Learning to Live My New "Normal"

Now that I’ve had two infusions and I kind of know what to expect, my stitching mojo is beginning to return.  Progress has been made on my Homage to Mutti EPP project.  One third of the center ring is finished and I’ve begun working on the second. 

 

I enjoy working on it while watching podcasts on my computer.  It’s a messy workspace, but I like it.

 

My second infusion was last week.  It was another very long day since my preliminary appointment started late and took longer than expected.  I did get the very good news that the blood marker they are following has moved in the right direction.  And while I can’t claim to feel good following these infusions, so far, I have managed the side effects fairly well as long as I allow myself ample recovery time afterwards.

 

We had Swallows nesting on our back porch this summer.  I caught this last chick working up the courage to take flight.  This is the first nest we’ve had since we had the ceiling painted sky blue.  I guess his parents weren’t fooled.

 

This 500-piece puzzle was a lot more work than I expected.  A new one is in its earliest stages.

 

My Snake Plant in the house has decided to bloom.  It’s been several years since it did so.  I’ve had abysmal luck with my outdoor plants this summer, so I’m counting this as a win.

Life Happenings

It’s been “hot minute” since I last sat down to the keyboard to post.  Honestly, the sewing room has been largely inactive since June 9.  That’s the day I opened a document on my patient portal expecting to see something about the previous week’s gallbladder surgery.  Instead, there was a pathology report telling me I had cancer from an unknown source.  

Since then, my time has been crammed with more tests, scans, a trip to MD Anderson Cancer Center and a port insertion.  I had my first infusion Wednesday.  The current diagnosis is Primary Peritoneal Carcinoma.  It’s like Ovarian Cancer without the ovary and receives the same chemotherapy treatment.  The hope is that I will get a remission.

It took a while to determine a diagnosis, with it changing at least once.  So, I delayed this post in order that our extended family could be given an update first.

Meanwhile, I am surrounded by an army of prayer warriors and my sweet Tuesday quilty friends gifted me with a chemo quilt.  Every one of them made a point of contributing to the effort.

My hair has been cut VERY short and yesterday we went in search of a wig.

It needs a little styling!

All this is new to me.  It’s my hope that now that we have an established plan of action and a schedule in place, I will feel more like stitching and posting.

 

Some of This and Some of That

Our Memorial Day was spent quietly at home. 

 

I’ve made some progress on Homage to Mutti including kitting up some units for better portability.  These will come in handy when we travel to Dallas for a family funeral later this week.  I’ve also begun work on this month’s anti-ouch pouches.

 

This puzzle was a real challenge and Bob had to help me with it.  We learned that unlike other puzzles we’ve done this one is easier if you start in the middle rather than with the outer edges.

Not My Hand

 

This happened on my way to my Tuesday quilting group.  …Not my best day and needless to say I never made it to the group. Thankfully, we were able to get assistance quickly.

 

I’ve been enjoying the blooming plants on our porch. 

 

A neighbor once commented that he thought plastic flower pots were tacky.  I don’t think he was intentionally directing this comment at me.  While I prefer the look of terracotta and ceramic pots, plastic ones have some real advantages besides being less expensive. They hold moisture better, are lighter and it doesn’t hurt some much when something like this happens.

Anti-Ouch Pouches

Wednesday’s Guild meeting was sneaking up on me, so last weekend I got busy and finished stitching the 15 anti-ouch pouch kits I picked up last month.  Other than that, no news from the sewing room.  My enthusiasm was dampened by a cold.

 

The Blackberry bushes continue to yield fruit with more not yet ripe.  I’ve put several quarts in the freezer, so Bob will eventually get his blackberry cobbler.

 

I’m certain this Salvia had white blooms last year!  I’m just glad it came back as it died to the ground during the winter.

Another Catch-Up Post

This little piece only lacks hand-stitching the binding to the back to be Bound-Labeled-Done.  I’m pretty sure the 4 1/2 inch square panel was intended for use on a t-shirt as it felt like it had adhesive on the back.  It was given to me at a Guild retreat many years ago.  I decided to turn it into a wall quilt for my sewing room.  The entire piece is 10 ½ inches square.  I used the embroidery function on my machine to stitch some hints about retreat shenanigans in the border. 

