Before the pause...

I am fnishing up packing. I have hurt my back and jammed my finger so I am taking many breaks today between filling boxes. I had thought this would be a quick pack and instead it has seemed to go on forever. I think its because I spread it out over a few weeks. Even though the first week I did not put a lot of effort into it. I only filled a few boxes each day. It still feels like this has turned into a monumental job! The movers come tomorrow. The front room is a wreck with empty boxes, packing material and various stray items littered around the room. I venture into the maelstrom and try to bring order from the chaos. Soon this will all be just a memory.

I had a bad thing happen this week but it looks like I will be able to salvage it...make lemonaide from lemons as some would say. I had pulled out my Paisley project and started working on it in the evenings along with the Paisley belt that I have been working on. It was SO close to being finished and then the unthinkable happened. I guess its because everything is such a whirlwind here. Being in the middle of packing and having my studio topsy turvy, things dont always get placed where they should. Somehow a black streak showed up on the front of it. I had been marking everything with a permanent marker on the white tape they provided to seal the boxes with. I noticed a few times if I slid a box on top of another when the marker was not completely dry it would smear a bit. I can only assume somehow that my piece was placed upon a box for a short time. I dont remember doing that and D usually doesnt touch my work but thats my only explanation. Fortunately the only noticable places were on the background material. I almost cried! This is a piece that I have put unmeasurable hours into. Instead...I cut it out! I was shaking when I did it and D's eyes got as big as saucers when he saw what I was doing but I did it anyway. I left a slim 1/8" seam allowance on all edges and I fused it to a piece of my hand dyed velvet in a gorgeous blueish black colorway. I am now slowly stitching a thin black slinky ribbon all around the edges to cover the seam allowance. It was way too thick to turn the edges under. I thought it would be a last ditch effort but instead it has turned into a face lift. It has made this piece pop like never before. I am so thrilled with it! I wish I could show you pictures but I'm afraid my cord to the camera must be packed as I cant find it....well truthfully, I am sitting at my ironing board as a desk and about the only thing left in this room unpacked is my laptop and my project Im working on. Everything is packed *grin*

So I will show you pictures later...how much later I have no idea :( I will be unplugging the box in the morning and I will be without internet for an undetermined time. Thursday I will be in Strasbourg in my new home ready to settle. The sound of that sounds so good. Finally, I will settle for while. At least two years, maybe longer. I am quite happy about that. I do like to wander, but even gypsys stop and rest occasionally ^_^

So until I see you all again I wish you warm sunshine and soft breezes and lovely spring flowers. Take care!

Almost done!

Good News! We got the first apartment, the one with the two balconies and the bathtub. I am quite happy about that. Spent today cleaning out closets and packing more boxes. The house is starting to look like a tornado victim! The washing machine finally gasped its last breath so I must go through the last few days here with no way to do laundry but hand washing. I havent seen a laundramat anywhere nearby.


I realized that I finished this little shoe a few weeks ago and never showed it here. I made this shoe quite awhile back. I think it might have been my very first one. I was never happy with it though and it sat on my desk forever staring at me. The base wasnt quite wide enough and it tipped over easy and I just didnt like the color of the pin cushion part itself. SO I tore this piece apart and remade it. I am SO much happier with it now. Such a cutey!


I am still working on things in the evening, a way to unwind from the craziness of packing and doctor visits. I will try to do another post or two before the move and show you my progress on the other two pieces I am working on. After next week though, I have no idea how long it will be till I get internet again. D has promised to monitor my etsy and artfire shops from his work so I dont miss orders but I wont be able to post on my blog. Hopefully this time they will take care of things quickly. Three months the last time was a bit ridiculous!

Hope you are all having a sane and quiet week!

Life happens

Thanks to each and every one of you for all the well wishes and good advise. I have an appointment with the endocrinologist Friday and after that I should be on a good dosage and start improving. You have all lifted my spirits much with your kind words!

Things have been a little crazy around here and I dont see it ending any time soon. The movers delivered a huge pile of boxes for me to fill up and I have started on that. The time is running out! Two weeks and then we are on our way. We have ran into a snafu with the apartment we were looking at. If things dont work out soon we will be taking our second choice. In some ways it could be better but I am still hoping for the first. If we have to opt for the second I lose my bathtub...and I love a nice long soak. Also it only has one very small balcony, the first has two large ones. I dont care though. It is big and bright, beautiful light streaming in in the photos. It also has high ceilings so it seems more spacious and gas heat, which is more economical. Truthfully, I will be happy with either, I just want to get there and start getting settled.


I have been working on my paisley belt for several days, sorry I haven't posted any photos before this. I finished the beading and embroidery and Saturday we went to the fabric store and purchased this wonderful thick feltlike interlining. It's nice and heavy and holds its shape well but it is easy to stitch through. I have started the quilting of the piece and also the edging. I think it is coming along nicely.


I also pulled this piece out for some late night stitching. The glow if the bulb made this look quite yellow but I like the feel of the picture. I really enjoyed working on this piece again and realized how close it was to completion. I really should finish it up!

Please forgive me ahead of time if I continue to be somewhat quiet for some time. I will try to post but I keep getting distracted. I have a lot on my mind right now. Fingers crossed that internet will be fast coming in the new place!

Hope you are all having a peaceful and healthy week!

The sun came shining through..

I'm sure if you have followed this blog at all you know that I have been battling various ills off and on now for quite awhile. Truth be told I came to France in pretty bad shape. The doctors poked and prodded me as is their way and gave me lots of meds. Nothing really seemed to work right but I have been maintaining as best I could. I sufffer from a lot of pain, I have severe insomnia, fatigue, terrible cramps in my legs and arms and the list goes on. Also although I eat very little I have not lost the weight I put on a few years back. I was sure once I arrived in France it would drop off me in no time. I have been here two years and I only lost 15 pounds. I eat like a bird.

SO...it was with great relief that Friday night at my doctors I was told she had discoverd the cause of ALL of my problems. Thats a big pill to swallow but after reading about it on the internet and going for tests yesterday I believe she is right! It's actually a compound problem...and part of it I discovered myself. I realized a while back that I was starting to crave ice in a bad way. I insisted on getting my blood checked for low iron and sure enough I was diagnosed as being anemic. That alone can cause most of my problems but she took it a step farther and did a LOT more blood tests. She discovered that I have hypothyroidism. I went yesterday and had a sonogram done on my thyroid, as this problem can be caused by nodules growing on your thyroid that can be cancerous. I was much relieved to hear that there were no nodules on MY thyroid. It is irregular though, suppressed so it no longer secretes the hormones I need. She also found that I am very low in Vitamin D. The combination of these three elements being scarce in my body...well its a wonder I even function at all!

So I have started on my meds and I've been told it will take about 4 months to get my body back up to speed. I have also been told I should feel like a new woman. I cant wait! She said it will help me think more clearly, take the muscle pains away, banish the insomnia and the terrible itchy restless leg syndrome and chase away that awful bone numbing fatigue! I could cry I am so happy! I have always been a person that could do most anything I set my mind too. I would rearrange my furniture on a consistant basis. Remodel and paint my rooms. I was always in the middle of ten big projects at a time. I havent been like that in quite awhile. No energy. Even my art comes in spurts. I go for long periods with no new ideas. She told me that this even affects how well a person thinks...so I have great hope.

So celebrations are in order I think! I am moving to a beautiful new home and I have a new lease on life...I couldn't be happier!