WEEK 28 - HAPPY WEEK

 

Whosh............and just like that another week has passed!  This was a very busy week and full of emotions.  But before we get to life, let me show you what I am doing in my 'spare' time.

My shawl saw very little work on it.

Luckily, I did not need to do any tinking back this past week.  I started on my third skein of yarn.  This means, I am getting close to the end of the pattern repeats.  It will still be a few whiles before I can bind off as the rows are very long now.  I was hoping to have this done before Christmas.  Now, I am hoping for Easter.  LOL

The RCR socks are still my out and about project.

True mindless knitting.  They only got one day to be worked on so not much done there.

There are two couples expecting their first baby......SO.........I had to purchase some yarn to make a couple of sweaters and hats.

Sweater #1 is underway and I am loving it.  I decided to do a two tone and even am doing a new to me pattern.  Both babies are girls so made it simpler when looking at yarn.  The pattern is Simnia Cardigan.  This one is being made in the 3-6 month size.  The second one will be made in the 6-12 month size.  Baby #1 is due in early spring.  They live in Seattle where the weather is always a bit chilly until the dead of summer.  Baby #2 is due in June and they live in Phoenix.  That baby will not need a sweater until December or January.  Baby knits are always a favorite of mine.  

I did get two books read so far this month.  Well, one and a half.  I really tried to love "The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store".  I got a little over half way through but, it just could not hold my attention.  I did finish "A Christmas Duet" by Debbie Macomber.  I just love her books.  I am now on the look out for another book to read.  I have several on hold on Libby but they are all several weeks out before I will be up to borrow them.  Sounds like something for me to do today............find a book to read.

This past week was CRAZY!  Here is a quick run down.

Monday - I had PT in the morning.  Afterwards I stopped by the Vet to pick up an appetite stimulant for Enrique.  The  Hubby and I went to Costco for a 'few' items.  By evening, Enrique was eating again and acting more like himself. Also by evening, I was feeling every muscle that had been worked earlier in the day!

Tuesday - Josh had his biopsy to find out what the spots on his remaining brain tumor were.

This was his attitude going into the biopsy! Josh's biopsy went as planned and he was released to home a few hours after it was completed. Enrique's appetite stimulant worked quite well.  Enrique runs to the kitchen everytime I get up from my seat!  He is really hungry.  We need to be careful with him as he gets chunky very easily.  He is getting 4 small meals daily though.    Hubby and I made a Sam's club run.  It is crazy that to complete our 'monthly' supply run we need to go to both big box stores.  We also went to the Vet again to pick up more prescription dog food for Enrique.

Wednesday - Physical Therapy for me again.  These appointments last for an hour and I am fairly gassed by the end of that time.  Before my PT, I stopped by my BFF's house and dropped off Enrique's 'old' dog food.  One of her dogs eats the same as E used to.  After PT, I stopped by my cousins to deliver his Christmas slippers.  He was not able to be with us for the exchange but we still had slippers for him.  On the way home from his place, I stopped at Hobby Lobby as they had all their yarn on 30% off.  Since I needed baby girl yarn, I decided it would be the place to go.  I also picked up a couple of skeins to make baby boy hats to donate to my niece.  She is a nurse in a NICU in Las Vegas.

Thursday - Laundry day!  I also worked on getting menus and the grocery list completed for the next week.  Luckily, I am not sore after my PT from the day before.  In the afternoon, we got a call from Josh,  His biopsy results came back..............NEGATIVE FOR TUMOR ACTIVITY!!!!!!!!!  We are not sure what it is that is on his remaining tumor, but Thank God, it is not more Cancer!

That is one happy couple!  They have been celebrating all weekend long!  As well they should.

Friday - PT again for me.  Afterwards, I went to JoAnn's to find a zipper to repair one of Josies corsets.  Then it was on to the grocery store.  I seldom go alone as hubby seems to enjoy the trip.  This time, he wanted to stay home and steam clean all our tiled floors.  You won't hear me complain about that!  

Saturday - Did our early morning food pick up for the food bank.  Joe's brother came into town and we spent time with him until he left to go to his Blue Oyster Cult concert.  Our temps were toying with freezing so we covered all our new baby plants to protect them.  Will be doing that for the next couple of nights.  I have been so cold lately..............

I am very thankful for this throw my son in law made for me several years ago.  It is my best friend lately,

Today - We went to Mass and came home and decided to relax for the day. Joe's brother left for home and it is quiet again.  I scrubbed down the kitchen sink and counter tops.  With being out of the house 3 days a week, I have neglected my kitchen duties.  I have dinner in the crockpot so I don't need to fret over that.  Hubby is watching NFL Football and I am getting ready to look for a new book to read as well as to pick up the baby sweater and work on it.  Hoping to finish it this week and start on the next one.

