Been a bit under the weather

To all of you that remembered me in your prayers the last few days, "THANK YOU!"

So, here's what happened...I worked all day Friday knowing I would run to the after-hours clinic to see if they could give me something (again) for this sinus thing I've had going on for a few weeks now. When I got into the inner office, the PA asks, "What brings you here?" I tell her about my sinus problem and she says, "That is the least of my worries right now. I am worried about your elevated (135) heart rate and blood pressure. I want you to go to the Emergency Room, RIGHT NOW!"

Well, being the obedient and about-to-freak patient that I was at the time, I rushed on over to the ER. I called Jim on my way and he met me there. Judy was watching Kerrington and Dad at the time so she couldn't be there, but Robert came on over. April was off work and at her grandfather's since her step-grandmother had passed away that very morning. Joe was working and couldn't come right away. Needless to say, I wanted ALL my family around me at that time! LOL And, they put me in the ER room where Dad nearly died! I told the nurse I didn't like that room and she said "there are no other rooms available". Ok, fine. I'll deal.

There I am, tethered to heart monitors and O2 machines and doctors and nurses coming in to do their thing. When my heart rate reached 150 (I had just had a coughing fit and was extremely frightened) the doctor suggested that he could give me a shot of a medicine that would shock my heart back into rhythm. Get this..the shot stops your heart for an instant. He actually said, "You'll die for a second." Can you believe it?? Um, I said, "I don't think so! At least not until Dad's cardiologist has a chance to see me first!" Instead, they tried several different high blood pressure meds injected into my IV and one of them brought it down sufficiently. Whew!

They admitted me for observation for the rest of the night and things settled down, thank God. Ultimately, it seems that all the meds I'd been using to try to get my sinus problem under control finally took their toll on my heart. I'm not supposed to use Sudafed anymore and no more caffeine. After taking the 'scripts Dr. Hassan prescribed, everything looks a lot better.

I can't wait to get back to normal tomorrow and see my sweet baby K-akes. I'm in Kerrington withdrawal! Speaking of Kerrington, here's a blanket I fixed for her. I just added the satin binding.


A final note...If you're needing any Scentsy, please get in touch with me this evening. I'm placing one more order before midnight tonight. Thanks!

May is winding down...

As I eagerly anticipate the unveiling of the June BOM, I finally finish stitching my May blocks. These have been very portable and a wonderful project to have on hand while sitting with Dad and/or Kerrington. One of these days I'll gather them all together and actually quilt them! lol
Since Kerrington is growing so fast, she has outgrown nearly all of her swaddling blankets. I decided to try my hand at making one. The pattern I used called for two layers. Not a good idea with summer coming up. It came out alright and will be a nice weight for cooler days, but I want to try again with one layer and maybe some different edging styles.

Got to dry my hair and try to put on my face. I've been sweating so much these days that I've gone makeup-less most of the time. But, I'll be seeing lots of folks today so I'd better get presentable. My little Miss K. doesn't care that her gramma comes to see her with a naked face! LOL

Saturday snippets

Just a quick post to show you what I did last night. This zebra print purse will be a good friend's gift to her granddaughter on her 15th birthday. The young lady is into all things zebra these days. I also made her a zebra headband.


Dad has not had anything done as of yet. The shot that will begin to work on the prostate cancer will be given to him on Tuesday unless he can convince the doc that he really wants the surgery. These shots are given every 3 months, are very expensive and apparently have the same side effects as chemotherapy. The surgery will do the same thing that the shots are designed to do, but on a permanent basis and, of course, is only done once. I'll update as soon as I know. In the meantime, we're doing pain management. Dad seems to be handling the whole situation about as well as can be expected. He has his low moments but he has been more like his old self every now and then.

Please keep my daughter-in-law and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Her step grandmother has taken a turn for the worse and is in the hospital in Lubbock in critical condition, as I understand it. April and Rob will head there this morning. That, of course, means that Auntie Judy gets another day with Miss K. since I have to work - boo hoo. But, I get to watch her when I get off work.

Time to get ready. Have a great Memorial Day weekend and be safe!

Bulls Eye!

