More stuff...sigh

Roger is back in the ICU.
This time it's nearby and very professional with his own team of Drs.
He's got an infection in his system most likely from the Pik line that was removed last Sunday when we broke him out of the hospital from hell. His blood oxygen was low and blood pressure was jumping around too much. I can't tell you the difference in the two hospitals. They were on him and medicating him within 45 min. A whole team of Drs. and very professional nurses. Had him out of the ER and into the ICU within a couple of hours. Answers to questions were immediately answered clearly and he had a bunch of tests immediately. I slept soundly for the first time in weeks last night just knowing he was over in Huntington-5 miles from me.

Other than feeling sort of weak and looking pale, Roger said he felt alright. The cardiologist wants him to be on an IV diuretic to get rid of that amazing amount of fluid in his legs and his right arm. He told me that he would most likely lose about 20 lbs of fluid in the next days.
Before this happened yesterday, he was getting around with the walker well and sometimes without it. Once we conquer the swelling problem, he will be a lot better just from not having that excess weight to drag around. Other issues will improve because of that as well.

I'm trying to remain positive. It's not likely that Roger will go to the wedding dinner but since the chapel is only a mile or so away we are trying for the actual wedding ceremony.

Talk to you soon.

I'll be brief & thankful

Roger is home. We broke him out on Sunday
Many health & home & wedding(Sept 4th) issues to deal with. BIL arranged for some construction to happen(grrrrrrrrr rrrrrrr rrrr) the week before the wedding-Valium anyone???
Sleeping is not an option. Intravenous caffeine for me
You know those photos you see of the damage after the tornado/hurricane whatever?? My house looks a lot like that.
Holding it together-but barely. I know things could always be worse.
Bless you for your prayers.
More later

Amazing true stories

Quick list of stuff



1. Roger is improving-slowly. May come home in a day or so.



2. BIL Bob got bitten by a bat. Got medication and series of injections over a couple of weeks-no I am not making this up.



3. The bat was in our house...eeeeeeeeeeekkk



4. the bat came out and flew around because I was screaming at it like a soprano at full volume. It was a toss up which was more frightened- me or the bat. Opened windows and removed screens- stopped screaming, turned off lights near the stair well where it was flying around. Three freakin' hours later the bat finally found his way out.



5. Not before he hid behind a very large bookcase full to brimming with all manner of stuff that James and I had to unload and said stuff is now laying all over the floors and surrounding area and has now shed all the the dust that an ignored bookshelf can hold all over every other item in the house.



6. Carrying a crucifix and avoiding my BIL(kidding)



7. My dearest friend is going through some serious family issues. This is causing us to have a running "can you top this" type of phone conversation. Yesterday we were neck & neck until told the bat story. I took home the medal.

Please continue to say a prayer if you are inclined. I continue to remember that what does not kill us makes us stronger.....RIGHT?

Prayers answered

Who ever you are, whatever you asked in prayer, someone up there is listening. Roger has improved steadily in the last day and a half. He was awake and taking fluids today. Ice water & ginger ale and grape juice. Thank you, thank you, thank you one and all.
I will sleep tonight for a change and if he continues to improve they will put him in a regular room by thurs.
I have so much to catch up on. Back soon with more detailed news. For now, and for a change, the news is much better. He ate green hospital jello today and pronounced it ambrosia! That's hungry

update on Roger

Thanks for all the e-mails and comments. Things are not good. Roger is having a very hard time breathing. Pancreatitis is getting better but other problems have arisen.
More later...

Update, There was some small improvement today. He was more alert and could breath easier. Keep those good thoughts and prayers coming. He appears to be listening. Today was a tiny blessing and so welcome.

Not all Bad News

Thanks everyone who left me such nice words to cheer me up. I got some personal e-mails that were a big help too.

