MIA Blogger

Yeah, yeah, I've been MIA both from posting and reading/commenting.  Luckily that doesn't mean I no stitching either.  Not a lot done in the past few weeks, but some.

Last month a fellow blogger (a very generous one I want to add) was kind enough to remember from my rant the end of November that I liked the new CCN Cottages series, but wasn't going to be purchasing them.  Kris very kindly offered to gift me with her patterns as she finished them.  The one condition is that I must gift them to someone else once I'm finished.

I held off starting on January for a few weeks, since I have so many other WIPs begging for attention, but I couldn't hold out forever.  I had a picture in my mind of exactly what silk flosses in my stash I wanted to use.

Once January was complete it was just too easy to continue onto February.  Again, I converted this to silk floss from my stash, using a more muted and dusty palette.  Both are stitched on 38 count Natural Gander linen.

On a side note, Kris is going through a rough time right now, with a family member having some medical issues.  This is very similar to what I was facing a month ago with my grandmother, so please keep her in your thoughts, or even stop by her blog to offer up some good wishes.

For the non-stitchy news, I've been pretty busy.  The weight loss goal has turned into 2 personal training sessions, 4 spin classes, and 2 water aerobics classes per week, and sometimes some yoga classes thrown in.  Princess Annie (the dog) is getting walked twice a day, with some of those walks being 3+ miles on hilly terrain.  I'm still not losing much weight.  It almost looked like I had an under-active thyroid, but more extensive testing came back normal.  Damnit.

I got diagnosed with arthritis in my spine, so add in 2 physical therapy sessions each week.

Dad went to the ER again, for back pain.  6 hours and an MRI later we got sent home with directions to follow-up with his spine surgeon.  They admitted that any other person would have been admitted for surgery right then and there, but since his MRI from a year ago didn't show further deterioration, they were sending him home.  Moral of the story - he should have gotten the third surgery a year ago when they suggested it.  Now he's having to find a way to live with the pain 30 days before taking off on a 40 day cruise.  Listen to your doctors!

Somewhere between the fitness, ER trips, and doctor's appointments, I've managed to work on my MBA.  Not as much as I'd have liked, but I turned in my first assignment and I'm working on my second.  Hopefully things will quiet down soon.