HALFWAY THERE...ALMOST

IN WHICH WE HAVE A PLAN...

I know, I know, it's past noon on a Saturday and I am still slurping my damn good and in pajamas. The truth of the matter is, Dearies, that yesterday's treatment was ba-ru-tal and completely knocked me out. I remember something about Chinese food and Sopranos, but not much else.

But today has dawned cold and dreary and I am looking forward to a trip to the library for a new stack, some stitchy time under the magic blanket, and a nice long snooze in the big girl sleigh bed.  There might be a load of laundry or two and a dishwasher emptying, but I wouldn't bet the farm on that one!

Yes...I know I could skip going out and download all of the latest greatest fiction right here on my iPad thingie, but our libraries are so completely wonderful here that a trip to browse the shelves is a lovely treat, and I have the added bonus of a nice pile of books to look at whenever I please. I like being surrounded by books...hence the wall 'o shelves that has followed me from place to place. Having them near is somehow a great comfort and one I appreciate more and more.

So as soon as I finish this second cup and get myself presentable...I'm off like a herd of turtles!

I hope your very own Saturday is wonderfully swell, that your needles (of any variety) are flying, and that your heart sings with something special! Come tell me all about it!

PHOOEY

A visit from the FROG resulted in this:

Three day's worth of happy stitching had to come out because of a error made all the way back at the beginning! I'm trying to remain philosophical about the whole thing...meaning, if I enjoyed stitching it the first time, imagine how much I will enjoy it a second, but...grrrrr.

The sun is shining and the birds are sweetly tweeting and I am off to dialysis. I have been struggling mightily with a major decision that needs to be made vis a vis my current team, so my tiny little brain has been preoccupied with the weight of it all. The truth of the matter is that I think I need to make a change to a different treatment center and care team, but I am pondering it carefully because it will involve a lot of change. (And we all know how much I like change). I just need to put aside the emotion of it all and do what is best for me in the long run, but pulling the trigger is proving to be harder than I thought.

Oh well....it will work itself out. I'm sure of it.

The weekend is upon us, Dearies! I have a clean slate of absolutely nothing to do other than stitch, read, rest, and enjoy! How about you?

SPINSTERDAY BLISS...

You're looking at my entire agenda for the day:

OK. I have been futzing with a new Blogger app for the last hour to no avail. Phooey.

No worries, though, Dearies. The apartment is clean and tidy, the laundry is sploshed, dried, folded, and tucked away, the fridge and pantry are stocked and organized, and I am clean and shiny and looking forward to stitching and Netflix for the day.

There is a brief errand to return a library book that must be done, but no complaints there. It looks like a beautiful Spring day out there in Hoosierville, and a little sunshine and fresh air never killed anybody.

So that's it...Spinsterday bliss.

(But if anybody knows if/when that old Blogger app is coming back...help a spinster out!)

GUESS WHAT TODAY IS...

MONDAY - UPDATED!

I stayed up late last night, and it felt wonderful! This morning, not so much, but it reminded me of the old days when I didn’t pay attention to the clock, so I’m not complaining.

The lower right corner of Grasshopper Pie is coming into view, and with any luck will be completed before I know it! It is still just such a lovely stitch, and I am convinced that 28ct Picture This Plus linen of any color is my jam (as the kids say). I might have to sort through my stash to see what other treasures I can find along those lines.

Looks like we are going to have a pretty Spring day here in Hoosierville, so when my d-chair time is complete I might have to get out and enjoy it somehow. I don’t know if I will be up for a walk, but maybe a sit in the sunshine someplace with a book?

Speaking of which, I am thrilled to report that the branch of the library that is close to my apartment is as excellent as the one on the other side of town! I had gotten out if my library habit and really missed it, but thanks to a whim, I discovered that there is a fabulous new fiction section just a few blocks away! At the moment, I’m reading a book titled “Little”, which is a fictionalized account of Madame Tousaud. It’s very good!

OK, Dearies...I’m off to dialysis. I had hoped to stitch in the chair today, but I am so wiped out from the weeked that I might just watch Flosstube and rest instead. I hope your very own Monday is wonderfully swell and that you get to do everything your heart desires! Come tell me all about it!

UPDATE!

Guess who just stitched the outer border during treatment! On to the next!

WORKED LIKE A CHARM...

OK, so maybe five and a half hours of heavy lifting and scrubbing was a little extreme, but cleaning my apartment like an Amish woman was worth it. I’m exhausted and sore, but very very happy. And peaceful. And feeling a bit more like my old self again.

Somewhere along the line I gave up an awful lot of control over my day to day life. I went from being physically strong like a bull and fiercely independent to sitting in chairs hooked to machines at the mercy of technology and other people.

I hate that.

Moments ago, I cleared everything off of the balcony so they can power wash the building this week. I got the email notice telling me to do this a week ago, but instead of going out and doing it, I fretted and fretted and worried and worried and stressed and stressed over it. The actual doing took five minutes. The angsting took six days.

I hate that too.

This isn’t to say that I won’t be a pitiful heap of helplessness again anytime soon, but at least I’ve had a few hours of feeling like the OG Spinster Stitcher again. And that makes all of the pain and fatigue totally worth it.

After a nice hot scrubby shower in a clean bathroom last night I settled in to put a few stitches into Grasshopper Pie. Perfect end to a busy day...hopefully I’ll do the same thing tonight!

Happy Sunday, Dearies! I hope you are feeling empowered and in control of your little corner of the world today! Do something wonderful for yourself and come tell me all anout it!

RAGE CLEANING IS MY CARDIO...