Yesterday was a bad day in the beginning and it gradually got slightly better over the course of the day. There were problems with medications. He is on a bunch of stuff and because of the current problem he has been off some of those and on others. Lots of problems with insulin and cardiac meds-long story. He had some of what the Dr. called "Hospital Psychosis" and didn't know where he was-became disoriented and was in a panic. He is in the ICU where they can give him the immediate care he may need 24/7 so I felt better for that. I just talked to the nurse taking care of him today and she said he seemed much more lucid and was able to carry on a conversation more clearly today. Yesterday was a nightmare that went on all day so I was happy to hear good news this morning. Bob & son James went out to see him last night-I think seeing James was a very good thing. Maybe remembering that seeing his son get married in 3 weeks is the goal to focus on.
He's having respiratory problems so they are giving him special meds and treatments for that. I'm heading out there with my BIL Bob in a while. If I can only get him well enough to come back here where he is familiar with his Drs. and surroundings(our hospital is 10 min. from my house) it will make a huge difference. I also told him yesterday that he needs to stop being and engineer for a little while. After speaking with the Drs. and nurses yesterday they said he was not all that lucid and began questioning-became panicked at what they were doing. All of that did nothing for his blood pressure. I've decided that hell is being in a hospital 45 miles away from your husband. Doesn't matter how nice it is or how nice they are. It's pure hell.

Talk to you later

Techniphobe or old fart..your choice

What is this strange thing that happens when you suddenly are forced into a new situation and are completely out of your realm and you look in the glass window at a reflection and say, "who's that old fart?" Turns out it's you!

Thanks to you ladies who were kind enough to leave me the sweet messages. Made my day and Hey Judy! Want to take a ride to Riverhead? I thought not but thanks for your lovely comment.

Roger is still in the hospital but doing better. Yesterday was a mixed bag of ridiculous. Can't go into detail but let's just say that I hope to get him out of there REALLY soon. His care is wonderful but his patience is running out quickly and I think that being so far from home makes him(and me) nervous. It's a 45-50 minute trip on the expressway. If you know anything about Long Island you know to stay away from the expressway at all cost. Anyway, he's in Riverhead...way out east of us near the end of the island and near the lab where he works which is where he works and became ill. Riverhead is a very old part of the island with much agriculture and many miles of grapes for the lovely wines they produce. In the center of Riverhead there is an old fashioned roundabout traffic circle like they still have in Boston and other New England areas. The joke goes that you can get in but you can't get out. Rogers hospital is right there on the northeast corner of the roundabout. Anyway, I'll be the old broad going around in circles with a blinker on...round and round...forever. Fortunately his room faces that corner so he can see me and wave.
I ran into another problem of a minor nature though. No cell phone. I'm a technophobe and hate cell phones-hate them. Now I have to drag myself into this century and go buy one of those things from hell because there is no way to communicate with the rest of the family. Luckily two people were kind enough to lend me theirs yesterday and boy did I feel like a jerk. I didn't even know what to do to make a call. Did I mention how much I hate cell phones? People look at you in a weird way when you ask for a pay phone. Also I have a little bit of a hearing problem and I find it so unpleasant to talk on them. I'm thinking that the guys at the store are going to get a huge kick out of trying to teach me how to use a cell phone. Happy to provide entertainment to anyone I can.
So anyway, this is the old fart, technophobe signing off for now. Back with news when I can.

stuff

Just checking in to let you know the stuff that's happening.
The good....and the bad

1. The bad-Roger is in the hospital. He will hopefully come home today or tomorrow. Serious dieting and grumpiness to follow. Knew it was coming. He's stable and getting better but hungry and tired. Hospitals are not the place to get any rest.

2. The good-We had a visit from friends. Did a lot of stuff and shopping. Lunch out east at a favorite place. Wonderful help from our friends while they were here. I got shoes and a bag for the wedding and I think we are all pretty much set for the big day.

3. The good- we are getting some work done on the house in the form of new windows. The guy is coming tomorrow to take actual measurements and it should be about 4 weeks from then. Sometime in Sept. It's a job that needed doing desperately and will make a huge difference in the appearance of the house as well as heating and cooling costs.

With all that's going on, good and bad, I really have become a bad blogger so I'm grateful for anyone who still checks in now and again. Miss my sewing machine and fabric but I just can't seem to focus on anything right now. My brain hurts. Please say a prayer for my husband. I hope they let him come home today-he's not a happy camper in any hospital let alone one 35 miles from home. I am going to have to be the food Nazi starting tomorrow. Not good!

Back with news when I can.

Surprise Shower for Dani

We had a surprise Wedding Shower for Dani yesterday. It was fun and kind of exhausting. Dani's family and friends are such fun people. I've been enjoying the experience of getting to know her Mom a lot better in the past couple of weeks. We have shopped for shower supplies and wedding cake and balloons and other stuff. Cheryl is so much fun to spend time with. I hope we get to do more things together soon. By the way that is her sitting next to Dani in the pictures. Pretty Lady!

