A Scare and Some Quilting...

Quote for the Day:

                                                      ~source unknown

Okay...so it's a "joke" instead of a "quote".  I know, I know.  BUT, after this morning, I needed a laugh and thought I'd share it with you, too!  :)

I had a scare last night and this morning.  Yesterday I took Ginger to our vet for a check up and while there we realized that she hadn't been tested for heartworm and only her rabies immunization was up-to-date.  We decided to go ahead and take care of those things, which meant that she had two injections...one in each back leg (under the skin, not in the muscle.)  BTW, she was negative for heartworm...YAY!  :)

Last night you could tell that she wasn't feeling well and she was favoring her back legs, especially the left one, when she walked.  She didn't eat or drink last evening and even messed on the floor after Andy took her out.  :(   At one point she was able to get up on our bed and was laying on the baby quilt I had put there for her to lay on.  When I tried to pick her up to get her off the bed so I could go to bed, she yelped every time I tried to pick her up.  I finally had to have Andy lift her off the bed and put her in her basket.

This morning Andy took her out, as usual, but afterward she didn't come up and jump on the bed with me to finish sleeping.  Instead she was laying on my slippers waiting for me to get up.  I noticed that she could barely walk due to her hind-end not working very well.  It was very reminiscent of the problems that Lady had when she had the neurological problems caused by her brain tumor.  :(:(:(

I immediately jumped into the shower, got dressed, and called the vet's office when they opened.  They had me bring her right down to be seen.  They have diagnosed it as a reaction to the immunizations yesterday and gave her some steroids and pain medicine as well as some to come home on. 

She is very tired now that she has been medicated, but seems to be feeling somewhat better.  Our vet is associated with a clinic in Fairmont that has Saturday hours as well as emergency coverage and the vet told me that if there is no improvement in Ginger in the morning to go to that clinic tomorrow.  She also told me that she would note in the chart that from now on Ginger will need to be "pre-medicated" when receiving vaccines so she doesn't have another reaction. 

Whew...that was a SCARE that I don't want to have again anytime soon. 

"Do I look stoned to you???"   LOL

Now onto some quilting-jabber...

The first weekend of November I'm going to take a workshop with quilting instructor/designer, Bonnie Hunter, and the main project we will be working on is "Smith Mountain Morning".   Instead of using brown and blue like she did, I'm going to make mine a Christmas quilt in red, green, and cream.  

There is a LOT of cutting involved, and since my back pain prohibits me from standing at the cutting table for long lengths of time, I started cutting out the pieces for this quilt last night, and will work on it a little at a time, as my back allows.  

So far I've got all the neutrals (creams) cut out and am currently working on the greens.  There are 336 of those little 1.5" neutral squares...all organized in stacks of 10...

These are the reds that I've pulled from my Christmas fabric stash...
 

There are a LOT of pieces in this quilt, so I'm glad I started early in getting it cut out!  :)


Now that I have the newer Singer Featherweight that I bought last week in Nashville, TN, I think I'm going to sell the first Singer Featherweight machine that I have.  I'll also sell the table that goes with it since I don't use the table when using the Featherweight.  I think I'll list it on craigslist this weekend and see how it goes.

Here's a picture of the machine and table I'm going to sell...

This one is from 1946.   The tables are very hard to find as there weren't as many of them made as there were of the machines.  

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Loretta



 

My New Furbaby...

Quote for the Day:

"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face."

 ~Ben Williams

Ever since our 13 year old Boston Terrier, Lady, crossed over the Rainbow Bridge last March, I've known that at some point I wanted another dog.  "When" was the question.  I've checked www.petfinder.com, the local humane society and animal control websites, and Boston Terrier rescue sites over the last few months looking for another Boston Terrier.  There was never a "young female" available that was "healthy, good with kids, and good around other dogs."  

I really didn't want to go through the puppy stage again and Andy didn't want one that was too old because he felt they were too "set in their ways"...meaning bad habits... by that time.  So we've been looking for one that was around 2 years old.  

While we were in Nashville, I decided to look on the internet...just for giggles....to see if there might be a bigger variety of Boston Terriers available in a big city area.  

Lo and behold...guess what we found listed on www.craigslist.com but a 2 year old, female Boston!!!  We made contact with the sellers yesterday and went to see her today!!!   

Who could resist  this little princess???

We sure couldn't resist her!!!  Her name is Ginger and she is our new furbaby!  

Erin gave her a bath after we got her home and then we...Erin, Sera, myself and Ginger...went to Petsmart and bought a new blinged-out collar, some treats and new chew toys!  We then stopped by Goodwill and I bought a soft baby blanket for her to sleep on!  

She already has Andy wrapped around her paw!  :)  She is well-mannered but doesn't seem to respond to commands like "sit", so we will need to work with her to make sure she knows at least the basic commands.  She is really good around kids as the family we got her from had 5 year old twin girls.  Sera has gotten down in her face several times and it hasn't seemed to even faze Ginger.

