Moving Mom

On Feb. 14 we moved Mom to her new home at Sunrise Senior Living in Edmonds. It's a warm place with touches of home: scrapbooks set out on a large table for paging through, comfy chairs and sofas, pretty art work, and lots of activity. 

From left to right: Cheryl Ahlen (Colleen's mom), Colleen, niece Shannon, myself and Mom celebrating Shannon's birthday

This was Mom's third move in two years and we've downsized over and over. My sister-in-law, Colleen, is a master at this organization thing. Boxes and gallon-size garbage bags are filled with the clothes and shoes Mom can no longer wear, and the books she can no longer read. Mitch and my niece's friend Brandon did the heavy lifting, Colleen's mom Cheryl, Colleen and myself moved boxes. We all had dinner with her that night in the dining room at Sunrise. Prime rib that, well, frankly, was "prime rib" for people without teeth. Still, she seemed to enjoy her meal.

It was so hard to leave her in her new, unfamiliar place. In those surroundings, she seems to shrink even smaller, and looks at us with her still beautiful big brown eyes--doe eyes--in a slightly helpless kind of way. But she seems happy there, playing cards the next night, having a manicure and bubble bath in her first few days at the residence. 

Mom has more resilience than anyone I know. I believe it's a gift she's passed along to her children, and I'm so grateful to her for it.

New work

I've added a new journal under "What I love" on the right side of the page. "Felt" is where I'll be sharing my experiments with felting and making beaded and embroidered cuffs. Hope you enjoy this sneak peak.

Birthday balloons for Madeline

My friend Madeline is a friend that I cherish. She's honest and passionate about her beliefs, eloquent and always curious about learning new things. She'd be the perfect traveling companion, and I hope to have the pleasure some day. Madeline has a beautiful smile, mischievous eyes, and an infectious laugh. She's always up for fun, but can also be counted on for the kind of heart-to-heart talk that we all need at times. She knows how to listen, a true gift. I feel honored to call her a friend. So here's to you Madeline. Have the happiest of days.

The waiting game

About 10 days ago I had a job interview for a grocery chain that will be opening a new market. There were 500 applicants, from what I heard, for all of the open positions. The one that I applied for is fairly specialized, and I felt that I did well in both interviews.

But now I wait, and wait, to hear something, anything. There's no phone number to call, no way to find out anything about the job. I don't do well at not knowing what the next step will be. I get nervous and anxious and scared. I wake up in the middle of the night fretting. I've tried to let go, and just let the God I believe in take over. Sometimes prayer works, but often I've dug too deep of an anxiety pit to climb back out easily.

I've worked my entire adult life before the last few months, and have always known the relative security of a paycheck. But now, just as millions of others are experiencing, I'm playing the waiting game. And, like so many other games, luck and chance are thrown into the mix, over which we have little control. 

Update on Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 9:23AM by CeCe Sullivan

I didn't get the job I applied for, and am awfully disappointed. But, there's a reason for everything, at least that's what I believe. Whatever that reason is, this job isn't what I needed at this time, and with some more work, my next step will become more clear.

Embroidery Lesson 2

One of the most intriguing things about embroidery is the way it can be manipulated. The sample that I've been working on looks like an ancient script of some lost tribe, instead of the poor example of buttonhole variations that it is. Still, it has its own primitive beauty. I think this is another example of the art school maxim, "you have to learn the rules before you can break them." Never has it been more clear to me. If I learn to embroider these stitches really well, the design possibilities will be endless. 

I've found that working the stitches on felt helps me to see them more clearly. And removing the truly botched ones can be taken care of without damaging the surface.

I've been sketching out lots of designs for making embroidered felt cuffs. That's not new, of course. But I want to try combining the rougher felt with the beautiful silver and gold foils made for textiles. My mind is so full of ideas that a few nights ago I dreamt about a long black table covered with rows of colorful handmade cuffs.