The Rain Cometh

The weatherman says we are in for a lot of rain...that many storms, one right after another are poised off the coast to blow in and saturate the Redwood Coast. As I sit here I can see the gloom, the raindrops falling and hear the wind blow. There is also the faint tinkling of a couple of wind chimes the girls made when they were young. The redwoods are standing strong and tall, their green foliage drip, drip, dripping moisture to the ground. Once in awhile the sun breaks through a bit and the droplets sparkle like diamonds.

Yesterday was windy and rainy too. It was the day of our annual Scottie Dog Quilts Staff Holiday Party. We always hold it in January when life is a bit slower than December. Margie wanted it at her house and since Margie is the hostess-with-the-mostest person I know, we of course said yes. She'd kept up the Christmas decorations and made a bunch of goodies for us to sample. Party was set for 5 pm. I got a call from Margie about 3:30 pm. Her power was out. What should we do? I was willing to move the party to my house or our store, but Margie said she wanted to just light a bunch of candles and go ahead. OK, by me. Liz and I picked up our dinner from the caterers (The Banana Hut!!!), stopped at three different stores trying to find the drinks we wanted and headed off to Humboldt Hill. Phone rang. OOPS....in all that running round we'd forgotten to pick up Katie! Back to B St. and out again to Humboldt Hill.

I want to tell you that the candlelight was wonderful! We ate, we laughed, we heard all of Liz's travel woes stories, we had a great time. Margie's hubby was there with some flashlights...we played THE gift exchange game, complete with stealing and when a gift was opened we were appreciative that Larry spotlighted each one. Perfect for viewing what we wanted to steal when it was our turn. I have friends who have a Christmas Eve tradition...only electric lights allowed on Christmas Eve are the tree lights. Otherwise it's all candles. I like it. Softer, more intimate, calmer. I think I'll try it next year.

So there you have it. Rain, power outages, parties. I'm glad Liz is home from Minnesota. Just 16 more days and I'll be back with Beka in the land of snow and ice.



PS--Margie became a grandma again on Saturday. Her Katie had a baby girl. Welcome, Emma Grace!