The sellers gave us her immunization record and everything is up-to-date, but I'll still take her into our vet for a check up soon.  

She has demonstrated that she is calm and restful during car rides...which is another thing we were looking for, since we take long car trips a couple of times a year.  

I'm very happy that we were able to find this adorable Boston Terrier and bring her into our lives and home!

Welcome to your "forever" home, Ginger!  I'm glad you're here!  :)

Loretta

More Vay-cay Updates...

Quote for the Day:

"Warning:  This vehicle stops at all quilt shops"

~from a bumper sticker

This past week at Erin and Dale's has been really fun!  We've done all sorts of things!

On Tuesday Erin, Dale, Andy and I all went to an antique mall that Dale and Erin like to frequent. While there Erin said, "Mom...come look at this little thing"...which happened to be a Singer 221 Featherweight sewing machine...in the original case...with attachments and original owners' manual...and the KEY to the case!  :)  Those of you who have looked for a Featherweight will recognize how hard it is to find the KEY to the case!  :)

Well...I guess you've figured out by now that this little baby came home with me!  LOL  I'm naming her Mary Gwendolyn after my mother!  According to her serial number she was born in the Spring of 1957...the sewing machine...not my mother!  :)

Also in the case were 2 receipts for servicing...one in 1985 and the other in 1986.   But take a look at the receipts...

...can anyone tell me what country these are from?  It only says "N.T."

I know it's been serviced more often than this, though, because everything moves freely and it is VERY CLEAN inside...hardly even any dust!  I've already taken it apart and oiled and lubed it, changed the needle, adjusted the tension, and done some test sewing on it!!!  She purrs like a kitten!  :)

Also, on Tuesday, I googled local quilt shops and found that there is one TWO STREETS over from where Erin and Dale live!!!  Oh my....that could be VERY dangerous!  

I went and checked it out and decided to "stimulate the economy" there as well.  :)  I picked up a book by Bonnie Hunter that I will need when I take a workshop from her in November.  On the right is a pattern that I bought, too.  There was a quilt made from this pattern hanging in the store and I instantly fell in LURVE with it!   So scrappy...just my style!  It will use up a LOT of scraps!  And with Fall just around the corner...like TOMORROW, to be exact...I thought the tree "leaves" would look great in fall colors...oranges, browns, dark greens, yellows and reds!

I also picked up these fabrics...just because I liked them...no specific plans for them, but you can never have enough neutrals!  And that BLUE!!!...what's not to LURVE???

Just doing my part to stimulate the local economy!  LOL

On Wednesday, Erin & I went wedding dress shopping!  The battery in my camera died after the first picture...but I can show you ONE of the dresses that she tried on... but ultimately rejected...

Yes, it is a beautiful dress.  But, no, she didn't choose this one.   She found it "rode up" too far on the leg when she sat down and didn't feel comfortable with that.  

And I'm not going to show you a picture of the one she did choose (I started taking pictures with her iPhone after my battery died) because she wants to keep it a surprise from her fiance.   Suffice it to say, she looks STUNNING in it!  :)

Wednesday was Sera's actual birthday, so we all went out to eat supper at McNamara's.  Great food and a live band that sang "Happy Birthday" to Sera from the stage!  :)   

On Thursday, Andy and I found an estate sale where the couple was selling everything and moving into a motor home to travel around the USA.  Fortunately for ME, the lady of the house was a QUILTER!!!  I bought some fabric off of her, too!  Just doing what I can for the economy...

I'm going to leave you with two more pictures of the grandkiddos...just because I can...it's my blog!  

When Andrew was here, he spent most of his time playing with the magnets on the fridge!  Here he is after moving them into the shape of a heart!  I think he's looking up at the ones he can't reach at the top of the fridge!  LOL

Don't you love his suspenders???  Just like Grandpa wears!  :)

And here's one of the "birfday" girl!  :)  

I just love these kiddos!  If I knew how much fun grandchildern are I would have had more children!  LOL

Loretta

Where In The World Have I Been???

Quote for the Day:

"I'm so happy the family is coming over so we can all talk over each other 

at extremely loud volumes."

~author unknown

I was contacted by one of my readers...who also happens to be my niece... to let me know that I hadn't posted on my blog for several days!   Okay....I get the hint!  LOL

We've been in Tennessee visiting with our daughter, Erin, her fiance, Dale, and her daughter, Sera.

If you are astute, you will notice that I called Dale Erin's FIANCE!  Yep...it's official!  The first night we arrived, Dale took all of us up to "Love Circle" in downtown Nashville to "show us the skyline at sunset."  While there he just "happened" to pull out a HUGE diamond ring and proposed to Erin!  

