Happy Birthday, Steve

Big 41 today! Funny thing, 2 years ago we were told you'd never see this day. And I think your surgeon is pretty amazed about the fact that you're still here. But the rest of us, we're just glad you're the miracle you are. Twenty years from now I hope to still be wishing you happy birthday on this day. Hope your day is filled with good things.

Rough Week

Wednesday Steph had to have an amnio. It's been a rough few days waiting for the preliminary results. I went up yesterday and babysat for a couple of hours while she went to her regular ob-gyn appointment and then we spent all afternoon talking. She hadn't slept at all on Wednesday night and again last night. I didn't sleep much. Here's our adorable youngest grandson, Will enjoying his lunch with the other kids.
Steph got the phone call this afternoon with the preliminary results: Everything is A-OK! Also -- it's definitely a boy! We were so worried, that hey, not even going to complain that we're getting another boy instead of a girl! He'll be healthy -- and believe me, that's more important.

So, this afternoon I managed to do a little bit of sewing (no way was I going to tackle the dining room today -- couldn't concentrate plus I think I have bursitis in my shoulder and it's killing me. This is the 3rd Friday Block Party block, called Another Star.

I also worked on a new mystery block of the month -- a row quilt from Claudia's Quilt Shoppe.
These are really tiny blocks. I have 3 of 9 done, so I'll show them when I finish them.

Gratitudes:
The doctors' office was very aware of the worry and fear waiting for test results and called as soon as they got the preliminary results. Full results are due next week, but 95% sure is really good. Thank God.

New Years Resolutions

Here it is 11 days into the New Year and I'm still working on resolutions! Today I started another one: Deep clean (or spring clean) the main floor of the house. I managed to get the second floor done last year and even though it wouldn't hurt to do it again this year, I'll move on to the first floor. I had planned on doing the first floor last fall, but you know how plans go!
So, today I started in the dining room. We do not use our dining room -- it's basically a photo gallery and a place to keep all the china and other stuff we don't use every day! I don't even have a before picture to show because I was disgusted by the dust and dirt! I only did the top of the hutch today, but plan on doing more on Friday! So here are the after pictures -- trust me, those crystal vases are heavy and so shiny once they're clean! I had to take a picture after I put them back up and then another after I put a few pictures back up there.

I also managed to spend a little time in the sewing room -- another resolution (to spend some time every day in the sewing or quilting room). I pieced a quick backing for a quilt and brought it down to the longarm to be quilted soon. I also cleaned up my mess so it's ready for another day of sewing.

Gratitudes:
Getting my chores done today and a little extra towards my resolutions.
Spending a little time in the sewing room -- always relaxing.
Talking to Steph on the phone.

Happy Birthday Steph!

Today is my baby's 34th birthday. I hate to tell her this as she's pregnant and down sick with a cold/sinus infection/allergies thing - but these are the best years of your life :-) Enjoy them!
And Happy Birthday from Dad and me!

A week's worth

I've had a few days this week to quilt and play. Today I did Friday's Block Party Block. This is a 9" block. This block would make a great quilt. But no, I am not going to make it!

Earlier in the week. my QB (quilt buddy!), Kris challenged a few of us to make a Valentines quilt, completely finished with label that she gave us on it. Here's a picture of my messy cutting/sewing/generic table where I was cutting my fabrics for this quilt. Yesterday I put the top together and today I quilted it (have I told you how much I love having a longarm?!). I've put the binding on and pinned the label on, all ready for the binding to be stitched down. I can't show you a picture of the quilt though until we get together around Valentine's Day to show our creations. It's a surprise! Tomorrow I'll probably stitch the binding down and then clean my messy table...maybe.
I also shortened a new pair of bibs and a new pair of jeans for Bill today -- I hate shortening pants and I've been putting it off since Christmas. Decided I might as well get it done and not having it stare me in the face every time I walk into the room. And then I decided that I was such a good girl doing that work that I wouldn't have to cook tonight! I did however, have to run to the store for milk, so I stopped at Subway on the way back and that was dinner. Not only that, but I bought foot-long sandwiches just in case I don't feel like cooking tomorrow either! One 6" sub is big enough for one meal!

