Where do you start when you've been out of action for a while? Ooh, in fact 2 1/2 weeks ....... I find it so hard to get back in the swing so I thought I would come back with something that really made me smile a few weeks ago .....
I love each comment I receive on this blog - thank you! - and it still amazes me how this whole community works - but it does. The other week, whilst checking my comments by email, I opened up one from Katy at KatyQuilt,s I was so surprised to see that she had nominated for a One Lovely Blog Award. Aww thank you Katy!!! If you haven't been over to her blog yet make sure you do. Katy makes wonderful things and a lot of them - she is prolific and always has more than one project on the go. She was very welcoming when I started on this blogging journey and more than happy to give quilting advice aswell. I sure do appreciate it!
So now I need to list the rules:
The Rules:
*Thank the person who nominated you, and give a link to his/her blog.
*List the rules.
*Display the image of the award on your post.
*List seven facts about yourself.
*Nominate (up to) 15 bloggers for this award, and notify them to let them know you have nominated them.
This was supposed to be "Seven Facts About Me" but I am going to take this as an opportunity to catch you up with the last two weeks so it should be entitled "Seven Facts About Me over the Last Two Weeks (and why I haven't blogged!)":
1. I had a few days away in Sandbanks, Dorset. These were the first days away from my girls in 10 months. As some of you know we home educate our girls and so 10 months, without a break, left me very depleted and desperately in need of some time out! I am questioning Home Ed seriously for the first time. We all have our wobbles but they generally pass quite quickly. This has been more of a slowburner and has suddenly picked up momentum and has left me in a really tricky place. Not that anything will change in the immediate future because all the schools in England have just started their long summer holiday!
2. Before I went away I tried to reconcile with my sister. We haven't spoken to each other since my Dad died 2 1/2 years ago and I thought the occasion of my Mum's 80th birthday might just be the jump we needed to at least communicate (because we are never going to be truly close). It was not to be and, to cut a long story short, it felt like I had been kicked whilst I was down.
4. The night before Molly died, I attended a 40th and drank and talked and danced until late - it was fantastic!
5. I have won two prizes in separate link ups. The first was a voucher for Just Sew Now which I won in a weekly link up for the Rainbow Rose QAL - many thanks Eleanor and Ruth from Charly & Ben's Crafty Corner. The second was for a FAL Q2 link up and is for three patterns from Porch Swing Quilts. Thank you Jennie and all the Finish-Along hosts - what a job you do!
6. Our shipping arrived from New Zealand on Friday ....... which again has been an emotional rollercoaster!! So many memories tied up in these things and all we have left in NZ now is a bank account .....
7. I have cried more over the last 3 weeks than I have done since my Dad died. On a deeply personal level everything has accumulated to high levels, the perfect storm if you will, but this has been compounded with all the tragedies that continue to occur all around the world. How can you explain these events to your children when you can't get your head around them in the first place? How do you give assurances to your children that it won't happen in your home town when it does seem to be happening randomly in many other towns? What can I/we do to help? ...........
My Nominees: (in no particular order!)
1. Kaja from Sew Slowly
2. Kate from Smiles from Kate
3. Heide from Heide's Quilty Hugs
4. Jennifer from The Inquiring Quilter
5. Paige from Quilted Blooms
6. Ruth from Charly & Ben's Crafty Corner
7. Lisa from Sunlight in Winter Quilts
Hopefully normal service will be resumed soon! x
PS I have no idea why the fonts and sizes are all over the place in this place - I have tried to correct but no joy. Maybe it's just a reflection of my mind!!
PS I have no idea why the fonts and sizes are all over the place in this place - I have tried to correct but no joy. Maybe it's just a reflection of my mind!!
I'm sorry you have had such a rough patch lately! We home schooled for ten years so I know how relentless it can be. A break is definitely necessary from time to time! My sister and I went through a time in which we barely spoke for several years. It took time a long time, but we are much closer these days. I pray that eventually the same will be true for you. I hope you are able to sew again soon!
