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, the fabric flower is stunning, I plan to add a pin back to wear it as a brooch. I love the notepad as well. Any one who knows me knows I have a weakness for paper, notepads etc. 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 Instgram.  

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.

Blessing for a Happy Mabon and Autumn Equinox!

 

 The autumn equinox arrived with a blanket of fog over the neighborhood. I have always loved the fog it shrouds everything in a sort of mystery only to reveal its secrets as it evaporates from view. Fog also reminds me of the thinning of the veil as we move closer into the dark half of the year. 

My recovery from Chemotherapy is going slowly but I am making progress.  Each week I feel a little stronger and my walks to the corner have extended to the further corner going to the right  of my driveway. It may not seem far to you but to me it's like walking an entire mile there and back.

I have decided not to continue with the Chemo because my quality of life disappears completely for weeks at a time so 2 cycles is enough for me.  I just don't think my body could take another round, the last one on July 15th I felt as if I was dying inside and it took much longer to regain my strength even though the dose was lowered.

The neuropathy in my hands was so bad I had trouble doing much with my hands without pain, it was as if I had 100 paper cuts in each finger and nothing would relieve the pain.  I am now on a higher dose of medication for it but so far it hasn't done much.  I see the oncologist on Wednesday and I hope she will increase the dose.  If not I will give it a few more weeks and if nothing changes I will stop the medication with the thought if if it isn't helping why swallow a pill that isn't helping.

Anyway, autumn's arrival here in Florida is always slow but it does happening, the last week the mornings have been cool and pleasant with fog rolling in today. as the days pass some of the leaves on the trees will fade to a dull green, the sycamore trees will begin to lose there leaves as they turn brown and fall with each passing day until the trees are bare which happens right around the winter solstice, though some years its before and others its after.

I was thinking the other night how I had my hysterectomy on March 18th right before the Spring equinox and its taken two full seasons to feel almost myself again.  I tire so easily after simple task as doing laundry or sweeping the floor.  I lose half a day when I grocery shop, it's not as bad as it first was when I needed a nap after those simple task, now most of the time I just need to sit and rest.  I try to take longer walks at least once a week an now that the weather is cooling in the morning I would like to increase the longer walks to at least 3 times a weak.

I bought a rosemary plant about 2 weeks ago and found a pot to transplant her in not too big but enough room for growth. I transplanted it this morning, unfortunately I lost one of the 2 shown in the photo. I do have 2 small pieces in water hoping they will take root.

While I am too weak to do any gardening at this time I had to have a live plant near me.  I still long to have a garden and this house came with a nice size raised bed in the backyard.  I haven't take a photo of  it but if I am here long enough I would love to fill it with soil and plants.  In the meantime I think a nice pot of mums on the porch would be nice.

Well I'm tired so I will post this with all good wishes for a wonderful autumn and I'll try to post more often going forward.

 
 

Catching Up

 It's been quite a while since I have posted, the Chemotherapy has been kicking my butt big time.  After my 1st cycle I wound up in the hospital with some type of infection that had me on 4 antibiotics running round the clock via IV.  

This is what the after effects of a round of chemotherapy looks like on this 70 year old woman. I have been laying on my back for over 2 weeks with little or no energy to do anything more. I force myself to drink water that taste metallic all day and do the same when I eat. Today is day 21 after my second round of chemo and I am finally able to sit up and food and water is beginning to taste pleasant again. After struggling with the first round of chemo and not doing much better with the 2nd. I have decided not to continue with the other 4 rounds. I don't think my body can take it. I wasn't in the best of health when I began the chemo and there is not much quality of life during the 2 cycles I had. I want to regain as much of my health as I can so I can enjoy the rest of my life no matter what it will be. There is no guarantee the chemo will keep the cancer from coming back. So I am trusting my instincts, listening to my body and will continue living my life on my own terms.

Things are looking up I have been able to sit up at my desk for an hour today and finally making a post to this blog.  It's refreshing to be sitting up.

Eventually the mess behind me will be organized once my energy levels increase. I moved in on May 6th and most of my things are still in boxes. This is my office/craft room.

Due to the neuropathy in my hands and not being able to sit up for weeks I haven't done much stitching. I have managed to get in some crocheting but not much.  Now that I'm feeling stronger and sitting up I hope to get to some stitching soon, I have several autumn projects I'd like to begin.  The last thing I made were the tribe of little goddess dolls that made their way onto the world to friends in a goddess Face Book group I'm in.