Stitching Present and Stitching Future

I almost have another finish! It seems this one is taking longer what with all the doctor appointments and other things that have been keeping us busy lately. The Stars are Brightly Shining by Heartstring Samplery! I just LOVE this design. I am half way finished with page 3 and only one more page to go after completing this one. O Holy Night is my favorite Christmas carol and if you recall I stitched up A Weary World Rejoices by Shakespeare Peddler not too long ago as well! Just the intense beauty of this song can bring a tear to my eye! I used 18 count Aida and the recommended threads.

 

Morning sweater weather has arrived! It is chilly in the morning hours then warms up enough in the afternoon to take the sweater off or just change into something more light weight. I do enjoy my sweaters.

The lab work finally came back good and I was able to spend a day at the hospital getting other tests done that had been put on delay. Not exactly how I would normally choose to spend a day but at least I can say I have that part of over with and the treatments can finally begin and are even scheduled! When I first found out all of this and the doctors outlined their plans to me, I thought it would all go smoothly step by step but it hasn't.

Each day I pray for strength and patience. As I do the things I love - stitching, watching my backyard birds and nature, admiring my roses or just sitting with a cup of coffee I praise God for letting me enjoy it all. Sometimes we all get a little misguided and forgetful. God has sent me a rocky journey to give my Faith a jolt in the right direction.

All this time I have been so sure I had RA because of the nodules that pop up in my hands and the horrible hand cramps. No. According to the rhuematologist, I am totally RA free but these are symptoms of Vasculitis! Who knew?

I thought about those long infusion treatment sessions and decided to pack up a special project to take with me just for those times. At home I will be working on The Crown Sampler by Plum Street Sampler (all kitted up and ready to start) after I finish my current stitch. While at my treatments, I will be taking and working on The Apostle's Creed by My Big Toe. I am keeping most of the colors the same in the MBT design but I am changing a little bit of it over to red. I gotta have my red fix! When I begin and as I make progress I will share pictures with you!

DH and I went for a drive last week and ended up going to my LNS! What a nice surprise. I picked up the new Loose Feathers charts they were holding for me along with some threads for another project. Oh, and a nice project bag to carry my stitching in when I take it with me to the infusion treatments.

How many of you read the ingredients label on the back of food? I used to read it once in a while for things like calories, carbs and cholesterol. It wasn't something I really needed to read. Potassium was the probably the last thing on my mind and I don't think I ever think I ever checked for it. Now it is the first and main thing I look for since I am on a low potassium diet. Someone asked me what I could eat on this diet. I told them it was more of a what I could NOT eat type of diet. If it's good, I can't eat it! lol. So many of the foods I love are either a big fat NO or are limited to a bare taste. Coffee, tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkin pie, cheese cake, yogart, lots of greens. chicken and dumplings, whole wheat breads and cereals, nuts, chocolate and so much more! I am still adjusting but I'm getting a little better on it each day!

Thank you so much for all the good wishes and prayers! It means a lot to know my friends in my stitching community are with me during this time. Once again, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. And lo, no one was there. ~Author Unknown