What I've Been Up To

Mostly I've been avoiding the heat. Today is supposed to be the worst day in what is now a 10 day heat wave. Tomorrow is supposed to be bad as well, but at some point in the day or the evening, the front that will break this up all over the East from Boston to Miami should begin to come through. They are promising temperatures in the 80s for a week starting on Monday and I can't wait.


I did get out in the morning yesterday. I went to the supermarket. But most of my shopping has been online. I've ordered books, mostly used, and quilting supplies. I've also managed to go out first thing in the morning most days for the last two weeks to pick up my mail. Once in a while it is there when I get back from doing an errand and once it got cool enough in the evening that I was willing to try to get it then. But yesterday, for example, it was over 80 degrees at 9 pm when full dark arrived.

The bad thing that happened yesterday was a call from one of the doctors who take care of Joe. He is being cared for by a practice that has a doctor or PA at Manor Care every day from 8 to 5. At this point I've had contact with two of the doctors and the PA that is assigned to him for regular visits. Joe had a swallowing and choking incident that was bad enough that they called the doctor that was in the building to come and see him. This kind of thing is to be expected, and in fact I've been surprised that it wasn't happening. I gather there have been smaller incidents, but this was a bad one. Joe is declining in yet another way.

My daughter and I are ready for what is coming. I'm feeling sad that it is happening, but not full scale grief. Like I said. this is not a surprise.

The best thing that happened yesterday was using the thread that had arrived late the day before. Now that probably sounds pretty silly, but my sewing machine just loves that thread. I needed to make massive adjustments to tension when I was doing the free motion quilting on the pillows with regular thread. This thread in the needle and the bobbin required NO ADJUSTMENTS. Which is just plain amazing.

I'm planning on a bigger "throw away" project so I can lock in my free motion quilting skills using that thread. One thing I've begun to figure out is that I need to have multiple projects going so I can sew every day. Some of the time I need to put things aside while I think about them and if that happens I need something else already in process so I can keep sewing.

I need to keep sewing. It makes me happy to be at the machine. It makes me happy to see beautiful things being made. But so much of what I'm doing is new and hard that I need to spend some time doing easier things from time to time.