Bah, humbug

Hello everyone..... I just cannot seem to get into the mood of Christmas.  This is the worst I have ever been.  I do not feel like decorating and I doubt if  I will put up a tree this year.  Hopefully I can get my lights outside this weekend.  I always have the Christmas dinner.  But thank goodness my sister-in-law said she would do it.  And thank goodness for that.  It takes an enormous weight off my shoulders.

Well, the news is in and I do need radiation.  Friday, December 16 for CAT scan to pinpoint exactly where they want to shoot the radiation I must go for five weeks five times a week for 25 visits and the results of the pathology test showed it was staged two cancer not stage one as earlier thought.  Tuesday I went to see my regular doctor .  He gave me of flu shot and a pneumonia shot Wednesday I had to go for a pet scan .  They shot something in my veins, which I do not know what it was but by Friday I had an allergic reaction to something I do not know if it was the combination of the three things or the dye, I cannot really pinpoint  what caused the rash and of course from the results of the pet scan they found a  lump in my thyroid, which must be removed so I need another surgery .  Oh joy!  Just what I was looking forward too, hopefully I can wait till after my radiation.  For that I go to see that Dr. December 19th,  I did not start the radiation as of yet, but hopefully will get it started soon .  I am trying to keep a positive attitude about everything .  Knowing there are people that are much worse off than  I am ,and praying for them daily .it is so funny how things can change from one year to the next .  Last year I had holiday fever early, this year I just cannot get in the mood .....

Thanks!

I want to thank all my family and friends for  the generosity of their prayers, without them  I really feel I would not be posting this...... in the beginning of September, I was diagnosed with uterus cancer, as you know I was in the hospital in September to get a D+C my gynecologist was not going to do a biopsy but my pap test came back with one cancer cell she knew she had to do a biopsy and that came back positive that it was uterus cancer...... so I did my research online to one of the closest hospitals in our area.  I found a wonderful oncologist who performed a hysterectomy on October 27....... no words cannot explain how wonderful my experience was from my first visit to my operation...... this Dr. was caring and showed so much concern for my well-being and explained everything what he was going to do and what he expected from the outcome.... I would have the operation and most likely come home the same day.... And I did........ same-day surgery,WOW!    Medicine has come so far that you could have a hysterectomy and come home the same day  blows my mind.....

I have one hurdle to overcome yet and that is the pathology report to find out if I need radiation my doctor is 90% sure I do not but he said there is always that 10%......  I know God has my back and I will leave it in his hands.......   In turn I intend to pray daily for all the sick!
......   facing cancer put a whole new perspective on  my life.....

As far as hooking goes I really have not done too much I am a person that gets very depressed   and get anxiety over what is going to happen ...... It  was really hard for me to focus on other things, I tend to concentrate on the problem at hand .....


 I hope to be back to normal, real soon I was allowed to drive after five days , which was wonderful
. to get  out of the house....  I still cannot lift more than 5 pounds for couple more weeks .

 All my friends have been in touch with me , which means so much asking how I am doing and giving me their good wishes for a speedy recovery.......I received a package of wicked whoopies from Beth and Jill .. two of my friends from Grant Street.Wool Works hookin.....

 They want me to tell them, which is my favorite flavor as of now I think the red velvet is in first place .

My wish is that  everyone has a wonderful, happy, healthy weekend!!!....

Summer ,where did it go?

Happy Labor Day everybody!......

Wow where did the summer go .... Had a great time with the grandchildren sleeping over almost every Tuesday night and spending the whole day Wednesday with me..... So I needed Thursday to rest..... I just love swimming, well maybe you would call it  treading water and floating around the pool...But I do my water exercises most of the time .  ...  went to my sisters pool as often as I could this summer ... Always great fun there. My  husband just cannot understand how somebody can go in a pool every day...... believe me if that pool was in my backyard.  I would never get out.. Makes the arthritis feel so much better...

Here is a picture of my sister's pool.... We had so much fun this summer!

 Now as far as hooking goes I really did not get too much done, I did finish my Star Spangle Banner
Horse, but I still want to put a border around it,.  I think it needs that finishing touch..

Judy from the  cinnamon stick gave me a great idea for the color of the border ,she suggested I use the tree trunk color  and that really works for me ...  But of course I only bought enough wool for the tree so now I must go shopping up to Grant Street to see if they still have that color wool ....

 I just cannot believe it is September already that means I will become officially a senior citizen . I think 62 is  official .. I have two sisters that share the same birth month

This is my sister Susan.  Her birthday is September 28th, I think she will be 66 .

                      My birthday is on September 25th, I will be 62.   A senior citizen !!!!

And this is my sister Diane ,her birthday is September 12th  , I think she will be 58 ..  This is the sister that was living with us while going through her divorce. She is now happily divorced and living in her new home...   And enjoying her newfound freedom.   After 36 years of marriage... I am just thankful for her counselor and her doctor advising her that he would never change and she should move on with her life.....

Diane and I did some shopping for her new home at the Cinnamon  Stick, and we found some real nice treasures , things that she just could not live without, and of course I could not go home

empty-handed

 some great agate I bought at the cinnamon stick !

   I hope everybody survived hurricane Irene ... we were out of electric on Saturday night around 10:30 and not getting get it back till Wednesday morning at 6:30.... my husband finally broke down and let us get generator .....   We are in an area where we do lose the electric quite often, so this is something that I wanted for a long time....., we are usually the last ones to get electric back ...

The creek behind our house was overflowing and we really only saw that ever happened one other time....

It really was not that bad, it was still about 50 feet or more from the house.. I know some people really really had it bad .. and all my prayers good wishes go out to them ... I know  God has everything under control  and I for one  believe that ...