Thrown in with the fun has been the experience of being around girls. Being the Mom of one son/child, the girls are a lot of fun and a whole new experience. They did a great job of decorating and made a wonderful day for Dani. All in all it was a lovely day in a pretty garden with perfect weather.

Now we will pray for another day just like it for the wedding in a months time. Please join me. We need all the prayers we can get. The Chapel where the wedding is to be held is not air conditioned. They have many ceiling fans and it is generally a cool place in the wooded surrounding. By the way, we will be entertained by a harp player during the chapel service.

This tiny thing that Dani is holding is a miniature cheese grater that my friend Diane included in the box of goodies she sent. Dani got a huge kick out of it...thanks Diane. She loved getting all the gifts and we enjoyed oooooing and ahhhhhing.

These lovely ladies are wedding party ladies surrounding the bride. Dani has the most beautiful friends and family. Beautiful inside and out.

I have so much to catch up on so I'll go do some of those things that fell by the wayside in the past days. Only one thing left for me to get for my wedding outfit-shoes...or as I am now referring to them...fricken fracken shoes. The result of never wearing shoes anymore and existing in flip flops is that my feet have gotten wider than they were. Shoes, which have always been my favorite buy are now a pain in...well...the foot. So far I have returned 4 pair of shoes that I thought would do but not so much. Even for an hour never mind a whole day. When did my feet get so fat? I can account for the rest of me but the feet?? Yikes!

Anyway, have a good day. Talk to you soon.
It's time for my nap...zzzzzzz

weekend notes

How much fun is it to be served breakfast by your son and DIL-to be? LOADS! Their apartment is just so nice. Lovely little courtyard outside and pretty grounds.

I was doodling around for a 15 minute sew and made a couple of kimono blocks. They are different sizes as I am trying to make them part of a wall hanging with asymmetrical blocks with an Asian flavor. It's such a happy time around here and I'm looking forward to Sept when I can get back to more than the occasional 15 minutes. My fabric is calling to me.....

Our server finally got straightened out and the e-mail is back. Right now the sky is nearly black as night and a fairly intense storm is about to hit. I'm so hoping that by early Sept this weather will be better. By better I mean less humidity and bugs. This has been a really awful year for both.

I have some things to take care of in the wedding department so I'll talk to you soon. Nor much interesting here so I appreciate anyone who has stuck with me. Better quilting days are coming!

Grrrr

No e-mail and a lot of PIA stuff with the server in general. Hoping they fix things really soon. Second day of no e-mail. ...grrrrr
Just went up to get dressed-air cond. compressor won't turn on. 94 degrees today.
Bad moon rising? Be afraid...very afraid...
James & Dani moved into their apartment yesterday. Well, they moved some things. It's an on-going process. I promised not to act like a total blubbering fool and failed miserably. All his life, this is the thing I prayed for. For James to find a good woman and have a happy, normal life. Everything is exactly like I always wanted for him. They are so adorable together and it's really kind of fun watching them get their apartment set up. The learning curve for James will include such things as no food in the bedroom, no feet on the couch, and lifes biggest lesson of all-no one is going enjoy car parts the way you do and no one else thinks they're attractive. Today I got up in a good spirit and felt much better. I have much to do and just checked the e-mail. Still not working but I'm told it's an island wide problem and cablevision has taken their phones off the hook so none of the millions of people trying to talk to them are getting through. Don't you just love technology?
Gotta go check the ac. Turned it off and left it for a while and turned it on again. The compressor came back on but how long that will last is anyones guess. Looks like an expensive weekend.
Stay cool

sailing along

Unknown territory-that's what we're sailing into. In less than a week, James will be in his new apartment. He and Dani need everything that is necessary for daily life. I told him to think of his day from the time he wakes up to lights out. That's what you need to have on hand to start. Small things like a way to make tea & coffee, an alarm clock, toiletries, simple things like cups to have that coffee in. Even with all this going on, I envy them this wonderful time. The excitement of a place of their own and even the decisions that need to be made on everyday choices and needs. It's such an exciting time and so sweet. Happy memories are bound to bubble up just thinking about it.