Gratitudes:
I'll be forever grateful for my longarm -- what a pleasure to finish piecing a quilt and go downstairs and load it on the longarm and quilt it.
The snow has finally stopped; it's bitter cold, but the roads aren't bad and we have plenty of firewood for staying home.
Having a group of quilting friends to have challenges with.

First Finish of the New Year

I sewed the binding on the Valentine quilt and stitched it down this afternoon while printing off newsletters -- plenty of time because the printer is being quite cantankerous today! Also been designing in my mind another wall hanging -- wonder if it'll ever see the light of day. Guess I'll have to fire up EQ6 and see what I can come up with!

Gratitudes:
Another lovely day of rest.
Our minister sang a solo in church today and accompanied himself on the piano - quite a talented man and a great minister, too!

Just for Fun

I spent most of the day working on the computer writing a newsletter. It's finished except for any mistakes that need corrected or last minute additions, so all I'll have to do is print out a few copies for friends that don't have a computer and I'm good to go for a couple more months!
So, in the meantime I spent some time playing with blocks. First is one Judy used to make a really cute quilt. I wanted to make a test block and decide my preference for making this quilt. I love this block, so will be adding the quilt to my list of tops I'd like to start and finish this year!
And then I noticed what fun Jeanne is having doing different blocks every day. So, I decided to join Friday Block Party and do the first block of the New Year. It's called Wheel of Time. I just chose fabrics that jumped off the shelf at me -- I have no rhyme or reason for them yet and I will probably continue doing that for awhile. It's always good to have a few orphan blocks to play with!
I did walk my 30 minutes this morning - yay me.

Gratitudes:
I'm enjoying this long holiday weekend -- even though we are retired here and always have long weekends :-), this particular weekend has felt really nice and relaxed and I've been able to spend a lot of time with my quilting.

New Years Day, A New Beginning

Starting the resolutions right out the first day of the year! I did do 30 minutes on the treadmill. And I did take the Christmas decorations down and put away my twig tree for another year. And then I spent the rest of the day playing. I zigzagged an edge on old practice quilt sandwiches and neatly stacked them for use under the longarm when it sits overnight -- Gammills tend to leak a drop or so of oil when they sit for a long period of time, so I always put the old practice sandwiches under the machine to catch the drip.

And then I loaded a panel I bought last week at the quilt shop -- just a simple Valentine's Day panel that I added borders to and then quilted it today with an old pantograph: Hearts A Flutter by Lisa Calle. I hope to get the binding on tomorrow and maybe stitched down by Sunday.

Plan for tomorrow -- another 30 minute walk and the rest of the day will be spent working on the computer.

Gratitudes:
The feeling of accomplishment even from something as insignificant as trimming practice quilts to make pads.
The enjoyment of quilting time at the machine.

Happy New Year!

Do you make New Years resolutions?

I do. It's a way for me to look back at what the past year has brought and a look forward with a fresh new perspective. I don't make them to stress myself -- more to take a good look at what I'd like to change, improve or even to stay the same. And I don't make resolutions about things I have no control over. I can't take the cancer from Steve's head and I can't determine the gender of Steph's baby -- but I can pray to God about those things.

I make lots of the usual ones: Exercise more (or more specifically, walk 30 minutes 5 days a week). Eat right -- cut the junk out of the diet (this goes good for about a day).

And then I make resolutions about my quilting. These are probably more goals than resolutions, but looking back over the past year it seems that I didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked. I have at least 6 different applique projects going and none of them are close to being finished; so my resolution is to work on only 1 applique project this year until it is finished. The rest will wait their turn. The one I plan on working on is Primitive Garden -- it is now going on 3 years old. I really like it and I really want to finish it.
For the first 6 months of the new year I will be working on projects with Kris -- some are finishing quilt tops that are not finished, some will be starting a few new projects. We have contracted to do the program in July for our former guild and I want to be well prepared for it.

Some of my resolutions pertain to my longarm quilting and also to organizing my sewing areas. I've already started one -- sewing scrap batting pieces together. I'm always surprised at how long it takes to do this -- most of the afternoon, and after piecing 9 new pieces of various sizes, I found a couple of more pieces to add to them, so will finish that project later today or tomorrow. And resolve to do it more often so that it doesn't take all afternoon!
I consider these free battings -- it's just excess batting that I've cut off from quilting tops, or sometimes I've cut the wrong size. I use Warm & Natural almost exclusively, so they're all the same and I have plenty of my own quilt tops to quilt with these.

