Sewing is my therapy.

Last week I posted a little parcel of handmade goodies to Deb.   You could call it a random act of kindness.  I wanted to make her something, to say thank you for being herself.  To me, she is so inspiring.  I love reading her blog and following her on Instagram.  She makes beautiful quilts.  She works hard at studying at University and raising her kids.  I really love her honesty on her blog and on Instagram.  She is not afraid to talk about difficult things like her feelings. I wish I could be so honest.

I included a letter with the handmade goodies.  I only meant to say a few words, to thank her for being so inspiring and honest. In the end, it was a few pages long, confessing how 2014 had been the worst year of my life and the reasons why.  I talked here about my grief at losing both my Nana and then my Grandma last year.  There were other things that made 2014 an awful year.  I am not ready to talk about them here.  Maybe one day I will be ready.

Once I had posted the parcel to Deb, I worried that I'd dumped all my pain on her. She has experienced her own share of pain and grief, she is open and honest about it on her blog and on Instagram. I felt relief to have shared all this in my letter but part of me felt guilty for burdening Deb.

I did not and could not know how she would receive my letter. It was a complete surprise to me that my letter did not burden her but uplifted her.  (She wrote about it here on her blog). I could then see clearly, by sharing my pain and grief with her, I was acknowledging her own pain and grief.  We all feel better when we talk about these things, it is part of the healing process.  It is not healthy to anyone to bottle up their emotions.

Deb has helped to heal me. I feel stronger. I feel supported.  Deb is my friend (even if we have never met).  I loved making all these goodies for her.

Sewing is my therapy. What is yours?

Hoops for a Nan and a Granny

Hi lovelies,

I was so happy with my Christmas hoops that I decided to make a few more.  One for my Grandma and one for the Shropshire boys Nan.  I know they will both love this fabric.

Yay, two more hand made Christmas presents finished.  I still have some more to complete, so I better be off.  Are you busy making any Christmas presents?

Have a great day.

Cat.

Grateful

This week I am grateful for sleep. The last few weeks I have been walking around in a daze. Like a zombie. Zoe has been up early most mornings, and some nights a few times during the night (this is not normal for her) I have also been having trouble getting to sleep at night, there has been so much going on in my head.

My mum is such a good egg, she stayed over last Saturday night, and got up to Zoe (at 5am!) and also Abbey who woke up not long after. I had an amazing nights sleep, got up at 7am, fed Zoe, had breakfast, and went back to bed for 2 more hours - I felt like a new person after all that sleep. I have been making sure I get to bed at a reasonable hour each day since, and the zombie feeling is gone. I am still tired, but not the zombie tired, there is a big difference.

I am also grateful that Chris got a last minute flight last night and arrived home this morning. So another long weekend with him. We are a family again for 3 glorious days. I am grateful he works for an airline (no, he is not a pilot!) so he is able to come home and see us often.

Finally, I am grateful for beautiful sunflowers. I bought two for us, and two for my mum last week. They inspired me to get out my proper macro lens and take some photos. I love macro photography and being able to see the world from a different angle.

Pop in and see all the lovely gratefulness over at Maxabella Loves.

Have a lovely weekend peeps. Cat