Yesterday, I was bubbling up with the above mentioned happiness and couldn't focus on anything except the fact that I still didn't have anything to wear to the wedding. I grabbed the keys and set out for an adventure. Since the weather today is going to be back up around 90, I figured I'd better get going before I pass out in some dressing room from heat exhaustion. I found two things that are very nice and looked comfortable as well. Light and breezy is the theme for early September. Now I need some light sandals to finish the look. Maybe tomorrow.

We booked a room for the wedding rehearsal dinner. I had been there before and the food was good but I didn't like the way the room was laid out. When we saw the room again on Saturday, they had set it up completely differently and we loved it. We didn't want a bunch of separate tables but would rather have had one long table so we could all chat with each other and it would feel more like a large family gathering. We have to get back to them with our food choices and such but otherwise that's a wrap.

I would love to spend some time in the sewing room but I'm just so overwhelmed by the amount of stuff to get done I'm virtually twirling. I did manage to spend some time doing the 15 minute play with fabric that Victoria from Bumble Beans has going on her blog. For 15 minutes you make fabric out of scraps. I made four blocks and sashed them. I'll get a picture later. It comes out looking like crazy quilt blocks so as soon as I can find my box of embroidery thread I will try a bit of that.

Gotta go and do some laundry. Talk to you soon.

Torpor-look it up

We are melting just like this lightbulb. This heat is very unusual for Long Island. More like a late August heatwave. Trying not to complain. The powers that be say it will be up near 100 today. It's always a few degrees cooler out here near the water but at those temps-who's counting.

We had a quiet 4th. Lots of good food and watermelon. It's a particularly good year for watermelon. Very sweet. It's really the perfect food for the heat.

There is little desire to do much of anything even in the air conditioning. I have some videos to watch and Roger just finished a book he tought was pretty good. It's a Michael Chrichton book that was from a found manuscript after his death. The book, "Pirate Latitudes" is something I plan to crack open later. What is it about this type of weather that makes us like zombies? It feels like everything is in slow motion and I'm in a cooler place than some. Makes me think of the word "torpor"-walking around like the un-dead. It's not that I could ever imagine living in this type of climate anyway but when we get this heat wave stuff it just reinforces my feelings about it. I guess I'm just a northern girl at heart. Normally one could go north for some relief but I've been reading my friend Joann's posts from Maine and the heat is as bad there as here. She works in a greenhouse-imagine how much fun that is right now.

I would spend some time sewing but that room is the lovely sunny one that I adore in the cold months. Not going there today air conditioning or not. Maybe it's time to get some kind of shades for the daytime on those sunny, side windows.

This summer, along with the heat, we also have a huge bug problem. Much of the stuff I planted is being eaten by who knows what. Everything looks lacy, and not in a good way.

So I'm here, plugging along and praying that the heat we are suffering now will not return in Sept. for the wedding.

Talk to you soon

Falling into place

Here's a shot of a dining area at Il Mulino, where James & Dani will have their wedding celebration. It's a very lovely, highly recommended, upscale Italian Restaurant in Roslyn. There are several Il Mulino in various places across the country. Las Vegas, two in Atlantic City at Trump Casino, and so on. I'm just so happy for them. Everything sounds delicious and the place is beautiful. That's some of what's happening. They finally got their apartment which they can get into in a couple of weeks so now the push is on to get things of great importance like furniture. It's a cute place and a very nice apartment not too far from us. Last weekend they met with the Minister who will marry them who also just happens to be one of my husbands oldest friends. It won't be long now before they are in their new home. I'm excited for them and a little un-settled at the same time. When I look at James now I get this funny watery sensation in my eyes and have to look away a bit. Keep repeating to myself that this is not an ending but just a new part of our lives. Deep breath...
I have been in a bit of a cleaning frenzy that I suspect comes from the desire to keep moving and not think too much. Last week I had some pain in my knee and a whole new pain in my hip of such intensity that it was causing me not to want to do anything but sit around feeling blue and old. I discovered an arthritis med that made the pain go away in those places and for the first time in years I had no pain in the number of other places that I guess I've become so accustom to. I felt like shouting from the rooftops "This is what it feels like to be pain free!!". Anyway, a few days of the med. and I feel pretty good so I resumed my walking on the treadmill and being more active. It doesn't seem to bother my stomach either. Fabulous.
I got some more dvds to watch since TV sucks so much right now. By the way, Nurse Jackie is sooo good. I can't wait for the new season to be on dvd. The Mel movie(Edge of Darkness) was good too. A little action adventure is good for the soul. Now I have rented Mad Men's last season. I read somewhere that The Good Wife will be available in early Sept. on dvd. Today I am watching a mini marathon of "In Plain Sight" which I highly recommend. The characters are great and the actors are wonderful.
It's time to go figure out what's for dinner and wash the kitchen floor. Fun Huh?? Sorry for the lack of quilting stuff but right now I'm just overwhelmed with other stuff. Soon enough there will be time for lots of things like sewing. Thanks for hanging in there with me.
Talk to you soon.

