A Couple Quilts

This Flannel Diamond quilt was made by Maureen at Stitch & Craft for her hubby. It's quilted with a   medium-sized freehand Puzzle Meander.

  

The hubs is going to be very cozy under this~ the flannel is sooo soft!

The blocks on this one are all embroidered~ Wish I'd checked these pictures better before taking it back to the shop. A couple closer-ups would've been nice. You'll just have to take my word that they are stunning :)

I did no quilting on the blocks per the piecer's instructions, but did SID around them & a loopy freehand snowflake in the border.

Okay, so this one isn't OF a quilt, but I am UNDER a quilt! This is Maisy being snuggly & purry.

I had the most spectacular walk today. There was no convulsive coughing or profuse nose-oozing (sorry, that's kinda gross), and it wasn't freezing! 

I actually had to shed a top layer before heading outside. We walked a good 45 minutes, enjoying the slight breeze & sunshine. Well, maybe Smokey was enjoying other aspects more, like sniffing every stop sign base, pile of poo, and the grave stones along the way, but I digress..

A Couple Weeks with Coughing

I got what I thought was the Garden Variety Cold a couple weeks ago. Except it kinda started in my chest & has set up camp! I'm not grossly congested, nothing warranting a trip to the doctor's office (or so I keep telling my annoyed kids.) But truly, other than coughing every time I try to lie down to rest, *as in get some sleep after cleaning, working, chauffeuring, cooking, dog walking, feeding, chasing for 16+ hours*, I have no fever that I know of. I'm exhausted, yes, but with no fever I'm guessing there's no infection or virus. So whatever... I've become one of the Walking Dead hopeful of emerging as a Productive Awake Person here very soon (who doesn't annoy her children with every breath & coughing convulsion for those 16+ hours straight~IF they don't happen to be holed up in their bedrooms.)


To catch you up on some of my past two weeks...


There have been a few days I've felt up for the doggie walk, and Smokey has been good about slowing down during my coughing spasms.

Saw my first sign of Spring-like growth. If you look closely, you can see a bulb of some sort emerging.

 But then we've had a couple of random snow-shower days thrown in between gorgeous, sunny weather!

I've finished two baby quilts which are identical in construction & quilting (Popcorn panto)89:

And I finished reading "The Breaker" by Minette Walters.

Here's the book blurb from amazon.com:

Why was Mary killed, and her daughter, a witness, allowed to live? Why weren't they together, and why had Mary willingly boarded a boat when she had a terror of drowning at sea? Police suspicion centres both on a young actor, and the murdered woman's husband.

Would I recommend it? Not necessarily~ I'd probably give it a 5 out of 10. I did want to know "who dunnit" & read till the end, but I can't proclaim to have loved the writing style enough or have been captivated by the story line enough to say to a friend, "You should read this book."


I do think the characters were developed nicely, and it was an easy read; so I wouldn't necessarily not tell you to read it either! How's that for indifferent??


Sigh... it's 11:51pm & I should be tucked in my electrically heated bed by now, snuggling & slumbering contentedly next to my hubby, BUT coughing fit #1,000,001 began & so instead I'm finishing my blog entry, sipping decaf French Vanilla tea (which I'm finding a weird tea flavor~ it just sounds too COFFEE to me??), hoping these kittens will soon wear themselves out from their excitement over seeing me reappear. Last night as I was finally dozing off on the couch, they ran over me during their escapades, repeatedly stuck their furry faces into mine as if to head-butt their way into my mouth, and then stuck kitty butts in my hair!! What is it about kittens & human hair laying on a pillow?? It didn't feel like that kneading they do, so though it didn't seem like they were searching my head for a furry cat-momma nipple, for some reason that crossed my mind. Demented & unclear thinking abounds with sleep-deprivation, and I fear I'm allowing the the unconscious stream of thought to invade my beloved blog... Me thinks I will try to lie down again. 

Thankful to be dry

We watched the rising waters of the Susquehanna River back up into this massive storm drain which leads into our little town. 

The 1st picture was taken this past Friday morning after most of the rain had already stopped pelting. Usually there's barely a trickle in there, but we weren't concerned at this point because it was well below the halfway mark of being full.

However, since we're "down river", this 2nd picture shows how on Saturday, well after the rain had quit falling, we were still watching the river by us rise. 

