August 4, 2009 - A day with Anna

I spent my time this morning working on getting my stitcher's book, A Stitcher's Companion by Enchanting Lair, ready for display at the county fair. I finally put the amethyst in the cover motif. It took a while to find an appropriate stone/charm, but I think this one is perfect.

I'm not sure what the rules are regarding having your name visible in the competition, but I have decided to cover mine. I used contrasting fabric and floss so that it's obviously not part of the actual design.

I even stitched the needles and the floss to the fabric so that they cannot be removed. I thought about taking everything out, but then the book is not doing its job.

The scissors were a bit of a challenge to get the stitches even and to tightly secure them into the pocket. I certainly don't want these falling out and stabbing someone in the foot! They have very sharp points!

I completely forgot to show you the frogging I did on Sunday. After completing Ocean Star, I frogged these UFO's. The first is Deftly Wrought by Midsummer Night Designs. I hate the colors. Just looking at the piece drains my will to stitch. What I decided to do with it was to frog everything but the four mini samplers. I guess it's another finish now, yes?

The second piece is Stitches Stars & Stripes by Blue Ribbon Designs. The more I looked at this piece, the more it grew out of favor. I should have taken a harder look at the chart because there are alot of solid-stitched boxes. I thought about stitching it and replacing some of the solid boxes with charms, but how many different ones could I possibly find? Add to that the fact I'm allergic to nickel, which means I'd have to buy gold-plated charms, and the price would be through the roof! No thanks! I didn't enjoy stitching this at all so it's no loss. The chart has already been RAK'd to Lisa in CA because she admired it.

I went to see my primary doc's nurse practitioner this afternoon for a checkup on the abdominal rash I have. The infected spot is healed and scarred, so I don't have to use the antibacterial ointment anymore, but Gail wants me to keep it handy-just in case! As far as the rash, my antibiotics have been extended to three weeks and I'm to call her if it gets worse. Hopefully the MRSA is gone, but she has instructed me to use the antimicrobial/antibacterial wash every three days for a while longer.

After my appointment I went back to the house to get Anna's car seat so that I could pick her up for our library date. We didn't get to go last week, so I wanted to make sure we went this week.

Anna prefers going to the Eastport branch of the library because they have a table of puzzles for her to play with. Her favorites are the two with different latches and locks. She always heads right for them after choosing her books. Today she picked out three books for herself and one board-book for Caleb. He has to have the board pages because he still rips regular ones.

While Anna played with the puzzles, Aunt Beth stitched on Hinzeit's America. Luckily I left this thread dangling because I forgot the bag with the chart and threads.

After leaving the library, we made stops at the pharmacy and the post office. On the way to the post office, I automatically turned into my sister's apartment complex. Anna yelled from the back seat, "Where are you going, Aunt Bep?" It wasn't until she said something that I realized what I'd done. I told her I just turned too early (the PO was two streets up) and got back on course. It's pretty bad when your 4-year-old niece is telling you where you want to go next! I swear I've completely lost my mind with all the running around I've had to do and lack of sleep from having Daisy here.

Anna wanted to go with me to get Kasey groomed and we were chatting almost all the way there. I pulled in to my parking space in front of Bark'n Bean (Muddy Paw Wash's new name), turned around to tell Belle (I was told Anna wasn't there today, she was Belle) that we'd arrived, and found a sleeping little girl in her car seat. She'd been quiet for the last mile of the trip, so she must have gone out like a light. Sarah warned me Anna hadn't had a nap, and they'd been to the pool this morning, so she must have been very tired to zonk out like that.

I dropped Kasey off at the BnB and took Anna home. It was way too hot to leave her in the truck and not practical to leave it running for an hour with the A/C on. I carried her in to Sarah's apartment and she woke up, but she did go down for a nap in her room.
Meanwhile, Kasey was being beautified. Here she is after her bath. Once again, Mike did a wonderful job! She's so pretty! I think she knows it, too! And, yes! Her leash says "One of us misbehaves." She picked it out herself.

For those who have been wondering, this is Daisy's war zone. The orange and turquoise fuzzy things are the fur-covered balls with tails and/or just the tails that Daisy has de-squeakified. You can also see Kasey's birthday bone (what remains), the tennis ball she killed, stuffing from several toys, and the rope/fabric toy I got from the clearance bin at BnB for her. She's already chewed through the rope. There are orange and turquoise bits all around Kasey's couch and Daisy's war zone.

