Jumble of emotions, lots of thoughts

I have just returned home from a two week trip. I went to Mobile to see my friends and attend a retreat with them. I had so much fun! I was so happy to see the faces of the ladies I have learned to love over the years. Ladies who I would have probably never met had it not been for my obsession with quilts. Since September 1998 I have had the pleasure of learning and laughing with the great members of Azalea City Quilters Guild. I hope I have at least another 50 years with them.

If I ever learn to get pictures off of my phone I will post some of the pictures I took.

After the retreat I left and went to Houston. My daddy has been put in a nursing home. The idea was he was too weak and needed to get some therapy for walking, balance and strength. Originally the goal was a few weeks and he would be home. My first thought when my sister TEXT me, was he will never come home. Can you tell I was not impressed by learning of his hospital stay and nursing home stay via text? There are just some things that should be done with your voice and not your fingers! I think telling someone their parent is ill would be one of them. I'm just sayin'.
Anyway, off of that tangent and back to the story.
I went to Houston to find out for myself what was going on. After about 5 days I came to realize my first thought just might be correct and Daddy may not come home. He fell three times in less than 30 hours. They can not convince him to stay still until someone can help him stand. He is adamant there is a conspiracy between my mother and the nursing home to keep him. He swears the sitter who sits with him when no family is with him, is hurting him. The man in the bed next to him (in a coma) makes too much noise and is rude to him.
Every time I would go see Daddy he asked if I had my fast red truck. He remembers that I have a Ford F250 with a big engine. Daddy always loved Ford trucks and used to street race in his younger days. Anyway he asked me if I would go get my truck and back up to his room window. He was going to climb out and I would "go fast, don't stop, not even for the police" and take him home. That was all fine and good until the fourth day and he told me he knew I wasn't ever going to bring the truck. He was so upset with me, then he just kept getting more and more agitated that I had to leave. I was afraid I was gonna make him have a heart attack or a stroke.

I know those of you who read my blog don't read to hear about family issues, but right now that is where I am. This is all I think of all day long.
Today was spent resting, unpacking, napping, laundry and thinking.
I hope tomorrow I can have a better day and maybe rip out the sewing I did at the retreat. I will explain more in detail later, but basically I wasted four yards of fabric. I cut it all up just to discover it was 1" too small! Setting triangles! UGH!

Later,
Diane

She's alive!

Yes, I'm alive.
Shock!
I have had a fight with my Fibro and my RA. I have felt like a victim of a crash and deprived of sleep for at least a week. Man!
I am coming out of it now, but I tell you what I couldn't concentrate, walk, stand, or do much of anything.
I have no idea what happened to cause it to act up, but I haven't felt that bad for a LONG time.
I know I have been stressed about my dad so maybe that had something to do with it, but I don't know.

I am headed to see my parents so I can see for myself how Daddy is. He has been put in a "therapy facility" read nursing home.  I have got to go see with my own eyes how he is doing.
I will stop in Mobile and see my friends and retreat a couple of days, then head on to Houston.

beaded needle case

Some of the ways I have passed the time is been playing with my beading. It is coming back to me pretty easily and I am enjoying sitting in the living room with Ray and bead weaving while he watched TV.

One night I was invited to watch my daughter in a mini dance competition. Try as I might I didn't get any good pictures but I wanted to share a few.

Introduction Dance

twirling

Dancing with Ms. Wanda

This was completely new to me. I have never seen Kari dance and didn't know exactly what to expect. I thought she looked nice and danced pretty.

Gotta start packing,

Diane

No title today...

There has been no fun going on around here lately. There has been stifling heat and humidity although we have been better off than the central states. I haven't walked the dogs more than run out and run back in due to almost constant thunder (it causes Little Girl's bladder to close up tighter than a drum!) and lightening. We are in the season of the year of almost daily rain in the afternoons. I really don't like getting rained on, I guess it all stems from being told by my Papa I would melt if I got rained on. At least one person in my life thought I was sweet as sugar. Anyway with the afternoon rain I have to plan my activities around them or nothing gets done. So what do you think has happened? Nothing! I am not a good planner.

I have gone in the sewing room a couple of times but it needs cleaning so bad I usually turn and come right back out. I have not felt much like bending and moving stacks and putting away and the such. My F/A is giving me fits for the past week or so. Too much stiffness and pain.

Luckily I have less stiffness and pain in my hands (just my thumbs) so I have been learning to bead a new stitch. I am doing an odd count tubular peyote stitch.

This was going to be a large bangle bracelet. I have never done anything like this and have been using beads I have had for a long time. Once I got this far I discovered I could never finish it. See the large clear beads at the top of the ridge? I will run out of those beads in about two more rounds. I have no idea where I bought them or even what size they are. So I decided I will make it as far as it goes and then put it on my shelf. I love the way it looks. I like it so much I know I will make another one, but make sure I have enough beads to complete a full bracelet. I know at least two young ladies who would love to wear a wild bracelet like that.

Last night, I was really feeling bad, Ray was watching TV and I didn't want to go to bed. I put all of my beading stuff on a cookie sheet and sat in the living room with Ray and the pups.

It worked perfectly! See that wooden thing at the top left of the picture? That is a really pretty wooden thread and needle keeper Ray bought me in Wyoming. I have to be careful with it, as it has a very powerful magnet in it and it has already done a number on my iPod.  I was able to reset it and it is fine, but lesson learned!
I think I will go get in the pool and try to work some of the stiffness out. I am tired of feeling bad so I must get pro-active!

