of the goddess. Other cultures have similar beliefs and associations.Many cultures celebrate, or celebrated, a holiday near (within a few days) of the winter solstice--Yalda, Saturnalia, Christmas, Karachun, Hanukkah, Festivus, and Kwanzaa.

Yule and the burning of the yule log, is deeply rooted in this cycle for it is a ritual based upon our own facing of 'the dark night of our souls', and the springing forth of the sparks of hope, the Sacred Fire, the Light of the World, and that which was known in Celtic lore as Coel Coeth.

Christmas, like all holy or holi-days, is a special time of remembranceo f both the birth of thenew divining power and all of the symbols of home and family. It is a time when we can most acutely feel the greatest darkness or the brightest light, a time of giving, of receiving, or for some a time of loss of light, and a feeling of going into the dark.

This is a deep time and a sacred space, a time and a symbol for all of us about being lost, facing those emotions and feeling the sadness, the yearning, and the grief that such loss brings into our lives. It is a time of immense spiritual and energetic power. But because of this, it is also a time when emotions can quickly spark and even inflame and overpower us.

It is therefore a time, to face these deepest aspects of ourselves, known as our shadow self, for it only with the coming of the light that we can cast and therefore be aware of our own shadows and the role they play in our lives.

But with that darkness, comes the sacred birth of a new light and all of the wisdom, power, and knowledge that this sacred birth created and brought into our lives for transfiguration and rebirth.

It is the greatest, and most powerful time to face the truth of your own shadows, to ground yourself by connecting your own heartspace to the deepest and most sacred truths of the heart and joy of the world and unite into the balance point of all we know and feel in the deepest parts of our true selves as being holy.

Once that bell has rung and heard within our consciousness, we do not turn away from that which is in the shadows, but we acknowledge them as being a part of ourselves and turn ourselves into the light.

This wonderful New Moon in Capricorn, and the relationships to the placement of the other planets is a call to action and leadership in our own lives. It is not simply the call to revolution that so many seek to manifest outside of ourselves, but within. Change your own mind, change your own actions, and change your beliefs.

We do not get what we want in this lifetime, we get that which we believe. Change those beliefs and how you choose to emote and to manifest today, and change your life and be the leader in that life that you were meant to be.

We are all warriors of the spirit. Amazing women and amazing men who choose to manifest that which is light within themselves and not that which is the dark shadow self. Both are needed for the balance point but we have the power to choose and to manifest the powers in that side of ourselves which creates goodness and godliness while learning from that which creates empathy and understanding for others

Find that creative manifestation of this gateway, and walk with power and the inner truth of love, joy, and power through the gateway of wisdom and power.

We create our gifts of abundance, we manifest blessings and peace, and we enter into a new place of well-being and joy. Celebrate with the gifts of nature, the gifts of our hands, and the many blessings and gifts from our hearts.

Happiest of Holy Days from the light of my heart, and my home, to yours.

The December solstice takes place on December 21 northern hemisphere/December 22 southern

It marks the Northern Hemisphere’s shortest day (first day of winter) and Southern Hemisphere’s longest day (first day of summer).

Michele Savikko Bilyeu

Creates With Heart and Hands sharing an imaginative, magical,and healing journey from Alaska to Oregon and back again.

Creating, designing, sewing, quilting, and wildcrafting,

"from my heart and with my hands"

Jan 6, 2022

ChristmasTide, Twelfth Night and Epiphany

I've always loved the beautiful idea and celebration of the Epiphany, or the magical day of revelation and celebration when the unknown becomes known.

But there has always been such confusion between the dates of The Twelve Days of Christmas and whether they end on January 5th or 6th depending on the country and religious beliefs.

In the UK there is the belief that the Christmas tree must come down on January 5th which is both known as 12th or Twelfth Night and the Epiphany, or the day the three Magii (Three Kings or Wiseman) visited the Nativity. The nativity or the birth place of the Christ Child. This dating is based on counting all consecutive 12 days without adding in a transitional day some countries add in between.

In the US and many other countries the dating adds in that transitional day and Epiphany falls on January 6th.

Historically, the dating is the result of an early religious proclamation. In 567 the Council of Tours proclaimed that the entire period between Christmas and Epiphany should be considered part of the celebration, creating what became known as the twelve days of Christmas, or what the English called Christmastide.

On the last of the twelve days, called Twelfth Night, various cultures developed a wide range of additional special festivities. The variation extends even to the issue of how to count the days.

If Christmas Day is the first of the twelve days, then Twelfth Night would ondeed be on January 5, the eve of Epiphany. If December 26, the day after Christmas, is the first day, then Twelfth Night falls on January 6, the evening of Epiphany itself.

