Watching and Waiting

Sometimes joy looks like my Christmas cactus starting to bloom just when I need it the most! 

It's going to be a long night as we watch...and wait for election returns. Lots of watching and waiting going on these days around here!

"Tonight we finish as we started: with optimism, with energy, with joy, knowing that we the people have the power to face our future and that we can confront any challenges we face when we do it together." Kamala Harris

Clear Lines

Ann sent this photo from Lexington...she was quite taken with the clear line between the red and the yellow leaves. I love it too! I'm pretty certain that's a ginkgo tree that lost almost all of  its leaves....that yellow carpet is all too familiar.  

There aren't many clear lines in life...but there are lots of fuzzy ones. And in this end of life process we are crossing them on a daily basis now.

A passage from Dotty: 

"The day was just another day and then something stopped. Something else began." The Tiny One by Eliza Minot

Standing and Sitting

 I visited Bessie yesterday....and the process of letting go of her needles has begun.

The soft needles are starting to turn golden yellow...and I just stood with her for a little while and soaked it in.

I also tested negative this morning so was able to sit with Margie most of the day. I caught up on all the cards...and am quite smitten with the outpouring of love.

Tiny and Perfect

 Do you see it?

It's tiny....and it's perfect!

We see what we want to see.

Noticing

Dotty has been reminding me almost daily of the simple joy of noticing....and I am grateful.

So just because things aren't necessarily any easier right now....it doesn't mean I can't be noticing again too.

We've had some unusually warm weather and I've felt well enough to take some walks. There's some massive changes going on out there....it's a whole different landscape than it was just a few weeks ago.

Mother nature continues to dazzle me.

Window Stories

I made the decision to include this Joyful Puttering community in our family journey...so I thought it was time to pop in and give an update. 

It's been a long and very difficult week of pain management and one monumental decision after another all complicated by Paul's covid....followed by me also testing positive. The minute he was freed from quarantine I entered it.

Margie has made the decision not to pursue any more therapy or treatment of any kind....she's just too weary. This has opened the door to the amazing world of Hospice...and we are grateful. As soon as it's available...Margie will move into a private nursing level room and things will get a little easier for all of us. We have emptied out her apartment and have begun the work of letting go. 

When Margie's pain is managed....she is sharp and engaged and able to enjoy her cards and visits. Thank you so much if you have sent a card. Every single one has been read and appreciated and I hope to find a way to display them in her new room when the time comes.

***We are now shifting our words of support from recovery to comfort....and of course Happy Birthday....(November 16th)...and her mail is being forward to our home.

The joy I am choosing to share today is one of the MANY beautiful and thoughtful cards that Margie has received. There was something about this one from 6 year old Ellie....the niece of Sam's girlfriend...that especially resonated with me.

Kelly knew that Margie's bed didn't face the window....and she shared that with young Ellie. The two of them decided that Margie needed a window view of the blue sky...and the beautiful fall leaves....so Ellie created one.

Pure Joy!

It took me right back to another very meaningful window story....the connections between the two storeis are remarkable.  

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2015/11/a-transition-project.html

I'm smiling because...it's usually my hand in the photo....but that's Sam's hand when he delivered Ellie's card. He snapped a few photos....because he knew it would also bring me joy. 

He was right.

Time to Pause

I have been writing something here in this space every day for almost 10 years. But I'm going to take a break for a bit and focus my attention on the things that are right in front of me. It's going to feel strange....but I wanted you all to know that I'm OK. Really....I am. It's just time to pause.

Thank you so much to those who have sent cards to Margie...she has enjoyed every single one and I am so touched by our community of caring people. My heart is full. 

Margie's situation is complicated...and each day presents new challenges that require our time and attention....and there is only so much energy to go around. I'm sure many of you know just what I'm talking about. We all get thrown curve balls once in a while....and we just have to roll with it. All will be well.

The dogwood trees as you come into our condo complex are especially beautiful right now...and I can't help but pause to look every time I walk by! "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." LM Montgomery 

A Sign

Subtitle: All We Need is Love

Happy Birthday to my brother Doug! We had a video chat this morning with all five siblings....and it was wonderful to connect and honor Doug's 74th birthday.

I remember as a kid when I would wish for...or wonder about something....I'd look for a sign that would tell me if my wish would come true. I don't remember anything in particular that I wished for....or a sign that actually helped me out....but I remember that thinking process. 

I don't look for signs anymore....but I do celebrate them when they just appear. I love when they surprise me.....shift my mood....and remind me that there is still joy in the world. One writer calls them glimmers.

Today started off especially tough. Margie was struggling and that was hard. Paul has Covid...so clearly I've been exposed so I couldn't go to see her and help her out. And I needed to be home helping him. We could communicate with Margie by phone...and our boys will be able to go in person....but Covid just makes everything more complicated. We were all a bit distressed.

