REST IN PEACE, DEAR MISS JEAN

 

I never had the privilege of meeting Jean from Attic Needlework, but once upon a time a million years ago, before I was a stitcher, I visited her shop with my sister. I didn't understand it fully at the time, but entering that place felt like walking into a cathedral. 

Now that I am a stitcher, I see just how accurate I was in thinking that.

My prayer is for Jean's family and the needlework family. We've lost a giant. May her memory be a blessing.

A FUTZINGDAY UPDATE

 

Dearies, I miss my old Futzingdays of yore. 

Remember when Stewey and I would awaken on a Wednesday and await what shenanigans were upon us? I seem to remember always looking forward to the mid-week point of things, and even though nothing was ever accomplished it felt great to progress through one more day and get closer to a week's end.

I suppose I am melancholy because I have big hard serious scary stuff coming at me from all directions. Most of it is medical...some of it is just situational...but all of it is stuff that I just wish would either get here and go already or just take a big detour and leave me alone.

Dr Yaqub, my transplant nephrologist, will be here tomorrow to poke and prod, and I've got a list a mile long of questions and observations and requests for him. I'm pretty sure he'll just pay attention to the kidney parts and leave all of the other stuff to other specialists, but I have some small hope that he'll just grab the ball and play quarterback for a minute.

Sorry to dump and run. I just need a few happy thoughts flung my way if y'all have a minute. 

In the meantime...back to Alphabets I go!

WOW....WHERE WAS THIS ONE HIDING?

 So I got the bright idea to fish through my WiP basket, and look what popped out, jumped onto q-snaps, and hollered "Will you just finish me already!"

Stay tuned...I actually stitched for more than ten minutes last night! Updates forthcoming!

WEEKEND PLAN

 

I MISS THIS LITTLE GUY

 Bosco Oliver Willowswamp

Sept 20, 2005 - Jan 22, 2022

HELLO WINTER, MY OLD FRIEND

 

It's been a long time since it's been this cold in these here parts.  If you are similarly affected, please be safe and smart and take care of yourself today! I'm staying under my Snoopy blanket with damn good and some stitching!

34-23. DAMN.

 

GAME DAY...LET'S GO!

 

 

 

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?