Getting Back to Normal

It's late April, nearly my birthday, and I'm almost back to normal. Had my final surgery (to remove 2 of the screws; the rest of the hardware will stay in place indefinitely) 2 days ago, and I'm hobbling around the house without the walking boot (although I'll still need to use it whenever I go out, and as needed when the leg needs a rest) and feeling pretty good.

Shortly after the accident (I fell down the stairs in late Jan. and broke my left fibula; also tore ligaments all across my foot and ankle), I also had the displeasure of developing a nasty case of shingles. It started in my right eye, then traveled down the side of my nose, around my mouth, back up the other side of the nose, and then around the left eye -- blah! After 2 full courses of Valtrex did nothing, I'm now about half-way through a course of Zovirax, and it seems to be doing the trick; the rash is finally drying up and clearing. Fortunately the pain hasn't been as bad as I had heard shingles pain can be, but I have yet to experience what they call post-herpetic neuralgia; this is apparently rather severe nerve pain throughout the body that comes around the end of the rash. Goody.

We also have a sister-in-law who is in ICU with interstitial lung disease. Unfortunately, she likely won't make it. She is my age (in fact, we went to high school together; I've known Diane for 36 years now), and they have 2 daughters in their early 20s. My husband's brother is devastated, as are our nieces. Diane is heavily sedated and is on a ventilator. Doctors are trying a new medication that seems to be helping her body to relax enough to absorb the oxygen a bit better... but she likely won't make it. And if she does, she'll surely need to be on oxygen for whatever time she has left. A lung transplant was taken off the table for now, at least, as she would have to be transported to another hospital more than an hour away, and she wouldn't survive the trip.

My birthday (52) arrives on Monday, and I'm hoping it will mark a drastic turnaround for the better. This year has not held much good fortune for anyone I know, and we all could sure use some better times. Our youngest son is also out of a job and searching desperately. Still tough times out there. Hopefully all will be better very soon!

Meanwhile I'm back to sewing, which is one good thing, anyway! I should have new rag quilts and other goodies soon. I'll post again when I have new items listed.

Wishing everyone (including us) good fortune, properity, good health, and happy times ahead!

Jodi

Finally!

A new post from me! Will wonders never cease?! Unfortunately, though, the news isn't good; I'm currently nursing a broken leg, so Autumn Comforts is pretty much out of operation until it heals! :-(

I fell down the stairs on Jan. 26th and broke my left fibula and tore the ligaments all across my ankle and foot; I don't recommend doing so, it's really not much fun! At any rate, I've had one surgery so far and will need one more in a few more weeks. Long story short, I'm hoping to be in a walking boot and on the road to rehabilitation in late March, at which time I'll be able to get upstairs again, where my stores are both housed. But in the interim, while we're still processing orders for Hannah's PinKeep, I'm not getting much of my own crafting done and won't be operating Autumn Comforts until I can get upstairs again.

I apologize for the inconvenience. Believe me, I've been itching to get to my sewing machine again! :-( But accidents happen, and I guess I'll be spending yet a few more weeks catching up on some reading, watching movies on T.V., and just generally being a couch potato, whether I want to or not. :-P

Be safe out there, Folks!
Jodi

I Won! :-)

Well, I can still hardly believe it, but I actually had the honor of winning one of the beautiful samplers offered by Dan in his blog giveaway! Dan did a fantastic job, and I absolutely LOVE my new autumn/Thanksgiving sampler! I've placed it on the window right by my dining room table, and it has added such a nice holiday touch to my dining room. Dan, I'm so honored and grateful to you!





Dan even included a beautiful card with a personal note. You can visit Dan's beautiful blog here. Dan is a special education teacher and a senior writer for "A Primitive Place & Country Journal" magazine. He and his partner have the most incredible primitive/country home! Dan, I'd love to make a home as amazing and inviting as yours some day. Thank you, my friend, for the beautiful sampler, which brings me one step closer to having a home that is warm, inviting, beautiful, and perfectly primitive! :-)

Melt-in-your-mouth Pumpkin Bread

This one was shared in a recent "Community Chickens" email newsletter I received (yes, a chickens group -- note the use of 5 eggs?). It sounded soooo tasty, I had to share! I've been seeing a lot of different pumpkin bread recipes online lately, but this one made my mouth water just reading through the list of ingredients! I can't wait to make it. Enjoy!

Melt-in-your-mouth Pumpkin Bread
by Rebecca Nickols

1 1/4 cups oil
5 eggs
2 cups pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 pkg. cook-and-serve vanilla pudding (small boxes)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon
Blend oil, eggs and pumpkin. Combine other ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle and lightly pat on the crumb topping (see recipe below). Bake in 2 greased/floured loaf pans at 325° for 1 hour. Lightly dust with powdered sugar after bread has cooled.

Crumb Topping: 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, pinch of salt. With a pastry blender, cut 3 Tbsp butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

"Old Haunts" PinKeep/Pillow!

I just finished up a new cross-stitch design for a sweet little Halloween/autumn piece I've called "Old Haunts." The pattern is now available at my site, Hannah's PinKeep. And, the finished model is up for sale also, at Autumn Comforts. I think it turned out pretty cute, and I hope you do as well! :-)



I stitched up the model on Belfast "Dirty" 32-ct. linen in 2 over 2, using 4 colors of hand-dyed flosses from The Gentle Art. This was my first experience with flosses other than good ol' DMC, and I love the way these hand-dyed flosses look for primitive projects! The variations in color depth are amazing and gave this little keep a more muted, aged, "organic" look. I hope you'll check out both the pattern (which can be purchased either as just the pattern, or as a "kit" that includes the flosses and fabrics also) and the finished piece and consider adding one of them to your own collection. Happy Halloween! :-)