Then early this afternoon our electricity went out for a while...and I wondered what's next! But then I went out for a walk on what was an especially beautiful fall day and I ran into my neighbor Dan. We often meet up in the street and walk together. We shoot the breeze and share our stories...and it's comforting. 

Today we couldn't walk and chat because I was distancing.....but Dan handed me this perfect heart leaf he found...and it made me cry. They were tears of joy and gratitude for such a beautiful sign from a friend. It was a golden yellow wabi-sabi glimmer....and just what I needed today. 

Everything is going to be OK....and really all we need is love.

Thanks Dan!

Claim to Fame

There were five cards and a postcard in Margie's mailbox today!  Pure JOY!

We had a fun family text exchange over Sam's recent claim to fame. He was playing four square with the kids at his school one day...and the Google Street View Camera Car came by catching them playing ball. It's now "live" on Google Maps.

That's Sam holding the ball and other staff and students are further down the street! 

It made me smile.

I thought I would do a little catch up on some of my homework projects for the Fabulous Free Motion class.  I haven't had a lot of time....and there are lots of flops....but I'm having fun being back at the sewing machine.

The wreath was stitched on a solid piece of fabric on top of the blue fabric...then I cut away the fabric between the stitching lines.  The leaves and berries were stitched onto fabric then cut out and glued on.

This was a sampler of stitches.

I did this continuous line drawing of one of my bottles of marbles a while back for another class. I also did it in stitch at the time....but gave it away so I decided to stitch it again as my homework for the "stitch like an artist" lesson.

I used Posca paint pens to color in a few of the marbles on the stitched piece.

Here's the real bottle...and here's the project from a few years ago!

You can read about it here.

And just last evening I tried the handwriting exercise using one of my favorite quotes and strips cut and fused from a colorful piece of fabric. 

Stitching cursive was harder than I thought.....and it was complicated by the confinement of the space.

I'm going to try another quote in a simpler format when I have time.

Date Day

Paul and I had a date this morning. Instead of an early morning walk we went a little later and walked around Evergreen Cemetery. It's lovey anytime of year....but especially spectacular in the fall. 

The sky was blue....the temperature was perfect...and there was an explosion of fall colors.

I'm always drawn to the ginkgo trees....and there were three or four in the cemetery.

I would love to be there when all the leaves drop on the same day.     

Our date continued downtown where we voted early at city hall.....so I'm also calling this a democracy date!

It seems timely that I finished the "Votes for Women" puzzle today. I absolutely loved doing this one. At first I thought I would name all these courageous women...and write a little about them here. But nothing about this past week went as expected....so I'll let the colorful puzzle image stand as it is.

I've corrected yesterday's post where I misspoke about the location of Larch Madness being in the Rocky Mountains of Washington state. I misunderstood what I heard in the segment and I'm sorry I got my geography wrong. It's never been my strong suit and I know nothing about the northwest. The Sunday Morning segment was in Washington State...but the Rockies don't go that far.

Phew!

I record the CBS Sunday Morning news show every week and I watched the latest episode last evening. There was a segment on the larch tree...and what is called Larch Madness high in the mountains of Washington state.  The larch is in the same family as the Hackmatack.....some of the only coniferous trees that turn bright yellow and lose their needles in the fall.

photo found online

They are in the middle of Larch Madness in the mountains now....and the trees are bright yellow and magnificent. It got me worried that I might be missing the change in Bessie....the hackmatack tree I've been watching. I would have walked right down then and there if it wasn't already dark.

But Paul and I visited Bessie this morning....and all I can say is Phew! I haven't missed anything! 

It was just before sunrise....so the lighting wasn't great for photos. But the sky was baby blue and pink....and Bessie's needles were still green. 

I'll be keeping a close eye on her for the next several weeks as she turns golden yellow.

   

Bessie is located at the very end of a new development on a new street...with new houses and new trees. There's a whole row of small red maples lining the street...and it's going to be fun to watching them grow up in all the seasons. They are already spectacular this fall. Bessie is in good company!

And just look at that sky! This is exactly the way it looked...and the way my camera caught it. The sun was just coming up behind us making everything look like a painting.

The first two cards arrived today....and I don't know who was more tickled...Margie or me. JOY!

And she stood up for the first time today! Phew!

Creepy Cool!

The latest Tiny Pages Art Exchange theme was "creepy"....just in time for Halloween.  

Tracie sent her card to me....and her dimensional haunted house is wonderful and the moonlight through the bare tree on back is just perfect!

Tracie used watercolor texturized with Saran Wrap for the background. Well done Tracie!  Creepy Cool!