After all of that excitement, we all went out to eat at J. Alexander's in Nashville to celebrate!  When we told the waitress what the occasion was, she brought us dessert "on the house" as a gift from the restaurant!  :)

The next day, Paul, Trinity, and Andrew arrived in from Georgia because this just happens to be Sera's 6th birthday, and of course, we all came out to celebrate it with her!  :)   

Her party was held at the local park and as you can see, the kids had a ball...even if they are all incognito!  LOL

Saturday afternoon Erin, Trinity, and I went and got pampered with pedicures!   

On Saturday night, the family went out to eat at Hattie B's in downtown Nashville.  Let's just say that Paul...who likes extremely hot and spicy food...finally met his match!  LOL  I think smoke was coming out of his ears before the meal was finished!   LOL

The rest of the weekend was spent just enjoying each other's company, watching TV, etc.  You know...just relaxing!  :)  

Monday was a rainy, yucky day so we decided to do some "indoor" stuff.  Dale, Andy, and I went to Antique Archaeology...the "American Pickers" store in Nashville. 

No...Mike and Frank were not there.  :(   The store is really small even though it is in a HUGE warehouse building, so it didn't take long to go through it.  I have to say, I was a little disappointed for as much stuff as Mike and Frank "pick" that they didn't have much stuff in the store.  :(   I think they make most of their money at this store from the sale of "American Pickers" souvenirs.

But here's a couple of pictures from the inside of the store...

The second picture basically shows one half of the store, so you can see that it isn't very big.  After leaving there we proceeded to visit an antique mall....nice and big...more to our liking.  :)  Dale found some FireKing glassware there, but Andy and I walked out empty-handed.  That's okay...we like browsing anyway!  :)

Stay tuned for more "exciting" vacation recap coming up in another day or so!  :)

Loretta

Such Fun...

What do all these foods have to do with each other???

And what do they have to do with my blog post???

Well...for today this is what my diet consists of.  Clear liquids.  *yay*  

Food of the gods...NOT!!!  

Actually, this is part of the prep for my endoscopy and colonoscopy tomorrow.  You don't even want to know what the rest of the "prep" is that starts this afternoon.  :(  Let me just tell you that the instructions from the doctor's office tell you to stay close to a commode/toilet.  Can you say "UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR"???    

As for quilting...I've been moving right along on Diana's dresden plate quilt.  It has 6 rows of blocks and I am on the last 2 blocks of the second row!  

I've also been working on another small project, but it is a gift, so I can't show you until it has been received by its intended victim recipient.  :)

Loretta

 

Getting "Stoned"...

Quote for the Day:

"I'm picturing what it's like every time you renovate. 

There's a big hole in the wall and two paramedics."
~"Jill Taylor" in Home Improvement (TV Series)

Twenty-eight years ago Andy & I became parents for the first time and started on an amazing new life path together.  No longer was it just about "us" anymore.  We now had a new love in our lives.  Who could have guessed where that new path would take us, but I'm glad we took it!  We have been blessed by our children and can't imagine what life would have been like without them...or their partners...or the GRANDCHILDREN!  :)

So I want to take this opportunity to wish my dear son, Paul, and his wife, Trinity, a very Happy Birthday!!!  (Yes...they share the same birthday, though he is one year older than her!) 

We've been slowwwwwllllyyy renovating our kitchen for the last 16 months.  With Andy & I both off for the 3-day holiday weekend that just passed (Labor Day Weekend here in the USA), we decided to tackle some more of the kitchen.  We didn't get the whole current "project" done, but we managed to get it about 3/4's completed.  YAY!  

I was waffling back and forth as to whether to show what we have finished so far, or wait until we get this whole "section" completed.  But, I'm so proud of what we accomplished that I'm going to show you our progress!

There is an alcove between a chimney and the door to the wrap-around porch where the stove sits...

We decided to "brick" it in using Airstone.  It was slow going at first because the floor is un-level (our house was built in 1927 and there is nothing level anymore!), but once we got past the first couple of rows and I got into the "swing" of it, it started going faster.  Also, in the beginning, I was doing it by myself because Andy was working on finishing up an area of beadboard around the cabinets.  Once he finished that area, he started helping me by cutting the stones that needed cutting and then I was able to just concentrate on the actual "laying" of the brick/stone.

Note the shims...the valiant attempt to start out level!  LOL

After working on this project Sunday afternoon, all of Monday, and Tuesday evening after Andy got off of work, this is what it looks like now...



Ta-da!!!  I love how it's looking!!!  There are some beautiful stone houses in Fairmont, WV, that I drool over every time I'm in that town.  I LOVE them!  As we were working on this project, I told Andy that I feel like I finally have my "stone" house!  :)  At least this is as close as I'll ever get to owning one!  :)

Here's a close-up for ya...

It looks and feels just like real stone! 

My body is sore beyond belief from working on this project (lots of kneeling, bending, and up and down the ladder), but it has definitely been worth it.  We have to finish the area up near the ceiling on this wall and then do 2 sides of the chimney before we can call this area "done", but we hope to make another big dent in the project...and possibly even finish this part up... this coming weekend.  :)



Loretta