Saturday, April 3, 2010

Bee

Dear Bee,
Please know you and your husband will be in my thoughts as you travel this path together. I lost my youngest sister last year and continue to feel the loss. We all know loss is inevitable but that never makes it easy.

Sending heaps of hugz,
Mary in Oregon

allergies

Sara in FL - for the past few weeks I've been taking Claritin, Sudafed, allergist put me on AstePro nasal spray a few weeks ago, and added Veramyst this past week after a bout with vertigo. Also doing Neti pot every morning, and taking Vitamin C. The Veramyst seems to be helping (a free sample) so I'm getting the Rx filled before we leave town.

As of a week ago, I've also cut out all sugar, wheat, coffee & tea. They are very bad allergy triggers. After the sinus infection (which came after the cold crud) my immune system is shot.

My washing machine is broken again. It's 15 years old, so I can't complain, but I dread buying a new one because they're all rubbish and break regularly after paying $$$. DH and I decided if the bill is at a certain amount, we'll buy a new one anyway. ALL the repair guys have told me to keep this machine as long as I can, because the new ones are breaking down regularly.

I think I'm ready to buy a new one, anyway, and 99.9% sure it will be another top-loader. Too many unresolved issues out there, with all brands of front-loaders and problems. I've been studying the Consumer Reports ratings, reading online reviews and forums, etc. Here's an interesting factoid: Maytag machines are now made by Whirlpool, which helps their reliability. I'll probably end up with either M or W brand. I have dreaded this day . . . One can hope it's a belt and that it will be a cheap repair. Ha! $90 service call fee, just to drive to the house and diagnose!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Pollen

Doris--The pollen is awful. I forgot to take my alergy pill yesterday, and was drippy and had post nasal stuff last night and this morning.
Took one today. I think if we had some rain it would wash the sky out. The oak trees have the new leaves now. Very dry.
What are you taking? Maybe if you took it at night before bed it would be better for you.
I'm just doing the over the counter stuff. It works just as well for me.
Off to clean out the freezer to find the pounds of butter I think are in there.
Sara in Fla.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Happy Easter`

To all those who celebrate it, and Happy Passover if it is appropriate to wish that also, all who celebrate Passover.

Sara in FL - I would have hoped the pollen would be gone from Florida by now. DH and I are headed to Savannah, GA on Wednesday thru Sunday. I'm suffering horribly up here right now, was hoping for a reprieve. Yikes. All the meds aren't doing much good, either . . .

BEE - I hope your DH and you have a lovely weekend home. I know you'll enjoy having him around the house. (((Hugs)))

Doris

Happy Easter

A happy Easter to all.
Today was DH's first proton beam treatment. I went with him and cleaned out/straighted one of my cookbooks while waiting in the waiting room.
All went well, he has 8 weeks to go.
Driving back home I saw lots of beautiful azaleas in bloom, part of the city I don't usually visit.

I did manage to hire a teen boy for 2 afternoons this week. Just a wee bit left for me to do.
Yesterday I spent over 2 hours raking dead grass, planting new summer plants, etc. My legs were really talking to me last night and today.
After less than 1 day, I like the look of the pine straw as opposed to mulch, but hope it will last for 8 or 9 months. Guess it depends if this is going to be a rainy year or not.

I've been doing a bit of free motion quilting a day. Hope to get this wall hanging on the wall before too long.

In the cell phone dept. After having the blackberry less than 2 weeks I managed to ruin it already. (thinking of how to tell this to DH) I thought I was ms. clean, and cleaned out the fabric purse, put it in the wash. Forgot to take the phone out of the pocket. It went through a full wash cycle. Oops.
Guess I'm in the dog house on this one.

Everyone enjoy your Easter, don't eat too much chocolate (unless it's the dark kind).
Sara in Fla.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Easter weekend.

Bee, such happy news ! I know that you will make the most of every moment of it. I hope the weather will be kind to you and that you can enjoy some precious times together.

Beautiful weather here again. Nice for those who are taking holidays. We are expecting a quiet Easter here, friends who were planning to share it with us are faced with an unexpected family crisis.. Why do holiday w/ends so often trigger such problems ?

Hope to redirect my DH into the garden ! There's some tidying up to be done and it's so much easier if one can co-opt a man and a trailer !! We put in some native grasses a few years ago and they are in danger of taking over sections of the garden .

The hour comes forward this w./end so next week will seem very different, lighter in the mornings and darker in the evenings... No denying that winter is on its way !

Enjoy the holiday week-end.
Marion.

Living one day at a time...

And I am the worst person to give that advice, Bee....but at this point, one day at a time is what you have with your husband and I hope the week-end goes well. As we grow older and loose those closest to us, life becomes more precious and I take it so for granted, as most of us do, I guess. It takes stress like that to remind us how fragile we humans really are. Life for you at the moment may be like sitting on a seesaw. Happy Easter, as it is here and there too.

