January 2, 2012 -- Holiday Party

Although we missed our Christmas celebration, we met on January 2 to welcome in the New Year with great joy and hope. Everyone was able to attend on January 2 at the First and Ten Bar and Grill in Dayton, which Margie so graciously arranged for us. It turned out that we had the back dining room all to ourselves, which was a good thing because we had so much "stuff." Everyone brought a gift exchange present as well as the traditional homemade holiday gifts we've gotten in the habit of exchanging with one another. All the gifts were wonderful, whimsical, and practical with Bee motifs abounding. Maybe the most creative of all were the custom-designed Bee notecards from Linda.

We had a wonderful lunch--the food was great, ranging from Mexican to traditional American fare. Linda's daughter Molly, along with new baby Willa Rose, attended the meeting because they were visiting Linda for the holidays. Molly's husband, Luke Chivers, surprised us all by treating us to lunch in appreciation for the DragonLord project, and his generosity only added to our festive spirits.

Something particularly special was that Carol Gardner was able to attend the gathering, and most of us hadn't seen her for over a year. It turned out to be a good day for her because Helen had been staying with her and making sure she was taking her pain medications right on schedule.

Our gift exchange was HILAROUS and just happened to start with Carol selecting a calendar from Dawn called the "Quilters' Shirtless Man with Spicy Burrito Calendar." We literally howled with laughter as Carol looked through photos in the calendar. I think all of us can probably say that "Caleb" was our favorite.

  

We planned to meet on January 24 with a meeting place, food, etc. to be decided later.