Heat+humidity=Movie Marathon

As some of you might know, I don't deal well with heat. In fact I don't deal with it at all. You could just drop me off in a place where the temps never go beyond 65 and I would be eternally happy. Since I live in this humid, damp, coastal village summer is not always a plus for me. I have a sort of love/hate relationship. Ever since i was blessed with that change of life thingy, as Roger often says, my thermostat is broken. I get very warm and can't seem to adjust. Hot, hot, hot. On that note, I made a few visits to places I needed things from this morning and my last stop was the video store. Since I hadn't been for a while and since I'm not aware of anything that was drawing me there, I decided to see what I was missing. The movies all looked awful except for two. I got these two. I'm making Mel small since I can only take him in small doses. Maybe he won't go spouting a bunch of religious crap if I keep him tiny. Just shut up, stay sober for 10 minutes, and act Mel. That's all we're interested in. Of course I had been waiting for Young Victoria for a while so that was a happy find.

After that I went directly to the TV section since we do not get HBO or Showtime and I love getting a whole season of one of the programs so I can enjoy the entire story in a short time. The new season of Big Love isn't out yet and The Good Wife isn't out either. Those are my big wants. Nurse Jackie was a program I heard a lot of good things about so I'm giving it a go. I could watch these things on the computer through HULU but the computer is downstairs and I can't sew or really sit in front of it all day. Well, I could, but then there will be questions from the family as they look for clothes to wear and food to eat. Party poopers!

My current project is finishing up a few things I uncovered during the move to the sewing room. I found the small diamond piece I had made. I'm contemplating what to do to finish it. Piano key border? Not sure.

Sorry about the mess with these pictures but I can't seem to get blogger to move anything around like it used to.

I'm off to do some laundry, ironing, and movie watching. Hope you are staying cool.

This & That

I think I'm finally getting to the point where I can up-load photos without scratching my head until it's sore. That the photos are not very good-hopefully that will evolve soon. I am, after all, a constantly evolving woman...bwahhhaha. Click to see a larger and better shot.

Here's the small piece I made from strings of Kaffe Fasset fabric. It's really busy work and after a bunch of these, you really need to work on something verrrry plain for a while. Maybe something Amish and without any print. I honestly enjoy the Kaffe fabric but after a while it feels like you are in the middle of a fabric storm. A bit of a frenzy. I need a major clean-up of my work area which is already very small without the addition of piles of wildly patterned fabric. Anyway, there you can see what my birthday brought my way. A jelly roll and honey bun of American Jane, Breath of Avignon. I love her fabrics and after a little eye rest will find something fun to make with them I've been admiring some of the wonky star quilts I've seen around the blogs.

A squirrel update-I'm thinking they are smarter than I may have imagined. Ever since I wrote the last entry about them in the cherry tree, I haven't spotted a squirrel eating anything but the birdseed we so laughingly put out... you know... for the birds, har har.

Today is Dani's birthday and I hope she's having a great day. She's probably at work so how good the day is may be relative. James will be going to her house tonight for a family celebration. I just can't believe how much we have come to love her. All of us just think she's the best. Happy Birthday Dani! It's also my good friend Terry's birthday. She is away for a couple of days so I can't wish her a great day in person but I am thinking of her and hoping that the next year is a thousand percent less interesting. You may know of the Asian blessing/curse, "May you live in interesting times" I'm fairly sure that Terry would like a boring and less interesting year. That's my wish for her.

