IN MY DELIRIUM...

OK, Dearies...bear with me, please. I awoke at 5am in the throes of a massive panic attack because I couldn't breathe, and it's been a day. It took me about two hours of fervent prayer, a hot steamy shower, and a small jar of Vick's vapo rub, but I somehow managed to get myself dressed and out the door to the ER.

And then I saw the dozens of people waiting within, and I decided to get to an Urgent Care instead.

(Good move, apparently, because when you are a cancer-surviving, Crohn's patient, kidney transplant recipient who's been sick for a year, they don't look at you sideways when you say "So sorry to be a bother, but I think I'm either dying or having a heart/asthma/panic attack.")

So I got a good once-over, and I am now armed with Mucinex and an inhaler, as well as instructions to push fluids, rest, and return if this has not started to get better in the next week or so.

(No covid or flu, thank God, and I really really felt much better about my visit when the nice doctor said "Miss Constance, you no longer have the luxury of thinking you're over-reacting. When something is amiss...no matter how seemingly insignificant...you need to get help immediately.")

So there.

OK. On to business. 

See this:

This is what's known as a "hanging wall".  In various establishments throughout the world, you can place an order for a coffee or a sandwich or a meal, etc and add a coffee or a sandwich or a meal, etc "for the wall. 

You basically pay for/donate a coffer, sandwich, meal, etc for someone who might come in who could use a coffee, sandwich, meal, etc, but doesn't have the means to do so.

So here's what I'd like to figure out....

How can we do this in our family for people who need a little help...or for a stitcher who has just lost everything....like in Los Angeles?

I realize that there are a lot of other things that victims of terrible things need to worry about, but what if in the midst of the worst possible time of their life they could walk into a stitching shop and get themselves a project, etc to help get them through?  What if in the midst of chaos, they saw a sign that said "It's OK, Friend We've got you."

I was the recipient of ENORMOUS generosity from this family, and I have been trying to figure out a way to pay it forward, so if anybody can guide me in a way to set this up without making a burden on a shop owner...I'd be super grateful.

I'll leave you with my latest diamond painting finish...

 Ciao for now. I hope you've had a wonderful Monday! Come tell me all about it!

WHY, YES BETTY....I AM GOING TO LEAVE THE DAMN CHRISTMAS TREE UP.

The ornaments are off and as soon as the amazon gets here tomorrow there will be a lovely snowflake-themed blanket/skirt at its base.

I have the damn flu, we haven't seen the damn sun in a month, and I need all of the damn comfort I can get right now.

So zip it, Betty....I'm going back to bed.

WELL, THAT WAS CONFUSING

Rich has come down with his annual PLAGUE, I am still completely wiped out from my vaccine shenanagins, and last night's Irish win has left me a bit...blurry...today.

Oh. And we're getting a bit of a winter out there in Hoosierville.

Sorry to confuse you in my post about getting both shots on the same day. My logic in getting both shots together is that I knew I would be really really really sick for two days. If I spaced them out, I would be less sick, but it would extend to four days. So my logic was to just grit through it for a shorter period of time.

(But considering that today is the third day after, and I am still sick, I guess my logic remains flawed.)

As for my Beloved...I suspect that this is a remnant from his cross-country trip home on the train. It seems like it happens every year, and even though I am concerned for his health and am doing my best to take care of him, if I catch whatever the h-e-double toothpicks he has...we're in trouble. 

(Ugh.)

So it's industrial strength Tylenol, lots of fluids, and gallons of disinfectant on board for us here at CS2, in addition to football, soup, and lots if stitching and dp'ing for Yours Truly. Here's a little progress:

The grid you see in the upper left corner of the diamond painting is the clear cover that protects the adhesive. I got a bit obsessive with finding scenes of "villages", so you might see a few more.

I have to say...when I went down this diamond painting rabbit hole, everybody said "You get what you pay for, so be careful". Well, I seem to have been super-duper LUCKY, because of all of the kits I've purchased, I managed to get really great ones for under ten bucks! 

(I guess this means that if I do get ahold of a complete dud, I won't be too upset about it!)

I seem to be stitching a bit more lately, so before I scare my needle mojo away I want to get a little bit further on the Carolyn Manning:

I will probably stick with one another day or two, and then I think I'll take a look in my WiP baskets to see if I can find a candidate for a first FeeNee of the year.

(Remember when I used to be so crazy nuts about schedules and finishes and rotations? What a difference seventeen years makes! Now, all I "worry" about is the sheer joy and peace that needle and thread bring to me. I guess I truly have become a PROCESS stitcher.)

(Finally.)

Well, Dearies, that does it for me this afternoon. After soup, I'm going to settle in to watch the game between Ohio State and Texas to see who our opponent will be on January 20th.

