This Month is Flying By!

 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 2 shawls over the last few weeks, because of the neuropathy in my hands I am slow going with crochet and stitching.  A terrible side effect of the chemo I has last year that seems to be staying forever.

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 Shawl.

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.

I will leave you with the little goddess dolls I made for Beltane and Litha

Searching my stash for the right fabric for a Lammas goddess.

Happy Summer Solstice!

 

Happy Ostara and Happy 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 until the Summer Solstice.

For me 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 on all over the internet in the 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.

First Ruffle Swap Arrived, I Love Them!

 I received my ruffle swap package today, I love everything. The ruffles are beautiful, I joined my first ever swap over on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@SusanHilesCreates

I have been following Susan's channel for a while now and missed the autumn swap. I really didn't know what to expect so I made my ruffles for my swap partners and shipped them. I didn't think I could add extra things. Now I know better after watching several unwrapping of swaps received. I don't have a YouTube channel to post my unveiling so I'm posting here on my blog and my Instagram.  

Once my 2 swap partners receive their ruffles I will post what I made them.  

I'm Still Here, Stitch Crafting, Reading a Few Good Books and Watering a Plant or Two.

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 Novemv2025.  I can't believe I only made 10 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 a week long hospital stay beginning on Mother’s Day. By the second cycle of Chemo on July 15^th I was so weak and ill I barely sat up for 3 weeks. I made the decision to 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 more than 3 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 barely had energy to make my bed and any extra energy I did have I made time to stitch, stitching by hand brings me a calm and joy I don't find anywhere else except when I garden which isn't an option at this time.  I have more energy now so I hope to get back to post more often.

One of my Stitch-craft projects 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 I made for my word of the year the others 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, the Witch knot a little longer.  Ignore the little black line I thought I had used a heat erasable pen to draw the hand but I didn't.

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 Words 2026 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.  It says May you never lose your way.

 Last month I joined the American Cancer Society's Read Every Day Challenge on Facebook, I read these books during the month of February. 

I’m still reading the Apothecary of Belonging I read the 1^st section now I'm waiting for the Spring Equinox to begin the Spring section.

I love the illustrations in the book and those lovely floral end pages, I love a pretty end paper don't you?

Yesterday began the round of cardiac testing to see why I have been short of breath these past few weeks. I don’t know if the horrendous swelling in my legs, feet and hands (a side effect of the Lyrica I take for the neuropathy which is a side effect of the Chemo). Or the weight gain another side effect of the above mentioned medication. Or maybe the A-Fib is getting worse. The Stress Test and Cat scan was done yesterday, in April I have the Echocardiogram and bilateral Lower Extremity Arterial test. I had hoped 2026 would be a year without doctors and medical test except for my quarterly Oncologist visit.  

On February 14^th it was finally such a wonderful warm day instead of walking up and down my street for my daily walk I headed to Bob Wines Camellia Gardens & Nursery. It was so nice to be among the plants and flowers, there were some very active bees among the marigolds and pansies unfortunately I couldn't snap a photo because the ground is uneven and I have to watch my footing. Illness and recovery kept me from having any real garden last year and the few plants I had died away while I was in the hospital last Spring. This year I'm still in the recovery stage but decided I would like to have a few potted plants so today I bought a new Rosemary plant. 

She is lush, green and smells amazing. I'm going to transplant her into a larger pot once Spring arrives. I bought 2 small Terracotta pots and a Catnip plant for my cat. I have a weakness for terracotta flower pots even though they tend to suck water from the soil.

The Rosemary pot is actually plastic she is doing quite well and I remembered to put her in the garage for several days when the temps dropped to 20 again here in Florida last month, this week we hit the high 80’s so on the porch she gets morning sun and afternoon shade. I’m debating planting her in the ground or just a larger pot. I have 2 faux whiskey barrels I’d like to plant up with a few flowers and herbs just to keep my hands in the soil. I still have time to sort that out.