Other than that, I have nothing to show for the past two weeks, which presented some unexpected challenges.  Without going into detail, I will just say that one of those challenges involved a fussy gallbladder which will probably be evicted sometime in the near future.  I see the surgeon May 20.

 

A bright spot was the graduation of our grandson from Texas A&M.  We are so very proud of him.

 

 I asked him to write down the title of his major, and this is what he gave me.

 

One of the last things I had to do before leaving for College Station was purchase a clear handbag, a requirement in the stadium.  I didn’t know such a thing existed, but if I ever go to a rock concert, I’m all set.

 

There was the first turtle rescue of the season.  They get caught behind our yard fence.  Fortunately, I spotted this one before the dogs alerted to its presence.  This one was on the large size and very shy.

 

Also, this 1,000 piece puzzle was finally finished.

 

As it turns out, April was much wetter for us than average and May has had some early showers as well.  A storm rolled through Sunday night which gave us .69 inches.

 

 

Catch Up Post

I unintentionally took a blog break.  Life has been very busy over the last few weeks, mostly stuff outside my control.  I suspect posting may continue to be sporadic for a while.

For better or worse, my part of the guild challenge is finished.  Done is way better than perfect.  I don’t think I’m breaking any rules by showing it now, and I don’t think anyone in my guild is a regular reader.  If I had to name it, it might be "Princes in Wating."

 

This was my messy work station while sewing with the Tuesday group this week.  Good thing I had a lot of space.

 

April has been unusually wet (a good thing) and we’ve had some pretty stout winds.  This tree near our house lost a big limb.

 

Our blackberry bushes are now loaded with fruit.  Hopefully enough to give Bob a cobbler.

 And our palm trees, problematic at all times, were beginning a decline.  The time had come to clear them out.  I was surprised to find out how high-maintenance they are.  The ones in our yard had sharp spikes along their frond centers making them dangerous to groom, even when the trees are short.  At least once a year, tree specialists with tall ladders had to come in and remove dead fronds.  I hate to lose any trees, but these are the exception. 

 

This little deer dropped by for a visit.  

 

My miniature rose bush is producing blooms.

 

Here are some other neighborhood yard pics…

 

Puzzle therapy underway.

When I took the dogs out shortly after 6 a.m., the temperature was 78 degrees and the humidity was 91%.  Totally miserable and unhealthy.  Relief may come later today.  A cold front is expected to trigger some showers.

 

Just Checking In

Somehow during the last two plus weeks, I just never managed to sit at the keyboard, gather my thoughts and write a post.

During that time, I delivered 15 completed anti-ouch pouches to the Guild meeting and picked up kits for another 15.  Fourteen of which are complete.

Homage to Mutti has grown some, too.  Most progress was made during my weekly gathering on Tuesdays and my once-a-month JABS meeting.  JABS stands for Just Ask Berta Society.  Berta left us when she moved out of state, but her influence remains!

And, I’m still trying to decide what to do on the Guild President’s challenge.  Time is running out and I need to get started.

In other news, I completed this jigsaw puzzle and started another.  I love unwinding at the end of the day with an audible book and puzzle.  It helps distract me from all the bad news we’re getting and allows me get sleepy.  If I don’t have an audible book, I stream classical music.

 

Seen on a recent ride...

Progress on Mutti and an Unexpected Project

Homage to Mutti has grown. 

 

Even if the dogs aren’t in my lap, I’ve found these small pieces hard to manipulate in my usual television-watching chair.  So, I’ve set up a station that provides better posture and still lets me watch Netflix programs on a computer screen as I work. 

 

Much to my dismay, our Guild president intercepted me as I was leaving last month’s meeting and talked me into participating in her President’s Challenge.  I spent some time this week drafting a foundation piecing template for a modified log cabin block and grabbed some random scraps to make a test block.  I'm still not satisfied but it is a start.

