February TUSAL

I don't feel as if I have done much stitching this month, so I was surprised when I lifted my TUSAL jar out of its hiding place (on the floor between my stitching chair and the ottoman on which I keep my stitching supplies and necessities) and found a lot more threads than I was expecting. There are threads from three projects I've worked on in the past month. From the bottom of the jar up they were: my Angel of Grace; 6 tiny Christmas trees yet to be decorated with beads; and the butterfly mug rug I have just finished for an exchange.

Playing with the TUSAL jar cheered me up a little. I've had a very sad day today. My Dad realised today that we intend for him to remain in the hostel indefinitely, and he reacted very negatively, spat the dummy big-time, and had a major temper tantrum. He is most unhappy with me in particular, the hostel and its staff, and the world in general. It was so hard to see him so distressed, and recognise that there was just nothing I could do to relieve his pain. He is not capable of living independently, and our attempts to manage him within the family came to a very painful sticky end in the last week of January. He has been in the hostel for a just over a week now, and already I have noticed that the structured environment has helped to return his waking/sleeping pattern to a more normal one, and also has reduced his self-damaging behaviour. I made a huge error in not telling him about the financial arrangements for the hostel. I knew he would not be happy about paying the bond and weekly charge, and thought I could just organise it without involving him, but unfortunately he heard other residents discussing bond and charges details, and is (understandably) extremely angry that he wasn't consulted about it. Luckily I have 5 brothers and sisters - I'd hate to be going through this alone.