FOUR YEARS

 

FRIDAY

Well, here we are again, Dearies.  Doing our thing on a Friday here in Hoosierville. I am hoping for a big Starbucks treat at the end of my session today, and it might be a hot one since the weather is perfect for it.

For those of you wondering...I try to stay away from anything with calories and opt for sugar free flavorings and low fat milk. 

The Ehrman piece is coming along very nicely, and I am still enjoying it immensely! I think the change of pace is exactly what I needed, since I picked up Pumpkins to bring to treatment today!

Don't tell anybody, but I unpacked a few things from the Indy bag and figured I could tuck them back in when I get the call. The leggings just kind of screamed Fall Friday to me!

 My Irish take on Boston College tomorrow, so I want to be finished with my to-dos and in the Happy Chair by 3:00! I need to decide on a menu and get groceries ordered. Any suggestions?

Well, it's time to close my eyes, I think. I hope your weekend is wonderfully swell, and that you'll come tell me all about it!

NOW THAT'S BETTER...

The stars aligned perfectly, and the Ehrman kit is exactly what I needed! I confess, I was worried that I would be hugely disappointed or frustrated, but I got lucky...the canvas is printed perfectly, I was able to sort and swatch the threads quite easily, and thanks to a few little clips I was able to roll the sides and stitch quite happily in hand.

Yes....it's wool.

Yes...it's 10ct canvas and quite rough/stiff.

Yes...my backside is a bit more of a mess that I would like.

But you know what? I just managed to sit and stitch for about seven hours and I am very happy indeed with the results. The stem of the flower is complete...now on to the petals!

FIDDLESTICKS...

Hello, and Happy Futzingday to one and all!

Buzzy and I are here in the d-chair doing our thing on a cool and cloudy day here in Hoosierville. We had quite a drop in temps from the 70's to the 40's and a good old fashioned thunderstorm to go with it last night, but I am delighted that Fall (and big girl sweatshirt) weather is finally upon us.

I was decidedly "off" yesterday and did a whole lot of nothing. I wish I could tell you that it was one thing or another, but I just had a real good case of the ughs that moved me from bed to chair and back again. Oh well...I'll just chalk it up to one of those days and get on with it.

In the stitching department, I fished out a canvas and put about six stitches into it before returning it to the cube room studio. I don't know what has gotten into me lately, but I have been hankering for canvaswork in tent stitch.

I do love this canvas, and forgot how lovely some of the Needlepoint silks and specialty threads can be. The size of it, though, was a problem for me to hold on its big stretcher bars, but I'm not sure if I want to try stitching in hand on something this big.

An Ehrman kit is waiting for me when I get home this afternoon, and I might try to play with it a bit to see if the itch is still there. Thank you for all of the comments, suggestions, and warnings...they were all very very helpful!

Tomorrow will be thirty three years since Mom has been gone, and Saturday will be four since losing Stewey. I'm sure that this is what is affecting my mood, so I might just go quiet for a few days and think about them and get my head in a better place. I have too much to do and too many blessings to count to be blue.

Time for puzzles and a nap, I think. My poor tech is limping on a bad knee today and I keep wanting to tell her to sit and rest, but alas, she is having to run to and fro taking care of us. What would we do without these amazing people?

Speaking of...thank you and God's blessings on every veteran and every veteran's family today! 

(This is the eastern entrance of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of Notre Dame that memorializes the members of the Notre Dame family who fought in WWI.)

MONDAY

Hello, Dearies!

I feel like I've been rushing about like the proverbial 300-pound hummingbird lately. Even my dreams seem to be filled with nonsense and a feeling of hurryhurry rushrush!

Today, though, I am just going to slow down a bit and catch a breath or two. The weather is quite conducive to a nice leisurely walk in the sunshine, and I might take a page from JB Magoo's book and enjoy a long sit on the balcony and take in the evening air.

We ordered in last night from a local Italian restaurant called Papa Vino's and had a delicious dinner! JB ordered mussels arribiata and said they were quite good, and I had a very excellent chopped chicken and pasta salad. I was supposed to cook, but didn't, and boy o boy am I glad it worked out that way!

Tonight, though, I have to get my act together and organize the fridge and get some things prepared: pork cutlets for JB and vegetable soup for moi!

I'm sorry that I have no stitching progress to report. I managed a few hours on Friday night, but didn't touch my piece at all for the rest of the weekend. Saturday was the Notre Dame game and last night I did my nails and it was time for bed before I knew it! Tonight, though, for sure.

