Random thoughts on life in the hospital ....

How does anyone manage to get better while in the hospital?  I'm a rational person of some intelligence, so I understand that procedures are in place to protect the patient and care for them.  However, must they wake you at regular intervals preventing you from sleeping for more than 90 minutes at a time?  Blood pressure check, meds, change the battery in the heart monitor, stick me for more blood samples, empty this tube, fill up the other tube - what level is your pain now, Mrs. G?

Ice chips on the third morning .... nothing without taste has ever tasted better.

A surprise visit from a quilting friend who knows enough to stay 10 minutes and not a second longer.  Thank you, Ann.

A longer visit from our daughter brought joy to my heart - and the realization that my stoicism might have cost me the chance to see her, hug her, love her again.  Once in awhile, I guess we need a smack in the face to remind us how fragile life really is.

My doctor knocking the socks off me as he described what they had to do in the operating room in order to "flush out" my abdomen of the nasty pus stuff.  A reminder of how tough our bodies are as long as we keep them in pretty good running order.

Losing one tube per day - priceless!  First, the oxygen.  Then the naso-gastric tube.  Then the catheter.  The drain.  Finally, the IV and the heart monitor!  Freedom, blessed freedom.

Walking - shuffling? - along the hospital corridor with DH pushing the IV and me trying to hold onto the wall and the drain tube at the same time.  No photos, please.

Phone calls from our son, Matt, every day.  I'm so glad I had kids!

Having a 4th IV inserted since the first 3 worked their way out of my thinning veins.  This time, I asked for a board to keep my elbow straight to prevent being stuck again.  This is the sound of an angry woman - I will not be stuck again.

Get well drawings from the grandkids.  Trying to figure out how Tasha's blue eagle is going to help me get better.  Soar like an eagle?

Trying to eat jello with my left hand.  Hmmmm .... Dougie, can you please cut up my jello?

Meeting nurses from the Congo, the Phillipines, Ghana.  A worldwide tour without leaving my hospital room.

Sticking tissue in my ears to keep the nighttime noises down.  Trying to sleep on my back.

Needing help from DH to take a sponge bath and manuever in the bathroom.  For better or worse, in sickness and in health.  He did great 40 years after reciting those vows.

Coming home.  There's no place like home, there's no place like home - there really is no place like home!

When stoic equals stupid!

After a fun weekend of family get togethers and babysitting our wonderful grandchildren, I woke up at my sister's house on Tuesday, the 13th, about 3 a.m. with intense abdominal cramping.  Cramping led to the usual intestinal problems for the next few hours and I assumed that I had a really bad case of food poisoning.  Being a mom and a grandmother, my first thoughts were to run through what we had eaten in hopes that no one else shared my pain!  I traced my dilemma to a fast-food salad eaten at lunch the day before.

We were due to meet Matt, our son, for a quick lunch at an Indian restaurant in the San Fernando Valley before returning home.  I nixed the Indian food, obviously, and nixed the lunch as well.  Just get me home, I said to DH!  I dosed off and on in the car on the way home and realized I was running a slight temp.  The rest of Tuesday was spent dozing, eating nothing, and just generally being miserable.  I now had my ailment pegged as an intestinal virus.  Oh, no!  What if I infected the kids and Sara has 3 toddlers all sick with the yuckies at the same time?  I warned the family - my sister Lysoled her guest bathroom.

Tuesday night, around 10:30 p.m., I was hit with a wave of the most painful cramping I have ever had - worse than labor pains, I assure you.  We had already decided that Doug should sleep in the guest room because I knew I would keep him up with my tossing and turning, fever, bathroom visits, etc.  I was literally doubled over in pain for 10-15 minutes before I could get control and limp down the hall to tell him I needed to go to the ER.  Doug was scheduled to get up early on Wednesday and drive to the Carlsbad house since the carpet was going to be installed.  Obviously, my ailment was poorly timed!  We went back and forth for a few minutes and figured we'd probably sit in the ER all night, we didn't have a fallback plan for getting the house open for the carpet installers, etc., etc.  So, stoic that I am, I said I would take some pain meds that I had in the house from last summer's undiagnosed gut pain and try to tough it through the night.  Big mistake.  Bad judgment.  Stupid.  Stupid.  Stupid.  Why can't I ever put myself first?

