Hi, Ya'll

Hello out there. It seems my plans have gone awry again. I truly meant to post at least once a week. However, I had another bout of RA inflammation that hindered my mobility. My hips, knees and feet seem to have a mind of their own and when they decide to act up, I don't get around very well. As I've said in the past, my grandmother was bedridden for at least the last 18 years of her life and when my legs and feet start this, I come close to panicking. Even though I have been told repeatedly by my rheumatologist to remember the advances that have been made in the last 45 years, it is still scary for me. And now I don't have my Mom to bounce these feelings off. She was the one I turned to when I became overwhelmed about RA and the one who could ease me. Now I talk to my daughter and she does a really good job. She's even told me not to worry, that they will get me a Hover-round when the time comes! My grandkids love my electric recliner; how much more would they love Grammy's scooter??

Speaking of grandkids, I am going to be lucky in October. Abby and Sweet Baby James will be coming to visit for a few days sometime the week of Oct 5th and then I'm going south see the babies in GA. The Hubs is on vacation the last week of October and he doesn't want me driving so he is going to take me and then come home and work on the ton of stuff he has going here and come back and get me when I'm ready. I'm going to be a happy Grammy for sure. I must remember to take lots and lots of photos!!

Not much crafty going on right now. Oh, I have lots and lots of projects, both counted cross stitch and crocheting but working on them isn't happening very much. I think I'll do a post on all the upcoming projects to show everyone how good I am at procrastinating.  :)

I do have this to show you. Sorry for the blurry photos.

I made a baby blanket and hat for a friend's first granddaughter. The hat is a first for me. I've never made one before and I have fallen head over heels in love with it. I think I can make myself one now. Of course not in those colors but I won a give away from Meredith at Mereknits last year and it is most gorgeous chocolate yarn. I think a hat would be cute made from it. This is the yarn:

I think I can do a simple hat from this!

I also finished the mystery sampler from Lizzie*Kate from last year while Mom was sick. It seems when I am dealing with someone's illness, counted cross stitch comforts and centers me. When my Dad was in the hospital just before he passed away, I worked on a "Snow White and Seven Dwarfs" Disney piece. I put it away after Dad died and I'm not sure where it is but I do need to get it out and get it framed along with this one.

I loved working on this and can't wait until November when her newest mystery kit comes out. I have already pre-ordered it and now I have to patiently wait.  BAH!  I've also ordered a Halloween mystery kit from a couple of years ago to do in the meantime. And then there are Elijah's and James' birth samplers to do. See what I mean when I say "projects"!

I started a CAL about 3 weeks ago and I'm already 3 weeks behind. The 4th clue came out today and I'm just finishing the 1st one. Procrastination, thy name is Sharon.  :)

I guess that's all for now. I will do my best to be back sooner and to have something worthwhile to talk about. Until then,

Hugs,
Sharon

Final

Sorry I've been away so long. I planned on trying to do a blog every week to get back in the swing of things, but as you can see, that didn't happen. It's been mostly good days here but the roller coaster is still in full swing.

I got a phone call Friday afternoon telling me Mom's marker had been set. I thanked the lady, hung up and burst into tears. I had one of those deep, hard sobbing cries that come from way down inside your heart. You never know when something is going to hit you like that and I was surprised. But nothing could stop the tears. This meant it was final. A marker giving Mom's name and dates of birth and death puts final to everything.

I had known I would go to the cemetery when I knew the marker had been placed so I gathered up my purse and keys and headed out. The Hubs was on vacation Friday and was mowing the yard; I stopped him to tell him where I was going and he offered to go with me. But I thought I wanted to be by myself so I thanked him and told him no.

Mom's church sits on a lovely piece of property that juts out into the lake. The church and cemetery are on top and the three sides slope down to the lake. It is very quiet there and with fall coming, it is serene. I had sent a text to my Aunt Kat telling her about the marker and since she was heading in that direction, she went by to see it and sent me a text back telling me it looked really good.

It takes about 20 minutes, sometimes a little longer, to get to the church from my end of the county and on the drive, I managed to get the tears under control only to have them burst back at random times. At the cemetery, I walked over and was hit with another round of hard tears. Seeing the marker put it all into place. It's almost like I've been living in a fantasy land, not quite believing that it's true, yet knowing Mom is gone. The marker made it final. Made it the end. I don't know how long I stood there and cried. I finally sent a text to my aunt and she came back to be with me. After a good, long cry in her arms, we walked back and visited one more time. We discussed new flowers for the stone and since Sunday was homecoming at the church, I decided to get them right away and place them on Saturday.

The weekend has not been very productive as I've not had the energy or the desire to do much. My sister came up today to visit the cemetery. She came to the house and we had another long cry. I asked her why she didn't call me so I could meet her there and she wouldn't have had to be by herself, but she said she wanted that time alone. I understand. Sometimes, it's better to do the hard part by yourself and then reach out for comfort afterwards.

The flowers are much brighter and look better than the photo shows. There are mostly oranges and yellows with some fall leaves thrown in.

I hope this post isn't too much of a sad bit. I use my blog to record my feelings about things that happen in my life and this just had to be said. 

I want to thank each one of your for your kind, caring comments. I know I will get through this but it's just going to take time. It's the little things now that grab me. Like her little pig she had in her car. Mom loved pigs, the uglier, the better. I have named this little one, Maggie (a name my mother hated, by the way) and she sits up on the dash in the defrost grill so she can see where we are going. I cried the first couple of times when I got in the truck and saw her, but now I have a smile for her.

Take care, my dear bloggy friends. I hope you each have a wonderful week filled with joy, laughter and love.

Hugs,

Sharon