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A little blog about my big loves; family, friends, stitching and yep, chocolate!

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Sunday, October 4, 2015

An American Sampler and Parental Progress


Dear friends,

     So many of you have asked me about my folks that I thought I'd give you a quick update for what I can, here.  As you may recall from FB, my dad was on a treadmill at the clubhouse he and my mom belong to when he apparently fainted, bumped his head (several goose eggs) and skinned his knee (to put it mildly).  My mom was in a water aerobics class when he motioned her to get out of the pool.  They went home, got him cleaned up and then he drove them to the hospital (mom no longer drives) but she told him if he didn’t drive himself, she would!  After getting to the hospital, the doctors ran some tests and determined that my dad had some blockages and would likely need surgery and at a minimum, stents.  Turns out he needed more than that and had a triple bi-pass on Wednesday, Sept 16th.  He had a quadruple bi-pass in 1998 and a stent after that and now the triple.  Like I said on Facebook – we may be thin (relatively speaking) on the outside but our arteries are grossly obese!  It’s genetics.  We don’t smoke or drink (too terribly much ) and we’re not too overweight.  My sister had sextuple bi-pass at 49, about five years ago, at the same hospital my dad was just in.  Cheryl (my younger sister) holds the dubious record for the most bi-passes done at one time at that hospital and a lot of the hospital staff remembered her.  I haven’t had to have bi-pass yet but I do have a stent and fully expect to have to have a bi-pass operation one day.  Anyway, I flew down to Florida to be with my dad and to help my mom for a week.   I’ll fly back down in a couple of weeks to help with the tail end of my dad’s recovery.  Another relative is staying there for the first half of recovery so both mom and dad are in good hands.    This pic is from March, the last time I was there and was of course, just prior to my Dad's bi-pass.

They are the cutest couple!

Here is dad on the day of his release from the hospital:


He is very serious!  
The bandages on his knee are from the fall on the treadmill.  
Thank you all for the kind notes both on FB and via email.  I appreciate them so much and would ask for continued prayers as they continue to recover and we transition as a family to a new living arrangement - my folks are going to move to Michigan in the Spring and will be living with Rob and me.  We are looking forward to having them and are lucky that we have the space, means and relationship to make it work!

Now… on to stitchy news.

Julie and I and Robin all attended the Dyeing to Stitch retreat last Spring and got to meet so many wonderful people to include Paulette, of Plum Street Samplers, and Ann and Pat the sweet owners of Dyeing to Stitch.  We met so many people, "famous" stitchers and bloggers alike - you know who you are!!!  It was great fun!  Here's one of the few pics we slowed down long enough to take of the group.  I was so tickled to meet Ann and Pat and Paulette, in person.  The cutie gal to the left is Robin - you may know her from the Stitchers of Smalls board on FB, then continuing from the left are Pat, Paulette, me, Ann and Julie.  I had such a great time at the retreat and had such fun meeting everyone.  The Dyeing to Stitch store is choc full of inspiration and beautiful fabrics and trims and all sorts of goodies you can hardly live without.  I had such fun!
Paulette's sampler for the retreat was called the American Sampler but to me, it's really a Virginia Sampler.   The flags represent Virginia’s connection to our Republic (8 presidents have been Virginian’s), the flowering dogwood tree is both the Virginia state tree and flower (you may recall the movie “The American President” where the POTUS tries to order flowers for his girlfriend and a discussion between his staff, himself and the florist ensues about whether the dogwood is the state flower or state tree of Virginia.  It’s both.), the cardinal is Virginia’s state bird, the brick home represents many of its type you see in Colonial Williamsburg, there is a beautiful colonial couple, the state motto – “Sic Semper Tyrannis” which translates to “Thus always to tyrants” at the bottom, and of course, one of Virginia’s favorite dates – July 4th, 1776 when the Commonwealth of Virginia, and all of the 13 colonies, declared independence.   I loved it the minute I saw it.

I did make a few minor changes to Paulette’s design.  I stitched the dogwoods in pink – my favorite.  I stitched the verse in blue rather than red, as it’s going in a house that’s predominately blue, and I centered the verse, which was originally left justified.  Nothing major – just little, itty-bitty changes. 

Sheila doesn’t know it, but this will be a birthday gift for her.  She is not a Virginian by birth but I don’t know of too many folks that are as much a lover of Virginia as she.  She has a sister in law that lives very near Alexandria and a niece that lives right in the heart of old towne Alexandria.  Sheila and her family have been there many, many times over the years and if she could, I think she’d live there.  I can hardly wait till her birthday on October 23rd!   The day I put the last stitch in this sampler (which I decided to stitch for Sheila the moment I saw it), she asked if she could borrow a few samplers to decorate her walls, for a visit from her family (the Virginians).  Of course I said yes but as I was putting in those last stitches and I thought about her request, I couldn’t help but feel that I really did have the perfect gift for her – a sampler, made by me, especially for her, about a state we both love.  It's perfect.  
I also couldn’t help but wonder if there was a market for the renting of samplers.  Probably not.  

I'm dropping my anniversary sampler off today to be framed and should be back in a couple of weeks to share that with you.  I can't wait.

Until next time, I wish you peace,

Terri

26 comments:

llknbillburg said...

Glad the family is all doing okay. Darn those genes anyway!! What a fantastic gift. I see some tears in your near future. Laura

Catherine said...

Glad to hear your dad is recovering ~ your parents are so cute! Praying that the transition to Michigan goes well when the time comes. Love your stitches!! Hope to one day attend one of their retreats.

Mouse said...

Good grief re the arteries....but glad to hear dad is on the mend....and rent a sampler ...now there's an idea ...but how do you put a price on your stitching..... Love the photos from the retreat ...waving small paw helooo .... Love mouse 🐭 xxxx

Vickie said...

