To those of you who have contacted me lately, I will get a reply out to you soon. I promise.
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I really did hope to get the Maui Sampler to the printer way before now. However, I continued to have numerous issues with the hearing (or lack thereof) in my right ear as well as dizziness that made navigating daily life a challenge at times. After a couple of random ear bleeds (yeah, that's right - ear bleeds?!) I finally went to the ear doctor again who said it was time for a CT scan. Well lo and behold, there was a mass eating away at my mastoid bone and a fistula in the middle ear. I had surgery last Friday (outpatient). I was doing okay (in other words, I was overdoing it, and the pain caught up with me. If you have the nerve to, read about it Check out mastoidectormy and tympanoplasty. I had lots of ear infections as a child and as a result, I had a tiny hole in my eardrum which was letting sneaky little skin cells cross over to the other side (something they should NOT do). A large part of my mastoid bone was already gone and apparently some of the structures in the middle ear gone, as well. My hearing is terrible but since my ear is really swollen, I'm hoping that will improve as time goes by. The surgeon put in prosthetics to replace the parts of the middle ear that were damaged. Hopefully, with time, most of my hearing will return. The dizziness is already markedly decreased. But the pain, oh my word! I had a kidney stone once and I thought that was bad. This pain has been off the scale for me. If I had been told just how bad the pain would be, I would have seriously reconsidered this surgery. Left unchecked, however, the mass would have eventually eaten my brain. So the surgeon said I HAD TO HAVE THE SURGERY. So I did. I keep telling myself - it will get better, it will get better. In the meantime, though, I'm pretty miserable. I'm taking two weeks off from work to (hopefully) heal. I haven't felt up to doing anything yet but I will send the Maui Sampler to the printer in the next few days. After all, ya'll have been waiting just about forever for it. I'm so grateful to you all for not ditching me. I really do have good intentions and lots of ideas for designs. I hope to get some work on new designs during my recuperation.
BTW, if you have had successful ear surgery, please let me know all about it so I don't feel so alone. If your surgery was less than optimal you don't need to share that. I've just got to stay positive right now. It's times like this that I really miss my mom! Even as an adult, when I was in pain, she would literally sit me on her lap and rock me just like I was still a little girl. And when it was my turn to care for her, I would do the same for her. I miss her so very much. (But I can also hear her whispering in my ear - Frances Louise, quit wallowing, get up and carry on. My reply? Yes, ma'am. Besides, she's the one who introduced me to cross stitching so I need to honor her with new designs ASAP. I HEAR YOU, MOM!) Again, mahalo for your continued support of my Hawaiian designs for counted cross stitch. Maui Sampler will go to the printer next week and I should have it before the end of the month! I am proofreading the layout now hoping to catch any errors before it goes to press. I know it's been a long wait. Mahalo for your patience.
I finally finished stitching the Maui Sampler while listening to the roaring winds and falling rain all weekend. We were spared any major damage - just a lot of tree limbs down everywhere. Cross stitching turned out to be just the thing to keep my mind (mostly) off the terrible weather. Now I just have to finish the layout and get it to the printer. I hope to do that before the end of the month.
Will keep you all updated and mahalo for your patience.
I am still stitching the Maui Sampler but I am getting ready to start the tapa border so the end is in sight. Hopefully, the stitching will be completed by week's end. Next weekend I can complete the layout for the chart and send it to the printer in July (probably after the 4th).
Completion and publication of the updated Hawaiian Islands will be next. In case you missed it, yesterday was the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. From here on, the days will be getting shorter until the winter solstice in December. Time seems to be flying by!
I stitched all day today on the Maui sampler and I should have it finished soon. If I didn't have a full-time day job, it would be finished much sooner. I've thought of taking my stitching with me to work. I could stitch on my lunch break but I'd no sooner get started before I'd have to stop, so that's no fun. I am designing a few small projects for the winter holidays. With the incredibly warm temperatures here anything that conjures up thoughts of cooler weather is welcome, indeed. I promise an expanded blog post soon. It's hard to believe it's been months since my last post. Where does the time go? I am still working on the Maui Sampler and making good progress. With the ongoing eruption of Kilauea, I am considering bringing back the E Pele E! design. What do you think? Congratulations to those who are graduating from school this season, whether it be high school or college! May all your dreams come true. LOCAL HAPPENINGS IN THE ISLANDS - MAY and JUNE 2018* 37th ANNUAL KAPALUA WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL (Kapalua, Maui) 6/7-6/10 PAN-PACIFIC FESTIVAL: MATSURI IN HAWAI'I (Honolulu, Oahu) 6/9-6/11 Expect to hear taiko drums rhythmically thumping the the background of the blockwide opening day ho'olaule'a (celebration), which will also feature Hawaiian music, hula and ethnic cuisine. The entire matsuri (festival) culminates in a parade down Kalakaua Avenue. LANTERN FLOATING CEREMONY (Honolulu, Oahu) 5/28 The sounding of the pu (conch shell) marks the commencement of this deeply meaningful tradition that recurs every Memorial Day. Wade your way through Ala Moana Beach Park to watch thousands of floating lanterns as they're released into the water in honor of those who are no longer with us. MOLOKA'I KA HULA PIKO (Maunaloa, Moloka'i) 5/31-6/2 In oral Hawaiian mo'olelo (histories), a woman named La'ila'i made her home on Molokai and introduced the art of hula to the island's people, which then spread to the other Hawaiian Islands. To celebrate the birth of hula, halau (troupes) perform over the course of three days, and the event ends with a grand ho'olaule'a. KING KAMEHAMEHA DAY (Statewide) 6/11 Estimated to stand over 7 feet tall, King Kamehameha is a monumental figure in Hawaiian history. From Kaua'i to Lana'i, floral parades and pa'u horseback riders (ladies wearing long skirts) will take to the streets to honor Hawai'i's great unifier, as well as to celebrate Hawaiian culture. FIFTH FRIDAY (Lana'i City, Lana'i) 6/29 Little Lana'i lets its hair down every fifth Friday, lighting up Dole Park with music, food and drinks.  *Event information is from Hawai'i Magazine, June 2018 issue.
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Just call me FranSo glad to finally have a website. Life is good. CategoriesArchives
October 2017
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