A Contemplative Life

A year ago I was IN LOVE with Kawandi quilting. Hand-stitching thoroughly grabs me, and this was a way to make the quilt top WHILE quilting, what could be better? I actually thought I'd give up machine sewing, lol. Because I was delving into a method so THRILLING, as well as making my Heart English paper piecing quilt top ; it was like hand-sewing heaven. By early summer, my right shoulder was achy. I kept hand-stitching. By late summer, I was nearly done with a Mandolin EPP quilt , and I had a second Kawandi quilt underway . Yet that shoulder.... An X-ray in early October showed no visible issues with the shoulder, WHEW! I had cut WAY back on the hand-sewing however, finding myself in a routine of using my sewing machine every other day. Why every other day? Because even when using earplugs and noise-cancelling headphones, my ears would ring if I used my machine daily. Talk about FRUSTRATING. As well as not being able to get any PT for that right shoulder, sigh. Fast forward to 2...

My last flag? Time will tell.... I dreamed last night I could squat. Not that I could do them, like an exercise, although subsequently in the dream I did do them repeatedly, but initially it was that I merely COULD do one. One squat turned into maybe ten? And I was so surprised/thrilled/curious. How in the world did my measly daily stretches allow for SQUATS? (And what exactly does this have to do with the step count?) [And the more pertinent question: Why am I pulling the plug, perhaps only temporarily, on my seemingly thorough dedication to raising as much joyful hell as possible?] I've been sleeping poorly, until last night. This past night I got nearly NINE HOURS of slumber, badly needed and gratefully received. Why did I rest so decently, other than eventually sleep wins? Maybe because last night I made the executive decision to unplug from Bluesky during Lent. Actually, I'm going to begin that Lenten fast a little early; I'll be done tomorrow after posting the last Bl...

Recent Cornflower block finish; at least something's being completed. My latest novel is up to 50K. Technically that's a strong halfway point, but I need to confess for the plot I previously imagined I should be farther ahead in the story than where I am. That rarely happens, and I'm realizing this tale is doing its own thing regardless of my initial considerations. Well okay then novel; you be you and I'll take a couple of days off while family visits! Ahem.... I think, within this series, despite it being a collection of kinda-standaloneish-books, I need to allow that it's more like The Hawk . Meaning it's one LONG book broken into these bite-sized hunks, and maybe this one might be the largest. I won't speculate HOW big Book 4 will become, as I don't want to paint myself into an inescapable corner or limit the story, which is nicely meandering as two characters fall in love. Yet the timeline I'd assumed has stretched itself, or shrunk itself depe...

Yarn for baby blankets, two of which I have already started for two different blankets, kind of like the current state of the writing. So I have copied and pasted the first draft of the WIP into a new document, titling it the Second Draft. However, the first draft did not reach The End. Hmm. Let me explain.... [But first, I'll say I have NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE, the starting of a second draft without completing a first draft. Heads-up, so to speak, like a disclaimer.] Anyway.... So yeah, first draft not finished, moving right into second draft. Okay, okay, OKAY.... Hmmm. Why am I so, so.... Not exactly troubled, actually not bothered at all although it might seem that way from all this blathering and all caps, etc etc etc. Goodness gracious girl get on with the friggin' post! (Okay, but lemme just say I kinda reached an end of sorts, the end to figuring out how these characters and their plot lines were going from timeline to timeline and that part of it is REALLY COOL!) [But on...