So little by little, step by step, stitch by stitch and page by page I am beginning to feel like myself again or maybe just a watered down version of myself.  I may not be able to stitch without pain or walk my daily walk but each day I take a deep breath and keep moving forward.   

A little update on life and living.

 I'm still down with the coughing and chest congestion after nearly 2 weeks but I do seem to be coughing less and finally getting some sleep.  This came a week after I had a nearly 2 week battle with a virus.  I don't know whether the 2 cycles of chemo have weakened my immune system so much that I seem to be getting sick every other week but enough is enough.   My goal for 2026 is to improve my health from where it is now and have a better year than I have had since 2020. 

I don't want to blame everything in the Chemo because we all know I haven't been the healthiest person since I got sick in 2020 right around the time Covid 19 hit.  I was hospitalized several times and it would be 18 months later that I finally began to feel better for awhile. 

I wasn't in the best of health when I had the 1st round of Chemo and wound up in the hospital about 10 days after. It was determined it may not be chemo related after 6 days I was diagnosed with an ulcer, after treatment has been healed.

The A-Fib is being treated by my new cardiologist with a medication to lower my heart rate which should make it more pleasant for me to get in my daily walking again once this bug is gone. I don't know why the former cardiologist didn't put me on the meds to lower the heart rate but only gave me blood thinners to prevent a stroke. 

I needed all the tools I could use to make it through the Chemo treatments, unfortunately I stopped them after the 2nd cycle because my body felt as if it was dying inside and I just couldn't bounce back. My quality of life was no existent so for me it was stop the chemo, which may or may not actually prevent the ovarian cancer from coming back. So why poison my body with chemicals that may not work.  Instead I choose to live my life as best as I can and enjoy the time I have ahead of  me. If I could just stop getting sick.  I got the Flu shot a month later than I normally would so that could be a part of it.

I'm still battling the neuropathy in my hands, had to tweak the medication a little because of rapid weight gain (10 pounds in a week). Pain in my joints especially legs and hips which makes walking a challenge.  The dose I am taking now dulls the pain in my hands but doesn't stop the pain.  I am able to hold a needle and thread which brings me great joy.

I'm working on a little goddess project in felt which I will post more about in a future post.  My stitching isn't as fine as I would like but I'm happy to be stitching anything.

I have been tossing about a few words for my word of the year and have chosen ENDURE for 2026. 

To endure something means to continue to exist or hold up against a difficult, unpleasant, or painful situation without yielding or giving up. I am going to make some radical changes to my life in the upcoming weeks going into the new year and I will have to Endure them all if I hope to achieve my goal of improved overall health in 2026.

Happy Halloween and a Blessed Samhain!

 

And as the light around us fades

In golden shadows through the glade,

Like distant echoes down the hall,

we answer Samhain's ancient call.

From everlasting times 'til now,

To storied lands, we all must bow;

Where magic rings within our souls

And as we shatter, we are whole.

This is the night to join the Dance,

Partake in all-renewing trance;

Where worlds within and out are One,

Our sacred journey now begun.

To greet the ones we loved before,

Our kith and kin from days of yore,

Forgiven foe and long-lost friend -

We dwell among you yet again.

For now the worldly veils are thin,

Where hope and healing can begin.

Our deeds are done; the hour is late

To rest within the arms of Fate.

By fin and feather, leaf and bark,

As sun now banks to sheltered spark;

This year of trial and joy is past

Within the Circle we have cast.

And as the light around us fades

In golden shadows through the glade,

Like distant echoes down the hall,

We answer Samhain's ancient call"

~ Marc Hirsch

This year I hung a few Witch Boots I hand stitched from a panel I purchased.  I saw the panel and just knew I had to make the boots.

The first 2 photos shows the front and back of the Witch Boot.  The green boot I sent to a friend. The close up photo shows the witch button I used to anchor the hanging loop. I hung them on the wall. I didn't snap a photo of the 4th boot.  The panel is Ghoul Friends and the buttons are Dress Up Buttons.

Despite the neuropathy still causing discomfort and some days terrible pain I have found time to do some stitching.  I hand stitched the boots.