Sunday, October 14, 2018

After the Rain

Finally, fall has arrived. The air smells of fir and cedar, pungent and clean. The earth, damp and soft, redolent with the thick musty smell it has been lacking for months on end. The smell of salvation. The woods have again been restored to softness and give as one walks through them. Gone is the snap and crunch of a too long and too hot summer. The skies are a deep clear impossible blue and the stars have been putting on their very best twinkle and shine. Nirvana is just another name for Autumn.

So, part of the blog hold up was the surgery to insert a Nephrostomy tube into my Mom, then a second emergency surgery since it wasn't draining properly. Placed her cats. (My name is now Mud,actually worse), but it had to be done. I've had a wonderful loving home set up with my friend and hairdresser since my Mother was first diagnosed with small cell carcinoma. Anyway, my Mom went right from the hospital to the health center attached to the community where she lives. We are all trying to get her to move into a more assisted area of the manor and that's were it's at. The cats have settled in nicely BTW.

Yesterday was the second anniversary of my Dad's death. I don't know if my Mother remembered and I didn't remind her. I think she forgot. Can't decide if it is a blessing or not.

Then of course Gene got a cold and happily passed it on to me. Considering the crappy couple of weeks, I took to my bed along with Mandy who decided to injure her neck and shoulder area. We had quite the pity party last week. Towards the end of the week we did get a few fun things done and the plotting and planning for fall and winter sewing has begun in earnest. Here are a couple of new patterns to make it into the salon.



They are resting on their respective fabrics. The solid aqua is a denim and the cotton print perfect for this fancy western style shirt.

I tried to modify one of my patterns to have a funnel neck and failed.



I'll wear it but not my favorite and it helped me decide I don't really want anything up on the front of my neck. It will be a nice painting/barn/dirty work kind of top. It's a lightweight brushed denim I've had in my stash FOREVER! I also got another scrub top out. I loved this fabric so much it I almost substituted another one but I'm glad I didn't.



 It came out so nicely.

A wee bit of weaving has gone on.



This is the first towel on Fanny Justine, but really I'm now onto the third one and am enjoying her easy weaving ways very much. I love everything about this loom.

In amidst all the upheaval, I started painting too.



The island has been complete for weeks,



the lower cabinets are getting their second coat of paint today and then hopefully we'll get the dang hardware back on!

All the while, driving, resting, sewing and painting, I have been downing books on Audible. You all know I am a serial reader and now, listener, so for anyone who is interested, I have consumed and greatly enjoyed the following books.

The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie, all read expertly by Steven Pacey. The books in the series are, The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, and The Last Argument of Kings. I've also read a spin-off in the same world titled Best Served Cold. These are not young adult books. There is murder, gory battles and lots of bad language. They are gritty and good and wholly engrossing if you like that sort of thing.

Then it was onto something a lot more fantasy. Sarah J. Maas has provided hours of great fantasy and some pretty darn good adult romance in her Court of Thorns and Roses series. Had I known about the romance angle of these books I might have passed them by, but I enjoyed it all thoroughly. One night I couldn't put it away and finished up the book around 4:30 in the morning. The books in the series are: A Court of Thorn and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin. There is a novella in the series, Court of Frost and Starlight. It's just okay and I understand it is providing a bridge to further books in the same world. If you liked the series, you'll probably want to read the novella too. This is NOT a young adult series although I have started Ms. Maas's Throne of Glass series which is geared for YA and it is very good but of course contains none of the sex or language that COTAR does.

So there you are! A rundown of my last few weeks. Let me remind you that the midterms are 23 days away. We all need to vote! I owe you a song this post and after catching a couple of musicals yesterday on the tube, I just can't resist. Abba anyone?

Parting shot: The consummate lap dog, literally.

16 comments:

Theresa said...

Tag I'm it for the first comment.

Valerie said...

So sorry about the challenges with your Mom, her cats, & the cold. Sounds like a tough time that requires a lot of doggie cuddles.

I look forward to seeing how your sewing/wardrobe pland for the new season work out.

Valerie said...

PS: You don't have to tell me twice to vote!! But we are sticking to streamed tv these days to avoid the constant nasty political commercials.

Michelle said...

