Ok, so DH just got home from a fishing tournament trip. I got a present.
Yep, that’s a Mossy Oak camouflage night gown. I love it, but….how’s it ‘spose to be $exy if he can’t see me…??? LOL 😉
Category: daily life
Ike
I have been watching hurricane news ever since I got home from work. I hope all my blogging friends and readers in Ike’s path are safe and sound.
A Small Thursday Thump :-)
I have one small thump today. I’ve been stitching away in the evenings, stitching down the binding on my storm at sea quilt. I rounded the third corner last night, so pleased with how good it’s looking, only to notice a funny looking spot in the binding fabric. Upon closer inspection, I discover it’s a small slit in the fabric. Great! Next, I start looking to determine how much I am going to have to detach, so that I can replace that piece of binding, when all the way down that edge, and around the last corner, I see a snag in the binding fabric. Of course, both of these flaws are on the outside of the binding. Couldn’t have landed on the part that’s going to be closed up into the quilt, nope, right on the outside layer. So instead of stitching, I’m now unstitching. I don’t like unstitching. I like the doing part of quilting, not the undoing. Oh well, like I said, small thump. Minor setback. Just an aggravation.
I have had a few write and ask me about my test results. I meant to post about that Sunday, and forgot. I have nothing really new to report. I never heard back from my doctor, so I went to the hospital and got copies of my reports and read them myself. The MRI on my c-spine, mentions some “concentrical disc bulging” and some “mild facet degenerative changes and hypertrophy”. I think the one on my brain was fine, except they said in the report they injected me with contrast dye, which they didn’t. Called the hospital about that, to make sure it was really my brain…lol. I think that’s probably just a med. transcriptioner mistake…you know, just automatic verbage that they didn’t delete. The only thing that I could pick out on the blood work was the high red blood count, that the doctor mentioned when he did call me, but the followup report test didn’t seem to show anything unusual. The lupus test and hormone results were on the same report. That report had me listed as a 42 year old male. Soooo….not sure what I think of that. I haven’t called the lab…I was pretty disgusted at that point, and fed up with the whole ordeal.
In the meantime, I have been having my husband, or son, whichever is handy, apply some pressure to the muscles around my shoulder blade, to keep working on those pressure points between massage appts. And, I’ve been putting an ice pack on it every night while I’m sitting in bed stitching and watching t.v. I don’t know if that is making a difference or not, but I have felt much better this last week. Much less pain in that area. It’s been great to have some relief! And maybe it’s because some of you have said prayers for me. Thank you for that! I believe in the power of prayer. I’ve been saying them for me, too. I felt even better after my massage therapist, and chiropractor got through with me on Tuesday. I’m starting to think that maybe a lot of it is repetative muscle injury. Maybe from being on computers too much all day, and those muscles back there are getting screwed up, and pulling everything else out of place. I’m not giving up on getting better. That is why I haven’t been blogging as much, though…I’m trying to lessen my time at the keyboard and mouse.
I finished the quilting on the Chinese coins baby quilt. I worked on it during lunch Monday, and after I got home. I’ll post pics of it when I get it all finished. It came out really cute, though.
I have gotten two more rows of the first memory quilt finished. And I found this great tutorial , on Debby Maddy’s blog, while blog surfing. Thank you for sharing it, Debby. I had fun giving it a try, and I think this is a great gift project. I am sure I will be digging through my fabric stash to make a few more of these.
So how is your week going? Have you taken time to do something you love?
Another W.O.B. Bites the Dust
Yesterday, I just felt the need for that satisfaction that comes from finishing something. So, after I finished the quilting on the Oz quilt, I pulled one of my quilts that has been waiting on binding, Greg’s courthouse steps quilt. The sad part, is that this one was Greg’s Christmas present last year. Well, at least he will be using it before Christmas this year. I did the binding completely by machine, so I could get it all done in one day, plus added the label. I much prefer to attach my binding to the front of my quilts, by machine, then do the finishing stitching to the back by hand, because they look so much better. I do a good job on those. This one, I attached to the back, by machine, then flipped it over, and stitched it to the top, also by machine. This is a technique I am still trying to perfect. But in this case, done is good, hubby is happy, and so am I. That gets two of my w.o.b.’s done this month. Woohoo! I used 2/3 of a yard for the binding, and that is my stash busted amount for this week. Total incoming for the week is zero. YTD total busted is 5 & 5/12 yds. (I’m not ashamed to admit I had to use a free online fraction calculator to come up with that amount…lol).
I woke up to a beautiful, rainy day this morning. And it has not stopped.
