Since my last post, I have had several new experiences. They include, but are not limited to, an ultrasound, a CT scan, a colonoscopy, a diagnosis of a malignant mass, major surgery to remove the mass, then another surgery to insert a vascular catheter (port), a PET scan, and last, but certainly not least, chemotherapy. I was sailing right along through that list until I ran into the brick wall called chemo. I've always thought of myself as a pretty tough cookie, but I've definitely met my match. I called it a day after 4 treatments (was supposed to do 12). My last session was 2 weeks ago and I'm already feeling much better. So, now I'm ready to get on with the rest of my life.
I haven't accomplished a lot over the last months, but for the past few days I've been working hard to finish a commission that's due next month. I will take photos when it's finished and show you what I've been working on for way too long. Normally, I'd have finished the piece by now, but only having a few days a month when I felt like going down the stairs to my studio has made this a very long-term project.
My take-away from this experience is a real appreciation for simply feeling good and being able to enjoy such basic things as having food taste good and actually wanting to eat. I'm sure I will eventually regress to that state of taking life for granted again, as we all do, but for now, I'm savoring every day.
While I've been laying about taking it easy, my quilts have been working hard. "End of Day" was juried into ArtFields in Lake City, SC. The show opens April 24th and runs through May 2nd. There were over 1,000 entries and 400 were chosen, so it feels really special to be a part of the show for the second year.
"Downtown" will be included in the Southeast SAQA Exhibit, "Southern Accents", and will be displayed, along with art quilts from throughout the Southeast at the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts, Florida Institute of Technology, in Melbourne, FL. The exhibit opens on May 15th and runs through August 22nd.
And, in today's mail, I received the latest edition of the SAQA Journal, turned to page 22 and found "Cowgirls Just Wanna Have Fun", which I had submitted several months ago for their consideration. The theme was "Joy/Happiness". I know I was happy to see my work there.
So, even though I've been otherwise engaged, my "children" have been out in the world getting some much appreciated recognition. I'll try to keep up with this blog a bit better in the future. Thanks for stopping by.
