What I have been up to and health update.

I can't believe how quickly the Month of July seems to be flying by.  We are 12 days into the month and I swear I was just blowing out the candles on my 71st birthday cake.

It has been a rough few weeks as my health is once again going down hill.  During my last 3 CT Scans done for my Oncologist follow up after last years bought of Cancer something showed up on the scan in the kidney resulting in me seeing a Urologist, well after weeks of waiting for the Oncologist office to contact the Urology dept. things just fell by the wayside. Than as always out of sight out of mind.  Finally, after the 3rd CT scan once again showing whatever was in the kidney had once again grown the Oncology office finally moved things forward. In the meantime I asked my GP to give me a referral in January, well checking online test results in May there it was the referral, the office never contacted me to let me know.  I was fortunate enough to get an appointment the next day.  I did see the urologist, wasn't to keen on his beside manner and lucky enough the other urology office called for an appointment.  Things are moving forward and I hope to have some answers soon.

In the meantime I signed up for Ink and Page Junk Journal July.  I made my first 2 pages, was planning to work on the 3rd page but my energy level dropped I at least cut all the pieces for the page and will get to it soon. Then as I was getting ready to start the next page my printer decided to have problems.  Ugh! but it was just in need of replacing the ink because all of a sudden the printer didn't like the ink cartridges I was using.  The new ink arrived and I managed to print all the pages I need to catch up.

Day 1 the prompt was Library Card

Day 2 Prompt Ledger Paper, I made my diagonal cut in the wrong direction but it works so I left it in. The second photo shows the other side of the pocket.  Debbie of Ink and Page provides all the papers free if you are signed up to take part.  I have been following her for about 2 years and each month she does a new project, again providing the papers free each week. There is also a YouTube tutorial for each project.  https://www.youtube.com/@inkandpagejournals

I have also been crocheting two shawls over the last few weeks, because of the neuropathy in my hands from last years chemo I am slow at crocheting and stitching. I don't think the neuropathy is ever going to subside.

This the the 1st shawl I started using Lion Brand's Mandala baby yarn in the Narnia colorway.  It's a very simple one row repeat pattern, open and airy.

I'm doing the same pattern using Lion Brand's Ombre yarn in the Mantra colorway, I had about 12 rows when I didn't like how the piece was draping so I pulled it all out and then decided to rework it using a larger hook. 

I'm still not sure how it feels but I'll keep going at least until I get to the end of the ball.  The pattern is from Fiber Flux on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@fiberflux/videos 

The pattern is Beach Morning Walk.

I did manage to stitch the little hoop embroidery for the 250 year celebration of the USA.  I finished it off with a piece of white felt and some red and white trim.

That's all I have for now my energy is low so let me post this.  I want to say I will post again soon but this year has really gone down hill.  So I will post when I can and wish you all a wonderful week ahead.

I will be linking my post for Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts here: https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2026/07/slow-sunday-stitching_01094560537.html

It's the first day of Summer!

 

Update on What I have Been Doing

 May 11th, another hot and humid day here in North Central Florida.  Yesterday was Mother's Day and I spent a lovely afternoon with my son. We had lunch at Cheddar's, I had the lemon pepper chicken which was quite good.  After lunch we headed to Sholom park here in Ocala, it's one of my favorite parks though I haven't been in a year or so.  This year they had a find the gnomes and fairies in the Enchanted forest.

Except for last year when I was in the hospital on Mother's day with complications after my first cycle of Chemo I usually chose to take a long walk, visit a Botanical garden and one year I went canoeing on the Rainbow River.  I miss those days when I could just get out and take long walks without a struggle.

This year my walk was accompanied by a heart monitor I have to wear for a week due to some severe lightheaded and dizziness not to mention shortness of breath.  My cardiologist has been tweaking my medications, starting new ones and stopping older ones.  On the upside since lowering the meds for my A-Fib my blood pressure is rising, not too much, I say upside because it was quite low for several months.

I had an adverse reaction the CT Scan I had, terrible itching and rash over my chest and back of my head.  It the 1st time I had this happen, was quite surprise since I have been having them every 3 months since the cancer diagnosis and surgery.