I have 3 PT appointments this coming week as well as my cardiologist follow up from all my tests that were done last year.  Josh has one appointment I am taking him to also.  I see some down time for me and am happy about that.  We did get our Christmas taken down last week and put away.  It always feels good to get my house back.  Now I can continue with my decluttering.  That is a never ending process!

Here is your chuckle for the week.

Until Next Time.......................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 27

 

Happy New Year!  Our neighborhood decided it would be fun to shoot off some super loud fireworks this year.  I normally do not mind fireworks, but this was over the top and very disturbing.  Luckily, Enrique is hard of hearing and did not seem to be bothered by the ruckus.  When the artwork on my walls needs to be straightened in the morning, you know it was loud!  Thankfully, it was only for one night!

I am still working on the shawl.

Not as much done this week as last.  My week was kind of busy.  I will talk about that later.

With the new year, I wanted a new project.

Got another RCR started.  This is my waiting room project as well as my mindless knit.  The shawl is not mindless!  I ended up tinking back on that, again, for half a row this past week.  It is so easy to drop a stitch and picking it back up in the lace section is nearly impossible.  The sock is soothing and like visiting an old friend...........easy.  

Other than those two items, I did a little coloring to relax my mind.  It has not been a good week for me.  

Josh had another MRI and there are 2-3 new spots showing up on his brain in the same spot the rest of the original tumor is.  He is going in for a biopsy this coming Tuesday to find out what exactly it is and what the next step will be.  It was just a little over a year ago we were going through this exact same scenario. Hopefully, he will have as good of results with surgery, meds and radiation as he did last time.  He did find out he is qualified for another trial.  He did that last year with really good results.  

Enrique ended up in the ER on Monday night.  He was not acting right and I was concerned there was more wrong with him than his pancreatitis.  They thought he had a bad disc in his back and wanted to do lots of xrays and tests.  I declined as I knew I could get him into my vet the next day for those tests at a fraction of the cost.  I am glad I did.  My vet did an xray and found a large mass in his abdomen.  Next step was an ultrasound later in the week.  We got the results yesterday.  He has liver cancer.  My heart is breaking.  Being 14 yrs old, we opted not to go for surgery and chemo.  We will do palliative care for him until that no longer works for him.  Today, has not been a good day for him.  He is not interested in eating today.  This is not the first time he has done that though.  So, tonight, I will make him a scrambled egg to see if I can entice him to eat a bit.  If not, I will call the vet tomorrow to let her know and see what she suggests.  Otherwise, he is acting like himself.  Hopefully, we still have a little more time with him to spoil him rotten.

I also started PT this past week.  I was surprised I was not 'sore' after my first day there.  I do think this is going to be of great benefit for me.  Plus, they give me exercises to do at home to help even more.

So, now you know why my knitting has not been very productive.  Not thinking this coming week will be much better.  But that is ok.  It's not a race LOL.  I do need to go and pick up some yarn to make 2 baby sweaters and hats.  Both are girls so I see shades of pink in my future.  One is due in February and the other due in June.  The one in June will be made in the 6 month size so she can wear it next winter.  

Here is your chuckle for the week.

Until Next Time.....................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Half-Way week 26

 

So hard to believe 2024 is almost in the rear view mirror.  I am ready to face 2025 head on.  Are you?

My knitting this week has solely been on my shawl.

There have been a total of 29 rows of the 6 row pattern completed.  I need to do 7 more of the 6 row pattern repeats before I get to do the final rows and bind off.  This pattern is addictive.  It must be as this is shawl #4 and I have the yarn to make #5.

I did run into a bit of a problem last night with it.  Stitches were just jumping off the needles in the middle of the lace work!  So, today, I unknitted 4 rows to get the stitches all picked up, straightened out and then was able to knit it back to where it was before those naughty stitches acted up.  This yarn is similar to mohair and a real pain to unknit.  But after 2 hours the 4 rows were undone.

The family had a great Christmas last week.  We had our gathering at Josh's house.  We had decided last year, not to have a big meal for the day.  Instead, we all pitched in and brought our favorite finger foods to share with everyone.  It was a very stress free day for us.  As for gifts............we decided not to do white elephant gifts this year.  We all drew a name and then were in charge of buying that person a pair of slippers.  The funnier the better.

