THIS WHOLE LEAVING THE HOUSE THING IS FOR THE BIRDS...

If you've been my friend on this here blog for any length of time, you know that I am what you would call a "homebody". (Mental health professionals call it "agoraphobic", but....potAAAto, potAAAHHHto).

My Lima family (sissyfriend Denise and brotherfriend Jeff) were here for the Notre Dame football Spring game, and although I was unable to go to the actual game (too much walking, sitting on bleachers, and lack of fast access to a restroom), I still made it out to dinner on Saturday night and then brunch on Sunday.

Yesterday I visited with my Louie surgeon, Dr Thompson. I needed to follow up with him for an ER visit (Friday night I thought I had a simple UTI and went to Urgent Care, but because I'm me and can't do anything easy, so I was sent to the ER for extensive tests and CT scans.)

(No UTI, but evidence of inflammation near Louie that requires antibiotics for ten days.)

Today, I had an iron infusion at the "spa doctor" (*), and then I have to take Rich to the dentist for a check-up later this afternoon, and bright and early Friday morning I have to go get kidney labwork done.

Phooey.

That is more "outsiding" than I've done in calendar year 2026, and I need a smack in the head for scheduling this stuff all at once. Silly, silly Spinster. I thought that I would be perfectly capable of playing the part of a functional adult, with shoes, and a bra, and actual athleisure-wear that is not, in fact, Target clearance bin pajamas, but all I am at the moment is overwhelmed, exhausted, hungry, and wanting my blanket.

But...there are updates to be shared, so share I shall:

I'm making good progress on Robin Pickens Cross Stitch "Fanciful Flight" and am enjoying it very much! I'm using both fabric and threads from Colour & Cotton that I had in my stash, and am loving how it's coming together.

(*) The place where I go to get iron infusions is called Flourish and it looks like a very upscale hair salon on the outside, but is one of the most professionally run medical facilities I've ever been in on the inside.

The infusion rooms are lovely, private, and super comfortable. I'm only there for about an hour, but it's the most relaxing hour of the day!

That's it for now, Dearies! I need to give Rich his first sedative for the dentist (yes, Betty, I hide it in a piece of cheese, and yes, he has SEVERE medical anxiety and requires this help to even walk in the place...so zip it), and then it's time to put the bra back on and head out.

Happy Futzingday to one and all! What's on your menu for the day?

 

IN WHICH THE POOL OPENS AND THE SPINSTER CONTEMPLATES A SWIM

 

A LITTLE SUNDAY NIGHT PROGRESS

 

Don't ask what possessed me to stitch all of the green first....I didn't even realize I was doing it until it was done! After all these years of stitching, I think this is the first time I've ever done that?

Tomorrow is infusion day. My poor hemoglobin has not rebounded since surgery, so in I go for a (hopefully) big boost of iron!

Otherwise, quiet and still feeling a little "off", Dearies. Nothing to fret about, since I am fully aware that not being a bundle of joy and bubbles and giggly happiness all the time is perfectly OK, if not considerably tiresome for my JB to have to put up with. 

I hope you've had a wonderful weekend! What's new?

IN WHICH THE SPINSTER'S HEART OVERFLOWS ONCE AGAIN...

I am in perpetual awe at the sheer volume of happiness I feel because of the love and kindness of my Dearies. Thank you. Turning 60 was a milestone I never thought I'd see, but so far...so good.

I did have a lovely day. Rich and I ate the most delicious little cakes at the stroke of midnight...I think the Martin's (our local grocery store) called them Mississippi Mud Cakes, and boy oh boy were they delicious!

The next day I had a kidney check-in with my local doc, and then I came home and made a cold brew:

Opened an amazing box of beautiful things from my sister:

Played with the little case that I bought a few months ago, but swore it was my birthday gift to myself to justify the spendiness:

Fished through my WiPs:

And started a new project...Fanciful Flight from Robin Pickens:

So there you have it...a wonderful day enjoying the things I love and being so very grateful for all of them. You're at the top of the list, my dear and previous friends.

Thank you.

 

WAIT....HOW DID THAT HAPPEN SO FAST!

 

I can't seem to find the words today, Dearies.

So....how about the ones from when I turned 50? An awful lot has changed in 10 years, but one thing has remained the same.

I have a beautiful life.

💐

Here's the post from so long ago:

Today I am 50.

Wow.

Time sure flies when you're having this much fun.

If I've told you these stories before, forgive me, but they've been rattling around in my brain since the wee hours of the morning, and I guess they must be in there for a reason...

