Friday evening

Big shopping day today, I've put it off for a while and even when I shopped I didn't buy a lot so today was a real stock up shopping--I'm beat and my pocketbook is empty! While I was gone shopping the VA called and rescheduled Larry's appointment. Now, he doesn't see the doctor until the 24th of August. This is a big let down for us. The closer it gets to the three month checkup the more nerve wracking it becomes and this time is worse than the last as he has been feeling low since the 4th of July weekend. At first I thought he was just tired but it's gone on too long for that, it's hard not to expect bad news.

This week's update.

A little more progress this week, I had to go get some colors I was out of but mostly I worked on THE DRESS so I didn't have a lot of time for it.

I am happy to report that excepting the hem the dress and shrug are complete. I had to take up an inch under each arm as it was too big, an easy fix and better too big than too small. Had a near disaster with the shrug yesterday--I pressed a hole right through the sparkly fabric! I had enough of that fabric to replace the holey part but I didn't like the drape, it was too stiff. I, fortunately, had enough of the solid black of the skirt for a shrug so I made it up. I made need to add some sparkley there. Tomorrow I'm heading out to shop for shoes etc. Hoping to display a photo here soon.

Now that the dress is completed I can begin painting trim. Windows first. I will also be painting some walls that need freshening or just another color, but first all the trim goes white. As that will take only a part of each day I will also be pulling up the carpet in the basement in small chunks. It's stained beyond hope. This is a little time consuming because there's furniture and my sewing/research area down there--A lot to move around.

For tonight I'm going to stitch.

.

33 years and counting

Larry and I celebrated our 33rd anniversary on Friday. Who'd have thought 33 years would go so fast. We ate breakfast out and then dinner too before we hit the K for a Royals baseball game. Sadly, they lost. We try to celebrate each year, although it's not always possible, as a tribute to the hard work and stubbornness it takes to keep a marriage going! Celebrations have a bigger meaning for us in light of Larry's cancer. We know that each could be the last one. I mean, everyone knows that, of course, but it's more immediate for us. So right know, here's hoping for 34!

It's a sewing Sunday

Well, today I plan to sew! Just need to put in the zipper for my dress to be done (okay, it wants a hem but that has to wait for the SHOES to be bought, urgh) I'll model the dress and shrug for a blog as soon as it's done. Will also sew up the shrug for the topper and try to work on some quilt blocks. I have several things in the works and need to clear up at least a couple in the next two weeks. One is for California girl, okay more than one, and I'd like to have them ready to give her parents while they are here for Scott's wedding. We went to Columbia yesterday for Alayna's 6th birthday party. I can't believe she's that old already! All the kids, including Beth, had fun jumping into the foam pit. Brayden wanted to play more but when your time's up it's up. We're thinking that gymnastics membership we thought about last Christmas is a definite GO for this year. Kolby went with Larry and I to Walmart to finish up Alayna's gift (which I then discovered I'd left in Independence, Dud!) and Had to have a Tigger almost as big as he is. We shipped Brayden off to Alayna's house for more playing and Larry, Beth, Kolby and I met up with Scott for lunch at Bennigans and then headed out to Alayna's for cake, ice cream, bbq and presents. Alayna is such a GIRL! She is learning to cook and that was a theme, and she got money for kindergarten clothes but I'd have to say her favorite was the jewelry hanger and some new ear rings she got from her mom. She just squealed and put her hand over her heart at the sparklies! We all had a very good laugh. Guess I'd better get the roast out and think about getting to work, already been on my walk (that's 6 out of 7 days!)

