Patience and Prudence

←This is Patience she measures in right now, before borders, at 64" X 78". She has all but emptied out my bin of 3.5" square scraps. Hallelujah! This was a great stash/scrap buster! Fifty 8" squares of every shade and hue. Im glad that I stuck with this one, it makes me happy. Patience has a baby sister, too:

This is Prudence↑. She's made with the leftover HSTs from her big sister; she measures 25" X 38". (Since one definition of "prudence" is: "skill and good judgement in the management and use of resources" it seemed to be the perfect name.) Isn't she cute? I do plan to add borders to Patience this week. But, you know how it is... things keep coming up, we'll see. I used to keep up with this blog, it's a wonder to me now how I ever did it. I'm not making any more promises to get better about posting. Speaking of things coming up:

Ta-da! Quiltdivajulie has been posting pics of her glorious Amaryllis bulbs. Here's ours... it's always fun to watch these emerge and climb high before bursting into glorious blooms to brighten the otherwise bleak winter days. Every day there's a visible display of progress and growth!

Dad had this photo sent to me. I told him that I wanted to see his smiling face but he told me to "get over it". Even in his current situation he's kept a great attitude and sense of humor. That's a blessing. The pillow that he is holding here was presented to him by his nursing team last week. It is made from a jacket that belonged to my mother. 💖 As sad as I am that Dad is no longer at home I am comforted by the fact that this facility is staffed by such loving and compassionate individuals that they would do something like this for him!  Acts of kindness such as these make a huge difference in the lives of those that they're caring for!

I'll close today with this picture of Lynnleigh, we spent the day shopping with her today to celebrate her 13th birthday! Yes, THIRTEEN! I know. sigh.  We're no strangers to birthday shopping trips throughout the years but they're no longer to the American Girl store. Sigh. So, what did the birthday girl choose for her outing? We shopped for books, craft supplies, accessories, a pullover, skin care items and, naturally, we just had to end our special day out with an ice cream sundae! It just doesn't get any better than that!

Life is Good!

So, It's Been A Year...

Mom died a year ago this morning. There are constant reminders. When I first entered the kitchen this morning a photo of her and Lynnleigh greeted me on our electronic frame. That gave me pause, I drew a deep breath and then smiled. Then there are the cardinals... I saw two yesterday. There are constant God-winks. I miss you, Mom. 

It's all good, the reminders are comforting to me. Life goes on; one day at a time. 

We made another trip up to New England to check on Dad, this one was more challenging, weather wise. He's doing okay, it's a day at a time. He enjoys talking on the phone and visits from old friends. This past year has been hard on him, he's lonely and his health issues have taken a toll. While we were away I needed to keep my hands busy in the evenings. 

This little Primitive Santa slowly took shape.

Once the roads up north were finally cleared a beautiful landscape was revealed. 

This is my favorite building in Laconia, NH; the public library. Isn't it beautiful?

Once back home again, the trees went up...

The house was decorated. (Note: newly cross-stitched pieces were finished and framed~ nothing fancy, DIY, Amazon frames).

...and Christmas sewing is underway. Whatever gets done, gets done. 

There's always next year, right?

So, it's been a year. 

I'm still here and it's Christmastime once again.

Life is Good!

New England in the Fall

Our plan was to travel to New England to take in the fall sights and to visit family, Mr. G's sister in Massachusetts and then on to NH to check in on my Dad for a few days. On the drive up north, the foliage didn't disappoint. My sister had warned me ahead of time that Dad was getting weaker since he'd returned home from rehab a few weeks ago; and yet, even with that in mind, nothing prepared me for how much physical decline had occurred since I saw him last, six weeks earlier. It quickly became apparent that he needed to be seen by his doctor ASAP; getting up and walking was out of the question, he was unable to move at all without acute pain! Last Monday, through a series of stops where he was unable to get any accurate diagnosis whatsoever, it was ultimately determined that he needed to be transported to a larger, more comprehensive hospital via ambulance. Once there he was seen in the Emergency Department where a broken and displaced right hip was revealed through a CT scan! It was the final piece in a weeks'-long puzzle being dropped into place that ultimately completed the picture. The sad truth of the matter is that the fracture had occurred back on the 12th of September, it is barely detectable on an x-ray done at that time and was overlooked. Now, with new information, he became a patient of the Orthopedic Team and hip surgery was scheduled and performed right away. 

He had a partial hip replacement late last Wednesday afternoon and came through with flying colors! He was carried by his own resiliency as well as a raft of prayers!

