Sunday, November 27, 2011

It's All Stephen King's Fault!

Well, not entirely. I can't blame Stephen King for all of my November writer's block but I think he may have started it.

Needing a short blog break, I picked up a novel by Stephen King...and couldn't put it down. Then it was back to our little town library for another, and another, and another. So I've spent my little blog vacation in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine with Stephen (I think we must be on a first name basis by now) traveling through time and fending off all sorts of shady characters. It was a great escape.


November has been a tough month. Last November, my sister Nancy lost her battle with ovarian cancer. People had warned me that the anniversary of her passing might be difficult but I had no idea just how right they were. And somehow, while I was reliving those last few weeks at Maine Medical Center, writing about my latest craft project or flea market find just didn't inspire me to write. So I gave myself permission to spend a few weeks away from the computer.


In addition to reading, I found comfort these past few weeks in just spending quiet time in my craft room, where Nancy and I had enjoyed so many hours together over the years.


One night, I decided to pull my bins of fabric out of the attic and found the stash I had put aside for quilts I intended to make "someday". And so began my other November never-quite-got-back-to-the-blog escape...sewing.


As November wore on, I sewed and hand-tied quilt after quilt, emptying two bins of fabric and batting. Never being very good at stopping at just one of something, I ended up finishing eight quilts to give as Christmas gifts. I guess I had my own little Black Friday (except it lasted for a month) ...in the warmth of my craft room with a Pumpkin Spice coffee in one hand and an embroidery needle in the other.  Sewing was almost as good an escape as chasing evil spirits in Castle Rock!


But I've missed blogging and the creativity of the holiday season is a good time to get back to it. Hoping my writer's block is finally over, I'm looking forward to reconnecting with blog friends again and saying Goodbye to Castle Rock for awhile.

6 comments:

Claudia said...

Good to have you back! I was wondering about you - but it's perfectly understandable that you needed some time to yourself.

xo
Claudia

Brenda Pruitt said...

Oh, I was so relieved just now to see you'd posted! I was just saying to Claudia (Mockingbird Hill Cottage) yesterday on the phone that you had not posted lately. Did she know anything? She said no, she'd noticed it too though. You see, the two of us got to be friends over worrying over another blogger that we still can't locate a few years ago. Out of that came our friendship. I'm so glad you took this time, for obviously you needed it. Anniversaries and holidays are very hard. But I can tell you that when I was quilting, I worked out many a problem and grieving processes as I traversed a quilt with needle in hand...
Brenda

Brenda Pruitt said...

Well, I didn't even see she'd posted right ahead of me, so eager was I to say hello and that I was relieved to know you were all right!
Brenda

Pamela Gordon said...

Cheryl, it's so nice to have you back here! I new I was missing someone in my blogroll and couldn't place her. I'm sure the month was full of memories for you. You sure got a lot accomplished though with the reading and quilting. Imagine what I could do if I wasn't on here so much!! I hope you got your blogging zing back. Blessings and hugs, Pamela

Linda @ A La Carte said...

I had noticed that you had not blogged in several weeks and was about to email you...but I am so glad to see you back. I do understand your blog break. I have had a really tough time this Nov myself. I went to Texas in Oct and did not come back for a month. My brother is in end stage liver failure and is dying and it's tough as you well know. I am home for Thanksgiving and hopefully Christmas with my kids and my Grand! Seeing little Tiger has made it much better. Well anyway, I am so glad you are back. hugs to you, Linda

Betty said...

I think everyone needs a blog break once in a while. Real life comes first. We all need time off once in a while so we can deal with the real stuff. You've certainly gotten a lot accomplished!