Rosey

To all my friends

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. HE IS COMING HOME FOR THE WEEKEND. Then will have to go back on Tuesday to be checked out then maybe home for good. I realise this is not a cure but enough for me. Have a wonderful Easter and Love to all A very happy Bee in Nz

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Just life here

I'm waiting for a friend's son to come over to spread my pine straw. Wound up getting 26 bales of the stuff. The pollen and wind is such that I dare not spend more than 10 min. out there, even though it is a lovely day.
Rosy and Kathi- beautiful quilts, and pictures also.
I'm slowly doing the free motion quilting on my wall hanging of "The very hungry catapillar". Doing it is blues and purples. It seems that the two index fingers swell up if I go more than 45 min. at a time, so have to take breaks.
I went out out to one of my favorite stores this morning and bought 2 pairs of shoes, one for the Easter dress, one for the other dress. Since they were on sale, 2 pair for $50.00, I thougt it was a good deal. About a 2 in. wedge heel, something I can look like a lady in, but not tip over. How does a person walk in 5 or even 4 in. heels? Maybe they sit at a desk all day.
(The favorite store is a Florida chain, Beals, which has a tropical laid back feel to it)
I got some doggie wipes this morning also, sort of a baby wipe for dogs. I don't want to bath them more than necessary, but they do smell "doggy" sometimes, and since they sleep with us also, thought it would be worth a try.
I think N.Z must be one of the few places that the American dollar has a favorable exchange rate.
If I ever get the urge to travel to that side of the world NZ would be the #1 place to visit.
A bit of a long haul from here, however.
OK, that just about covers the day.
Sara in pollen land.

Beautiful Quilt, Rosey

Oh my, it's lovely Rosey. I love it.
Kathy your colors are stunning too.
I love that we can enlarge pictures on the blog!
Your puppies are sweet, can I come & give them a snuggle?

Wanting to give Bee the biggest hug as well

Oh WOW, Kathi

How exciting.

Rosey

Arctic Reflections


And this is the center section of my version of Rosey's quilt. I'm not nearly as fast at doing the applique, as somehow life has gotten in the way this winter. Two of the flower sections are done, but I'm not far enough along to put everything together. Interesting to see the difference in the two colorways.


Kathi

Just for practice


Hope I don't bore you now that I have this figured out (for today; tomorrow the procedure may get lost in brain fog). This is a redesign of my quilt pattern, Arctic Reflections, which first appeared in a national Canadian magazine in 1987. A request for the pattern last year caused me to redesign and make the quilt. The central image is taken from an Inuit artist's work, with his permission. It is of a ptarmigan.

Now my next assignment is knowing how to block out the background of a photo. Haven't got there yet. A friend's husband photographs any quilts that I have going into The Canadian Quilter in an ad. This photo was taken for that purpose. Any pattern sold gives the Inuit artist's widow (he died in an accident in Nunavut Territory in 2006) a 15% design royalty.

Hope I haven't bored you all with two photos.
Rosey

Oh my, I think it worked


Here are my two bedmates, Hope on the floor beside Ceilidh on the chair...one of my favorite pictures of Ceilidh. She loves to curl into small spaces (so do I). They are Australian Shepherds (never have they been in Australia, this breed, just the name of a herding breed mixed with others and brought to North America to herd sheep from Australia, so the story goes.
Rosey

My bedmate

and he really loves it Bee.

Monday, March 29, 2010

quilting article

in the Wall Street Journal. Someone on another sewing forum has posted this link to a WSJ article, definitely an enjoyable read:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704896104575139990857438962.html?KEYWORDS=truckers


Doris W.

The only sure thing about life...

is that it ends... Not much we can do about that but it doesn't make the passing of a loved one any easier... Always seems so sad to me that we usually have to face this sort of loss when we are old and tired, and less able to redirect or own lives... My sister died a year ago. I spoke to her DH last night. He has had a sad and lonely year. He had made more effort than we thought he would and my sisters friends have been very caring of him, but he is very lost without her. They only had one child and he lives and works in London ( a five hour drive away) He is unmarried so there's not much family joy there.

A lovely autumn morning here. A very slight "nip" in the air but it looks as if it's going to be a sunny and warm day. DH has gone to golf and I am off to get my hair cut. We are going to a book launch tonight. For the last four years a friend has been updating a book about women in aviation (in NZ.) What a lot of work and research. It's a lovely book and so interesting too. There were some very determined and focused women in those early days of aviation. It's an interesting insight into the difficulties and prejudices they had to face. Not so now. Nobody blinks an eye if they see a woman pilot stepping out of any sort of plane.

Sara, the NZ dollar buys about 70c USA dollar. Which means (I think..., that what costs me $10 here is the equivalent of $7 USA. Does that seem expensive to you for my treat at the Tea House ?)

Bee, more warm hugs for you,
Marion.

Age & Illness

Bee, when you are able, please share what you can. Loving anything alive means that eventually we will loose them, if not ourselves before that. Living and loving equate to painful times, at times and at other times, much joy. Having some manner of spiritual mind, helps, I find, although having grown up through organized and ritualistic religion controlled by human beings, I find less support or beliefs there than in something more related to the Buddhist concepts of looking at and living life. I could never qualify, however, for being a Buddhist as I step on and kill bugs....(said tongue in cheek).