Wednesday morning, Doug made a quick turnaround trip to Carlsbad to let the installers in and arrange for a neighbor to secure the house when they finished.  I called my doc (who is no longer my doc) and described my symptoms.  Rather than have me come in for an office visit, my doc had her nurse call to say it sounded like a viral infection that needed to run its course.  Keep fluid intake up, soft mild diet, etc.  In other words, suck it in, Marsha, and deal with it!

After another very uncomfortable night Wednesday, I told Doug on Thursday morning that we had to go to urgent care.  We were there when they opened the doors at 9 a.m.  It didn't take the doctor more than 2 minutes to diagnose my problem, give me a shot of Demerol, and send me off to the emergency room.  By 5 p.m., my surgeons were ready to go.  I had a laparoscopic appendectomy.  My appendix had burst (probably sometime Tuesday or Wednesday), my gut was full of nasty bacterial stuff, they had to rinse me out several times (thankfully, I was dead to the world on anaesthetics), and I woke up hooked up to more tubes than I had ever seen!  Massive doses of antibiotics to prevent continued infection, drainage tube, naso-gastric tube, oxygen, catheter, IVs - a true sick person!

And an unhappy surgeon telling DH that we were less than 24 hours from sepsis - systemic infection.  Suck it in and deal with it, Marsha, was obviously not the best choice.

Plans diverted .... once again!

I had an emergency appendectomy one week ago tonight, so things have been a bit rough around the edges here at the old homestead.  I'm home, feeling okay, and moving towards recovery.  More tomorrow ... promise!

Today is DH's 65th birthday.  We were planning to celebrate in Big Bear, at the best restaurant available.  Instead, we had great homemade spaghetti sauce compliments of my sister who has been here three days helping out, lovely salad and Italian bread.  Happy Birthday, Dougie!

Playtime!

Off to see the family today.  We're doing an early celebration for Doug's birthday - his 65th!  We'll be in Big Bear for his actual birthday, so we're combining a birthday party with some babysitting to help out our daughter next week.  Never miss an opportunity to be with our 3 wonderful grandchildren .... oh .... and, our wonderful daughter, SIL, son, sister, BIL, too.  Truth be told, the kidlets are much more fun!

I've got my fingers crossed that our gardener will visit while we are away and finally put some annuals in the empty space in our backyard.  I am a TERRIBLE gardener.  I have neither talent nor interest in playing around in the dirt, but I do like the yard to look presentable.  I'm going to run out and take a "before" picture in hopes that I'll also be able to share an "after" picture with you next week.

I've had a lot of blog traffic lately, and I can't quite figure out why.  It may be due to some lovely comments about my doll dress blocks.  Love to have readers and love to have comments!  Two more doll dress blocks are on my agenda for next week after we return.  Let's see if I can get them done, or at least one of them, before we take off for Big Bear Lake next Friday.  I'm not planning on taking the Featherweight with me this time since there is so much to do at Big Bear.  Doug likes to keep on the go.

Have a great weekend!  Hope the heat has subsided a bit in the rest of the country.  Southern California has been remarkably cool this spring and early summer.  There is a warming trend on the horizon.  Should be in the 100s soon.  Ugh.  Double ugh.

Uh, oh ... we're moving again!

Southern California moved again tonight.  At about 4 minutes before 5 p.m., as I was standing in the kitchen contemplating dinner (for the umpteenth time ...), the earth moved.  I felt a small jolt and a bit of shaking, pretty much the norm, then a second jolt occurred that told me "This could be the big one!"  The pictures swayed, the noise got a bit louder, the crystal was tinkling, and I hit the ground running for the front door ...

If you've lived in Southern California as long as I have (since 1976), there's a time when your mind and your body says ... move, baby, move!

Glad that this old body can still move ... and also glad that this wasn't the Big One!

Time to Let Go

I celebrated Independence Day by tackling a long overdue project .  My mother-in-law passed away in April 2007 from the effects of Alzheimer's Disease.  Although we suspect that she had been ill for quite some time, it was the last two years of her life that were particularly hard on the family.  I wish I had been blogging then!  I don't mean to be flippant, but I find that blogging helps me think through problems and analyze exactly what is going on in my life (and in my mind!)

