T MINUS 30 MINUTES...AND COUNTING!

Well, Dearies...all of the testing is complete, and I just had a procedure to remove all of the A antibodies from my system. The new kidney is from a type A donor, and I am a type B positive, so they need to make sure I don't fight it with the antibodies.

Done.

I've met the surgeon, Dr Lutz. My beloved Dr Goggins is out of town, so will not be here to give me a hard time, but it's my understanding that Dr Lutz studied under Dr Goggins, so all is well.

Surgery scheduled for 10:15!

I will bid you all Farewell for now. It might be a few days before I can post again, but I'll ask Aunt Chrissy to post updates here in the comments!

Thank you for being with me on this journey, my dear friends! I'll see you on the other side!

HERE WE GO AGAIN...

 I was in the d-chair a full five minutes before the call came. I'm in Indy...again...and hopefully transplant will take place tomorrow morning.

Happy thoughts and prayers, please, Dearies!

See you on the other side!

THE WEEK CONTINUES...

 

After a nice long post-treatment nap I settled in for a play date with the new acorn. 

Success!

My poor tiny brain couldn't wrap itself around the stitches at first, but once I caught on, it was a breeze! I did use my laying tool to try to smooth them, but the result isn't exactly perfect.

Oh well.

Bit of a hangover today, so I'm just going to nurse it for a bit with a cozy blanket, the newspaper, and lots of hot fresh damn good! My only task today is laundry, so that means I can lounge with my stitching guilt free!

Tuesday is upon us, Dearies! How will you enjoy it? Come tell us all about it!

IN WHICH WE BEGIN A NEW WEEK

 

Good Monday morning, Dearies!

Buzzy and I are in the d-chair...all hooked up and doing our thing. He was a screaming meemee today, so I am just now getting my wits back about me after a very very painful stick. 

Phooey.

The countdown to my God daughter's wedding has begun! We will leave on Friday after I get home from treatment to head to Youngstown, Ohio for the festivities. I can't believe it's here already, and am so excited to see our Sara and her new hubby begin their adventure together!

My futzing and putzing on Saturday left me stiff and sore and very tired yesterday, so there wasn't a lot of anything, really. I did manage to get my next acorn mounted on its stretcher bars and ready to go, and I completed Step One of the cap, but then there was dinner to make and the kitchen to clean and by then I was done.

It looks like warm weather is going to be with us for a few more days, so I am hoping that I can hit the pool for a few final sploshes of the season. This year, I think I might join a fitness club a few miles away that has a pool and tons of classes, but I need to double-check that it is covered by my insurance (which I think it is through Silver Sneakers). 

On the reading front, I am happily enjoying Don Quixote once again. I read it in college and loved it then, and the re-read doesn't dissapoint. It reminds me that I need to work more classics into my rotation. I also want to get back to visiting the library. I indulged in a few amazon purchases during covid, but overflowing bookshelves remind me that it's better for me to borrow than to buy right now. Someday, if I return to a house/condo with enough room, I'll continue to add to my library, but for now methinks I better cool it.

So that's the report on a Monday from your hapless Spinster. I am looking forward to getting home, having a nice long nap, maybe a swim, and then jumping into that acorn!

What's on your agenda for the day? Come tell me all about it!

THE VERY FIRST SPINSTER STITCHER KIDNEY FUND RAFFLE!

Hello, Dearies!

As many of you know, my sister (affectionately known by Stewey as Aunt Chrissy), is the proud proprietor of a lovely shop on the etsy called Siggy's Closet. She makes and sells stitching accessories like needleminder magnets, scissor fobs, and thread drop blings, and she has generously donated several sets for me to raffle as a fundraiser for my kidney fund!

There are three different things being raffled off:

#1 is a PUMPKIN NEEDLEMINDER. Tickets for these are $5 each or 10 tickets for $45. I have a total of ten of these needleminders to raffle.

#2 is a WITCH'S HAT SET. Tickets for these are $10 each or 10 tickets for $95. I have five total sets of this style to raffle.

#3 is a BAT SET. Tickets for these are also $10 each or 10 tickets for $95. I have five total sets of this style to raffle.

