Remember Me?

I'm probably just talking to myself now, it's been so long since I blogged anything! And why is that? Welllll ....

Mostly I've just been pretty absorbed in a project. That and I'm still trying to get my groove back after the exhaustion that was Christmas, the lead up to Christmas, the unexpected extra stuff going on over Christmas, and being sick almost all of December and half of November. Don't get me wrong -- I love Christmas! It's just that I struggle a little with fatigue during a normal work week and it doesn't take much extra activity to suck the life out of me. Trying to do everything while having bad colds is just a bit of a kicker on top of that. In fact, Kevin is still not really over the cold he caught in November after he got back from Uruguay. It gets a little better ... and then worse ... and then a little better ... and then worse. We both be TIRED!

These first two photos represent the project I've been working on. Mom came to stay with us for just over a week in January and she brought with her about 5 green garbage bags stuffed full of scraps. Scraps from all the clothes she sewed all of us when we were growing up and even some of Grandma's scraps! We sorted ... we washed ... and while I was at work during the day, Mom ironed. And ironed. And ironed. And since then I've been cutting. And cutting. And cutting. The top photo was taken when I was at about the half way point. It's enough work to cut up scraps left over from quilting. Mostly they're squared a bit already. Cutting from clothing scraps takes a little more finesse.

This box of fabric holds all the squares and rectangles ready to be made into a bunch of quilts ... all from those 5 bags of scraps (which is only a small portion of the scraps Mom still has at home). It took hours of cutting! But, when the time comes to start making quilts with all of this, it will be so nice to have the cutting done. And now I'm very glad to be able to set this box aside and get back to working on the projects I was hoping to have not just started --- but FINISHED --- by now. Ha!

I started taking my Tamoxifen again mid-January. It's been 5 weeks now and so far so good. It hasn't been bothering my stomach so far and the other side effects are easily tolerated. Mostly those are cramps every now and then, hot flashes that I manage quite well by now, and my joints are a little more stiff and sore again but, again, nothing that troubles me much. My mood seems to be holding at "cheery" despite feeling so fatigued most of the time and despite still having what is nothing more than the tail end of a cold. It was helpful to have a long weekend. Man, I needed a long weekend. A long weekend with no demands. Time at home ... lots of sleep ... quiet. Just what I needed. It would actually be good for me to take a whole week at home. That's what I really need but I resent having to use my holidays for something other than FUN and TRAVEL. Since I returned to work after finishing treatments, I've used a week or two of holidays each year just to cope. I never had to do that before and so it bugs me to use my holiday time that way. In the big picture, though ... whatevah!!

We do have some fun holidays planned, by the way. We'll be going to Louisville at the end of March to see Luke. Hopefully he'll be playing by then. Their lacrosse season has just gotten underway with 2 games under their belts ... a loss and a win. The bummer is that Luke took a nasty hit during a practice and has had a concussion for the past 4 weeks. There's no way to know when he'll be able to play again ... he has to be headache free for two weeks first. My guess is that he'll be playing or at least practicing by their March 2 home game. But what do I know?! Otherwise, Luke is doing great.

Hannah and Matt are still seeing the world! Hopefully we'll see them here or even in Louisville in March or April.

These two kids are staying with us this week! They -- Gus and Ellie -- belong to Dave and Laurel but they very kindly went on vacation so we could pretend we're dog owners for a while. They are very sweet pups!

It was so pretty last week that I fired up my underused camera and took a few photos on my walk from the parking lot to my office. Very pretty! It makes me so happy that we have so much more daylight now!

Remember Me?