Hand Quilting - Slow Progress

But it looks so pretty!  This is going to take me a while. I've finished hand quilting the hankie that's mostly in the middle of the hoop and have started on the grey/mauve one above it. I'm just using a regular weight thread and little stitches and since none of what I'm doing is in a straight line, it's rather slow going. That's okay, though. I like it.

In this photo you can kind of tell where I've stitched along the outer white line framing the hankie. Since this picture was taken, I've quilted around the pink flowers, too.

There are 12 hankies. I think I should be able to get one done in a week. Maybe. It's good to have a goal.

Quilting and work aside, I'm feeling good. Not fantastic, like I did all through March, but good, which is still GREAT in my world. I'm still taking greens and I have a protein shake every week-day to up my protein intake. I bought a Brita water filter jug for the office - I can't remember who suggested it, but thank you whoever you are - and now I'm drinking more water during the day. We don't have filtered water at work and even though I drank some water during the day it bothered me because I'm used to filtered water at home and, of course, I'm too lazy to take water from home every day. The Brita is an easy answer. I wish I would have thought of it myself a lot earlier. I feel so much better about drinking water at work now.

So, I don't have quite the abundance of energy and light that I was feeling before but I still feel so much better than I was before that. Before greens. I'm still very aware of how much better my brain feels. Even when I'm tired, my mind is still noticeably more alert, more agile ... concentration comes easier. Multitasking is much easier. It makes such a difference to my days and to what I'm able to accomplish.

Also still better and what makes me grin is having feeling in my feet and toes again. Every day I wiggle my toes just to make sure the feeling is still there. And it is. Yeah!  My joints, too, are so much better. I wonder if that's just improvement with time or whether it's from the greens, too?  I think it's the greens. Several of the improvements I've experienced, I think, might be because whatever is in the greens perhaps reduces inner inflammation and improves circulation and the flow of oxygen, etc. Just my guess. Whatever it is, I'm very happy. I walk faster and with more ease. I know it's not just in my mind because a few people have commented. I used to be the last to leave a room. I would stand slowly and give myself time to let my joints settle by gathering my belongings, putting on jacket. And then taking slow steps, letting everyone else go first. I don't think anyone would have noticed that my joints were a problem for me. I'd learned to hide it. I'd adapted. Now I notice that I don't frankenwalk for the first 12 feet of the hall at work when I get up from sitting. I can usually go easily from sitting to walking now.

A friend I met for lunch and who hadn't seen me for a while commented that I'm so much more animated than I had been. She said I was a bit "frozen" before - I didn't move much and when I did I moved slowly. That's because I'm a hummingbird now!

For some reason unknown to me I've had especially bad hot flashes the past few days. I don't know why. It can't be the weather because I had fewer hot flashes when it was warmer. Hot flashes are draining. I know I'm supposed to be happy to have them because it means the Tamoxifen is working, but still. 

It will be so great to feel better for when our kids get home -- Hannah this Sunday and Luke next Sunday. I'm giddy with excitement. And I have much to do!