Monday, September 28, 2015

Gross pictures!

I had to go in this morning to get the splint off and a cast put on.  so, I took some not very good pictures with my phone:
Above is the thumb where they pinned it and are waiting for it to fuse.
 This is the base of the thumb where they removed the arthritic joint and replaced it with tendon.
 The stitches on top and bottom left is where they took the tendon to put into the thumb.  The rest is just one big bruise! They did not remove any of the stitches today, but did cast it:
I go back in 4 weeks for more xrays and to have the cast and stitches removed - and depending on how it's healing, may have another cast or not.  I still have pain, but not taking pain pills.

Until next time.... blessings.

Friday, September 18, 2015

After Surgery

I had surgery yesterday.  At the facility at 6 am; surgery before 7; Left the facility about 10:30! Best surgical experience and facility I've ever had - Rockford Orthopedic Surgical Center.  I'd recommend them to anyone.
And I have the use of my fingers which surely helped me get dressed this morning.  The numbness wore off about 10:30 last night, but I don't have a lot of pain.  
Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.
I'm obviously typing with one hand, so will keep this short!

Until next time....Blessings.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Another update

So, been missing in action for a few days for a fairly good reason!  I'm having surgery tomorrow on my ugly hand.  
 I have degenerative osteoarthritis in my hands and my thumbs have been giving me more trouble than usual.  It's making doing any hand work very difficult, so it's time to take care of it.  The surgeon will be cutting the arthritis out of that huge thumb joint, put in a couple of pins and a screw and fuse the thumb and then at the joint that joins the wrist, he will cut out the arthritis and replace it with tendon, so it will no longer be bone on bone.  
Two weeks in a bandage, and then 6 to 10 weeks in a cast followed by therapy.  Realistically we're looking at 3-6 months of not having a left thumb!  I am right handed, but you'd be surprised how much you use your "other" hand.  Dressing should be fun!
So, if I don't post for awhile, it's because it's a pain in the butt to type with one hand!  
I've had to be off my anti-inflammatory meds for the past week, so I'm in a bit of pain, so not so worried about the surgery, but want it over with so I can get back on my meds!

Until next time....blessings. (And I'm blessed that they can actually do something for me to eliminate the need for cortisone injections - so happy about that!)

Friday, September 11, 2015

Quilted!

This is the back of the Minions quilt - hope you can see the goggles pattern - was cute to stitch!
I also cut more fabrics while I was in the basement this morning.  I have a lot more to cut before next Thursday, so I may be spending a lot of time in the basement the rest of this week and first of next.
 
I ran a couple of errands this afternoon and then took my happy butt over to Baumann Park in Cherry Valley and walked the path around the lake.  I tend to walk fairly fast, so it was a good workout for me - and yes, I needed that!
 
I've been traveling in De-Nile for awhile and finally decided to face facts - I've gone from pre-diabetic to full blown diabetes and I need to get my numbers back down to normal.  So, there will be more walking going on here and I am counting my carbs again, like I should have been all along.  Hopefully along with the 30 pounds I need to lose, I'll also lose the higher blood sugar numbers.
 
Until next time...blessings.
 

Wednesday, September 09, 2015

Some piecing going on here

 We're going to be shifting gears and piecing kids quilts for a change for the church.  First group will go to the kids in our church and then we'll donate them to Motherhouse Crisis Nursery in Rockford, I think.  So, I've been buying kids fabrics this summer and started piecing this Minions quilt the other day and finished putting it together this morning.
 I have the cutest pattern for quilting it, called Goggles by Kim Diamond.  I'll quilt it tomorrow.
I've been working on my to-do list today, so every time I spend a few minutes in the basement, I try to cut more squares of the kids fabrics.
We're meeting again at the end of the month for a sewing day at church, so I need plenty of squares for the group to start sewing together.  Probably the Minion quilt will be the only one I piece, since I will be doing the quilting of most of them.

Until next time....blessings.

Tuesday, September 08, 2015

My church does a clothing giveaway at least twice a year and the next one will be in a couple of weeks, so it was time to clean out the closet.  I tried on everything in my closet this morning and all of these clothes are going to the church!  A lot of this stuff I haven't worn or couldn't wear and some stuff was only worn once and some not at all.  I hate to shop, so when I do go shopping for clothes, more often than not I'll buy two or three pairs of pants and 4 or more shirts - just so I don't have to go again for 6 months or a year!
And now I have a lot more room in my closet and a lot more hangers available too!  I now have two pairs of black slacks and one pair of brown slacks, and no blue slacks! I have more mid to long sleeve tops that short sleeved and a few tops only for wearing around the house, and a couple that I can wear to run to the store, but not wear to lunch!
Thank God for stretch jeans, but whoever invented stretchy tops should have their head examined.  I often wonder if I ever looked in the mirror wearing some of that stuff!

The upshot of all this is that I have started yet another diet/lifestyle change.  I need to lose 30 pounds, but it's okay if it takes me a week to lose 1 pound, so it's a long-term goal.  I've joined SparkPeople.com again to log my food and exercise and to keep me honest!  And that is usually how long it takes me to lose a pound, too - my fat and I have become very good friends -- we won't be saying goodbye quickly by any means!

And now I'm off to tackle the rest of my to-do list today.
Until next time....blessings.

Monday, September 07, 2015

Updated Picture

My niece came from Colorado last week for a short visit.  We went to Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford -- a pretty famous garden walk that's been here for many, many years.  I was born and raised in Rockford, and lived here or in the area all my life and it was the first time I've ever been there!
Beautiful, and very peaceful.  My niece took this picture of me, which for once, isn't too bad!
We had lunch in the dining room there and then went to the Nicholas Conservatory, which has only been here a few years, but it was the first time I'd been there too.  Beautiful plants.  We did the Sinnissippi path walk to see the roses and the flower clock too.
This is a pic of the dining room/registration center at Anderson Gardens.  I got some great pics with my new camera -- which I love, btw!  Now I have a home screen full of photos which I need to edit and organize with my Photoshop Elements program, thanks to the classes I took last month!

Today is Labor Day, which means its a normal Monday for me and I need to get busy cleaning house and doing laundry so I can have the rest of the week to play in the sewing room and organize photos on the computer!

Until next time....blessings.

Tuesday, September 01, 2015

1st Day of School

First day of school for the grandkids:

Briana, senior in high school
AJ, 6th grade
Will, 3rd grade
Mikey - 1st day of all day kindergarten

Until next time.... (and obviously, these are my blessings!)