another journey

A week and half ago I finished up my physical presence at work. Monday I had a relatively minor surgery, and will be out on sick leave until my official retirement date in March. Unless you're already there, you can't imagine the feeling of freedom and anticipation that this milestone brings.

Now, I can't still fully appreciate it since I do have a recuperation period. But I can certainly enjoy that I don't have to watch the weather to see if the roads are passable (there have been a couple of snow days recently that I wouldn't have wanted to drive), I can stay in my jammies as long as I care to, and I don't have to rush to be somewhere at a certain time and be expected to stay there till another certain time. My cubicle days are over! While I really enjoyed the work and especially my co-workers and friends, I'm ready for this next stage of my life.

I'm defintely confined to the house for at least a week, then not quite so confined for the rest of the recuperation. I have been able to do my first stitching on the cq patch and expect to do some more in the next few days. I may have sat up a bit longer than I should yesterday, so today I'll lay around a bit more. Here's my first bit of cq stitching, as well as the back side. The patch itself was sewn to a muslin backing for additional support, which is what you see in the backing picture. You'll also notice that I snipped a bit of the muslin off in the process, hopefully the quilt police are looking the other way. I love the little cameo type piece that has been attached, now will have to audition different stitches or laces for the next bit I do.
My sis has been a big help this week. She stayed with me a couple of nights, taking me to and from the hospital, and getting me settled in back here at home. Couldn't have done it without her...thanks, Nolene!