MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Home Sweet Home!  Nothing can replace Christmas at Home!  I'm here after 4 returns to the hospital and too many days looking out the window wishing I was home. It might be a year without all the fixing's and fuss but it's Christmas at Home!!  Merry Christmas to all of you!

Thirty days!

This was some mountain I climbed but I think I'm over it now. I don't even want to talk about it. I still fall asleep without warning but I did get Thanksgiving dinner made so that was a good sign.

This was dinner for 2. It tasted the same, just not so pretty...no flowers and all I could find for candles in the house was the white emergency candles I have hidden for when the lights go out. 

Tomorrow I have all day doctor visits so today I'll be doing my Amazon shopping and sewing up some American girl dresses I promised.

Since I could breath today I thought I'd let you all know that I'm still here!  As I get stronger I hope to post more.  

Still here

Just a note to let you all know I'm still here!  Will use a copy off my Facebook just because it's easier for me right now...............So here goes;

Just a note...The word Hospital has been my life for the past week or so. I have been paralyzed without the ability of forming sentences.....but like Jack N........Honey, I'm Home!! :) They thought it was the end....family gathered.....but no so fast, I hung onto my Monkey Quilt, fought with them through slurred speech, signed myself home and each day I am improving....little by little. Nothing like having a MONKEY on your back! :)Don't count me out yet. I might see 2017! Love ya all!!

Just a Quickie...lots going on at my house!

Usually when bad things happen in life there is also the good that comes with it. Maybe this is why I am still here. We won't talk about the bad but the good is having 2 of my grand kids living here with me. The last few days have been stressful but sooner or later you get the house straightened out and then you can enjoy the pleasure that goes with it.

I do need some help. We are looking for a good school in South Carolina, a college for the fall of next year. We are behind in doing the things that should have been done by now but I'm hoping I'll keep running well enough to visit some schools with my granddaughter.

In the meantime my grands son's stay with me will be a short one. He'll be leaving for the Army in January. So while we'll be running around the computer putting together college visits he'll be running around the corn fields getting himself in shape for boot camp.

Time for fall...too many 90 degree days!

I've been suffering with our daily 90 to 95 degree days. It's not normal for Pennsylvania and even with the wind we get from the blue mountains the wind is HOT!  Walmart has the holiday on so I decided after coming across a table runner I made a few years ago that I'd create my own fall.....colorful maple leaves, pumpkins, children in costume and a pumpkin ghost....didn't do anything for the 90 degree day's heat but it did make me smile!

MRI over with

Got this Brain thing over with. No cancer in my brain. Appears that the RA that has taken over my neck has also taken over my sight, hearing and head pain. I have to laugh. Everyone is so concerned over the cancer but it's the RA that's giving me real pain and trouble. Just for fun here is ME..not to glamorus!  My mouth looks like a monkey!

Still fighting

It's been a few weeks of sleeping, problems with vision and the use of my hands but once again I seem to be getting stronger and able to stay up and running for a while. Today I pulled out tomato plants and cleared that bed, ironed a stack of shirts and pillow cases that had piled up and baked a cake...big improvement !

I wanted to wear my new apron that Rita sent to me and show you all this cleaver idea. It wouldn't take much to copy it. It's a man's over sized shirt with the sleeve's cut out and the front sewn down. I love it...Thanks Rita.

             
She also sent me a garden flag that she knew would remind me of times past. Life has changed since we left Lancaster Pa. for Texas. But this flag pretty much is the picture of what use to be. I have it in my Sun flower garden.

and now back to bed. I've had a pretty big day, first one in many weeks. I just want to rest now. Besides the heat has been awful and takes a lot out of me. It's been hotter here then it was in Texas......humid and just plain hot and sticky!

Quick up date

Oh yes, I'm plugging along!  Today was the MRI but they forgot to send me for the blood test needed for the dye they will use...so no MRI today.

I got a surprise in the mail today from Rita...Thank you Rita! It's so special that I thought I'd wear it and take a photo for you all, something I rarely do. I have most of my vision back and the use of my hands. I bought the whipping cream and cake flour for the Elvis pound cake which I think should make a good photo if I can stay up on my feet that long.

I just want you all to know I'm still fighting. I love the fall with it's cooler days and leaves falling in colorful piles. I'd sure hate being this close to fall and missing out on it.  I'll be back in a few days to show you all Rita's gift.

Getting control of my journey again

Wow, I am glad we did the vacation to the Sea Shore and then it also was my birthday...I made another one to my surprise! SEVENTY ONE!  At the same time the bottom fell out and the cancer took over control...so not by choice I became the missing.

I'm coming back slowly and it's you who lead the way. Even when I can't post, I do read and look at your posts and what you are doing. On August 16th I'll be getting an MRI of the brain...maybe some of my questions will be answered with that. So thanks for the emails asking me to wake up, post and get with it!  I don't have total control yet but as your emails push me on I'm grabbing onto life and taking the road of my choice and not that of Cancer's.  Thanks to all...please keep up the posting and I'll be back very soon!

