ze 12 days

Yes, life has been a little hectic so I haven't been posting. I've done a little lookin at others blogs but I just couldn't fool with all this posting stuff until now.

I did indeed have a lovely time over the weekend with my girlfriends. Here's a pic of me (I cropped them out as they'd bonk me one for putting a picture of them out on the net) - note the glasses of wine. We had a few. Nuff said on that. We went to a nice little restaurant in Old Town Alexandria. If you're not familiar with Northern Virginia - well you oughta be! Old Town Alexandria is very historical - very much like Leesburg - and quite pretty all decked out for the holidays. I would love to go back and do some shopping ... which brings me to ze 12 days.

That's all I've got. I hadn't done any shopping really until today.

Yesterday (and the day before) was spent packing up my Mom's things and putting her on a plane to Arizona to visit my sister. Packing your own bags is one thing. Packing someone else's bags (for an extended stay) is an entirely different matter. However, I did it. The next obstacle to overcome was the delights of Dulles Airport. (I still find it annoying that Dulles is called Washington Dulles International Airport. Just so everyone knows, Dulles is sitting in Virginia okay... I'm just saying.) We'd booked a flight for my mom during the week hoping to avoid as much as possible of the crappola that comes with airports, especially near the holidays. And really, considering it was a 5:35 flight and the place was crawling with people it's amazing how well we did. Mostly due to an angel, in the form of woman, who arrived with the wheelchair we requested for my mother. The woman was an airport employee like none I've ever met. We've had others whose job it was to bring the wheelchair and escort my mom to the plane but not one of these previous individuals ever seemed to care we were even around (until it came time to get a tip of course....). This woman, who by the way was 62 years old and previously from Afghanistan, showed more caring and kindness in the short time we had the pleasure of her company than many people would even consider giving. She whisked us through hundreds of people in lines and through security (even helping me put my mothers shoes back on after we did the security check), brought us to the gate (I got a gate pass). She left us and then reappeared because she found out our gate changed to another concourse, brought us to that gate and waited with us. She got my mother moved to a better seat and then when I had to say goodbye she brought my mother onto the plane, got her seated and belted in, got her a pillow and blanket and made sure the flight attendants knew my mothers limitations.

So in case you're feeling a little jaded by the holidays already, it is so very nice to know there really are angels out there keeping watch.

Okay, this is getting a little long. But heck - I've been gone for days, right? My little "ze 12 days" illustration at the top of this epic post is the result of playing with my stamps last night. That's my Lizziebelle alphabet stamps and some other Purple Onion designs stamps I love. (colored with mostly prismas but the star is painted with Windsor Newton gold ink).

I love the song "The 12 days of Christmas". I know some people find it annoying but not me. My favorite rendition comes from this album - a must in my household. Holiday Sing Along with Mitch. This is the album my parents put on the stereo on Christmas morning when I was a little girl. When we heard the music playing, it was our signal we could come down the stairs and see what Santa had brought us. My parents album is long gone and when I was first married I made it a mission to find the album - it took years but I finally did. Yes, I'm as sentimental as they come.

Okay one last thing I made and then I'll leave you for the evening. I made this last week and decided it really needed some stitching so I did that this afternoon. All the stamps are Purple Onion Designs except the woman's image which is Character Constructions.