Greetings from a lost quilter

Hi everybody!
Greetings from Tenneh (not) on the Mountain. I have though of you all often! I am trying to catch up on all your news reading back thru posts.

Sad to say life has been on overwhelm the last few years, since my husband lost his leg, and the issues we were having with our death-threat making neighbors The destructive forces on my family have been too great and my family torn apart by the pressures.
Simply put I am separated from my husband now and it looks irreconcibile. I am living and working in the town where my hospital job is; my DD2 is 6 years old this month and stays at home with her dad while she goes to school, as he is still on the farm and not working. My oldest DD starts Uni this week, and the relationship between her and DH is ground zero. I have stayed in work to support my family and nearly burned out myself. Fortunately I have been on holiday these last few weeks and slowly getting it together. I am slowly gathering the tatters of my life back together, and getting refocus. I am currently having custody issues with my ex, but that will be resolved.

I have been blessed with the awesome support of the team at work over the last 3 years, a great bunch of women!(and men! -our Drs and the new male nurse we have). And the wonderful support of my distant family and friends. Life has been in 'cope mode' for so long, now it is time to come to terms with the fact we have passed the point of no return in this marriage relationship, no matter how much an optimist one wants to be, and to get on with life, get IN to life again.

Not that I have been a total loss lately! With my marriage disintergrating rapidly I started my Post Grad nursing studies and did one paper at the end of last year, using it to pull myself forward out of the morass I found myself in. I passed, but not terribly well. I am doing another in the 2nd semester this year.
So between family stress and work, and studies there was little energy for much else! No serious quilting anyway! But little DD picked the fabric and we made a quilt for her doll for Xmas, and that was the little ice cystal that started the snowball rolling.
I remember now-, I did hand quilt a wall hanging (for myself) as well and finally cut into my favourite 'happy fabric' and made a quilt block wall hanging that awaits more handquilting, and I have pin basted my marked large lap quilt together- just want to baste it now, and thats my winter project ready to go, studies allowing (aside from my Mums quilt...)

I made some dolls clothes for DD2s doll, which has amounted to a fairly extensive wardrobe- 4 dresses and 1 pair of overalls, and 1 blouse yet to finish! As well I have made DD2 2 little dresses and will finish the last row of smocking today on the 3rd. I have ambitions for a few more there...as the fabric was bought long ago and been sitting waiting over the last 2 years. Soon she will be too big for the patterns! All that has got me up and running in life again!

Between setting up a new garden at my rented cottage, and having my horse here to ride, life has been pretty busy. As busy as it gets when life is too much, so you slip the saddle pad on the horse and head for the hills (not hard here- this is hill country!), and escape to solitude among the rabbits in the gullies and the hawks riding the thermals and ignore the fact one could be doing housework back home! Time alone to soothe ones' tattered soul, and even better been on holiday for 2 weeks! The first week was a bit gray, then its been lovely hot summer days here with just the first trees flirting with gold, indicating it will all end too soon...

So Blessings to all my missed friends, and I look forward to meeting some news ones,
Cheers from Tenneh in the valley