Back to the drizzlies yesterday but today the sun may shine later on. Last night the fog rolled in and stayed all night. It's too dark out at the moment to see if it's still around but I suspect so. It happens here in spring and fall.

Rosey

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Whoever wants to know

I forgot my email is quilter123@ihug.co.nz Bee.

Sara

He has heart and kidney failure. mostly age related but doesn't make it any easier. I knew something could happen but am not ready. if they can get his kidneys going we may get him home otherwise........... He is now 84 and has had a good life but who knows . he is on mega doses of Frusomide which is helping( medical people any knowledge will be very welcome). Prayers very very welcome. Hugs Bee.

catching up on board stuff

Greetings from pollen-land
I've never seen so much yellow-green pollen everywhere. We just got back last night from a trip to Orlando. Even there the oak pollen was thick. I had the SUV washed just the day before the trip, and it looks like it hasn't been washed in 6 mo.
We went to see Shamu and feed the dolphins at Sea World. Lots of people there due to spring break and still winter in the north, but not so many that it was unpleasant. While standing in the line to feed the dolphins I struck up a conversation with a family from South Africa. They come to the US every year to see family. Don't think I could stand an 18 hr. flight with small children.
The dolphins are used to being fed, there are strict rules, etc., but it was still fun. I can only describe their skin as the feeling of "microfiber". Smooth, but not yuckie.
We went over to the stadium where the Orca show is. (Where the one trainer was killed a few weeks ago) They were very careful not to get into the water with the orcas, but make it seem like they were. Very good to see them up close. Even though we were in the way back seating. The people on the first 10 rows got a good splashing!
It is amazing to me how a huge animal that is a wild thing can be trained so well.
The other animals were interesting also. I did not ride any of the roller-coaster type rided but the man in our party that came to visit did go. I'll just keep my feet on the ground.
QUESTIONS-Bee I see that others are talking about your husband, why is he in hospital?
Marion-Does NZ use there own dollar? What would it be approx. to a US dollar?

I had high hopes of getting youth kids over to spread all my pine straw when I last posted. But, no messages while I was gone. Sigh--will have to keep looking, and do a little bit a day I guess.
Itching to go use my $200.00 worth of batiks I bought at the favorite quilt shop that is going out of business. This will be my fabric budget for at least the next 12 months. I did go a "BIT" overboard. At least it's better than useless trinkets.

Must find an Easter dress this coming week, and a new pair of shoes to go with.
Sara in Fla.

SUNDAY AM

BEE, I'm thinking of you every day. I guess the thing to do is to be thankful for each day you two have had and trust the doctors and, if you are religiously inclined, your prayers.

I seem to be more than usually dithery so haven't accomplished much recently. At our quilt show (please see www.smokymtnquilters.org for details) we make small things for sale for the benefit of the guild's education efforts). I had a beautiful table topper almost finished. Only remaining thing to be done was add a circle to the top and I was using misty fusing to do that. In the process I managed to get a little bit of the fuse on the top while attaching it soooo... I get to do the whole thing again. RATS

My dear Shadow is declining and we are in hospice mode. She still acts like a pup for about half an hour after I get up and I hit the ball gently into the yard which she sometimes returns. I think it's all a plot to get me out in the yard. Otherwise she sleeps. Revisited the blood chemistry this past week and her liver and kidneys are showing a marked decline since the last test in May. She's also lost about three pounds which she could ill afford. Last night I laced her dry food with some beef stock and she lapped it up. This morning she sniffed and looked up at me and excused herself to her bed. We've now added two capsules in AM and one at night of some stuff for the gastritis that is probably plaguing her. All of this when I'm leaving town in a few weeks to attend my DD#1 "wedding".

On a cheerier note Shadow and I hiked up the mountain alongside my house but neither of us lasted long. However, I did see signs of larkspur foliage popping up all over the place as well as cut leaved tooth wort. Saw some starry campion in bloom, so girls, spring is finally lurking around the corner. Today we are expecting a half inch of rain and temps in low 50s. I'll do some more on DD#2 quilt and get my lazy you know what to the gym. Well, maybe I'll take a nap.

Been feeling kind of puny lately and Friday morning it became, unfortunately, very clear to me that I have a UTI so instead of quilting I went to the urgent care clinic in Franklin and am now taking my Septra and at least I don't hurt anymore.

Rosey /Marion

I can assure you my DH wouldn't get within a mile of my ear . Marion, this conversation reminds me of the Ad for Southern Cross where the DR and the dog have the same name. Went to see DH today and he was so sleepy he couldn't keep awake. I was really worried again as this is possibly how things ma y go , nurses were very busy and I had to leave. I came home and cried my eyes out thinking he was on the way out, DS1 went to see him later and he was sitting up in bed playing majong on the computer. Apparently one of the men in the room with H was bad last night and none of them got any sleep, also the staff have doubled his meds to give him a real boost. I do wish I understood more but they don't even leave the charts now so one can't even have aquick look. Hugs for now bee in amuch happier NZ