I discovered I can't take Repatha it makes me so sick and the Lasix I was on for two weeks which was helping with the swelling in the legs and feet may be the culprit for the lightheaded and dizziness.  Not sure yet.  I was disappointed stopping the Lasix because it actually helped with the neuropathy (a side effect of the Chemo) in my hands and fingers and feet.  I'm still hopeful the neuropathy will go away for good some day until then I have to work around the pain (the meds don't fully take away the pain) when I want to stitch or crochet.

STITCHING UPDATE

I made another little goddess doll, this one I fussing cut so I could get those flowers just right for Spring. Making these brings me such joy and comfort.

I started to make the 1st of several hand embroidery pieces for the 250 year anniversary of the USA.

This is a pre-printed cloth, it's one of those Jack Dempsey pieces I purchased from Ben Franklin Crafts online store.

I won't say how many hours it took me to stitch the flag, I will say I spent nearly an entire day stitching it while recovering from the reaction I had to the CAT scan I mentioned above.

The reason I went with this little printed kit was back in 1976 I made one for the Bicentennial.  I thought I would make a two sided pillow or frame them side by side.  

I haven't made much more progress on my slow stitched pocket treasure/pocket altar, all of the pieces are now stitched down and I just need to finish the vertical running stitches then work the backing.  

I did some stitching on it Saturday afternoon and made quite a bit of progress I think maybe 3 more vertical lines of running stitch and onto the back piece.

One of my favorite parts of the Sholom Park is the Olive tree grove, looking down from the entrance to the olive grove.

Looking at the Olive grove from the enchanted forest area.

This is one of the most peaceful parks I have ever visited and plan to come again sometime.  I did overdo it a little with the walking and today my body feels like it was hit by a bus.  I am not complaining though I have missed these long walks and I am still determined to get a one mile walk in before the year is over.  And then maybe get back to a daily mile and working up to the sadly missed 2 mile walk.

 

Welcome Spring!

 The first day of Spring 2026 is on Friday, March 20, 2026, at 10:46 a.m. EDT. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, 93 days or roughly 92 days, 17 hours, and 39 minutes.  

I am going to attempt a daily stitching project from the Spring Equinox to the Summer Solstice, it's 93 days, just 7 short days from the 100 day projects going one all over the internet in stitching world.  I say attempt because of the neuropathy in my hands and fingers can be quite painful at times making it difficult to stitch.   

I always love the 1st day of Spring it's always so full of hope for new beginnings.  On the 18th of March I have been cancer free for 1 year.  

Here are a few Spring slow self care things to do just for you.

Happy Spring!

One Year Ago Today!

A brief talk or a bit of a personal rant with photos tossed in to soften my thoughts On 1 Year ago today.

 On March 18th 2025, 1 year ago today I had a total hysterectomy for Endometrial cancer that was diagnosed several days before, after the surgery it was confirmed I also had Ovarian cancer. I'm in a recovery period. I stopped Chemo after 2 rounds because it made me so ill I lost a significant quality of life. During this time I realized March has not been a very good month for me for a few years. It all began in March 2011 when I had my 1st heart attack, this took me by surprise because I was eating a healthy diet, I exercised daily as well as walked 2 miles every day. I took my blood pressure medication so when I felt that awful pain in my arm I knew. A trip to the hospital ER confirmed it. During recovery I once again revamped my healthy diet and exercise routine.

Rosemary plant.

For a few years things went rather well. Then in March 2020 when Covid crept into our lives I became quite ill with abdominal pain that had me hospitalized several times over the course of 18 months. All the testing done came out negative which was a good thing but no one could find out where the pain was coming from. On a whim I called the cardiologist I saw when I had the heart attack in 2011 test revealed several clogged arteries in the abdomen. After 2 years I had answers. New medication, an attempt to stent the arteries failed and life went on. More stents in the coronary and carotid arteries were done. Improvement to my health was minimal but I kept at it hoping one day things would go back to normal.

Breakfast cereal affirmation.

Last year the cancer diagnosis and surgery felt like a mere set back to me but in reality it had taken a lot out of me knowing when I had the surgery I wasn't in the best of health and recovery is slow and the aging body doesn't help matters. So far I have been cancer free since the hysterectomy. My stress test I had this month came back normal, I had worked on getting my cholesterol lower and it dropped 70 points from August to Feb. Without the aid of medication, I can't take Statin drugs because the side effects. The cardiologist put me back on Repatha for awhile to get the cholesterol lower. Even though 209 seemed great to me I agreed only if I could get the medication through my insurance which has turned me down twice, at over 600 dollars for 2 application I wasn’t having it. He managed to get me through a program offering it free.

