Lookie!!!

Guess what I've been doing???

My stitching mojo disappeared quite some time ago,

around the same time that I discovered that my ability

to see what I was doing .... even with a magnifier ....

was not very good.   Or at least not as good as I would like 

it to be.

 It unnerved me.   You see one of my biggest secret fears is of 

loosing my eye sight.    The thought terrifies me!   And being 

unable to see my cross stitching as clearly as I once did 

aggravated that fear.   When I picked up a project I would start to 

get to feeling a bit .... um .... anxious or panicky.    Not a pleasant 

feeling.   So I began to avoid stitching and eventually I just 

sort of let it go.

Just to note here:   I'm not actually loosing my sight at all.

I just have lousy eyesight .... always have .... and with 

age it's gotten worse. It's normal.   One of the perks 

of aging.   Whoopee!!!

But I missed it!   Terribly!!!   

So in the New Year I picked up an unfinished and long

neglected project and ... ignoring my inner fears ....

finished it.

(Stitched in my favourite colour of red.)

Well ... I thought when it was done.... that didn't 

really go too badly.   Peering over my glasses and 

holding the project up close I could see the stitches

that I was making clearly and could therefore

see that they were laying properly.   I 

stitched this one in hand .... without a hoop or

Q-snap .... which I don't usually do.   

I had another unfinished project or two languishing

in my To-Do box .... as one is apt to do .... (rolls

eyes and grimaces) so picked up this one and ....

finished it too!!!! 

Wow!!   I was on a roll!!!

So now I was feeling the itch to begin a new project.

I went into my cross stitch cupboard .... covered

in cobwebs and dust and neglect .... and began to

rummage and root around in there.

I pulled the chart for this one out and it appealed to me.

Simple and easy with lovely, bright Spring like colours.

In the past I would have worked on this for a day or

two and then put it aside and forgot about it for days

... or months ... or years!  But not this time.   I could not

put it down!    I finished it in one week!   I cannot remember

the last time I finished a project .... even a small one like

this ... in that time period.

(Note:   stitched this on a spring frame.  I'm not keen on

stitching in hand really)

More!    More!!!     More!!!!!!

I've had this project on the go for years.   It's been 

sitting in a corner, neglected and ignored, for a 

shameful amount of time.   It's not a difficult stitch

at all.   Just huge!    I had it being worked on a 

large Q-snap frame which was very ungainly and

awkward to work with.   So I switched to a smaller

Q-snap frame and went at it.

I have done a couple of houses and some border

and the stag.   I'm enjoying it ... a lot!!!!   I sit at

my craft desk with the radio tuned to a Toronto

talk radio station (I'm a talk radio/news/politics

junky) and while away the hours with needle and

thread.

Don't know how long this is going to last but I'm

making hay while the sun shines ... as it were ....

I also don't know what the heck I'll do with this 

if and when it's finished because .... as I said ....

it's huge!    But that's not the point, is it?   The 

whole point of doing this ... or any craft ... is to

have fun!

I'm having FUN!!!! 

Behold my DH.   Phil.   He retired last week.

After 40 years with the same company he 

decided that he'd had enough and filled in the

paperwork last summer to give notice to his

company.

The branch where he works had a grand send

off for him last Thursday.   Unfortunately it was

one of those days when the weather folk advised

their listeners ... if you don't have to go anywhere,

then don't!    Freezing rain, snow and strong 

winds.   Great!

But Phil is a superb driver and had no qualms

about heading out.    The schools in our district,

and those in other districts that we drove through, 

were closed due to the weather and since it was the 

day before Good Friday the roads weren't busy anyways 

as people prepared for a long weekend .... the first 

one of Spring (ha ha!!)

So we got to his work place in normal time.  He

finished packing up his desk and then it was time

to party.   They barbecued!   In that awful weather

they set up the barbecue in a sheltered area near

the building and they barbecued!

There was tons of great food,  speeches,   gag gifts

and lots of laughter and hugs and stories told.   Phil

was thrilled with it all.

So now he's home with me.  All.  Day.  Long!!!!

We'll see how that goes.

Fortunately,  and I should say this here and now,   Phil

is a putterer.   And he loves to garden.   And he has lots

of interests to keep himself busy with.   So I'm not worried.

Much.

Reading for the last few months.   My first love

in reading genres is fantasy.   If I didn't watch

myself I'd read fantasy novels pretty much non

stop.    

V. E. Schwab is the name that this author uses

for her adult fantasy novels.   She writes as

Victoria Schwab for her YA books.   This is the

first book of hers that I have ever read and I 

quite enjoyed it.   I've since got the sequel to

this one plus her other books in YA and adult

fantasy because ... well ... that's what I do.

**Cough**

Heard good things about Paullina Simons

around "Booktube" and decided to get a

few of her books and try them out.

Historical fiction.   This series is based

in Russia during the second world war

and is a love story that takes place in

Leningrad during the awful siege that

took place during the Nazi's attempts to

invade and conquer Russia.

This is a nice, hefty novel with lots of 

period detail and historic info though not

so much that it dragged the story down.

There are two more books in this series

and yes I did get those too.

My current read.    The author's first novel.

First of a series.    I love books with 

sequels.   This one is a combination of

fantasy (featuring the Greek gods now 

living in the modern world) and murder

mystery.   I'm enjoying it so far.

That's it for now!   Cheers!