Some of my resolutions pertain to organizing recipes (I tried that last year, and still have stacks and stacks of recipes to go through); finally doing something with the stacks and stacks of pictures that accumulate, and of course the stacks and stacks of paper - receipts and tax info, etc. I did start a new card file system for paying bills this year that works out really well and reduces the amount of paper to be filed -- I pay most of the bills online anyway and it was getting ridiculous printing off copies all the time. So -- some of my resolutions do get resolved!

I resolve, once again, to take more pictures and post to my blog more often. (If I keep throwing this one at the wall, eventually it will stick!).

Gratitudes:
2009 is almost over! I am looking forward to 2010.

JR Update

An update on JR: his surgery went well. He's not a happy camper with the cone or having to stay in his cage for any length of time. We'll have to put him in it when we head to Wisconsin tomorrow for our Christmas celebration with the kids and grandkids, but he's mostly laying next to me wherever I am all day long! Doesn't he look pitiful here?

Merry Christmas to all and I hope 2010 will be a healthy year for everyone!

One more surgery

So, just to end the year with good measure, we have one more surgery to get through.
Late yesterday afternoon, I let JR outside to take care of his business (we live in the country, he's 9 yrs old and doesn't like the cold -- he sometimes goes wandering through our woods, but never off our property). I did not go out with him. He came in a few minutes later limping. We assume he chased a squirrel or a deer -- he does think he's Rambo.
So, today we got him in to see the vet and as was the case 2 years ago next month, he has torn the ligament in his knee -- last time it was the right rear leg, this time the left rear leg. Needless to say, his surgery is scheduled for Tuesday. He'll go in early in the morning and we'll pick him up late afternoon.


The vet thought he'd have to put it off for a week -- into the new year, but I'm glad he got him scheduled this week -- I want to start the new year being through with surgeries!

Gratitudes:
The vet did not have to put him out to make the diagnosis - this is one of those good things/bad things. It was quite obvious without sedating him. It also makes me hurt to see him limp.

I bought the Susan Boyle cd the other day -- what a treasure her voice is. I'd definitely recommend the cd.

Listening to my new David Bailey cd's today -- he's a folk-type singer that writes his own songs -- he's a 12 year brain tumor survivor.

Winter has arrived in all its glory

I took these photos this morning, but could have waited all day -- the snow is still laying heavily on the branches of the trees. We got about 8" of snow yesterday into last night, then rain and sleet, which I'm sure melted some of it, and then another 4" or so overnight. The roads are going to be terrible tonight -- after the plows cleared the snow which was very wet, the temps are falling and the winds are picking up, so I imagine the roads will be a sheet of ice soon. Supposed to be windy all day tomorrow also. The nice thing about it: I'm going to quilt all day tomorrow!

This first shot was taken from our back porch looking northeast towards the road at the front of the house and includes our view of the fields and woods and hills across the road.

This second view was taken from the back porch, just outside the library doors, just looking at part of our woods back there.
I do love looking at the beautiful fresh snow -- but am glad I don't have to go anywhere in it!

Gratitudes:
We had plenty of warning about this snowstorm, so I managed to run up to Steph's on Monday and run into our little town on Tuesday to pick up a couple of gallons of milk. Now we can sit by the fire and watch the world go by.
I made spaghetti and meatballs from scratch today -- just seemed like a good day to do that.

More Good News

I spent the day at Steph's today and she pointed out to me that I had not made the big announcement on my blog at all. (I am really getting old, because I was sure I had -- I've told everyone to think Pink!). So -- here we are -- Steph's pregnant! YAY! THINK PINK! She's due in June, and she's considered high risk, so is already on light duty, no lifting. Three sonograms have gone from egg yolk to blob with heart beat to baby with heartbeat, arms legs and a head! She's somewhere between 11 and 12 weeks, so we won't know what it is for awhile -- but THINK PINK! (And really, our grandsons are wonderful, so if it is a boy, that's okay, but I will be calling him Katie!)

And, Kevin's pathology report today showed that the margins are cancer free, so it looks like they got it all and he won't have to have further treatment at this time, other than a PSA test every two months for awhile.

