Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Hello November! I've been waiting for you

Can you believe it's November, I have been waiting for quite some time for this month to arrive and with it some cooler weather, I hope.

Things have been moving along on the health front and I don't need to have my gallbladder out, the latest test has shown my gallbladder is no longer at 1% , it has increased to 40% and anything over 35 is consider normal.  I'm relieved that I don't have to have surgery and also worried what next.  On the upside while fasting for the last two test I noticed that my stomach wasn't in pain as it normally was I couldn't take anything by mouth so I had to wait a few hours before I could take my daily medications, but as soon as I took the one medication, the pain was back and the nausea increased on the day of the first test, a few days later when I once again had to wait I decided to only take my blood pressure medication, the pill that was to cut the stomach acids stayed in the bottle, I have been pain free ever since.  I dis a little reading and found the pill was only t be taken 2-3 weeks, I had been taking it for over 6 months.  I have a new doctor and soon I hope to have more answers, but for now to be pain free after 8 months of misery is a good thing.

On the Slow Stitching side of life I have been able to do more hand embroidery and sitting up longer with each passing day.  I finished the Give Thanks piece, it needs to be pressed, I think I will use it for a table topper.

I started another autumn piece a free pattern from EGA  https://egausa.org/free-pumpkin-embroidery-project-stitch-floral/  I was slow to start but yesterday I made quite a bit of progress shown in these photos.

I am doing my project differently from the original, I am not doing all of the satin stitching as shown in 

the photo. As beautiful as it is my skill with my needle while I have been ill has left me quite apprehensive, I was going to stitch it as a Redwork piece using either brown or orange floss but then decided I wanted Fall colors.  I will be linking my post to Kathy's Quilts today right here:

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2020/11/slow-sunday-stitching.html check out what other talented bloggers are slow stitching today.

I have always loved the November of my youth back home in New Jersey the air was crisp and clear most days, the leaves still on the trees were colorful and the ones on the ground were curled and the sound of them crunching beneath my feet sounded magical.  I explored the woods for hours picking up acorns and pinecones, a few colorful leaves and brought them home, many times pressing the leaves with a hot iron between pieces of waxed paper.  When I first moved to Florida a dear late friend would send me a box of fall leaves each autumn and when I opened that box all those childhood memories came rushing back and for a few moments I did not feel so homesick for the seasonal change.

At 65, I still miss each turn of the season when the autumn comes around and perhaps it's the reason I love stitching autumn designs so I can surround myself with those rich warm colors of a Fall I know isn't visible here in Florida.

This week I am happy to say my appetite has increased and my taste for foods have once again awakened, for the first time I made Butternut squash, I came across a recipe for a tart made from it but avoiding a sweet dish I opted to roast it in the over, oh my goodness it tasted so good.  Now I have had butternut squash from the frozen food section of the grocery store, but I have never cooked it fresh all I can say is what a difference.  I bought another one to make later in the week.  Yesterday I cooked or should I say roasted rutabaga, as I child I remember them gracing our Thanksgiving table every year, my mother loved them, to me they were ok, right along with brussel sprouts, both vegetables I love today.  My mother always mashed the rutabaga just like she mashed potatoes and when I cooked them as an adult it's how I made them until yesterday when I decided to roast them, they were quite good and mild in flavor, not the bitter taste when they were mashed.  Who knew at age 65 I would find a new food and a new way to prepare it. Life is good.  

Happy Halloween

 

Slow Stitching on a Rainy Sunday

 More stitching progress on the Give Thanks piece I am embroidering. The leaves and birds are complete, I hope to have the words done early this week or perhaps today if all goes well.

 The weather changed this week as the month of October began, the mornings were cool and dry and love 60's I love the cool dry air with a slight breeze promising cooler days to come.  We have had a mostly cloudy day yesterday and today we have rain which saves me dragging out the watering can.

I'm nearly done with the Give Thanks piece and trying to decide what to stitch next. Today I'm going to join Kathy's Quilts link party and take a look at what other talented bloggers and stitchers are making. Here is the link: https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2020/10/slow-sunday-stitching.html

 

The old threads are unraveling,

Get your needles ready.

