Summer Daze

Wow! It’s hard to believe that so much time has gone by without a blog post. I planned to take a week or so off, but that small break turned into a very long one! I will share a little bit of life that happened since I last wrote in this space. And if there are any topics in this post which you would like more details about in a future blog post, just email me and let me know!

In the middle of June, I celebrated my 42nd birthday. Because several years have gone by without celebrating with anyone outside of my immediate family, we decided to have an outdoor party this year. My parents graciously hosted a kettle corn party, which is such a fun way to gather!

The next day, on my birthday, we had some neighbors over for cake and homemade ice cream, made by Ryan and the girls.

And the day following my birthday, we went to the pool owned by my extended family, and then we went to my parents’ house again to roast some hot dogs for Ryan and the girls. (I am still on a highly restricted diet for health reasons. Cooking for myself and my family seriously eats up my time because I make separate meals for myself, and I am not supposed to eat leftovers! That is another contributing factor to the daze of life right now.)

By that evening, my health symptoms were flaring up so badly that I missed going to my dear cousin’s graduation party, which was disappointing.

The next weekend, I held a pop-up shop at the Beauty Spa in Harrisonburg along with other local vendors whom the owner had invited. It was a gorgeous day, and I enjoyed sitting on the porch in a rocking chair as I crocheted and chatted with the guests who attended the event.

The rest of June and July, I spent juggling between projects and resting as demanded by my body when my MCAS/POTS symptoms flared. There were quite a few days when my blood pressure was so low that I felt like I was fighting to survive, which gave me extreme mental fog and fatigue. Those hard days make me even more thankful for days that I can be up and about getting things accomplished! If you know anything about blood pressure cuff readings, then you will understand this photo (and for those of you who don’t understand the numbers, that is 82 systolic, 57 diastolic, with a heart rate of 102)…

I did get a painting project completed—a bookshelf that my brother had made for me with the intention that I would hang it on the wall to store sewing supplies; however, my husband didn’t want to mount it on the wall so I turned it upside down to use by the bed. It actually works quite well this way, and I was happy to finally apply paint over the primer and start using the shelves more intentionally.

And speaking of books, I also finally organized the books that I had been storing in bags and boxes since we moved in. Someday, I want to get a proper bookshelf and build my collection of books, but for now the top shelf of my side of the closet serves the purpose. Does anyone else store their books in their closet?

The garden has been so very dry this year that it hasn’t been producing nearly as much as it did last summer, but I was delighted with my first picking of green beans and the beets!

Seeing some of the first blooms of the zinnias in the garden also made me very happy!

And other than getting ready for the pop-up event, I haven’t been doing as much sewing recently. But I made this lovely faux grain sack tote bag for a customer who wanted a specific length of handles, and I made a tote for Emma, who celebrated her fourth birthday in July.

I had a lot of medical appointments in July, one of which required me to travel across the mountain to Charlottesville. While there, I visited the Magpie Knits yarn shop on the pedestrian mall there, and purchased this lovely skein of hand-dyed linen yarn. I can’t wait to make the pattern that Magpie Knits included with the purchase!

And this past Monday evening, I hosted my first creative mini retreat! Below is a picture of the table of refreshments. I plan to offer another learning-to-crochet workshop in October, but it will be more of a workshop and not a mini retreat (i.e. no beautiful refreshment table), which will allow me to offer it at a lower price point.

Life definitely feels like it is going by in a daze this summer. In an upcoming blog post, I plan to share a few ways that I am intentionally trying to slow down the pace and enjoy some quality moments with my family.

What other topics would you like me to write about? Drop me a comment below or send me an email to let me know! I may be posting less about sewing over the next few months as I continue with the garden harvest, prepare for school to begin and work on some knitting and crocheting projects.

As soon as I get a video recorded of the crocheting pattern that I taught on Monday night, I will be sharing a blog post with the pattern and with the video.

Even though I am not posting as much this summer, I am still here plugging along, thankful for these wonderful, beautiful days that make up life.

How is your summer going?