End of a Crap Year for English Bulldogs and Others...

Hi All,

It's me, Camilla Barker Bowles "World's Cutest Dog," "Loudest Snorer," Laziest EBD," and "Most Talented Canine Sewist."
	I've been busy this year. It's been a time of reflection, worrying, social distancing, and obsessive making. That's right, I finally learned to sew; with a little help from Mom, you know "Gayle from BERNINA of Naperville?"
In fact, I've been sew busy that I haven't had time to keep up with my part-time job - BERNINA of Naperville premiere store blogger. But, I've thought about all of you as you Zoom, rush in and out for supplies and ogle me from beyond the glass door that separates my spores from yours.
Ok, Mom says that I need to cut to the chase. As you know I participated in the store's first annual Christmas stocking contest. I had some ruff competition from my friends Amy, John, Marilyn, first-time sewist Cyndi and even the Chris and Mom gave it a go. I was sure that I was going to win because I had a lot of peppermints in my stocking at the store. I also made Mom share the post on her personal Facebook and of course I shared it on mine.
	The vote count was pretty clear for the top three: Mom at 27, Amy at 39 and me at 40! I won. It was in the bag, but then Mom said if it was a tight race between me and any of our "hardworking" staff, that she would do a more thorough recount.
So, she compared votes online and according to her and an impartial judge, some of you voted more than once. That left the count at 37 for Amy and 36 for me. I was very upset. I was hoping for the grand prize. I am not sure what it was, but it looked like a bunch of stinky old scrap paper that Mom gave Amy when she made the big announcement today - A hundred "Big Ones" if I heard correctly.
	I didn't stay upset for long. You know why? Because that is how things are done in a fair and balanced contest. You count. You trust the process, and the person or creature with the most votes is the BERNINA of Naperville stocking contest winner. It just makes me reflect on what I could have done better. So I concede to Amy, who worked really hard on her pandering pop culture creation. Me, I will start designing 2021's animated floor lamp scratching cat claw Christmas sock now! (updates in further blog posts).
Now let's get serious for a moment. Remember our Wishing Tree ? You and your sewing friends helped create some wonderful heart ornaments for our tree. They were all so beautiful and unique. I was most impressed that many of you tried new skills, like sewing with metallic thread in the bobbin, decorative stitching and even free-motion stipple quilting. The best part is that we will cherish these for many years to come and Mom plans on offering these ornament kits every year. So, hopefully thanks to you guys, our collection will grow.

I also promised to share your wishes (anonymously). Without taking up too much of your time, I will simply share a few since most of them centered around the same themes; that our country heals, to be with family, better health for our loved ones, and luck to our store for the future. There wasn't a single self-serving wish (except for one - "More Belly Rubs"). And friends, this really touched Mom. She cried a bit reading your kind words. As she read them to me I became convinced that we have nothing to worry about in 2021 because, although the world faces unprecedented hurdles in the next coming months, there is still hope in our small community, which tells me that there is still hope in the world, and as long as there is hope, there is art, love, joy and respect.

	"Hugs and Kisses all around with happy smiling people."
	"To see my family in person."
	"My husband Cancer stopped growing."

Peace to you in 2021,