Because my DH and I were the closest geographically to my MIL, the task of dealing with doctors, health providers, facilities, law enforcement, etc., fell to us.  We are both firstborn, so you can imagine how well we documented everything!  With my secretarial background, Doug's business experience, and our shared tendency to overdo, we ended up with a huge box of files.  I had been reluctant to get rid of these papers thinking that I might try my hand at writing the story of our struggles with Mom and her illness.  I've played around with various ways to put this story into words, even drafting a chapter or two.  I would, however, inevitably walk away when it got too painful.

Yesterday, I decided the story was never going to be written.  It was time to let go of the pain and time to get rid of the papers.

I went through everything page by page one last time to make certain there was nothing of continued value to the family.  I set aside a few things that might have some future relevance as my father-in-law is still alive and active.  The rest is in the "shred" pile.

Surprisingly, the memories came flooding back - the early morning phone calls from my FIL, our frustration that he just didn't accept what was really happening, my acute and searing anger with a system that refused to let us place Mom in a safe and secure environment against her wishes.  How can a victim of Alzheimer's Disease make decisions in their own best interests?  It still amazes me three years later.

The papers are gone.  The anger is not.

My $500 Tote Bag

Well, here it is - the $500 tote bag!  How did I arrive at the $500 mark?

• $110 - retreat fee
• $125 - my share of the cabin rental
• $80 - what I bought at the retreat
• $100 - what I ate over four days
• $20 - gas
• $20 - what I bought at Schatz' Bakery on the way home (yummy breads)
• $10 - two bottles of wine for Happy Hour

Okay, okay - that's only $465.  But doesn't the $500 tote bag sound better than the $465 tote bag?  Poetic license, I believe, is the term.  To be fair, it's actually only the $320 tote bag since my companions paid for my room and the gas to compensate me for using my car and for doing all the driving.  I think they were extra generous!

I'm pleased with the pinwheel blocks especially since it is a 5" block!  I didn't do as well with the sashing which starts out as a 1" strip.  Yikes!  With that narrow a strip, an accurate 1/4" seam is essential.  That lovely wooden button that I've been yearning to use now covers up the sashing which doesn't align perfectly.

I really do like the bag, and I am glad I went on the retreat.  Will I go next year?  That remains to be seen.  If I do go, I'll be better prepared for the experience.  I'll bring my own fabric and be much more relaxed.  I'll take more frequent walks around the lake.  And, I'll bring one more bottle of wine!

Happy 4th of July!

Okay .... I said I would post a picture of the tote bag, but I'm tabling that until tomorrow.  We spent the whole day at the Carlsbad house and I AM TIRED!

So, instead of a picture, I am wishing all of you a very Happy Independence Day!  Spend a minute or two today thinking about what our lives would be like if those brave men in the 1770s hadn't defied authority and set upon a course that they believed was right and just.  If you have never read the entire Declaration of Indendendence, I suggest you take the time to read it now.  Think about how these words have impacted your life.  Better yet, think about what your life would be like without these words.  Then read the names at the end of the document.  We owe much to these men.  Actually, we owe almost everything to them.

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.



He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.


He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.


He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.


He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.


He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.


He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.


He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.


He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.


He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.


He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.


He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.


He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:


For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:


For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:


For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:


For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:


For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an
arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:


For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.


He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.


He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.


He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.


He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.



He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.


In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.


Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.


We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.


New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton


Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry


Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery


Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott


New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris


New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark


Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross


Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean


Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton


Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton


North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn


South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton


Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Quilt Retreat - Day Two

Fortunately, I slept very well on the second night.  I think I just collapsed from fatique and frustration!  So I was in much better spirits on the second full morning of the quilting retreat.  Here's a picture of the gals that I went with:

That's Nancy, me, and Ann in the first picture - Nancy again and Lois in the second picture.  We should have asked someone to take a picture of all four of us.

The best part of the retreat was being with these great friends from the Oasis Quilt Guild.  We are at vastly different stages in our quilting adventure - me being the least experienced, least serious, and most stressed out about quilting!  It's difficult for four women who haven't been friends very long to get through four days of togetherness, two of which were spent in a car driving 350 miles!

Back to the retreat.  By the time I got to the community center on the second day, I had decided to relax, enjoy the experience, and not fret about what I did or did not get sewn.  I also decided to just focus on the $500 tote bag and forget about actually making a quilt top.  I cornered Cheri, one of the organizers and teachers, while she was taking a break from cutting fat quarters and just plopped down in front of her on the floor with my pen and pad in hand.  I told her that I wanted to make one of the blocks from her large quilt to use as the front pocket of the tote rather than the needle felted design that the tote project called for.  She patiently walked me through all the steps on how to make the block (a 5" spinning wheel pinwheel block).  I think she realized as I was writing down everything step by step and clarifying as we went along that this quilter needs lots of help and lots of instruction!

