April 4, 2008

Today started at midnight...sorta. I didn't go to bed until 3:30am, but I was on the phone with Debi and helped her daughter, Rachel, with some math homework. I only got a couple hours' sleep because I had to be at dialysis at 6:00 this morning. UGH! I think by now, most of you know that I am not a morning person! Suprisingly, I was wide awake and got up, fixed my drink and snack, and got to the clinic just before 6a.m.

Somehow, my Patriotic Heart didn't make it into my DMC mini binder but I had a blank bread cover to stitch on. I started working on the Uncle Sam design in my bread cover leaflet. I was planning on stitching it anyway, so I just got an earlier than expected start on it. My stitching time was cut short, however, when severe chills hit me. My teeth were chattering, I was shivering from head to toe, and I had all of my wraps and my sweatshirt enveloping me in an effort to warm up. Finally, the charge nurse had my technican cover me with a plastic apron to hopefully keep my body heat in. One layer wasn't enough and another tech brought over two more plastic gowns. These even had sleeves, but I still couldn't get warm! My temperature started at 96.9 and got up to 98.9, but I didn't get warm until my treatment was over and I was in my truck with the heat on high.

I got home around 9:30a.m. and Laura wasn't due to pick me up until between 10:30 and 11:00a.m. I stopped at Wawa on my way home to get a small Chai Tea Latte and a four-inch sub to get something in my stomach. At home, I turned up the thermostat to 72 degrees, ate my sub, and started cleaning the livingroom. I got it vacuumed but hurt my back in the process. Every time I vacuum, no matter how careful I am, my back starts hurting really bad. It's very frustrating!

Laura got here at about 11:00am and we loaded my bags into the back of her truck. We were on the road by 11:15, so we were only about 15 minutes behind schedule. We stopped in Waldorf so I could get my Vitamin B6 pills and had lunch at Horne's which is at the corner of Rts 301 and 17. We browsed around the store and looked at some of the Jibbits, funny signs, and stuffed animals before we sat down to order lunch and eat.

We were back on the road shortly and headed down Rt 17 to Newport News! I had planned on stitching the whole way, but Laura and I chatted and I watched the passing landscape because I'd never been there before. When I went to Williamsburg for vacation two summers ago, we used the interstates, but I have to say that the way Laura took was much more scenic.

We got to Sue's house around 3:30p.m. Sue had tubs and tubs of stash she wanted Laura and I to go through. When her sister-in-law passed away, Sue inherited her stash as well. I brought along some gifts for both Sue and Laura and presented them to each of them. For Laura, I had several packages of Aida and a full set of DMC's original Color Variations floss. I gave Sue the Stitch pillow which was my very first attempt at finishing one of my projects and a book of samplers I picked up at the Book Outlet in Queenstown, MD. I had a rubberized-grip highlighter for each of them and a bag of stash for them to look through as well.

We spent the evening going through the boxes and had a wonderful pot roast Sue prepared in the crock pot for us. Her sunroom was recently completed and she just got the furniture this week, so we sat out there to enjoy the evening air. You will not believe the amout of stash she gave us! She even orderd a bunch of the Just Nan charts I had on my wish list and gave them to me as she was going through some of her binders full of charts! Sue had warned me to bring an extra bag because she had alot of stash she wanted us to get out of her house. I took two and that wasn't enough! I had a rolling tote full of charts and kits, my plaid beach tote full of fabric, and another box that held more charts, kits, and pillow forms! I'm positive I've now reached S.A.B.L.E.! It was a nice, relaxing, quiet evening spent chatting, going through boxes, and watching tv.

Sue and Laura went to sleep around 1am, but I just couldn't. I stayed up until 4:00a.m. playing games on Sue's computer. "Where are the pictures?" you ask. Here you go:

Sue and Laura also helped me whittle down my "I want to stitch ASAP" pile of charts to twenty-five projects for my 2009 Stitching List. They were ruthless! I whimpered a couple of times when they pointed to a chart to go into the "Waiting to be stitched" pile along with all the other charts.

So the 2009 List looks like this:

The Sweetheart Tree

God Bless America Teddy

Americana Hearts

Just Nan

Common Ground

Black Magic

Queen of the Needle

Amethyst Snowflake

Little House Needleworks

Brave Hearts

Stars & Stripes

America

Home of a Needleworker (too!)

Elizabeth's Designs

Midnight Clear

Nature's Alphabet

Shepherd's Bush

Flag-Monthly Musing

February-A Year in Stitches

Dinky-Dyes Designs

Southern Stars

Hinzeit

Mini Block: Freedom

Linen Flowers

Golden Gift

Heirloom Embroideries

Medley

Bent Creek

Stars Zipper Kit-Stitched 10 April as an emergency gift

Blue Ribbon Designs

Stitches, Stars and Stripes

Jeannette Douglas Designs

Take Time to Stitch too

Heart in Hand

Stars Sampler

Wee Stitch

Flags

Liberty

Dog Sampler

There are still more I want to stitch, of course, but I plan on stitching smaller projects every couple weeks to avoid getting burned out on my BAP's. The strategy is to stitch simple, quick finishes for one week to give myself a break on whatever BAP I'm currently working on. Hopefully this will prevent the burnout I've been geting while working on Deftly Wrought and will also allow me to finish even more than what's on the list. Some of the projects planned for next year are even bigger than Deftly Wrought!