No Pictures This Time

Well, I know my daughter, Heather, can write in her blog and have it be well-written and interesting every day without a picture (though hers is mostly focused on books she is reading and her opinions of them), so today I'll give it a try, since I don't have any pictures to post. Not that I don't have anything to show, just no pictures, since I haven't had DH photograph the 7 or so things on which I've made some progress.

First, a quick update on my son, Stanford. He had his new chemo over the weekend, and did fairly well with it, though he felt worse after than with the other kinds. We'll know after the next CT scan if it's making a difference. I'm finding this whole experience is stressing me out a lot, more than I expected, actually. I've lost about 9 pounds, and I often awaken about 90 minutes before my alarm and toss and turn and doze until it's time to get up. And my alarm is usually set for 4:55 am! So, I need to continue reading the mystery novels I love with an occasional romance or other thrown in there, and stitch a lot. I have been stitching. A lot, for me, anyway.

I've started Celtic Autumn, with Ann and Sue. I did this while sitting in the hospital room with Stanford on Friday. I'll need to figure out how to stitch on this large piece of fabric (which is a good talent to learn, since I'll need it when I stitch the hundred or so other large pieces in my stash). And I'll need to figure out how to keep track of where I am stitching, also how to work with the large chart. Of course, it didn't help that I had only my lap to put the stitching on, and the window ledge beside me for scissors and such. I love this piece, and am very excited to be working on it, and really looking forward to our Thursdays to have the regular time to stitch!

I like the idea of making monthly goals for stitching, so here are my September goals, modified from the orignal list, seeing as how the month is almost half over!
1. Work on Celtic Autumn with Ann and Sue on Thursdays. (My original list had me start this, which I've already done! So I can maybe check something off my list?)
2. Finish In Search of the Perfect Pumpkin, which I started a couple of years ago. (This may be possible, since I've been stitching on it almost daily.)
3. Start and do half of the latest Loose Feathers piece, since the next one will be arriving in October sometime, and I would like to actually stitch these as they come. I own all of them and have yet to stitch a one. And I love them all!
4. Finish Mill Hill beaded autumn kit (it's sitting beside my stitching spot on the couch, does this count? Of course, it would help if it weren't buried by two knitting projects and three other cross-stitch projects . . . )
5. Finish My Garden Wild (This should be a quick stitch, and I've gotten a good start on it. It's a very cute piece, and stitching on it a few weeks ago gave me the idea to make my real garden less wild, which I did on Monday for a couple of hours. I weeded and raked and cut out blighted peonies which were making it look ready for Halloween. Now it's time to stitch a garden, since I've weeded the real one.)

I had two more goals in my original list, which is written in a little notebook I keep in my purse, but I seriously doubt I'll do them. One is to start my parents' 50th wedding anniversary piece (their 50th was in August of 2005, and I sent them a big bouquet, but want to do a sampler as well). The other is to work on something for Christmas. I have several started, and aquired more recently. But I thought I'd work on a Just Nan sampler. I can see these goals will have to stretch out over several months. But two goals I have right away are to STITCH EVERY DAY, and to PHOTOTOGRAPH AND POST WHAT I STITCH. So stay tuned!