AND...We Have a DATE!!!

Quote for the Day:

"I'm older, I'm matured... I'm looking forward to the years to come. Good years."

~Whitney Houston

This week I found out that we DO have an orthopedic surgeon that does Cubital Tunnel Release surgery at our hospital!  I called his office yesterday and, lo and behold, they were able to get me in for a consultation visit this morning!

Surgery is set for March 21!!!  

I'm so glad we are getting this show on the road because I am losing function and strength in my right hand daily!!!

This week I noticed that I now struggle to put a glove on my right hand because my last two fingers don't do what my brain tells them to do.  I also have lost so much strength since even just last week, that I can no longer use a nail-clipper with my right hand, open jars, etc,....things I could still do just last week.  I feel like I can't grasp a knife tight enough to be able to use it effectively, it keeps feeling like it's going to slip out of my hand.

Today the doctor showed me, by comparing my two hands side-by-side, how much muscle atrophy I've had in my right hand because of this nerve entrapment.  

I am frantically trying to finish up the customer quilt that I have in the frame right now, but I'm finding it awkward to hold and pull the needle through the fabric.  I'm so close to being done with this quilt and I want it done and to the customer before the surgery.

I'm also having a LOT of trouble typing, so please excuse me if I'm not able to do many more posts till after the surgery.  My arm goes so terribly numb and begins to throb from the pain when I try to use the computer for too long.  I have to keep dropping my right arm to my side to let the pain release from it.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO ready for this to be over with and get back on track with my life!  

Loretta

A Diagnosis...Now for the Treatment...

Quote for the Day:

"I was going to have cosmetic surgery until I noticed that the doctor's office was full of portraits by Picasso."

~Rita Rudner

Since about Thanksgiving I've had progressive numbness of the last two fingers on my right hand as well as the outer 1.5" of my right palm.  

No, this is not my hand...but it shows the area that is numb ALL DAY, EVERY DAY...

As the symptoms got worse, I was pretty sure what it was, but had to have a visit to a neurologist and have a nerve conduction test, or EMG, done to make the final diagnosis and get treatment ordered.

Yesterday was that day, and I do, in fact, have Cubital Tunnel syndrome...just as I and my primary care provider thought.  The neurologist has ordered a custom splint for my elbow and has referred me to an orthopedic surgeon so that I can get the surgery to correct the problem.  

Unfortunately, there is no surgeon at the hospital I work at that does this type of surgery, so I will be having it at West Virginia University Hospital.  It is more nerve-wracking for me to have the surgery amongst strangers than if I were having it among my friends and co-workers.  :(

In the meantime, while I am waiting to have my consultation interview with the surgeon, I am frantically trying to finish up the quilt that is in my frame so it will be done before I have to have surgery.  I am on the final stretch...

I have already made sure that I finished the other quilt that needed to get done in a timely manner...the baby quilt for our new grandson due in June!  That quilt is completed, but I can't post about it yet, because it is a gift.  Once it has been gifted to my daughter, I will post pictures!  :)

Loretta

It's a CUPCAKE!!!

Quote for the Day:

Q. What is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex?

A. Childbirth.

Our daughter, Erin, is pregnant and due in June.  She had her "gender" ultrasound this past Wednesday but instead of finding out from the technician what the gender was, they had the technician  put the info into an envelope and seal it.  On Valentine's Day, she and Dale went out to dinner where they opened the envelope and found out what they were having!  How romantic, right?

So, I wanted to share with you all that that they are having a ....................

...they wouldn't tell us!!!  

Instead, this morning, a cupcake was delivered to our house by Almost Heaven Cupcakes, a local company here in Grafton!  

Isn't this a BEAUT!!!  (No, it's not gluten-free, but I can eat the frosting, which is the part that Andy doesn't eat, anyway!)

Shortly thereafter, Andy & I got on webcam with Erin, Dale, Sera, and Lucy (Dale's mom) and had a cupcake-cutting session, wherein Lucy, Sera, Andy and I got to "see" whether the baby is a boy or a girl!!!  

All four of us cut open our cupcakes at exactly the same time...one...two...THREE...

IT'S A BOY!!!!!

I had a feeling that it was a boy, but my "feeling" was wrong with the last grandbaby, so wasn't too sure how accurate my "feeling" was going to be on this one!   Although, I did have a 50/50 chance of being correct, right?  LOL

Another grandson for Andy and me to love, cuddle, kiss, and enjoy!!!   I can't wait!!!  I just love them grandbabies!!!  

The baby's quilt-top is finished, sandwiched, and under the needle of the sewing machine.  I started machine-quilting it yesterday.  It is in the gender-neutral colors of mint green and gray that Erin had asked for (her nursery colors)!  

When it is finished I will get started on my signature receiving blankets that I make...two layers of flannel back to back, serged around the outside, and then crocheted around the edge!

Loretta

Cabin Fever...

I'm soooooooo ready for winter to be over and for SPRING to get here!  With all the cold weather and snow, Andy has been working day and night (he does heating and air conditioning repair), so unless we are working, we are basically housebound.  

Today I felt like I needed to get OUT and to peruse some antique stores.  I am looking for a wall shelf/cabinet with glass doors...something about the size of a medicine cabinet...to display my sewing-related collectibles in my sewing room.  I found one on Ebay that would have been perfect, but with the price of shipping, it was just too much.  :(

I told Andy that I was going to go "antiquing" and asked if he wanted to come along.  He jumped at the chance to get out of the house without it being something having to do with work!  

Our first stop was a consignment store where I picked up these vintage hand-embroidered pillow cases for 75¢ each!!!  I plan on cutting them up and using the embroidered part in a quilt I have planned using 1930's reproduction fabric!  :)

Our next two stops were at "country/primitive" decor stores and I picked up a gift for someone and one of those soap dispensers that look like a canning jar...similar to this...

At our final stop...an antique mall...I saw lots of BEAUTIFUL quilts, but, alas, none came home with me.

A beautiful bow-tie quilt from feedsacks!  

AHHHH...the mother-lode of quilts!!!

And even MORE quilt scrumptiousness!!!

Mind you, it was VERY difficult to walk by them, but I did stop to "fondle" them a little!  LOL

At the antique mall, I also saw these aluminum tumblers, complete with carrier...

Does anybody else remember growing up with these???  I don't believe that our family actually owned any, but I do remember drinking from them back in the 60's and 70's!   Do you remember how ICE cold they got from the ice and drinks inside and the condensation would run down the outsides???  The aluminum got so cold that I was always afraid my lips would stick to them like your tongue does to frosty metal!  LOL



Memories!!!

Loretta

Here It Is!!!!

Quote for the Day:

"To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not

 be able to keep our mind strong and clear."

~Buddha

Many of you know that I have just spent the last three years living with debilitating chronic pain due to arthritis, herniated discs, and spinal stenosis.  

In October of 2013 I found a new chiropractor who has CHANGED MY LIFE!!!  

He asked me to do a taped testimonial, which we worked on last week and this week.  Jason, the cinematographer, did an EXCELLENT job and it was a pure joy to work with him!

So now, without further ado, here is the finished product...





Loretta