I’m loving it! I’m piddling around on laundry, worked on the memorial quilt, and just enjoying some down time. I’m having the next best thing to a pajama day. Nice comfy sweats & a big, sloppy t-shirt, with fuzzy house shoes day.
Yesterday, was cool & cloudy. I’m glad I got out to the garden to harvest.
Who else has really enjoyed watching Michael Phelps make history? I am officially now a Phelps Phan. He seems like such a nice guy. Congratulations, Michael!
I conclude my post today, with a couple pics of the first Olympic hero in my life. My Uncle Randy, another really nice guy. I was born in 1966, right between his Olympics, and named after him. I had asthma really bad, and would get so sick at times. He would come over sometimes, and sit up with me at night, when I was a baby, so my parents could get some sleep.
This post has been quite a hodge podge of topics! Hope you are enjoying your Sunday as much as I am mine.
I’ve Been Busy This Week
But not necessarily quilting. My stash report is unchanged from last week. None in, none out. I have almost finished cutting the squares from the plaid shirts for the first of the two memory quilts I’m making. I also finished a long overdue binding. YEA!!
I made this quilt two years ago, and played all over it with fantasy freehand quilting, inspired by Nichole Webb & Jamie Wallen. Many of you have seen this one before, so I will spare you the pics. If you’ve not seen it, and would like to see some closeups of the quilting, there are a ton of pics in this webshots album, http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/550151887DlpMBr. I even got a label made and attached. It is FINISHED!
It was a really busy week at my day job, so by the time I got home most days, I was pretty tired. But otherwise, I’m feeling much better than I had been the three weeks prior. I had my MRI yesterday morning, on my head & cervical spine. I’ve not heard anymore from my doctor yet, which leads me to think that nothing else has shown up in the other lab work, and he has nothing new to tell me and is waiting for all the results to come in.
While I have been feeling better, I decided it was time to work on some long neglected tasks around here. Remember I textured & painted my entryway last year? It was right before I ended up in bed for five days with severe muscle spasms in my back…well, I’ve had the paint for the rest of the living room, but have been afraid of triggering another spasm attack. I started on it last weekend. I am doing only one wall at a time. This is a bit of the entryway…The color isn’t exactly true.
This is the paneling in our living room…yuk.
A bit of wall I haven’t painted yet, by the fireplace.
The wall I painted this weekend, next to the other side of the fireplace. Isn’t this going to look much better?
I’m going to have to get some new switch & outlet covers. It sure brings the fireplace out and makes it more of a focal point in the room. Wonder how long it will take me to get the remaining walls done…I also spent some time on some much needed cleaning and reorganizing. I even pulled a few of my quilting books and will take them to one of my friends at work tomorrow, to see if she would like to have them.
I’m looking for a good steam press…any advice on a good brand would be appreciated! Have a great week!
A Prayer Request & Creepy Crawly Warning
First, the prayer request. I remember when my son was little, one of my biggest fears was that he would get e. coli. I was so paranoid about it. Well, his girlfriend’s little 1.5 year old cousin is battling it. I don’t know her name…but I guess it’s pretty bad. I know she has had some surgery already, her kidneys were shutting down, and tonight he told me she is facing a blood transfusion. Please lift this little girl up in your prayers.
Ok, now on to the creepy crawly…I wanted to show you the visitor that was in my yard yesterday, at lunch. I used a broom to “sweep” him into an empty flower pot, so I could move him out to the big field behind the house. I was afraid he might get one of my toads, Mongo, Zapper, or Green Bean. Although, he isn’t a really large kingsnake yet, and my toads are getting pretty big, I preferred that he hunt elsewhere for the time being. Pretty snake, though.
Here’s a peek at the inchies I’m working on, that I mentioned in my previous post.
That’s all I’ve got today! Thanks for stopping by!
Where have I been all week?
At the Texas-Oklahoma Junior Golf tournament in Wichita Falls. DS didn’t play as well as we hoped, or as well as he is capable of, but that’s golf for ya. Still, we had fun and enjoyed some good family time. We stayed at the Candlewood Inn & Suites, a pet friendly facility. I give the one in Wichita Falls two thumbs up, and would definitely stay there again. I’m going to take a moment to brag on my son, and to rant a bit. As frustrated as I’m sure he had to feel at times, he carries himself with dignity and grace on a golf course. Of course, he knows if he were to act the way some of the kids are allowed to act by their parents, that we would pull him right off and take him home. What is up with parents standing by while their 16 yr. old is throwing his golf club, even dropping the “f-bomb” or other curse words? I cannot stand tantrum throwing on a golf course.
