Friday, June 30, 2017

Row by Row Here I Go


It is time for Row by Row!
Quilters will visit shops between now and fall to collect
either free patterns or kits designed by the shop.  This 
introduces them to new shops, lets them visit old favorites
and offers skill building as we try different techniques.

Some quilters will combine their rows into full 
quilts, others will continue on to the contest.

Me, I'm just having fun.

I just completed these two.
One is of the Mississippi River with boats and the 
other is from last season where I visited 
Quilts and Quilts in Branson MO.


I thought this would be hard, but it was so much fun!
You cut out all the little strips that you can see inside the 
US map, sew them together and bond a cut out
of the country on top of them.  The entire area underneath
still has the various fabric strips.
Then you add the letters using a bonding material but
you have to sew around everything to keep it in place
for a long time.


The top two are from last year too
(they have been tucked away in a drawer so need ironing)
The middle two are this year and I have already
discussed HOME.

I hope to visit a couple more shops in St Louis this weekend
and pick up a couple more patterns or kits.

My real quest is to build a Kathy's Life quilt but
the logistics are in the way.  I just can't get to some 
of the places I need to get the kits.  I'd start 
out from when I was born and add rows to get
where I am now.  You actually have to be there,
no ordering on line.

Kansas City, MO  Born there but 4 hours away
Aurora, MO  4-5 hours away
Various ones from St Louis I can do.
Hot Springs, AR where I visit my mom. 

Who knows, maybe they will have a kit left over after
the collecting period is over and I can get one mailed to me.
I tried with Aurora last year but she was out of kits.

The Missouri Row by Row provides a map, printable list of shops
 (Travel List) and images of the rows (Pictures) submitted by shops for 2017,
they also have a Facebook site.
It should be fun!




Thursday, June 22, 2017

It's Been Awhile


Gosh, I sure hope this doesn't set the tone for the post!
No, no worries, it's all OK.

While I have had my issues we were able to take off
a day (that was not in a hospital) and drive down to 
Branson, taking my granddaughter to Silver Dollar City.
She's 12 and good company on roller coasters.
Not that I ride them but my husband does so they took the
death defying rides together while I roamed around the shops.

This is at the fish hatchery at Table Rock lake.  I got a kick
out of the buzzards that perched above the tanks hoping to grab a bite or two.

We had a day at Silver Dollar City, played mini-golf, stopped at
Bass Pro in Springfield on the way home and made 
another stop at an outlet place on our way back home.


Since my last post I thought I was out of the woods but ended up with another
 bout of C-Diff that was diagnosed after two ER visits missed it.
I was down to 109 lbs and the doctor had to scope me to figure
it out.  It seems that you don't normally get it in your small 
intestine so it was missed. In a couple weeks I was feeling
much better after the antibiotics took care of it.

I was ordered to gain weight or I wasn't getting my final operation.
Since I have met all my out of pocket expenses I'm not going to miss
that one.  I wish I would have had the order in writing because I would
have framed it!  It was the first time a doctor ever told me to GAIN weight!

So, next operation is on the house in addition to all prescriptions!
I received a text from CVS pharmacy asking me if I wanted to refill
my prescription that started with (they give the first 3 letters).  
I wasn't sure what it was but had a good guess.
"Why yes!  I do indeed want you to fill any and all prescriptions!"
Remember- it's all at no out of pocket expense now.
I'll take anything they want to give me!
Turns out it was my EpiPen that I keep just in case due to the bees.


It's another year with a crappy garden since I have been so sick; 
however, I'm posting some photos of some of my gardens.
Blackberries, cone flowers and elderberry flowers.
I have cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatillos,
zucchini, tomato, peppers and herbs planted.


The bees are still alive but I don't know what the honey yield will be. 
It would nice to get some this year.  Last year we had to leave it all
for them to eat over the winter.


Elderberry flower

I had my 58th birthday on June 19th, another reason
we spent the weekend in Branson.  The 19th was Monday
so I took off work and did some shopping plus
my annual breakfast at Denny's.  This year I had to drive into
town because the Denny's in the closest town, Eureka, burned
and it's not rebuilt yet.  I really like their breakfast!

I'm still limited in my diet but adding new things all the time, 
hoping I don't run into a blockage- my biggest fear with this
ostomy.  That and any leaks that could happen, based on 
what my Facebook group tells me can and eventually will happen.


I love a nice mimosa!

So, I have another operation in August/Sept and that should be it!!
I have been terrible at the internet too.  I seem to get a couple of
comments posted on FB but that's about it.  I'm hoping to start
getting some vegetables and canning/dehydrating or freezing them.
I need to get back to those bucket list activities that I had planned
and learn some new skills but it might have to wait since the next
recovery period will be 3-8 weeks depending on how extensive the 
surgery needs to be.  I sure have missed a lot of work but they
have been very supportive!  I'm pretty lucky.

I hope you all are doing well and will try to catch up on things.