The reason for the vacation

Of course there was the usual rides and games on the boardwalk

The famous Steel Pier. The Pier use to go out in the Ocean much farther but over time the many storms, a fire and age took it down. Today it's lost it's luster, a few rides and games is about it.

But in it's day...a bathing beauty sat upon a horse on a tall platform and dove into a pool of water.

I did get to buy and eat Salt Water Taffy made by the original candy company, still in business and still sending it's candy all over the world as a sign says displayed among the candy boxes.

 All of this is man made and not the reason I told my son I wanted to go to the ocean. The waves, sand and looking out and not being able to see where the ocean starts and ends. Running my feet through the sand and watching the tiny clams dig themselves back into the wet sand. The wonder of how we got here and where I'm going.......

Beauty in the dark

Early one morning Dave decided to take a bike ride on the boardwalk. I sat looking out at the ocean for a while and then my adventuresome nature took over and even though I knew I might get lost I decided to go out on my own and see more of this fabulous building.  I took the escalator to the bottom floor thinking I could easily find my way back if I just stayed in the bottom area. It was very dark. To me it looked like the forgotten basement but it wasn't. It was the area where the theaters were so they used tiny lights that barely lit the area to give you the feeling of being in the lobby of a theater. It was a huge area with doors at the end that went out onto a patio.

As I made my way down the "hall" that was about 30 feet wide and made me feel very small, I saw in the dimmed light something sparkly behind glass. To my delight this is what I found::::

There were two of these mounted behind glass. Totally hand stitched and beaded. They were about 20 X 15 and each figure was more beautiful then the last one I looked at. I stayed for a long time just running my finger over each line of stitching and found no mistakes..none. A long time pasted. I couldn't get enough of these tapestries. But I did pull myself away so I could at least go out onto the patio and be able to say I did something other then get off the elevator and look at this art.

The door took me to the front on the building where the employee's were picketing. They were a pretty loud bunch but no where near the 1000 they said they were expecting. They beat on drums and sang out their demand, all wearing red Union shirts....no one cared. It's pretty clear that the Casino only has a trickle of people compared to what they had before all the States around New Jersey opened their own Casino's. You can't get money out of an empty bank.

The sad thing is thinking this wonderful building could see it's end. Some other Casino's have been built and never opened...what a shame. They are talking about making them into schools or business offices. I'm just glad I got to see this one before it changed.

It was time to go back to the room. Taking two elevators somehow changed the route back and I did get lost. After roaming around many floors I decided to ask for an escort..he laughed and hopped from one floor to another and had me back to my room in no time.

Vacation continued

I guess all casino's are extra beautiful but this being the first one I've ever been too, I was really impressed. We were on the 94th floor. We had to take 2 elevators to reach our floor.

The outside steps were lit up with red cut glass flowers

The chandeliers that lit the escalators were huge...the sparkle was so bright I had to close my eyes

  Tomorrow I'll try and show you my greatest find in the basement of the Hotel.

Vacation

It's time to let you see some of my vacation. Unfortunately we both came home sick. My son is finally getting better but I'm having trouble this time pulling myself back on my feet. This vacation was GREAT! We could have stayed much longer just to do things we missed and to walk around the Hotel and enjoy it's beauty.

I'll start here......greeted by this fellow

Arriving at the Taj Mahal this was our first site of it

The Lobby...oh my, I can't tell you how beautiful it was. Flowers and glass chandeliers, big and bold and making good use of the colors of India....red and orange. The lobby was like standing in line at a large airport.

 Marble everywhere...walls, floors tables all in beautiful colors.

We'll stop here today. I'm hoping for a serge of strength in the next few days.

A Vacation surprise

It's been years since I've been to the Sea Shore in New Jersey. It was our big vacation when I was a kid and then it was the vacation of choice when my kids were little. My son wanted to surprise me with this vacation and pump it up with staying at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino. I've never been to a Casino and most likely won't give up more then one dollar at this one but people watching is always interesting!  I'm looking forward to all the things I remember before they tore Atlantic City apart. Fudge, cotton candy on a stick, salt water taffy, hot dogs and french fries served in a paper cup and a ride on the Ferris wheel!

Then of course there is the beautiful Hotel I've seen in ads over the years and could never afford the prices. Now that Atlantic City is trying to have a come-back after the closing of many casino's the prices are inviting. But as things go, this vacation is having a surprise my son didn't expect when he booked the rooms. STRIKE

Everyone said they won't do it and who cares any way you're only going to sleep there. No one can take away the beauty and all the photo's you can take. It's on the beach and boardwalk and I can even rent a sand going wheelchair. Well, while thinking that over, they went on strike. Let's hope when I come home all I have to tell you is good....and I didn't have to make my own bed!

So we'll be off on our adventure on Tuesday. Just think of all the calories I'll be eating..Oh, as I remember it the Fudge goes down much too easy!

Confused

I hope this all passes. I am confused and can't remember what I said last. I wrote an email, fell asleep at the computer and woke to the letter H on the screen...now did I send the email or delete it and who did I write it too???  I can take all this sick stuff but it's scary when your mind doesn't work.