We are stitching a new quilt

of Humanity.

Bring your old t-shirts,

worn out jeans, scarves,

antique gowns, aprons,

old pockets of plenty

who have held Earth's treasures,

stones, feathers, leaves,

love notes on paper.

Each stitch

A mindful meditation.

Each piece of material

A story.

The more colour the better,

so call in the Tribes.

Threads of browns, whites,

reds, oranges

Women from all nations

start stitching.

Let's recycle the hate, the abuse,

the fear, the judgment.

Turn it over, wash it clean,

ring it out to dry.

It's a revolution

of recycled wears.

Threads of greens, blues, purples

Colourful threads

of peace, kindness,

respect, compassion

are being stitched

from one continent to the next

over forests, oceans, mountains.

The work is hard

Your fingers may bleed.

But each cloth stitched together

Brings together a community.

A world, our future world

Under one colourful quilt.

The new quilt of humanity.

~ Julia Myers

Artist: Paula Nicho Cumez

The Last Sunset for September 2020

 The last sunset of September 2020, after a perfect day of sunshine the temp early this morning was 61 and in the upper 70's for most of the day a perfect autumn day.  On the up side of things the Covid 19 test was Negative. 

 I finally heard back from the surgeon's office, I'm scheduled for 2 more test procedures on the 14th and 19th of October to check the stomach function and stomach enzymes. The surgeon wants to be sure the stomach is in working order before he removes the gallbladder just in case the stomach is the culprit and not the gallbladder.  Yesterday marked 6 months since my first stay in the hospital because of this abdominal pain.

 

Slow Stitching while waiting on Covid 19 test

Another Sunday of stitching for September, I'm making some progress on the Autumn piece I am working on, not much but some stitching makes for a good day.  

On Thursday my son texted to tell me he tested positive after having the Covid 19 test, last weekend after a day in Orland he was feeling very tired, had a low grade fever for a few days, since having a heart attack in March and just not  feeling  right he went for the test. Two days later the results came back positive.

I saw him the day before he went to Orlando, not to mention earlier in the week  as well as just about every other day since I have been ill. I am considered a high risk and now exposed so I went for the test yesterday, I should have the result in a day or two.  What surprised me is my son and his finance live in the same house and she tested negative, so I wonder how selective is this virus?  Both are breathing the same air, they don't wear face mask in the house yet one test positive and one negative.

I am of the mindset she is either immune to the virus or she may have had it and not known which is quite possible.  My son feels great except for the fatigue which is what sent him for the test in the first place he thought the fever was from a cold or start of the flu.  He has worn a face mask since the early days back in March so that could be a factor in having a mild case, research shows there are 8 strains of this virus. 

On another note no word from the surgeon yet about me having the gallbladder removed or more test needing to be done first, frankly it irritates the heck out of me when a doctor's office doesn't follow through with their call backs and now waiting on the covid 19 test results has me out of sorts, but hey tomorrow is another day.

In the meantime I signed up to take part in a few SAL I am doing the free table runner from Kathy Schmitz here:https://kathyschmitzstudio.blogspot.com/2020/09/snowdrift-table-runner-snowflake-8.html

And the new Jacquelynne Steves here:https://jacquelynnesteves.com/falala/

Forth Worth Fabric Studio is hosting this Halloween SAL starting September 28: https://fortworthfabricstudio.com/blogs/patterns/2020-just-say-boo-halloween-mystery-quilt?

This one started in August but you can still get earlier free patterns its runs through October 25th

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/spellboundmysterysewalong

 This SAL starts October 1 https://rowbyrowexperience.com/wooly-block-2/

Here is my progress on the Autumn piece, I have added in some DMC variegated floss for the leaves to give it a bit more color, I am even mixing a strand with the Valdani floss just to mix things up.

Here is the link for the free pattern I am using:http://blog.creativekismet.com/2011/11/04/give-thanks-free-embroidery-pattern/  

I'm linking to Kathy's Quilts: https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2020/09/slow-sunday-stitching_27.html