When my mom went into labor with me, my dad happened to be in San Francisco giving a speech.  The urban legend/family story has it that he was addressing the audience at a podium and someone passed him a note that said "Mr. Rich, your wife has gone into labor" and Dad looked out at the crowd, and said "Excuse me, please.  My wife is having a baby" and walked off the stage to a standing ovation.  (I'd like to think that this was my first).  Then he found the nearest telephone, called my mom and said "Don't do anything until I get there" and hung up. 

The second part of the urban legend/family story is that he made it back to Lima in time for my arrival, and after traveling all day and night, patiently waiting in the waiting room (as dads were wont to do in those days) and then kissing me on my tiny little head, he got in his Pontiac and drive to a plant nursery and bough a little flowering tree that he took home and planted in the front yard of 25 Beaumont Place.

I don't know if any of that is true or not, but when I finish this here blog post, I'm going to Google Earth 25 Beaumont Place in Lima, Ohio to see if my tree is still there.

The title of my post is courtesy of my Aunt JoAnn.  Every year (for as long as I can remember, anyway), my Aunt JoAnn calls and leaves a message on my answering machine that starts out with "It was the most beautiful day that Lima, Ohio had ever seen".  And then she tells me the story of how she was with my mom at the hospital and how she held her hand and told her to be brave, but not to embarrass anybody by crying.

I love those stories.

I guess, come to think about it, I love almost all of the stories of my life thus far.  Some have happier endings than others, true, and some have handsome princes and evil queens, but all in all I just don't have one darn thing to complain about.  I have been spectacularly blessed with incredible things and interesting challenges and wonderful opportunities and hilarious perspectives, and I don't think I would change one single solitary moment of one single solitary day.

Oh, what a ride it's been.  I can't wait to see what happens next!

So, my dear friends, I thank you from the bottom of my pitiful little heart for being such a huge part of this crazy life of mine and for making it so....lovely.  I'll leave you with the card that was attached to a beautiful vase of flowers that arrived as I was heading to the library.  They are from my dear dear friend, Lou, and I think it is the perfect example of why I walk around with a silly grin on my face....how did I get so lucky to have people like this in my life?

WOOHOOOOOOOO!

All Manner of Thing

Shepherd's Bush

32ct hand dyed linen

Weeks Dye Works Overdyed Threads

IN WHICH WE DISCOVER A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF "CLEAN"

So I did a thing.

Bolstered by your loving comments about my current state of schlump, I hauled my heiney out of the chair and decided to "clean the apartment".

If you've known me for any length of time, you know that my old standard for what constituted a properly kept house was the idea that a team of surgeons could, at any moment, enter said house and perform surgery on any surface without hesitation.

Even when Stewey was watering the drapes, I tried as best as I could to disinfect and swipe and scrub and brush, polish, and buff everything in my possession to within an inch of its proverbial life.

But now?

I came to the conclusion that if it's not dirty enough to kill me with some rare bacterium...it's good enough for now.

So instead of removing every item from every surface and dousing things in bleach and Lysol and any other crazy thing I fished out of the Targets...I grabbed a handful of paper towels, some Windex, and enough scrubbing bubbles to make it shine and smell nice, and I called it a day.

I pushed the vacuum around for a few minutes until I was tired, fluffed the bedding a bit, replaced the kitchen towels....and declared that I was officially tired, found my book and water, made a damn good cold brew, and returned to the chair.

You know what the funniest thing was at the end of the night as I settled in for sleep? I was as happy and satisfied with my seven minutes of half-a$$ed spiffing as I used to be after a two-day marathon.

So there.

Happy Weekend, Dearies! I, for one, am going to spend it stitching, reading, resting, and slurping. How about you?

ALMOST THERE!

 

A bottom border, a few backstitched details, itty bitty buttons and this one will be finished! It truly has been a joy to stitch, and I have promised myself to take this for proper framing and then proper hanging on a wall in the bedroom so I can enjoy it every day.

I confess to feeling decidedly not myself these last few days. I seem to have moved from unbridled happiness and gratitude to the edge of a big fat pity party, and I don't like it. At all. In addition to being miserable to be around when I'm feeling the feelings, I get hit square between the eyes with overwhelming guilt and shame that I could allow myself to go there.

But, contrary to the fantasy in my head, I am, after all, very human. And I suspect that a lot of the physical stuff I'm going through is starting to take a toll on me, and it's manifesting a return of the big black dog. 

I know that medication, weather, world events, and turning 60 next week are all adding fuel to this stupid little fire, so I will allow myself a tiny bit of grace for a minute and not get too bent out of shape over it, but still...it does kinda suck.

Enough of that. 

Showers to take and errands to run and things to do today, so I better get myself moving. I'd love to camp out under blankets today with stitching and a book, but alas...adulting must be done.

