Twilight Duel: SAL Update 10

 

Over the past 3 weeks, I have added 1,358 stitches to my Heaven and Earth Twilight Duel cross-stitch. 

75,236 of 147,600 stitches are complete.

The photo below shows how it looked in our last update.

There are only 305 stitches remaining on page 9, so I hope to have it finished by our next update.

Updates on this project are shared every third Sunday as a part of a  Stitch Along (SAL) with other talented bloggers. I hope you will visit them to see what they are working on! We each choose our own project to work on and we live in different parts of the world. If you visit someone's blog and their post is not up yet, please check back again later. Our next SAL update will be on October 4th.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole,
Sue, Constanze, Christina, Kathy,

Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie,

Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Deborah,

Mary Margaret, Carmela, Sharon, Daisy,

Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny,

Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

Earlier this week, I reached out to Avis just in case I was unable to share this update due to wildfires in our area. To be honest, it feels like the west coast is on fire. California, Washington, Idaho and Oregon all have several wildfires. 

Here in Oregon, some of these fires were caused by lightning. I believe others were caused by strong winds carrying embers. However, there have also been a couple of arrests for arson. 

This wildfire season is unlike any I have ever experienced. Friends of mine in various parts of the state live in or near evacuation zones. 

Thankfully, our town and home have been safe. Only a few miles away, neighbors, friends, and coworkers have been in Stage 2 (Be Ready) and Stage 3 (Go!) Evacuation areas. 4 fires are within a 30 minute drive from our home in various directions. It is crazy.

The air quality in our area has hazardous levels of smoke and ash. A few days ago, the sky was red as far as the eye could see. (Now it is just a hazy gray limiting visibility.) Some businesses have cut their hours or closed until further notice to protect their employees and their customers. 

I am so incredibly thankful for the firefighters, police, and other rescue workers risking everything to keep us safe. They are in my prayers.

Thankfully, the past couple of days have not been as windy, the winds have changed direction, and temperatures have cooled down. This has helped with the fires. Last night, some of the Stage 2 areas near us were reduced to Stage 1. There is a chance of rain early this week, that we are all praying will help. 

So far, 9 lives have been lost to the fires in Oregon. There are still several people missing. It is heartbreaking. 

I am sending safe wishes to you all.

Hugs,
Renee

August Running Adventures

 

This crazy year is slipping by so incredibly fast! 

Back in May, I looked back at the goals shared in January. One of those goals was to participate in 2 runs in 2020. I'd signed up for my first 8K in March. However, a cold in January put me behind in my training. And then the race was cancelled. I was pretty bummed and took a break from running. By May, I could not run 3 miles without stopping to walk. 

So, I decided to follow the My First 5K Training Program on my Runkeeper App and start working my way up to running an 8K, in hopes that the race I'd hoped to run in March might actually happen in 2021.

With all of the virtual runs available in 2020, I realized I could still participate in 2 races this year.

On July 13th, I signed up for the Scooby Doo Family and Pet Virtual 5K Run/Walk. I was delighted on August 19th when my Scooby Doo Swag arrived.

On August 24th, I finally ran that 5K. It was my best pace since I began using the Runkeeper App in May of 2019 (and probably my best pace ever.) 

I am allergic to furry creatures, so I did not have a dog to join me on my run. However, my husband and Buddy, our bearded dragon, were waiting to greet me on the front porch at the end of my first virtual race. 

Buddy does not like pictures anymore than I do, but he was a trooper as my hubby documented the occasion. 

My 2nd run of the year will be the 2020 DC Batman Virtual Run. I signed up for my first 10K. (Yikes!) And am really looking forward to it. The swag for this run is just as fun as the Scooby Doo goodies. Race packets begin shipping on September 21st. I can barely wait for that package to arrive! In the meantime, I'm training with my Runkeeper App. 

Both of these virtual runs benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which is pretty awesome. (Registration for the Scooby Doo run is open until October 4th. Registration for the DC Batman Run is open until December 1st.)

In August, I also splurged and bought a running tank top through Amazon. This one cracked me up. 

As many of you know, I love statistics with my cross-stitching. 

I find the running stats on my Runkeeper App motivating, too.

August 2020 was a great running month for me. I managed to run 32.8 miles in August. My Scooby Doo Run's pace of 11:16 minutes/mile was my best pace yet.

And, I ran my first 5 mile run in years and years. 9 miles was my longest distance back in 2012, followed by a stress fracture from the wrong type of shoes that set me back from running for years. (If you follow me on Instagram, you know I have already beat this 5 mile distance in September.)

Needless to say, I am pretty excited to be working my way to a stronger, healthier version of myself. 

Wishing you all a fantastic month full of good health.

Renee