Later,
Diane

I can't believe it!

Do you remember when I was working on the group project where I made a small portion? Well Tommy entered it into the International Quilt Festival. She got the acceptance letter! Yes it is going to be in Houston! How cool is that? Now I KNOW I'm going to Houston!
In case you don't know, my portion is bottom row, third from the right. Not much color...beige and red.

I found out tonight my dad is being sent to a therapy center. I really don't know all the details but he has been in the hospital for 4 days for a severe UTI. Now I find out he is being sent to a place that he will NOT do well in. He can NOT stand to be separated from my mom. Right now they are keeping him pretty well drugged so they can keep him in the bed at the hospital. How much will they drug him to keep him this new place? It just doesn't feel good.

Later,
Diane

Nothing new

Still not much going on. Dealing with a two day headache, two separate days of joint pain and tons of laundry has caused me to not get much accomplished.

I volunteered to help the LQS with making samples. It has taken me three days to make two pillowcases. Now that is slow! I am really glad I didn't get the other samples I considered as they were much more involved. The fabrics are really cute. I can see me buying some for sleep pants for my sons.

I thought I would share one of the beautiful sunsets from our recent trip to Colorado.  I'm not very good with a camera, but God sure is good with the sunsets.

Diane

I just don't understand

I learned to piece a quilt not too long after my youngest son was born. I learned all by myself, in the living room with a Georgia Bonesteel book in my lap. I picked the fabrics by looking at her pictures. The fabrics were ugly, although at the time I didn't think so, and they were not very good quality (read cheese cloth). 
I'm am a visual learner. I don't do written instructions well, but I really wanted to know how to make a quilt so I stuck with it. I would call Granny on the phone and ask her questions. I asked Ray to read the instructions and see if I was doing it right. I made twelve 12" blocks, hand pieced. Then because not all of the blocks came out exactly 12" I had to put a small sash around each one to make them all the same size.
After about a month of seeing me struggle and fret, then smile and giggle over my accomplishments my husband asked if there was anyone besides his Granny who lived 8 hours away who could teach me. Now mind you, I had a very premature baby on my hands who needed 24 hour a day meds and oxygen and 3 doctor's appointments a week an hour from our house and two older children ages 5 and 8. Saying all of that to say, money was TIGHT.
I told him that one day while driving home from a doctor's appointment I noticed a sign advertising quilt classes. So after discussing it and assuring me we could afford it I signed up. I remember thinking $60 was OUTRAGEOUS! It was either 8 or 10 weeks of classes two hours a week. We learned block reading, template making, hand piecing, applique, basting, quilting and binding. The whole shebang. Beside all of that we learned about tools, fabric, color choices and anything else you could think of. I also learned "quilt shop etiquette", as in how to not put my foot in my mouth about buying fabric at another place and talking about it in the shop. Needless to say the quilt shop owner was very patient and kind.
Once we finished the class we knew everything we needed to know to make a quilt. We were not experts in anything, but we would get better.

Time travel twenty years later and I am sitting here confused. As a lot of quilters, I am on a few "lists" that talk about quilting. Some of these lists are about particular types of quilting and some are about hand work, some are about particular books or patterns. This week one of the lists I am on is all in a dither about the book not having instructions about block construction. Really? Didn't they open the book and look through it before they purchased it? Why are you fussing and whining because you purchased a book that you don't know how to use?  If you want to make this quilt, figure it out. Don't wait to be spoon fed.
I guess what I am saying is what I told my children when they would ask me how to do something they were too lazy to troubleshoot. Engage your own brain, instead of mine. Look at it, think about it, try something, if it doesn't work try something else.

I guess I should step down from my soap box. I have more to say, but it comes out mean so I keep deleting it.
If you don't hate me by now maybe I will see you next time.


Later,
Diane

Coming out of the funk

I hope the "funk" is about over. Ray and I attribute it to too much travel and not enough rest. I have been unfocused and tired and until last night  haven't even ventured down the hall to my sewing room. After a couple of days of aches and pains and headaches I am finally feeling human again.

The most fun I have had is playing with my sweet puppies, who both turn one year old this month. Boo turned one on the 5th and Little Girl will on the 23rd.

Can this be comfortable? Her bum on his shoulder and her shoulder holding all her weight, which is a LOT!

While travelling I bought a beading magazine. Do not ask me why, because I don't know. Something sparkly caught my eye I guess. So when I got home I pulled out my beads from when the kids were young and doing arts and crafts. I had forgotten how much I liked playing with beads. I have made a few bracelets and a ring which looks goofy and is too big, but it was fun. I also discovered that going to a bead store is just as dangerous as going to the quilt shop. The purchase is the same $ amount but you come out with a tiny bag you can slip into your purse.

This one needs help

Lots of fun to make

first in a long time, FUN

needs help!

Ray is off on another trip this week so I went into the sewing room and sat and stared for a long time. I finally said to myself. "Self you have to just do it" so I did. I grabbed some strips and made a couple of log cabin blocks. Nothing fancy, nothing hard, just dipping my toes; getting reacquainted. Feeling my way around. It felt good. The blocks came out square and the correct size which is always a good thing.

Maybe I will make a few more today, since these turned out so nice. But first my youngest want to go grab a pizza, YUM!

Later,
Diane