My card went to Tracie.

I used acrylic inks to make the blotchy background. Then I plopped a couple black ink blobs on the card and pressed them out with a piece of flexible plastic. I used a skewer to drag the ink to create some hairs.  

And I thought this teeny tiny red maple spout was crazy cool!

Beautiful Day

"Positive people are not ignoring the darkness of this world.....they have dragged themselves into the light are are choosing to share it with you." Donna Ashworth

Late yesterday afternoon Margie moved from the hospital to rehab and it's abundantly clear that her path forward will be challenging. Paul and I are in uncharted territory as we help her find her way....and we will give her as much time as she needs. But if there's anything I've learned as I have gotten older it's that no matter what....there is always joy. 

Today it became abundantly clear that our two boys are here for their grandmother...and here for us too. And for that...I am joyful.

I did have time to stop by to see a new mural that Sam's girlfriend Kelly is working on nearby. It was "delightfully local!"

It's part of a whole series of murals on on an old warehouse type stretch that houses several businesses.  All the murals are different...and they're all really fun.

"It's a beautiful day to be in your neighborhood" as the mural says....and it WAS a beautiful day!

Creating Time

Creating time at the end of a very long day for small joys.  

I chose my socks first....then decided to wear my funky sneakers.  And tonight....as Paul and I processed a very long day on the patio.....I smiled at my many patterns.

"They snickered at her life full of many patterns, but she smiled knowing that she was only being true to herself."  Alisson Burda

Should I Be Doing This?

It was cold enough for there to be a light frost overnight...and I was compelled to look closely on our morning walk.

This is the montage I sent to Alyson tonight. Since she is a fan of bones....I'm trying to include bones and skeletons I see on our routes during the Halloween season. And this skeleton was bigger than life.

Margie's story could be any of our stories so sharing it just may be helpful to someone. 

How often has one of us done something and we thought to ourselves....should I be doing this? I know I have. Margie was slipping on her shoes a few days ago as she was heading to lunch. Instead of sitting down to pull them over her heels....she bent down to help get them situated on her feet. Momentum took over and she fell and broke her hip. 

The surgical repair was successful...but she is facing a few medical hurdles before she can move from the hospital to rehab. Her spirits are still fairly good...and we've had some nice visits. But her almost 93 year old body is weary.

So next time you ask yourself should I be doing this? The answer might very well be...probably not.

But if you ask yourself should I be looking closely at the frost...or should I take the time after a long day to walk around the pond?...the answer should be a clear yes!

More Doodle Stitching

I stitched another card from my outdoor fabric remnant...I really enjoy doing this!

This time I enhanced the colors a bit with posca pens and doubled up the stitching lines this time.

  

92 and 11/12

Subtitle: A Call for Community  
Please read to the end.

This is an extra post for Tuesday, October 15th.  The official post for the day is called "The Trees We Planted."

Margie, my mother-in-law is counting birthdays in fractions these days. She will be 92 and 11/12 tomorrow (October 16th)...and on November 16th she will be 93.   

Yesterday...after a lovely morning drive with our house guests....we got a call that Margie had a fall and was on her way to the hospital. Needless to say we dropped our guests at the condo (they had a car so were fine on their own) and spent the rest of the day with Margie and her medical providers when she found out that she had broken her hip. Our boys joined us late in the day and we stood around her bed laughing and talking baseball and sharing her favorite potato chips. Her local family community had gathered...and we knew that all would be well.

Fast forward to this afternoon where she had successful surgery to repair the break. She will spend some time in rehab after her hospital stay....then eventually get back to her assisted living apartment where she can get the continued care she will need to regain her strength and mobility. All will be well.

Here's where you have the opportunity to create community....if you are willing.

Margie is an amazing woman who is attentive to and thoughtful about others and chooses to fill her day with things that bring her understanding....comfort and joy. I have known her for 45+ years...and she has gotten to know another side of me through this blog. She reads it every single morning....so she is an active part of this joyful puttering community.

I had already decided that I was going to nudge friends and family to send her birthday cards....but I am widening the circle and scope and I'm going to ask everyone I know to send her a card if they are willing. Absolutely NO pressure! 

But if you choose to participate you could send a get well card.....or a birthday card. It could be a funny card about life...and growing older (she has a great sense of humor)....or it could be a card about hope and joy.

I want to shower her with words of encouragement during this next month as she heals and rehabs and as she celebrates her 93rd birthday. Let's remind her how big her community is...and that it can even include people she's never met.

Margaret Shupe

620 Ocean Ave

#103

Portland ME 04103

Thank you in advance! Seriously....there is no pressure! Just sending joyful vibes is enough.

MaryAnn