Happy Thursday, Dearies! How are things in your little corner of the world? Are you doing all the things and taking care of yourselves? Come tell me all about it!

HAPPY APRIL, DEARIES!

 

IN WHICH THE SPINSTER TAKES A WALK....SORT OF.

 

It took me longer to get my shoes on than it did to make it down the stairs and into the parking lot for a three and a half minute walk, but...

I did it....Slowly, and without my scooter contraption, but I put one foot in front of the other for three and a half minutes and felt the warm breeze on my face and probably looked like a mafia widow in my all black get-up with hat pulled low and glasses covering much of my head, but like my Jersey Boy said: "It's three and a half minutes more than you walked yesterday", so I'm feeling pretty happy at the moment.

Time for a damn good cold brew, a water refill, and a little reading time before stitching.

Cheers, Dearies! And Happy Monday to you!

PROGRESS

 

Hi, Dearies!

I put the final stitch in the upper motif last night, so now it's on to the big sheep hill and bottom border! I am just so in love with this piece, and have promised myself to have it framed rather than put it in the fuppy box.

Small setback due to some low hemoglobin, but all will be well as soon as I can get some iron. My kidney team is arranging an infusion, so I'm in good hands...nothing to fret about.

The sun is shining, the birds are tweeting sweetly, and I finally have laundry sploshing away in the contraption. I'll have my cold brew and a shower this afternoon, and will be good as new!

What's going on in your little corner of the world?

 

SNICKERS, HEATH BAR, OR BUTTERFINGER...OH MY!

 

SLOWLY...BUT GETTING THERE

 

OK, BETTY. I FINALLY TOOK THE DAMN CHRISTMAS TREE DOWN.

 

Here's an important safety tip if you happen to be seven weeks post major surgery. If you do something reckless like decide to sit on the floor, have a plan for getting back up before you do so.

(I'm slowly chipping away at my to do list, and today was the day I was determined to get the Christmas tree put back into its bag. Thanks to a lovely Dearie who gifted me an amazon gift certificate, I was able to find what I think is a pretty good replacement tree so that the corner won't look so naked.)

(Thank you again, Dearie!)

Down I went to unplug things and de-dust and generally tidy up, when it occurred to me that it was going to take a minor miracle or a major forklift to get me back up. I sat there for several minutes before I confessed to my JB that I might be stuck, but I suddenly remembered a video I saw on the YouTubes about this very thing, and before I knew it...I was safely and painlessly upright once again.

(Crisis averted.)

I am now happily under the blankets with Snoopy, and as soon as my afternoon damn good knocks the cobwebs away I'm going to try to stitch a bit before making dinner. 

Happy Friday that has felt like a Saturday to me all day! If you're having the same blustery weather we are, batten the hatches! 

FINALLY...ONE I CAN COMPLETE!

 

 

 

...especially with freshly laundered sheets and blankets and after a wonderful shower with all of the "good" soaps and shampoos!

SATURDAY PLAN

 

Good morning, Dearies.

Well, I had to give myself a stern talking-to this morning already. For the last several days I have been fretting myself into a snit over this and that, and I sat down to drink my damn good with a thousand little shouldlings buzzing around in my head.

"Enough!", I bellowed loud enough to scare the neighbors.

This is probably the one time in my life when it is absolutely positively certainly and without doubt OK for me to do nothing but R.E.S.T.  And instead of fully embracing that fact, I allowed that dastardly part of my tiny little brain a moment to pipe up with all of the crap he felt I should be doing instead.

(I really dislike that little bas$#@* and wish he'd go haunt somebody else's house for a while. Mine is all full-up with all of his colleagues that tell me I should be eating better or drinking more water or taking better care of my skin.)

Phooey on all of 'em, I say!

So I am going to sit here on my big fat heiney today and enjoy my new book, enjoy my Blessing Sampler, and enjoy the last season of The Crown that I have been bingeing, and everything else can just...wait. Critical things like the bathroom and kitchen are clean enough not to warrant plague, and one more night on flannel sheets isn't going to kill anybody. I have healthy things to eat and lots of water to drink (thanks to a dispensing gizmo that prevents me from having to lift the bottle onto the cooler), and my JB will call from NJ to check in later this afternoon, I'm sure.

I'm getting there, I promise. But, as many of you know, old habits die hard, and in my head I am still capable of having a Spinster Saturday...clean the house top to bottom, run a week's worth of errands, and then still have energy left over to dine and dance the night away. Forget the fact that I was 20 when I did that, and now I'm a month away from 60...that stuff is ingrained deep deep inside.

So, I hereby announce a new mode of Spinster Saturday! Stay in your jammies, drink damn good or your bevvie of choice with impunity, and do absolutely nothing but rest and do all the things you love! Let's get started!