I must go and de-clutter some space. Talk to you soon

Wildlife

As some of you know from posts a while back, we have a good sized piece of property that is heavily covered with trees. It is, right now, at it's prettiest. With all the rain and not too many days of relentless heat, it looks like a forest out there. All the vines have grown up and around and into the trees and bushes. Maybe it's something rebelling from the German in me but I am in love with the garden at this time. If my Oma was alive she would have gone at this garden with a ruthless physical zeal until everything was in its proper place and trimmed to perfection. Maybe it's the small portion of me that is Native American that loves to see the wild take over. That could be the reason for my joy in seeing the lush honeysuckle vine that has only recently appeared outside my bedroom window and bolted into the surrounding bushes. Maybe it's the reason I am thrilled by the volunteer wisteria vines that have taken hold and even popped up at the bottom of the driveway. Who knows?

For any of these reasons, and because they come along with it, and because you must take the good with the bad, we have squirrels by the score. A few years ago there was a beautiful bush outside the kitchen window, the offspring of which are growing along side of where it once lived happily. No one seems to know what kind of bush it is but we were all sure of one thing. t was beautiful in all seasons. Pink tiny flowers in spring fat green berries in summer that turned crimson in the fall and then, to finish the season the tiny leaves turned a lovely russet. Out of all the things in the yard I loved this bush the best. After many years of admiring it, one spring as the flowers were turning to green berries on the long thing branches that draped themselves to the ground, the squirrels discovered that the berries were delicious and the long, lovely vine-like branches were a lot like a fun ride. They would begin at the base and slide down the branches in a shower of leaves and berries which they would then pick themselves up off the ground and eat. Happy little squirrels. So much for the bush. Over a few months, they denuded the bush and since they ate the berries the thing never replenished itself and one day it literally fell over and died...whump...sad.

The problem was, for me, that I laughed so hard at the stupid squirrels using the bush as a slide that I found it hard to go out and do battle with them. They outnumber us many fold and I would have had to stand guard all day. It was just bigger than me.

This spring, as I was admiring the wild cherry tree outside my window, I noticed that it had set its cherries. The tiny little itty bitty berries(danger Will Robinson)were coming in and looked so pretty. At about that time, I also noticed a rustling in the tree. Something bigger than a little bird. No, some THINGS bigger than little birds were in there. Yeah, it's the squirrels. They've discovered the cherry tree and they have found that in many ways it mimics the fun they had on that bush that magically disappeared a while back. They hang upside down and pull the cherries off much in the same way you would pull the tiny branches off a stick of rosemary. I went out a few times and threatened them. They scoff. I'm lost. Gardening around here requires more patience than I can sum up some days. The cherries are not edible. They are tiny and more berry like than real cherries and most fall on the ground where, up to recently, the critters were happy with the treefall. Now they have discovered the source.

We have been celebrating the birthdays. This weekend was James 26th and my birthday was last week. Since James and I like the place, we went to Sushi Park. Dani went with us and we had a great dinner followed by strawberry shortcake. Thursday is Dani's birthday and my friend Terry's as well. June is a very fattening month around here.

Speaking of fattening, I must get to the store for some things for dinner. Light meals are in order so I need some fresh veggies.

Talk to you soon.

Things that make me smile.

Here are a couple of the things that make me smile lately. I mentioned yesterday that my dear friend Gerrie in Portland sent me a combination birthday/feel better gift. I asked my super-patient husband to help me this morning with the photos. Anyway, Gerrie made this sweet piece that is now hanging in my sewing room. The slip of paper that the hand is holding says Pearls of Wisdom. Next to it is the card by her daughter Lisa. What the photo doesn't convey is the fabulous hand dyed fabric that Gerrie used to make it. The photo doesn't do it justice. I am blessed by her friendship and generosity.

Speaking of beautiful things, there is the mandevilla plant I bought for myself. It's growing in leaps and bounds and has a mind of it's own. We may be overrun by the plant by seasons end. The flowers are such an intense, almost magenta red, also not well represented by the photographer...bad Dee bad.

I have a hair appointment today and none too soon. My gray/white/whatever roots are coming into blossom too.

Back with more stuff tomorrow

Wonderful friends far & near

I'm showing you this group of blocks since I think it's what I will put together next. There are a few more since I took this shot but it will essentially remain a wall quilt size. The picture is there because I remain a brainless twit and have forgotten everything I learned last week about up-loading photos to this cursed Bill Gates horror of a computer and as we all know, blogging is no fun without pics.