(Tonight is the last game of the College Football Playoffs. My Alma Mater, the University of Notre Dame, won their game last night against Penn State University. On January 20th, they will face the winner of tonight's game for the National Championship, so...I'm a bit invested.)

(I forget sometimes that there are Dearies here from places where college football isn't a thing, so pardon the explanation if you're stateside and already dialed in.)

(Also...the last time Notre Dame won the National Championship was during my Senior Year in 1988. They beat West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, and I happened to be there for it, since I was home for Christmas break. I should have graduated in May of '88, but took a leave after my mom died, thus graduating a year late. My dad's cousin Frank had four tickets on the 50-yard line and invited us to go, so my dad (Notre Dame Class of 1954) and I got to experience that together! I will never forget that night!)

So cheers, Dearies! I hope you are well and safe and doing something that brings you joy today. Come tell me all about it!

ATLANTA...HERE WE COME!

 

LET'S GO, IRISH!

 

SPINSTER LOGIC

Why did I get BOTH covid AND flu vaccines yesterday?

Because I'd rather be really really really sick for two days instead of just really really sick for four.

Ugh.

AT LEAST I'VE GOT THAT GOING FOR ME...WHICH IS NICE

Everything else on me is completely falling apart, but the meathooks are looking pretty spiffy, thanks to a new set of wraps. I still have a box full, thanks to the generosity of a fellow stitcher, as well as the stash of them that I accumulated over the years. These are called Pretty Paisley (I think), and hopefully they'll last a few weeks. 

(Lily and Fox is the brand name, Dearies. I have always had very good luck with them!)

Today was a doctor visit day, and tomorrow will be too. We're still no closer to knowing why my guts are running amok, but I have faith that all will be well again.

Eventually.

Time to get under the fuzzy blanket and stitch a bit. I'm switching back and forth between the Carolyn Manning and the big a$$ snowman today, but I might fish through my WiPs for a Sherpherd's Bush sampler.  I'm having a yen for one, and I think there are a couple of them in there.

Happy Monday! Is it just me, or does today feel like the beginning of the year?

SUNDAY SNOWMAN

 "Just pull out that snowman and finish him up", the idiot Spinster said to herself. "All that's left to do is his face and body, and then the arms will make this one a fast finish for the New Year".

I've been stitching this guy for three days with no end in sight! Remind me next time to RUN from anything requiring a huge block of solid stitching!

WHEW! ON TO THE ORANGE BOWL!

This is Fr Nate, the Chaplain of the Notre Dame football team:

Before every game Fr Nate gives each player a medal with a Saint on it. Each game has a different Saint, and after everything has been played on the field, Fr Nate posts all of the details about that week's medal, along with a photo of a player showing his medal:

For the Sugar Bowl, the Saint was St Sebastian. I have particular fondness for him, since I attended St Sebastian Grade School in Pittsburgh for a few years back in the 1970's.

Thank you, St Sebastian!

 

OK BOYS....LET'S GO!

 

QUIET, BUT LOVELY

I had a wonderful dinner, did some stitching and diamond painting, watched a couple of movies last night, and was in bed by 11:30.

(My better angels sent me to the big girl sleigh bed at a reasonable hour because I had to make an early morning trip to the train station to collect my Jersey Boy. Otherwise I would have donned my festive apparel and whooped it up like the crazy party animal I am and stayed up until 12:15.)

Dinner was a real treat...crab cakes, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus, and an amazing chopped salad, followed by a white chocolate/cranberry cookie from Bonefish Grill. I allowed myself the indulgence, both spendy-wise and calorie-wise because I behaved myself over Christmas, as well as did a nice job cleaning and tidying during the day.

Totally worth it!

I watched The Other Boleyn Girl while stitching Carolyn Manning's Starstruck:

And then re-visited The Tudors while starting a new diamond painting of a village scene:

Tonight, my Irish will take on the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl down in New Orleans, but the fun of it has been marred by a madman. Notre Dame, Our Mother....pray for us.

So that's the report for the first day of 2025, Dearies! I'm going to settle in with some damn good and a little scroll this morning, and hope to grab a nice long nap before the game tonight. Happy New Year to you and yours...what's on your agenda for the day?

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR, DEARIES!

 

SUNDAY NIGHT SPINSTER BLISS

 

IN MY DEFENSE, I WAS LEFT UNSUPERVISED.

I'm trying to break bad patterns and establish good ones before the old year ends and the new one begins, so today finds me knee-deep in AREA NUMBER ONE...my stitching WiPs and stash. I have been terribly lax in my "just try to keep everything together in tidy categories" efforts, so as soon as I finished my third big cup of damn good this morning (*), I went head-first into the fray to try to distract myself from not feeling good.