 

 

Here is a look at the fabrics in the kit.  According to the rules, I can add two to four additional fabrics, but must use all of these as well.  My favorite piece, the one with a red background and yellow flowers, is only a two-inch strip.

 

Today our temperature has reached the mid-90s and a dry front is bringing strong wind gusts.  Our lows for the next two nights may fall to the 30s.  I will be moving my patio plants to a more sheltered area in case it freezes.  It’s not supposed to, but you never know. 

 

Quilting Life Somewhat Interrupted

Before I could get a post written last week, four days filled with houseguests arrived and I did not darken the door of my studio all week.  So, all I have to write about occurred two weeks ago! 

 

I finished 15 Anti-Ouch Pouches for the Guild Service Project.  These are the tools I have collected specifically for making these pouches.  It has really helped having a dedicated kit for those times I work on them away from home.

 

I don’t expect this year’s crop of Bluebonnets to be very showy, at least in our area.  But they are weeds and can manage to survive in unexpected places.  This one is growing next to the street curb and has avoided the mower.

 

This has been a very good year for Mountain Laurels.  I managed (barely) to catch a butterfly on one of our trees.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the company I had last week.  Julia and I binge watched Netflix and visited multiple thrift stores.  Bob’s brother, Dave, also popped in briefly.  Family trumps quilting but, hopefully, I can get more stitching done this week.

 

New Technique

Last Thursday I participated in a Guild sponsored workshop led by Sue Heinz of Kismet Quilting.  At her presentation to the guild on Wednesday, she talked about how Elmer (of Elmer’s Glue fame) could be used in a variety of ways while piecing.  During the workshop she elaborated on how to use it when making a Drunkard’s Path block.

 

At the conclusion of the workshop, we taped our blocks on the windows for everyone to see.  Almost everyone was able to complete 16 blocks using her method.  Someone said mine reminded them of the old Pac-Man game from the 1980s.  I guess that's a clue to our group's demographics since everyone knew what she was talking about.

 

I finished the binding on it this afternoon while Ollie snuggled up next to me in the chair and Maddie napped at my feet.

 

Our porch thermometer registered 93 degrees this afternoon.   

Homage to Mutti

It’s been a while since I showed my progress on Homage to Mutti.  Lately the dogs have laid claim to my lap whenever I get in my comfy chair and the only time I can work on it is during my Tuesday group gatherings. 

 

I won’t be able to join the group today.  We are going to New Braunfels to have lunch with Julia and the pieces are much too fiddly for me to even consider working on them in the car. 

 

I’m sure we will have more cold days, but right now our highs are reaching the 80s and I’ve noticed a few things trying to bud.  We got .53 inches of rain last week, and, as always, we are hoping for more so the wildflowers will bloom.  It probably won’t be that great a year for Bluebonnets.  At least I haven’t noticed many plants, but we’ll see.

15

This was a more productive week in the studio.  I finished the 15 Anti-Ouch Pouches I committed to make for the Quilt Guild in February.  I’ve made so many, they have become a favorite form of mindless sewing.  It takes between 45 minutes and an hour to make each one.  Now I can resume my other projects with a clear conscience.

 

I forgot to include this picture in last week’s post.  It was taken through a window, so is not as sharp as I would like.  The deer population in our community has grown, and this group was outside our fence one afternoon.  You can see ice patches were still on the ground.  The deer in this part of Texas are small, but plentiful.  This weekend we have had temperature highs in the 80s. 

Quiet Week on the Quilting Front

Despite several at home days due to weather, very little happened in the studio last week.  I did work on quilting my tumbler quilt, continued making anti-ouch pouches and filled a bunch of bobbins, but very little to show.

 

The girl’s day Julia and I had planned that was cancelled due to weather happened last weekend.  We contributed to the local economy and ended the day getting our tired feet treated to pedicures.  It was a lot of fun. 

 

So, very little to report other than we made it to the high 60s today and it was wonderful.  I even managed to take an outside walk instead of riding the recumbent bike.  For my friends who have yet to get any relief from the frigid weather, stay safe and stay warm.