Sunday Stroke Survival ~ One-handed Gift Wrapping.

I love Christmas! All the lights, the smell of a fresh Fir tree, the smell of orange marmalade cooking and waiting to be jarred (okay so I have help this year doing this). It's my favorite time of year. Besides Easter, 4th of July and Thanksgiving it's the only time during the year when three generations of family can all get together under one roof. Sadly until now, I've knitted, needle worked, crocheted, quilted, cut and sewed Christmas presents for all my loved ones.

One year it was silk embroidered blouses and monogrammed handkerchiefs. Another year was hand stitched quilts. Sweaters, scarves, hats, and gloves galore for another year....think it's no small feat? Try making fifty sets for  Christmas. Add the crocheted or knitted Christening gowns and I've been a busy lady. I lost count how many quilts I've made for family.

 The wrappings were a work of art also with pleated wrapping papers, ribbon poinsettias, or cut work ribbon and gift cards. So now it leaves me wondering how to do these extra special touches one-handed.

It's bad enough that Christmas is store bought which breaks a tradition, but no fancy wrappings from Jo/Aunt Jo/Grandma? Say it isn't so.

Okay, so I can tie my own shoes so long as it is off my foot. It took me several months of trial and error to accomplish that feat. Christmas presents tied with a bow like shoes and stick on bows just hasn't been done in years! I'll have to think of something special soon because I have everyone's Christmas stashed in one corner in my office and bedroom closet...Shhh! don't tell anyone.

Why have something plain when extra touches makes it look so grand? Maybe because it's beyond me right now might be a handy excuse. I've been making a lot of excuses lately. Probably more than I've made in my entire life and over all it's been because of my stroke.

The darn stroke has changed everything in my life! It's not forgotten only lying dormant along with the use of my right side in a damaged brain. I want to yell at my right side to wake up already and move. I dream of the movement I want to accomplish only to wake up and nothing has changed. If hard work equals results, where is it? That's my fifteen minutes on the pity pot. I'm done.

On a brighter front, I hit 25,000 words on my nonfiction, Don't Get Your Panties in a Wad. So there is progress on the book, if not my body. My little sister says it is the book I was born to write after she read part of it. It doesn't hurt it was her idea in the first place. Probably next Sunday I'll post the "hair" excerpt so stay tuned. I'm still looking at a ton of editing for cohesiveness not to mention grammar. The outline for this book will help with that.

What do you notice different about the cover. Yep, I finally changed the author name. Everything is as it should be except for finishing the rough, oh so rough, draft. It has taken me five months. My typing is almost 30 WPM. Yeah and yippee for me!

So what are your challenges this week?

Keep writing and loving the Lord.