It took me the rest of the day, but I did get the blocks done, the pocket made, and the quilt almost completed!  I took lots of breaks to walk in the neighborhood, even perusing the used books at the local thrift store.  I also enjoyed talking to the quilter next to me, a local resident whose husband is a recently retired veterinarian.  Best of all was watching the grandmother and granddaughter work together at the table behind me.  Grandma brought her 11-year-old GD to her first quilt retreat!  The GD did marvelously both on her own and with Grandma's help.

We had the only row with all Featherweights!  Five little Featherweights all in a row.  From front to back, Lois' from around 1940, Nancy's from the 50s, Ann's then mine (both from 1938).  The last one nearest the window belonged to a fellow quilter from Mammoth Lakes.  She is the original owner - it was her first sewing machine that her parents bought her when she was 14!  I didn't ask her age, but my guess is that the machine dates from about 1958.  She's just recently gotten it out of the closet, had it cleaned and tuned up, and started sewing again. 

Tomorrow, I'll show you a picture of the tote bag.  I actually like it and plan to use it!

Okay, Marsha, take a deep breath and carry on

As usual, I slept fitfully the first night of our getaway.  Since I was on the futon in the living room, I doubt that I kept anyone awake with my tossing and turning.  We all awoke early, had coffee or tea, showered quickly, and set out on our quilting adventure.  We arrived at the community center about 8 a.m. assuming that coffee would be waiting for us prior to the designated start time of 8:30 a.m.  Not so.  Apparently in the quilt retreat world, 8:30 really does mean 8:30!!!

You could hardly find a more beautiful place to wander around for 30 minutes than Gull Lake.  We watched the early morning fishermen, listened to the gulls, and took a few pictures.  Once the door was opened to the community center, we were ready to go.

The food at the retreat was spectacular.  We were treated to continental breakfast on both mornings (even warm cinnamon rolls), and one of the dinners featured homemade bread and individual quiches.  Definitely one of the high points of our adventure.

So, on to quilting.  I wish I had a better picture of the project wall to share, but this is the best I can do.  The feature quilt the first day (unpictured) had a dozen or so individual small blocks including a pinwheel, a house, a basket, etc., etc.  I spent most of the morning trying to figure out what exactly was going on.  A second project featured 3 totes with needle felting embellishments.  Ah, ha!  A tote.  I can make a tote.  So, by midday, I had concluded that the only way I was going to mentally survive this marathon quilting session was to pick a simple project and go for it.  Hence, the $500 tote was born.

As others were busily cutting strips, buying dozens of fat quarters, forging ahead with their quilting projects, I sat quietly at "my space" reading and re-reading and re-reading the directions on how to make a simple tote from 2 1/2" strips.  By noon, I had figured out how many fat quarters I wanted to buy to make the tote something I would actually use (9).  Whew!  I had a goal!  I might actually sew something at this quilt retreat.  I happily looked through the dozens and dozens of fat quarters and chose my 9.  Not my perfect colors, but they would have to do.

Lunch break!  Yippee!  Off to downtown June Lake for a relaxing lunch.  Oops.  There are only 3 restaurants in June Lake.  One is closed for lunch; one is the place we had dinner last night - third one must be the place!

Slow service (only the owner working diligently to make sandwiches, make pizza, clean the place up, take orders, etc.), but great sub sandwiches.  Unfortunately, lunchtime was over and we headed back to the community center.

Do you sense my negativity?  I was really struggling this first day to find my place among these experienced, accomplished, RELAXED quilters.  I did manage to get my strips cut that afternoon and even had a fundamental idea of how to sew this project.  And, I began to sew ... wonder of wonders.  My little Featherweight is a joy.  This is the most that I have sewn on the Featherweight since buying it two years ago.  It is a beautiful piece of equipment.  I scored big time with this purchase.  Not once during the quilt retreat did I have any difficulty with the Featherweight.  Others were not so lucky.  I'm going to take very, very good care of her.