ReplyDeleteI have missed you Abigail. I'm sorry to hear about your struggles over the last couple of weeks and I'm sure they have been compounded by world events. I'm glad you had some restorative time in Sandbanks and a couple of prizes as perks during this time to help get you through. Sending you positive energy across the ocean. Take all the time you need. We'll still be here when normal service resumes.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear you have had rough times recently, Abigail. I'm glad you have the One Lovely Blog nomination to make you smile :)
ReplyDeleteOuch you've had a rough time. I hope you enjoyed your time at the coast despite it all. My mum and aunt fell out many years ago and barely got back on speaking terms. So sorry to read about the puppy. Thanks a million for the nomination.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I'm glad you are back in Blogland!! You have been through the ringer lately, and I hope that things smooth out for you. Life has it's moments, you can't stop or change them. How you deal with them is the true test. I totally understand getting to a 'breaking point' where you need to have some space all your own. I hope every thing smoothes out for you! As for sisters...they are sometimes over rated! LOL. I've had and have those times with my sisters. It took time to reconnect on more than one occassion, don't give up, just give it time!
ReplyDeleteI hope that the time away did you some good and that there were moments of quiet solitude and beauty. Things in the world do seem very unsettling, but I keep finding faith and promise in the fact that so many of us are talking about them and hopefully there will be a better path forward.
ReplyDeleteAbigail, so glad to have you back! I'm so sorry to hear of all the difficulties you have had to face recently. Just know you are never alone and your quilting friends will always be there to lend an ear because although we aren't all facing exactly the same things, we definitely all do face challenges and will be the FIRST to give any comfort we possibly can. That's what friends do. :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your nomination! I think it is very well deserved. We are all glad to see you back. Based on that beautiful first picture, I hope your trip was able to help you relax and recharge. I think the answer is love. Even when we do not know what to say or how to process things, just trying to find love and give love can do a lot.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear things have been tough as of late, never fun, but somehow we always seem to emerge stronger and more confident. Congrats on your nomination!!! A great example of how supportive our community really is. Xoxo
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear things have been tough as of late, never fun, but somehow we always seem to emerge stronger and more confident. Congrats on your nomination!!! A great example of how supportive our community really is. Xoxo
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear that life has "dumped" on you recently. I pray that you will still be able to find joy and purpose in each new day. I also pray that you and your family will find the right fit for schooling/home life. Your blog makes me smile :)
ReplyDeleteWow, you really did need a holiday! You have a well-deserved nomination there for Lovely Blog Award, hope it starts you on a stretch of great times. don't worry about the fonts Blogger has been doing weird things lately.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to see you back in Bogland Abigail. I popped in a couple of times but thought you must have been on holiday, or taking a break from blogging just being with your girls. Reading your post the Serenity Prayer came into my mind,
ReplyDeleteGod, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.
So much of life is out of our control, you have tried your best with your sister, she must be so unhappy inside but only she can change that. Poor Molly was not meant to have a long life on this earth. You cannot change the minds of fanatics. The news is so intrusive into our lives, the TV stations push bad news at us over and over, repeating itself in a loop. Years ago people had news by word of mouth, then came newspapers and radio, followed by television. Now we have satellite television and the internet and we are all on information overload, they scaremonger and frighten people. Wars have always gone on, there have always been fanatics, we cannot change that. I don't often watch the news any more, I still seem to find out what is happening in the world, but I am not bombarded with it at every turn. I know how much it affects me, and I try not to let it. It is spoiling my life and I am saying no. It is my life and my choice, I want to live in peace and enjoy it. Some people may think I am burying my head in the sand, or that I am wrong, that is their choice, I don't hold it against them because their opinion is different from mine.
Turn off your TV, restrict your internet, enjoy today with your girls. I read a quote once which goes something like yesterday is gone, tomorrow is but a promise, all we have is today, that is why it is called the present. Enjoy your present, you deserve it.
Thank you so much for your award, I am truly honoured and I am so glad I met you, you have added to my life.
Smiles
Kate
Abigail, I'm so sorry, I missed this post! I do hope you are feeling better and the time away was rejuvenating! Thank you for the nomination!
ReplyDeleteDear Abigail. I'm so very sorry to hear about your rough times. I've been going through something like that as well so I can relate. Thank you for the nomination--it comes at a perfect time and hopefully will help bring me out of a dreadful slump I've been in for weeks now. Apologies for only finding this now, but I haven't been online or doing much of anything lately. Hugs, my friend.
ReplyDelete