BEST VIRTUAL PARTY EVER..!!

Dear Friends,

So, Saturday was full-on Grandma Camp...with all parties being just as pissy as they could possibly be. Ugh.

Saturday was ALSO the day I blogged about my birthday party being canceled.

I was sad when I wrote that post -- but I had no way of knowing I would be having a melt-down the night before my birthday...complete with a non-stop crying jag...

Sunday morning, my usual habit is to watch the CBS Morning show, and write a weekly update email to my cousin Jackie, who lives in North Carolina.

However, when I turned on the show, I decided I didn't want to listen to more Covid 19 updates...the death toll in New York City...

Then, I realized I had a lot of new emails....

WHA???

I MEAN -- DOZENS OF NEW EMAILS...!!

I cannot tell you how surprised I was -- no, make that -- D.E.L.I.G.H.T.E.D...!!! to hear from so many of you. You actually did it!! YOU SENT ME REPORTS ABOUT WHAT YOU WERE DOING ON MY BIRTHDAY.

I got recipes, pictures of quilts, book recommendations, library advice, projects, grandkids, games to play with kids, possible art projects...

And -- updates from so many people I've met over the years -- many of whom I haven't seen for a very long time...from Seattle, California, Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Canada, Alaska, Nebraska...HONESTLY...I'm still working on my responses...

And I just found out -- THESE PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY READING MY BLOG...!!

WHA???

So, for the next coupla weeks -- I am going to share some of these emails with you.

BECAUSE I WAS COMPLETELY UPLIFTED...and I think everybody could use a dose of that right now.

I was so impressed with the attitudes of the women who wrote to me. They are sewing, cooking, spending time with their families. They are making the best of a bad situation...they have heart and compassion...and COMMON SENSE...

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To kick off my new Birthday Email Series --

From Roberta in Seattle...

...thought I would share with you a photo of the strangest thing I have ever sewn - tree netting to protect our apple tree from coddling months and apple maggots. You will find these nets on trees all over the Seattle area as a non-profit fruit tree group has been testing various methods to stop the spread of these invasive and destructive bugs. I had to piece together yards and yards of netting and my trusty Pffaf was up to the task. I had to bring my sewing machine upstairs to my dining room table (vs my sewing room downstairs) to have enough room to spread the netting out, hence I had to sit on books to get me properly aligned with the dinning room table.

...here are photos of our tree wearing it's wedding veil. Most people leave theirs draped to the ground but we want to tuck it up so that the grass under the tree gets mowed etc. The net isn't put on until after the tree has blossomed and the bees have done their thing. And then we remove it each fall to pick the apples. As it is made out of plastic material at the end of the season it is shaken out and rolled up to store.

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THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

You saved me from a terrible pity party.

I appreciated every single email.  I've read every one (many times) -- and will reply to each of you who took the time to write to me.

Although it was the strangest birthday party I've ever had... in many ways, it was the most wonderful...full of the greatest gifts.

And I am grateful. YOU DID IT...!!  YOU BROUGHT ME OUT OF MY FUNK...!!

GOOD JOB, LADIES..!!  (not a single man sent me a birthday email...and I'm okay with that..).