By the end of the afternoon, I could see that I might be able to complete the tote bag before going home.  A quick glance around the room (filled with 30+ quilters) showed me that others were headed towards finishing a half dozen projects.  Hmmmmm .... Happy Hour was a much better choice than continued frustration!

Might I be too old for camp? Could be .....

I've been mulling over my experience at quilt camp and haven't yet reached a definitive conclusion.  Overall, I had a great time.  The best part was being with 3 friends from our Oasis Quilt Guild.  We got along famously even in a small mountain cabin with a kitchen big enough for one and a single bathroom.  Four women using a single bathroom?  Yup - we made it work.

I have never been to a quilting retreat before, so I did not know what to expect.  I'm a died-in-the-wool Type-A personality as well as a compulsive organizer.  This makes me extremely critical of how others organize or fail to organize.  I have to say that this event rated fairly low on my personal organizational scale.

We arrived in June Lake about 3 p.m. after a 350 mile drive and checked into the cabin then made a beeline for the community center to set up our machines for the 2-day quilting retreat.  I was expecting some kind of introduction to our projects and an overview of how the next two days would play out.  To be fair, the four of us were among the minority - the majority of those attending the retreat were repeats and were familiar with the routine (or lack of routine).  We set up our machines, looked at the project samples, perused the fabric for sale.  Our retreat leader told us to take our fat quarters, cut a 2" strip, then cut a 5" strip, which would leave us with an 11" strip, then we would be good for all the projects!

Say, what?  I was totally lost.  How many fat quarters should we have?  What if we didn't want to make all the projects?  She repeated:  cut a 2" strip, cut a 5" strip, you'll be left with 11" for the second quilt which wasn't going to arrive until the following day so we didn't even know if we wanted to make it!

I was still totally lost.  Amazingly lost.  I kept looking at the sample quilts, none of which actually appealed to me.  Then I looked at the project directions.  Disaster loomed!  I need step-by-step directions.  None of this made sense to me .... What were all these little drawings?  HELP!!!  I felt just like the 8-year-old at overnight camp for the first time.  I want to go home!  I don't belong here!  Everyone else knows what is going on.  I should not have come.  I'm the worst quilter here.  Can I get through the next 2 days without crying?

To be continued ....

Back from camp ...

I am slowly recuperating from my quilter's camp experience.  The bottom line is that we had a FANTASTIC time.  However, it does take some moments to recoup from being away for 4 days.  So, I am busy getting the wash done, paying bills, making sure there is food in the house, ironing, watering the plants, catching up on family news, etc., etc.

700+ miles up and down the 395.  Whew!  I love to drive, but it was a long haul ..... scenes like this helped make it worthwhile.

I'm going to camp!

Three quilting friends and I are off to Quilt Camp in the Sierras's tomorrow - fun, fun, fun!  I haven't been to camp in many years (decades?) and I also haven't been away with just the girls in a long, long, time.  I'm looking forward to it.

The four of us have rented a mountain cabin, and we'll be working on quilt projects Monday night, all day Tuesday and Wednesday.  Non-stop sewing .... isn't this heaven on earth?  I don't even know the projects; I just know I'm looking forward to it.

I am not, however, looking forward to the 6+ hour drive.  I offered to drive, and I'm okay with that.  I love my little Honda!

Doug has a long to-do list while I'm away.  Hmmm ... let's see what really gets done!

More projects down .... hip, hip, hooray!

Another successful day finishing up projects that have been on my mind.  Now, if I can just STOP creating more projects for myself .... hmmm.  Not likely, you say?  I'd have to agree with you.

I've had a delightfully pretty summery piece of fabric in my stash since combing through the 42 boxes of projects my MIL left when she died 3 years ago.  She's been on my mind lately as we struggle to get repairs completed on her house in Carlsbad.  Maybe remembering how many hours it took to go through those endless boxes is the impetus to get some of my own UFOs finished!  I don't want my kids (or grandkids) going through stacks and stacks of projects wondering if I was nuts ...

I digress.  This particular fabric really caught my eye and is one of the few pieces that I kept from my MIL's stash.  Granted, it would have made a great little dress for one of the girls with the cute butterflies, but I've been in a "sew-something-for-me" mode the last few weeks.  So, this adorable fabric became a pair of pj bottoms just for me - me - me!  I didn't have quite enough to handle the length I wanted, so I added the border from another small piece in my stash.  Aren't stashes wonderful?  Projects like this help justify keeping all those fabric pieces.