Let's make this easy peasy. If you'd like to purchase a ticket/tickets, all you need to do is tell me how many tickets you'd like for any/each category, and I'll write your name on a little piece of paper and then have JB draw the winners from his treat jar ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH AT 6PM EST.

If you'd like to donate via PayPal, my email address is spinsterstitcher@aol.com.

If you prefer to mail a check, my address is 244 Toscana Blvd; Granger, IN 46530.

For all entries, please make sure to tell me which item you would like and please provide your mailing address! I know many of you have sent me your addresses before, but I don't keep them in the interest of privacy/security!

Hopefully this all makes sense and we can have a little fun and I can plump up my transplant fund!

Dearies, this is, again, a time for me to THANK YOU for all of your continued love, generosity, and support! I hope that someday I will be able to return this kindness, but in the meantime, please know that it means the world to me and I am eternally grateful for you!

SATURDAY SPINSTER SHENANAGINS

Heidy ho, Dearies!

I'm up early today, in an effort to get all of my chores and todos done so I can enjoy the weekend. I have quite a list, and I'm not sure I'll have the ability to get through it completely, but I'm going to give it my very best Spinster try!

I finished to leaf on the left side of the pumpkins and am convinced that there does need to be something added to the center, but alas, I'm still on the fence as to what that should be. I'm tucking it away for a day or two, and I'll come back to it fresh with better ideas, I'm sure.

Yesterday was a lovely day here in Hoosierville. I stopped at the Starbucks and picked up my end of week treat/reward for attending all three d-chair treatments and then JB and I went over to Notre Dame for a visit to the Grotto. He lit his candles, we said our prayers, and then we sat for a bit with our faces in the sun watching the peoples and chatting away. Then we went for lunch downtown at a nice little spot that I've wanted to take him to....Macri's Trattoria. 

All in all, a very nice day indeed.

The second acorn arrived in yesterday's mail, so stay tuned for the start! This one involves wool applique', so I'm looking forward to playing with something new and different and learning some new skills!

Happy Saturday! I hope your corner of the world is as happy and peaceful and fun and lovely as it can be tor you today! Come tell me all about what's blowing your skirt up!

FRIDAY!

These photos are from yesterday, but it's still o'dark hundred here in Hoosierville, and nothing exciting has happened yet. Buzzy and I are doing our thing here in the d-chair, and I'm looking forward to having a weekend to futz about the apartment.

My Irish take on Wisconsin at Soldier Field at noon, so I'm pretty sure there will be football watching and snack munching. We stopped at a lovely new market for provisions yesterday, so there might be some cooking too!

On the stitchy front I am really hoping to finish the pumpkins and spend some time fishing around in the WiP bin for Halloween things, but there's always Hoity Toity to play with if I don't get that far.

So, Dearies. All is quiet on the Spinster front. What's new in your corner of the world? Come tell me all about it!

ACORN FEE NEE

 

I re-attached the beads moments ago and put the final stitches into the background of the first acorn! This is a multi-month series from Judy's Stitchery Nook, and I can't wait to receive the next!

Happy Birthday to my puppytot nephew, dear Baby Bosco! He turned 16 today!

SUNDAY

I had to take the beads and sequins off because they weren't attached properly and started to fall off! As soon as we finish dinner (Ina's corn chowder and panini), I'll do the background and put them back on if there's time before bed.

Happy Sunday, Dearies!

 

SATURDAY

 

THOUGHTS?

I might end up adding all of the leaves after all, I think. If I fill in the left and then leave it as is, I fear it's somehow unbalanced and too empty in the middle? Or...perhaps I could add my initials and the year there?

FRIDAY

Good Morning, Dearies.

Buzzy and I are in the d-chair doing our thing. We missed Wednesday's treatment because he was too swollen and bruised after his procedure Tuesday to even contemplate it, so in bed we stayed.

And stayed.

And stayed.

I got up yesterday morning feeling like a bus had hit me, so after a few cups of damn good and a peanut and jelly sandwich, I went right back in for a long snooze. I think that did the trick, because I felt better last night and am almost normal today.

(Or as normal as I can be.)

I think I figured out my pumpkin leaf dilemma, but as usual, I forgot to snap a photo to share. If I'm on top of things, I'll grab a few this weekend and post.

