Hope

Sheol had cast its shadow

upon your beloved face.

You were sinking

and I sometimes forgot to breathe.

And love feels beside the point

when the hounds of hell

come to call.

When did the hoarse whisper

of despair become a roar

of no no no no?

When did you know

that you could make music again?

2017 Project 365 – Week Forty-three

It’s almost the end of October! What the heck! It’s even finally starting to feel a wee bit chilly.

Sunday, October 22^nd        

Another addition to the Bug Parking Badly series. #icantpark

Ms. Pinky has loved October!

Monday, October 23^rd                      

The moon!

Tuesday, October 24^th                                     

This is the sort of debauchery that goes on in our back yard when we’re not looking. #faceplant#drunkscarecrow

North Carolina soybean field, looking a lot like Ohio.

Wednesday, October 25^th                              

I started walking on a different part of my street because there was a dog who was very aggressive toward me on my usual route (fortunately a firm “NO!” stopped it from nipping at my heels & it stayed put when I walked away – and this is miraculous because I’m a bit afraid of dogs!). The advantage/disadvantage of the new route is that it’s uphill both ways! Good workout.

Thursday, October 26^th                          

My latest project – a vest.

Oh my goodness – look what Dr. M found on his rambles this day! So fuzzy!

Friday, October 27^th                 

Sunny, recovered from her bender, is a bright spot in our former impatiens bed.

Saturday, October 28^th                       

Last Saturday I mowed, and this Saturday I walked in an Alzheimer’s charity walk! It was only supposed to be 2 miles, but because there was tornado damage in the area we only walked for one mile. Definitely my speed!

Dr. M & I went for a ramble in the afternoon, checking out his ancestors who are buried at this church. Lovely day.

I have been thoroughly enjoying this World Series, but man I’m ready for it to be over. The nights that they’ve played I’ve averaged around 6 ½ hours of sleep. We’re pulling for Houston. Who are you pulling for? 

2017 Project 365 – Week Forty-two

Once again there seem to be an inordinate number of pictures of me this week. But I have good reasons! There aren’t any gratuitous selfies (well, except the one of my hair). I hit two more milestones in my recovery, and I’ve decided that I really am done with it now. Not that I won’t continue to talk about it…

Sunday, October 15^th        

My mother wore this diamond necklace almost every day until shortly before she died. The diamond came from her original engagement ring (it was replaced by a ring that my father found, if you can believe it! No one ever claimed it, so it was given to him). I’ve been wanting to wear the necklace for quite some time, but I’ve been defeated by the tiny clasp. Today I got the thing to work, and now I may not ever take it off again! (Yes, I’m wearing it right now.)

Photo op for the shawlette I finished the day before. A friend had requested a navy & orange one.

Monday, October 16^th                      

I continue to have the growing my hair out blues.

LOOK!! Very pleased with myself – and I hit 10,000 on 2 more days this week. I actually averaged nearly 9,000 steps per day – an increase of almost 3,000 steps per day. Woot!

Tuesday, October 17^th                                     

Heather the sheep is in from the fields for the winter. She did a great job with her impatiens!

Wednesday, October 18^th                              

My friend the fabulous jewelry maker sent this lovely little painting! I found a nice temporary home for it.

I went out to a soccer game & wore that bizarre ruana that I made. Still weird!

Thursday, October 19^th                          

From today’s walk. It’s looking like Halloween around here.

It’s also looking like Halloween in our house!

Friday, October 20^th                 

Dr. M & I were out on the deck watching this bit of red in the yard. We were wondering why the cardinal never moved & I decided to just walk on down there (because I can now), and check it out. A rogue impatiens!

That night I went to a football game at my old high school for the first time since 1983! The reason was this – the players all wore pink jerseys honoring someone with cancer. My cousin’s son, Drew (who mowed our yard this summer), wore a jersey in honor of Amy. Amy’s daughter cut short a beach trip to come back and be presented with the jersey. It was a pretty special night. Oh, and they won the football game.

While I was watching Friday Night Lights, Dr. M was completing the transformation of our home into Halloween central. He is a nut.

Saturday, October 21^st                      

Today I mowed!!! Just the back yard, but still I was pretty pleased with myself.

Did I say that the Halloweenification of our house was complete? Now it is. Ha!

This week had me thinking about the brevity of life and missing my mom and Amy. Of course, autumn often puts me in that frame of mind – no matter how cute the sweater is, I know that I’m wearing it because the year is dying away. Fortunately, the older I get the more I realize that the natural world is just going dormant for a season. I can hunker down & get through it & then there will be spring! Achoo! 

