Challenges and trees

After much thought and, errm, "encouragement", these are my stitching challenges for 2015 - well, some of them, anyway. One of the Facebook groups I have joined is running a challenge to make a dent in the progress of, or even complete, some of our UFOs (Unfinished objects). The "rules" are that you select 12 stitching/craft projects you want to tackle during 2015 and list them in any order. On the first Monday of each month, a number will be drawn out of a "hat", and you work on that project till the first Monday of the next month. You also post a "before" and "after" photo. So this is my list of projects:

The number chosen for January is 4, so I am busy working on Mary's cushion, and this is my "before" photo:

Since taking the photo I have made a bit of progress, though not as much as I'd have liked!! But that is fairly typical of my sewing!!

I missed my quilting group's meeting this past week. I had a doctor's appointment to review my medication, and he was running over half an hour late, so by the time I would have arrived, I'd have had time for a coffee and time to unpack my project. I will restart next week. I must decide soon what I am going to work on during the meetings.

Anyway, the doctor seems quite happy with my progress apart from the frequency of migraines (one every 8 days), so I am on a different beta-blocker which will have a prophylactic action for those.  Panic/anxiety attacks are happening much less frequently and with far less severity, but he would like to see them stop altogether. After that, it will be another 6 months before he would even consider taking me off the SRI (serotonin re-uptake inhibitor), so I will have to behave properly till then with regards to caffeine, chocolate and alcohol!!

Last year (whoops!), I promised the saga of our trees. It all started when Bruce was cutting back our rather large laurel bush in the front garden and he was offered some help by a tree-surgeon. We asked if he could help with the very tall conifers in the back garden which he agreed to do. No problems, as he did what we needed. Then he started on the laurel. Oh, dear! He was using a chain saw, and for some reason he omitted to tie his ladder securely to a sturdy part of the bush. I looked out of our front window just as he fell off the ladder, and dropped his saw in such a way that the blade caught the top of his head. I thought I was going to have to deal with a dead body, but the saw had a safety cut-out. Even so, he looked like something from a horror film! He refused A&E, so I mopped him up and used some very large plasters on his head - he was bald on top - and gave him a glass of water and made sure he rested a while. Still refusing to allow me to send for an ambulance, he insisted on carrying on for another few minutes to get his nerve back, and then drove home, telling me he didn't want his wife to worry. I phoned him a few days later, and he assured me he was recovering nicely.  Sadly, the next time we saw him, he told us his wife had died, but he himself was fully recovered and looking for more work.

Other challenges:

The house is a mess, and I am trying to get sorted bit by bit. 

One of my resolutions not listed last time is to do a bit of writing each week, be it blog, sermon, letter or other stuff.

The freezer packed in just after I had defrosted it, and the new one arrives on Wednesday. Well, actually, it's a very nice American-style fridge-freezer. 

Outside

Inside

I reasoned that if the freezer wasn't working properly, the somewhat older fridge probably wouldn't be far behind. However, whilst the freezer will be being recycled, I hope the fridge will go to a home which can use one for a while.  

 
The challenge will be getting everything into a slightly smaller space than we have at the moment.

Well, I think that's quite long enough! If you have been, my dear non-existent reader(s), thanks for reading this ramble.
Until next week.  
Jenny