I hope you have been stitching and enjoying the comfort of "keeping your hands busy".....something I think many of us need....and enjoy.
The year has been a challenging one for me, flying back and forth to West Virginia to visit my then 95 year young Dad who had chosen to live in our house by himself since Mother passed away in 2007. He is one tough guy and stubborn to a point. I look and sound like my mother, we find it sounds "like old times" with the two of us fussing about this and that. I have worried about him falling, not eating, and having a car accident. In late June I flew in only to find him .....let us say, not in good shape....not eating and very weak. So taking on the "in charge" roll, I followed through with plans to move him to an assisted living place ....close to my brother and his family just across the river in Ohio. The challenge was how to convince him it was time to pack it in and change his living spot!!!! Now I had checked this place out and we all agreed it was the right spot, but I waited for my brother to return from vacation and the other one to fly in from Texas to back me up.
( I was going to put his picture with his bees at this point, but .....it is at the top. After he retired many years ago, he started raising bees......what an interesting hobby or job)
Knowing it would not be an easy transition for him as we had talked about this many times before and he wanted to "stay home", I managed to get his strength built back somewhat by getting him to eat and two weeks later as we completed watching the fireworks flying in the sky in the City Park close by, we started into the house via the concrete steps, railing, and open door. He started up and I followed behind.....and then things began to happen. I'm convinced God was working in the next few seconds. He lost his footing, and fell back into my chest......and somehow I held tight to the railing, grabbed him by his belt. and held on to stabilize him...neither one of us fell....or I might not be writing this.
The following morning, he looked at me and said, "Ruthie, I think my lights might have gone out last night if you hadn't been behind me!" To which I replied, "Hey,Dad. Look at my lights.....I think we learned that you must make the change and head to the Inn in Marietta!" He said nothing, agreeing without saying anything, and we headed off to breakfast at Hardees.
The rest is history......3 days later we were greeted at The Inn by Patty, a wonderful lady who'd been visiting him for several years on a monthly basis. He gave her a hug and said, "Now you won't have to go so far to see me!" Behind him, I cried tears of joy that with his walker...his horse he calls it....we went inside, down to his room fully equipped with bed , chair, bathroom, kitchen necessities, and pictures. In matter of days, he sold his car and made plans to sell the house. That ended my trip in June/July.
In September, he was honored as the oldest living employee of the Shell/Kraton chemical plant in Ohio and was the center of attention. I managed to get him to say, "I'm living in an assisted living place now.....not a nursing home.....but walk to my meals and have someone to talk to everyday!' Again, what a joy to hear his words.
The months since .....the house sold, insides gone, and Dad turned 96 on January 1, 2012. Things are so different for him and for me....the oldest fixer/caretaker of the four kids.
If you've been following Beth's chatting on our website, you have seen some of my "creations"...sewing portfolio ( a fold up stitching holder for my stuff); then came the trays in green, blue, red, tan...in a variety of sizes; and then the snuggle sweatshirts to keep me warm while I'm stitchng.
Now I'm going to try this again.....adding some pics
Why these things? Well, both my mother and father were very creative in finding something to make something else work.....and they passed that on to me....bigtime. I learned to sew as a teenager, using the old Singer pedal machine....and used a jigsaw to cut stuff out and paint in Dad's workshop. I made my own clothes and even made a suit coat for my brother and he wore it. So I love to create.....and watch what happens.
The sewing portfolios are a triple fold of quilted fabric; pockets for fabric, thread, books/and or charts, scissors, pencil and whatever you might use. It comes in several patterns of fabric which Beth has pictured and I will hope to do the same. I place mine on the endtable next to my chair or on the arm of the chair to gather my stuff together. It folds up nicely to take with me.
The trays were an accident......waiting to be used. I have a habit of making stacks of papers, magazines, stitching, and whatever needs a bit of organization until I find time to put it where it belongs. I found an unpainted wooden tray just about the size of a cross stitch book....a little bigger....and I put my stitching in it beside the chair. Then I ran across a smaller tray and stuck my scissors, bits of thread - wad as others call it - and my metal chart holder. Everything is right there.....and I leave it to come back to in the evening with my diet coke close by. So.....then I started finding trays here and there, got out the paint, and created.....the assortment of trays we have. I love it....trays on my lap sometimes or on the table.
Then, when we got our budget for our oil heat for this old barn we live in, I decided I would be wearing sweatshirts and turtlenecks and the heat would be much lower than it usually is. I found I would stick my needle in the fabric of the shirt and then came up with the decorative fringe.....from my years of sewing. The sweatshirts are primarily Hanes brand with the cuffs removed and fringe added on the sleeves and around the neck. Another brand with nice colors is Gildan, with a tighter band on the bottom.....so I cut the band off and simply hemmed it. Most sizes are Mens XL or 2XL . Colors are primarily navy, a periwinckle blue, red, and a few others....see pics. We have tried to give measurements for them.....so if you are ordering online you can check before ordering. I'm sitting here with my navy shirt on and will be heading to the mall soon......feeling very comfortable in my "snuggle shirt".
Well, I've done it again......I was trying to add some pics and pushed the wrong button, but I will persist. This is my job today.....to get this online....be patient.
Ruth Ellen
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