Here are the remains of Kasey's birthday bone. Daisy pulled the squeaker out of him after chewing several holes in the canvas and nylon. Then she proceeded to remove the whistle from the squeaker. Thankfully she does not eat the plastic. The score in the War on Squeakers is now Daisy: 5; Squeakers: 0.

Stinky Ol' Raccoon is in hiding because Daisy discovered he had a hole in him and started pulling out his innards. Somehow Kasey has kept that thing limping along with three holes and carries him at least once a day. That's all she does, is carry him around and lay down with him. I'm not letting Daisy kill him for good!

I was really tired when I finally returned home at 5:30, so I took it easy this evening and was in bed just after midnight.

October 7, 2008

I stayed up all night to complete Native Wolf Totem, with the charm getting applied at 7am. This is my 38th stitching finish of the year. It feels very good to take a two-year-old UFO and make it a finish!

I had some errands to take care of when I woke this afternoon. Luckily they were all within a couple miles of home. I sorta made a big circle around the house. First, I stopped at the pharmacy in West Annapolis to pick up my liquid calcium. Then I went to the library, where I successfully disputed one fine and paid another. I went down the street to the post office to send the last of my outstanding trades and some game obligations. From the post office I went to the bank. I had to drop off the form giving authorization to add Uncle Wes to my bank account so that he can access it to take care of bills when I'm ill.

I also asked the lady at the customer service desk what I could do when there's a long line because I can't stand that long without almost passing out. She told me to come directly to the customer service desk and they will get an available teller for me so that I don't have to stand in line. I talked to the doctor about what happened and he believes that my blood pressure dropped. He said I was lucky to get back to the truck because that sudden drop in noise I described IS what happens right before you pass out.

Can you guess what my last stop was? If I say "there's a certain convenience store between the bank and home" I'm sure it's obvious. I purchased two half-gallons of my lemonade tea, one for today and one for tomorrow, along with my 10" Italian sub with bacon and extra mayo! I ate half of it as soon as I got home. Mmmmm!

I spent the remainder of the day watching television, including the Presidential debate; hand-writing my daily updates; browsing online; and taking care of email while IM'ing with friends. I haven't decided whether to go back to one of my two WIP's (Baby Kasey and Take Time to Stitch Too) or to set my sights on Deftly Wrought. I told myself I would finish everything I started and not add any UFO's this year, so DW has to get done. The only other project I've started that isn't done is Good Dog. That one is too small for a QSnap so it will have to wait until my fingers heal.

You know what? After thinking about it, I don't care for DW like I did when I purchased the chart. I started it late last year before I became comfortable with the notion that it is okay to change colors or stitch with a different kind of floss than what the designer intended. There would be alot less red in it if I were just starting it today, that's for sure! Just looking at it takes my stitching urge away so it's going back in my UFO drawer. As for adding UFO's, I'm not really, because DW was started in 2007. With Native Wolf Totem being completed, that's one less UFO anyway, so DW can take its place in my UFO count.

March 24-25, 2008

Forging on in my effort to get out of my stitching slump, I stitched at dialysis today. I continued working on the border with the intention of finishing it at home tonight. As you can tell by the picture, the stitching at home part didn't happen.

On Tuesday, my non-dialysis day, I spent the day sorting my charts in to three categories: "I want to stitch ASAP," "I'll get around to stitching," and "I'll never stitch." I'm going to take the "I'll never stitch" and some of the I'll get around to stitching with me to Sue's so that she and Laura can look through them and take what they want. So I now have a pile that's the "I'll loan out, but want back," too. I'm being brutally honest about what I'll stitch in the future, so the I'll never stitch pile is growing. I guess I can't call my stitching slump over. I didn't get any stitching done last night at home or today.

My I want to stitch ASAP pile is becoming my 2009 stitching list, but there's about 50 charts in the bin. I've got to pare that down to around 25.