Repatha 2nd injection completed

There are days when I want to stop all of the medications just to see how I fare but so far I haven't had the courage to try. I'm happy the doctor took me off of 1 medication and changed another which actually helps reduce the swelling in my legs from one or more of the meds I take. This March I haven only had to see a few doctors and have a few test. So far so good. I long for a Doctor free month but I think I have to wait 4 more years to meet the 5 year cancer free point.

Word of the year goddess dolls

So each day I face with a smile on my face or maybe a grimace. I get out of bed, start my day, no longer able to get down on the floor to do some yoga. I know Tai Chi and that keeps me moving. I walk whether I am up to it or not, I haven't done 2 miles yet, I haven't even done a mile but I walk and I have Hope that one day I will once again find my Joy.

And Spring is on the way.

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm Still Here and Finally I Have Written a Blog Post

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Wow! it's been quite a while since I made a blog post.  I can't believe so much time has gone by since my post on the Winter Solstice 2025.  I can't believe I only made 11 post in 2025 what happened to me. Well for one thing I was ill in the beginning of 2025 and didn't much feel like posting on March 13th I was diagnosed with Endometrial cancer and had a total hysterectomy on March 18th only to discover I also had Ovarian cancer. Both were in the early stages but the ovarian cancer was an aggressive type. Onto Chemo on May 1st which came a host of problems and by the second cycle of Chemo on July 15th. I wrote about it on my blog here https://deborahsbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2025/08/catching-up-while-recovering-from-chemo.html  so there is no point to rehash it all.  I did stop all the chemo I just felt I wouldn't survive 4 more cycles and so far there are no signs of more cancer.  

It has taken me months to recover from just those 2 cycles, not being in the best of health when I started didn't help I'm sure.  The A-Fib was already kicking my butt with lack of energy, but the side effects of the chemo especially the neuropathy in my hands and feet continue to plague me so it's been a battle.  I would say I probably have 25% of the energy I once had and I strive everyday to improve that.  

The cold weather has really grabbed my attention, gone are the days where I would toss on a sweatshirt and hit the walking trail the brisk cold air nipping at my steps was exhilarating. At work I wear a wooly hat, fingerless gloves and a hoodie all day when the temps are in the 20's and 30's here in Florida.  

Here is a photo of me at my son's warehouse where I work. My hair is growing back slowly but I feel the cold and the neuropathy makes the cold worse on my hands and feet. Without the medication I take for the neuropathy I imagine it would be worse.  The big drawback with the medication is weight gain and swelling which never seems to go away.  I just can't seem to get warm.  On days when it's warm enough I take short walks here in the warehouse parking lot and up and down the street where I now live.  I am determined to get my energy and activity levels back to where they once were. My hair slowly growing back this is me in Oct. 2025 and Feb. 2026.

 Can it be that nearly 2 months have passed and I had nothing to say? Not quite, I just didn't have the energy to sit and type a blog post.  I have more energy now so I hope to get back to at least making a weekly post on Sundays so I can once again take part in the Slow Stitching Sundays at Kathy's Quilts which I enjoyed doing in the past.  There are so many talented bloggers and spending time reading about the projects they are working on and what they are doing is such a nice way to connect and share.

I signed up for a few slow stitch challenges this year, though I have trouble with my hands and fingers I still manage to get some stitching in.  I'm taking part in Gone Rustic's 2026 Words SAL and K3nclothtales 2026 A-Z SAL

This is the Youtube link for the K3n channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc-bYDs2QXc&list=PLIvsY9XB9IaaIxZSDIybxj6Y84Umsd8Ek

This is for Gone Rustic channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drv6nIrrc1s   with the Gone Rustic channel Rita gives the new word on here weekly post, the start of the SAL starts at Week 82.

Both have Facebook groups where you can post your work if you wish.

I am also taking part in Sue Hiles Ruffle Swap, we are going to make a ruffle that can be used in either an art or junk journal, or some other project.  Sue explains it so much better and shows how simple the ruffle is to make, here is the link to her Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QInd02F48cE

I wanted to get a little practice in so I grabbed a few bits of fabrics, floss and stitched away. I may add the yo-yo and if I can find my floral buttons I'd like to add one. Once we have our swap partners I can ask if there is a preferred colorway.  

