Playing catch up again.

I seem to have fallen off the side of a mountain under an avalanche of work and so sewing and other hobbies has been on hold. I last wrote a post on the 6th of June and since then life has been one long rush. Add in the election results on the 9th and the huge fire in London plus ridiculously high temperatures that I just find overwhelming and life has felt very uncomfortable. Can I get political, is it allowed on my blog? The election wouldn't have been so bad if the PM, (can you really be PM if you're not the leader of a party with a majority and currently have no real support) wouldn't insist on having it all her own way and carrying gaily as she was before the election, whilst saying it's what the people voted for. Grrrrr.  Anyway sorry about that, at least it made me feel better. The tower fire was awful and now they've found a lot of other tower blocks have the same cladding on them. The tower I work in has cladding but don't know if it's the same type. I'll ask that question on Monday when I'm next in the building.

The main problem stopping me sewing has been marking. It's got so bad I even dream I'm busy marking. Today I had my penultimate chemotherapy treatment and I rewarded myself with some stitching on Beulah. Last time I stitched I had got this far.

By the time my eyes were feeling blurry with concentrating on the stitches I had moved forward a fair bit.

When I first look at each of these ladies at the beginning of the month I'm not always sure I love them. As I start stitching they come alive and by the time I finish them I can't believe I doubted how they would turn out. Beulah herself is also looking happier as I get more of her finished. Still a long way to go on this one and the month has only one more week to run.

I set myself a monthly goal of completing my new tote bag. To date there has been no progress on this. On a more positive note I have a week and it really doesn't need a lot of work to be done on it. I hope to set up my machine tomorrow as I am trying to have a more restful weekend so that I don't end up feeling wobbly on Monday as I have done after the last two doses. Sewing versus taking the dog for a long walk or getting some ironing done certainly sounds more restful.

Last weekend we were away on camp. Lucy was taking her camp license, just in case something happens and I can't go to Switzerland in August. It meant we had visitors to the camp who were assessing her organisation and management but she passed easily and we heaved a sigh of relief. The weather was amazing. We always camp on the woody sites as these offer a lot of shade and I was really grateful for it. The two open field were very hot even just to walk across let alone camp there. The girls loved the twin zip wires and the quick drop, which is supposed to be like stepping out of an air plane. I didn't do either as I felt I needed to ensure I didn't break anything.

Since I last wrote I received a really cute present in the post. Barbara from Cat Patches is running the bag ladies embroidery as a sew along and each month randomly picks someone who has taken part to win a prize. The fun bit with getting a prize is you just have to have worked on the bag lady not completed her. My prize is this cute needle threader. It's perfect for threading my embroidery needle and that's most helpful as I can't always see to thread the needle without it.

Thank you Barbara.

Today John had surgery on his hand under local block. He had his Dupuytren's contracture released. This is when cords of shortened connective tissue prevent you from fully extending your finger. Lucy and I picked John up from the Day unit on our way back from my chemo session. Lucy had a great time making jokes about the 'oldies' and having to look after them but when we got home I made the coffee! John's finding his hand a little painful but the analgesics are working. As it's his dominant hand and all bandaged up he needs help with everyday things. He's got to go back to see the surgeon on Monday and hopefully the bandage may be removed or at least some of it.

Anyway as it's been a slightly stressful day I'm going to head to bed. I'm hoping tonight is a little cooler as I could do with a good sleep. Tomorrow I must catch up with some blog reading as I've no idea what's been going on in blog land. Hopefully only nice and happy things.

Lyndsey