IN WHICH NO STITCHES ARE TAKEN. WHATSOEVER.

I didn't put needle to fabric yesterday, but I did spend a fair amount of time thinking about stitching.

Flosstube and the Facebook have become such wonderful sources of inspiration, but I am itching to browse among threads and charts and linens (oh my!) at the House of Stitches.  If it wasn't so darn hot outside, I would contemplate a quick trip over to get my fix, but alas, I need to stay put and finish out the week with more appointments.

I do, however, intend to hit JoAnn's later for some felt.  Miss Danielle showed several gorgeous pieces of it, and since I too use strips of it under my q-snap clamps, I thought I would replenish my supply.

My weekend task will be a major going through of all of my finished projects.  I have three different things I intend to do with them, but first I need to spread them out and sort.  I'm pretty sure we're gonna need a bigger boat for this task, kids, since there are three big bins of stuff to be pawed.

Isn't it funny how some folks collect photographs of their life events and some of us mark the passage of time with our projects?  I think it will be interesting to flip through each of them and remember what I was doing or where I was doing it or the time of year.  (Chances are the answers will all be the same for the first two...drinking dietCoke in the Happy Chair at CS1).

Speaking of...I was there yesterday to water the plants (that I need to move over to the apartment eventually) and  apparently decided that it had been a while since my last nervous breakdown.

Just when I think I'm good, the waterworks start all over again.  I think it has to do with seeing Stewey's spot empty in front of the window, or walking into the bedroom and finding it completely empty instead of ready for a snoozy nap.  I know I need to just let it go once and for all and be grateful that I had such a wonderful fifteen years there, but my poor tender heart keeps forgetting that and just decides to crack open every now and then.

This darn headache situation is not helping matters any, but I have finally gotten it down to a dull roar.  If things go well at my 1:00 today, I will come home, don my swimming costume, and head to the pool for a plunge.  There's something about that cool water that really does the trick, and I am definitely seeing the benefits of moving around a little more with increased flexibility.  It still takes me a minute to get moving in the morning, but I am thinking that fact is more attributable to age than it is to end stage renal failure.

On that front, many of you have asked about my exact status.  I am presently Stage Five and at 11% kidney function.  I am listed on the UNOS list for a cadaver kidney and am also hoping for a kidney from my sister or someone on a paired donor chain.  I am not yet on dialysis, and am hoping to avoid it altogether with a pre-emptive transplant, but there are a few more steps that need to be taken before that can happen.  The good news is that I have completed all of my testing and have done everything IU has required of me, so now it's just a matter of waiting.  Physically, I'm completely shot and can tell that I am failing pretty rapidly, and emotionally I'm just...terrified.  But I know that I'll muddle through, since I am made of hearty peasant stock and that's what we do.

That's it for a rambly Thursday.  I'll leave you with a repeat photo of my Little...one of my favorites from a year ago.  Seems almost impossible that it's been that long some days, and then again, I feel like it was a million years ago.

Cheerio, my dears.  Do something fun and magical and come tell me all about it!