Wild hearts

Things to consider before pillaging another WIP for shapes of any kind:

How many layers of what type of cloth will I be working with?

Will cut lines of stitching unravel in time? 

Can it be faced or will it need to be bound?

Hand-bound or machine? 

This was originally built on a piece of heavy linen. Tough stitching and snipping. I will set up the Janome to put a fine satin stitch on the edge.

These are all things I didn't think about before starting because I was so focused on the design. 

In my writing, I've gotten too focused on the details and lost sight (did I ever have it?) of the design and the whole story.  

Packing for the last short week of summer with Charlie. Leaving stitching behind this time.

Heartburn

 Grrrr. After arriving on time and waiting 45 minutes only to hear  there were five patients ahead of me, I gave the receptionist a "fuck this shit" face and told her I was out. She commiserated silently - the waiting room was packed. I will call to reschedule. On with a quiet day.

All the wandering hearts may have been practice for this: ripping some hearts out of a UFO whose days were numbered. There are lots of those laying around.

 The same thing is likely for the story I've been wrangling. 

The heart has been obscured by plot wriggling. It may even be missing.

Summer winding down

 

I stitch or read. Think about writing. We play cards and listen to music. The most remarkable thing? The boy has taken a liking to Jazz. Old school jazz. Oscar Peterson, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins. Of course, he heard it all from the days when he was in the crook of my arm.

When the sun gets past the yardarm and there's some shade we enjoy a nearby pool. Just us. They go back to school next Friday.

Away for a while

 

 

Biding time...

...is better than just waiting.

 She's tolerating it much better than I expected. At first, she walked as if she'd stepped in shit, picking her leg up and shaking it. We distracted her and she started moving around putting the bound leg down.  Only a half hour at a time, at first. Then gradually working up to eight hours a day. I know that she still has pain. Just hoping this gives her a little respite.

This morning she took a few halting steps after I removed the brace, but on her foot, almost normally.  Did I imagine it? Time will tell.

I was able to snag a doctor's visit today also. I wasn't expecting xrays and, without meaning to, the tech made me swear and cry. The PA who followed up with the new xrays and my recent MRI asked if I had done any rodeo.

 Good news - my hip bones are fine. Bad news - discs at L4-L5 and L5-S1 are bulging out and impinging on many nerves. She gathered up all my other symptoms and seemed confident that epidural injections in those places will take care of the worst of my symptoms. Whatever you say, doc. Bring it on.

I watered the deck farm when I got home, trying to make it rain. Maybe later tonight but the plant people were looking limp. The backyard has pretty much gone to wild hell. Then I leaned out over the railing and saw this. Now to figure out how to encourage them to take the joint over

While I wait for the wheels of insurance bureaucracy to grind, I started a chocolate heart. 

Last week, I was gifted a tiny box with four chocolate truffles in it. I ate one just before I went to sleep. Tucked the box closed and put it on the headboard. In the morning, the three truffles were gone. 

I ate them in my sleep!