I want to thank all of you for the nice comments regarding the blog. I think I'll take a page from Rian, who blogs when she has something to report that may interest you. I'm hoping that will be more often since things around here are popping and snapping like bad electrical wiring. So on that note I will try to do better. Much thanks to the elusive Judy from Northport, who is still successfully hiding from me in a bunker nearby.

The wedding plans are sipping along with, a minimum of issues that I'm sure will be resolved soon. It's going to be fine. That's my mantra..oooommmmmm..oommmmmm. There, that's better.

We are into the crazed Everybody's Birthday Month around here. The photo that I'd like to show you is what I got from my darling friend Gerrie Congdon in Portland. She sent me a beautiful small piece called "Pearls of Wisdom" I promise to show you all when I can get Roger to help me again with this upload situation. The thing is that in making what they call improvements, we have gone from clicking twice and up-loading to going through an un-believable crapfest to even get to the photo album. Why anyone calls this an improvement is beyond me. Sure does make one feel like a moron though. Anyway, along with the beautiful little art piece Gerrie included a card designed by her brilliant daughter Lisa. Double my pleasure!!

I'm ordering a jelly roll of American Jane, Breath of Avignon, a line I have admired forever and I was lucky enough to find one left at the Fat Quarter site. I'm so in love with anything from American Jane. Those colors make me smile. The photo above is American Jane blocks from an earlier collection. Happiness.

Anyway, among the other things that make me happy, besides you all, is my new Weber Grill. We were due for a new one and this is a pleasure to use. I'll be making ribs later, hurry on over. Bring drinks!

Some questions-some answers-

These are the blocks I am working on in the Robyn Pandolph fabric. Even though I tried to fix the colors, the one on the left is truer to the real tones. The red dot is more of a wine color and the green dot is more soft and olive. Well anyway, it's coming along a block at a time.

I planted flowers today and my body is screaming from the shoulders to the knees. Getting old is not pretty. It's taking me days to plant a couple of trays of flowers that normally would have been in the ground a while back. I planted a sweet potato vine in among some other stuff. Just for giggles. The lady at the nursery said I should be able to pull up some sweet potatoes in the fall. Clearly she doesn't know who she's dealing with. Around here I wouldn't be surprised to see a critter sitting in the flower bed in Sept with a salt shaker and a fork full of potato. Makes for interesting viewing.

I had meant to lay out all the blocks that I finished and take a picture of them for you but that will have to wait till tomorrow. It's late in the day here and I need a big cold drink and a lot of pain meds.

One of my favorite blogging people quit blogging today. It made me think about my reasons for starting this and how I feel about it now. Not sure. Maybe I need to think about it when I feel better. This blog has not turned out to be what I originally intended. I wanted it to be more of a journal of my thoughts and my life and opinions. Since the blog got discovered by local folks, I don't feel free to comment on things and give my true feelings about things like politics. It's not that I'm a particular political pundit but I have been slammed viciously in other places for speaking my mind. I guess I thought I had a tougher skin. These past few weeks some things that are very hurtful have happened culminating in a REALLY hurtful experience this past weekend when I opened the paper and honor was bestowed on numerous people for their work in the community. Not one mention of my name and I've been at it for 12 years. People were honored who left and retired more than 2 years ago. I've never been one to stand in the room screaming "look at me, look at me" but I guess the old saying about the squeaky wheel is true. They even honored a woman who came 6 years after me. When I mentioned this to the director of the Ecumenical Lay Council, of which the Food Pantry is one off-shoot, he told me they only honor people when they leave. With that, I told him I quit. I actually thought it would be unkind of me not to come back in Sept after my son's wedding, and finish out the busiest time of the year. They can look for someone who will write over 500 letters in December and pay for the postage and all costs associated with the job. It's the printer ink that kills you(kidding). I really loved my job and the communicating with so many generous people in the community. It was a time sucker but I made it what it is today. Time to pass it on to someone else. I will miss it but it will leave me with a boatload of time. That's the upside.

Anyway, I think that this accounts for my mood and then reading that a good friend won't be blogging just made it a kind of sad day all around.

Well, I'm off to try and do some more blocks and try to regain my sense of humor and question if it's time to re-think the blogging thing. Maybe just come back in another bloggy form?? I'll let you know and I appreciate ever one who is nice enough to comment. You make the day much brighter. Thanks.