Thursday, April 21, 2016

Still Alive


Surprised? Yes, I am still alive. Thank you for all the kind e-mails. I'm still trying to slow down and take care of myself and recover from a bad case of bronchitis after that nasty virus that's been going around here. Can't believe I've been sick all winter. I haven't taken care of myself, been feeling run down for months but kept pushing through. Being a mom, I always put everyone else first and have a hard time slowing down so I'm feeling wiped out most days. The crazy weather does not help. One day it's 78 and sunny and the next it's 40 and raining. Lately, I've been avoiding going out too much and breathing the cold, damp air because it stresses my lungs and only makes everything worse. When that happens I turn on the vaporizer and take to my bed with a cup of tea and a good book. 


Coughing keeps me up at night and I know I should probably try to nap during the day but I can't. I'm allergic to codeine so I cannot take that cough med everyone says I should take that will help me sleep better. I've been to the doctor twice and had several reactions to meds this month and so we'll see if the latest round of antibiotics will help at all. Antibiotics often make me feel sick.

The doctor says what I've got is probably viral so I doubt they will work but he suggested them just in case I've got an underlying sinus infection. I had a chest X-ray last week and it was clear so he said I just need to rest more and give myself time to heal. What a novel idea . . . So, okay, now I've got permission to ignore everything that needs to get done and focus on just taking care of myself and getting better. Doctor's orders. Why is it that we do this to ourselves, thinking we're indispensable? The world does not stop if I slow down, take a nap, don't write a blog post, delay sending out orders a bit, skip vacuuming or get carry out for dinner, LOL. 


In between feeling poorly I managed to get another publisher deadline under my belt. A few weeks ago they sent me the first edit of pages for my next book so I could go over them and make any changes. I was relieved to get that finished and sent in on time. It's moving along nicely. Martingale is very thorough. Right now it's still all just my words on paper. The quilts I sent them in Feb have not been photographed yet. There will be one more edit and then they say I should see page proofs in May, which will be very exciting, seeing everything beautifully laid out with photos. It's all coming together and hopefully will be ready for a December release. The reason it takes so long is that  -  ha ha, guess what? - my book is not the only book they're working on. Everyone at Martingale works hard to see all their books-in-progress through all the different stages (they publish something like 40-50 books a year). Things have to fit nicely on a tight schedule in order to get several books released each month. Sounds difficult to coordinate all of this. 

I didn't want to miss the International Quilt Fest in Chicago this year so I dragged myself over to see it a few weeks ago. Sorry, but they would not let me take photos of most of the quilts in the show. Primitive Quilts magazine had a very nice exhibit so that was fun - 







I noticed there were not as many good vendor booths as in years past - very disappointing.



Red Button Pattern Company - love these little quilts.


antique quilt booths


A specially painted John Deere featherweight from 1950


A few doll quilts scattered here and there



Lots and lots of booths with nice fat quarters. Trust me, I stocked up.

*   *   *

I have to tell you that I am not really interested in keeping up with Facebook or other social media right now. Facebook is starting to seem really pointless. Also, forgive me for not leading the small quilt groups or being active in them. I will pop in here and there when I am feeling better and have something to say. The fact is, I'm just not doing much quilting. That always happens when I finish working on quilts for a book. The intensity of meeting a deadline for making so many quilts in a short period of time exhausts me. I just need a break from it for a little while. Being sick is a good excuse to stay quiet, put my feet up and read some books on my list and I'm having more fun doing that right now.

You all take care and I will see you back here soon, when I have something fun to write about.



       

.

Related Posts with Thumbnails