I have been stitching this Winter Moon scarf since the solstice
the indigo dyed silk moon is from Glennis Dolce Shibori Girl
it started out as a patchwork of indigo scraps but just edging the moon took three days french seamed with blue silk, at that rate it would take about 3 years to make!
it needs blue thread beads stitched into the lace edge and some random patches of blue wave lace from an old net curtain to balance the blue with the froth of the reconstructed scarf
our next door neighbour’s little black cat Muffin is looking after Rod, she’s such a sweetheart!
the pain is ramping up, he’s living on Morphine, a few spoonfuls of summer fruit salad and a lot of cigarettes out in the garden!
It's Crow Time 
Ah dear (((Mo and Rod))) A sweet companion curled up there with Rod and what a beautiful moon you are working with there. Gentle hugs and love to you both
(((Susi))) Glennis is the Queen of Moon Makers, I have just subscribed to her Moon of the Month Circle as a focus in this time of letting go with my beautiful man
The circles of tenderness and love and the magic of the moon, all forming such dear photos: I could see your spirit filled scarf simply radiating love, perhaps later it could be draped around Rod’s shoulders, the magic of the moon alighting on him, your love stitched into the moon, Muffin circling against Rod, the circles of the blanket covering him, the circle always enfolding…with love for you both, always.
(((Marti))) these are such tender gentle days
Mo your scarf if beautiful .. having the warmth of it wrapped around you is bringing comfort. Sending you and Rod all the love I can muster.
Tina
(((Tina))) you and your family are in my prayer basket for a good recovery!
There is always peace here, no matter what. ❤
(((Jude))) yesterday I was feeling a bit sad until I listened to this old song from Can’t Buy a Thrill Steely Dan 1972 (half a century ago!)
No, you are the Queen of making meaning with moons and wearing it all so barefooted and beautiful. A little black cat magic never hurts either. Lovelovelove to you both in all moments of this journey.
(((Glennis))) this moon is so beautiful, it’s a gift for my retired nurse friend Penny who flew down from Cairns in early Decemeber to help get Rod happily sorted with the palliative care team. When she arrived he wasn’t eating or drinking much at all and we were wondering if he would make it to xmas. She gently encouraged him to eat & drink more, sorted the record keeping and resolved some silly mistakes with the medication (this is not the time for chemistry experiments!) When I showed her my collection of your beautiful moons she chose this one & we both agreed it needed no embroidery just framing!
Wonderful. Getting by with help from friends is part of the circle.
Thank you for the link to Moon of the Month .. I just ordered and am ready looking forward to the looking forward. ❤️
Yay!
It’s hard to know what to say. Such exquisite tenderness and pain on display. Your bare feet moved me. On the earth. And Rod’s arm curled around his head. May peace be above you. Maybe peace be below you. May peace be all around. Peace. Peace. Peace.
(((Dee))) thanks so much it’s been a hard weekend with the pain ramping up, the palliative care nurse will visit later this morning and will adjust the medication so he is more comfortable.
(((Mo))) my heart breaks for you. Don’t be surprised if he starts seeing angels in the corner of the room. Happened to both my sister and my mother.
(((Dee))) the morphine is doing the job, he is in the fugue space with moments of clarity & knows about those angels from way back, here’s the song from The illustrated lyrics of Old Man Crow Pt 4;
Dear Mo,
It is a thing of beauty! Sending love and hugs to both of you. xx
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(((René))) I will never forget the tenderness of your beautiful pennant for the dream
Such sweetness in the curled contentment of a cat and your beautiful midsummer sun. Glad for your retired nurse friend. I also have one. She sings the praises of morphine when it is done right. It eases more than pain. Love to you both.
(((Beth))) nurses are angels for sure!
The love and sweetness and reality here is breathtaking, leaves me rather speechless. Others have said it so well, I’ll agree with them and add that I too noticed your bare feet, speaking to the season at your place…season of your life right now.
xo
(((Nancy))) it’s summer down here but just a dream in this winter time of our lives
BB King….Rock Me Baby
(((Grace))) the King of Blues!
