Who said...

"Mistakes are design opportunities"? I have two cases in point here. The bridal shower quilt, to the left, finally got it's borders. But, in my haste, I decided to sew the narrow border and the wide border together before applying it to the quilt. Good idea if I was going to miter the corners, but not so hot idea if I didn't miter. Ends up that the smaller border gets extended out to the ends, thus cutting into the total look of the wide border. You can see that in the top left and right of the picture. Thanks to Deborah for suggesting that I use a solid for the small border. I had to dig through my stash to find something suitable, and I did. All that's left to do now is to iron on the freezer paper onto the backs of each block. It really is a pretty little quilt top.
Now, this little quilt top, made for a client who underwent bilateral knee replacement yesterday, was a little bit of a challenge. I got the pattern from a book called, "24 Hour Quilts" or some such nonsense, lol. Actually, this pattern says you can do it up in about 5 hours. And you probably can if you don't mess it up in the cutting like I did! When cutting the sewn strips to make the blocks, I layered them, right sides together, so when I cut, I had mirror images. Not supposed to do that. I ended up with blocks that didn't fit into the design, hence the corner areas you see in the pictures. The darker corners in the body of the quilt are not supposed to look like that, but I kinda like it, don't you? I didn't add a smaller border, (I got lazy) and just used extra blocks for the corners since I didn't have enough of the big border.

So, see, mistakes really ARE design opportunities! I have to believe that or I would never finish anything.

We, Judy and I, took Dad on his first real outing yesterday. We ran to Farwell for a little while of fun at the local "for amusement only" casino. A little hole in the wall where you just play the machines and win tokens to play some more. I think he really enjoyed it.

Time to get ready for the day. We've got the bridal shower today and Jim thinks he needs to eat breakfast. lol Have a great day!

Tryng to catch up

April's bridal shower is coming up this Sunday so I decided to whip up a siggie quilt for guests to sign. The idea for this pattern was taken from Linda J. Thank you! I will add a few borders in the next day or two. Now, I have a question that I hope one of you bloggers (or more) can help me with. You'd think that as long as I've been quilting, that I would know what kind of pen to use for these signature quilts. I have yet to find one I REALLY like. Help! I want something that will write boldly and clearly. I usually use a Micron 05, but I'm not crazy about it. Any ideas?
I have been wanting to make a cap and booties to match the pink shell afghan, but only got around to making the cap. It was so easy to make that I made one out of the white yarn that Judy made her afghan from.
Here's a picture of Judy's afghan. She made this for Journey, Henry and Shanon's granddaughter (due in Oct) These are the afghans we made while sitting with Dad in the hospital. I couldn't resist taking a picture of my pink shell with the blue ribbon it won.

Took Dad to the doctor today to remove his stitches. He's doing well. Tired tonight, I'm sure, since he walked quite a bit at the doctor's office and then back out to the car. The doc also gave him an antibiotic to fight a bug that seems to be going around. I think I had it a couple of weeks ago. They also gave me an antibiotic for a sinus infection - the source of my headaches lately.

I'm off to cut borders for the siggie quilt.

Pink ribbon quilt

Here's the pink ribbon quilt quilted, bound and labeled. I still want to make a travel pillowcase to match. I figure she'll need a pillow for all her trips to and from Lubbock.




Dad is doing much better. I want to take some pictures of his face now that he's healing. Judy sent me some pics of his face at it's worst. I'm not sure I should show those. lol He really is doing much better, though.

I'm really tired tonight for some reason. I was going to work on that pillowcase tonight but I think I better wait until I'm rested.

Dad has another "adventure"!

We spent the evening in the ER last night with Dad 'cause he fell and cut his nose horribly. He hit his head on the handle of the kitchen cabinet just below the sink. Oh my goodness! He looks like a boxer now. lol Bless his heart. It took 7 stitches and they did a CT scan but all is well. He tripped on the leg of his walker. Joe was home with him at the time and he was able to put his first aid training to use. Today, April suggested he looks a little like the Beast in "The Beauty and the Beast". LOL He really does.

Here are two more tablerunners made per request after clients saw the one I made for Leota. These panels are great to make up these quick runners. One of them even has a reversible look to it. I made them all using the reversible quilt method. My next project is to finish quilting the DWR I showed in a previous post as well as finishing the pink ribbon quilt.


After getting home from the hospital at midnight last night, I went straight to bed with the chills. I was so cold I was shaking and every inch of skin on my body hurt to the touch. I was up several times before 6 a.m. and then went back to bed and slept until nearly 1:30 p.m.! That's really unusual for me. I hate wasting all that quilting time! But, I guess I needed that. I'm feeling much better right now, but I did sweat a cold sweat all afternoon.

It's back to normal tomorrow.

September 1st

Wow. Already. September 1, 2007. Can't help but remember this day in infamy. Well, in my life, anyway. 34 years ago I married my oldest son's dad. Three years later we were divorced. All I got out of that marriage is my beautiful, 32 year old son, Joe. I used to ask Mom, "Why did you let me go through with it? (getting married). She would say, "You wouldn't have listened." Smart woman, my mom, but then I would counter with, "You could've at least tried!" Can't blame her, though. At 18, I was pretty strong-willed and hard-headed, as most 18 year olds can be.