Gratitudes:
A new baby.
Good news at the surgeon's office.
A safe drive to and from Wisconsin today.
Bill got the snowblower prepped and wood in for the fireplace -- winter storm heading our way by Wednesday!

Good News

Kevin's surgery went very well Monday afternoon. We won't have the pathology report til next week, but the surgeon was confident it hadn't spread and he got it all. We left yesterday and expected him to come home on Thursday. However, they are on their way home now!

Steve's new chemo treatment was today and it went very well also. The infusion of Avastin was 90 minutes (for the first one; it'll be 60 minutes next time and 30 minutes each time after that). He was able to eat lunch while he was receiving the chemo and doesn't expect that nausea will be a problem with this protocol. He will continue to receive it every other week for 9 months - 1 year. He will have an MRI sometime in January.
They are also on their way home from Madison (they were able to stop and visit with Kevin before they left -- that's how we know all 4 of them are on their way home this afternoon!)

It's nice to finally have some good news!

Gratitudes:
Obviously -- our sons are doing well today.
All the prayers sent up from all over cyber land for us. We can't thank all of you enough.
Friends and Family.

Steve Update

Steve started the iv drug treatment (aka chemo) at 11:01 yesterday morning and it was stopped at 11:03 yesterday morning. He had a severe allergic reaction - his blood pressure dropped to 54/31. Thankfully the staff considered that an emergency and they managed to bring him back and stabilize him. He had myriad tests afterwards and was released from the hospital late yesterday afternoon. They did spend the night in Madison, but will be home today. The drug was a clinical study called a vegF inhibitor -- basically it attaches itself to the cancer cells only and kills off the blood supply feeding them. They have decided to try Avastin next week. Avastin was just approved by the FDA for brain tumors -- it is also a treatment for colon cancer and is used for wet macular degeneration even. Hopefully Steve will be able to tolerate it. It has been used quite a bit in GBM patients in the past few years, so it is a viable alternative. It works in the same way as the one they tried yesterday -- attaching itself to the tumor only.
To say we were terrified would be an understatement -- sure brings home the fact that we're dealing with a life/death situation here. Thank God Steve's a fighter.

So next week, Kevin has surgery on Monday in Madison and Steve has treatment at the same hospital on Wednesday -- nice of them to at least go to the same place -- kind of like one-stop shopping.

We had our Thanksgiving last Sunday, but hope yours will be great.

A day off

I'm basically a homebody -- I like to visit with family and friends, I like to take classes or sew with friends, but in the end, I prefer to be at home. Today is one of those days that I'm staying home (well, after church), watching the Bears win their game (go Bears!), and mostly just taking it easy. I have a quilt on the frame to be quilted and I may do a little work on it, or I may not. I have plenty of piecing or applique projects to do, but I'm probably not going to do anything -- I think my body just needs to not do anything today.
Steve got a day pass yesterday and today to spend some time at home and he's enjoying his weekend. He's hoping to go home permanently by the end of this week, maybe even Thursday. He's doing well in his rehab and hasn't had any seizures for 3 days now -- which helps a lot.

This quilt was made at least 10, if not 15 years ago in a class. The applique is all fusible and blanket stitch -- which is not my favorite way to do it, but I like the quilt anyway. I have it hanging in the clutter/sewing room this fall.

Yesterday I went to a "Creative Day" hosted by a friend of mine. There are quilters, knitters, cross-stitchers and scrap bookers among the attendees, hence the name Creative instead of Quilt day! I brought my "Starstruck" quilt that I started two years ago. I finished the blocks that were half done and started to put it together. I didn't get as far as I should have -- spent too much time eating and talking, but made some progress anyway. I do love the scrappiness of this quilt, so hope to finish it sometime soon.
Gratitudes:
Steve's having a good weekend.
Time to relax, regroup, plan for the weeks ahead.