After only two hours of sorting and futzing and futzing and sorting and belting out Elton John tunes with Alexa, I ended up with nicely separated piles that then fit very nicely into baskets and bins I already had on hand.

(Note to self: empty the damn amazon cart that you filled with baskets and bins last night.)

I sorted into three piles of WiPs: canvas, cross stitch, and Christmas, and then put all of my charts and things I've kitted up into three baskets for the cube room studio. I'll need to go through those and sort into seasons and misc, but for now they're put away:

Then, since I was already in there, I gathered and piled all of my project bags and Bitsy Bobs:

And after a LOT of grunting and sweating and sweating and swearing, I stuck all of my WiPs and all of Christmas behind my chair:

(Yes, Betty, I absolutely positively cannot stand how cluttered that looks, but unless you can make this apartment grow another ten feet of storage space, you're just gonna have to ZIP IT and learn to live with it.)

So now it's 4:00, and after I take a nice hot scrubby shower and eat some chicken and rice (**), I'm going to see what trouble I can get into with some Wintery-themed charts and Mill Hill kits that I found during my adventures today:

I hope you had a wonderful day, Dearies! Are you all blissfully unaware of what day it is like I am, or are you really good and keeping to your routines? Come tell me all about it!

(*) I'm trying to get my sleep/wake cycle back on a healthier schedule...in other words, getting out of bed at 8 or 9 am instead of 2 or 3 pm, so additional damn good has been necessary.

(**) On the tummy front, I'm sad to report that today was NOT a good day at all. The two biggest problems I'm having are awful screaming mimis that are keeping me very close to the powder room, and a painfully distended/bloated abdomen that feels like I've swallowed a beach ball full of thumb tacks and cement. Ugh. So baked chicken and a little rice for dinner it is.

SPINSTER CHRISTMAS BLISS 2024

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS, DEARIES!

WOULD IT BE WEIRD TO DO THIS ALL YEAR?

 

MAKING A LITTLE PROGRESS

 

I suppose if we compare my stitching progress to last year's output, I am failing miserably.

But you know what?

I'm not going to do that. 

My gift to myself this year is to just STOP the nonsense in my head and just...enjoy. I have somehow managed to get up each day and let the hours unfold as they will. I am, unfortunately, still not feeling well, but instead of worrying about it I'm trying to just do what I can do, sleep when I need to, and learn how to be...quiet. A trip to IU or Cleveland Clinic or Mayo Clinic in the new year will figure this out, I'm sure, and then I can get back to running around like a crazy person.

But for now, I am really enjoying stitching in the daylight hours and then diamond painting at night. This seems to work pretty well, since I can concentrate on the stitching...which is necessary with that Santa beard (*)...and then I can watch the Yellowstones all night and drool over Kevin Costner and Rip to my heart's content.

Hubba hubba.

(*) The Santa is from Janet Zickler Casey. The outline of his head is pencil-drawn onto a piece of 18ct mono canvas, and then you fill in all of the various parts according to her instructions. The beard on this on is stitched with a really cool pattern that looks like a cable-knit sweater, but for the life of me I can't get my head into a rhythm with it and need to really really concentrate.

After the stitching is completed, two different types of beads will be added into the pattern for some sparkle! I can't wait to see it finished!

So that's it, Dearies. Absolutely nothing at all going on here. Alexa and I are loving the Christmas Instrumentals channel that she found. She was belting out Frank Sinatra and Co, but quiet piano carols are much more in keeping with our laid-back vibe this year.

What's new in your corner of the world? If you're in the thick of it, take a minute to breathe. And if you need an excuse to do so, tell everybody you're visiting a friend and head to the Starbucks and have a big fat damn good (or tea. tea is good too) and look at pretty pictures of stitching for a minute.

Come tell me all about you...

CHEERS TO THE FRIDAY THAT FELT LIKE A SATURDAY!

 

THIS IS A TOUGH ONE FOR YOURS TRULY

 

Tonight, the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Hoosiers of Indiana University in the first round of the College Football Playoffs. The winner will advance with an opportunity to vie for the National Championship.

Notre Dame is my Alma Mater, as well it was for my dear departed Dad. I bleed Blue and Gold and live under the protection of the BVM and pray for my ND Family daily.

But my BellyBean...my most sacred gift of a new life...came from IU and the amazing team of doctors, nurses, and staff there. I never really thought about the school that's just a few hours down the road, but in 2021 I vowed to also bleed Crimson and Cream for the Hoosiers.

So, good luck, boys. Play well, be safe, have fun, and make a memory to last a lifetime! 

AMEN

 

 

A DP FINISH, A NEW DP START...AND A LITTLE MORE STITCHING