Speaking of the weekend, it is upon us! My only plan is to catch up on correspondence and magazine reading, to eat carefully, and to spend some time sploshing in the pool. Somewhere in there is the Notre Dame/Purdue football game and hopefully a lot of stitching, too!

How about you? What's going to blow YOUR skirt up this weekend? Come tell me all about it!

TUESDAY

Buzzy had his three-month roro-rootering this morning, so I am taking a moment to get my wits about me, to grab a bite, slurp some coffee, and then head back to the big girl sleigh bed for the duration. The new doctor that tends to us at the Access Center believes that a little extra sedation goes a long way, so I am a bit...fuzzy around the edges.

But not in a bad way.

After my snooze, I will make a lovely dinner for JB...grilled chicken, baby potatoes, and roasted veg, and I will hopefully get myself back into a stitchy groove.

I am expecting a recovery day tomorrow, since Buzzy is usually too swollen and sore for the d-chair, so stay tuned for the Futzingday Shenanagin Report!

Happy Tuesday, Dearies!

MONDAY

I started the acorn:

 And finished the cap:

Other than that, it was a relatively quiet weekend. I ate, slept, sploshed, tidied, folded, and rested. My Irish beat Toledo (barely), and I managed to almost catch up to the new episodes of Billions.

All in all, a perfectly lovely few days!

SATURDAY

 

FRIDAY

Good morning, Dearies.

I futzed a bit with stitching yesterday, but not much. First up was a new project that is part of a series from Judy's Stitchery Nook:

This is a painted canvas and will be completed in various needlepoint stitches with various threads (as indicated by the stitch guide). I didn't have any suitable artist's tape to bind the edges of the canvas, so I used decorative washi tape instead.

Wonder why I didn't this of this sooner?!

(This little needlepoint project will be nice for the d-chair, I think, or when I hanker for something a little different.)

I also pulled Hoity Toity and added a few stitches to it before heading to bed:

The challenge with this one is that I've arrived at the part that requires a date, and I just can't decide which year to add. 2020, because that's when I started the piece, or 2021, which is when I will hopefully finish it?

Decisions, decisions.

The weekend is upon us, and I am determined to make the most of it and enjoy time with my JB. If the weather holds out, I would love to go to the pool for a bit before watching the Notre Dame game, and on Sunday I hope we can get ourselves back to Mass in the Basilica. 

I hope your very own weekend is full of fun and frolic and needles flying!

IN WHICH WE CONTEMPLATE PUMPKIN LEAVES

Good morning, Dearies!

I have reached the point of contemplation with PrettyPumpkins. After finishing the leaf on the right side, I started to think that I might do the leaf on the left side and be done with this one completely. The bottom leaves shown in the photo from the chart seem just a little too "extra"...even for me.

My sister suggested that I do the leaf on the left and then tuck this away for a few days and then come back to it to see if I feel the same way. 

A good idea, I think, so after that left leaf goes in I'll see what else I can play with.

JB is en route to Indiana as we speak, and should be home late this afternoon. I'm praying for his safe travels and that we get ourselves into a good Fall routine that is healthy and happy for both of us.

My Spinstercation was a success, I think, in the overall productivity department since I got all of the auction items shipped, but not very good in the healthy eating department. I feel like I've swallowed a beach ball full of cement, so it's definitely time to dial up the carefulness again.

That's it for now. Buzzy and I are hooked up and doing our d-chair thing, and I think I might close my eyes for the duration. I just didn't sleep well last night, so find myself very very sleepy this morning.

Happy Futzingday, Dearies! I hope your day is full of fun and frolic! Come tell me all about it!

MONDAY...LABOR DAY 2021

This is a little before and after from last night. My Irish defeated the Florida State Seminoles with a field goal in overtime, so I have absolutely nothing to complain about other than the late hour I went to bed.

The pumpkins are flying along. I've started the leaves now, so depending on my mood, I might take a little break and play with something else, but we'll see.

One of the things on my to do list is to pull, journal, and organize my WiPs once and for all. I have an empty cube behind JB's chair, and I am envisioning all of my WiPs stored neatly within in their project bags. This might be a multiple part project for a long winter's weekend, but maybe I can get a good start on it now.