So far I have:

Heart In Hand
Good to Be Home
Liberty*
Wee Stitch*
We One-4th of July Bird*
Wee One-Flags*
Dog Sampler*
Stars Sampler*

Little House Needleworks
Dog House Sampler*
Stars & Stripes*
Home of a Needleworker (too!)*
Brave Hearts*
Home of a Needleworker*
America*
A Stitcher's Prayer*
Needlework School*
Necessities Sampler*
Captain's Inn
Dear Diary-Abigail Winslow, 1780
Dear Diary-Mary Heaton, 1878
Dear Diary-Elizabeth McGuire, 1763

The Sweetheart Tree
Americana Hearts*
God Bless America Teddy*
Dog In-Dog Out*

With Humble Heart
To Thine Own Self Be True
We Gather Together*

Shepard's Bush
Monthly Musings-Flag*
A Year In Stitches-February*

Rosewood Manor
American Flag Quilt Sampler*
America! Land That I Love!*

Dinky-Dyes Designs
Southern Stars*
Terra Australis*

Just Nan
Common Ground*
Queen of the Needle*

Elizabeth's Designs
Midnight Clear*
Nature's Alphabet*

Heirloom Embroideries
Medley*
Charmed Dreams*

Told in a Garden
Amish Quilt Sampler*

Lizzie*Kate
Snippet-God Bless America*

The Trilogy
Dog Treat

Angel Stitchin
Meow *

Glory Bee
America*

Waxing Moon Designs
Patriotic Blocks

Bent Creek
Stars Zipper Kit*

Blue Ribbon Designs
Stitches, Stars, and Stripes*

Wild-Heart Designs
Sarah Edwards 1796*

Linen Flowers
Golden Gift*

Jeannette Douglas Designs
Take Time to Stitch too*

Hob-Nobb Designs
I Love Stitching

Hinzeit
Mini Block: Freedom*

Poppy Creations
Buttoned Quilts*

Country Cottage Needleworks
Cowboy Dreams

Plum Pudding Needleart
Cherry Pick'n

The charts with an asterisk are the ones I want stitched yesterday!

March 23, 2008

I finished up all my laundry today, so that's out of the way. Now I can get to stitching! I finished the band of flowers on Deftly Wrought and went to work on the border. I apologize for the color distortion in this picture, but it was snapped around midnight in Mom's basement family room which isn't lighted well enough for photography.

Mom and I had alot of time to spend together today. We made a roast with vegetables in the crock pot, some homestyle white bread in her bread machine, and pickled eggs and beets. I inherited my grandmother's cookbooks and recipes and found one of my favorites: pickled eggs. I've made them so many times that I have the recipe memorized, so that's the recipe Mom and I used. She asked me a couple weeks ago if I'd make her a batch but I never got around to it, so she decided to make them while I was there so she'd know what to do. It's not very often that Mom and I cook anything together because we have very different tastes, so this was a very nice time for me.

In between all that, I was still working on Deftly Wrought. I really want this done!

March 22, 2008

I made myself stitch today. Last Monday marked the three-month anniversary of my start on Deftly Wrought by Midsummer Night Designs. I had tons of laundry to do, but I stitched between loading and unloading the washer and dryer. Now that Mom and Dad have moved the tv downstairs, the livingroom is nice and quiet. I set up my OTT lite on the end table by the couch, put the footrest up, and have a nice stitching spot.

Mom asked me to go downstairs at 9:00pm so that we could watch the Enchanted DVD she bought when she and Dad went out this evening. Unfortunately, Dad picked up a Blue-ray DVD, so we couldn't watch it. Then we tried watching Mission Impossible: Three, but there was something wrong with the DVR recording and it wouldn't play. We also tried watching Madea's Family Reunion with the same results. Dad was learning new songs in his music room, so Mom and I ended up watching my DVD copy of Dreamgirls. I got it for my birthday and watched it right away but Mom hadn't had a chance to see it yet. About halfway through the movie she said "I think I'm going to buy the whole soundtrack from iTunes!" I have to agree that the musical performances are excellent. Jennifer Hudson deserved that Oscar!

I stitched on Deftly Wrought while watching the movie and made some great progress. The four mini-samplers across the top are done, so there's no more stitching over one! I'm so glad to finally have that part completed, you have no idea! Now all I have to do is the verse, finish the border, and the band of flowers between the verse and mini-samplers. I'm hoping this will be done in a week. I'm really pushing myself to get it completed so I can go back to work on my Stitching Challenge. I promised myself that I wouldn't add any more pieces to my list of UFO's, so this has to get done. I put it down 2 months ago, so technically it became one, but it's a WIP now!

