Hard to believe that it's been almost three months since my last blog post. I don't even know where to begin. I feel like I'm on a rollercoaster I can't get off of and I anticipate things feeling this way for the remainder of the year.
For most of June, I was busy researching homebuying and came to the conclusion I would probably need to find a higher paying job if I wanted any chance of owning something here and if I couldn't do that, to at least feel comfortable paying my rent and living the lifestyle I am accustomed to. Without the higher paying job, I run the risk of losing my apartment next June because they keep raising my rent each lease term. I love my apartment!! I'm also not fond of thinking I will need to move into a place with a roommate because rents in the Bay Area are just insane. I've never, ever had a roommate and it's not something I favor the closer I get to 40. I worked on updating my resume and LinkedIn and started some minor networking.
For most of July, I dated a guy who was just like all the rest. It was the straw that broke the camel's back and I gave up on dating...for the time being. I didn't have the time anyways because I was whipping my parents' house back into shape because they were coming back after being away for 14 months. I had to coordinate things with the plumber, the gardener, the house cleaner and try to figure out why appliances were not working or acting "funny". Uh...definitely not sure about the home ownership stuff after all that. What a ton of work! At the end of July, my parents returned.
For all of August and September so far, I have been helping my parents. Their health is declining and they are not doing that well. Their conditions will not improve. It's hard to see them struggle to do little things and I find it stressful and heartbreaking all at the same time. Since neither can no longer drive, I need to do weekly errands and grocery runs and take them to their numerous weekly appointments. I find that with full-time work, I only really have the energy to help them with their stuff and I have little energy to take care of my things. My life is on hold. The job search, the dating, the household chores, stitching...there is no time. I'm lucky that I have good friends that make sure I do something social weekly but I've reached the point where I need to hermit. The plan is to get their treatment plans in place and they want to relocate to Nicaragua permanently. There's a lot to do to make that happen and I am hoping that between me, my siblings and the doctors, we can get that to happen before the holidays. Hope, hope...for the sake of my sanity. Of course, after that, there is the matter of the house but one step at a time...one day at a time.
I miss stitching! I miss it every day. I think about it all.the.time. But sadly, when I have time at home, all I can manage is lying in bed in an exhausted stupor while I try to follow a tv show. I still check message boards. I try to read and comment on blogs but that's hard and I am terribly, terribly behind. Sometimes at work, I play with the fabric viewer and just gaze at Mirabilias and fabric choices. I am over the moon over the new Mirabilia Red (Riding Hood). But I'm on a stash diet until my birthday splurge. Speaking of splurging on stash, who signed up for Lizzie Kates's Holly and Hearts Mystery? I am so curious about that one too! I am hoping someone will stitch fast so I can get a good peek at the first part of the sampler. I am wondering if I need some L*K brightness to lighten my mood when I can find those minutes here and there to stitch.
The few minutes here and there that I've found the time to stitch, I've been working on Lilac. She hasn't grown very much but the lilac flowers on the skirt are slowly starting to form. I really enjoy this project but find that I need to use a highlighter to keep track of what stitches I've completed otherwise I lose track and get confused.
I can't wait to finish the skirt! It's not that big in comparison but I think it's big for me at the moment! :)
I hope everyone is doing ok. I miss you all *so* much!
Until next time...