The pool is calling to me, so I might attempt a nice long dip this afternoon after my post-treatment nap. Then, I really do need to re-evaluate my fridge, freezer, and pantry to see if I can get back into a losing groove.

So that's it for me today, Dearies. If you have the day off, enjoy some time doing something you love!

PHEW!

Well, Dearies...I made it. The auction items are all packaged, labeled, boxed, and ready to go to the post office, the laundry is finally done, folded, and neatly put away, CS2 is tidied back to some little semblance of itself, and I am now happily nested in my new stitchy perch on the sectional with Pretty Pumpkins and an iced coffee.

Will somebody remind me to do this every Saturday? Not the auction shipping part....but the chore-doing in the morning so that I can then have the entire rest of the weekend to just...be.

So that's my plan for the duration...to just sit and stitch and watch something mindless on the TeeVee and to really enjoy some nice relaxing quiet time before having to head back to the d-chair Monday morning.

(No Labor Day holiday for us, I'm afraid. I don't mind it so much, but I really do feel bad for the staff that has to come care for us on a holiday. God bless and keep them for giving up so much to keep us going!)

So that's it for me today. I hope your very own weekend is wonderful. Come tell me all about it!

WELL, APPARENTLY I REALLY DO NEED ADULT SUPERVISION

 

Happy Friday, Dearies!

Well, as predicted, I have misbehaved all week and gained quite a bit of weight and fluid. I am in the d-chair now and will remedy a bit of it, but I really need to snap out of the bad rut I'be been in all week.

I'll give myself a small break for the days when I was sick and didn't really pay attention, but the last three days? Nope. That's just sheer foolishness on my part.

Why does life have to be a constant game of Whack A Mole? Just when I get one area of things sorted, another falls apart. I get the laundry done and the apartment clean, but I realize I haven't stitched in four days. Or, I stitch faithfully every evening, but the place is a mess or I've eaten the entire contents of the snack cart in one fell swoop.

Phooey.

I'll get it together, I know. The good news is that I caught myself before blowing past my transplant goal weight. I'm still good there, Dearies, so no need to fret about that....I just want to get that 10-15 pound cushion re-established.

On the auction front, I am happy to report that all of the packages will be en route on Tuesday (because Monday is a holiday). It took me the better part of yesterday to figure it all out, but I finally did and got my little Spinster Workshop all organized and it started humming right along.

I finished binge-watching Big Love last night and stitched my eyeballs out while doing so. I forgot how engrossed you get in the storylines and characters when bingeing. I found myself thinking about it for hours afterwards and have to confess that I'm a bit sad it's over again.

Oh well. On to the next!

If you have a long weekend ahead, I hope it's filled with everything that brings you joy, and if it's just a regular weekend....well, I hope there's joy in it for you, too! Do something wonderfully fun and come tell me all about it...especially anything that's good to eat, so I can enjoy vicariously!

WHAT A DOOZIE!

I'm back in the saddle today, Dearies.  Four days of icks and ughs was enough for this portly spinster, but I can tell you that I'm still very glad and grateful I was able to get that booster. The symptoms weren't too bad, and nothing that a few Tylenol and a lot of fluid couldn't handle...but I missed you all terribly!

Life is still quiet at CS2. Mr Spinster remains in NJ with his mom and is checking in frequently to make sure I am behaving myself...which I am.

All of the packing materials have finally arrived for auction item shipping, so that operation will commence this afternoon after my post d-chair recovery nap and well into the weekend. It might not seem like a lot, but 21 packages is more than I've managed in quite some time, so please continue to bear with me!

In between sleeping and Tylenol-taking and fluid-drinking and chicken soup-slurping, I did manage to put a few stitches into Pretty Pumpkins:

I did this while bingeing my way through The Chair on the Netfix and Big Love on the HBO. I hadn't seen the first series, but enjoyed it immensely. As for Big Love...I think this is the third or fourth time through it. (I still haven't gotten new contacts and glasses, so my binges when stitching need to be something I can just listen to since I am having to stitch sans glasses.)

So that's it for me at the moment. Do come tell me all about life in your corner of the world! I am having to moderate comments to weed out the spam, but I promise to publish everything you write! (And if anybody knows how to fix this mess...I'm all ears. I have done everything I know to do, but am still getting quite a lot of junk.)