January 27, 2008

I got myself and my things situated once I got to my room and went to sleep at 2am. I was awake at 5am and the tingling started shortly afterwards. No bloodwork could be drawn until a central line was placed, but the surgeon didn't show up until 10am. They couldn't even give me any calcium until the bloodwork was done, in fear of giving me too much (stupid rule, considering the circumstances!).

When Uncle Wes stopped by, he brought a package that arrived in yesterday's mail. Sue V from SIQ & ESC sent me a bunch of goodies. It's a combined prize, birthday, and wish list present!

There were 5 charts, 4 pieces of linen, and 14 skeins of GAST hand-dyed floss. One chart is in a tiny clear box, with the cutest little snowman button. She even got me the hand-dyed Colorscapes by PictureThisPlus.com! It's a gorgeous light blue with opalescents all through it. The color is called Crystal Aerial and it's 28ct Lugana. Absolutely stunning, Sue!

She also included Little House Needleworks' Dear Diary Charts 1, 2, & 3, and Cherry Pick'n by Plum Pudding Needleart. Included with them were lambswool & antique white linen to stich them on, plus some lilac linen that I'm going to use for a chart that I just bought the charm for.

I'm definitley going to have a couple months' worth of stitching LHN charts in 2009, so it's looking like my theme for 2009 will be Designer of the Month (in 2-4 month blocks). I'm going to have to re-name you my Super Stash Fairy too! Thank you so much! I can't tell you how much I love everything you chose!

Once everything settled down, I was actually able to do a little more work on Deflty Wrought.

January 25, 2008

For the first time since I've been here I didn't sleep through my dialysis treatment. I was able to make some more progress on Deftly Wrought. My father also stopped by while I was having my treatment. My grandmother stayed out in the car because she wasn't feeling well. The last thing I need right now is to get sick, so everyone that isn't feeling 100% has been staying away.

They let me go after dialysis! I got my central line pulled and received my discharge instructions. Since I drove myself to the hospital, my truck has been sitting in the garage waiting to take me back home. I told the hospital escort that I was walking downstairs. He tried to tell me that I had to be wheeled down. I know that's not true because I've walked out before! I said I was driving myself home, so I might as well walk! Besides, there was a whole cart of bags to take down. He looked at it and said, "What's all this?!" I told him I'd been there for nine days and needed something to keep me occupied!

I got home at 6:55pm to a very excited little Golden. Chet spent the first two hours I was home yelling at me. I guess he wanted to make sure I knew how upset with me he was! I had to laugh when I walked in the livingroom and saw Kasey's toys. There aren't any in her toy basket. Apparently this is where they're supposed to be!

Since I'm still so weak, I just took it easy and watched tv while stitching on No Matter What until I went to sleep.

January 24, 2008

I worked on Deftly Wrought until 4am. I didn't make much progress, thanks to some frogs that visited, but I continued working on the house in the fourth mini sampler. I finally surrendered to sleep when my eyes wouldn't stay open any longer.

I spent most of the afternoon kitting up projects. Uncle Wes brought a whole bunch of stuff to me yesterday, so I had plenty to keep me busy. I put a couple stitches in Mini Block Stitch by Hinzeit designs and then decided to start No Matter What by Hob Nobb Designs. I feel like I haven't gotten anything accomplished and need a "Finish Fix!" This only has three colors, so I should be able to get it done in a couple days, as long as my eyes cooperate!

January 22, 2008

Today was mostly uneventful. Uncle Wes stopped by in the evening with cards. Thank you's have to go out to Sandy from CSF & CSE, as well as Marl from ILCS. Ladies, your cards are on the shelf by the head of my bed and brighten up my room!

I was able to do some more stitching on Deftly Wrought. The alphabet in the fourth mini-sampler is done and the house is on the way to being complete as well. I'm pretty pleased with what I was able to accomplish today, considering the fact that I slept most of the morning away!

January 21, 2008

Today was pretty quiet. Uncle Wes stopped by and brought the Needle Necessitites' MacAulvey Manor floss that Petra from CSF was able to find at her LNS for me. Thank you, Petra! This is going in the bag for Take Time to Stitch Too that I am kitting up. I'm so grateful to you for getting this for me, because there is no substitute for this varigated floss!