But, that was then, and this is now. I've been married to Jim for almost 25 years now and my sweetie is working on retiring from the Post Office in only one more month! How exciting is that? Scary, too. But, he's ready and because he'll only be 62, and is in extremely good health, I know he would like to embark on perhaps another, albeit not as demanding, career for a while. We'll see...
On a quilty note...Here's another tablerunner ready to be quilted. This one is for April's brother, Perry and his new bride, Amanda. Rob told me their colors are red and black and I had a hard time deciding what to use as the corners. I knew I needed something lighter so they'd stand out, and the white actually has the word "Love" written all over it. I hope to get it quilted this weekend.

Last, but certainly not least, Dad is hanging in there. We're still working to get his meds "just right" but I think that's going to be an ongoing proposition. He calls me several times at work just to say "hi" and I am so happy to hear his strong voice on the phone. And, it's good to know that he's feeling well enough to get on the phone!

I'm off to get ready for work. Jim is off today but I've got a pretty full schedule. Mary C., I miss you!

a quilting evening

I finally spent an entire night quilting! I made this tablerunner for Leota since her birthday was last Sunday. I'm not so sure I didn't make her one with these Santas last Christmas. Oh well, if I did, she's got a matching pair now! lol We'll have her birthday lunch at work on Thursday, but I'll give it to her tomorrow.

Dad's doing really well. He's trying to walk without his walker but I'm still not ready for him to do that without one of us near him. He wants to be "normal" so badly!

This little runner wore me out tonight. I'm out of practice! lol I've got a couple of larger quilts to work on, so I hope I can spend more evenings doing that.

Home again, home again!

Only eight days in the hospital this time and now we are home, again! Actually, I brought Dad home Friday afternoon. I am so behind in posting, mostly 'cause I've been more tired than I can ever remember. But, after sleeping some yesterday and taking my time this morning, I am feeling much better. I think Dad is feeling even better than I am! LOL While with him this afternoon, I couldn't wait for him to say he was ready for a nap, and he never did! He walked and ate a late lunch then sat and played the guitar for me. I was crocheting and all I wanted to do was sleep! lol His blood work came back looking very, very good this afternoon. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.
In the meantime, I've been working on this green Simply Shell Afghan. I like the pink one so much that I just had to do it in this luscious green yarn. I'm afraid the picture doesn't do it justice. I don't know if I posted that the pink afghan won a blue ribbon at the county fair and was seriously considered for Best of Show. A cross stitch picture beat it out of that, though. That's ok. I'm just excited one of my projects was even considered!

This pink ribbon quilt top was made last year when Deborah and I went to Oklahoma for an all day retreat at a LQS. I made a mistake in placing the colors, so I have not wanted to do anything with it. But, now that I look at it, I really like how it looks. So, I'm going to finish it and give it to a gal that used to clean house for me. We found out this week that she is going to have a double mastectomy due to breast cancer. I want her to know I'm thinking of her.

I picked up my Bernina today but haven't had a chance to try it out. I'm going to situate it on my dining room table so I can do some "serious" quilting, I told my husband! LOL "Uh oh," he said. Yup, that means the dining room will be trashed for a while but that's ok. It's the only place I have right now with room for a big quilt to "flow" while I quilt it.

Time to get dinner on the table. Sorry for not checking in sooner. Please pray that Dad continues to do well.

Hopital notes

Still in Lubbock. Hopefully, we will be able to take Dad home sometime this weekend. They've gotten all the fluid off of him. So much so that his kidney numbers began to rise again. Before they would put him on dialysis again, though, the renal doc stopped the heavy duty diuretics and the numbers have begun to drop again. He was very tired today but they tell me that's because he's so dehydrated.

I've been working on the crocheted dishrag dresses and have completed 8 in the last 2 days. I'm so glad I picked up that cotton thread. I wish I'd gotten another skein of the soft green so I can finish my afghan, but that will have to wait 'til later.

I'm afraid this will be a short post. I'm so tired I can't even think.

Still in hospital

It's Monday morning and we're still in Lubbock. Dad had a rough day yesterday because he hadn't slept in 3 nights. It finally caught up with him and he was very tired all day. He seemed better late in the afternoon when Rob and April were here. Dad, Rob, April and Judy played a little game of ping pong and "push the water bottle across the table without letting it fall off" for about a hour or so. Really helped to work his arms a bit.

He's doing much better this morning since we both slept all night, with the usual interruptions. We're just waiting for the dotors to start coming by now. I told Judy (she went home last night) that when one person is here, we should lose weight waiting for the docs! I don't want to leave to go to the cafeteria in case they come by. It'd be my luck that they would start coming in as soon as I leave. So, I'll sit here and do this and work on my crochet until all the docs make their rounds. I could live off my fat for a few days, if the truth be known! lol

Back to the hospital :-(

Here we are in Lubbock, one more time. After our sudden trip to the ER in Clovis yesterday afternoon, we find ourselves back in Lubbock with Dad. He had begun to fill up with fluid again and was having trouble breathing, especially when he would lay down. We were given the option of having him treated in Clovis or take him back to Lubbock. Since they could not be sure that other, cardiac-related problems might arise (other than the fluid retention), we thought we'd better get him to Lubbock. Now they tell us that what they see on the x-ray may not be just fluid, but pneumonia as well. That always scares me. Pneumonia in an older, weaker patient is never good. But they have come a long way with medicines, so please pray.