The scarf is beautiful and the monthly moons will provide such a balm to this time of transition. Seeing Rod tenderly being comforted by the special fur friend brings my heart such a full and at the same time overwhelming sense of time changing. Holding you both in so much love and light.
Kristin
(((Kristin))) Cats Rule!
always wonderful to see your handiwork. Ah Indigo !
Thanks for the Angels in life and the snip of Rod and the beautiful spiralled black cat at home with Rod together with you.
Love to you both
(((Pete))) so many thank yous for knowing you’re there for us
Gentle hug for Rod. And a scritch for Nurse Muffin. And you? A bloody BIG ((Mo))
(((Di))) well that brought a tear to the eye!
Mo, you have definitely been putting Glennis’s moons to the highest possible use. Your scarf is graceful and calming. I am thinking of you and Rod all the time.
(((Dana))) the comfort of stitch and the Moon
MC – Gorgeous colour of the moon. Cats know stuff don’t they; and what gentle universal love for it to come and spend time with OMC. Sending you both love for these times. B
(((Barry))) Glennis coaxes the most beautiful blues out of her indigo vats & love the community here in Newtown, we have the best next door neighbours, Artsite is just a two minute walk up the road, Tai Chi in the park with Ric Bolzan keeps me centred and walking King St is always entertaining, Sunday in Newtown from The illustrated lyrics of Old Man Crow Pt 4
The comfort of cats. And what a great neighbour to lend you theirs! Love the moon scarf and I was thinking if I was ever in Cairns and saw it it being worn (before seeing here) I would have known without a doubt it was made by you. May Muffin continue to comfort and offer care, to you both. Hugs.
(((Fiona))) we love looking after little Muffin when her people are away on holidays and she looks after us with such gentle purrs!
Oh Mo, moons and cats and loving stitches……….beautiful and soothing……
wish i could send healing to Rod but i cant so i send lots and lots of love and there’s always a candle burning for you both………….
(((Martine))) your bee cloth is buzzing with your good vibes on the wall in our bedroom !
Your scarf looks beautiful Mo, and Muffin hanging there with Rod, very special. Sorry to hear his pain is increasing, inevitable I guess. Please give him our love. 2022! Who would have thought any of us would make it this far? Had a dream last night, Damien with baby and very pregnant wife(?) turned up, and he was about to go to prison. I mean, where does this shit come from?
Thanks for the post Mo, keep sewing!
Sent from my iPhone
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(((John))) thanks for the good vibes as always beautiful man & funny dream, y’know Damien & Sheila have 3 grandchildren these days!
The love that is coming in for you and OMC does not surprise me in the least. Both of you have reached so many people with your art and his music. Amidst the Angels in the corner will be Ariel also, waiting for his Dad….time for more cooking maybe in the heavens. I’ve got this picture in my head of Ariel on his shoulder, watching. Love makes the world go round and you and Rod are right in the centre. Breathe it in Mo. Good to see you standing barefoot on Mother Earth….always helps to keep us grounded in difficult times. Love,love love you Mo and Roderick.
(((Eliene))) haha! love that picture of Ariel up there dreaming up more delicious treats for Cooking with Cats Volume 2 !
The scarf is beautiful. Cats’ purrs are healing. (I wonder if they resonate with the Om?)
(((Faith))) cats are the most Zen of beings, love this list of catly attributes found online in a long gone website
1. refusal to take things over seriously
2. science of relaxation, never waste energy
3. accepts the nature of things, superb indifference to opinion
4. refusal to be at beck and call
5. insistence of complete freedom of expression
6. when a cat curls up with its head touching its tail, it forms a circle, symbol of eternity
7. luxuriating sensuality, grace, coordination of movement
Mo…come back now at the end of this day. Sit with these photographs of you both…you…
standing
him
breathing
i love you both. Beyond anything. You Both are excellent and elegant human beings….
Whisper to him…my love. All that he has given and shared with you, i felt a rush of feeling of
how hard it will be for him to let go of you
(((Grace))) thank you for your beautiful words written with such deep love, this is a very confronting day with everything starting to get very hairy…
I keep coming here
Good news! Rod is feeling better today than he has in months, the community nurse visited on Tuesday & doubled the dose of Methadone taken as an adjunct with the slow release morphine, it has worked a treat along with the combination of bicarb of soda solution & Nilstat for thrush in his mouth that is starting to make a big difference in his ability to swallow already.