thoughts on traveling and such

Traveling is wonderful, really. Traveling all the time sounds wonderful, right. Traveling is exhausting! First you have all that work getting ready to go, then you go and exhaust yourself seeing new things, then you come home and clean up everything and finally you spend days/weeks catching up on the things you'd have done if you'd been home! I enjoy traveling but I've decided that I don't want to travel ALL the time. I am only beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel of work created by being gone from home so much. It's dim but it's there, at last! I've gotten caught up with my bookwork, housework and yard work so now it's time to catchup on sewing! I am even walking for 30 minutes each day--so far the foot is tolerating it and I am enjoying it so much. When we lived in Denver Larry and I walked the Hi-line canal path every night after dinner and that walking path is something I still miss from there. It's hard to DRIVE somewhere to walk when you don't really feel like it anyway but recently a new park opened near here with a big pond and a walk nearly all the way around. It's only about a 1 mile walk but it's quite enjoyable watching the geese, ducks, blue herons, etc (today I think I saw a Kingfisher! well really three) I am feeling so much better lately that I hustle right through that mile! (I think my ipod helps me move along as well.) I can't really say why I feel so much better except I think it might have to do with sleeping better as my wrists and arms aren't going to sleep 10 times a night and waking me up. So Who-hoo!

Cross-stitch update, not much

I didn't get a lot done on this but any progress is good! At least it didn't just sit all week.

A glorious, glorious day!

It has been such a glorious day! The temperature was delightfully low, as was the humidity, so we opened up the house and spent a good bit of time sitting on the deck reading with our big umbrellas for some shade. I think that having a glorious day in July is such a treat that to stay inside is horrid! I ran some errands, again, and worked in the yard without sweating! Since earlier this week going outside felt like I was breathing water, or perhaps had happened upon a sauna without knowing it, today is a double delight. Tomorrow is to be the same. Yippee!!!

Foot Doc said to continue with my little splint, well he offered other options but as it is getting better I decided to continue as before hoping to be able to start my exercise walking again. Visit with my GP also went well, I need cholesterol meds (partly because of my Dad's heart) which I haven't started yet but taking 3 medicines doesn't seem too outrageous. I've almost learned to sleep with two wrist braces so things are going well. I also have lost 5 pounds, not sure how but I sure hope it keeps up!

Heading up to sew on the dress and cut out baby quilts, maybe I'll have photos this weekend.

Doctors and other news

Yesterday, I went to the hand doctor for my carpal tunnel, she did a bunch of tests and said I had lost some sensation in the middle finger of my left hand making it unlikely that the non-invasive treatments would work. She gave me cortisone injections in both wrists and I got a brace for my right hand. I am scheduled for surgery on the left one Aug 25, it's arthroscopic and they only give me happy juice and a local so I'm not expecting it to be too bad. Only the second surgery of my life (if oral surgery and cosmetic surgery don't count!)

I altered the pattern top of the dress for the wedding (Yes, Bri, I will not be naked! Nor will I rent a tux, Scott!) Today, I will cut it out of muslin and sew it together to see if I got it right or if I need to do more work on it, then alter the skirt and sew it up. Tomorrow, I'm off to buy the real fabrics and the under garment I plan to wear. It's a fairly simple pattern so it shouldn't take me long to stitch it up, I'll post a photo when I'm done. I am focusing on sewing at the moment and waiting until after the wedding to paint. Still pulling those pesky weeds and although my tomatoes are loaded with the green ones they just are not ripening. Green beans are just coming on, a bit late. Also I have to spray my rose bush with safer's soap as small green bugs are eating it alive (or rather eating it dead!)

Christmas in July?

This is one of my Amarylis plants, usually blooms in December. I haven't had particular luck in having it re-bloom in spite of following the directions to the letter. I read somewhere on someone's blog that you should just feed and water them and leave them alone, so I did and look what happened! This is Red Lion, my Apple Blossom also has a large bud on it. I wonder if they will bloom later? I'll let you know.

Cross-stitch update

I have no idea if I've made any progress on this since mylast update! I made more progress when I was "accountable" on my blog, soooo, if you don't want to read it that's okay. I only have one more major motif to stitch then I can backstitch. I really want to finish this one, as I have 4 more to make!

A couple of light houses

This is the light at Ontanogan, WI. It's on private property so this is as close as we could get. You'll notice that all the lights have a similar construction in that the tower is accessible from the inside of the keeper's home. It's really cold up there!