I'm waiting for Judy to get back to the hospital. We got here at 1:30 a.m. Texas time and none of us slept until about 5 a.m. Judy left to get back to Clovis around 7 a.m. I sure hope she doesn't get too sleepy on the road back. I tried to take a nap several times today and everytime I did, someone would walk in to check on Dad. That's all right. Maybe we can all sleep a little better tonight. Dad seems to be feeling a bit better since he's gotten rid of a lot of fluid.

This is making me sleepy. More tomorrow...

Couldn't resist...

We've heard of "You Tube". My brother sent me this clip from "God Tube". Cute, cute. Thanks, Henry. Nice way to start the day.

Day trip with Dad

The following is from a mass email I sent out after our trip to the Lubbock cardiologist. If you read that email, there's nothing new here :-) Hopefully, tomorrow's post will have news of how my projects did at the county fair. I hope to run out there sometime today to see.

I thank you all for your prayers and good thoughts! We made it home safely from Lubbock yesterday after a fairly uneventful day. Dad and I were on our own since the homemaker couldn't go with us. We had a bit of trouble obtaining a wheelchair when we first got there and I got my day's workout going from one end of the hospital to the other looking for one. They were discharging patients and all the wheelchairs were in use! Can you imagine? Glad for all those folks going home, but you'd think they would let us have a chair after someone was loaded into their car! NO! I kept hearing, "this is MY wheechair and I have to get it back to MY department to wheel OUR patients!" Ok, I understand that, but they could've been a little bit nicer with the attitude. Can you tell I was a little bit irritated :-)? Anyway, I ran up to the cardiologist's office to let them know we were there, still waiting for a wheelchair, and they had one for me to use.

After getting Dad upstairs, I calmed down a bit. lol Of course, he had to go to the bathroom and since I have to help him, I wheeled him into the ladies' room (oh, and no toilet paper, sheesh!). We got that done and they called us in to see the doc.

After listening to his lungs and heart, the doc decided that yes, he does have some fluid at the base of both lungs. So, before he can prescribe more of the diuretic, he needed blood work to determine that his kidneys are not being compromised any further. And, he needed to check something called a BNP to see how bad the congestive heart failure is. I hope to find out all that today.

The neatest thing about the whole trip was when they sat Dad down and proceeded to obtain information in the memory of his pacemaker/defibrillator! It was all printed out, deleted from the pacemaker memory to start collecting information all over again, and then the technician did some "upgrading". He tweaked some numbers on the computer screen and pronounced the devices to be working even better than when they were installed! Amazing! Thank You, Lord! So, now we are just waiting on what to do to get the lungs fluid-free again.

Thanks for listening and for praying! I could "feel" the cloak of prayer all around us almost as soon as we started out from the house.

UFO busting

These blocks are from the End of Winter Swap last year, I think. It may have been the year before...I forget. I've been wanting to get them together in a quilt and so the reversible quilt method was the easiest to do. The red, white and blue blocks make up the back of the EOW quilt. I will still add about 6" borders to make it a functional quilt.
The closeups show a little of the quilting I did in some of the blocks. I let the blocks dictate what kind of quilting I would do. Lots of practice with free motion quilting.
Dad's doing ok these days. Not wonderful. He seems to be retaining a lot of fluid even though the cardiologist has increased his diuretic. The med increase has helped, but I think he needs a little more. We see the Lubbock cardiologist this coming Monday. He seems to be in good spirits, but I know he's tired of this whole mess. He does talk about getting better in order to take a weekend trip to a casino. lol As long as he continues to fight..

Quick note

Even though I'm not in Houston with Jim and Rob, I thought I'd post a picture of Rob and his sister, Brenda. Jim and Rob are in Houston to attend services for Jim's daughter, Beverly. This is the first time Rob and Brenda have seen each other in person. I am so glad these two finally had a chance to meet! I hate that it is under such sad circumstances, but, sometimes that's what it takes to get us all to do something. I know that they would've met eventually, but I'm glad they got a chance to be together at this time.

Mary, I'm sorry I hadn't posted! LOL I just have been lazy about it. I've not done anything "quilty" to speak of except to bind the Valentine quilt I gave my granddaughter for her birthday. Speaking of, I need to leave here in a few to pick her up from the sitter's. I need to relieve the homemaker at Dad's so I'll get to watch Brit this afternoon. Dad's doing much better! It's so wonderful to hear him answer the phone in his own, quirky, animated way! Thanks to all, again, for your prayers.

Lone Star

This is a picture of a top I started just 3 nights ago. I used the Quiltsmart method with their printed fusible interfacing. It was really quite easy. The points that don't match up are the ones I didn't match when sewing the squares together. I still need to add 3" borders then I'll quilt it and hang it at the shop. I'm sure everyone is ready to see a new wallhanging.

