This past week

I'm not quite sure where to begin.

Dearly Beloved had his surgery and is doing quite well. Actually, he is moving better than I am, since I'm still dealing with my back. Better living through modern chemistry--I have a new prescription for muscle relaxers and a substance that's like Ben-Gay on steroids that has to be rubbed on the site a couple of times a day. There will probably be physical therapy in my future.

Meanwhile, I've been tottering and lurching and limping into work, since you can't function on muscle relaxers unless your workplace wants someone who is totally loopy representing the company. Then I come home and we have dinner (if you plan it right, you can make delivery Chinese last through at least a couple of meals), then I take a pill, and then I try to stitch a little before the pill takes effect and I can't focus my eyes.

I finished the smalls that will go on the case for the box that will contain the sampler roll for Cherry Berry:

The plan was to put everything together. However, I still can't bend comfortably over the cutting mat. I still can't even bend uncomfortably over the cutting mat. So this is waiting for the back to heal.

Pineapple Perfection has a vine that just needs its strawberries added:

A floral band was started on Tsubaki:

(Yes, I know there aren't any flowers yet. The meds haven't made me quite that loopy.)

Everything except the Goldwork has been done on the Petite Pin Cushion from the Goldwork Master Class, offered by Thistle Threads and Tricia Nguyen:

And I started the Golden Accessories, also from the Goldwork Master Class:

If it appears that I've been unable to settle down to anything, you're right, and not just because of the meds.

I lost a good friend this week. We've known each other since college. I was in her wedding. Her Big Kid and my Big Kid are the same age, as are her Miss Prissy and my Baby Girl. She also had another child between, known as the Wild Man. She suffered an aneurism and was gone before anyone could react. The only consolation is that she left us while she was cutting flowers in her garden, her happy place. She was much loved and will be missed.

I had a lot of time to think on the drive to and from her hometown today as we traveled to her funeral and home again. The best way to honor a life is to appreciate your own, and to look for joy in every moment. That's how Genie lived her life. That's how I want to live mine. I'm working on it.