Long Time, No Post

It's been a while since I last posted.  I have been struggling with Sinusitis.  I have been totally miserable.  It seems that the colder it gets, the worse I feel.  I hope this clears up when I drive to Florida on Friday to go on my cruise.  I'd hate to feel sick and miserable on the cruise.

The weekend was made even worse because of the chemo on Friday.  I don't think I did anything all day Saturday.  I know Mike must get tired of me whining about feeling miserable.  But I am feeling a bit better today. The nausea has gone away and I am just dealing with the Sinusitis now.

Here is the stitching I have accomplished since my last post - not much considering the amount of time that has passed.

Circe the Sorceress:

Edwardian Garden Party

The Nativity

Slow Weekend

With the rain and the cold, I didn't really accomplish much this weekend.  I work up Friday morning with nausea, making for a rotten day.  Saturday consisted of heavy rain, so I didn't go out.  Today, I was just feeling blah, so I just stayed in and stitched.

I did start some planning for a vacation to the number 1 item on my bucket list - Australia and New Zealand.  I have picked out a cruise that will make multiple stops in New Zealand, followed by several stops in Australia.  This will be a 16 day cruise in November.  Since I don't know whether I will feel like traveling in the future, I decided to tackle number 1 this year.

I did get some stitching done over the weekend.  Here are my progress pictures.

The Nativity by Glendon Place:

Edwardian Garden Party SAL:

Circe, the Sorceress from Passione Ricamo"

 

Chemo is No Fun

I had my biweekly treatment with Avastin today.  It took them multiple tries to get an IV started.  Again!  My veins have gotten so tiny with the cold weather that they blow out easily.  I will have some pretty bruises tomorrow.  Oh well, they finally got the IV started and I got my treatment.  It took longer to get the IV started than it did to deliver the Avastin.

I fell asleep in the car on the way home and then took a nice long nap.  I don't know what is so tiring about sitting around all day, but I always come home from Duke completely exhausted.  It will take me the weekend to recover.

My new laptop still hasn't shipped.  I wonder when they will ship it to me.  I want instant gratification, but I also want what I want.  My only choice to get the laptop I really wanted was to order it online.  So now I sit waiting for them to ship it.  :( 


I did get a little stitching done on Circe between last night and this evening.  Here is the progress picture.

Tomorrow, I will work on my SAL piece.

Another Cold Day

It was another cold day today.  It only got up to the mid thirties and that is too cold for me.  Whenever it gets cold like this, my nose starts dripping and my lips get really chapped.  I just do not like this weather.

My husband went to our local Radio Shack to look for an audio cable.  He didn't find the cable, but he discovered that our local store is closing and they have everything in the store on sale at 50-70% off.  He came back to get me and we found all sorts of good stuff - some emergency radios, a Bluetooth speaker, a new wireless mouse, batteries, and other useful items.  Thank goodness I have been making some money on eBay to pay for this bounty.

I also decided to use the money I have made to purchase a new laptop.  It should be here toward the end of next week.  I will be able to take it on trips and use it in other areas of the house.  My Kindle is nice, but it doesn't have all the capabilities of a full-fledged computer.

I worked on Circe today.  Here is the progress picture.

I am getting closer to finished on this piece.  It has certainly taken awhile.

Getting ready for 2015!

I am creating a new blog for 2015.  It will be a place for me to post updates to my stitching and other aspects of my life.  I have several cross stitch pieces I want to finish this year and I would like to participate in a couple of SALs (Stitch-alongs) with other cross stitchers.  I thought I would start off the day before New Year's with a few pictures of the WIPs (works in progress) that I want to work on during 2015.  My goal is to finish at least 5 WIPs during the year and here are 10 candidates.

1.  The Nativity by Glendon Place
I started this piece just before Christmas.  I really love it and would like to stitch the two companion pieces as well.  I intend for this to be one of my 5 finishes in 2015.

2.  Lady Hera by Mirabilia
I started this piece in May, 2014 and have finished the bottom half.  I am now working on the top half.  I really love the peacock on this design.

3.  Circe the Sorceress by Passione Ricamo
I started this one some time ago and then laid it aside.  I would like to get back to it, since I am down to the bottom of the gown.  It will probably get done sometime this year.

4.  Catnap by Kustom Krafts
I started this one years ago.  It has been slow going since it is solid stitching.  However, I am making progress.  I love Siamese cats, so that's why I started this piece.  The artist, Debbie Cook, did a number of Siamese cat designs that are sold as plates on the Danbury Mint site.  I would love to find them in cross stitch...

5. Water Goddess by Joan Elliot
This was published in Cross Stitch Collection and I started it immediately.  However, work and other cross stitch designs got in my way and I haven't gotten too far.  I have the other three goddesses in the series and I would love to do all of them.  However, I don't know if I will ever get to the others...

6.  Two Little Pigs
This design was from Cross Stitch Collection Magazine.  My husband Mike asked me to stitch this one so he could give it to somebody.  He may have to wait awhile...

7.  Beech Tree Birds from Dimensions
This design is from a kit.  I liked it so much, I ended out buying two kits.  Oops.  Rather than using the plain blue fabric in the kit, I decided to stitch it on some fabric from Polstitches called Summer Breeze.  I just love hand-dyed fabrics and many of my pieces are done on them.

8.  Moonlight Laguna Mermaid by Nora Corbett
This is a design from Cross Stitch & Needlework magazine.  I am a big fan of mermaids and fairies, so I had to add this one to my collection.

9.  Band of Brothers by Kustom Krafts

This is another cat design from Dyan Allaire.  I started this one but then got bogged down in green.  I hope to go back to stitching it this year.

10.  Zinnia by Nora Corbett of Mirabilia
I have stitched some of the pixie couture collection, so now I am working on this one.  This one should get finished this year since it is nearly complete now.  I have several more pixies to stitch after this one is done.

I have several more in my stash, but these are the most likely to be worked on this next year.  As I work on another, I will post a picture.  And you never know what new design will catch my eye and end out on the stitching list.

The SAL I want to participate during the new year is the Cross Stitch Collection Stitch Along.  I will be stitching the Edwardian Garden Party design.  I saw it in the magazine some time ago and have always wanted to stitch it.  This SAL will give me the perfect excuse to start it.   Here is a picture of the finished design.  I need to get all the supplies together so I can start tomorrow...

That's all for today.  Please come back and visit my blog throughout the year to check my progress.