Quite a Ride

We have been neck deep in living life around here. There has been good, bad and everything in between. My Sweet Man's mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer and died 10 days later. 10 days! Luckily he made it to North Caroline in time to say goodbye. I will forever be grateful to the woman who brought into the world, the man who has meant the most to me in my entire life.

There have been lots of other things, but somehow I feel like I'd rather not rehash them. I am shifting my focus on today. A much needed shift. I was feeling rather half empty instead of my usual half full, so some joy reminders were much needed to pull myself out of the fog.

I made a wonderful discovery while I was gone. Embroidering on the porch is good for the soul! Well, my soul anyway. Maybe yours would prefer a margarita on the porch or a glass of wine in a jam jar. Or a good book, or a nap. Or just whiling away an afternoon staring and swinging. I think my point is, everything you do on a porch is good for your soul. I've been spending as much time out there as possible with my trusty side kick who was recovering from surgery but who is back to normal now. She is just ridiculous.

 I've finally gotten back into the studio. It makes such a difference in my attitude, to make the time.

I finished this pillow which was a custom order for Maddie. We DO NOT need to talk about how long it took me to get this pillow made for her. The point is, it's done and she loves it. And hopefully in time she will forget how long it took and will forgo giving me a hard time about it because she loves her pillow so much!

I'll be honest, it was kind of hard to let her take it because I was so happy with how it came out. But since it would be unkind to keep it, instead a couple of days later I whipped up a little project that had been in my head for ages using the same fabrics. I'll be back to show you that in a day or two. No. Really. And DO NOT tell her that I finished my project in one day because I may never hear the end of that one.

 
It's hard to stay down for long in spring. I've been taking my daily garden walks to see what's blooming. I long for those (not-so) long ago days when Emma used to take them with me. Now it seems we have to bribe her out of her room with food or a trip to the bookstore. We have 4 peony plants this year and there seems to be a race to see who will bloom first. My money is on this guy but I will get back to you with the results. It's a real nail biter.

I've got big plans for this day. There are so many flowers sitting around waiting to be planted and I need to get them in the ground before I can justify making another round to the local nurseries. I love this time of year. I love having flowers sitting around waiting to find their new homes. I love watching things I planted in previous years come back and mature. I love the way time passes differently in the garden. I love getting lost in what I am doing with no room for anything else.

So I will plant and weed until my back says that's enough, and then I have this stack calling my name. You will find me horizontal on the glider, open book laying on my stomach while I catch an afternoon nap. If the dog will share her spot with me, that is.