I had a couple phone calls today and can't tell you how much they mean to me! Miss Deborah from ILCS calls me almost every day (well, night.). It's so nice to have another night-owl to talk to. She and I spend many late nights just chatting away. I always know I can call her at 1 or 2am and she'll be awake.

My brother works second shift in Pennsylvania and always calls me on his way home. Even though he's unable to come down to visit, he checks in every night.

I was finally able to work on Deftly Wrought today! Maybe this is a portent of good news? I was able to finish the border on the fourth mini-sampler and I started on the alphabet.

January 17, 2008

So today was the day; it's finally time to get my parathyroid glands removed. I stayed up all night so I'd sleep once I was at the hospital. I spent the time reading and replying to email.

I had to be at the hospital at 5:30am because surgery was scheduled for 7:30am. They need the time to get an IV started (good luck!), draw bloodwork and get the results, and consult with the anesthesiologist and surgeon. Luckily I had my iPod with me and it kept me calm. My blood pressure was too low, so they decided to take another patient before me.

I had some unexpected time to work on Deftly Wrought while I waited for Dr M to finish up with her other case. I stitched part of the border on the fourth of the four mini-samplers across the top. I really hope I can finish this in the next week, becuase this sampler should stitch up fast.

After spending an hour in the Recovery Room, I was taken to the Observation Unit on the first floor of the Acute Care Pavilion, which is in the main building at the Anne Arundel Medical Center campus.

Mom was there once I got to the Obs Unit and stayed with me all day. She went out to lunch in the cafeteria while I took a nap and had her word find book to keep herself occupied. I'd been given some Benadryl because I had a reaction to the antibiotic IV I was given in the operating room, so I slept off and on all day. I'm very sensitive to Benadryl, so it affects me for hours, if not days. Mom took this picture of me.
Don't I just look great! HA!
Mom left around 7pm and I read and replied to e-mails in between dozing off due to the Benadryl. I was glad to have my laptop with me to keep me occupied.

I will post my daily pictures once I'm home. For some reason, I am able to make my blog entry, but I can't add pictures or look at the blog once it's published.

January 16, 2008

I finished the third mini-sampler! One more to go and I can work on the border and the verse! I had to spend most of my time at dialysis frogging, though. I just couldn't get the right-side border in the correct place! I think I frogged it four or five times! But it's done now and it's correct! I'm going to start working on the last mini-sampler at the hospital today.

Yes, that's right! Today is the day! My parathyroid glands are being removed at 7:30am. I have to be at the hospital at 5:30am, so I have 2 1/2 hours left. I'm all packed, except for an extra kit to stitch on. I can't decide what to take with me, but I'm leaning towards my Heart ornament. It's simple, and it's on Aida. Even if I have trouble with my eyes because of the anesthesia, I should be able to see 16ct Aida.

I will try to post in the evening following my surgery, as long as I feel up to it. Otherwise, look for my update on Friday. I have my Dolphin, Dipper, and my Beanies ready to go to the hospital with me. Most of the nurses remember me when they see Dipper. He always keeps me company in the hospital. I'll try to get a picture for you. I'm going to take a couple DVD's to watch on the laptop in case I don't feel like stitching, and I have my book packed, too. I shouldn't run out of things to keep me busy, that's for sure!

I've gotten many positive responses to the previous post and a similar one I made in my Multiply blog. I just got very angry when I found out how many people were taken advantage of and used, and couldn't sit aside without speaking up. I love my Groups. I think of them as a safe little world unto themselves, where everyone is your friend. To think that that world was invaded by someone so dishonest left me feeling sick, so I felt compelled to say something. And it's worked! She's resigned from Stitching Fanatics without saying why, and she was kicked out of CCS, according to the owner of one of my Groups. We'll see if there are any other repercussions.

January 14, 2008

The only stitching I got done today was at dialysis. I still had over 800 e-mails when I got home and am trying to get through them before I go to bed, so no stitching got done tonight.

The good news, though, is that I made some really good progress on Deftly Wrought! I'm almost done with the third mini sampler. All I have left is two flowers.

When I got home from dialysis, Uncle Wes had the mail sitting on the table for me. My package of charts from Mercy's stash give-away arrived! Thank you, Mercy! You all will not believe what this lady was giving away!! Since I will not be stitching these until 2009, I am willing to loan them out (charts only). All you have to do is ask!