This was so fun.  Lots of laughter ensued from this one.  Not sure what we will do next year to top this one.

I have been busy getting ready for the new year to start.  I have my new daily planner/note taking book as well as my new daily journal set up and ready to go.  Hm, when did we start calling them journals when in actuality, they are just like the little diaries I kept as a teenager back in the dark ages.  Hubby asked me what I was going to do with all the journals I have.  Good question!  Maybe, when I am long gone, my grands or great grands will enjoy looking at a day in the life of their ancestor.  But, I am not holding my breath for that one.

Enrique gave me a bit of a scare this week.  He started refusing food and was walking with his back arched, like a cat.  I got him into the vet immediately.  Pancreatitis!  Luckily, it was caught very early and is treatable and curable!  His diet is changed for the next two weeks and then we will have him rechecked.  Little stinker.  He is enjoying his new diet.  It is all wet food and he gets fed 3-4 times a day.  But, he is worth it.  He is my little buddy that follows me everywhere I go.  He is never more than a few feet away from me all day.

This was this morning after he had breakfast.  All curled up and snoring away.  And I mean he is literally snoring................LOUDLY!

That is it for this week.  This coming week is busy once again with transporting Josh to and from appointments.  I also start PT this week.  Good thing too.  I took a nasty fall this week, in the house.  I had a horrible time getting up off the floor.  My legs are not what they used to be.  That is what the PT is for.  To strengthen them.  Oh, as for the fall, I am ok.  A few bruises and a nasty scrape on my knee, but thankfully, I did not hit my head.

Here is my weekly humor.

Until Next Time..................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't Faint! Week 25

 

This is going to be a little long, but I really need to post today.  I have had the past couple of weeks to sit back, relax, reflect and regroup.  Regrouping is still an ongoing process but I am ready to post a bit about all of that.

But before I get into my deepest feelings today, I want to show you, I have been busy with my needles.

First up.............toe socks

Last time I posted, these were in progress.  Since then, they are completed as well as another pair.  This is such a great project to take along with me while sitting in waiting rooms.  I have enough of these socks now, so will start back to making some RCR for myself.  Also, great waiting room knitting.

I had a request from Tiffany for another Azel poncho

This is the third one I have made for her.  Working with fun fur and size 13 needles is not for the faint of heart.  However, I did enjoy doing the striping on this.  It is knitted in one piece other than the cowl neck. Super easy.  

The buttons are so hard to see with all the fur.  But she really wanted buttons with bling.  Sewing these on was a challenge too.  Not thinking I will be working with fun fur anytime soon.

It looks like a blanket when folded up.  I will say, my legs stayed nice and warm while working on this.

I found something at Costco right after Thanksgiving that gave me great joy.

A puzzle Advent calendar!  Each little puzzle is only 50 pieces so perfect to work each day.

Remember the sea turtle blanket?  Remember how I did not like the puffy turtle?  I fixed it!

I simply used the bottom of the turtle for the top shell.  Easy peasy!  And , here it is in all it's glory.

I don't know where the work 'throw' got put on this pattern as this fits my daughters queen sized bed perfectly!  I really enjoyed making the blanket portions.  Making the appliques was not too bad either.  Sewing them on.............not my favorite project.  Will I make another one?  Probably not.

After all the 'commissioned' items were completed, I pulled out my shawl

Oh, how I love this pattern.  It is the perfect shawl for our Arizona climate.  This will be my fourth shawl in this pattern and I have the yarn to make a fifth one when this one is completed.  I wore one of them yesterday during Mass.  It kept the A/C from blowing down my neck.  Yes, we still have A/C going here with our daytime temps still getting up near 80!  No, this is not normal!

I have done a small amount of decorating for Christmas.

The little mice are new this year.  They make me smile each time I walk by them.

The tree is up and decorated.  And, that is all I did on the inside of the house.  Hubby has decorated the front yard but no photos of that to show.

We did have our front yard landscaped after Thanksgiving.  We added 2 trees, 6 lantana and 10 bougainvillea.  A watering system was added too, to make life a bit easier for my husband who goes out and waters our bushes every couple of days.  When spring hits and our front yard is in bloom, I will take a photo and post it for you to see.  I am so excited to finally have lots of color added to my yard.  We now have 'curb appeal'.

Now, on to my personal life news.  If you do not want to read it, that's ok.  But this will give you a bit of insight as to why I have slowed down on blogging.

