Random stuff

And this is what's been going on the this week:

• We had our family Thanksgiving the Saturday before the actual day.
• I  decided there was enough pumpkin spice in the world when they came out with pumpkin spice potato chips, so we had an applesauce cake with orange glaze instead of pumpkin pie.
• This was unanimously approved, so this will now become the holiday tradition.
• We realized the only person who really loves pumpkin pie is Mother, and she isn't able to travel to the family Thanksgiving dinner any longer, so we can change tradition.
• Dearly Beloved and I have finally succumbed to general decrepitude.
• We bought an artificial tree instead of a real one.
• I don't like it.
• I plan to enroll Dearly Beloved in weight training classes so he can go back to wrestling a tree into and out of the house.
• The tree isn't decorated yet.
• We're going to try to do that this afternoon.
• Also along the lines of setting new traditions, we had the last of the turkey in a pot pie Wednesday night, and I made lasagna for Thanksgiving.
• That was weird.
• Otherwise, Thanksgiving was very quiet, so I did some finish-finishing--more on that in a minute.
• Friday, there was very good mail:
• Sorry about the blurry picture--this is the kit for the Gawthorpe Needlecase from Jenny Adin-Christie.
• It has been wrapped and will be placed under the Christmas tree.

• On Thursday and Friday, I did some finish-finishing:

• All the bits and pieces of Merry Cox's Sweet Little Blossoms have been assembled, except for the carrying bag, which requires setting up the sewing machine. 
• That will happen this week--early in the week since we're heading back to Williamsburg on Wednesday.
• Yesterday we went to visit Mother.
• She is adjusting--finally--to her new living situation. She laughed and talked yesterday.

So now you're all caught up with the week.

Meanwhile, I've been musing.

Poor blog has been neglected for the better part of a year. I've admitted this and have realized that it's very easy to get out of the habit--so easy--why aren't other habits as easy to abandon?

I'm going to try to get back to blogging more regularly. I know, I've said this before.

But . . . recently I read an entry from another more-or-less lapsed blogger about the state of blogging. She was coming back to blogging after realizing that so many of the blogs she loved have simply . . . vanished . . . with no explanation . . . and she missed reading about projects and lives and enabling. I do, too.

I miss Just String, who's been gone for at least six years--she and I have taken many of the same classes, and she has the same attitude I have--it's just string and you can make it work if you try.

I miss Plays with Needles, whose designs were always inspirational, even though I don't do the same type of embroidery. I think of her every time I pull a needle from the needle book she designed, and which I use almost every day.

I miss Thread in Hand, whose stash looks very much like mine--although, since she is retired, she gets to stitch every day, and I, who am still a wage slave, don't have the time to stick a needle into everything I want.

And there are many, many others who have stopped for one reason or another, simply drifting away to Facebook or Instagram or dropping out of view completely.

I know that there are compelling reasons for all of them to stop--whether family issues or unpleasant situations or simply losing interest in blogging.  I just miss them and I wish they'd return.

So, again, I'm going to try to stick with it and be more present--and stitch a little more than I have so I have something worth blogging about!