Making the ruffle reminded me of  my days of making skirts and dresses back in the day and gathering fabric to fit the skirt to the bodice or the waistband.  I just love the ease of making the ruffle which measure about 7 inches.

Another project I have been working on is my little goddess dolls which has become a little bit of an obsession for me.  These are the newest goddesses I made in 2026 the Joy goddess doll is my word of the year the other have been sent to Facebook friends from a group I am in.

I am currently working on a little pocket altar/shrine that I had been planning to make for a few weeks All of a sudden I see several of the Stitching YouTube Channels I watch making Pocket shrine/altars as well.  

I started out making my base, then layered my fabric scraps how I wanted them, pinned them down and started stitching them down using the running stitch.

I made a few hand embroidered pieces to add to my pocket altar, the little pocket is one of my favorite pieces

It took me 3 hours to make this little pocket because I had to keep putting it aside to let my fingers rest a bit.  The pain from the neuropathy can be quite intense, it's like getting 1000 paper cuts all at once when I touch something or hold my needle.

This little hand took about 40 minutes.  Ignore the little black line I thought I had used a heat erasable pen to draw the hand.

I will probably add a hand drawn spiral as a pocket, I love a good spiral or perhaps a labyrinth.

Here is the piece I made for the word Noble for the Gone Rustic SAL  

I chose the Noble Heart. I used royal blue floss to stitch the heart spiral to pick up the blues in the scrap pieces. The words Kindness, Courage, Compassion and Strength are veiled behind the scrap of lace. I decided to have the words hidden because one of the attributes of Noble is Selfless which I see as quietly hidden.

This is my piece for the K3n clothtales A-Z of Slow Stitch 2026 SAL. The first weeks word: Applique. My piece is a Compass. I embroidered the compass before I appliqued it to my slow stitched square. Then for a little added fun I embroidered a tiny scroll which you can see it unfurled in the 2nd photo. 

So little by little, stitch by stitch I am beginning to feel like myself once again.  I may not be able to stitch without pain or walk my daily walk but each day I keep moving forward.  

Update here: I'm linking my post over at Kathy's Quilts today, Kathy has been stitching along while watching the Olympics, playing a game where she stitches are certain number of stitches for medals won by Canada. Great idea don't you think. Check out her link here to see what she is stitching today. https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2026/02/slow-sunday-stitching_02067335907.html

This month I joined the American Cancer Society's Read Every Day Challenge my page is here 

https://www.facebook.com/donate/1377306576997230/

Today I am reading Vagabond and yesterday I started Wyrd Sisters

These are the books I have completed this month so far

You don't have to read a certain number of books or pages, just read every day.  When my fingers are too sore I get quite a bit of reading done.  

Once again Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Winter Solstice! And a Little Stitched JOY!

 Another year flying by, it's hard to believe its the first day of winter.

The first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere arrived on Sunday, December 21, 2025, at 10:03 A.M. (EST).

Although the winter solstice means the start of winter, it also means the return of light, the days begin to grow longer and longer again until we reach the summer solstice.

For those that are not lovers of winter it only gets brighter from here! The Duration is only 88 days, 23 hours, 42 minutes.

Here in Florida we are expecting 80 degrees and sunshine so while it doesn't look or feel like the winter of my youth I can live with it. 

Happy Winter Solstice!

  I have managed to get some stitching done mostly on the weekends. Currently I am making a little Spirit doll for my Word of the Year, which is Joy.

It came to me recently somewhere between March 2020, when I was plagued with that mysterious illness lasting 2 years and Now dealing with Cancer  I lost my sense of JOY. Not just the oh gosh I feel good kind of Joy, but deep in the bones Joy you get from nature, living and those simple things that us Joy.

So for 2026 I am on the journey to not only reclaim Joy I want to build an entire adventure to once again feel the deep in your bones JOY. 

Here is the fabric and the traced line body for the Goddess doll

After the body was stitched I made a little patch with my word JOY, pinned it in place before stitching it on.

The patch is stitched on, I left the top unstitched to create a little pocket, embroidered the face and pinned the head on.

I stitched the head in place and she is ready for the back of the body to be added. I slipped a little piece of paper into the pocket.

My fingers were too sore to continue stitching so I hope to add the back and have her done later today.

It's been a while since I did much stitching however I am linking my post to https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2025/12/slow-sunday-stitching_01479291710.html