A baby quilt I made in December. I still need to give it to the baby, but the holidays got in the way, and then the weather got in the way ... Soon!
It is a gloomy Saturday morning. I just dropped Jack off at school, where he boarded a bus to a debate tournament in Raleigh. In a little bit I'll eat breakfast and then work on some quilts. At 2PM, I'll meet my writing workshop girls at a nearby Barnes & Noble. Our group is small, and sometimes I think my presence isn't necessary, these girls are such good writers, but it's true I do keep them on track.
I had not meant to stop writing here when I last wrote, but I did. It was a hard, hard summer. My mother-in-law had a stroke in early July and died in late August. I have often relied on theologian Sam Well's words, "If you can't make it happy, make it beautiful," but we could make that time neither happy or beautiful. To protect the Man's privacy, I can't go into details, but the actions of some of his relatives made his life--and our life together--miserable. To give you some idea of what it was like, I actually convinced the Man, a total non-self-helper, to read a book called How to Talk to Crazy. I highly recommend this book if you have to deal with difficult people on a regular basis.
It's not really over yet, as the Man is the executor of the estate, which is a huge job. He finally hired an estate attorney to help him with some of the paperwork, and we're hoping everything will be taken care of by the end of the month.
Some nice things happened this fall. I published my first book for adult readers (it's about quilts and quilters--you can check it out here), and it's gotten a great response. I entered three quilts into the Modern Quilt Guild's national show, QuiltCon, and two were accepted. The show is next month in Savannah, GA, and I'm going! Jack applied early decision to Davidson College and was accepted, which he's very excited about (as are we all).
I've been working really hard, maybe too hard. The good news is, as soon as I get my show quilts mailed off to QuiltCon on Monday, I'm going to have a nice long period of quiet time. I plan to write and quilt and to maybe take a hike or two, maybe find a new house cleaner (the old one didn't work out in the long run) to come in every couple of weeks to clean the bathrooms and mop the floors. I plan to take a little time off to do nothing. Doing nothing sounds really nice.
I hope this finds you well. I hope I won't be a stranger.
8 comments:
Oh, I love you, sweet Frances! So nice to see you. I'm so sorry for your loss.
Congratulations on the quilt book!
So good to see you again! I know how that family stuff can be. Hopefully it will iron itself out soon. Come back when you can! I miss you! Kit
Dear Frances, I'm so glad that you are maybe back:) Thanks for saying hello - it's good to know that you have had some highs - quilts! College boy! Book:). So sorry about your comprehensive lows though. Dealing with crazy really messes with your mind. All the best to you both as you slog through the mire. May it all go away soon xx
Hi Frances, it is good to hear from you! I am so sorry to hear of your loss and subsequent crazy. I just popped over to Amazon and bought your new book and I look forward to reading it! Your quilt is beautiful and I wish you well on the two you have entered. And Congratulations to Jack! When I quit blogging I wasn't sure what I would do, but I knew God had something different for me. I'm now working at a charter high school at a nearby community college where students graduate high school with an associates and part of my job is helping them navigate their continued college education. I love it. Anyway, I pray you enjoy your quiet days ahead. xoxo Leslie in tx aka Wayside Wanderer
I'm so happy to "see" you again, Frances, and to see your beautiful quilt. I'm sorry about your difficult year with difficult people just when you have lost someone you love. Best wishes on the Big Quilt Show and the quilt book! Sending love.
~Jody
Missed you- hi with hugs x
Is that book Talking to Crazy? I looked it up on Amazon - thank you for the tip; I think everyone has need for this at some time.
It's so wonderful to hear from you here, Frances. Your blog posts are always encouraging, even when they are about difficult things. I'm excited to know about your book for adults, because it sounds like a good gift for several people I know, not to mention for myself, even if I am not a Real Quilter. ;-)
Your boy is already heading to college - eeek! How wonderful that you and he are happy about which one. So many changes.... God bless you in and through them all.
I was only thinking about you last week and wondering how things had been going with your mother in law. I'm so sorry to hear about her passing, and then the difficulties with the details afterwards. So sorry. I will keep on praying that it is all sorted quickly and as cleanly as possible, although that sounds like it needs a miracle.
I can't wait to hear all about the quilt show. How exciting that you've got quilts entered in! Have a great time there!
Post a Comment