Still recovering

Yes I am still fighting that Valentine’s Day cold John shared with me.   Woke up with a cold in my eyes Sunday morning.  I wanted to wait until Monday morning and go see the nurse practitioner at the Dr’s office, since I know her so well, and she knows me.  But John insisted that we go to the Walk-In Clinic, so we did… and the “Dr” on duty was my favorite nurse practitioner herself! 

I can thank this prolonged “cold” to prednisone.  I’ve been on it so long that my body has trouble fighting things. 

So I haven’t done much sewing, don’t want my drippy nose and eyes to contaminate my project.  But I have gotten a lot of reading done, and napping too… funny how a good book and a cat on your lap will put you right to sleep!

 

Guess what....

Remember how a few days ago I was bragging about getting something for Valentine’s Day from John.  I will never brag again.  He gave me something else too, his cold.  It started Tuesday with some sniffles, aches and pains started Wednesday and by Thursday I was a total mess. 

I can’t do much, except sit here and think of how I’m going to get back at him for his gift.  Maybe I’ll just give it right back to him…  no cause then he’d give it back to me, and that would get boring. 

Free Fabric For LIFE giveaway…

Sign up here.  http://ck.upickem.net/r/25F3JtczgYa?r=725913

Now my guess is that they only sent this to very old quilters… so some of you youngsters need to sign up too and fool them! 

Good luck!   (Honestly I hope I don’t win, I have enough for two lifetimes now but I guess I can always donate it to charity!)

 But I do really love Keepsake Quilting... who doesn't!

Use this link to enter…  http://ck.upickem.net/r/25F3JtczgYa?r=725913

Getting ready

Dear Mysteries For Relay members…

 And that’s all I am going to say about it. 

Bragging...

I’ve noticed several bloggers bragging talking about their Valentine’s Day goodies.  That’s nice, I’m glad you enjoyed the day.  Personally I think Valentine’s Day is a card holiday, something else to make you spend money.  (And don’t get me started on “president’s day”)  If your sweetheart is a nice guy every day is Valentine’s Day. 

John and I normally don’t do anything special for Valentine’s Day.  We go out to eat at least once a week, we don’t have to wait for a holiday to do it.  And we tell each other we how much we love each other constantly, many many times each day. 

However this year he fooled me…   He came home from work early to spend some time with me.  He offered to take me out to dinner, but I opted for take-out Chinese instead and it was yummy.  And he brought me presents, two pints of my favorite Ben and Jerry’s and a package of Cheetos.  Isn’t love grand! 

Excuse me for bragging, but I just had to. 

Here's a picture

Still no snow, but I went out and took this photo anyway.  I put it in the washer right away, since the fence was a little wet and the ground soggy. 

I have a finish!

While watching the Olympics the other night I finished my Aunt Grace Zig Zag quilt.  I had glorious plans to take a picture of it in the snow this morning.  I was going to drape it over the railing, take a few photos and then throw it in the washer. 

But we didn’t get any snow, all we got was rain and wind.  And wet just wasn’t how I wanted to photograph this quilt… so you will have to wait to see it.

So I finished one… but started another one, possibly two….I've made a stack of blocks.  I may not be lowering my UFO numbers but I am certainly making a dent in my scrappy stash!

50 years

Last night we wore out the TV remote, going back and forth between the Beatles and the Olympics.  I was actually recording both, but had to watch.  50 years ago the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show… everyone knows that.  I was 15. 

A few months before that night I had named my newest brother Paul… I wanted to call him Ringo but the so called adults in my life didn’t agree with that. 

Right before Christmas vacation I had bought my very first record ever, in the middle of English class from a classmate, with every single bit of money I had to my name ($1.00) and it was a Beatles 45…  “I Want to Hold Your Hand”

I can tell you where I was, and what was happening in my life, but it’s a very very long story.  I was just 15 years old and had just become the “lady of the house” 

And I loved the Beatles.  I don’t think I realized what was going on around me… all I cared about were the Beatles…. 

50 years, some nights it seems like yesterday. 