Oh my. So glad your Dad is on the mend. Teri, I am so very impressed with the decision to have your folks live with you. I am praying for your Dad.
What an awesome, awesome gift you made!

Robin in Virginia said...

Terri, what a lovely sampler you stitched for your friend! I know she will be thrilled. I am sorry to hear about your Dad's fall and then by-pass surgery. Will add him and your Mom to my prayers. Will also pray for that transition to Michigan goes smoothly.

Robin in Virginia

Mary said...

Beautiful work on your sampler Terri! I think the choice you made on the frame molding is perfect. Glad your folks are on the mend.

Annie said...

Wow... Dubious distinction in your family with record setting bypass surgeries. Sending good thoughts for his continued recovery. You are a good daughter to have them come to live with you.

Gorgeous sampler. Nice to hear about your Dyning to Stitch fun and games.

Barb said...

Terri, I'm so glad to hear of your dad's good recovery. Modern science is so amazing!I will keep you all in my prayers and thoughts. Love that sampler, I hope that one day it will be available. What a fun trip!

Alice said...

Best wishes to your dad in his recovery. I wish I could have had my parents live with me too, taking care of them like they did for me.

Anonymous said...

I am thinking good thoughts for your dad and your family! <3

Valerie said...

What a lovely sampler, Terri! This is definitely going on my "stitch list"! You know I love anything Virginia, too! :-) So sorry to hear about your dad but thankful that he is on the mend. Those "goose eggs" and "scraped knee" truly were life-savers! God works in mysterious ways! Will be thinking of you and your family!! - Valerie

Jackie's Stitches said...

I love that you're giving your sampler to Sheila and the reason why behind it. So pretty!

Glad your dad is doing better and happy to hear that you're excited about the new direction in where they live. Giving up Florida winters will be hard but I can't think of anything else that will be hard to leave here if they don't have other family close by. Thinking of you all!

marly said...

Geez. I try to stay away from Facebook and didn't know about your dad. So glad to read that the surgery went well and he is recovering. That sampler is just amazing.

C Reeder PhxAz said...

It was so refreshing to see you return to blogging! I love reading your posts and seeing all the stitching going on. That red frame is fabulous. It seems so many of us are dealing with aging parents right now. We need to interact with each other to know we aren't alone in these new life adventures. Welcome home!!!

Prims By The Water said...

Prayers for your dad. So glad your parents will be able to stay with you. As always, love love your sampler! Janice

Von said...

So glad to hear your dad is doing well!

Hilda said...

Oh Terri,
I hardly can decide how I feel about this post. What a sad story about your fathers surgery. I really hope he will feel healthy and well soon.

But then I saw your most amazing work. Oh my, I love it! And I love all what you told about it. Such a treasure gift for your friend! I am sure she will be smitten!

Hugs
Hilda

The Inspired Stitcher said...

Oh Terri, I'm so sorry to hear you are dealing with family health issues too right now. I don't do the FB so I had no idea. I'll send positive thoughts your way. Stay strong, dear friend! Hugs!

Margaret said...

Beautiful stitching, and a lovely gift for Sheila -- she will love it! Sorry to hear about your father and all his health issues. I hope the new living arrangements work well for you all. I'm not active on Facebook so I hadn't heard the news. Take it easy -- all the best for your family, and good thoughts and prayers for your dad and mom.

Melody said...

Terri, What a wonderful sampler you have stitched, and a wonderful gift!! I love the design. I'm sorry to read about your parents health issues. I am glad that you are able to have them come live with you and your husband. That is truly a blessing for them I'm sure.

Take care.

Loraine said...

So sorry to hear about your Dad! I hope he is getting better. What a scary ordeal to go through.
Many prayers for your transition. I hope you love having your parents with you!

Carol said...

Oh, Terri, what a lot of changes you and your family will be going through with your parents move. I can feel how close you are to your parents, though, and I'm sure everything will work out. How nice to have them right there so you can all help and support each other... My mom is 5 hours away and even though my brother and one sister are near her, I still worry and wish I was closer.

Lovely stitching as always :) Take care now and I wish you strength as this new chapter of your life begins...

Cari said...

Oh Terri … you and your parents are so blessed to have each other. It will be so comforting for all of you to have your parents at your home. You and your hubbie are the best. It's a tough time and you're all going to make the best of it. Love you and your sweet family to pieces. Warmest hugs…Cari

woolwoman said...

Amazing sampler Terri - just lovely and what a stunning gift for a friend - beautiful framing too. I'm so glad to hear your folks are coming to live with you - I know one day that is likely in my future too however my folks are mid 70's and still running up and down the road at a rate I couldn't even keep up with. they are slowing some but I love their interest in everything - we all stitch too although my dad is the producer in the family. Mom and I just dawdle along. Nice to hear about your retreat weekend - I've met Paulette a few times and she is a sweetie. Enjoy your weekend - Mel

Halland House Gifts said...

I love the American Sampler and that you were able to give it to a friend. I remember gifting a large redwork sampler to my aunt some time back. She was going through a tough time and was so touched to receive it. That still blesses me. Your dad looks very "Army Strong" in his photo, and I'm glad he's on the mend.

Kathy said...

Terri, so very sorry to hear about your dad's health problems, but so glad to hear that he's on the road to recovery. I'm sure your parents are looking forward to coming to live with you and your husband. At, the very least, it will give them comfort in knowing that they'll be in a good home with loving children to watch over them. As to your stitching and gifting of "American Sampler" it is just so pretty and the framing compliments it so well. This will surely make a very, very special gift for your friend. Something, too, I know will bring a big smile to her face not only on her Birthday, but every day thereafter when she looks at it!!!!! I'm originally from Virginia so this is one sampler I'll definitely be on the lookout for. Wishing all the best for your father.