Sunday, November 18, 2018

All of Me

The other day I realized it was November, and I wasn't blogging every day. I felt a little sad that I had so gotten out of the blogging habit that I didn't even realize November had any special meaning for this little blog.

Yesterday, I went on my Feedly for the first time in a long time. I unsubscribed from a bunch of blogs, mostly those who hadn't published in three to five years (!) but also ones that I couldn't easily identify the person who was writing. I figure if I couldn't remember who you were, I probably wouldn't miss reading you. I really pared things down and I think that will increase my desire to connect. In part I was kept away by the number of people whose blogs were in my feed but I wasn't really reading; I also think the I was being weighed down by the old abandoned blogs in my feed.

Interestingly in reviewing those "dead blogs" I saw how many had returned after an absence. The last post was usually brimming with new optimism for future posts. It made them seem especially sad. None of that for you! Though if things had ended, that Maggie post would have been the best way to go out.

I've had some mental bandwidth for these tasks because things at work are starting to right themselves. I believe I told you back in July that there were happenings--my boss left and I was "interim" director which basically meant I couldn't do anything meaningful but had to keep everything running. I've been promoted permanently--so I can do the meaningful things including hiring a new associate director. Nevertheless, mentally, I'm more present. Still extraordinarily tired at the end of a day, but present.

I finished stitching the dude's anniversary gift in August, but last night I put on the button so it is officially done! This is the 2018 Collector's Heart from Heart in Hand; it's stitched with the kitted fabric and the called-for colors. The dude was especially pleased by it because he likes John Legend. Not for his music. Rather, Legend is a Penn grad and spoke at a graduation the dude attended. (Go on, read it; commencement speeches are one of my favorite genres.) The second anniversary sampler I finished this year! And it's not the first Collector's Heart I've done for him.

Well, I have plans, including bringing this computer in to be looked at. If it were as fast as it should be it wouldn't be so painful to blog. See you soon.

12 comments:

Linda said...

I'm so glad your back Nikki. Congrats on the great finish. Your dude is one lucky guy.

Linda

Pamela said...

Glad to see you are back. Congrats on a great finish and on the promotion!

jhm said...

Glad you are back. I've missed you. I hope you are getting some stitching done with the exception of the anniversary pieces. Looking for ward to seeing more stitching, More Maggie stories and more of the cooking group (assuming you two are still in it).

diamondc said...

Hi Anna: I love the Dudes gift it is a lovely design.
I did like you I did some cleaning, I even got rid of some that only post every six months, I am ready to do some more cleaning.
I hope you have a great week.
It sound like work is getting under control, Congratulations on the promotion.

Catherine

Carol said...

That is a perfect piece of stitching for an anniversary gift! I am another John Legend fan :)

Great news on your permanent associate director status--congratulations!

Robin in Virginia said...

Good for you on getting the Dude's anniversary piece stitched for the year! I really like the colors and verse in this one. Congratulations to you on your promotion; glad it became permanent! It is always good to see a new post from you. Wishing you and yours a very blessed Thanksgiving!

Julie said...

A beautiful stitched anniversary piece.

Unknown said...

Thanks, Linda. I'm pretty lucky myself!

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Great to see you back again. I hear what you're saying about the Feedly reader too. I have a category where I put all my regular commenters and contributors to my SALs so I read them first. You can tell I'm a little bit behind there. If I have time I read the rest of them.

Love the Anniversary Sampler.

Congratulations on the new work role too.

Beth said...

You've had a time of it at work. Glad you got the promotion after handling all the responsibilities. I too feel weighed down by my Feedly feed - I need to cull.

Astrids dragon said...

I go through spurts of reading blogs regularly and then falling behind, like now!
Your finished piece looks great, perfect for an anniversary.
I'm glad things are settled at work, hopefully you're stitching more!

Sheryl said...

I like your stitched anniversary piece and good news about your promotion