Jaxon is doing quite well.  Her skin graft it healing nicely.  She is going to have some nasty scaring on her leg, but at least she has her leg and her life.  The same can not be said about her boyfriend who accidently hit her with his motorcycle. RIP

I was able to increase my injections for my RA!  Since I have been infection free for over 9 months, she has allowed me to up my injections to every other week!  What a difference that has made in my mobility and pain.  She has also prescribed physical therapy to help improve my lower extremity strength, mobility and balance.  I start right after the first of the year.  Believe it or not, I am really looking forward to it.  It has been way too long since I have been able to get on the floor and back up again.  Or even get off of some sofas that sit too low.  Climbing stairs is also an issue.  I am just a hot mess when it comes to some of my mobility.

An now, for the news that is not the greatest.

Josh had another MRI this past week and there are 2 new spots on his brain.  Until there is a biopsy we will not know if they are a recurrence of his cancer or radiation necrosis.  This was not the news we wanted to hear the week before Christmas.  Or anytime, for that matter.  Thankfully, he does not have any new symptoms which gives us a little hope it is from radiation.  But, with the type of cancer he has,(Glioblastoma) it could well be a recurrence.  There are a couple of new trials he is eligible for if this is the returning of his cancer.  This gives us hope.  The last trial he had was last year at this time.  It totally slowed the growth of his tumor down and even has extended his life past the time normally expected.  It breaks this mama's heart to see her first born going through all of this.  Watching his wife and daughter dealing with the fact his life is eventually going to be taken by this dreaded disease is gut wrenching.  Seeing his siblings gathering for family days and photos worried it could be the last milestone for them to witness, hard to watch.  This has all been heavy on my mind and heart.  There are tears being shed in private as I try and be strong for the rest of the family.  My faith has not waivered but there have been a few times where I just want to scream "why him, God".  We just lost a very dear friend at Thanksgiving to this dreaded disease.  A good man.  A righteous man.  A man of great faith.  It all hit way to close to home.  Yet, each day, I wake up, put one foot infront of the other and carry on with the life I have been given.  A wise person once said, we only die once but we live each day.  And as Josh keeps telling me, "I am not dieing of cancer but living with cancer".  A wise son I have raised.

Our family Thanksgiving day photo.  Love this family of mine!

And now to lighten the mood a bit...............................

I will be making Snickerdoodle cookies today for our Christmas gathering.  Luckily my dog is to darn short to be able to reach them.  LOL

Until Next Time.......................Happy Crafting, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah etc!

WEEK ???

 

Hey there blog people.  I am only dropping in today for a quick little update.  I do not have any projects to show you.  Yes, there are things that have been finished and items on my needles being worked on.

I am going to take a break from my blog for a little bit.  Don't worry, nothing major is happening to make me want to take this break.  Josh is still doing well, Jaxon is well on her road to recovery, hubby is fine, my health is very stable, the rest of the family is well also.  I am just a little burnt out with all that has gone on over the past year.

While this blog has been great to express my thoughts and feelings, I have never really exposed my inner most thoughts and feelings here.  I try to keep things lights and positive at all times on here.  The world has enough Debbie Downers and I refuse to contribute to that.  I have just reached a point where, I need to just be for a while and process.  I am greatly blessed and have great gratitude for everything I have been blessed with.  I just need some time.

I am not closing my blog.  Heavens no!  I will be back.  I also still enjoy reading other blogs and getting ideas for projects and books to read from them.  So, while I am not going to be writing for a 'few whiles".  I will still be reading all y'all's blogs.

Until Next Time.................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!

And, if I am not back before 2025......................Merry Christmas and Happy and Healthy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 21

 

Are all of my US friends ready for this coming Thursday?  I think we are finally set and have all logistics figured out for the day here at our homestead.  So, now it is just gliding through the next few days.  Doing our normal routine things and then collapsing on Friday!

I had a bit of crafting this week.  Mostly waiting room knitting while waiting for Josh at his therapy appointments.  Here is a look.

Toe socks completed.  These are such a quick little knit.  Each sock take about 9 grams of fiber so using up bits and bobs of yarn is ideal for these.  I did kind of chuckle reading all the comments from last week.  It didn't dawn on me that when I call them toe socks y'all thought I was making socks with toe places in them.  Heck, I have a hard time making mittens with thumb placements.  I guess I could have called them half socks.  I just figures since they only cover from the tips of my toes to just the start of my instep..........well, toe socks.

Once they were done, I still had about 11-12 grams of this yarn left so............

I started another pair.  I have at least 3 waiting room visits this week so should not be an issue with getting these finished up before Turkey day.

My shawl saw some love too.