Thank you for all of your love and support and cheering! It has really helped me stop and appreciate what a happy place I'm in and how much I want to savor every bit of this wonderful life of mine! I started a book last night called "The Midnight Library" and the character is in a very bad/sad place in the beginning. I remember all too well how it felt to be flat on my back and at the very end of my strength to get up again, and I never want to go back to that...darkness.

OK...time to get on with it and get through treatment. I'm feeling a bit rough already, but we're trying to do most of the hard work at the beginning so I don't crash at the end. The end result on 112 or lower, though, is completely and totally worth it!

I hope your week is off to a lovely start! Come tell me all about your plans and hopes and dreams for it!

THE SPINSTER HAS A QUESTION

Hello again, Dearies!

Have any of you ever stitched an Ehrman Tapestry kit? If so...

Did you stitch it in hand, or on stretcher bars?

Did you start in any particular place on the canvas?

Do you have any tips or advice?

IN WHICH WE ARE NOW A....HAMSTER

Yesterday, as I was doing my thing, my JB called me a hamster.

(As in the really cute little furry rodents that many children have to have as pets despite their mother's aversions to willingly allowing rodents to come and live in their currently rodent-free homes.)

And when I replied with a stunned expression and a very loud "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?"

(I didn't mean for it to be so loud, but my head was clanging like a bell because the TeeVee was turned up loud enough to hear it on the International Space Station...yup...we're THOSE people).

He explained that he felt like he was watching a hamster run their little heart out on a wheel while getting absolutely nowhere.

OK.

So.

I'm a hamster.

Today I am completely hung over from the Notre Dame vs Clemson game that ended in a 47-40 victory for my Irish in overtime, and then several hours of fretting and worrying about the eleventy thousand kids that stormed the field and practiced no social distancing whatsoever.

(I'm told that the student body was tested and no positive individual was permitted into the stadium, but I'm a fretter, so fret I must.)

I was going to pack my clothes and comfort bag/tote today, but I am already re-thinking my hospital bag and the stitching projects I packed into my hotel bag, and whether or not the toiletry bag makes sense, and if my hospital robe is too long, and...

So I decided to chill and rest today and sit at the dining room table and handle paperwork, mask orders, and playing in my day planner before making soup and a lovely chicken salad for dinner.

On the food front, I ate pizza on Friday night and was so miserable mentally about it that I was super careful yesterday and only had salad and a little cottage cheese. The scale this morning tells me I am still exactly where I need to be, so I will be super careful again today and get back to my vegetable soup this week.

Now that I've met the 112kg goal for transplant, I am now trying for 110kg to give me some wiggle room, and then eventually try for an end of year weight of under 100kg.

Our weather here in Hoosierville could not be prettier...sunny, gorgeous skies with temps in the 70's. I hope to take a nice walk later, but we'll have to see how I feel once my damn good kicks in.

No stitching to show, Dearies. I was too busy having a nervous breakdown over the game and thinking about what to pack and unpack and repack to settle down with needle and thread. I'll remedy that today, though!

Happy Sunday! Come tell me all about life in your corner of the world today!

 

GO IRISH

 

THREE DOWN...TWO TO GO

Today I packed the hotel bag, toiletries, and the hospital bag. Clothes and tote will be packed tomorrow, I hope.

Here's the hotel bag...in the event that you want to embrace my crazy.

Sippy cups for cold things and damn good, coloring supplies, and laundry stuff:

Lots of stitching. Today I added two Christmas projects because...well...we're into November for pity's sakes!

A new light because there's no way the lighting in the hotel will be good enough for stitching or coloring:

And two books:

It's stuffed full, but thanks to an expanding zipper thingie, closes perfectly! JB Magoo thinks I'm nuts, but you all know/get me. This is exactly what I'll need for a month in the hotel, right?

The hospital bag has pajamas, undies, slippers, fuzzy socks, toiletries, a "bedside" bag, and a plug thingie that you can use as both an outlet and a charger for three devices.

(The bedside bag has stuff like face wipes, hand cream, lotion, extra glasses, etc.)

I can't fit my Snoopy robe in there, but the grey thing at the bottom of the picture is a sherpa wrap. It's basically a big fleece shawl that has pockets. I figure I can use it as both a blanket/throw and a wrap if I get cold.  I do have a lightweight fleece robe on its way, and I think I'll definitely take that to the hospital for walking the halls.

