Distractions

Waiting for things to move forward with the adoption is clearly one of the hardest things I have had to do. Maybe not the hardest --that would be losing my mother and my stepmother-- but clearly it is beginning to rank pretty high on the list. But I am trying to keep my mind off of things and focus on other things.

Creative things. I've started working on several new projects, including a scrapbook, a blanket and a quilt. I realize that several member of my family are rolling their eyes at my tackling a quilt. You see, I have quite the history of failing to finishing what I start. It took ten years to finish one cross-stitched blanket. But I will say that I knitted four complete blankets so far this year.

The concept behind this quilt is actually pretty cool. Several prospective adoptive parents from one of my email groups are participating in a "Vietnam Culture Quilt Swap." Every person involved picked two topics to research and complete a one page write-up. Then, we choose a fabric that corresponds with the topic and cut a quilt square. Also included in the write up is a wish for the child. So far, we've gotten a few squares in the mail. It has been so much fun. At the end of the swap, I should have enough squares to make a quilt, as well as a scrapbook full of write-up on Vietnamese culture.

Larry and I have also turned to gardening to occupy our minds. Larry constructed a raised bed off of our patio. I planted several varieties of tomatoes, some squash, green peppers and sweet peppers. I didn't think that it would do that well. However, it has virtually exploded. Larry has also been planting some flowers which are starting to bloom. And I picked our first vegetables today, the squash pictured here.

Some green peppers

Roma tomatoes almost ripe