So good to see him relaxed and laughing today, only thing is he decided not to wear trousers to change the order of the day!
he can still make me laugh
❤🎶
I am in awe of how you and Rod are showing us a way for our future going … and grateful to know that his pain has been abated
as I have been doing, I will open The Illustrated Lyrics of Old Man Crow … today to ponder Angels and to be comforted in knowing how much love surrounds you both, in real life and in the ether … may you go well
(((Liz))) this is some trip!
Dearest Mo, the beauty of your moon scarf, the curl of comfort of Muffin beside Rod, of your love… is heartbreaking and heart filling. Sending waves of love to both of you, xxx
(((Hazel))) the challenge is to see what’s really happening and find ways to ease his journey
Dear Mo & Rod,
I’ve read through all the loving comments from your myriad of friends and I’m lost for words … We have always felt close to you … the beauty of the Winter Moon scarf says it all as does Rod’s repose, curled up with Muffin. We love you both, Graham and Jenny
(((Graham & Jenny))) the cadence of the dance has changed, it’s the quiet going inward interval. I need to just be here & now in the moment for Rod to be fully aware of any changes that are causing him any distress & find ways to make things easier for him. Stitching is keeping me almost sane…
And it is a dance, a dance of devotion, of love and of showing us all how to live in this time; with grace, with courage, with honesty for it can be a hard dance but it is also a privilege to be together in this rhythm of time.
As Rod sang,
“Dance with me darlin’, let’s dance through the night
driven by the rhythm, of the heartbeat of life
dance with me darlin’, It’s a beautiful thing
what the love of a woman, can do for a man…”
((((Marti))) hoping “we’ve still got time for one more song”
Love oozes from your art and your heart and for your man. Holding you both in my thoughts.
(((Peggy))) love is the answer
Love…………the only and most beautiful answer there is……………
(((Martine)))
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47398/colors-passing-through-us
(((Arlee)))
Catching up…glad to see the comment that Rod is feeling better. I’ve read somewhere that cats may purr to heal themselves, that it may help us heal too. It feels true to me. Much love to both of you and wishing moments of quiet peace.
(((Deb))) both Rod and I are grateful and amazed for every minute of the time we have left together & we can still make each other laugh…
the warm body of an animal is a huge comfort
wishing you well ((Mo&Rod))
(((Saskia))) the pain ramped up to the point when at about 2:30am on Monday morning Rod asked me to ring an ambulance
the paramedics were great, very cool, calm and collected, gave him some IV morphine and whisked him off to emergency at hopefully RPA
they left at 3am… he has written a song for every occasion
amen to the the power and consolation of art
catchy tune!
we talked on the phone this morning, Old Man Crow is ready to leave the stage
he was so clear & sang Dance with me darlin’
I asked him to take my heart to the stars when he Flies Away
rang again after lunch, he sounded so out there I walked up to the hospital & got in to visit by pleading that I may not get to see him again
the Nurse Unit Manager gave us ten minutes as my application for exemption hasn’t been processed yet but she made a formal application for me to be able to visit for one hour per day
Rod was deep in the fugue state for the whole ten minutes so I left a note and could hold his hand, he looked comfortable feeling no pain
thanks for all your support this is the hardest thing any of us have to do in life
Mox
(((RodxMo)))
Yes, it is the hardest thing that we do in life and you, my dear Mo are doing it with such grace, love, and courage.
I did listen to 3 am and Rod is and will always be a wonder, a gifted man who gives us all so much with his love of music, lyrics, life and his love and dedication to you…to have him sing Dance with me darlin’ had me in tears…to be loved in that way will last forever.
The kindness of the nurse who is allowing you to be with him as he flies on to the stars, is a gift of the heart. Every moment together, hand in hand, hard oh so hard but know that you have been loved so richly and deeply and when the tears come, let them flow for you and Rod have/had a magical life together, one that has inspired all of us forever.
When next you see your good man, please give him a gentle hug for me and thank him for the joy of knowing him though his music, through his wit and humor, through his kindness and most especially, through his forever life with you.
