25 Things for Charity
The focus this month was on winter-readiness. I grew up in northern Maine and I know what a cold winter feels like! So I went through all our baby clothes and:

* Sent a box weighing 7.2 kilos of (new/nearly new) clothes, toys, and personal care items to The Next Step, a domestic violence shelter in my old hometown.

* Delivered two huge bags of new/nearly new newborn items to VBOK, a temporary home setting for (teenage) mothers-to-be here in my current hometown.

* Donated 4 huge bags of more worn, but still good condition, bags of baby/kids clothes to a Goodwill-type service here in town.

In addition, Max completed his Operation Shoebox project for a needy child. I put a picture in an earlier post - he did a great job decorating it, and used his own money to decorate & fill the box!

Last month I mentioned how differently I've begun viewing the world around me. This feeling continues, but a bit of reality has set in regarding the persistence required for charity. This can be real work! I have not enjoyed the contact I've had with the VBOK or nursing home coordinators (for the Santa Sacks), who have been disorganized and even insensitive. The VBOK coordinator insisted she had to meet me in person so I went over in a blinding rainstorm - then had to stand on the street for nearly 15 minutes before anyone would let me in; the woman herself had "disappeared" and I had to wait another 15 or 20 minutes inside for her to appear. At which point she said, "Thanks - toss the bags in my office" and then ignored me to pursue a conversation with a man who never was introduced. The nursing home coordinator never did call me back about personalized items for the Santa Sacks so I have had to get fairly anonymous items, and when I called her, she also 'insisted' that I come over for a personal meeting but had no tips for the bag contents.

This new edge to the good-works activity hasn't been very pleasant, but it has been partially balanced out by the lovely handwritten note and pictures I received from Ms Toch of the Healthy Families charity (details posted 22 November). Luckily my mom raised stubborn children, so I'll keep trudging along and hope that next month brings some more pleasant interactions!

Stitching Projects
For cross stitching and finishing, I have the feeling that I haven't done much at all:

* Stitched & finished a mini pillow for Jim & Gaby
* Stitched For the Birds
* Stitched & finished two bookmarks for Aunt Cindy
* Stitched & finished my Christmas MA exchange
* Stitched & finishe Martina's little ornament
* Started A Primitive Stocking over one
* Started Katrina Quilt square
* Found necessary pirate-theme patterns for Max's project

For December I really need to:
Finish For the Birds as a pillow
Finish A Primitive Stocking (stitching & finishing)
Finish Stick it Here pin cushion/needle magnet for Aunt Cathy (finishing only)
Do Max's pirate pieces
There are also lots of things I'd like to do, but these are the 'Must Have's as my manager at work would call them.
For charity, I will certainly:
Distribute the filled Santa Sacks
Complete and mail my Katrina Quilt square