Bless you and your glass half full attitude, Way to go!!!
Quilting is the best therapy I know.

I hope 2012 will be a lot sunnier for you. And of course it will be since you now are a quilter and have all of us as pals. Hopefully you'll get to keep Ms. Kitty too. I hope the blessings keep coming!

Hi, From Carroll County, Maryland. I am a member of the quilt guild, in Ellicott City, that Mimi Dietrich co-founded. She is a lovely lady and has been through her own bought with Breast Cancer twice. Her work is truly beautiful. I'm glad that quilting has helped you get through these rough times in your life. I belong to another quilt guild that also has it's share of members who have had breast cancer. I don't think the two are related just that quilters and other creative people seem to provide a haven for those with trouble in their lives. My home is also owened by a large tabby cat that I got from our local shelter. He oversees my quilting efforts and makes sure he gives them his blessing by doing his best to lay on all of my materials and finished products.
I pray that you will recover from your illness and find the strength to get through your home problems. In my experience quilters are strong caring people. Cats are great judges of character. Ms Kitty choose you for a reason.

You are being blessed, I truly believe that. Even if Miss Kitty is only with you for a few days. Here's my story:

My husband and I were born and raised in Iowa. Hubby lost his job of 38 yrs due to corporate cutbacks, we still had a mortgage on our home that we would be baying on for 20 more years. Hubby is 60, diabetic, hard of hearing, bad shoulders and is losing his eyesight. We knew he would have a hard time finding a job (especially in this economy), so we decided to sell our house and move to Alabama. We were able to make enough on the sale of our house to purchase a house for cash. We had everything packed up in a moving van. Alie showed up on our doorstep two days before the move. We didn't let her in, but fed her a few times a day. Moving day, hubby is packing the trunk of the car for the trip to Alabama. Next morning, we open the trunk of that car and who should jump out........lol. So we now have a cat we really didn't want. But at this point there is no way we would give her up. She has enriched our lives in so many ways! It was hard to pick up and leave our families (grown children, grandchildren, sisters, brothers, etc. all live in Iowa, but Alie has made it so much easier for us. Yes, it is harder to just pick up and leave for as long as you want. But we now take Alie with us when we are going to be gone more than just a few days. We have decided that she chose us, she must be a gift from god. He works in mysterious ways.

I am like many of you, trying to find strength in my quilting. I lost my husband of 30 years in Aug 2011, and am having trouble focusing. I have been quilting only about 5 years, and I know that colors and fabrics and patterns of quilts can make my mind happy and calm right now. I need to keep busy at my machine, it occupies your mind and if I am making for someone else, that helps. I had no idea how hard this would be (because it was never going to happen, right?) but trying to make the way forward on my own is being accomplished with many friends, and this quilting board is so very helpful. It is hard to think of taking care of myself, when taking care of others is what most of our lives have been based on. I hope and pray that all of us are blessed with the strength we need to keep traveling. I have many quotes and thoughts on my refrigerator, one of my favorite is (from my minister's sermon) "We all have unwanted journeys in our lives, but God is always there beside us on the journey. And these journeys are not the end of our stories." I don't know you all, but I'm so glad you are here!

When He closes a door, He opens a window...........and you certainly are proof of that...enjoy your new life of quilting w/Ms Kitty.........

I can relate to you because I am a three time cancer survivor and yes our pets help us a lot. I started back to quilting last year. It is a saving grace. There was a question asked of the members in my adult bible study class. When has God shown you favor. He has shown me favor 5,110 times of every day that I have awaken from the diagnosis of cancer. I know some may not like the fact that I mention his name, but that is their problem not mine. Every day after cancer is a blessing. I am glad you are able to talk about your cancer and found an outlet that helps you deal with it.

Good luck with your treatments, hope the divorce is an easy one, enjoy quilting as a therapy and now your new little pal.

His loss! You are a wonderful lady and an inspiration to all. I'm sure miss kitty was sent to you and no one will claim her. Thank you for sharing your story and please keep us posted. You will be in my prayers.

That is a sweet Ms. Kitty story. Many blessings to Ms. Kitty and her new home, many more to you also, Patti. I like cats too.