This is the start of my Bulls Eye swap. These circles are sewn on, one on top of the other and edges left raw. Then you quarter each block.
You put each block back together using different quartered pieces. A set to swap is made up of 3 of the same block. I'll send them off and, in return, will receive as many as I send out and will have a variety of quarter blocks to sew together with the one block I leave for myself.
This is a great way to use up some of your scrap fabric. I was able to sew three blocks today while watching Kerrington. She slept through most of it and then watched me while lying on her pillow while I finished.

Dad got home from the hospital. I will call tomorrow to find out more information on what they will do for him.

Kerrington noises

Here is Miss K. being her sweet little self. I thought you might enjoy just watching and listening to her instead of listening to my rantings.



Dad spent the night in the hospital last night to undergo more testing. The urologist said that it is, more than likely, prostate cancer. He is so sure that he does not plan to do a biopsy of the prostate but he does want bone scans and a CT. He'll get that done today. Please keep him in your prayers. He was actually his old self last night, according to Judy who stayed with him until 10 p.m. He had her ROFLMA (rolling on floor laughing my a** off) saying his silly little things. We had not seen him like that for a few days now. I think he's really been hurting and now that he knows things are going to be done, he's more relaxed.

I'm off to see Kerrington again. Hope you enjoyed seeing, and hearing, her, too!

Help Us Choose Home

As some of you may or may not know, my sister runs a local home health agency (which we rely on to help us with dad). She is also very involved on a state level and says that the current federal administration is looking to cut homecare dollars. The national homecare association is fighting the cuts and is working on a grass roots campaign to stop the cuts. Please take a moment to view the video on this website Help Us Choose Home and, if you are so moved, the site has a link that will allow you to contact your legislators to show support for homecare dollars.

Now, back to our scheduled blog post...

Graduation gift

It's graduation time again! I've only received one announcement and it's from the granddaughter of one of my co-workers. Audi used to clean my station before she got busy with high school stuff. So, I've fixed her a little gift. I'm sure she has plenty of quilts made for her by her grandmother, so I put together this little "work of art". That's what the magazine calls it, anyway. I found the idea in the summer 2009 issue of Quilts and More. Very simple but striking, I thought.

I'm off to finish some chores. I will spend the night at Dad's tonight. He seems a bit better, but the night girl is out of town and Joe can't be expected to be up with him all night and work the next day. He took his turn on Friday night, Judy stayed there last night and now it's my turn. I will probably get some hand work done while there.

One year old birthday gift

Have I ever told you how nice it is to be able to work on small projects between the big ones? I really, really like to sit down and finish a sewing project from beginning to end in one evening. Tonight, I made this little cloth book for Mattie's first birthday. Mattie is April, my daughter-in-law's, niece. There is definitely reason to celebrate her first birthday since she had a rough time the first few months of her life. Mattie has grown so much this first year and is a beautiful little girl and my granddaughter's cousin.



My kids, my sister and I had our usual Friday night dinner date at Juanito's tonight. I brought home some enchiladas for Grampa Jim. He was tired and wanted to watch boxing. We sent big Grampo a stuffed sopapilla. Little Miss K. was a sweet baby and slept through most of the dinner conversation flowing all around her.

I am now working on BullsEye blocks for a swap with my online group, Quilts on Review. I'll post pictures when I get more done.

Fabulous flooring and a curly Joe

Curly Joe! Yes, folks, his hair is naturally curly. Now I wonder why, when he was about three or four, did I perm his hair? I guess I needed the experience. I have to admit..I have two handsome sons. :-)
This is the new floor in Dad's kitchen and the picture below shows part of the dining room floor. Things have not all been put back but it looks great.

She's growing so fast!

Here is Kerrington. On the left, she is one week old and on the right, she is two months old. Unbelievable how quickly these babies grow!

I have been too busy to sew. Betcha never thought I'd say that! Taking care of Kerrington is a breeze. Combine that with staying with Dad all afternoon makes it a little harder. Dad has had a bit of a setback lately with his legs hurting enough that he has a hard time walking. So, someone has to be with him all the time to help him to the bathroom and back to bed and/or his motorized chair. But, Kerrington has been an angel during these afternoons. Maybe she knows I need her to be sweet while tending to "Big Grampo". Dad has really enjoyed having her there. She smiles at him and he loves it.

