TUSAL and Catching Up

Hello again, friends!

These last few weeks have been a mix for sure. My mother's husband passed away rather suddenly. He fell on his way to the bathroom and hit his head, and when they took him to the hospital they found that he had cancer throughout his body. They were treating him, but then he developed pneumonia and that was just too much. He was 90 years old, and wasn't in any pain, but it was still very sad, especially since he was really in such good shape, always taking good care of himself. My mother is actually doing better than we thought she would. They had only been married a year and a half, but had been together for nearly 20 years. She is (thankfully) much stronger than she looks, and I trust that she will be ok. With her living in Florida and us in Oregon (my sister is in New Jersey, so she is closer), it is not the easiest situation, but we will all be ok.

Then my husband was knocked in the back of the knee by a ski lift and was out of commission for some weeks. He seems to be nearly healed (and can't wait to get back on the slopes). I'm not sure about that! Last year around the same time, he broke his shoulder. Maybe November, December and January are just not his months!

We've also been busy taking care of our grand-doggies when my daughter has to travel for work. She lives right downtown, so either they come to our house or I go there, so it is not inconvenient. She used to live 6 hours away! And they are both really good dogs, so I don't mind. When I stay at her apartment I tend to get much more stitching done too, so that's what I'm doing next trip. When they are here it is harder with our two dogs as well.  Here is a pic of her boys, Clarence and Coda. You should hear Clarence snore...

I have managed to get some stitching done, but not as much as I would have liked. I did pick up my two oldest WIPs and did a small amount on each. It has taken me a little while to get used to stitching on Aida again, especially since these are so old and the fabric is so much stiffer than what we can find today.

Alice      

January Quilt for All Seasons

And I also made some progress on a few other pieces,

  Deers Among Wood

 Through the Storms

 Strawberry Fields Forever

and a small start on something new...The Needlework Shop from Country Cottage Needleworks

I almost forgot to post my TUSAL - Totally Useless SAL - the first post of the new year. This is the one SAL I usually always manage to keep up with! Here is my (friendly) Froggy with this month's orts...

It started out sunny today, but is starting to get soupy now, so I think I will get some stitching done. I hope you are all having a great weekend (is anyone doing the 24 Hours of Cross-Stitch Marathon??)

Until next time, be kind and happy stitching!