An Embarrassment of Riches

Forward: Sometimes my life seems best summarized by the idiom, "an embarrassment of riches," both tangible and intangible, great and small.  Today's post is about some of the greater ones lately....

I am....

Relieved that I can finally write about the "Pay It Forward" gift I received from Debby!!!

Oh, whew! (*mopping brow*)

Debby delivered my gift in person at breakfast, and I thought I was going to burst into tears.  It is some kind of gorgeousness!!!  I cherish it, and am wondering how to best display it.  But I was even more moved to read Debby's account ("Pay It Forward Challenge") of how she created it and personalized each segment that she made for Juice, Jill, and me.  I love that our quilts have a connection; it's really reflective of the blog community!  (*sniff*...I'm getting a little teary again...)

Debby's account has the better pictures, but I wanted to talk about some of the details I've noticed so far, and love.  It's an intricate quilt, and I have a feeling that the more I look at it, the more I'm going to see and appreciate.

I love the butterflies!

I love the buttons, and the position of the heart-shaped button by the dedication.

I also love how the stitching goes around the flower blocks to create petals, 

and then extends down to create the stems and leaves.

I also love the richness of the metallic gold in some of the fabrics;

you can't see it too well in the photo, but the brown fabric in the upper flower has it,  

and it adds to the richness without overwhelming.

Isn't the spiral and star stitching on this flower cool?

More of the lovely stitching and embroidered details...I love how she combined these.

More embroidered detail to compliment the center of this flower.

Here's a view of the full treasure!  

Thank you, dear friend!!!

Training:  Well, I was all happy after the big run on Sunday, and then I noticed my ankle got achy after my stationary bike ride on Monday morning.  Bother!  So I swam on Tuesday instead of running.  It felt good, though it took an effort to get over the ugh-have-to-drive-there-and-get-wet-and-reshower inertia.

I think my mantra has to be "Trust the Training."  I ran today (Thursday, day after CardioSculpt class) and my legs weren't 100%, and I felt really sluggish.  My ankle feels fine though.  I have to remember that if I do this *consistently*, the results will follow.  I'm working to build distance, but a little more pep in my step would be welcome.  Rest day tomorrow, then a 4-mile run on Saturday.

Knitting:  Yeay, I finished another baby hat!  No, not for me, but for Christie O's baby shower for the parents of premature babies at her local hospitals.  She and a mom's group in her area do this every year, so I'll be sending her along some hats as part of my "Pay it Forward" project.

I was a little worried about this hat.  I was short on blue, so I switched to cream; I was knitting a pattern that you knit on straight needles in the round instead and saw some flaws in the details.  I agonized whether to start over, but I kept going.  And you know what?  When I finished it, it looked fine, and it's so soft.  I think there's an analogy here.

Yes, I finished this one in the car.  

Don't worry, I'm parked.  

It seems to be one of the few places I can bind off, undisturbed.
(Oh, and no, it's not a toilet paper cozy. :-)

Healthy:  So grateful that the numbers are good.  My 7-day fasting blood glucose average was 106 and my overall 7-day average was 107.  My weigh-in day weight has remained unchanged since the beginning of the month.  I'm happy that this is so, even though I'm not weighing daily. (Trust the training!)

I want to...

Keep doing the good stuff.


Publish some of the draft posts I've started.


Start that sweater for the adorable Chloe!