A Bright Spot in the Darkness

Hi friends!  I'm back after another crazy few weeks.  Eliot and I battled more sickness the last two thirds of April, which is why I haven't been around here lately.  Thankfully, I've gotten out of the house a few times for some of our crafting classes, but other than that, I've been a home body- much like I have most of this winter.

As planned, I went home to help my parents with the last week of tax season.  Maine had until Wednesday the 17th because Patriots Day (Maine and Massachusetts) was on Monday and then the entire country observed Emancipation Day on Tuesday.  I went home early Friday the 12th since Eliot and I were supposed to have our second resin geode class the night of the 11th.  Our teacher ended up being sick and class was postponed, but I stuck with the original plan.

A close up of my finished resin geode.

Of course, while I was home, all you-know-what broke loose.  My car had been having trouble and it wouldn't start when my Dad went out to check it.  Thank goodness I at least got home ok.  My mother had flu like symptoms (fever/nausea) and thought she had another infection in her leg like last year.  Daddy wasn't feeling well but kept pushing to work on tax returns.  (Mom did end up having an infection, had to get medication and just had minor surgery on it last Friday.)

But that's not all... it got worse.  I ended up going to bed Sunday night with horrible stomach pains.  I was up all night going back and forth between the bathroom.  Then, at 5:30 am, the vomiting started.  After about 12 horrible hours, the stomach flu finally subsided.  I was completely wiped out and didn't get out of bed until about 2:00 pm.  I finally got a banana and some Gatorade into me when my phone rang.  It was Eliot's co-worker.  Apparently, Eliot had just passed out at work, the ambulance was on the way and he was going to the ER.  At this point, I didn't even know what to do or say.

Eliot's resin geode after the first class.

Thankfully, Eliot ended up being ok.  This happened once before when he was in college.  He was really dehydrated and hadn't eaten much.  He passed out, went to the hospital and was diagnosed with pneumonia.  The same thing happened this time around.  I ended up staying with my parents.  By that night, he was home safe, on medication and told me he was staying home the rest of the week to rest and get well.

I don't know how we did it, but we finished tax season.  It was definitely interesting, but we all did the best we could.  Mom was a warrior and pushed herself as hard as she could.  Daddy got everything done that he could even though he wasn't feeling great himself.  I bounced back once I got actual food back into me.  And a few days later, I was taking the last few tax returns to the late night mail pick up at the mail sorting facility 45 minutes away.  We survived another tax season!

My resin geode after the first class.

The rest of April flew by.  Eliot and I have both been feeling better.  Aside from a few headaches here and there, we've been doing pretty good.  Things seem to be looking up the past few days and I think we're finally in the clear!  (I really hope so anyways!)  

All of this sickness and staying home has made me ready for spring and to be outside more.  We had one day that was 70 degrees and I didn't even get to enjoy it.  This week, I'm really in the mood to do spring cleaning so I've poked around doing a bit of that.  I can't wait to get outside to clean the yard up a little.  And I'd love to be able to open the windows to get some fresh air in here... maybe this weekend.

Eliot's finished resin geode.

As I mentioned before, one bright spot in the darkness of all the never-ending sickness has been my adult education classes.  In April, Eliot and I had our resin geode classes and I finished my sewing class on Tuesday.  Our next class together is in June, and I might sign up for one in May, but I haven't decided yet.

I had a blast with our resin geode class.  My instructor laughed that I took it a second time, but she understood that I wanted to do it with Eliot.  We've been looking into using resin for a few projects and this was a great opportunity to learn about it.  Eliot's hated going to Painting with a Twist with me, so I thought making something abstract would be more enjoyable for him.  I was right.  He seemed to enjoy himself.

My finished resin geode with all of the added details.

Eliot made a resin geode based off of the San Jose Sharks team colors.  I loved the deep rich teal color he used on it.  I decided to go with pinks and purples this time.  I think I'm going to put this one in my office along with my blue and purple geode from my first class.  I still can't wait to make more of them!

Tuesday was my last sewing class and I finally finished my pajama pants.  They took way longer than they should have, but considering that I lost out on a few classes due to sickness and not having my supplies, I think I did pretty well.  The colors remind me of the Bubblegum Wall in Epcot.  I think they turned out really cute!

My finished flannel pajama pants.

This fall, we're working on tote bags again.  Since I've finished one (Beauty and the Beast), and started another (Little Mermaid), I'm going to loosely follow along with the class while simultaneously working on a few other projects.  My instructor said she found a circle skirt tutorial, so I'm hoping to make myself a skirt or two!  I've also been thinking about getting fabric to make valances for our open concept living room, dining room and kitchen.  Plus, I already have some Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse fabric to make some decorative pillow cases for our master bedroom.  I've got a few other ideas for projects, so I guess time will tell what I'm able to do in 8 weeks of classes this fall!

In the meantime, I'm going to keep spring cleaning and working on projects here and there.  Hopefully, Eliot and I are both on the mend and we can leave all of this sickness in the past where it belongs!  I'm ready to move on to bigger and better things!!!  °o°