Steve and a Finish

Steve has been moved to a local rehab facility that is actually quite excellent. He will be getting occupational therapy on his left hand, which he can't feel (he is not paralyzed, he can raise his left arm, just can't use his left hand very well), physical therapy - walking, etc., and speech therapy, which is mostly focus type. He has been having mini seizures since the surgery. These are not convulsions, and only 1 grand mal in the hospital, but he kind of zones out for a minute or less and then is back. He's having trouble sleeping also. They have doubled his anti-seizure meds, so hopefully today will see an end to them. They are afraid to let him walk while he's having these because he's 6'2" and taller than most of the therapists! He is aware of the seizures, which is kind of freaky, but he hasn't lost his sense of humor and his intelligence is not impaired, so that is a good thing. As soon as he can get the seizures stopped, he can get the needed therapy and go home -- this is only a temporary stay. Once he gets home, he'll be going back to Madison to find out the next step. Staples come out of the incision next Monday, hopefully.

I finally managed to finish the witches quilt. I like how it turned out and the legs hanging free make me smile, but I really don't care for this type of pattern - the Buggy Barn way. I'm going to give this to my daughter, because I think the grandkids will love it.

I spent some time this weekend making backings for a couple of little quilts that have been sitting around collecting dust. Now I have 3 small projects waiting to be quilted, with bindings made too. It's nice to move things from pile A to pile B!



Gratitudes:
Steve is doing better every day and is looking forward to going home.
Getting back into my routine a little more. I need to clean house and run errands on my usual days - it's just a quirk in my personality, I guess.
Getting into the sewing room -- it calms me and centers me.

Steve Update

Steve had surgery yesterday morning. It was not the chip-shot the doctor had expected. The pre-surgery MRI showed that the tumor had grown to 1.7 cm, so she knew she couldn't use the endoscope. She had to open the entire area again. It took 4 hours, but she got all of the growth, took out all the aneurysm clips she had left there in his first surgery, and cleaned up some scar tissue. He was in recovery for another 4 hours and had a heck of a time coming out of the anesthesia. He basically has the same problems that he had after the first surgery -- right eyelid is droopy because she had to cut into the muscle that controls it -- we expect it to improve over the next 2 or 3 months.
This morning he had another MRI, which showed that she did in fact get all the tumor, everything looks good, no sign of a stroke, but a small area of bleeding on the left back, bottom side and nothing to worry about as it is probably due to the stress on his brain from the previous radiation and surgery. His brain is swelling, but she is controlling that with steroids. He was fully awake and lucid today and hungry! They had to do a swallow test and have him on a thick liquid diet for now.
He is in intensive care, of course, so we only visit for a short time and then give him an hour or so to rest - which is rather difficult when they are constantly monitoring him -- but hey, that's why he's there. Probably be in hospital through the weekend and possibly early next week.

Please continue praying -- we appreciate the prayers.

More quilting

Here's the ruler I used to make the pinwheel blocks. It's called Lil' Twister and their website is:
http://www.country-schoolhouse.com/


And this is the finished table runner top made from the ruler. It's really a fun pattern to play with.
I finished 8 witches blocks and didn't make legs for the ninth, so saw no reason to finish it. The pattern calls for 8 of them. I'm glad they're finished and hopefully it won't take long to put that top together. I started piecing another twister top as leaders/enders, so hopefully I'll have two tops done at the same time.

Gratitudes:
It was a wonderful quilty day here today -- rainy and cold outside, toasty warm with logs on the fire in the kitchen fireplace, bread in the breadmaker and leftover stew for dinner tonight -- no cooking!

Back to Quilting

This is what I've been working on since my trip to Madison with Steve & Kim. Stitchers' Crossing had this quilt hanging on the wall in their classroom. I thought it was adorable and picked up the book. When we got back I cut it out. Now you should know that I am not a fan of Buggy Barn patterns -- so piecing these 9 witches is taking me awhile (along with all the time I haven't been stitching at all!). I only have 3 more to piece before I can put them together, so I'll keep at it, but I'll definitely be done with Buggy Barn patterns for awhile.

As my leader/ender project, I've been piecing these blocks. They are 9" finished. I bought a kit that makes into a table runner and the special ruler which is Twisty something or other -- of course the ruler and instructions are upstairs and I'm in the basement, so I'll have to try to remember to photograph it. These are really fun blocks to put together, so I will be making another quilt with this ruler -- and some of the charm square packs I've bought.
Gratitudes:
Getting somewhat back to normal around here -- whatever that is.
Spending some time sewing -- it sure calms me down.
Getting my tulip and daffodil bulbs into the ground today.