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    Fall favorites

    October 30, 2023 - By 

    Fall is my favorite season. The crisp mornings. The gorgeous colors. The rustle of leaves. I really do love it all.

    I love my morning walks. However this morning was pretty cold. It was 22°F and I’m sure the wind chill made it feel even colder. My face was stinging a bit after only a mile.

    I have been trying to get back in the groove of being creative on a more regular basis.

    I made this wreath using much neglected supplies. It turned out really cute…of course, you know what a sucker I am for those fall colors.

    I also made a junk journal for a dear friend. I have several more in various states of completion waiting for the inspiration or motivation to finish them.

    Mr. G and I went to the arboretum one afternoon and enjoyed the walking trails. Most of the flowers were past their prime with the exception of these beauties. The bees were loving them as well.

    The cool evenings also give way to having toasty bonfires with the neighbors. A few adult beverages were consumed around this mesmerizing fire.

    I couldn’t leave you without a picture of my buddy Marvin.

    I also wanted to share that my 3 month follow up tests are looking great. My oncologist is very pleased. Another set of tests in 6 months. I’m thrilled that things are going so well. My eyelashes are growing back, my eye isn’t nearly as dry as it was, things seem to be healing really well!

  • Blog

    Long overdue life update

    July 10, 2023 - By 

    Grab a beverage and get a comfortable chair. It’s been a long time since I have posted…soon you will know why.

    A bit of back story first that may explain some of the gaps in my posts…

    A bit over a year ago I began a journey of trying to figure out what was up with my left eye. It had been getting a but squinty for about a year but I hadn’t given much thought to it. Then the upper lid near my eyebrow began to swell slightly. I saw so many doctors, had scans, x-rays, was given medicines to try…no luck. It just kept getting worse.

    The day after my last post I finally saw the right specialist who ordered the right tests. I was scheduled for a surgical biopsy of a mass in my orbit. Two days later…on our 29th wedding anniversary…I got the news that it was Lymphoma.

    I was passed along to oncology. More tests happened then I was told that it was a very slow growing type of lymphoma. This was a relief since I knew I had this for at least two years now looking back at photos.

    We made the decision not to share the news with the kids just yet. Mini-me was away at college then was heading to Scotland to study aboard for three weeks.

    I started daily radiation treatments the day after she left. I had 15 in all.

    We had a family meeting and told the kids what was happening after she returned. The next day I had a follow-up with my oncologist. He said he has no reason to believe that the radiation wasn’t successful since the kind I had is extremely well treated with radiation. Obviously there are still tests ahead for me but I am very optimistic.

    I am dealing with some side effects of the treatments such as very dry eye and some redness. All in all very minimal compared to the sheet of possible side effects I was given.

    Obviously this is the readers digest version of the tale but whew…that was a lot.

    So besides medical stuff…its summer here in Minnesota. The time that makes up for the other 8 months of the year. I’ve been getting out and walking most mornings.


    With the exception of the ones ruined by the Canadian wildfire smoke. I had to cut that morning real short.

    We finally had the decking and rails replaced on our deck. It was long overdue. Its so pretty!! I’ll be staining it this fall after the mill glaze wears off the cedar.

    Marvin is enjoying it almost as much as I am.

    My gardens are different this year as I didn’t know how I’d be feeling and also didn’t want pots sitting on the new naked wood on the deck. I just have flowers and herbs in the deck box garden.

    And 6 potted tomatoes in the shed garden. I put down cardboard so I wouldn’t have to fight the never ending battle with weeds. It’s not the prettiest but it sure is easy.

    One evening after a very hot day followed by a wind storm I found this Mourning Cloak butterfly struggling on the deck. He was so beautiful. I’m not sure if he made it or not…I’d like to imagine that he did.

    I have been sewing, making journal covers and other puttering around but nothing substantial to share. Mainly been concentrating on my mental and physical health. Honestly throughout this whole ordeal I haven’t felt bad. A little more tired and an irritated eye but I am not going to complain one bit.

    I have to wait 3 months for follow-up diagnostics. So until then I am going with my oncologists word of it should be all gone.

  • Blog

    Room refresh

    January 24, 2023 - By 

    It’s taken me a bit and is far from complete but I have finally starting the transformation of J’s room into a sewing room. The room is very small and we plan to keep the bed in there for now so that leaves less options for layout.

    This was my first layout. It was ok but far from ideal.

    This is how I currently have it arranged. It’s more functional but looks awkward. I still have issues with the desk space. The only place for a glass is behind the sewing machine. You may be able to see the empty coaster there.

    Truth be told, besides the bed, there is still some stuff that J has yet to move. So I am working around that as well.

    I have made use of the space though. These are a few journal covers I had rattling around my head. More to come on that as I continue working on them.

    Also was making use of scraps I unearthed while rearranging. Years ago I wrote an article for Sew Somerset describing my process for these mini collages. Now the junk journal community calls them clusters. I can get behind the name change but the process is the same.

    This bunch took me less than 30 minutes.

    I’ve also started work on a paper bag book. I haven’t made one in probably 10 years. I kind of burned out on it. However there is a baby boom around work. I thought I’d try my hand at making a few instead of the typical gift of a cute little outfit that baby fits into for exactly 57 minutes.

    As you might be able to guess…we are empty nesting again. We brought Mini-me back to college for Spring semester.

    When we walked into her room we were shocked that her cactus had grown with no light for a month. No water wasn’t surprising…but no light?!

    I snapped a photo out the window on the most boring part of our drive. There is about an hour of basically this view after you exit the interstate.