Time to get something off my chest

I loved the Coke commercial America the Beautiful.  Loved loved loved it.  I love it because of the beautiful voices that sang it and of the backgrounds shown during the song. 

http://youtu.be/ilxRtxqYWt0

From the purple snow capped mountains in the first scene to what appeared to me to be cliffs from Arizona or New Mexico..  From the surfers to the street dancers.. yes even the gay family skating, I love it all. 

Why is simple.  We are a mixed nation.  I don’t have any mountains here where I live, and I know for a fact that there are no oceans where those cliffs were, at least not these days.  Just as America is geographically different, so are the American people. 

I’m stupid… I proved that by saying how much I liked that commercial on facebook.  And now I’m getting hate mail… well hate messages at least.  One friend messaged me that I needed to stop shoving my opinions down her throat…  say what?  I didn’t shove anything and I never intended to start an argument. 

What I said was that none of us were pure American except for those who are American Indian.  Every one of us is of mixed nationality.  Unless your ancestors came from England, they probably didn’t speak English when they arrived here.  Yes they learned it, just as I’m sure the lovely voices in that commercial probably learned English if they didn’t know it before.  But isn’t it lovely to hear that beautiful song sung in the language of our ancestors. 

Should I be put out that it wasn’t sung in German or that I didn’t hear any Scottish accents?  I’m not, not in the slightest. 

I will say it again, and again… America, like quilts, would be boring with all the same fabric in it. 

 

Progress report

I’m happy to say that the binding on one side of this king size quilt is finished.  Just one side.  I have a helper, well more of a hindrance really.  KG has decided he likes this quilt and insists on sitting on my lap while I’m sewing.  Problem is it’s almost impossible to move it once he settles in. 

Today I picked up the quilt, got it situated on my lap but before I could reach for the needle and thread he jumped up… we both had a nice nap.

I hate prednisone

Yes, I said it, I truly hate prednisone.  I’ve been on it for too long now, and we are trying to reduce the dosage, but it isn’t happening fast enough for me.  (“We” by the way are my rheumatologist and I)

Let’s talk about why I am taking it… it is the only medicine that is seems to be affective in lowering the SED rate and C-reactive protein, yep the ONLY one.  (I’m tired of people telling me I need to change meds, there is nothing to change to)    

Prednisone side effects

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction to prednisone: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Call your doctor at once if you have:
·         blurred vision, eye pain, or seeing halos around lights;  No thank goodness.. 
·         swelling, rapid weight gain, feeling short of breath;  depends on what you call rapid
·         severe depression, feelings of extreme happiness or sadness, changes in personality or behavior, seizure (convulsions);  questionable
·         bloody or tarry stools, coughing up blood;  no thank goodness
·         pancreatitis (severe pain in your upper stomach spreading to your back, nausea and vomiting, fast heart rate);  No
·         low potassium (confusion, uneven heart rate, extreme thirst, increased urination, leg discomfort, muscle weakness or limp feeling); or No
·         dangerously high blood pressure (severe headache, blurred vision, buzzing in your ears, anxiety, confusion, chest pain, shortness of breath, uneven heartbeats, seizure).  No
Other common prednisone side effects may include:
·         sleep problems (insomnia), mood changes;  Oh yea..  to both
·         increased appetite, gradual weight gain;  not hungry but gaining anyway
·         acne, increased sweating, dry skin, thinning skin, bruising or discoloration;  winter dry skin
·         slow wound healing;  don't ask
·         headache, dizziness, spinning sensation; some people think I am dizzy all the time
·         nausea, stomach pain, bloating; or  Bloating? 
·         changes in the shape or location of body fat (especially in your arms, legs, face, neck, breasts, and waist).  no comment... not one word...

OK, so why am I complaining about this today…  yesterday my jeans fit me, comfortably.  Same pair of jeans this morning, after being worn all day yesterday which means they stretched out a little, same exact pair of jeans… too tight.  And when I looked in the mirror this morning my face looked like that old sinus commercial where the ladies head blew up like a balloon.   I’m the balloon face today.  Mood changes… let’s not talk mood….  I too dang mad to talk about it! 

I think I’ll work on that binding, if my stupid fat clumsy fingers will hold the stupid skinny slippery tiny little needle with the almost invisible eye. 

PS, on the other hand I love prednisone because it enables me to live almost pain free, fat and grumpy but pretty much pain free.