And by Sunday afternoon, finally, thankfully, the river crested & we could breathe a small sigh of relief. 

(Don't ask me who thought hanging the figure was fun, but it was there... in the way, so it's in my photo >:-/ )

Homes are in danger of flooding here once the water hits the 49' mark. Personally, since we sit a bit higher, we're not in danger of flooding until it hits about 55', just to give a point of reference.

A lot of people who visit us don't understand how the river can possibly flood over the railroad embankment towards our homes. But see that's not how it happens! The picture below shows the view from my front door. The river doesn't flow over the embankment but rather backs up through the above-shown storm drain and then up through the drainage grates by our homes.

During normal weather our rain water runs down our grates into the storm drain and then into the Susquehanna River. But when we have a combination of heavy rains & snow melting up north, it all flows downward towards us & backs everything up.

This last picture shows the view if I walk up onto the railroad embankment & look down to the river. Within those trees are where I usually walk my spastic lab puppy. He'd probably like it down there now --sloshing through the water & mud are his thing. But if he'd take off, it's currently too cold for me to want to go in after him. So yeah, I think we'll just walk the neighborhood until we dry out a bit!

But in the grand scheme of it all... thinking about how scary it can be to worry about my house flooding left me feeling a little....sigh.... what's the word I'm looking for???? .... small, insignificant, but a speck in the realm of world horrors...

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

Does anyone else feel a little deflated energetically after the hub-bub of the holidays? I know it's my norm, and so I've grown to embrace this slow-down period. Combine my lethargy with the recent snow & ice coating the neighborhood roads, and I've had some nice excuses to stay put in my warm, cozy home!

I've enjoyed movie marathons with my two teenage girls, cross-stitching by the fire, a few unexpected mornings I was able to lay in bed longer than usual (LOVE my electric blanket in our bedroom with no heat vents!!), with the only drawback being that walking Smokey the spastic lab has taken a slightly treacherous feeling as I skirt around and/or over ice & snow patches.

My hubby has been able to take some days off with us too. But he's also begun redoing our bathroom. Remember we live in a 200+ year old house, that has some interesting quirks. Our bathroom is a large quirk. It used to be a small bedroom, but it makes a good size bathroom. I thought I'd post this "mostly before" pictures.....

He's actually started painting already. This is from the doorway looking into the bathroom. To the right behind the brown dresser in the ugly vanity, of which I now realize I didn't get a proper pic. 

Past the draped clothes rack & around the corner lie the toilet & shower (you'll have to excuse the dirty laundry piles- they've been shoved here & there to allow room to move while also painting, etc...

  

Below are the closet/laundry doors as seen from the vanity area...

Will share more pictures of the ugly vanity & updates as prettier things begin to happen!

Last but not least is a small project I tackled, that I've been wanting to try since about November. It's a Snap Happy Snap Bag by Stitchin' Sisters. There are 3 sizes on this pattern, this being the mid-sized bag. Perhaps you've heard of Snap Bags? There's literally a metal tape measure within the top casings to make it snap closed after it's been opened. It's the coolest thing!! So fast & east to make & cute to boot! 

Good night everyone!

New month, new beginnings....

In an effort to gain some sort of control over my own life, I'm trying to implement scheduling my days. Some of this was already going on since I'm still homeschooling my 14  yo dd, however, the rest of the day not considered "school time" has been hit or miss as to what gets accomplished. On some level I enjoy this freedom & relish that I have that luxury. On the other hand I desire to accomplish something more just for me....

Don't get me wrong, I consider molding & teaching my children to be of utmost importance, however, there are a good many more hours in the day that gets swallowed up with????? Sometimes there's so much to do, I just stand looking around, head whipping back & forth wondering where to begin. It's about then that I decide to "research" something online & the hours fly away. 

One of the first changes to my daily schedule includes Smokey the spastic lab puppy. Look at that sweet face & the fabulous mess he's created in the background!! 

He's being walked daily again, and I try to do this first thing in the morning before the day gets away from me & I still have time to shower afterwards. I know the exercise is good for me, will boost my mood, yadda yadda yadda, HOWEVER, "walking" the lab isn't a regular walk. It's more like power walking & still hanging on for dear life. I've read Ceaser's book on being a Dog Whisperer & so far even my yelling (let along my whispering) hasn't resulted in tremendous change. I've even tried jogging to pick up the pace, but it's still like I'm hanging on for dear life & I'm just waiting for the wrong step that lands me prone on the ground getting a serious case of dirt rash (it's not road rash, because I usually walk/jog on the wooded trail.) 