Tomorrow I'll pack clothes and my tote. I need to re-think both the volume and type of clothes I've got stacked, and the tote is basically going to become my purse. 

OK...off to the shower so I can get settled in before game time! Happy Saturday, Dearies! How is your day going so far?

GAME DAY

 

IN WHICH WE ARE DETERMINED TO HAVE A HAPPY FRIDAY, A HAPPY WEEKEND, AND A VERY HAPPY LIFE INDEED

Hello, Dearies!

Buzzy and I are doing our thing in the d-chair and the day has dawned simply beautifully out there in Hoosierville. I had some trouble with a nightmare involving a big huge snake, but I am shaking it off and focusing on the positive.

112.7 was my Wednesday off weight! Today promises to be 112.3 if all goes well! I am feeling officially happy with this little chain of events, especially since I am hungry enough to eat landscape mulch at this point.

I will allow myself a little treat tomorrow night when I watch my Irish take on Clemson, but it will definitely be little and nothing that would cause me to slide backwards.

Here's progress on Pretty Pumpkins:

I did move the q-snaps to continue playing with her, but I might take a little stash bath tomorrow to see what else might catch my fancy. Christmas stitching is starting to whisper to me from its little bin in the closet, so I might have to take a look-see to determine if we need to add a few of them to the WiP pile.

Other than that...nothing new here. If you're in Canada, I'm sorry that you must feel like you're living above the Beverly Hillbillies, but we'll get it together eventually, I'm sure. 

The weekend is upon us! What are you looking forward to? Come tell me all about it!

WEDNESDAY

Hello, and a Happy Futzingday to you, Dearies!

I've been stitching my dry little eyeballs out lately, it seems.  Just when I was complaining that I can't seem to settle down for hours at a time...away I go and the time starts flying again.

Buzzy and I are doing our thing in the d-chair. I am very happy to report that I will hit that 112 mark today as long as I don't get sick or crash.

Oh wait.

I think I just tempted fate and jinxed myself.

Will somebody please go outside and turn around three times counterclockwise and throw salt and knock wood and rub a crystal and light a candle while I sit here regretting having to broadcast my every waking thought?

 Seriously, though, my fluid gain was minimal, which means the fasting and being as hungry as a Victoria's Secret model is paying off.

Nothing on the agenda this afternoon or tomorrow. JB is playing the golf and I am hoping for a nice quiet afternoon with Pretty Pumpkins and some good TeeVee. I have been obsessively watching documentaries about Keith Raniere and NXIVM, and following the story in the news about his trial and sentencing.

Why this has me so fascinated completely escapes me. 

Kind of like Tiger King.

OK. Time to break out the puzzles and then settle in for a nap. I hope your day is full of fun and that you'll come tell me all about it!

TUESDAY...IN WHICH WE ARE SHIP SHAPE

 Ship. Shape.

As in poked, prodded, buffed, scrubbed, x-rayed, and barnacles removed stem to stern. Your portly but loveable spinster has now completed every single examination and appointment known to man and woman, and if the pictures come out well we're good for another year.

Or for a new kidney.

Whichever comes first.

So I had an odd thing happen yesterday. I was supposed to get my hair cut on Saturday, but awoke with a feeling of unwell and called to cancel. My JB was supposed to get HIS hair cut yesterday at the exact same place and by the exact same person, and the salon called to cancel his appointment because they were shutting down due to a positive covid employee.

Yikes.

I realize I'm being completely dramatic, but I felt like the Big Guy kept me safe and sound by having me cancel. One more blessing to add to my very very very long list.

Now that I am home and in the Happy Chair with my afternoon dose of Starbucks, I'm going to grab Pretty Pumpkins and lose myself with needle and thread:

Shes's coming along quite nicely,  I think, and I am really digging the orange (just like Ina!). I have to say that this does not disappoint, and if you're contemplating it, it is definitely very pretty live and up close.

The sun is shining and the birds are tweeting sweetly here in Hoosierville, so there might be a little walk in my future. This week is expected to be just gorgeous, so I want to get out there and enjoy it.

Happy, happy, Tuesday to my dearest Dearies! Thanks for stopping by to visit! Come tell me all about your day!

MORE MASKS COMING

Hi, Dearies!

