Yesterday was my birthday. Hurray for me? There comes a point when celebrating an extra year is not as exciting as it once was. The number creeps higher and higher… putting you further and further into the “OLD Zone.” My mom’s favorite expression over the past 15 some years of her life was, “Caron, don’t ever get old. It’s hell.” Well, considering the alternative, I’ll take another year.

I have a lot of people ask me how to get started setting up a blog. It’s really very simple, and there are many very informative sites that will walk you through the process. There is a great tutorial by Michael Hyatt , who is President and Chief Executive Officer of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Christian publishing company in the world. Click here to get to that tutorial. Feel free to email me if you have questions or need help.

I participate in the Quilting Arts Forum online. We have a lot of fabric swaps, and my favorite is the Birthday Fat Quarter swap. In this swap, you sign up for a whole year. Every month, you mail the birthday gal(s) a fat quarter of quilting fabric in their requested colors/patterns. Then, when it is YOUR birthday, you get a whole collection of the kind of fabric you wanted. This year, I chose something that would get me out of my comfort zone. I usually work in muted colors, so I wanted something bright and geometric. And Baby, did I ever get it! I wouldn’t normally choose the fabrics you see above, but WOW, I really like them! And I have some ideas already about how to put them in some quilts. I took the photo above on Sunday, when I opened all of my packages. Then yesterday, on my birthday, I got one more from Barb, who also lives in Michigan. Here’s what Barb sent, from way over in the Ludington area. Hi Barb!

Well, I’m off to work. If you are staying home today, think of me while you quilt!