I spent the better part of the day in the ER with my dad. I went to work and fixed two heads of hair then I had a cancellation so I decided to take Dad some tamales I'd just bought and to check in on him. The homemaker was there so I wasn't too concerned. But, once I got there and took one look at this face, I knew I had to call an ambulance. His eyelids were so puffy they nearly closed his eyes! And, he just LOOKED different. Ya know what I mean? His entire countenance was so unlike him, that I knew it was time to see what was going on. We felt that he was really needing some dialysis. Well, after 8 hours of tests and more tests, it was decided that he needed a diuretic to relieve some of the fluid building up in his body. They catheterized him and gave him Lasix through the IV and he put out quite a bit in just an hour. It made a huge difference in how he felt and how he was able to move! He had been having so much trouble walking the last few days. Oh, and his back was totally out yesterday and the day before, but I think that my son has been helping with massage because he stands much straighter today! Thank You, Lord and Joe!

On top of all that, we had a phone call in the middle of the night letting us know that my husband's oldest daughter (39) was found dead in a hotel room. We have not been in touch with her for quite a few years, but she is my husband's daughter and the mother of four of his grandchildren. It's a sad situation. We don't know details yet. I hope Jim can go be with his younger daughter during this trying time for her.

A little quilting

This is a picture of a quilt top using Quiltsmart foundation fusible and the instructions in Eleanor Burn's "Quilts Through the Seasons". I had a stack of florals and thought I'd try it. It's not hard but I think I'd like to try it with solid colors with lots of contrast. I worked and worked trying to place the blocks in such a way that one block wouldn't be near another one with the same fabric in it. Didn't work, but I think it still looks fine. Since the blocks are put together in an applique style, I still need to sew down the circles and crowns. But, I decided to do it during the quilting process. Jim looked at it on the wall and asked why I don't put a solid color border on it. What do ya'll think? If I do use a solid color, I'd have to put another, narrower border, I think. At any rate, I like the floral since it carries the theme all the way out. The binding will be the same dark green used in the sashings.

Dad has been having some rough days, as I had been warned might happen once he got home. He hasn't had dialysis since he left the hospital - a week ago this past Saturday. He seems to be putting on some fluid weight so we will see the doctor today. They think he may just need a diuretic. He's been awfully weak and tired but seems fine mentally. He did fall again in the hallway the other night on his way back to bed. I really think he got dizzy and/or made a sudden backward movement after, what he says, was a loud noise he heard outside. The boys didn't hear him until the walker made all kinds of racket as he was falling. He didn't hurt himself except for a scrape on his arm. So, Joe and Carolyn decided that he needed a better way to alert them. They are trying a remote door bell unit that Dad will carry in his pocket (the doorbell button) and the bell will ring where the boys can hear it. They thought of a baby monitor, but Dad needs to carry something with him to use if he falls. We'll see if it worked last night. I wish he'd wake someone to stay with him during his bathroom treks. Another option is to use a bedside potty. He already uses a urinal.

We're so grateful and thankful that he hasn't had to have dialysis, but if that's what he needs to get stronger, then we can live with it. We'll find out today..

Trying something new

Sure hope these blocks get better the more I do! lol As you can see, the first one with the pink points is not very pleasing to the eye - my eye, at least. The second one seemed easier. Maybe it's because I made it at 7 in the morning instead of 11 at night! LOL This pattern is called "American Beauty" and I'm using the Quiltsmart method following Eleanor Burns instructions in her book, "Quilts Through the Seasons". I picked it up in Amarillo during one of our shopping trips at the retreat. I think I'm going to like it. I'm using 16 different, coordinating FQs so I'm hoping it will have a scrappy feel, yet look like I spent a little time in planning.

I'll work at the shop again today then relieve the homemaker at Dad's around 3. If I'm not off in time, Jim said he'd fill in for me. Thank you, honey! You don't know how much it means to me that you are so willing to lend a hand with Dad now that he's home. Even though he's home, Dad is still very weak, but getting stronger, yet needs someone with him 24/7 just to make sure he doesn't fall. Well, we certainly can't keep him from falling, but at least we can be there to assist.

So, I'm off to the showers.

Home from Amarillo

These colorful "chickens" are pincushions I made while at the Amarillo retreat this weekend. The first one is not stuffed, yet. I worked mostly on a quilt for Rob and April so I can't show it yet because it's going to be a surprise :-) There were about 18 ladies that attended the retreat and we had a great time. Although, I spent all day Saturday fighting a migraine/stress/sinus headache. I don't really know what caused it but it hurt. Deborah made me buy some "Head On" and I think I liked it. I'm not sure it helped that much since I'd taken several doses of pain meds. But, the "cool" feeling it left on my forehead really felt nice.

Judy got Dad home on Saturday afternoon. It was so nice to see him sitting at his chair in the dining room when I walked in this afternoon. He's so thin now and trying to grow a little goatee, that he looks really different. Once he has that goatee grown out a little more, I'll post a picture. He said he's trying to "re-invent" himself! LOL

I've got to work on unpacking all my stuff. I will take my sewing machine in tomorrow to have it's yearly checkup. In the meantime, Deborah was nice enough to loan me her Bernina. First, I may have to take a nap...