(((Marti)))
holding you both from afar – and yet so near – in love and light
(((Susi)))
it’s been a full on five days, talked to a doctor at RPA who removed the subcutaneous Ketamine line (a very powerful sedative) as Rod’s chest infection has settled down with IV antibiotics. He had a fall Thursday night, could barely hold a cup of water without it slipping out of his hands & was pretty much non verbal for the hour I was allowed to visit yesterday. The doctor said he should regain his coherence and motor skills as the sedative clears his system. They will assess him for coming home next week. The liaison officer from RPA rang when I got home to talk about how many stairs are in the house and that they would send people out to assess both the house & the level of care needed. Will be interesting to see what the social worker & OT person think when they see our very old rickety house. Our retired nurse friend Penny who helped out for a few weeks before xmas was thinking it could be possible to look after Rod upstairs if we put a commode in the music room, a baby gate across the top of the stairs to prevent a fall, a walker for support, bucket baths and if the community nurses can visit a few times a day… but then a friend who has been looking after her mother for years was worried that if he needed to come down our stairs on a stretcher for an ambulance it would be almost impossible for the paramedics to negotiate. She advised setting up the front room for Rod with a hospital bed and commode in and do bucket baths. It would be so good to get him home even if it’s only for a short time for his spirit, just have to pull my socks up & put my big girl pants on, especially after these beautiful deep hearted words from my youngest brother Paul;
“Mo: This may be the wrong content and tone, but.
You can do this. This is why we are here – to help. To help each other. Rod is exiting and the universe should tear itself apart.
But it doesn’t.
But we do.
Help Rod. He loves you. You guys are connected. Really really connected.
Send him on his journey with strength and love.
And we – your brothers – we’ll be there. However imperfectly and awkwardly, we’ll be there.
I love you.
I know that you can do this.”
thanks everyone for all the love and support
love truly is all that matters in the end
Our thoughts are with you both,,,,Love Marg and Mike
(((Marg & Mike)))
Thanks so much for all your support. Had a good talk this morning with the very kind palliative care Doctor Lim at RPA who is looking after Rod, he isn’t coming home. He can no longer swallow his pills without choking so all his meds are now IV. His ankles and feet have swollen so much they stopped the IV fluids yesterday as his liver is failing. The chest infection that he presented with last Monday has cleared after a week of IV antibiotics so his breathing is not so laboured. He is feeling no pain & so deep in the dream state he couldn’t recognize me on Sunday but being such a good natured gentleman accepted my kisses with a sort of quizzical grace. Yesterday he was a little more conscious and rallied for a moment to ask me to carry him home, with a breaking heart I said it was time to die & asked him to carry my heart to the stars. I tried holding his iPhone next to his ear so he could listen to his recording of Dance with me Darlin’ but he looked quite alarmed and moved away from the sound so I packed it up along with his backpack and clothes and brought them home after he had settled back down into the dream. Dr Lim will try to get him a private room so I will be able to stay by his side with more privacy. He is in a shared ward with 3 other patients on watch by two nurses 24 hours a day as they are falls risk. He is in such good hands, x fingers he will be stardust soon.
And as he transitions to stardust, he will be surrounded by the light of your love for as we all know, Love is the ultimate illumination. The ache of watching our loved ones leave us is transcended by the knowledge that they will always be with us. I do realize that this is of little comfort at this moment in time but I also know from my own experience, that time does bring them to us, that their presence by our sides, in our hearts, in our minds, in our soul place, is a reality.
Mo, as you share these last moments, you who have been such an example of strength, of courage, give yourself permission to simply let go with all of your senses, let yourself grieve, let your heart feel all that will come…most of all, as best you can, take care of yourself for you are so loved by so many of us.
A beeswax candle is lit on my altar, I have put a few sprigs of rosemary, the herb of remembrance next to the candle and as the scented smoke rises, love for Rod, love for you, also rises…don’t really need to put rosemary here in this ritual for Rod will never be forgotten but I am a creature of ritual and wanted to honor him and you.
such beautiful words Marti .
Dearest Mo – beeswax candle and sprigs of rosemary here too