But then it became even more complicated as some Christian religion follow additional beliefs.

My head is spinning. I took down all of my Santa Clauses and all of my snowmen but left my tied burlap love knots and Tibetan bells and the always mystical little strands of light.

But I got out my dozens of homemade strip pieced calico hearts in my woodsy colors of dark greens, rusts, blues and creams with tiny black bows and cream and tortoise shell toned baby buttons and added them to the tree as I often do with my Blessings Tree in November. I also have ripped calico love knots that match my pieced hearts. Hmmmmmm.

I have my bowl of gold, Frankinsence, and myrrh to represent the Three Kings. And I always light a candle in the window to light the way. And sometimes in the sewing nook as well!

For me Epiphany is January 6th.

But now about that ChristmasTide Tree? Do I take it all down just a week later as my 12th Night/Epiphany Tree or call it Love and Blessings and leave it up into February?

Decisions, decisions, decisions. What do you do? Is your tree still up, long gone or in the process?

I love it all. I get out my laces and ribbons and antique Valentine hearts in preparation for February.

And how much is based on personal beliefs or preferences? Hmm mmmcrafts.blogspot.com. Holiday "holi-days" might be every day for me!

Oh joy!

Jan 1, 2022

New Day's Lyric: Amanda Gorman

"May this be the day

We come together.

Mourning, we come to mend,

Withered, we come to weather,

Torn, we come to tend,

Battered, we come to better.

Tethered by this year of yearning,

We are learning

That though we weren't ready for this,

We have been readied by it.

We steadily vow that no matter

How we are weighed down,

We must always pave a way forward.

This hope is our door, our portal.

Even if we never get back to normal,

Someday we can venture beyond it,

To leave the known and take the first steps.

So let us not return to what was normal,

But reach toward what is

What was cursed, we will cure.

What was plagued, we will prove pure.

Where we tend to argue, we will try to agree,

Those fortunes we forswore, now the future we foresee,

Where we weren't aware, we're now awake;

Those moments we missed

Are now these moments we make,

The moments we meet,

And our hearts, once all together beaten,

Now all together beat.

Come, look up with kindness yet,

For even solace can be sourced from sorrow.

We remember, not just for the sake of yesterday,

But to take on tomorrow.

We heed this old spirit,

In a new day's lyric,

In our hearts, we hear it:

For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne.

Be bold, sang Time this year,

Be bold, sang Time,

For when you honor yesterday,

Tomorrow ye will find.

Know what we've fought

Need not be forgotten nor for none.

It defines us, binds us as one,

Come over, join this day just begun.

For wherever we come together,

We will forever overcome."

Still placing in the 50ths/100s of top quilting blogs on feedspot listing. So grateful for all of you who have continued to follow me and read my blog.

10 million viewing visitors!

Boggles my mind but somehow makes me happy.

Dec 31, 2021

Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem by Maya Angelou

Breathing in peace, light, beauty, gratitude, and joy. For no matter what your beliefs or what holiday seasons you may celebrate, the beauty and the intent of these beautiful words of Dr. Maya Angelou always stir something deep within and strike a chord in the universal heart.

Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem was first read by Dr. Angelou at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree in Washington D.C. in 2005. Although written in the spirit of Christmas, the poem is intended to be a gift for people of all faiths and encourages us to celebrate and embrace the promise of hope, peace and unity during the holiday season. The poem offers a beautiful message of acceptance and love that seems to be as current today as ever.

Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem by Maya Angelou

Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes

And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses.
Flood waters await us in our avenues.

Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche
Over unprotected villages.
The sky slips low and grey and threatening.

We question ourselves.
What have we done to so affront nature?
We worry God.

Are you there? Are you there really?
Does the covenant you made with us still hold?

Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters,
Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope
And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air.
The world is encouraged to come away from rancor,
Come the way of friendship.

It is the Glad Season.
Thunder ebbs to silence and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner.
Flood waters recede into memory.
Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us
As we make our way to higher ground.

Hope is born again in the faces of children
It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets.
Hope spreads around the earth. Brightening all things,
Even hate which crouches breeding in dark corridors.

In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now. It is louder.
Louder than the explosion of bombs.

We tremble at the sound. We are thrilled by its presence.
It is what we have hungered for.
Not just the absence of war. But, true Peace.
A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies.
Security for our beloveds and their beloveds.

We clap hands and welcome the Peace of Christmas.
We beckon this good season to wait a while with us.
We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and Muslim, say come.
Peace.

Come and fill us and our world with your majesty.
We, the Jew and the Jainist, the Catholic and the Confucian,
Implore you, to stay a while with us.
So we may learn by your shimmering light
How to look beyond complexion and see community.