Great news!

I am not a fan of granny square afghans. I don't mind making all those little blocks, but I don't like having to sew them together. Sewing quilt blocks together is another story, though. Anyway, I needed another quick baby afghan and this one caught my eye. I thought the giant square would be easy, and, it was!

What is my "great news?" Dad is going home on Saturday!! I was hoping they'd let me bring him home yesterday, but they felt he needed another couple of days. Judy says he's doing great. When I was there the other night, he got out of bed by himself, used the walker and got to and from the bathroom by himself. Shocked me when I opened my eyes and he was walking back to bed! He is really excited, Judy says. I wish I was going to be home when he gets there, but I'm in Amarillo for a quilting retreat until Sunday afternoon. I can't wait to walk into his house and see him sitting in his chair! Thank You, Lord!!

Almost home!

I know I've posted these images before, but this quilt is going with me to the retreat this weekend. It's the one I made using squares we traded last year at the retreat. The challenge was to make a project with those squares. So, here it is. Can't wait to show it off! lol The back is a top I made years ago but didn't like. If you notice, the star tips get lost because the print does not go all to the way to the tip. The plan is for Deborah and I to leave Thursday after work because the retreat begins on Friday at 9 a.m. or so.


Okay, back to the title of this post. The doctor on the rehab floor came in this morning and asked us if we felt we could handle it at home. Of course! We do most of the stuff ourselves now! Dad will still go to rehab once we get settled at home, too. He likes it! He feels so much better doing the exercises and I think he really enjoys the fellowship with the other patients. So, the doctor said that she will talk with his therapists tomorrow morning, Wednesday, and see when he can go home. Let's pray it's at least by the end of the week! Selfishly, that way I won't have to turn around after I get home from Amarillo to get back to Lubbock. I tell Judy I bet she'll get him home by Saturday.

Dad is doing his morning PT right now and will go to dialysis this afternoon. I need to run to Wal Mart and do some other errands so I better get things put away here. Thank you all for your prayers and keep them up!!

Baby blue blanket

And a picture of Dad after his first full day of rehab therapy. Remember the blanket I was telling you about in the last post? Didn't get a picture of it because just as I was finishing it up yesterday, one of the housekeeping ladies fell in love with it and I sold it to her! I realized I'd not gotten a picture until she was long gone with it. This baby blue blanket was the easiest one yet. It really does look like bubbles when you're done. The pattern didn't call for an edging, but I thought it could use one and it really finished it off. This one goes to my son's step-daughter's new baby boy born last Monday. Congratulations, Tabitha!

I think Dad is tired, lol. He had a shower after his therapy this afternoon, took a short nap, ate dinner, and is sacked out again. I may have to wake him up in a little bit so he can still have some sleep left in him tonight. He (and I) was up at least 4 times last night. I usually have to help him get up off the toilet, but twice, he didn't wait for me and walked out without my help. Then, there are other times when he just can't get up. His muscles sure need more training, but he's doing very well.

Busy week

Wow, I didn't realize I hadn't posted in a week! We've been busy. Dad is now in rehab, officially. It began in earnest this morning when the Occupational Therapist came in at 8:30. Dad had already eaten and dressed himself so she didn't have much to do. I decided to go on to get breakfast since now we are in a room located right above the cafeteria. When I got on the elevator, I couldn't help but tell the lady in there with me that I felt like a mother sending her child off to school for the first time! LOL

I'm finishing up the border on another little crocheted baby afghan. My son's stepdaughter had a little boy last week so I figured I'd get one done for her since I haven't had a chance to make the quilt I was planning on. Picture later...

Guess I'll sit here and wait to see when they bring Dad back. We don't know yet when, or if, he will have dialysis again. He did have it on Friday since his numbers had gone back up. As soon as I catch his nurse, I'll see if she can give me any news.

When you can't quilt, crochet!

Judy finished this crocheted blanket during her stay with Dad at the hospital this past weekend. We decided it will make a great car seat blanket or stroller blanket. Now that she's done with this one, she has started another crocheted blanket in another pattern. She's also begun, hold on...., a yo yo project!
I was seeing these shells in my sleep! This blanket was fun to make and very addicting. I thought I'd work on it while at the hospital with Dad, but found myself working on it even when I was at home. So, now it's done and I can start something else.

Dad is doing well today. He says he feels a little weaker than yesterday, but I think his muscles are just tired. He's done a lot in the last few days. We're waiting now for them to come get him to go to dialysis. I think he will nap while he's there today and I think I will, too. I'm going to sit right here in his room and snooze the whole time he's gone. Well, after I run get me something to eat. We'll see how far I can get with the new blanket I've started.

Piano man!

Here's Dad at the piano in the dayroom on this floor. He is doing so much better, thank you, Lord! We are now awaiting a new assessment of his condition to see if he will remain here at the hospital on the rehab floor. He is getting stronger each day.