When things get too much for me to handle I go shopping and this time I needed out of the house so we headed off to Wal Mart to get medicines filled. It was my day after all. They were marking a cart of fabric's down to $1.00 a yard, not the quilting kind of fabric but the fun stuff you end up making neat things out of. I got yards and yards of red velvet to make a new cover for the train platform and muslin for the liner to make it have some body.

Then the fancy reds and green velvet's for those fancy stockings...maybe some crazy quilting too. Heavy brown and yellow suede that I use for the bottoms on pincushions so they don't slide all over and plastic that will make nice rain coats for American Girl type dolls.

I can never pass up a Goodwill so next was a visit to one in the same parking lot. Always check out the craft section first. Wow...a bag filled with Joann fat quarters and some other cuts of fabric, price...$1.97!

By this time my compression stockings were feeling too tight and I needed to get home where I could put my legs up and go through my bags!  So a day that started out with bad thoughts of what will happen to me if my mind goes ended with thoughts of things I have patterns for in our magical world of sewing and things I can create just from looking at the color and design of the fabric.

Whom ever said sewing was out of fashion hasn't had the thrill of putting their makeup in a bag they made or picking up that hot pot with a pot holder created for them by a friend. I didn't need that $200. an hour counselor after all. The magic of sewing fixed all that was wrong for now...yeah!

Working on the bucket list

I've jumped all over my bucket list. Nothing like taking one step after another. After the flower  garden quit, I moved onto my shower curtain. I've been replacing a lot of things so when I'm gone my son won't be surrounded with pastel flowers and worn out appliances and bedding. I talked him into a new mattress and then we moved onto colors. Since he is working with the military and is waiting for a home on the base, he picked red, white and blue. The first thing was installing a 9 foot flag in the living room and photo's of him, his grandfather and brothers. I can't take photo's of that area right now since it's being washed, painted and of course the train platform is taking up the center and needs to be worked on.

I went to the bath room to start. First I replaced the towels, hand towels and wash cloth's in shades of blue and tan and red. I also replaced the bath mats and a new rubber maid mat for the tub. Now it was onto the shower curtain. I wanted to keep with the colors but wasn't feeling stars flying all over. I found one on Amazon that looked good. It had embroidered flowers on one section and was fancy shiny fabric. Only one problem, the bottom section was not blue. Instead it was dark brown.

I ordered it anyway. Got my son to take me for a trip to Joann fabric and picked up a yard of blue fabric. It didn't take but a little over an hour to have the right color scheme. Now all that is left is finding a soap dish and brush holder.

                                                                                                                                                                     A little too much light in the room. The new blue is not so bright and the red is more a cherry red.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Six years later!

Today I finished one of the quilts. Many mistakes later it is finally done!  About 6 years ago a friend from Russia made a beautiful quilt she called The Flower Garden. She graciously said I could copy the quilt. The last time I worked on the quilt was when I was living in Texas in 2010.

My Amish friends told me not to worry about the mistakes. After a washing they would find a place to hide in the soft folds of the quilt...and they did!

  This is Roolen's beautiful quilt.

And this is mine.

I used points on my quilt.

One more large quilt to finish and then I'm done my life time of quilt making. I'll be doing piles of pot holders, purses and totes that I already have cut out and some lady pin cushion's.

April 9th..Spring??

Spent the past days in Pittsburgh, Pa. at the RA doctor. It poured cats and dogs across the state and back again!  But....this morning rain would seem pleasant compared to what we woke up too...an all day event!

Looks like today will be a day of quilting on one of the quilts and reading my new book, Killing Regan. I don't think I'll need an excuse to take a nap too when it's 28, windy and snow is blowing against a heavy dark sky.

Last week was national crayon day. I've always loved crayons! Getting a box of 64 crayons was always on my list of things I wanted. When my boys would empty their school bags on the last day of school every June, the crayons that were in good shape went into a tin can. Over the years I managed to gather 2 cans of crayons which eventually the grandchildren used up one can. I still have one can. I noticed many of the crayons were pink or from the pink family...laughing...with 4 boys pink crayons were just not used to color GI Joe or Ninja turtles!

I've just decided, as I sit here, to take advantage of the winter's last stand. I'm going to get dressed warm and take a stroll in the yard and look and see if the blue birds are in their house staying warm.

Busy Day

Yesterday I saw the oncologist. She is amazed at how well I am doing since I completed the radiation. I don't know how long it will last but I'll take whatever it wants to give me!

I was charging along today until I checked on the Pa. eagle who is busy sitting on 2 eggs. Wow, just as I clicked it open she got up long enough for baby #1 to wiggle out of the egg shell!  So cute, white and fuzzy. The Daddy brought some dead fish to celebrate..I could really do without that part but life is not all pretty.

I don't know how to post the link on here but it's Pennsylvania game commission. I'll be watching the rest of the day and night until #2 arrives.

Oh how I love to get surprise's from Amazon. The card reads, "Merry early Christmas, Mom...Dave. I guess my house cleaning is done for a few days!  I just know I'll want the rest of these books...heck, will these quilts ever get done?

I guess I better get the dinner made. That's the least I can do for son who always finds ways to make me smile!