Here he is, the morning after getting his new hip. He's on the mend and back in rehab as he heals, gets stronger and back on his feet once again. He's been through a LOT, and, at 97 years young, it's going to take time.  

Here he is, on his birthday back in April of this year. I'm eager to see that smile return to his face. The sights that I'd hoped to see up in New England this fall weren't quite what I had hoped for, but, I must say, those two thumbs-up following surgery last week might just be one of the best sights I've seen!

Back home in North Carolina again, yesterday afternoon was an especially GOLDEN one.

Life is Good!

A Quick Trip

Since I last posted we've made a quick trip to New England and back. The trip wasn't a planned one but came about as a result of another quick trip: one that Dad made straight to the floor a week ago Friday. He got up from his bed that morning and was going into the bathroom, the next thing that he remembered was waking up facing the ceiling; he had fallen backwards, striking the back of his head on the lip of the walk-in shower. It was a bad fall resulting in both stitches and staples to close the wound. He spent that day in the Emergency Dept. at the local hospital and was discharged to home. Two days later he found himself unable to speak. Thinking that he was having a stroke he was, once again, transported to the hospital by ambulance. It was quickly determined, as his speech returned, that he wasn't having a stroke at all; thanks be to God! But, rather, he was suffering from a subdural hematoma, or brain bleed. The pressure on the part of the brain that controls speech was affected and that is what mimicked the stroke-like symptoms. By the time we learned all of the above activity we were packed, in the car, and on the way to New Hampshire. It was comforting for us to lay eyes on Dad and ascertain how he was doing, I am SO GLAD that we went! He was discharged from the hospital to rehab, the same rehab that my mother loved so much, where she spent some of her final days last year. We (including Augie) are no strangers to these long corridors and attentive and supportive staff. 

While we were there we stopped at the library that has been dedicated to my mother. This tribute to her  hangs just inside the door with a quilt that she made in 1998 and framed photograph of her working at her sewing machine. 💗

Dad is all settled into his room, he loves sitting by the window. Until he gets a little stronger and steadier he'll be calling this home for a few weeks. Every bed in this rehab facility has a quilt on it made by the local quilt guild. I am planning a second part to this post in conjunction with that fact, stay tuned. 

When we left to travel home on Saturday, sadly, Dad was more than a bit discouraged. Even though Augie was comforting him to the best of his ability, for someone who is used to "going and doing" on his own being relegated to a rehab facility where one needs to call for assistance every time they move is a hard pill to swallow. In the meantime, prayers are graciously welcomed!

Life is Good!

The Past Few Weeks...

Consider this a catch-up post. I really do always have the best intentions of keeping up with this blog but, as we all know, life has a way of taking over. We did have a wonderful time with my Dad visiting here for three weeks before we headed back north with him at the beginning of the month.

He especially enjoyed this copy of National Geographic from April 1928, his birth month and year; gifted to him by dear friends to commemorate his 97th birthday. He was able to happily experience spring returning to North Carolina and has definitely expanded the season this year by celebrating its return to New Hampshire currently. While he visited we all delighted in the abundant fresh strawberries appearing on stands from local farms, always a most welcome treat!

We dragged him around to local nurseries too, buying plants; as I was eager to pot up flowers and ready the porches for sitting outdoors. 

This is the side porch just outside of my sewing room. The perennial garden just beyond is filling in and producing lots of new, rich, color. I have transplanted some iris which was a huge success and set in more dahlias this year. I anchored one end of the garden with a Butterfly bush given to us in memory of my mother, it is already putting forth a huge amount of buds, can't wait for that one to burst into bloom!

This Kousa Dogwood in front of our house has never been prettier than it is this year... 

...and the Spirea (Bridal Wreath) hedge has certainly put on a show as well. 

(So does our canine model 😉, always photo-ready!)

I've managed to get this bitty little May Basket pin-keep stitched and finished in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of other stitching show-and-tell at the moment.  

This is a sneak-peek of a low-volume, strip-pieced, surprise in the making. 

What will it become? Any guesses? Expect a reveal soon! 

❓

In the meantime, we're receiving plenty of good soaking rain which will only benefit every single growing thing that I've spent the past few weeks tending to. I shall return, that's a promise; I need to report on what a wonderful Mother's Day weekend we had! 

Until then... 

Life is Good!

Happy Birthday!

Dad celebrated his 97th birthday with us in North Carolina, 

surrounded by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

Life is Good!