AAAAHHHH....MUCH BETTER

One of the things I love about Dr. Melfi is that she helps me put things into better perspective and doesn’t let me take myself too seriously in the process. After talking to her for an hour I put my angst aside and managed to enjoy my Thursday.

The to-do list is where it should be...in the trash can. Yes, there are a few things that I really must accomplish...like pick up prescriptions and pay bills, but all the other stuff can wait. The dust bunnies and I will just have to peacefully co-exist until such time as I can muster the energy to pack them a little suitcase and send them on their way.

I did run a few errands and decided on Chinese for dinner...a treat that I have learned to enjoy in moderation. I like veggie fried rice and General Tso’s chicken extra extra spicy...and it was! Cleared the old sinuses right up, and there are leftovers for tonight!

My TeeVee viewing was a binge of a show on the HBO called “Big Little Lies”. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but once I watched two or three episodes I was hooked. I think it was based on a book? Not my normal, but I did enjoy it.

I’ll close with an update on Grasshopper Pie:

I’M DOING THAT THING AGAIN...

I’m doing it again, Dearies.

Shoulding all over myself.

I have a to-do list longer than my arm that sits next to my Happy Chair taunting me. This, of course, is nothing new, because I’m pretty sure that same list has been taunting me since the year 1987.

Is it Spring that does this to me? The warmer temps and birds chirping making me want to scrub scrub scrub and organize organize organize...putting things back to rights and cleaning and refreshing every inch of the world so we can all have a very nice summer sitting by the pool.

It’s not a Kondo thing...I promise. I know everybody is on a minimalist kick and throwing away everything they own right now, but I LIKE my stuff. My stuff comforts me and keeps me from running away from home.  And yes, I am well aware that material possessions cannot fill a spiritual void, blah blah blah, but I am an agoraphobic hermit spinster who wants to stay inside as much as possible, so my stuff is more life support right now than it is clutter.

I’ll get it together, I promise. I will talk to Dr. Melfi today, and I’m sure she’ll tell me that this recent state of blah has more to do with me feeling helpless and out if control than it does with anything being really wrong. I know, I know...it’s all about moderation and learning to do things in small increments, but all I have to say to that is...

Have we met?!

I did stitch a bit last night after moving the linen onto new snaps that are easier to hold:

I am still very much in love with this and make no apologies for stitching just one thing for long periods of time. I do admire you stitchy folks who have well organized and well thought out rotations, but despite my very best attempts, I just haven’t been able to master one yet.

Better get moving, my friends. The hour is approaching in which I must get myself spiffed and polished to go out into the world. I hope you are having a wonderful Thursday and that you get to do whatever makes you happy today!  Come tell me all about it!

FUTZINGDAY

I really love how this is coming along. Why I didn’t finish that little part of bronze on the left escapes me, but something to do today instead, right?

TESTING 123

HAVING A TUESDAY...

Well, here we are, Dearies. Tuesday...noon...and my tiny little brain is struggling to get started.

Yesterday is a bit of a blur, unfortunately. I made it through almost all of my treatment, but was out cold for about the last hour of it. This lead to a rather blurry Monday evening in which I stared at the TeeVee until it was time to go to bed, and not much else.

The hangover is a bit relentless this morning, but I think a hot shower and some fresh air might remedy it, so I'm going to get myself together and go for a little walk in the sunshine.

(Or maybe I'll just put clean pajamas on and just stay here in the Happy Chair with some Grasshopper Pie.)

Spring cleaning the apartment is hanging over my head, as is cleaning out the garage that is packed to the rafters with everything from Chez Spinster. I know it has to be done (and sooner rather than later), but I just don't have the emotional energy to re-live a hundred years of memories that have been thrown in a box. I know that there is an absolute ton of stuff that might be useful to somebody in there, but I also know that there are things that will send me straight into the ugly cry, and nobody needs to see that on a random Saturday afternoon.

But the inside of the apartment really does need a good scrubbing, and that I can do room by room as my energy allows. I promise not to have any more episodes of emptying a studio onto the living room floor...that was a folly that can only really happen once in a lifetime without consequence, so maybe we'll just try to wash miniblinds and cull some old clothing instead.

I hate this fog, I really do. it makes me feel sad and a bit angry, and then incredibly guilty for complaining about it, but it is so darn pervasive that I can't conquer it. Instead of a big black dog, methinks this should be called a huge green monster. The dog will at least sit by your feet and keep you company, but this sucker demands full attention and allows for nothing else.

Phooey.

OK. Enough kvetching. I hope that your Tuesday is off to a swell start and that you get to do all the things today! Come tell me all about it!

MONDAY

FFFFFF....IDDLESTICKS

SATURDAY STITCHY BLISS

Cheerio, Dearies!

Here we are on a Saturday morning once again. The sun is shining, the birds are sweetly tweeting, and I am just finishing my second cup of damn good and getting ready to read the paper.

Don't ask me how I did it, but I managed to stitch through my entire treatment yesterday:

My tech, Miss Lori, knows that stitching is the only thing that keeps the panic at bay, so she waits patiently for me to get YoYo Ma on the headphones and my stitchy project organized and ready to go.

I didn't stitch when I came home last night...just too wiped out to do so, but I will remedy that today. If all goes according to plan, I will complete another good portion of pie:

I've got my green fingernails ready to go for tomorrow, but no plans to do anything crazy beyond that. There is a huge tent in the parking lot at the restaurant across from CS2, and several bands are playing tonight, but as of now I think the Happy Chair will be my destination for the duration.

I hope your weekend is perfectly swell and that you get to do everything your love! Come tell me all about your little corner of the world!

HAPPY FRIDAY!