A quick trip

The days have really gotten away from me. I've want to be a better blogger than this!

We took our trip out to Ohio and it was a whirlwind. First we went to see my in-laws and then to Cleveland for my niece's Master's Recital.

My MIL was still in the hospital and still in a lot of pain. One thing that concerned me is that she was acting very helpless, more helpless than she really was. That's not like her at all. It was almost as if she's given up and that isn't good at all. Even though she's had some real problems the past couple of years, she has a strong constitution and I think could possibly keep going for a number of years. I know that a broken leg is not a small thing, I've been through it myself. It's just so hard to see her acting as if she can't do a thing to help herself.

As it turns out things were in progress for my in-laws to move into assisted living. The unit is right near the hospital where my Brother-in-law works and is less than a mile from their home. My MIL is very happy to move but my FIL is having trouble with it. He keeps saying that he thought they'd live in their house until they died. It's a little strange, I think most people who live into old age have to eventually go into a nursing home, or assisted living or at least move in with relatives. Realistic or not, he had the idea in his head and is having trouble giving it up. Fortunately the facility they are moving to is quite nice. DH and I stopped by unannounced asking for a tour and they accommodated us. I thought that was a good sign. We stopped by at lunchtime and not surprisingly noticed that the vast majority of residents are women. I don't know if FIL will like that or not.

Of course the unit they will be in is much smaller than their house. Fortunately they will not give up the house quite yet so will have some time to reduce their possessions. When we visited MIL in the hospital she kept saying things like, "take some crystal, take some vases, take anything you want." We were there with a very small car so weren't about to take much! In a couple of weeks DH will rent a truck and go out with one of our DS's and take a few pieces of furniture.

This is getting long, so I'll continue with the tale of our trip within the next few days. Meanwhile, here is a picture of our daffodils-they are one of my favorite flowers.


They really need to be thinned out before they stop blooming so well. That's a project for later this summer.

Worrisome News

My husband got an e-mail from his brother tonight saying their mother had fallen and broken her leg. We are very concerned because my MIL is elderly and somewhat frail these days. The bone she broke is the thigh bone which I think is called the femur. We'll be heading out to Ohio late next week.

We were already planning to go for my niece's Master's recital which is April 10 in Cleveland. This will just extend the trip a bit. I'm very concerned about my MIL.

So Much for Spring

Spring arrived on Sunday. Then it snowed on Monday, but at least it melted fast. Today it snowed, sleeted, and we had freezing rain and, I think, hail. Not to mention thunder and lightning. It was definitely an indoor day as far as I was concerned.

Hopefully tomorrow will be nicer because I want to go to the library to study. I went yesterday and it worked out better than trying to study at home. Not so many distractions. Besides, I got e-mails telling me that 3 of the books I had reserved had come in.

I worked on stitching my second green Tis the Season block and it's just about finished. I couldn't resist putting the borders on the first block to see how it would look. Here it is, and I love it.


Justin is still out somewhere and I'm a little worried about him driving in the mess outside. He leaves tomorrow for his job in Boston. It's shorter than I had thought, just a long weekend.

Today was the last day of Spring Break but the first day of spring. It was kind of cold out but sunny. Don grilled chicken and Emily was thrilled. It was excellent.

Tomorrow, the semester starts again. I spent a couple of hours at the library both yesterday and today. I'm finding I focus better there. I'm planning to make a routine of going three times a week for at least two hours each time. I'll try to do all my homework and studying there except for the things that I need to do on the computer. I would rather use my home computer for that since I have the statistical software downloaded. In some ways it's harder to focus on my work when I'm not going full time.

Here are my March blocks for the red Tis the Season.


I'll add pictures of the green ones once I have finished them. So far I have stitched one and a little bit more.

Update

My intention is to write a blog message at least twice a week.Obviously the days have been getting away from me. Saint Patrick's Day was yesterday and we had the traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner. It was yummy. No Irish ancestry in our house; we just like the food.

The situation in Japan is continuously on my mind. I lived there for several years when I was a girl, and have always loved that country. Now that it's been more than a week, the newspapers (well, the New York Times is the one I read) are getting away from the story and focusing more on problems in the Middle East. I've wondered if the news we get is sensationalized or muted-I really don't know. The estimates are more than 10,000 killed in the tsunami and earthquake. That is a huge number. Then there is the problems with the nuclear power plants. It sounds like those are starting to be brought under control. I hope I'm right about that. remember how frightening Three Mile Island was, and that was a much smaller disaster.

Anyway, I'm praying for the people of Japan and their leaders

Meanwhile, I've been stitching away and finished my three Tis the Season blocks for March. I've also started a second Tis the Season quilt-yep, this one in green. The second one will be given to someone I owe a dept of gratitude. I'm too tired to get out the camera tonight, so pictures tomorrow.

A Finish!

Believe it or not I actually finished something. A few weeks ago I mentioned getting back to an old project, thinking it would only take a few days. Weeks later..... It wasn't quite as easy as I thought. It is a tiny project from 1998 that I'd completely forgotten about. It is a Mother's Day card with a cross stitch insert from a UK magazine called Cross Stitch Collection. I believe the kit was included with the magazine, but I'm not sure. As small as it is, it's not an easy project, so I was going slowly. Then, just as I was finishing I ran short of one of the colors of thread. I couldn't find the thread around here and didn't want to order it and spend 50 cents for the thread and $5.00 for the postage. I called my sister in Texas and asked her to get it and mail it to me-Thanks Linda! So here it is-a lot of aggravation for something that small. I'll send it to my MIL for Mother's Day. Sadly, my own mother died in 1997.




Doesn't seem like much does it? But it is a sweet little card and I think my MIL will appreciate it.

Next thing is that I finished this month's third and last stitchery for TTS. Now I have to do the borders for all three and I'll be all caught up. I'm gradually getting better at it as I go. The back still looks bad, but not as bad!







Tonight we switch to Daylight Savings Time. Which means that spring is coming. We have a bit of spring around here. Not only has all the snow melted, but we have crocuses blooming!

TTS has begun

These are the stitchery for two of the three March blocks for the Tis the Season stitch-along. These two just need the borders added. That may be harder than I expected. Some of the girls who are farther along have found it a tight squeeze getting the borders on without cutting off part of the stitches. I'm hoping that being forewarned and taking extra care will be enough to have it all work out.