The pattern is McCall's 3370 which also includes a robe, a short version of the pj bottoms, and both a long and short-sleeved top.  I've always wanted satin pjs - maybe this is the way to get them!

A couple of months ago, I showed one of the outfits that I made for Talia to a friend from my quilt guild.  She looked inside the dress and said, "Oh, you didn't finish the seam edges."  Well, that got me thinking again about a serger.  I'm still thinking about it and wrestling with (1) the expense and (2) where the heck to put it. While I ponder whether a serger is a good move or not, I've decided to try to finish my garment sewing projects in a more professional manner.  Even though these are only pj pants, I took the time to overcast the seam edges.  It doesn't look all that great; more research on how to do this properly without a serger is in order.  I used Bernina presser foot 2A with an overcast stitch (#3 on the 640).

Then I embroidered a kitchen towel with a design that I won - yes, won! - last week from a great digitizer, Mary Rease of Rease's Realistic Designs at the OPW mall.  I've purchased several of Mary's sets; they never disappoint.  I'm also a member of her yahoo group.  Last week, Mary sent her group members a picture of a design she was working on and asked us to identify the mistake she had made in digitizing it.  I managed to locate the boo-boo (no easy task), so Mary sent me the design for free.  This lovely appliqué teapot is my prize!  I thought it would look great on a white microfiber towel that I've had for ages just waiting to be embellished.  Fabric from my stash again (whatever was I going to do with this fat quarter?).  Adding the border gives the towel a more finished look, IMO.  I'm thinking this design is perfect for gift-giving especially if I take the time to add some words as well.  Time for tea?  The kettle is on?  Lots of possibilities.

Now it's time to get back to the doll quilt.  Received these two fabrics for the month of June.  June?  YIKES!  Must put the pedal to the metal to get these blocks done before the end of the month.  Hope my creative juices haven't stopped flowing.  I think it's time to bite the bullet and try pintucks.

Another UFO completed - whoo hoo!!!!

Here's a project that was supposed to be finished for Jackson's third birthday.  Didn't quite make the deadline, but at least I can check it off the UFO list.  I'm determined to keep the projects under control - finish 'em or toss 'em.

I fused knit interfacing on the back of the t-shirt first.  Since the design had over 11,000 stitches, I also used 2 layers of polymesh cutaway stabilizer.  It's a bit stiffer than I would like.  If I did this design again, I think I'd try it with only one layer of the polymesh.  This is another project that I can see making for Miss T., the elder, or Miss T., the younger.  Can't you see this in shades of pink or purple?

I was happy, though, that the placement came out well.  Practice, practice, practice -- it's worth it!  This was a longer project than I planned.  I really had to fuss with the t-shirt (a size 3) in order to get it on the hoop and keep the extra fabric away from the needle as the Bernina embroidered away.  I slowed the machine speed down almost to minimum and sat by the 640 the whole time the design was stitching out to make sure all went well.

Next on the UFO list is a pair of pj bottoms for me.  I'm glad that I started garment sewing again.  I found a nice piece of blue and yellow butterfly fabric in the stash that I inherited from my MIL.  Perfect for summer pj's.  If I put my mind to it, I might be able to check off another project from the to-do list.

Whoo hoo!

Indeed - a picture is worth a thousand words

As the Gulf Coast oil spill grows ever more menacing, I thought I would share some pictures from our recent trip to the California Coast.  These pictures are unedited and need no captions.  I can't imagine watching oil spill over these precious parts of our world.

I don't know the answer .... I just know we need to find the answer before more of the irreplaceable magic of our earth is destroyed by human hands.

Something Special for Jackson

I ran across a great little tutorial on how to make a bike basket for a preschooler's bike.  Since we gave Jackson a bike for his birthday, I thought I'd give the tutorial a try and add a little zippiness to his bike.  Plus, it's hard for Jackson to go anywhere without his beloved Thomas trains.  Now he can take his trains and his water bottle on a bike ride with room for a snack or two!

The tutorial is from the Noodlehead blog.  She's got some other cute tutorials - check it out!

The rear of the bike basket has a strap with velcro so you can attach it to the crossbar of the bike.  I followed the directions without benefit of having the bike close at hand to measure.  Hope it fits!

