Pink for Spring....

March has arrived and for us here in The Valley of the Sun the temps are wonderful...in the low 70s. It has been wonderful sitting outside with my coffee and a book. I have attempted to get back to doing something crafty.... but I see now that I will have to take it easy still.

It felt wonderful lathering up my hand with my Dragonfly soap. I love pretty soaps. Finally my hand feels clean again….It is looking good, still swollen and a little stiff, but I am massaging the fingers as well as stretching them. I am also applying the Mederma oil on the scar and soon my hand will feel soft.

Just the day before surgery I made this Spring wreath to hang at the front door. So far a few birds have checked it out and if they know what is good for them they will leave it alone. I also have taken my cotton thread and Hairpin Lace tool

and added an embroidery pattern that I found on Jacquelynne Steve's blog and voilà...I have a couple of projects. I thought I would start with the tatting project... or at least get part of a few ready but my hand began to really ache. Holding the crochet hook (size 2) caused my fingers to cramp up. So, only 2 are made. Do you know what they are for??? The embroidery pattern is adorable. When you print it, it has 2 sides...each gal is facing opposite/reverse.

She will be stitched on this towel for my kitchen. Originally the pattern is for St. Patrick's Day, but as Jaqueline suggested, you can simply make the clovers into flowers ad that is what I plan to do. I will grab my DMC color chart and decide on which colors to use. Usually when I make one of these towels I cut it in half as this is only for display ad I need only one side to show. I just may make one at one end facing one way and the other end facing opposite. I am having second thoughts about the fabric I chose for my March Origami Star so it is on hold just now. I am not a big fan of St. Pat's designs.... but still it is March. For me it is all about March 19th, Fiesta San Giuseppe, the feast of Saint Joseph.  In my Italian family it was to celebrate my dad's saint day...he was baptized Giuseppe but everyone knew him as Joe. We always had Zeppolas... a delicious pastry filled with cooked cream.
An update on the Doves.... there is now a pair but they are not nesting. They appear every morning in the garden and chat then disappear. I am asking for special thoughts for my friend LuLu back in Rhode Island. Her niece is under going a double mastectomy.... please keep her and the family in your thoughts. Glad you stopped by today. Thank you for all your kind words and for your friendship.

He wore white glitter and I wore blue plastic....

….and Paris has nothing to do with it! Yes, a reference from one of my favorite movies..... ? do you know which one??? The visit with the surgeon went well. Stitches removed and I did not pass out. What you say? It seems that all of a sudden last week looking at the stitches or touching them made me nauseous.  Funny how things affect us from one time to another. The area is still a little swollen and very sensitive to touch but I have good range of motion in the fingers and will continue to do the flexing. Since the stitches were removed yesterday afternoon I have less of that pressure ache in the palm of my hand. Restrictions are gone except that I cannot not soak the hand or massage it as yet... that will be okay once Thursday arrives but not having to wear the glove....is freeing.

It was not glamorous at all as Michael Jackson's white glittering glove.  Preparing food was so uncomfortable. I do not know how chefs wear them while cooking. So, the big question is what will I create first? I really do not know. This week is full of appointments for this or that.

My Romaine is growing quickly. Time to get the seeds planted in the garden. One thing for certain is that the weather is returning to nice and sunny and hopefully a little warmer and that means getting out to the garden. It is such a mess out there. The heavier work will wait for The Brother Alan's visit in May. I still need to get to Lowes for planting soil but will need to wait as it will be too many bags to put into the trunk of my car. Help will needed for that. In the meantime, I will enjoy a gloveless hand to do chores and finally return to having a needle to craft with I hand!  Thank you my friends for the encouragement during this month. Thank you for your kind words and for your friendship. Just where are those Faeries? they seem to forget to stop by for chores!