Whee! This works!

LA said...

I'm so glad you and Mandy could convalesce together! The kitchen is looking great--lots of lovely projects from the sewing studio--and, weaving to keep you happy. Here's to healing for your Mom.

beckster said...

So nice to hear from you! I am glad you are getting better, and I hope your mom sees reason and ends up in the best place for her to receive the care she needs. I have to say that !I anticipate that I will be just like your mom. I will not give up any of my independence until I absolutely must. Hopefully your mom is smarter than me. I am looking forward to seeing your next adventures in sewing, weaving, painting, etc. For someone who has been sick and busy, you have done a lot! I absolutely love that scrub top. I have it on my calendar to vote Wednesday on the first day of early voting.

Peg Cherre said...

Sorry to hear about your mom. And Mandy's injury. And your awful cold Good that you could find a great home for mom's cats, even though it made you the evil daughter.

Sending healing thoughts.

Peg Cherre said...

Ok, so now I've watched the Abba video, and was struck by the fact that many of the clothes those women wore could easily be worn today. Everything old is new again.

Valerie said...

Oh Theresa, you must see this IG clip: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bchim8VhX3r/?taken-by=lynneelorentzen

It's like your dogs with a timmy on steroids.

Theresa said...

Valerie, I'll check out the video!

Peg, I had a great laugh at both hair and togs in those old videos! Likely I've always been the evil daughter in one way or another! ;-)

Beckster, I hope she makes a good choice too although the decision process as her dementia deepens may demand more proactive remedies.

LA, Mandy and I enjoyed our time coalescing and let's not forget the back-up players who all circle under the covers to keep up us warm. Hazel, Spike, Robin and Stella. Jack even took a turn as did Pogo, who kept Gene company usually in his work office.

Michelle, Yea!

Valerie, The cats are working out better than expected. My mother forgot she gave the okay to finally place them before the surgery. Sad all around but now that they are settled I wouldn't pull them from their new home for anything.

Susan said...

I do love your dogs' names - curious if they were rescue names. Our rescue here is greatly lacking in creativity. You're going to wear that fab top in the BARN? Geez, you do things fancy in Oregon. Sorry about the cold, your mom, it all. You just have to do what you feel is best but it still stinks. I am so ready to vote. I can't wait. And I hope to goD that EVERYONE votes. It is such an important freedom and the best way to inflict term limits. I am now stuck with ABBA looping through my mind...

Theresa said...

Susan, Other than Spike and Pogo, who knew their names going into rescue, the names are all my own. I prefer to give my kids "people" names rather than thing names. I knew Mandy's name before I got her, but I just looked at her and knew she was a Mandy. :-)
We do do things fancy here in Oregon and that brushed denim makes for lovely barn wear. Cooper and Dandy are such styling guys, I wouldn't want the maid service to embarrass them! I've been stuck with ABBA since Saturday.

Lynne K said...

Voting early when we do our training as a Poll Worker. VERY long day (5:30am-8:30pm) but worth EVERY minute

Mary said...

Hi up there! My ballot arrived yesterday and it will be back in the mail quickly. BTW, I keep seeing a reminder that 2 stamps are necessary.

So sorry to hear about your Mom, and I hope you can convince her to move to assisted living. Our neighborhood borders a beautiful complex of indy and assisted living. The residents seem happy and engaged-I love seeing them tooling around in their motorized scooters or walking their little dogs. (So does Griff)

uh, that funnel neck is interesting. Have you considered cutting a slit in the front as if for a placket? Or just wear it as an elegant barn shirt.

Talk later-I am doing chores and going to ride in the late morning.

Leigh said...

Oh gosh, it's always so hard when our parents are having problems. I didn't realize it was two years since your dad passed. A sad anniversary, and it sounds like you're already having a not so good time with life lately! Good books, good music, and some lovely creative projects are just the ticket.

Theresa said...

Leigh, It is hard and the projects keep me sane or sure!

Mary, Hope the ride was wonderful and you and Nick had a fab time. Hunters in the woods here. I did indeed convince Mom to move into the residential living portion of the manor. Yeah!

Lynne, I miss voting at a voting location, Oregon is all mail in and that has its charms too!