What I"ve Been Doing Today

Taking pictures with my new camera! LOL Marine Daughter bought it off of Ebay and then decided she didn't want it so I am trying it out! I like my old one but this one has many new features and tricks! Look at the pollen on that bee! I did have to get closer than I normally like being to a bee, but he was so busy flitting from one dandelion to another that he payed no attention to me! I took a few other pictures of flowers around the yard but the dandelion/bee ones are my favorites.
I've been crocheting, working, and still becoming acclimated to having the Mother-in-law here with us. But all is going well and I am glad she is here and safe and is getting happier by the day.
Today has been one of the few days we have had without rain! YIPPEE!!.... We so need to start on the new house, but it has been too wet to do it, I am praying that it stops raining so we can finally get started!
Also, on Friday afternoon I got a call from work telling me I am laid off for next week. I hope it only lasts a week but one never knows. At least I can still draw unemployment and get some organizing done here at home.
The hubster also got the mower ready to mow, he put brand new blades on it, and then hit a cable that he had left laying in the yard. Not too much damage was done to the new blades and they were still in pretty good condition. Today when he went to his Mom's to mow her lawn, I started mowing ours and hit a short but nice sized piece of angle iron that probably fell off of someone's load of scrap passing the house. I had just walked that area of the yard to make sure there was nothing there that I would run over too. This time it did ruin the new blades and also another part that the blades go into...hubster is now looking up the part to order. Hopefully it won't cost too much!
It's time for this old lady to get off of here and get to making supper!
Wishing you all a wonderful evening!

I'm sad today

I'm sad today. Just sad.
For 10 months now we (as a family) have been dealing with health issues with the hubsters Mother. Ten months ago she was admitted into the hospital with a heart condition (A-Fib is what sil's referred to it as...I am not a nurse so I don't understand it all), but I guess she got out of it before she was discharged, but she was put on several new medicines. She just didn't seem to improve much over the next few months, was not very active, could not keep up on house work or regular day to day chores, and wouldn't let us help her either. Everyone tried but the woman cannot throw anything away....I mean not even a newspaper or the ads from them (there might be something in there she wants). As feared, the inevitable happened and she fell and broke her right shoulder. It could have been so much worse, we were lucky. She moved from her house into ours and like I had suspected got lots better before she was allowed to start physical therapy. She was getting her meds on time, at the same time, and the right dosages everyday. At the end of three weeks she was doing much better! Then she went to her youngest daughters house for physical therapy and continued to get better, not only did it help her shoulder but she began walking better, looking better, and feeling better. Her goal was to eventually be able to move back to her house. After 5 months of being cared for she was ready, some of us had our doubts whether she would be successful, we had been noticing short term memory loss and worried that she would not take her meds properly. The family decided to give her a chance anyway. The hubster and I still did not like this but so as not to cause too many problems agreed to it. He and I would still check on her everyday, I would take her to all Dr. visits, run errands, and he would check on her every evening before coming home. The first week went pretty well, I found a few pills on the floor though or one or two on a table by her chair, or maybe one left in the compartment of her pill organizer. This was not good and I pointed it out to her...she always had an expanation and swore that she was taking them right. The following weeks, she just went downhill. Becoming less active and motivated to do things, I was still finding pills laying around or on the floor. At the end of week three at home, I went to pick her up for a Dr.s appointment and she was shaky, breathing heavy, and very wobbly on her feet. She made it through her appointment fine, but got worse in the afternoon. I called one of her daughters and discussed the situation with her, it was decided that I should make an appointment for her to see her regular Dr. the next morning. We did, and he sent her to the hospital for testing, she was admitted with congestive heart failure, but we were told it could have been much worse. The Dr. called me into his office the next day and said that she should not and could not live on her own any longer, the family had to decide "what next". He said she could not be trusted to take her medicine right, that it was obvious from what he was seeing that she had not been taking it right or perhaps not at all. Wow....I did not want to tell her this, but I needed to. I called the hubster and his sister and we all thought it would be best if I told her but they be there...which was fine with me, except I still didn't WANT to do it. We got through it ok...she was very upset with the news and mad at the Dr. for thinking she wasn't taking her meds right when she Knew was! Never mind all the pills I've found in places they shouldn't be! LOL I mentioned this to her and she said "well, Theresa....that only happens when you're around!" LOL...I wonder what happens when I'm not around?!!
She spent from the 12th until the 16th in the hospital and has come to our house. I don't know if this is going to be permanent or temporary. The Dr. said not even assisted living for now. He wants to see if her memory, activity level, and motivation improves. He doesn't think any place would accept her for assisted living right now. She is not happy and wants to just go home. She keeps saying that she is going to try her hardest to take her meds on time and keep them straight and prove that Dr. wrong! I had to remind her twice yesterday afternoon to take a pill before she finally did and then she was reminded three times with in 30 minutes last night that it was time to take night time meds., finally I just took them to her.
I also mentioned to the Dr. that I had noticed a little bit of paranoia when she was at her house. If she couldn't find something she would blame the last person that had visited for either taking it, hiding it or putting it away where it didn't belong. If that didn't work, then she suspected an intruder had come in and done something with it. Sometimes she would say "I just don't know why so and so would do this to me, or I don't know why my kids want to hide my things."

All of this is why I am sad today.

Four weeks and counting

I just finished my 4th full week of being laid off, and did not get the call to come back, yet. I sure hope to find out some good news on that end! Thank goodness for unemployment, and the time off has been really great....but....I am ready to get back to work! After this week our insurance is cut off unless we want to pay it all ourselves which is not a financial option right now as that would cost more a month than I make on unemployment.

