Nov 23, 2020

 The mad Christmas rush is now on as I try to complete as many ornaments as I can to give out this Christmas. Every year I feel like I am getting more and more last minute and this year is just, well you all know because you are living it, too. Exhaustion and chronic stress have depleted all of my energy, creative and otherwise. The only times that I have been this uninspired was during major depressive episodes where any inspiration to do anything was gone. Maybe I am trying to convince myself otherwise, but I do believe that what I am feeling is mental and physical exhaustion and not depression.

These are the current ornaments taking shape under my needle. They are a Designworks kit on plastic canvas, a cheater for not having to truly finish the ornaments beyond cutting them out! My goal is to have the full crosses on all six of these ornaments this week and then I can tackle the backstitching on both these and the four other ornaments that are stitched.

My main activity beside work and vacuuming up dog hair seems to be trying to get enough sleep and taking lots of vitamins and supplements. My first year roommate from university is now a naturopath and she helped me put together a regimen to help me cope with the chronic stress levels that I have been facing since March when things went south here in Canada. My employee discount card purchases read: vitamins, vitamins, toothpaste, vitamins, vitamins, mascara, vitamins and well, you get the picture. The fella and I each have a pill organizer for our vitamin regimens. I finally broke down and called my doctor for pills to help me sleep so that I can prevent a fast and furious slide into depression via sleep deprivation from the anxiety hum that can take over my brain at night. Last, but not least, my Labrador has inspired me to seek out the joy of living in the moment. I use her example of tail wagging excitement over the little things to psyche myself up on the drive to work and to put a smile on my face. All of these things have brought me back from the brink of burnout.

Well, I hope that you are all doing well and that you continue to stay safe and healthy! Happy stitching!