DS did win the long drive contest for his age group, and got a little trophy for that. We got home yesterday, and I’m so glad to have the weekend before having to go back to work. Four days on the golf course, in the high 90’s and low 100 degree temperatures, wore me out.
And in case you didn’t know, real men use pink golf tees…lol!
Sunday Report, June 15th, 2008
Stash reporting is a bit boring again. I didn’t buy any new fabric. I did finish my cousin’s pillow shams, which used up another 3 yds of stash. I’m still in the negative for YTD, with 66 yds coming in, 51.25 going out, leaving me with -14.75 yds used. Bit by bit, I’m getting closer to a positive number!
These are my first pillow shams.
I finished the quilting on the charity quilt for the local guild. This is the 2nd of two that I donated my quilting services for. These quilts will go to a rehab facility for wounded soldiers. While I was quilting, I said prayers for the soldiers that will be using this. The blocks and border were string piecing on a fabric foundation. I’m not sure exactly what fabric was used, but it appears to have a very tight weave, and I had thread breaks on every row. Usually two, sometimes three, always at the corner end of the very top row. I loosened the quilt sandwich, tried a larger needle, turned the eye of the needle a bit to the right, tried it with the stitch regulator on and off, etc. Nothing helped. Still shredded and broke every row. That was frustrating, but I reminded myself it was nothing compared to what the soldiers are going through. The only thing I can attribute it to was that foundation fabric and the thickness of the seams. Anyway, it’s done, and I hope the guild is happy with it, and doesn’t mind that I had to do a bit of overstitching where the thread broke. You really have to look to find them, anyway. I decided overstitching a bit was the best way to deal with them, as I wanted to make sure the stops & starts would be secure, since this quilt will be used.
This is the back.
You can see one of the thread break spots above the “L” in this next pic.
This is the back of the quilt top.
I got a new haircut Friday.
Yesterday, DH had to shut the water off in the alley, so he could work on a leak on one of our toilets. He called for me to come see this in the hole where the shut off is located…
Black widow…it gave me heebie geebies.
Caterpillar sighting! Something has been eating lots of my little caterpillars, and I’m suspecting wasps. This guy, however, looks like he will make it to the finish line. I hope my friend Anita sees this! Her favorite thing on my blog are the caterpillar pics. For you, Anita! Enjoy!
Still no loss, no gain to report on the weight.
Oh YES! I had to come back and add how happy I am that Dale, Jr. won the race today! WOOHOO!
So What is Up With This?
This morning, when I visited my blog homepage, I was logged out, so I click on the “log in” link in my sidebar. My Norton internet security pops up with a big red X telling me that this page is blocked for my protection. If I know the page is safe, I can click on the link “to visit the page anyway”. So I do, so that I can fill in my log-in info. Boom, it pops up again. It will not let me log into my blog from the “log-in” page, no way, no how, no sir. I can view my blog, but I can’t get logged on as the owner. So I click on the WordPress.com homepage link, and use the sign in box on it, and voila! I’m in. What’s the deal?? Anyone have a clue? Norton said something about phishing protection. Have the evil forces taken over the wordpress log-in page? Or has my Norton gone overprotective psycho all of a sudden? Sheesh…I hate complications like this. I’m just glad I’m on for now.
In other news, my son played in one of his summer golf tournaments yesterday, and finally seems to have his mojo back. He won 1st place with a score of one under par. Yippee! Today & tomorrow he plays in another…hoping he does well in it, also.
I have managed this week to squeeze in a bit of quilting in one form or another, every day. Even if it was just cutting up more scraps into 2.5 inch strips or squares or bricks for my leaders/enders projects. My disposition has been so much better since I’ve been able to lay my hands on pretty fabric on a regular basis this last couple of weeks. It really is good medicine for my soul.
Gotta head off to work. Hope I’ll be able to stay logged in. Have a happy Friday!
Blog, blog, blog…
First, thanks to those who sent comments of concern & encouragement. I am feeling better. Man, I sure do hate to waste a whole three day weekend, though. But, this week on my lunch breaks, and after work, I’ve managed to do some sewing on Daddy’s log cabin quilt. I’m likin’ it….
A little more fun from around the yard…look at this eenstie teenstie weentsie mushroom I found growing on my Russian Olive tree…there are several of these.
Some tiny insect eggs on the same tree.
Praying mantis egg, same tree
An older praying mantis egg.
Don’t know what this is…It looks like hair from the cat, but it looks as if something has formed it into this perfect little sphere.
I just love this old tree. The bark is so beautiful…what great texture…and it’s full of all kinds of hidden little surprises when you take the time to look.
And a beautiful thunderstorm.
TGIF!!!
Ramblings From Randi, The Wild Rose Quilter 