So here's what she sent:

Heart in Hand
Stars Sampler
Wee Summer Bird (with button)
Wee 4th of July Bird (with button)
Wee Mom (with button)
Wee Dad (with button)
Wee Stitch
Wee Spring Bird (with button)
Wee Halloween Bird
Wee Autumn Bird (with buttons)
Trail Creek Farm
Berry Sweet
Puppy Love
Elizabeth's Designs
Four Seasons Stitching Club
Spring (with Charms & Over-dyed floss)
Summer (with Charms & Over-dyed floss)
Autumn (with Charms, Over-dyed floss, and fabric)
Winter (with Charms, Over-dyed floss, and fabric)
My Garden Stitching Club
Songbird Cottage
Midnight Clear
Jeannette Douglas Designs
Take Time to Quilt-Spring (with floss and charm)
Take Time to Quilt-Summer (with floss and charm)
Take Time to Quilt-Autumn (with floss and charm)
Take Time to Quilt-Winter (with floss and charm)
4 My Boys
American Pride Never Melts
Snow Proud Sampler
My Very Bestest Friend
Shepherd's Bush
February
Flag Monthly Musings
Bent Creek
Animal Arches
Hillside Samplings
House Samplings
Told In a Garden
Amish Quilt Sampler
The Drawn Thread
Welcome Spot Sampler (with charm & beads)
With My Needle
Times Remembered
The Trilogy
Dog Treat (with button)
JBW Designs
Friendship Quilts
Lizzie*Kate
God Bless America Snippet

My calendar for 2009 stitching is filling up fast, as you can tell! Next year will definitely be a "Stitch From Your Stash" year for me! Since I have enough charts, all I need is floss, fabric, and some charms!

January 12 & 13, 2008

Okay, so I know there wasn't much progress made on Deftly Wrought, and I didn't get any stitching done on the Heart ornament, either. But this was a special weekend.

Early Saturday morning, my brother, Ian, arrived so that we could drive together to our parents' house for the weekend. Before we left Annapolis, we picked up Ian's daughter, Breanna.

We stopped at our grandmother's house to see Grandma and our father & stepmother. Breanna got to open her Christmas presents from Grandma and Butch & Lynn. She also had presents for everyone. Each year, we get a framed picture of her, and this year was the first "School Picture" because she's in kindergarten now. we all had lunch together and them went outside to play with Lynn's Border Collie, Liam. We left to head to Mom's around 3pm.

When we got to Mom's, Ian and Bre went inside and I headed to the LNS in New Castle, DE that I discovered on Black Friday, Two Morrow's Stitches That Count. They'd been holding Common Ground by Just Nan for me and I'd forgotten all about it. It was supposed to be a 2-week hold, but they still had it, so I felt obligated to buy it. While I was there, I grabbed my fabric list from the truck and got the linen I needed for LHN Brave Hearts, LHN Needlework School, Nature's Alphabet, Americana Hearts by The Sweetheart Tree, and Common Ground. I totally forgot to check for any of the floss I needed, as they closed at 5pm and I got there shortly before 4:30pm.

It was a pretty hectic evening at Mom's because our sister, Sarah, was there with her two little ones. Nothing is ever calm with Anna around, so I couldn't do any stitching. Since Ian and I both stayed up all night the previous night, we'd taken short naps at Grandma's waiting for Butch & Lynn to get there. We were both still exhausted and went to bed early. I actually fell aleep in the bathtub for about an hour before I woke up and got in my bed.

I was up early Sunday morning after going to bed before 10pm the night before. I was able to do some stitching on Deftly Wrought and Bre wanted to learn, too. I put a piece of Aida in a 3" hoop and she picked DMC 963, because pink is her favorite color. She's only 5 and got frustrated with not knowing where the next stitch went, so I told her we'd work on her stitching another time. So instead of stitching, I put some of her new Disney Princess makeup on her to cheer her up. I told her that if she didn't want to stitch she didn't have to, but she was still upset when she told me she didn't want to stitch any more. I think she was afraid I'd be mad at her, so I made sure to get her involved with something else right away. I think it worked. She was smiling when I put the glitter gel in her hair.