It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.
On this platform of peace, we can create a language
To translate ourselves to ourselves and to each other.

At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ
Into the great religions of the world.
We jubilate the precious advent of trust.
We shout with glorious tongues at the coming of hope.
All the earth’s tribes loosen their voices
To celebrate the promise of Peace.

We, Angels and Mortal’s, Believers and Non-Believers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at our world and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at each other, then into ourselves
And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation.

Peace, My Brother.
Peace, My Sister.
Peace, My Soul.

Dr. Maya Angelou was one of the most renowned and influential voices of our time. Hailed as a global renaissance woman, Dr. Angelou was a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Sadly, she passed away on May 28, 2014.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Join me as I add my healing energies to changing our world, one gift of sharing from my heart, at a time.

Dec 10, 2021

Oh Cristmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging;
Thy leaves are so unchanging;
Not only green when summer's here,
But also when 'tis cold and drear.
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging!

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me;
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me;
How often has the Christmas tree
Afforded me the greatest glee!
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me.

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy candles shine so brightly!
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy candles shine so brightly!
From base to summit, gay and bright,
There's only splendor for the sight.
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy candles shine so brightly!

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
How richly God has decked thee!
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
How richly God has decked thee!
Thou bidst us true and faithful be,
And trust in God unchangingly.
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
How richly God has decked thee! !"

From Wikipedia with gratitude:

The modern lyrics were written in 1824 by the Leipzig organist, teacher and composer Ernst Anschütz. A Tannenbaum is a fir tree. The lyrics do not actually refer to Christmas, or describe a decorated Christmas tree. Instead, they refer to the fir's evergreen quality as a symbol of constancy and faithfulness.

Anschütz based his text on a 16th-century Silesian folk song by Melchior Franck, "Ach Tannenbaum". August Zarnack in 1819 wrote a tragic love song inspired by this folk song, taking the evergreen, "faithful" fir tree as contrasting with a faithless lover.

The folk song first became associated with Christmas with Anschütz, who added two verses of his own to the first, traditional verse. The custom of the Christmas tree developed in the course of the 19th century, and the song came to be seen as a Christmas carol.

Anschütz's version still had treu (true, faithful) as the adjective describing the fir's leaves (needles), harking back to the contrast to the faithless maiden of the folk song. This was changed to grün (green) at some point in the 20th century, after the song had come to be associated with Christmas.

Still placing in top 50/100 of all quilting blogs on feedspot ratings. So grateful for all of you who have continued to follow me and read my blog.

10 million viewing visitors!

Boggles my mind but makes me happy.

One of the last things my beloved father said to me was to ask if I was a teacher or a writer. Oh yes, I said. I've always taught and always written. I have a blog!

Dec 5, 2021

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas

And oh the great fun of it all!! I love the tree and each little cherished decoration and all of the wonderful spirit lifting lights!!

And not just the tree but years of making or buying little things that once were put out all through the house and more! And as much work as it can be for so many of us (depending in how much you decorate, bake, and craft) or how many rooms or trees you decorate, or if you decorate just inside or also outside and how much you do of that!

I am the doer of too much all by myself because my directions of how and where to put what would cause more trouble than it's worth in aggravation for both parties. Ha!

The tree has been up since November 9th (my oldest daughter's birthday) and that day is the beginning of my own personal blessings and gratitude holidays

Using my simple prayer flags garland most definitely fits in with "Prayers and Blessings' in November and now that the tree is still up there and in use multiple months it really justifys the expense of this artificial tree that I never planned on ever buying!

I bought it 5 years ago when my husband was preparing for his first hip replacement. It was a rough time awaiting that and getting a real tree and hauling it upstairs was literally impossible that year. But in the end I'm happy we were forced to make that decision.

Five years of purchasing/ doubling the season's use makes up for my cost as well as the carbon footprint of that plastic and paper-plastic needles involved in its production! And after dragging that box to the cash register and convincing the clerk that my triple discount actually would work (it did) it was quite the bargain at way under cost for an on sale tree to begin with!

And this year I loved my addition of my bronze cow bells so much that I kept them and the feathers on the Christmas tree and just saved out some of my wooden Christmas ornaments and added them to the garlands instead. I still have more natural elements to add in. But for now all 4 grands have visited it and gently touched and admired the Christmas fun. Love it all!

Then of course Covid hit and no one came inside except Larry and myself and the cat! Well one tiny boy person peeked his precious little masked head in the door and looked up at the tree in our loft and garland of lights all of the stair rails up into that loft's railing and our magical bridge to nowhere and everywhere! But best of all could actually see a few gifts up on the stair landing!

