Oh, the lengths a person will go to see. I’m determined to finish as many projects as I can from the stash I have. And these old eye have ‘seen’ their better days. In reading the stitching instructions for Common Ground, the sampler from Just Nan, I realized I had all but one of the threads. I was in town yesterday so I went to the craft store and found the thread, plus some bags on a ring to store the silks, and a cross stitch ruler. This has a gauge on it so you can check to see what the stitch count is on your fabric. All under $4 and it doesn’t add appreciably to the stash.
One of the things I saw in the craft store was a magnifier that you wear on your head. It had a light and was rechargeable. It reminded me I also saved one of those from my shop, but where was it? I ran through my inventory in my head and by the time I got home, I went straight to the right tub and pulled it out. There, use what you have or do without…thread and storage bags notwithstanding. This thing may look outrageous, but I’m telling you…you can SEE what you’re doing with it!
I met some girlfriends from high school for lunch and had such a good time. I had all these things I wanted to accomplish yesterday, but in all actuality, I just wanted to be done and get back home. I had every intention of going out to The Farm yesterday, but the weather reports says there will be severe thunderstorms this week. I am not crazy about being out there in severe weather. The trees on the hillsides on both sides of the house have big trees. The soil is clay and shale, so the roots aren’t all that stable as they grow large. I’ll wait till calmer weather before I head out. We will have to go next week and mow, though.
It’s getting warmer now. I’m sure the cold is past us. It’s probably safe to de-winterize the camper, but I might wait one more week just to be sure. There’s a lot to do before our trip to the beach and I need to start working on that. The camper needs a good cleaning. And I want to pull out the camping gear from storage. I know we don’t need ALL that stuff. It just adds weight to two, using up more gas. So, anything we didn’t use last year is out. We carted a grill with us everywhere last summer and never once used it.
I really need to start planning our summer trip to Colorado, too. That’ll be here before we know it. I am so glad we had the winter months to regroup. I could have done a lot of this instead of just sitting and knitting, but…after a long and crazy summer, I really NEED that downtime to recharge. My friends were saying yesterday…there’s a sense of urgency at this age. We’re burning daylight and you can’t put the sand back in the hourglass.
I was talking to some of them about ‘Positive Aging’. They wanted to know what I meant by that and my best explanation is…it’s an attitude. It’s accepting the reality of where we are in the moment, but living with purpose so it isn’t wasted. This time thing has become a more and more precious commodity with every passing year. I’m not playing around…I have things to do. And even if it’s sitting by a campfire or stitching or knitting or mowing the field, or baking a mean biscuit…it is MY life.
We spend so much of our lives giving it all away in order to take care of everyone without remembering to take care of ourselves. Self care isn’t selfish. It’s imperative. We can’t fill others from an empty cup. Especially if you are in the position of a full time caregiver. Schedule some self care time wherever and whenever you can. When people say, “What can I do to help?” give them a blessing. Let them nurture you a little. Don’t worry that the house isn’t presentable or that they can’t possibly do things the way you do. Go anyway. Even if it’s just down the street for a cup of coffee with a good book.
So, Happy Humpday…be good to yourself today! You deserve it!
🩵🌷🩵
”Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.“
3 John 1:2 NIV