Sounds peaceful & ideal, I know. And sometimes as my body is being punished with the high rate of speed it's traveling too early in the morning, and in between yanks on my arms that jerk my whole body out of step, and also while trying to watch for Smokey's 100 lb body coming to an abrupt halt right in front of me while investigating some fantastic smelly smell... SOMETIMES I have time to catch a glimpse of the Susquehanna River just beyond the trees I'm running amidst, and it's a beautiful, calm, serene (until I land my foot right in the middle of 3 inches of soppy mud & feel it slowly seep into my white sneaker.)

The Morning Drag

Just got back from the morning drag... umm... I mean the morning walk. Most mornings I try to take the black lab puppy for a morning walk to burn off some of the exuberant energy that seems to always be pent up in his 70 lb body. And since I've just begun this routine, we're still at the point where he basically tries to drag me down the road. I end up with something looking like rope burn on my palms, one day I had shin splints (?????), one day I swear he almost yanked my shoulder out of socket. I believe we're making progress since this week he hasn't thrown any body parts into spasm or to the point of aching.

It's a mixture of challenge & desperation that's thrown me into daily exercise. I want to tame this beast & make him normal, and I know I could use the daily exercise. But I tell you, I'm learning I have to steel myself for it... it's embarrassing to get dragged down the road, while occasionally yanking back & barking out, "Smokey WALK!", and as I yank back the bag of poop I've collected is swinging wildly, hitting my boobs, my back... sigh.... I wonder if anyone has caught the regular spectacle & had a good morning laugh?? 

The other reason I have to work up the courage to take the walk, is that there's still a part of me that just wants to stay hiding in my house since Montie died. People say the stupidest things to me when I'm out ... and then I, trying to remain composed & appear normal, respond with some inane, expected comeback & it'll irritate me for hours. How does one respond to the basic question, "So how are you really doing?" Do parents from my daughter's soccer team really want to hear the answer? Do acquaintances from our old school whom we run into routinely at the grocery store really want to know how I'm doing ... while standing in the middle of the pickle jars, mayonnaise, and quick-start dinner packets?? 

And the truth is no one really wants to know what I'm going through. In fact, invariably when I share the sadness & the depth of my ache with my closest friends they are quick to ask if I think I should ask the doctor for medication. Okay people, it's not like I'm rolled in a fetal position unable to get out of bed!! I still get up every morning when I'm supposed to, collect groceries, make meals, pay bills, work, clean, and play with/hang out with my daughters .... beyond those first weeks when we did nothing & went nowhere & barely ate, we have resumed much of the typical activities of a normal family. So truly there is no great injustice being done on my family, I'm not shirking my duties or even overly emotional or withdrawn. I'm just sad now & then & need to let it out. But society is uncomfortable with emotions. We've become so used to dealing with each other in non-personal ways such as email, blogging ;-P, or texting, that to deal with real-live emotions for some is just not natural. And apparently it's down-right uncomfortable.

I can't say I blame the awkwardness that comes.... I know I'm probably one of the scariest people on the face of the earth to talk to face to face... a mom whose beloved child not only endured 10 years of medical fragility, but also a mom whose beloved child died next to her on the family room couch.

Wow... I've really switched gears here, eh??? Today while Smokey was dragging me thru our little town, The Ambulance drove right past me & it filled me with such sadness. I was walking down the back alley & so not the typical place to find an ambulance cruising & they didn't have their lights on & never stopped at any house. So why was it there?? Sometimes I wonder when these strange occurrences come about if it's Satan trying to derail me, or could it be a sign from Heaven reminding me of Montie? I guess it could all be very random, but in my gut I don't believe that. And I wonder if the EMT's remember who I am when they pass me by?? Do they remember me or my little boy and how they tried unsuccessfully to save him?

I stood in the middle of the alley after watching The Ambulance as it passed by 5 feet away from me, the EMT's staring at me, Smokey yanking on my body, while the warm spring breeze blew all around me, and I started to tear up, missing Montie so much my heart actually aches, took a deep breath, and kept walking....