We were able to tour this light at Copper Harbor, MI. We rode across the harbor in a smallish boat just as the keepers did.

We also toured the light at Eagle Harbor, MI.

I uploaded photos of Eagle Harbor but they seem to have disappeared!

The windows are done!

This is the front of the house with the new windows (in white) and the new Green front door. I really love them, not only did they change the looks of the house but we can no longer feel heat or cold (I assume since it's hot now) when we sit next to them and we can lock the basement door on our way out! They were pricey and I have a lot of painting inside to do but they were so worth it. I have to say Renewal by Anderson is the way to go.

Unfortunately, the painting is going to be by fits and starts. I've been watching Kolby part of the past couple of days as he has a fever and isn't allowed at daycare, he's such a doll I just wish he weren't sick! I'll have him some tomorrow as well. I hope to get the basement door stained and varnished by Monday and begin on window trim which I plan to paint white. When all the windows (except Rob and Tanya's which will wait until they move out) are done then we'll insulate the exterior walls and I'll paint walls and floor trim (also white. Well, the trim anyway!) Big jobs. Add to that the fact that I have Carpal Tunnel Syndrone in both hands and am seeing a surgeon next week about that. I don't want to leave it until I've lost feeling in my fingers as the nerves take a LONG time to regenerate. Learned that from Larry toasting his wrist on the ice several years ago--resulting in 3 surgeries including carpal tunnel release. With Larry in a period of stability cancer-wise this is a good time for me to take care of all the niggling little aches and pains that have crept up on me. My toe is still crooked and there is still a bump on the bottom of the foot (swelling ?) I see the foot doc next week again, no telling what he'll want to do next. I'm going to try and sew some this weekend as well, if I can get to my machine. Really it's an effort to get back in this cubby at the moment. I simply must do something about a dress for the wedding and I'm stumped. Getting to close to put it off so I'll do some shopping at JoAnns' on Saturday. If I sew a dress I'm going to set the machine up in the extra room to keep the cats off it!

Tomorrow, I'll have a few pics up of lighthouses as Larry gave me his digitals!

Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day everyone! We've managed to make it work in spite of everything for over 200 years, let's keep it going for another 200 years! We are celebrating with Larry's family this year although our celebrations are pretty low key. A family dinner, some fishing (not for me) if it quits raining and a few fireworks for Alayna. At nearly six she is just nuts for them!

Love and sadness go out to Beth, Lucas and Brayden whose beloved dog Molly is now playing with the angels. She will be missed by all of us.

Blessed Be.

I think it's Thursday!

I think it's Thursday so we must be at Kris' campground. Well, I'm sure I'm at the campground but a little shaky on the Thursday part! We had a whirlwind two and a half days at home! I weeded and watered all my garden beds, did up all the laundry, unpacked and then packed, took Kelsey to the vet, went to the eye doctor, and did a humongous grocery shopping! Whew! I was tired. Kelsey had finally gained a half a pound, she did have a bacterial infection so she got meds for that and Dr B. gave me some meds for the dogs when they get sick on these trips. Something to calm their digestive tracts. Charlie's on his second bottle of pills for the cancer and I still can't tell there's anything wrong. So on the dog front things are looking good. The eye doctor said I needed to wait for a year on the catarats, if I'd known he was going to say that we've have stayed in Michigan longer! I did get a yet stronger perscription and have ordered new glasses (the old one I got last fall and I may have to have another set before the surgery, URG.) We are staying here at OK Acres until Sunday and when we go home I don't know if we'll get out of town again until the wedding in August. I'm okay with that, have a serious case of withdrawel--one from Brayden and one from blog reading! My house is a diaster of the first order and the cats miss Larry. Truely, it's fun to go away but I'm glad to stay at home for a while. Also it's getting too hot to take the dogs with us, we have to watch them for heat exhaustion very carefully--they are wearing a heavy fur coat! I will also be glad to get back to my sewing machine and other projects. Tomatoes will be getting ripe soon--looking forward to those BLT's!