So thankful!

I am so thankful for my friends.  There were many years when I was very lonely; times when I moved to a new city and didn't know anyone and it took a long time to develop good friendships.  But I have been so blessed here, my life is enriched by my circle of friends.

For instance, yesterday my friends Janet and Phyllis and I had a "ladies day out", and did some shopping in our locally owned shops.  The town we live near used to be just a small town, but now it's a suburb of Denver - but it still has the small town flavor.  Several new shops have opened recently, including a dress shop that carries merchandise that comes from Canada rather than from the usual places overseas.  That shop was our first stop and we really enjoyed browsing through all the pretty things. 

Our next stop was at a town about fifteen miles further out, this was a store with many unique hand-made items as well as other collectibles.  Each of us found some very nice things that made their way into my car.  There was also a little coffee shop in this store, and we relaxed over a light lunch, just enjoying the Christmasy ambiance. 

This town also had an antique shop that we visited which was filled with very old clocks; the sound of all the tick-tocks was somehow very comforting to us senior citizens -- I'm not sure why that was. 

But it was just a very enjoyable day.  Yesterday started out  very cold, only about 14 degrees in the morning, but with the sunshine, I didn't even need a coat - just a nice warm sweater.  That's Colorado!

Today was another great day with friends.  The planning team of my local Christian Women's Connection met for our annual Christmas potluck and party, about fifteen ladies came together at Andrea's very beautifully decorated house.  We started with our monthly prayer time, sang some Christmas carols, ate LOTS of food and then had an ornament exchange.  I have known most of these ladies since I moved to the north end of Denver, and they are all very dear to me. 

Then this evening my husband and I went out to dinner with our friends Glenn and Phyllis; we have a habit of eating out together every Wednesday evening, usually Janet and her husband Denny join us, but they were not able to join us tonight.  It's so good to relax with friends, visit about our family activities while having some good coffee and a light dinner.

So when I think of all my friends who are close here, and all my friends who live a long distance away, I just feel very blessed!