Milestones

Hello, dear readers. This month’s been a bit rough energy-wise and kept me from posting on schedule. I’m working on putting self-care first. I did manage to walk all the way around Lake Elizabeth on Monday! This was huge! I took the following pictures during my walk.

This little pine has the holiday spirit!This winter tree felt so serene. A gorgeous Japanese garden area. Tranquility. A fellow walker hangs an ornament on this impromptu community Christmas tree.

Then I tripped over my own shoes and sprained both my left wrist and ankle. Ouch! They’re healing well, but I’ll be unable to post as much. I’ll also be unable to cross stitch for a while. Happily, I finished most of page 2 and started on page 3. My favorite needlework store, Needle in a Haystack, is sending me two background colors I didn’t have enough of and I’m waiting for the package to make it through the holiday mail rush. I took a picture before I started page 3:

Chart page 2 (mostly) complete!

I think the sinuous red bit looks like a dragon. 🙂 When I’m finished I want to make a time- lapse “making of” video.

I also have a big milestone coming up. Last March I had a release done on my burn scars. I will have a second release surgery this coming year to give me more movement and less pain in my shoulder and elbow. I’ll post again when I know more. Naturally, this blog will be on hiatus while I heal.

Video

National Fire Prevention Month 2017

Please enjoy my first vlog, in which I talk about National Fire Prevention Month, my own burn survival story, safety tips, and share some information about living with the unique properties of burn scars. This video includes a black and white photo of my scars taken by my dear friend Alice Morrison. The photo is intended to show the extent of my scars and their beautiful patterns, but does show a nipple.

Gallery

The State of the Cross Stitch 8.30.2017

I’m very pleased to be back to cross-stitching. For those who don’t know, I was unable to stitch for many years due to my burns (I’m a burn survivor) and CRPS/RSD. I have a hard time just sitting and not doing something with my hands (probably due to inculcation of too intense a work ethic) and it’s lovely to be able to listen to books and news or debates on YouTube and do something meditative, productive, creative, and beautiful at the same time. I’m currently working on a Dimensions® Gold Collectionâ„¢ cross stitch kit by Myles Pinkney called “Scarlet Wizard”. As of tonight, here’s my current progress. I love how the back looks like an impressionist painting of the front!

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