I have not been doing anything quilt-wise, but have been crocheting up a storm. I am about to finish a baby afghan for a soon-to-be great-niece. I can't wait to finish this up to post a picture. Judy has finished her afghan for the baby and I will get a picture of it soon.

I am tired tonight. I worked until about 1 p.m. then went to WalMart and ran home and threw my baggage into the car and headed to Lubbock. We took Dad, in the wheelchair, down to the cafeteria. He'd already eaten so we grabbed some sandwiches and came back up to the dayroom where he played a bit at the piano. I am ready to take my contacts out and call it a night.

Father's Day outing

Recognize this fella? LOL This is Dad on Father's Day. We sat him in a wheelchair and took him outside for the first time in 3 months! I made him wear my sunglasses. It was pretty bright outside and really nice. I think he enjoyed it.

We started out today with high hopes that he will be moved to the convalescent center in Farwell. Things were rolling along smoothly until this afternoon when my sister went to sign papers. She found out then that his records show he has some kind of infectious infection in his stool. The nurse in Lubbock claims he does not, it's just blood in the stool. So, there were more papers faxed today for the nursing home to peruse and we wait.. Please pray that things work out as they should as soon as possible.

Father's Day '07

Here are Brittany and her daddy with the pillowcase she made for him for Father's Day. She was so anxious to give it to him. The picture is not the best, but you can see the beautiful smile on her face. The pillowcase has horses all over it. Her daddy loves horses. She wanted to make a quilt, but there was just no time. She'll be back in July so maybe we can attempt a little one then, especially if we get Dad closer to home.

New quilter!

Here's Miss Brittany at her little sewing machine at Grama's house. She's practicing her quarter inch seam on some scraps left over from Auntie Judy's quilt. We made a Father's Day gift for her daddy, but I can't show that yet in case he happens to read my blog. :-)

Brittany and I went to check out the convalescent center that we hope to bring Dad to in the very near future. When we left, she said, "That's a nice place. I sure hope Big Grampa gets to come there." So, it passed her judgement! lol Passed mine, too. Now if we can just get all the gears in motion...

Monday morning

The QOR Mystery quilt, sans borders. I knew I wasn't going to have enough of the inner fabric to finish the border. So, now I have to try to find something that will compliment the center.
This little cutie is my granddaughter, Brittany. Her daddy went to OK to pick her up last Friday and she will be with us until Father's Day. The first night she was with us, she showed me how to make a scarf with the yarn I mistakenly bought when I started making the dishcloths. She just wound it around her fingers in a pattern, then took it off her hand and pulled it taut. It made a tube-like scarf. She learned how to do it in Girl Scouts. It was so nice to watch her do something creative. I can't wait to have more time with her to show her how to quilt!

I'm sitting here watching the physical therapists help Dad get up to walk. He's much stronger so we'll see how far he can make it today. He started complaining and the therapist said, "He's feeling better!" He retorted, "Why, because I'm complaining?" But, he was smiling when he said it. He walked about 20 feet and now he'll sit in the big wheelchair and I'll take him down to the Dayroom so we can both do some exercises.

...It's now two hours later and we have exercised and had lunch. Dad is back in bed, snoring, and I am beat! I can't decide whether to take a nap or run to the hotel and reserve a room for Judy for when she gets in tonight. That way, I could take my shower today as well as tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, a doctor came in today to let us know that Dad will be getting a more permanent catheter for dialysis. They will do it tomorrow either before or after he is dialyzed. This is in preparation to moving him into another facility.

Crochet marathon

Friday night was spent making these cute little dress dishcloths. Since I haven't had a lot of time or opportunity to work on my quilts, I thought I'd direct my energies towards one of my prior hobbies. I'm really enjoying working with crochet needle and yarn. So much so that instead of waiting until I get back to the hospital with Dad to work on these, I decided to work on them last night. Actually, I had to make at least two of the dresses since they made such a big hit with customers at work! lol I took to work the dishtowels I'd made while in Lubbock last week and, what I didn't give away, I sold! And, consequently, had an order for two more. These are so quick and easy to do that I figured I'd make up two extra ones. If they don't sell, I'll just put them away for Christmas giving.


I'm hoping to be able to spend Saturday night at home this week. Judy is on her way to North Carolina to a national Medicare meeting (thank you, Lord!), so Rob and April (in the picture at left) stayed with him last night and will be with him today and tonight. Thank you, guys! You don't know how much this means to me. Oh, did I mention that these two will be getting married on October 20? This is one of their engagement pictures. The background is a real field of flowers.

Dad is doing better, according to my sister. She insists that I will be surprised at the level of his improvement from just Wednesday when I last saw him. I pray that he continues to do well. If he shows improvement, I think they will agree to keep him on the skilled nursing floor at the hospital rather than move him to a nursing home for his rehab. But, if that's what we need to do, we'll handle that, too.

Since I have an extra night at home, there's so much I want to do! I wish I didn't have to go to work today, but that's not even up for discussion. So, I'm off to get the day started. Thank you all for your continued support and most of all, your prayers!

