Nov. 27/07

Well, a little bit of stitching did get done on the wreath as I sat at my mom's bedside in the hospital (she came home last night) and as I relaxed and regrouped. Now that I am almost feeling human again, the stitching will have to sit to one side as I scramble to get two papers done for next Monday. They were due this Wednesday and Thursday, but my prof very kindly gave me an extension because of my mom's hospital adventure. Speaking of which, I need to get cracking some more on those papers....

Nov 22/07

Well, very little stitching has been done here of late. My mom had a hysterectomy last week and ended up back in hospital with complications. Her kids have been at her bedside all day, every day as we wait for her to get better. We have counted 12 different doctors at her bedside this week and a lot of amazing nursing staff who have definitely earned their pay looking after her various ailments (and there have been many!). Mom has been an amazing patient to the point where she has been apologizing to the nursing staff because she is making so much work for them because she is so weak at the moment. Oh! It has been a week!

Nov. 15/07

Well, this post is kind of about stitching, but not really. I was being a little philosophical and teary-eyed tonight as I put a few stitches into my wreath piece. Truth be told, I had a little meltdown last weekend. Exhaustion and some life stuff just got the best of me and this past weekend was one of the darkest few days I have had in a long time because I can usually see it coming and prevent myself from falling so far. There are those of you who check this blog who know what a bastard depression is for me and how that demon can engulf me for no apparent reason. As I was stitching tonight, I was thinking about how grateful I am for my family and friends who are always there for me and how they love me unconditionally even if they do not understand how I feel and why I feel that way. I was also thinking about an old friend who I hear from sporadically and he hears from me sporadically, but somehow he knew to pop back onto the scene just when I needed him most. Then, there is the new friend who sent me a lovely message today about how I cheer him up after one of our university classes each week by telling him that everything is going to be okay. Last but not least, there is my family who drag me along behind them or pull me out of my emotional cave when they need to. Mom once said that at the end of days when the world is going to hell, the ones who will stand with you and protect you are your family.

Stitching a piece is kind of like life. There are the first stitches that you put into a piece to get it going. You work away at different bits and then all of the sudden the bits start to take form. Sometimes, you put away the project and neglect it in favour of something else and other times, you are totally dedicated. There are some beautiful, amazing finishes and there are other pieces that rot away at the bottom of the project pile because the mistakes are too unbearable to face. Some threads are blended and others are shiny and specialized and some are just your every day average threads.

I am so thankful for the love of my family and friends, old and new, IRL and online. Thank you.

Nov. 4/07

A few more stitches have gone into my wreath, but nothing worth photographing so instead I am sharing my new-to-me Teresa Wentzler patterns that I have recently bought off Ebay. I am not a big fan of all the dragon stuff, but I love her other designs. I wonder if Betty Ford has a program for cross stitch patterns addictions.