Another shipment of masks is en route to me now.  If you missed the first two rounds and would like to order or re-order, here are the details:

USD$20 for shipping within the US

USD$25 for International shipping

PAYMENT:

PayPal: spinsterstitcher@aol.com or paypal.me/spinsterstitcher2

Cash or check: Coni J Rich; 244 Toscana Blvd; Granger, IN 46530

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR COMPLETE MAILING ADDRESS NO MATTER HOW YOU ORDER!

All of the proceeds from the sale of this mask will be deposited into my kidney transplant fund to help offset costs of transplant once a kidney becomes available! Thank you for your love and support!

 

WE'RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT

I finished the next section of Pretty Pumpkins and moved the q-snaps! Here is a pic of the progress so far:

I found this really great map of downtown Indy and the Canal District, so now I know there are TWO Starbucks within walking distance of both the hospital and hotel! I'll be staying at The Residence Inn on the canal, so there will be an absolute ton of stuff nearby in case my visitors get twitchy.

Now for the fun. I took a look at my clothes. As long as it's cold, I'm in good shape. Everything is very soft, very warm, and very cozy. 

 I have pajama sets, lounge sets, clinic outfits, walking clothes, and a swimming suit. Everything is mix and match, and I will be able to do laundry while there, so I honestly think this is a good selection.

(The lounge sets are from Costco and have tops as soft as Stewey. I have no idea what fabric they're made of, but it took every ounce of will power I have not to cuddle up with them and take a snoozy nap right there in the middle of that pile on the big girl sleigh bed.)

No walking for me today. It's spitting snow, very windy, and about 25 degrees out there in Hoosierville today. I will, however, be having only my vegetable soup today, so that should make up for the calorie burning.)

I'm off to the laundry room, Dearies!

I hope you've had a good weekend and are enjoying a peaceful, restful Sunday! Come tell me all about it!

SATURDAY SPINSTER WALK...WELCOME TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD!

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

In what has become an annual tradition, I give you memories from Halloweens past:

 Mo-ther: Stewey, have you decided what you would like to be for Halloween?

Stewey: Yes, I want to be Super Girl.

Mo-ther: Super Girl?  Why not something fun like a zombie or a ghost or a vampire? (She frantically tries to remember what other costumes are stashed away in the carefully labeled bin in the guest room closet). Oh!  I know!  How about a lady bug!  You always wanted to be a lady bug!

Stewey:  Lady bugs are sooooo 2012, Mo-ther.  I want to be Super Girl.

Mo-ther carefully ponders just what will be involved in assembling a Super Girl outfit, and whether or not her limited skills will result in a successful outcome, or an unfortunate mess that will cause yet another epic tantrum.

Mo-ther:  OK.  Super Girl it is, but on one condition.  Under no circumstances are you to wear your wiglet.

Stewey:  The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize, Mo-ther.  Now pass me my tights and cape.

WELL...THAT'S ONE WAY TO DO IT

Rut.

Row.

I finished treatment, went to the powder room, and then almost bled to death because Buzzy decided to spring forth like a water wiggle.

Damn Buzzy.

(I suspect that he was channeling his inner Stewey and just wanted to mark his territory.)

The t-shirt, I'm afraid, is a goner, but are you ready for the good news?

113 today Dearies!

Woohoohoo! Only one more kilo/two point two little pounds to go!!

So...vegetable soup it will be and lots and lots of steps and happy thoughts it will be for the foreseeable future!

FRIDAY...

Hello, Dearies on a cold and cloudy Friday here in Hoosierville!

Nothing new to report. Buzzy and I are here in the d-chair doing our thing and trying to behave ourselves. If all goes according to plan I will come off treatment at 113.6kg...down considerably and closer to that 112kg goal!

I am attributing this to both the fasting and the vegetable soup, so I will make another pot of it tomorrow morning. Iced lemon water is also on the menu, and thanks to the Costco, I have a big bowl of them on the counter ready to go!

I finally got my favorite Sam Toft print up on the wall:

I think the clock looks a little goofy that low, so I might move it to the upper right. What do you think?

We're watching The Avenger movies in chronological order, and watched Captains America and Marvel. Well, JB Magoo watched them, and I listened to them as I stitched with my glasses off, but you get the idea.

I might switch to Hoity Toity this weekend, or I might not. I'm still loving those Pretty Pumpkins and might just keep going a bit longer.

The weekend is upon us! I hope yours blows your skirt up! Come tell me all about it!

 

PRETTY PUMPKINS PROGRESS