...and Thanksgiving.

Well, I didn't get this posted in November, but I need to finish the last four items on my Giving Thanks list... (and offer a special thank you to
Leah, for hosting this Challenge, and making me stop and think of the many things, large and small, that I have to be grateful for!)
So here goes... #27, My fabric.

I know, that sounds frivolous, and material (no pun intended), but fabric has become the medium of expression for my creativity (Giving Thanks item #17), a gift bestowed on me by God. Fabric can cheer me up when depression takes hold, fabric can help me cheer someone else when I make items for charity or someone in need... For my new friend,
Linda, it is the medium that helps her to carry out her mission. For quilters, sewists, and crafters, our fabric is definitely something to be grateful for!

#28, my sewing machine(s). Okay, that's not
my sewing machine in the photo (but if you have one to sell, send me an email!), my Pfaff is just a little newer than that (you know, eighty years or so...) and my Singer Featherweight was made in the 1950s. And even though they aren't perfect or top of the line...I'm glad to have them and appreciate the role they play in my creative life.

#29, Advent. I have a hard time with the month of December (well, November, too, now) because of the retail craziness, the advertising, the pressure to spend, spend, spend, the news reports about how to deal with
holiday stress, the social events, the lack of importance placed on the true reason for the season. This year, I'm taking a different approach in hopes of getting more out of the month of December. I started an Advent prayer book on Sunday, committing about ten minutes a day to quiet time, in contemplation. I paired down on Christmas decorations, we still have a beautiful tree, a decorated mantle and my childhood Nativity sits under the tree. But that's enough. I'm going to focus more on time spent with loved ones this year, rather than making or buying just the right item for them. I'm hoping this deeper focus on the season of Advent, rather than the "modern holiday season" will give me the peace I've been searching for in previous Decembers...

and finally, #30, My Faith. The most important item on this list. For without it, life as I know it would cease to exist.
Have a Blessed Advent Season,
Doris