Catching Up on Things

Back in...maybe January...ish...I bought an issue of Mollie Makes that came with a really cute embroidery kit. It was supposed to be for Valentine's Day, but I didn't get to it. And then when I had big plans to do it, it had to wait a little longer. A couple weeks ago, I spent a Saturday afternoon happily stitching and drinking tea so I could cross one more thing off of my to-do list. This wee little bit of embroidery made me quite happy (mostly, because after a million years, I FINally mastered the French knot).

I had a stinker of a time getting the pre-printed fabric into the hoop. It's still not in there correctly, but I was thiiiiiiis close to losing my temper with it, so it's good enough. But isn't that a delightful freebie?

I don't have much experience with embroidery, and sometimes I curse too much while I'm stitching, but I do so enjoy it. Especially all of those beautifully colored threads.

The great thing about kits is that you generally get just enough so you don't have oodles of leftover materials. But the thing about kits is that you get just enough. There wasn't much fabric on the back to gather it in with some simple stitches and hide it behind the hoop, so I cut a piece of lightweight cardboard and shoved it in there nice and tight.

And here is another detail shot, because those are my favorite.

In other news, I saw the specialist again last week. He's still inclined to think this is not MS. I see him again in September, have another MRI in November, and at that point he'll be ready to make a diagnosis (some fancy talk about blood-brain barriers, contrast uptake, and anti-inflammatory medication). He's leaning towards an ever-present vascular abnormality that became inflamed (perhaps due to a virus--remember my vertigo?) and is in the absolute perfect spot to cause the symptoms I had (and will probably never bother me again). I'm keeping it in my brain that this is indeed MS so I don't have to wrap my brain around it again, but I've got all my fingers and toes crossed that in a few months he'll say "Nope. Now leave." And then I shall skip out the door with a smile on my face, and probably buy myself some ice cream.