2017 Project 365 – Week Forty-one

Dr. M wrote a blog post for the first time in a while. You should check it out here! This week’s pictures are a good mixture of mundane (me) and heavenly (Dr. M).

Sunday, October 8^th        

In the latest chapter of my recovery, I put the bath mats back down in the bathroom (area rugs of any kind are NOT recommended for walker/cane users).

Monday, October 9^th                      

Temperature scarf update. The summer colors haven’t been all that exciting, but now that it’s fall it feels like the colors are changing every other day. I’m creating another monster – it’s almost 7 feet long & I have fewer than 5 months left to go.

Tuesday, October 10^th                                     

My latest project – navy and orange, by request.

And the recipient of my last project (with a cameo by Jax)! I was complaining about my old fitbit when Kelly offered to send me one that she wasn’t using. It’s the best thing! I’ve been having a lot of fun with it. I even bought a super cute purple band for it. So I made her a hat as a thank you gift. THANK YOU Kels!

Dr. M gave us an astronomy lesson: “At the bottom is Ursa Minor, the Little Dipper, with Polaris, the North Star, at the tip of the handle. Straight above is Cephus, King of Aethiopia. By his side (your right) is his wife, Cassiopeia, with the older rendering in red and the more modern W in light blue. Cephus and Cassiopeia parented Andromeda, another modern-day constellation. Not highlighted are parts of Draco, the Dragon, who dominates the October evening sky. I'm not ideally situated to capture Draco in all his glory, but maybe I can catch most of him just after sunset (it gets dark fast in these parts).” (Note: he did catch the dragon.)

  

Wednesday, October 11^th                              

Starry starry night…

Plus, Cassiopeia again.

Thursday, October 12^th                          

Today’s walk. Looks autumnal, doesn’t it? It was almost 80 degrees!

Eating these makes me want to say, “Bam bam! Bam bam bam!” #cheesygoodness #theflintstones #bambam

Dr. M went on a flower safari.

Friday, October 13^th                 

It is a sad state of affairs when you work from home & are too trifling to walk 50 steps to get a hair clip. 

Saturday, October 14^th                     

I went yarn shopping and somehow ended up in a hardware store. I have always lusted after these in my heart. I could use one to store yarn, right?

And here is Draco the dragon. The little dipper is in blue.

After a spate of warm days, today it was finally cool enough to feel like fall.  Is it seasonal where you are?

2017 Project 365 – Week Forty

This was a week of milestones and more moon & sky. Nice! Plus, a ridiculous number of pictures. 

Sunday, October 1^st        

Dr. M had insomnia. His sleep loss, our gain!

My church had a picnic & bluegrass band in the evening – it was fun! Does anyone know why I always put my tongue between my teeth in pictures?

More sky! See the dots in a line in the center bottom of the picture, just to the left of the pine tree? Airplane!

Monday, October 2^nd                     

Seen around the yard.

Got into bed & checked my “mileage.” What do you think I did next?

Tuesday, October 3^rd                                    

My first cane-free walk!

The sky. Love these pictures.

Wednesday, October 4^th                              

Did you know that sheep stare at Dr. M?

Finished a project for someone – a thank you present (subject of a later post). Her school colors!

Thursday, October 5^th                          

Shine on, shine on harvest moon (up in the sky)...

Friday, October 6^th                

I had another follow-up visit with my surgeon’s office. I heard the words “phenomenal” and “fantastic” regarding my range of motion. Yes, I am pretty pleased with myself.

Later that day I walked over half a mile. The last time I had surgery it took so much longer to get to this point in my recovery. I’m just so very grateful!

Cassiopeia!

Saturday, October 7^th                     

As promised, the final result of the purple project. I made it to wear as a belt for another project (below), but it didn’t really work for that. I think it looks pretty good with jeans.

This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever crocheted - a ruana. If it’s ever cold enough for me to wear it, I’ll have Dr. M take a picture so you can see just how weird it is. But it’s very soft & warm, so I might not care. Ha!

I hit another milestone. In January, my Fitbit app changed my daily goal to 7,000 steps because I was struggling so much at the end of last year. So my Fitbit and I were very excited to hit that goal. I’m pretty sure this means that I am no longer the least bit a patient & I need to start doing all those tasks that I had to turn over to Dr. M back in May.

Later today I am prepared to do battle with the dreaded vacuum cleaner. What fun & exciting thing did you do this weekend?