I wish this was smaller and easier to take with me places.  So, this is relegated to being my evening TV knit.  Maybe it will be done by Christmas?  One could only hope.

I think I have figured out the turtle issue.  Come back next week to see if I have conquered the issue.

That about covers all the crafting news.  Other news, I have gathered quite a few items that need to leave my home.  This morning I got them all boxed up and inventoried for tax purposes.  I am also finding creative ways to use up our leftovers.  Today, I will turn our leftover pot roast into green chili stew.  I have leftover carnitas too that will turn into tacos or burritos tomorrow.  That will clean out the fridge and prepare it for incoming food on Thursday.

And that, my friends is it for me today.  Here is your weekly chuckle...........

Until Next Time.......................Happy Crafting and Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!!!!!

WEEK 20

 

Happy Sunday!  How is everyone doing today?  I had a wonderful and productive week I want to tell you about.

Monday - This is always my day to take Josh to his therapy appointment.  We are now traveling a bit further for this appointment but that is fine.  It gives us more time together to talk about a plethora of subjects.  This is also one of the times I get to have some waiting room crafting time.  After I dropped him off at home, I took a stroll around Sam's club, picking up the few items we needed.  What a great way to get my 30 minute daily walk in!  I worked on making starfish and baby sea turtles for the blanket I completed last week.  I was not able to get a good photo of the starfish as they keep curling but here is the baby sea turtle.

I am not happy with it.  I was hoping it was flat but nope.  It is very puffy.  For it to be sewn on the blanket................not liking the puffy look.  Plus, she has a cat and I can just imagine her thinking this is kitty toy.

Tuesday - We had another Landscaper come and give us an estimate for making our front yard a thing of beauty.  Other than that, I worked on my craft projects and cleaned out our fridge. Cleaning out the fridge is one of my favorite chores.  I get all sorts of meal ideas while doing 'inventory' of items in there.

Wednesday - This was errand day for me.  I went to the post office to send back an item that was not as advertised.  From there I went to UPS to return several Amazon items that were not to my liking. (clothes that were way too large)  Next was a quick stop at my BFF's house to drop off some coupons I knew she would use and we wouldn't.  My last stop was Costco.  Another opportunity to get in my 30 minute walk.  Not to mention grabbing some needed items again.  I finished my puzzle!

This will be the last one I will work on until after Thanksgiving.  I need the dining room table for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Thursday - Finally was able to complete my nuclear stress test!  I am so done with all the testing that has happened since June when I ended up in the hospital with AFib.  This was the last of the tests needed to be done.  Now I sit and wait for results.  I do not see the Cardiologist until January!  Hopefully, if anything is really wrong, I will be notified before then.  But, this did give me some more waiting room knitting time.

Friday - Grocery shopping day!  Another day to get my 30 minutes of walking in.  I find walking around a store is much more fun than walking around my neighborhood.  This was another day to finish one of my projects.

My toe socks.  I find it interesting that one has a zig zag pattern and the other is just a pooling line.  Same skein of yarn.  I decided to go with the toe socks to see how the yarn responded.  I do like the yarn and it was not splitty as many cotton yarns are.  These are just a little too loose so will decrease the stitch count by 4 or 8 stitches next time.  Thinking the next socks will be RCR from this yarn and if anything is left over I will do more toe socks.  I wear toe socks 90% of the time.

Saturday - Hubby and I both woke up at 4:30am!  That worked out well for us.  We got up and I managed to mix up a loaf of SD bread.  We left around 6 to pick up the food for our church's food bank. After we got home, I got 2 loads of laundry completed and baked the SD loaf of bread.  We went to Mass in the evening and then returned home to relax.  I worked on my RCR sock and TA-DA

I finished sock #2 about 11:30pm.  So glad to have them done and off the needles.

Today - I have been working on this blog since 9am.  There was an interruption when one of my cousins called to let me know she could not get in touch with her brother.  Hubby and I did a wellness check only to find out he had been taken by ambulance to the hospital about 7 this morning.  Since I am his Medical Power of Attorney, I was a bit dismayed that I had not been contacted.  So, now the search as to which hospital.  There are 7 hospitals in our immediate area.  We got lucky and found him at the second one we called.  We went to go and see him only to find out they have no clue what is wrong with him.  He has a test tomorrow morning and hopefully they do not find anything there and let him go home.  

It is now 2:30pm and I am finishing up cooking lunch.  Luckily, dinner is in the crockpot so I will not need to hurry to get that done.

Here is your funny for the week

Until Next Time.........................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!