Mom and Dad were having company today, so we spent the early afternoon cleaning up and putting things away. We watched the football games and had a nice quiet afternoon for the most part.

Ian, Bre, and I left to come home around 4pm, stopping at Burger King on the way. We dropped Bre at her mother's and then Ian brought me home and got his truck. I can't drive at night without getting really tired, so I was glad Ian was with me. I just let him do all the driving, even though we took my truck.

Kasey and Chet were, of course, very happy I was home. So things are back to normal. I'm still trying to get Deftly Wrought done by Thursday, but not having any stitching time this weekend didn't help me towards that goal.

January 11, 2008

Once again, all of my progress on Deftly Wrought was while everyone else was sleeping. I forgot all about the Santa Day SAL and didn't get in any stitches on my ornaments, so I guess I'll do that over the weekend sometime. Although, I must admit that the main reason for not stitching during the day was the fact that I went to sleep at 11am and didn't wake until after 7pm. Since I was falling asleep driving to my cardiologist appointment this morning, I decided not to risk driving to dialysis and went to bed instead.

I had to re-chart the words for the 3rd mini-sampler so that it had my name. I had to make up a couple letters, but most were already contained somewhere in the piece. I also re-charted the spacing of the lines to even them out. The 4th line of text was one row shorter than the others and I spaced the lines so all the words were the same height. I think it looks pretty good, and much more even than the original.

I've also had a(nother) crazy thought and am going to try to get Deftly Wrought totally finished by the time I go in the hospital Thursday morning. Once the mini-samplers are done, all I have is the verse and the border with some cherries. It all depends on how much stitching time I get this weekend while I'm at my mom's with my brother and neice. We're leaving around 10am tomorrow to go to Elkton for the weekend. Wish me luck!

January 10, 2008

Right after I finished posting yesterday's update, I got back to work on Deftly Wrought. I stitched until about 3am and went to bed around 4am.

I had to volunteer this morning, as I'd agreed to drive another member of Partners In Care to a doctor's appointment. When I was asked, I was feeling much better. If I'd known how bad I was going to be feeling today, I never would have said yes. But I didn't feel that I could cancel at the last minute, so I got up and picked up Miss Milly at 10:15 to drive her to her appointment. The one good thing, though, was that I finished the second of the four mini-samplers across the top, so now I can start on that third one!

I got home at 11am and went right back to bed. I didn't wake up until after 6pm. Uncle Wes said that Kasey went for their usual walk with him, but when he let her off the leash she ran straight back to the house, instead of sniffing around the deer trail in our field like she usually does. Then I found out that the neighbor knocked on the door sometime while I was asleep. Apparently Kasey thought I was too sick to bother barking to let me know. The only way I found out was because of the note Uncle Wes found on the door.

I'm still dehydrating every night and have no idea why. I've been taking my meds to try to slow down the fluid loss, but nothing seems to be working. During both dialysis treatments this week I've been given almost 1,000mL of fluids, yet when I get back for the next treatment, I've lost over 2kg (2,000mL) of weight. I'm now over six pounds less than what my weight should be.

I have to get up early in the morning to see the cardiologist to follow up with what they found when I wore the 24-hour heart monitor a couple of weeks ago. I don't suspect anything, as I had to wear one when I got admitted to the hospital a month ago. But I will find out for sure tomorrow. I'm also hoping to feel well enough to stitch, because I absolutely didn't after I woke up this evening.

January 9, 2008

Today was another day to work on Deftly Wrought. I'm really trying to get this done so I can move on to my Challenge pieces full-time. I finished the ship today and then realized that I added an extra three rows to the length of the two main masts, so that has to be frogged. But before I realized that, I was able to finish the lady and the anchors and start on the top border. All that remains to be stitched is "Remember me tho far ye be" and the six flowers. Once they're done this mini-sampler will be complete and I can move on to the third one.

January 6, 2008

Today had its starts and stops. I was able to make visible progress on Deftly Wrought by Midsummer Night Designs. This is part of my 2008 UFO (UnFinished Object) Stitching Challenge. I'm still working on the mini-samplers across the top, which are stitched over one thread. The lady's skirt and bodice have taken shape, and the ship is beginning to be recognizable. In between reading and responding to group posts, I happily stitched away. At one point, I even had some help.