Happy Thanksgiving!

In a matter of a few hours my dining room went from this:














To this:

















to this:




















Cara was not impressed by any of the preparations nor the company, but she did deign to beg some turkey and let Cosmina and Sabina pet her. Needless to say, Sophie was not seen for the duration!
















For those who will ask, the menu was:
Relish tray and dip
Olives (black and green)
Turkey (two, they were small!)
Dressing
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Sweet potato casserole
Green beans in sour cream sauce
Devilled eggs
Cranberry sauce
Jello with fruit
Rolls
Pumpkin pie
Apple pie
Mince Pie
Pecan pie

Nom!!

Actual Sewing

Here are the promised photos of the needle roll I made for my veil pins




























and the Advent Calendar I made for Constanza. Hope she still likes frogs!

Rila Monastery

I recently had the opportunity to take a first-time visitor to Bulgaria to the Rila Monastery, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It's so fun to watch as the car goes higher and higher into the mountains and the visitor anticipates what it will be like, and then, well, there you are and it's so much better than could be imagined.

This is the view from halfway up the mountain road.


This particular visit was on a crisp, clear day and it was chilly, but not unpleasantly so. The museum has just been renovated and is beautifully arranged and labelled. It's also warm and the displays are all climate controlled. (Unlike the old days when it was damp and cold!)My guest especially liked Hrelyu's Tower, which is the oldest part of the Monastery complex.

















And here are some classic photos of the monastery grounds.

Past time and things to come!

Yes, it has been ages since I've written anything. Alas, life happens. I had the flu and then loads of work to make up when I got back to the office. No whining, though! I feel much better and I'm getting some things accomplished at last. I've got to take pictures, but I've finished a couple of small embroidery projects and two more are coming along nicely. I'll try and post those tomorrow.

More importantly, Blagoevgrad is starting to shows signs of the season. Shops are setting up seasonal displays and Christmas trees and the city is stringing lights along the main streets. Something new is the ice rink that's being built on the central plaza between City Hall and the movie theater. That's going to really add to the Christmas spirit, especially when the Christmas Village goes up!

Not a sign of the season, but just a change, is the addition of a traffic circle to Blvd. Cyril & Methodius. People are pretty confused by that one! There's a second one just one block north of the first one (on the way to the hospital). Watching ambulances whiz around them is pretty scary, honestly!