Last of the birthday blocks

Finally! I always enjoy this swap so much, but it was a little trying this time. I loved working on everyone's blocks, but it was a bit stressful and I was so late with some of them. These blocks are for Kate. If I remember correctly, the names of the blocks are "Brasstown Star", "Coxey's Camp", and "Wyoming Valley". These can all be found at the Quilter's Cache.

We are still at the hospital. Today might be the last day for antibiotics. They drew blood this morning at 5 so I guess that will tell them if the antibiotics can be stopped. I sat him up on the side of the bed yesterday and he was much stronger. I hope to see physical therapy in today to stand him up and walk him. Dad's sense of humor is still intact as evidenced this morning when the aide was in. He placed the bedpan under Dad and walked away saying, "I'll be back in a second". Dad told him, "Make it two!" (seconds) lol The aide came back rather quickly and Dad said, "That really WAS two seconds!"

I am so sleepy. I've been working on another baby afghan and some crocheted dishtowels. I think I'll catch a nap while Dad's sleeping before the therapists start coming in.

Small hospital incident

No, it's not anything bad. In fact, it's one of the brighter spots of Dad's hospital stay. Those of you that read this in QOR messages, please disregard the first 3 paragraphs. :-)

Dad has not slept through the night for about 2 months. Every night finds us calling the nurse for various reasons and just cat-napping. One night this past week, the dietary aide walked in with Dad's dinner tray. He sat it down, asked if we needed anything else and, as he turned to walk to the door, he turned back to us and said, "Have a blessed evening!". I said, "Thank you. You, too." At that moment, I just KNEW Dad would not have any trouble that night. Guess what? Dad turned on his favorite side, for the first time in the hospital, and slept from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. without even turning! The nurse came in at 3:30 or so and asked me if he was alright. That kinda made me chuckle because I thought, "that's YOUR job!" lol I had been waking every so often waiting for him to call my name and so I'd watch to make sure he was breathing. Kinda like when you stand over your children to watch them sleep?

I am so thankful to that nice man who told us to have a blessed evening. Why else would Dad sleep so restfully? No one had ever said that to us before. Yes, I can rationalize it with, "He had dialysis that day and it wore him out". Well, he's had dialysis before and he never slept thru the night! lol

Just wanted to share a thankful moment.

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers. We're still waiting patiently for Dad to get stronger and to walk on his own. He has about a week of antibiotics left and then will move him into a regular rehab facility, I think.

This is Dad on his 77th birthday, May 30. Those things you see coming out of his neck are the ports through which they do dialysis right now. They have implanted a more permanent graft in his left arm for later on. He slept through most of his birthday, but when someone came in, they wished him a happy one and he always smiled and said, "thank you".
These are little crocheted washcloths I worked on while in Lubbock this past week. I need to find some bright colored yarn to make more. They work up really fast, now that I know what I'm doing.

Best get myself out of here and ready for work. Our shop owner lost her brother yesterday. He had a major heart attack after having had heart problems for several years. He was only 64.

Back in Lubbock

But, in a different room! After 8 weeks, we are finally moved. Dad has been moved to the floor they call SNF (Skilled Nursing Floor). It's got a nursing home feel in that there are no monitors, they have an activities director, the doctors don't come by as often and they serve meals extremely early. The room is much bigger so we have room for a cot and two recliners. My boys came up yesterday and spent the night with me in the room with Dad. Good thing, too. Dad did not sleep much. He was coughing up mucus all night and asking to get on the bedpan all night long. I think we all finally got to sleep around 5 and I was awakened at 7 with dietary bringing in breakfast. He is not wanting to eat things he doesn't like which is most of the food they bring him. Don't know how we're going to get him to eat more protein.

These are Michele's blocks. The first one is called "Star in a Frame" and the second one is "Wyoming Valley". I only have one more set to make before I complete my obligation with this round of QOR Birthday blocks. I'm going to have to take a break from these little swaps for a while. I enjoy them so much, but since I also am in charge of the Lotto Exchange, I better concentrate on one thing at a time for now.

Judy just got here with lunch for all of us. Don't know if they'll have Dad do anything today so we sat him on the edge of the bed and I cut his hair and he did his exercises.

Birthday blocks '07

Here is the long-awaited picture, and not a very good one at that, of my 2007 birthday blocks from my QOR pals. I think I might want to sash these with more pink. Whaddya think? This layout won't be the one I use but I just wanted to post a picture of all of the blocks. I still have one more set on the way. I hope to do these with the quilt-as-you-go technique like I did with my 2006 blocks.

Another Thursday at home. I told Judy that I felt that my reality now is at the hospital and coming home is my vacation. Although, there's so much to do when I'm here I can't really relax. I try to work as much as I can at work, then I come home and have so much more to do. I end up not doing much of anything. Today we were waiting for an electrician to come check why some of the outlets in the kitchen aren't working. He had said he'd be here by 7 p.m. and then called to tell us he was running way behind and couldn't make it. Now he can't come until Saturday. Oh well. We've lived with it this long... But, my dining room is in total chaos - more so than usual! Jim had to move the china cabinet out to get to an outlet so that meant moving stuff out of it. yuck. Everything needs to be washed anyway. And, we have too much stuff on the top of the cabinet.