If I make this again, and I probably will once Miss T., the elder, sees it, I would play with the instructions a bit.  I had a difficult time putting the fusible interfacing between the bag and the lining and then getting an iron in the small space to fuse it all together.  I tried a smaller craft iron, which helped a bit.  I have to remember, though, that it's for a 3-year-old who is (1) not fussy and (2) going to be thrilled to have something his sisters do not have!

If I was a bettin' woman, I'd say there's a pink bike basket somewhere in my future .....

The mind sees what it wants to see

A couple of months ago, some quilting friends and I were on a shop hop when I ran across a really cute purse pattern, the Crazy Patch Purse.  I haven't done any crazy patch quilts, so I thought doing a small project like this would be a good place to learn a few tricks.

Actually, it's more of a tote than a purse since there are no inside pockets.  (The Bow Tucks Tote has forever sold me on the value of lots and lots of inside pockets.)  Anyway, it was one of those "I have to have that" moments.

I took the pattern with me to the Quilt, Craft and Sewing Expo in Del Mar several weeks ago to shop for fabric.  Just as I was about to give up, my eyes focused on a fat quarter loaded with coffee and tea cups.  Voilá!  I had found the theme for this purse - I love coffee!  So, fat quarter in hand, I searched through the vendor's stash and found a coordinating print in brown with the word "coffee" written in various fonts all over it.

Hmmm .... trouble is that the word was not "coffee" - it was chocolate!  Guess my brain just wanted it to say coffee.  Oh, well.  I love chocolate, too.  So I call this purse my mocha purse.  Who will ever know?

The pattern was fun to do.  I enjoyed going through my stash looking for fabrics that would coordinate yet be different enough to make the crazy patch stand out.  I used a variety of my decorative stitches, too.  The stitch reference sheets that I painstakingly worked on paid off (see this post).  I opted not to add the buttons called for in the original pattern.  I'm thinking that this purse needs a big, puffy fabric flower with a button center. 

That's about 3 projects down the road .... pillowcase for the one million pillowcase challenge, a project for Jackson's new bike, pj bottoms for me, then a big, puffy fabric flower!  Never a dull moment around this house.

Art Linkletter would have loved this one

My 4-year-old granddaughter, Talia, has suddenly taken an interest in discussing death.  (My daughter thinks this is prompted by the requisite scary parts of any Disney movie, especially "The Lion King.")  Our daughter is now explaining, at a 4-year-old's comprehension level, various beliefs about death and what happens, or does not happen, afterwards.

Simultaneously, our grandson started potty training.  Our DD's tried and trued method of potty training involves rewards, including M&Ms (for trying) and small prizes (for successes).  Talia announced that potty training was really fun and she wishes she could be potty trained again.

The next day, Talia told her mom that she has decided to believe in reincarnation.  Her reasoning?  She would come back as a baby, grow up to be 3, then get to be potty trained again - and have M&Ms!!!!

Yes, Art, kids really do say the darndest things!

Home

Our trip was wonderful, but it is oh so marvelous to be home.  We actually arrived back at the farm on Sunday, but it has taken me several days to settle in and feel in control again.  As a Virgo, I need to have everything in its place, neat and tidy and organized, to really feel right.  Sigh .... today things are as they should be!

The wedding was lovely - different, but lovely.  It was held on a farm just outside the charming city of Sebastopol, California, in the Sonoma County wine country.  Chickens, horses, birds and bees kept us company as we listened to Amy and Jonny recite their vows.  They seem well suited, and I am supremely happy that they were able to find one another in the midst of this crazy, crazy world.  Apparently, they met through an online dating service jdate.com.  Mazeltov!

Doug and I enjoyed meandering down the coast of California.  We haven't done this in years.  Stopped often to view the miraculous Pacific coastal areas.  Each time we pulled into a parking area to enjoy the vista, my heart skipped a beat.  Imagine this magnificence covered in oil?  Imagine the sea birds and mammals struggling through layers of oil?  Somewhere, somehow, we need to find a balance between nature, business, progress, development, environmental protection.  We are squandering the best gift mankind has ever been given --- the beauty of our earth.

Back to sewing tomorrow - finish a purse started before the trip, try my hand at making a new pair of pants by using a well-loved pair that have seen better days, and embroidering a t-shirt for our grandson that missed the deadline for his 3rd birthday.  And, watch the Lakers beat the >>>>>> out of the Celtics tomorrow night!  Go Lakers!