UPDATE ON CROCHETING

I have been busy crocheting and all the kids got homemade Christmas presents this year. They all seemed to like them and I think I will be making more for next year too! Right now I am working on a sweater for me, just finished one for me and one for my Marine DD for Christmas too. Here are some pics of the Christmas presents:
This was for my oldest son who is getting married this year, he has always wanted me to make him one, so I finally did!
This was for my son-in-law who has been teasing me to make one of these for him...his face was priceless when he opened it!
A pillow for my grandson.
and one for the granddaughter!
a book bag for my oldest daughter.
A sweater for my Marine Daughter
Marine dd modeling the sweater I made for future dil.
and the willy warmers my Marine son asked for to give as gag gifts to his Marine buddies. I also crocheted a Christmas stocking filled with little gifts and a Tree decorated with small ornaments for him!

UPDATE ON FAMILY THINGS

We will be having a wedding in October also! Our oldest son is getting married to the most wonderful girl we could ask for! They make the most perfect couple, so good for each other! She has her dress, the bridesmaids dresses, and the tuxes all picked out and ordered. We have been getting silk flowers bought and just need to sit down and get the particulars worked out.
Our oldest daughter and her family have moved into a better part of the city too! Such a relief for me...I hated driving to the other side to visit them and it was not a good neighborhood either! Her step kids are growing up so fast...it's hard to believe the youngest was just a baby when they met! He will go to pre-K next year!
And we now have 2 Marines in the family! Our youngest son has been stationed in Japan and loves it, it took a very little time for him to adjust to the Marine life, but he says he likes it and doesn't know what else he would be doing if he had not joined! Our baby daughter graduated boot camp last November and is currently in North Carolina taking classes for her job. She said she got her orders last week and she will also be going to Japan. We all know how orders can change, and she did put Japan down as her first choice. As long as she is happy...then Momma's happy....well for the most part anyway! I hate having the two of them so far away and we may not be able to afford to go visit with the wedding and building of the new house...but I am sure going to try! Marine son was very happy to find out his sister was coming over!
I have three nieces who are expecting this spring and summer too! Two on my side and one on the hubsters! The hubsters mother is doing well after being sick and in the hospital last April. She was in for a week, came home, was not getting better and her house was a mess, and she would not let any of us try to help her. Bad situation turned worse when she fell and broke her right shoulder. She then moved in with us for about a month, got much better since she was getting her meds at the right time and was actually sleeping in a bed for the first time in months! She was getting the rest she needed and the care she needed too. She then went to stay with her youngest dd for physical therapy for about 3 months. When that was finished she desperately wanted to go back to her house. Not all of her kids agreed that this was a good idea, but they all agreed to let her try. So far after two weeks she is doing ok...but personally...I don't think it will take long for her to get headed back to where she was before she fell. Hopefully we will have the new house done and she will want to come over here.
I think that's it for now! Thanks for visiting! I will try to get some more pics of projects I've been working on up in a little while!

Wow...long time

Well...it's been over a year since I've been here! Looks like I have a lot of work to do to get it caught up. Probably won't, just sayin'...... I am going to try to get here though with current updates and projects. A lot has happened in the past year that I may or may not mention...if anyone is interested you can always leave a comment and I will try to answer any questions!
Wishing anyone who visits a happy day!

Purse Tote Swap

Thank you so much Clocke! This package arrived today and it is so wonderful!



This tote is amazing! It is large, It is roomy, it is done in my favorite colors (rust and brown), and it is absolutely gorgeous! I also received 2 skeins of Peru Chunky Luxury and a bag of the best smelling coffee in the world! I am not kidding...I may hate to use this coffee because it smells so good! And I think I will sleep with the tote if nothing else to keep it out of DD's hands! I don't know if she liked the tote or the packing peanuts more! LOL I think the tote wins! The stitching on this tote is just gorgeous too! It is felted, but not so much that all the stitches have disappeared...it is truly beautiful! I absolutely love this and I know it will be my favorite for many years!

Well now that we have both received our packages I can post pics of what I sent Clocke!
Here is the whole package:



Her tote is from the current issue of Interweave Crochet. It is the Felted Overlay Tote. She was such a great partner and made this swap so much fun and interesting too!

Long time gone!

I see it's been a couple of months since I posted anything! All I can say is that life gets busy and I can only do so many things in one day. I do have some things to post but can't show the tote I'm doing for a c'ville swap since my partner hasn't received it yet. That will come later. I'm working on some Candy Corn Cone Hats that can be found here
Here is a pic of my daughter modeling it for me. She said you can't have a normal face and model this hat!





And here's a pic of another little stuffy that I tested for Stormy





I finished these last month for my nieces baptism. My sister loved them! I liked the way they turned out too.









And a scarf I designed:





Here is a silk wedding bouquet I did for a friends daughter. I still need to take pictures of my daughters bouquets and such and get them posted (boy am I behind!)





I will be doing another wedding for November as soon as they get the silk flowers to me. All of our kids are getting married now...next it will be baby gifts to crochet for all of them!

Well I think that is all for today. I am not feeling well and I think I will just go back to bed and hope I'm feeling well enough for work tonight! Thanks for visiting and looking!

A couple of tests

Here are a couple of things I have recently tested for people. The first is a shawl I tested for someone at Crochetville:




I like the way it turned out! I think I will be making a few more of these too...it was fast and very easy!
The next is a little fishy wash cloth from a girl at Ravlery




I will probably make several of these for Christmas presents this year!
That's it for today. I just got home from work and need to get to bed! It was a long hard night and I just want to sleep!