I've been doing laundry and going through some things in my sewing room. Trying to get my birthday block and FQ obligations taken care of.

Dad had a permanent graft put in his arm today to do the dialysis. Judy says she can see that the Foley catheter bag seems to be collecting more every day. I'm hoping that his kidneys start working soon and make the graft something that he won't have to use after all. Still working on getting him moved to the LTAC.

Cloudy Sunday in May

I'm back in Lubbock at the hospital with Dad. I'm sitting here watching them getting ready to get Dad up to sit in the big chair. He didn't sleep at all last night, so I feel sorry for them. lol These girls are strong! They just moved him from the bed onto the recliner/wheelchair. Let's see how long he can stay up this time.
I am not happy with the second block I have made for Emily. The first one is called "Kansas Trouble" and, since she lives in Utah, I thought I'd make one titled, "Utah Sparkler". The design should look like a big diamond with those little "V" things in the corners. I think I should've reversed the color combo. Oh well. She'll still have a purple quilt.
How about this! When I got to the hospital yesterday, Judy presented me with the rest of my birthday gifts. LOL It sure has been nice celebrating my birthday for two months now! I can't wait to set up this XM Radio unit in my car. When I drive around with Judy, we listen to all kinds of different stations on her XM. We especially enjoy a talk show called "Broadminded". These gals are a little off-center and sometimes just downright nasty, but they are so funny. Since I've been driving back and forth to Lubbock, this will be a nice change of pace.

They say it's supposed to rain today. Guess I'd better check the radar and see if Judy will get to go home today.

Catching up at home

The next set of birthday blocks belongs to Cindy. These are called "Double T" and "Plenty of Stars". She is making a red and black quilt. I hope these fit the bill.
Here is almost half of the baby afghan I started Thursday afternoon while in Dad's room at the hospital. I haven't worked on it while at home. I'll save it to finish when I go back to Lubbock this weekend. I have too many other things that need doing, like three more sets of birthday blocks. I'd like to get them done before I leave Saturday afternoon.

I had a busy day at work. As usual, it was SO nice to see all my clients! And, my wonderful co-workers brought lunch in honor of my birthday, even though it's been a month and a half since my birthday. They've been waiting for me to be at work in order to bring their delicious potluck offerings. Dolores brought posole, Clint brought chicken spaghetti, and there was a hamburger stew, green beans, fried chicken, garlic bread and a luscious chocolate cake. Do I have great friends, or what!

Judy is with Dad until Saturday. He had dialysis today and we still don't know when they're moving him to the long term facility. He was very weak today but that's what dialysis does to him. One of the docs diagnosed him as a bit anemic, so he had a blood transfusion.

Time to eat a bite. It's confusing getting back to this time zone after being in Texas.

A little bit of shopping

While Dad was in dialysis today, I decided to brave the streets of Lubbock. Not that it's hard to get around here, it's just that I'm not used to driving in traffic heavier than what we have in Clovis. But, I figured I needed to do something in the 4 hours Dad would be busy. I went to a little shop called "Rachel's" and found a Baltimore Album quilt kit with preprinted blocks, along with all the fabric needed to make the top. It was originally priced at $130 and I sure wasn't going to pay that. But, the sign said "50% off". So, I thought, "that's the only way I'll do a Baltimore Album", so, I decided to buy it. When I got to the checkout counter, I found out it was 75% off! Nice surprise. I also found this pattern book with Christmas designs. It has some really nice Nativity patterns that I can't wait to use.
After Rachel's, I was on my way to Hobby Lobby and passed by a little dress shop I enjoy shopping at. Stopped in and found a couple of comfy tops and workout leggings (I'm optimistic, if nothing else! lol)

I didn't find Hobby Lobby, but I did find a Michael's. There I found the floss I need for the Christmas ornament designs in the Star of Wonder booklet. Then I started looking through the crochet books and found a pattern for a baby afghan. Since my brother told me their new grandbaby is going to be a girl, I couldn't resist. This will keep me busy while sitting here with Dad. I'm about sick of watching movies.

Dad should be back in the room anytime now.

Happy Mother's Day

Well, I spent Mother's Day in Father's Room! lol He's doing better right now. He even sat on the edge of the bed for a while and got up nearly under his own power. They removed his catheter because it had been causing lots of discomfort and when he realized he would have to use a handheld urinal, he decided to have the catheter re-inserted! lol Since I'm spending the night with him, I'm glad he did. This picture really makes him look bad. He has lost a lot of weight and he does look skinny in person, but when he smiles, he looks better than the picture shows. He was in some pain from the catheter when we took this picture.

Judy left a little bit ago. I told her I can't believe I won't be taking a shower for the next three days! Maybe I'll go get a room on Tuesday when Dad goes for his dialysis. For about five hours I can leave the hospital, take my shower and change my clothes. If he's doing well enough, I might even spend the night at the hotel that night. I hate to leave him alone in the hospital, but I may need to sleep in a bed by then.

I've been watching lots of movies while I'm here. I wish I could get motivated to work on some handwork. But, by evening, we turn the lights out and it's just easier to watch a movie on my laptop.