A Plague on My House

Pity Party? Table for One. Right this way.

I’m not sure if I’m really having a pity party so much as a seriously worn out party.

Feel free to grab some cheese while you read this post because it will go well with my whine.

For those of us that don’t imbibe, that there is a  glass full of unfermented wine, aka, grape juice. Here’s the dealio. Since November, the 11th to be exact, I have had sick people in my house, or have been sick myself. Fourteen weeks. 98 days, give or take one or two days when we all felt okay. I feel like our house has been hit by a plague. It’s unreal.

One of the boys got sick first. I don’t even remember which one it was. A few days later, the next one got it. Then the first one got better. Then I came down with it. Then I got better. Then Hubs got it, but kept saying, “It’s not the flu. I can’t have the flu. I got a flu shot!”

I’m pretty sure he didn’t have the flu. I strongly suspect he had pneumonia! We’ll never know because we didn’t go to the doctor. I’m sure that appalls some of you, but here’s the thing. When we moved here a year ago, I never got around to getting us a regular doctor. Try finding a doctor when you’re actually sick but not a patient anywhere. Add to that the fact that we have a $2,500/person deductible and you can see why we try to avoid the doctor.

So Hubs spent ALL of December coughing and sweating and blowing his nose and having trouble breathing. If you’re like me, when your bed partner is not sleeping well, neither do you. My sleep has been disturbed for weeks and weeks. Hubs slowly got better, but most of January was spent with him recovering. Then the boys got sick again and so did I. For almost all of January. We’d each get better and then a few days later it’d come back. Which meant more sleep deprivation.

This week we are dealing with the stomach flu. Seriously, I have a plague on my house. As if dealing with the plague wasn’t enough, I have been trying to get off the juice.

When I get tired, I crave caffeine and sugar like nobody’s business. I usually drink one of these a day. Which explains my obesity. I’ve gotten weary of the lack of sleep/drink caffeine-eat too much sugar/too awake to sleep at a reasonable hour routine. I am trying to make positive changes this year. I’m more aware of the cravings and why I want them. I try to shut those voices up with smarter choices. Like taking a nap. Or eating protein or a piece of fruit. If I’ve tried that route and the voices are still yammering away, I will shut them up with a poor woman’s peanut butter cup.

    

One Spoonful + One Promise = Quiet Voices

Sadly, I was out of my medicinal chocolate and peanut butter by itself doesn’t cut it. With only one car in the family, I don’t have the liberty of running to the stores to replenish my emergency chocolate stash. Sugar and caffeine withdrawals are not pretty people. Sick, tired and Jonesing makes for a very cranky Gal.

Okay, you can put the cheese down now. I’m done whining. All this is to say that I haven’t felt much like creating. Well, that’s not true. I have done a lot of creating, I just haven’t felt like writing about it.

I’ll give you a sneak peak, though.

I’ve been working on my settee. If you recall, I bought it this summer from a garage sale for $20. It started out looking like this:

0810001331_0001 

The wood is scuffed with paint and the old finish on it is so aged and dark that it was impossible to see the wood grain. I’ve pulled off the old upholstery and have stripped the wood. Hubs refused to let me paint it, which I think would have looked awesome, but I have to say he’s right in this case. The wood is simply too beautiful to cover up with paint.

 

 front left detail after restoration

This is a hand-carved piece. The lines do not have the perfection of machine work.

right leg after restoration 

I’ve been working on the fabric for the settee, too. I’m using a drop cloth, but I’m putting a design on the fabric. It’s very unique and I want it just right. Here’s a peak of part of the still-in-progress design.

0215010958

This is a compass rose off a map from 1570. I’m really excited about the design, but it’s taking me much longer to pull it together. I’d love to just slap it all together and call it done. I’ve learned that if I just try to push through without giving myself time to do it right, I will end up hating the finished project. I’m trying to curb my impatience and let this one come together the right way.

I’ve also whipped up a little something for those vintage hankies I have.

I call it hankie origami.

blue rose hankie crane 2

I also have finished a cheese dome cloche and will show you how to spiff it up with Rub ‘n Buff.

embossed cheese dome cloche

My goal is to do a post on each of these, but I thought I’d show you the things that are helping me hold it together.

 Creating and designing are my best coping tools.

Trying to figure out how to do something and bringing different elements together helps me find calm and chaos in a life that is often stressful and hectic.

I appreciate your indulging me tonight and on my last post. If you read my post about my nephew, you’ll know it wasn’t an easy post to read or to write. I’m excited to say that I’ve helped raise $289.78 towards the goal of $2,328 for MADD.  You gals ROCK!!!

If you want to contribute, I have a link on my sidebar or you can click the icon below. We are only asking for $2.30 from each person.

Stick with me. I’ll be better soon and back to fighting form. I know this winter has been hard on a lot of people. If your family is suffering from the plague, too, you have my deepest sympathies. The bright spot in this is that my people are bigger and can wipe their own noses and can “empty” their guts out in solitude. They just want Mom to love them and snuggle them and tell them they’ll get better. Fortunately, I still have the energy to do that much.

ps. I just had my daily dosage of Dove Chocolate and was informed that “You are exactly where you are supposed to be. Love, Dove” Thanks, Dove. Good to know you want me suffering from the plague.

Suesan

Thank you for reading Frou-FruGal. For more projects, please click to my site, http://froufrugal.blogspot.com