They have put in a new floor at Dad's, in the kitchen, dining room, laundry room and front bathroom. That, too, has been a bit of a trial the last few days. Hopefully, tomorrow will be the final day of all the installation. It is looking great. I hope I remember to take my camera to take pictures of the new floor.

I do have some sewing projects in progress. I am working on quilting a top for a client, a tablerunner for the same client, some pillowcases and my BOMs. I took a few stitches on one of them today while at Dad's but it was almost a waste of time taking it out of my bag. Dad's beeper worked overtime today. lol That's ok. I'll get them done eventually.

Almost bedtime again. Will take another Benadryl to dry up my nocturnal sinus drainage. Took one last night and it worked wonders. First time I didn't have a coughing fit in a week. Goodnight!

At Grama and Grampa's house

Even though I didn't get to stay with Kerrington yesterday, I did see her. April brought her to the house about 4:30 and we watched her until 9:30. Robert was here, too, for part of the evening so we ordered pizza 'cause Auntie Judy came to visit, too! Surprise, surprise! lol
These hairy arms and big hand belong to Grampa Jim. Kerrington really does love her Grampa Jim but I think I'd be a little worried if I was that small and that big hand was coming towards me! lol

I think the feeling is mutual with Grampa Jim. He thinks she is just too cute! She's a good baby and only fusses when she's needing something. The rest of the time she just smiles and "talks" to us. We had a great time.

I'd better get going. We're having Clint's birthday/going away party today. He's off to go work at Penney's. For those of you that know him, Saturday will be his last day with us. I'm taking deviled eggs, as usual.

Repair work

Front of the quilt.
Back of the quilt.

No pictures of Kerrington today. Instead, I've got pics of a quilt top I made about 6 or 7 years ago for a client's son. He has used this thing so much that the backing fabric was coming apart where the pieces were sewn together to make the back big enough. It wasn't just a seam coming apart, though. It was torn and there were several other spots that showed much love and wear that needed covering. I didn't want to just patch it up here and there, so I did the "sew and flip method after laying down the long center piece. I did not originally quilt this quilt so I was worried that the straight lines might interfere with the quilt design. Not to worry. Plus, the original quilting is coming apart! So, maybe the lines of stitching I've put in will help that. So, now they've got a reversible quilt! lol

I had an unexpected day off from my babysitting play (can't call it a job! Too much fun!) today since April was told she could stay home due to the recent flu scare. Better for her to stay away from those that might have it but I sure miss staying with my sweet Kerrington :-(. I'll run over later and take them some deviled eggs I promised. In the meantime, I've gotten the quilt repaired and starting on another one that has been waiting. I also need to run to Hobby Lobby.

Sweet Baby K-akes!

See why I couldn't stay away? Such a sweet baby girl our Kerrington!

Sunday night was spent getting the rest of the BOMs ready for stitching and making the Bronco pillow to match the denim quilt. I have some cording that I used to make the piping.

Oh, I also made another batch of muffins. Now, since it's 11:30 p.m., I better get some sleep. Have a good week and remember to wash your hands and stay away from sneezing and coughing people! Of course, since allergies are affecting a lot of us, it's hard to know who might really be sick, so just use common sense.

Saturday (or, only 2 days before I can stay with Kerrington again!)

Whew! What a busy three days at the shop! It was great, though. My wonderful clients are almost as happy as I am that I'm able to be Kerrington's sitter for the first three days of the week. I say "almost" because some of them would really rather come in on Tuesday or Wednesday, but they are sweet enough to work with my new schedule. Thank you so much!

The new May BOM was posted yesterday so I was able to finish the stitching tonight. I hope to get it quilted and ready to hang by Monday. I still need to find some Spring stickers for the wooden hanger it will hang on.


Judy got to babysit tonight for about 4 hours. Of course, I went by to visit! lol Judy graciously let me help her 'sit until Rob and April got back from their date night. Too much fun!

It's Sunday morning now. I didn't post this message last night when I wrote it because I was going to post pictures of Kerrington at Auntie J's house. I don't have them yet, so I'll update later. In the meantime, I'm off to Dad's to fix Sunday breakfast.

Fiona's Giveaway

If you click on Fiona's name, it will take you to her page. She's posting a giveaway to celebrate her 50th post. Fiona was my Spring swap partner to whom I sent a package. A lovely lady, and new grandma, too, and a very busy person. She lives in Tasmania.