Catching up

There are reasons – good ones – for the long gap in postings. Here are – in short – the two biggies. One was Bill’s open-heart surgery in early March, which entailed months of getting ready beforehand, with important preparations like making reservations, doctors’ appointments, that earlier-mentioned dental work (apparently necessary before open heart surgery, and 30 years of accumulated neglect added up to a bit of it) collecting the things we needed, making arrangements for the cat… then we made the long trip to Cleveland for tests and surgery. This was a harrowing adventure, as heart surgery can only be, with a fortunately happy ending in the form of a potentially successful outcome – a heart remodeled by the best heart surgeons in the universe to last for a longer, healthier life. There are no photos of that experience – a good thing, too!

Back home, my complex career as care-giver, chauffeur, appointment-scheduler, prescription-courier, gourmet chef, wood-carrier and fire-stoker eclipsed my more usual pursuits except for one important commitment requiring almost-as-compelling attention: organizing the Tatting Seminars in Hector. There are multiple organizers and inspired contributors to the event, including conference attendees who simply pitch in and make things happen – but being the person who actually lives in Hector adds that boots-on-the-ground excitement, as well as making it more practical for me to be the person who acquires some of the bulkier supplies, coordinates a few extra details, acts as the message-center, etc. Add to that the challenge of being a conference teacher, vendor, dyer and purveyor of hand-painted threads, and life becomes complicated.
We all survived the weekend, even Primrose the scaredy-cat who surprised everyone, including herself, by allowing a houseguest to approach and actually touch her. Can’t show the threads here – they came out beautifully, but now they’re gone. More threads will follow… eventually. Today was a time to partially catch up on bills and with Bill; tonight is dedicated to catching up on sleep, and tomorrow, the skeining begins again.

The photo shows some of the conference attendees – quite a few were hiding in the back row behind other people, a few stepped out of the photo entirely to capture whomever was left on their own cameras. I’m there too – at the far left in the back row, wearing green (behind Jeannie Z in red).
Now the fun is over – at least, for the moment – and it’s back to work.