I have been working on an embroidered 8" square

you are keeping busy Diane and I totally agree that you need good light to select the correct threads. Please post a picture when you have finished it. I love sewing and have done lots over the years. but as you will know from my blogs I am currently bitten by the patchwork quilting bug. I have several sewing/embroideries on the go, some are crewel, others are cross stitch, Oh I also have 3 knitting projects awaiting completion.

Would love to see the finished result. Your unfinished projects sound so familiar Seaburn, or do we just say 'in progress' - now where is that in progress cross-stitch?

I once met a lady who said " I am having a week finishing everything I started." SB reminds me of her.

What I like about the 8" squares, is they cost next to nothing and use my Clarks Anchor threads to make something small but lovely to keep for future years.

Have been sewing this afternoon, listening to my Dad
playing the Banjo. Cold and grey here.

The original one I think was in Blair Atholl Castle on a Scottish cycle tour. It was just a small square, wonderful hand sewn embroidery, I never forgot it.
Wonder if it is still there ?
Hope mine will eventually be as good.
An interesting thing has happened because of it. I was getting swollen ankles in the evenings. My osteopath said they are caused because although my heart is still strong its getting tired because of my age. Been pumping the blood around my body for 90 years. I am dieting to lose weight to help it. Found putting my feet in a foot muff and keeping them warm helped.
Now the swelling has disappeared.
I realise my body is telling me to rest in the afternoons
which is better than getting chemicals from the GP to solve the problem.
That 2 hours listening to music whilst sewing is what my heart needed.

Had a mustard in hot water foot bath yesterday. This cured my Gout in February without GPs medication.
It has never come back.
Also cured my corns !

There's a lot of truth in the old remedies, but much easier to fob us all off with a pill or two and hope for the best! Rest is best for lots of things, the old adage - Never run when you can walk, never walk when you can stand, never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie and never lie when you can sleep. Might not get much done, that's the only problem, but I expect our Grandparents took their rest when they could, dawn 'til dusk work was probably no joke.

Diane, so much here to comment on - I only just found it, I also love to see hand embroidery, patchwork, knitting, anything like that. I would love to see your square when you are done, and I think your album idea is wonderful too.

I did not realise you were 90 years young! Wow! I am glad to hear you are finding some effective things to help with various ailments. I like to live as naturally as possible too food/healthwise.

About 3 years ago I was on 8 tramadol every day, had been for about 2 years, told by a doc that I needed to. Then I tried amitryptelene at night, just one tab as a muscle relaxant and was able to come off the tramadol.

Now I have recently been diagnosed with arthritis on top of everything else that was already not working properly, but I knew of something that had helped my dog and someone else's dog too, almost miraculously. So I am taking the human version. It's a high dose of glucosamine and a regular dose of chondroitin. In the last few weeks since I started that I have only needed the amitryptelene a couple of times and my hips and knees have been less painful.

I like to use "proper" bath salts. The magnesium in them gets absorbed through the skin and is supposed to help with energy but I like the hot soak too for the relaxation and warmth.

I try to eat as healthily as I can too. And changing type of activity frequently helps me keep going for longer before needing to lay down. I do nap every day. I try to keep going until after lunch but I often can't manage the morning without napping too.

I know how enjoyable it is to have some music on while sitting doing a project. That is what I do when I knit or paint.

If I had more time/energy and less projects already on the go I would love to join your group, but I know I can't take it on. I might be able to paint some though as that will take less time than the stitching and I am trying to improve my painting skills.

At the moment I just borrowed a book with lots of large photos of Cornwall, so I am hoping to find time to try translating some of those into paintings.

I have been practising the piano a bit more again lately too. But I have my heart set on getting hold of something called a kemenche, which is like the old English medieval violin called a rebec. It has just 3 strings and can be held along the arm or across the lap instead of the awkward position of a regular violin, and the 3 strings are supposed to be easier to learn than the regular 4 of a violin. They can be tuned in various ways depending what you want to play. I have only waiting 46 years so far since my first hearing a violin when I was age 7....