I thought the storm was going to provide some good entertainment for the invalid here! We’re at the tail end of it and it seems like a nothing-burger to me. It was supposed to start at 3am last night, but when I woke up as I usually do at that time and I looked outside, Not a drop of rain could be seen and the tall trees across the meadow were as still as can be. Yesterday was gorgeous!

Since nothing dramatic has happened, you’ll have to suffer another week of looking at the gentle pastimes I’ve enjoyed with one arm.

I wrote earlier in the year how I like to scrapbook. I started making yearly books in about 1997 and I was really good about it until the Boston move around 2007. Then, up through 2013 I have half finished books, then nothing.

Snapfish, an online photo service, makes it really easy to do an entire album with their online interface. Pop in your photos—I’ve done an ace’s job of keeping those organized—write text, and even add “stickers” and backgrounds. I finished 2016 last week and ordered a book each for my son and daughter’s Christmas. A gorgeous 52 page hard cover book was about $65— a fraction of what I’d spend on real paper, photos, and an album. It arrived in under a week.

The book is a gargantuan 12″ x 12″– imagine how much it would cost to order prints that big for a traditional scrapbook. I’ve now started 2026 and hope to also finish that this year. Nothing like scrapbooking those memories while you an still remember them, right?

Once I get my arm back, I only have about 6 pages to finish 2010— this is a wonderful, all handmade book with gorgeous pages I found while tidying up Craftopia. It was so fun to go through it!

For clarity, imagine finding a quilt you don’t remember making that just needs a binding!

I remember 2010 as a “crap” year—but you’d never know from this book where everyone looks as happy as can be. Working on it must have been helping me with all of my anxieties at the time! Keep your memory selective, people!

I believe this is Basic Grey paper– paper is where they got their start and I’ve been a fan for a long time.

So that would be three album years completed in 2026 and if I can do that for the next ten years, I’ll be all caught up!

As I go through photos, I’m singling out all my projects and quilts I’ve made over the years for a “Special Edition.” 🤣 I don’t even remember making this for my daughter’s skating coach’s baby all those years ago.

The next gentle pastime is reading—now, did I devour books as a kid! Later in life, I had a 2-hour train commute to Wall Street and read many classics for the first time. Now, years have gone by, and I rarely touch a book. No time like a convalescence, right?

From the various friends and blogs I read, I settled on “The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion.” It takes place in 19th century London and seemed like it would be a good one for me. It’s a series of 7-8 books, but I figured I would just stick my foot in the water with Volume One and I picked the cheapest option.

This is what I got:

Does this not look to you like they just printed it to order? First of all the size! The author didn’t even make it to 100 pages. And look at this!

Next complaint— I trained as an illustrator, and a lavish, fully drawn cover is important to me. I checked online and even the pricier options just offer this— same illustration on all eight books, just a different color.

It only kept me entertained for a couple of hours. While I enjoyed it, I was barely introduced to Miss Lion and her predicament by the end of the book. I’m now having to decide whether to fork out $95 for the next 7 books which I’m sure are as thin and poorly illustrated. It’s rumored that a total of 24 books will be in this series– they’re gonna run out of colors for the covers! So I think Emma and I, and unfortunately reading, will be parting ways for now. I would have liked to know if, in this day and age, a suitor has to appear or if Emma can just enjoy her quiet, studious life in her home without a man. I’ll wait for the movie.

And that, my friends, is the strangest book review you’ll ever read. “Too much white space.” “Cover needs color.” “Short.” You’re welcome. 😊

I did start my puzzle with the traditional sorting of the edge pieces. We’re looking at a rather large gathering this Thanksgiving, so if I don’t finish, it might be a fun activity for my guests for an afternoon or so. I’m a little nervous about my arm for this event. The DD is so busy with Charlie right now, and when I asked her if she would help me, she said, “No.” 😂 I do love a straight answer.

There’s only a tiny little bit of sewing to talk about. After two weeks of progress that would embarrass a snail, four Mountain Blocks 1 are done.

You make four each of 13 blocks and the assemble them in four different arrangements to make the quilt—or you could have four throw quilts for all your outdoorsy friends. It’s quite clever!

My one- handed piecing on this is horrendous. One section ended up 1/4” too big which is a humbling experience for a perfectionist. The question comes up– why continue to work on it when I’ll be able to do them in a matter of hours, not weeks, in a month or so? There’s no sashing to fudge all these pieces together, so the blocks need to be accurate. So Outdoors is getting shelved for now, though I’ll probably pick something else to ruin– maybe that Whitecaps quilt I was sure would be finished by now.

Ordering fabric has kind of slacked off. It has to. I just got this background for my Purrs and Boos Kitty Star quilt before it disappears. If you haven’t seen that line, it’s a good one. There’s one more order coming in from Fat Quarter Shop, and then I have promised myself I’m only buying my Sew Sampler Box through the end of the year.

So that’s my week! I’m now four weeks post surgery and I’m having very little pain— except in the wallet! The bill has arrived and though it would be crass to talk money, I’ll give you an idea. Think of the most exorbitant amount of money you could imagine it would cost to fix a shoulder– yes, a “massive” repair, but not quite a shoulder replacement. Then multiply by 2.5. Now divide that number by ten to get the portion I’m responsible for. Yup. It’s a “sign” to pack up the gentle pastimes I’ve been enjoying the past few weeks and get the business rolling again.

Physical therapy starts this week and I’m going to rock it. Good news— I am now allowed to drive— yes— you can drive with one arm in all 50 states as long as oxycodone does not get involved– then, you’re in big trouble.

I took the sling off, and my poor little arm looks like it belongs to a mummy. My bicep would be dwarfed by a piece of DMC floss at this point. My posture is horrendous. I need a haircut. I need to get up and get dressed in the morning and get back to the land of the living. Rise and shine.

xox
Carol