61000 stitches

Yesterday, my father had hip replacement surgery. We hope that this is the last step in getting him back to how he was before the car accident. It all comes from one of the injuries he sustained in the accident--the rod chewed up his hip joint and he's been basically wheelchair bound for the last two years, so this was the only real option he wanted to go with. The surgery went well; I always get nervous anytime my father has surgery, because he does not have a good heart (family history, 2 heart attacks, and a 55 year smoking habit will do that to a person), but he had it done at Georgetown University, which I think is the best hospital in the DC area, and they took good care of him. Barring any complications, he should go into a rehab facility, and hopefully be able to walk again.

Anyway,we were down there all day. I took some stitching projects and the third Harry Potter book to read to pass the time. I chose Midnight to work on, and brought along Summer Ball. SB was probably not the best choice, since it had mondo color changes and is pretty intricate, but it was actually the one I worked on, sitting there, balled up in a chair in the surgical waiting room. I guess I had forgotten that, in times of great stress, I prefer the focus of these complicated pieces, since they require total concentration, and that kind of takes me away from the worries around why I'm in the hospital. Mom dealt with the stress by reading her wedding etiquette book. And we chose the invitations--they're not classically elegant, but they're more than just my usual whimsical. We even had a discussion about "Save the Date" cards. My father had said that morning that they were pointless. My mother said, "We don't need them, I already told people to mark October 19th on their calendars." Leaving me to say, "And that is why we need a Save the Date card. I'm getting married on the 16th." I could tell from my mom's face that the Save the Date card round went to me. And I now wonder just how many out of town relatives are wondering why I chose to get married on a Tuesday . . .

I realize why I'm not making stellar progress on the piece. When Dad went into recovery, I picked an area of the wall to work on. An hour later, I had only managed to stitch a square inch or so. And that wasn't even a really detailed part--the floor was a lot slower going. Not great progress, when I realize I've got something that is 8"X30". And maybe it was just the stress of the day, but I'm starting to think about the people in the picture. There is one girl on the left hand side who looks like she is really mad about something. Maybe the main girl is dancing with the guy she wanted to dance with, maybe main girl has a prettier dress. I don't know, but she looks like she's about to punch someone. And the guys across the line, one looks like Michael Cera. The guy that's turned away reminds me vaguely of Seth Rogan, or else he's the main guy's frat brother and drank a bit too much grog or punch or whatever they drank back in the day. I started stitching his hair last night, we'll see how he progresses.