So yes, I still did all this crazy work just for Larry and myself (Covid Isolation or not!) 2020 we were all pretty crazy especially those of us who super followed the science and stayed inside and never went into a single store for over a year!

And it really doesn't seem to matter what we do or do it for. Just the sheer mood elevating endorphins high of the doing!

I just plain LOVE the holidays!

Still placing at 46th/100 of top quilting blogs on feedspot listing. So grateful for all of you who have continued to follow me and read my blog. And only 20,000 views away from 10 million viewing visitors!

Dec 21, 2019

Blessings of the Solstice

Somewhere, out at the edges, the night
is turning and the waves of darkness
Begin to brighten on the shore of dawn.
The heavy dark falls back to earth
And the freed air goes wild with light,
The heart fills with fresh, bright breath
And thoughts stir to give birth to color.

I arise today
In the name of Silence
Womb of the Word,
In the name of Stillness
Home of Belonging,
In the name of Solitude
Of the soul and the Earth.

I arise today
Blessed by all things,
Wings of breath,
Delight of eyes,
Wonder of whisper,
Intimacy of touch,
Eternity of soul,
Urgency of thought,
Miracle of health,
Embrace of God.

May I live this day
Compassionate of heart,
Clear of word,
Graciousness in awareness,
Courageous in thought,
Generous in love.

John O’Donohue, Irish poet and philosopher
“Matins” (Morning Prayer)
From To Bless the Space Between Us

Dec 1, 2019

Quilting Through the Holidays (With Gifts and Ideas Galore!)

I love sewing, quilting, crafting, and decorating for the holidays! And yes, I even put up and decorate a "Peace, Prayers, and Blessings" Thanksgiving tree and one of my prayer flag garlands on our railings.

I decorate inside and Mother Nature outside.

The air is crisp, cold, and freshly fallen leaves and bright colors are in abundance!

My peace lilies both bloomed. Two of my Thanksgiving cacti are filled with blossoms!

I love it and as busy and crazy as I often feel and truly I,

it's still a "wonderful time of the year!"

And then, a few fun crafts for me and more my grandkids.

Ordering sale fleece and voila! new fleece blankets for blanket forts, storytime, and cuddling!

And sewing and quilting!

As hard as our challenges may be, there's always room for gratitude and blessings still abound -- each and every day.

This blog post took 3 hours to create on a phone using its cellular signal of a bar and a half.

But I did it! And by tomorrow my typos should all be corrected! Maybe. I need wiggle room.

I even managed to design and make a new wreath with more sustainable decor this year.

Everything on it except for the bird's nest has been is use somehow/ somewhere and is reused over and over for decades!

I add natural touches from the yard as I go. So, Christmas greenery from our trees or holly bush etc.

One of my many things that bring me to my happy place of blessings. I needed one that was suitable for all seasons. In the spring birds will be added but now its acorns and filberts on the little nest.

Cooking, cleaning, decorating, sewing, quilting, and crafting through Thanksgiving,

Christmas, more family birthdays in December, my husband's upcoming second hip replacement surgery (and weeks for me as his primary caregiver) the continued progress towards healing times from advanced, aggressive cancer for my daughter.

She has been a valiant warrior through an intense and often brutal combintion 4 chemo and 4 buffer the side effects IV drugs (currently 18 weeks and counting process) with more to come in 2020.

Each and every single day no matter how sick we are or how much we hurt is another day with loved ones. Count your blessings not your litany of ailments and trust me, I know how hard that is to do!

Do what you can when you can and rest as you can. It's all about balance!!!

Through all of this I took in another stray. The story of my life since early on.

Bringing in, loving and caring for others. He hasn't quite been transformed into either a quilting or healing cat and now I have to look out for the old muddy paws in the house and tracking footprints on our hearts.

After eating from my feral and stray animals venue he decided we seemed like a nice place to settle down and waltzed into our house, up on the dining (gasp) quilted table runner in October and moved right on in! Welcome, Jasper for joining the Bilyeu menagerie!

There's a quilted table runner under all that fluff somewhere!

As there are quilts incorporated into the decorating everywhere in my house!

Or vice versa, right Kermit? He's not too keen on the cat kibble competition but tolerates him.

Life is good, life is challenging, and life is very, very busy.

Please continue praying for my beloved daughter, Terin. She is recuperating from her eighteent week of chemo, but has much more ahead. Your thoughts, prayers, and to those of you in this quilting community who have donated to her go fund me campaign, you are so appreciated and loved.

Disclaimer:

I blog completley on my cell phone no house wifi at all. Forgive typos, miss-corrects and posts that change constantly over a week of finishing each new addition complete with links and projects from multitudes of past posts!