 Well on Wednesday I have to take a little trip to the hospital for an in and out procedure . I really do not like hospitals but glad they are there when we need them.

Wishing everybody a Healthy  Happy Labor Day!!!

 

How to get rid of stink bugs!!!

I do not know about you but here in PA.  We have a stink bug problem .. I came across this video to make a trap for  less than seven dollars http://www.wpxi.com/video/27942903/index.html wish I could say I invented it, but somebody bet me to it.......  He also put up a video on YouTube with step-by-step instructions .... If my play list bothers you, just turn it off while you watch the video.....

I really think I am going to try this because I am like Kim I am not a bug fan at all!!!..... I hope it helps everybody with the stink bug problem....

Now on to some rug hooking news I have been in a slump lately but on Thursday I finally picked up my hook and started to work on my rug again .  Hope to get it done soon before the weather gets too hot because I intend to be swimming in my sisters pool this summer ..... Exercising in the water is low impact and I enjoyed it so much.  It really helps with the arthritis....

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend the sun is shining it  is awesome here in PA  what  a beautiful Saturday!

Spring Has Sprung!

Hello everybody... Well here in Barto, Pennsylvania.  Spring has sprung!  And with the April showers we will surely be getting May flowers.... Trees in the backyard that were covered with snow are now covered with light green buds..... Neighbors all around are taking walks with their children and their dogs .... People I have not seen all winter are finally emerging from their houses... Come to think of it they probably think the same thing about me, she is finally getting out from the house...... I have a niece that lives across the street and believe me, she keeps her tabs on my comings and goings, just like I keep my tabs on her comings and goings, we are always teasing each other , I would really miss her if she would move, she is  so comical when we get together, never a dull moment with Donna around..... I am sure she is up there thinking right now.  Why hasn't uncle John started to mow yet... Because she is always joking how perfect his yard is.... I have to admit the man is a little anxious when it comes to his yard... I accidentally got off the driveway and into the grass, he thought the world was coming to an end.... I just laughed, and told him things happen...what can I say.... I know he takes pride in keeping the yard and pushes in perfect condition... I told him I would mow the yard, but he wants no part of that ..He said I would probably mow in the wrong direction.  Now I tell you.  Did you ever hear of such a thing?  Mowing in the wrong direction.  Don't you just start the mower ,put the blades down ,put it in gear and go.... Well maybe not!

Been working on my stars spangled horse rug and it is coming along quite well.... The stripes were a little more challenging than I expected..... Making sure that each stripe had five rows in it...... and to keep them perfectly straight was a little overwhelming at times....... but they are finally completed.....

I have the eight blue stars to finish in the side bars.  I am also thinking about doing a border around it . 

And of course, every time I lay the rug down to look at it.  I have a furry little creature on it.... This time it is Josey who absolutely loves to take a nap on the rug ....

It will not be long now it should be finished in the next couple weeks....

My granddaughter Annika was very busy last month... She celebrated her seventh birthday!!1

She also was in a theater play called Pinocchio 2.... She auditioned and was given the part of Amy... Here are a few pictures of the play.

 Here she is singing with Pinocchio and her actor sister

waiting patiently for her lines

 Here it was time for her solo and not nervous at all!

The family wants to adopt Pinocchio.

We are so proud of our little star!  She did not get any of her lines wrong and her songs she sang were so good, in fact all the children in the play were absolutely wonderful.  I enjoyed it so much....

She is going to try out for the encore theater group again... They really work with the children to build self-esteem and help them work on their vocal skills...... this is a wonderful group of people sharing their talents with the local children.....

Later that evening I took my oldest granddaughter Gabrielle to see Phantom of the Opera performed by Boyertown area Senior high school.....  Words cannot express how impressed I was with the school's performance... I have seen Phantom of the Opera in New York two times.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think a high school could put on a performance that matched New York..... But I was wrong!...  These high school students were magnificent ..... Gabrielle and I loved the show, I asked her if she was singing along when the character Christine was singing the song Think of Me, she smiled and said not out loud Grammy!!!....  Later that night Gabrielle slept over and went with us to early church, after church we went for breakfast with my brother and several of my sisters and their husbands... This is becoming a Sunday morning ritual early mass, breakfast after with family.

 Wishing everyone a wonderful rest of the week and a great weekend!

It's Started!

   Hello everyone!   Just wanted to give you an update on the Star-Spangled Horse rug.  Got it started and I am very happy with the color choice and with Kathy's help. (Kathy if you are reading this please save more of the blue Star color wool for me.) 

I really enjoyed hooking the horse

as you can see I still have a long way to go but are truly enjoying the stripes which I did not think I would be able to tolerate... It is very relaxing and calming to work on.

The colors are a little washed out with the flash ,I have not taken any pictures with my better camera for a while . Have all kinds of doodads on it.  Got to read the manual to figure out how to use it again.

                               Will be keeping you posted on the progress...



The reason I am using my better camera instead of point and shoot is it has very good telephoto zoom lenses.... Was just curious how high the Creek was after all that rain, so I got the camera loaded up the strongest lens and zoomed in on the water...  It was so much easier than me walking down through the mud and taking a closer look.

The water was high but not as high as we saw it already.

We only had one close call and that was a few years ago when there was a hurricane ,something must have dammed up the creek downstream and it flooded almost up to the detached garage.  The neighbor had built a shed right on the edge of the bank of the creek and the water had so much force if floated over on our lot... He had a little rowboat and that just floated away. 

The snow is almost gone and that is fine with me.  Spring is just around the corner and I am so ready for it.... Love that it stays lighter out at night. And is also lighter in the morning, makes me feel better ..

Well I just wanted to post a few pictures of the rug and hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!



The Verdicts In!

Well, I am not sure if I told everybody that I was having extreme pain the last couple of weeks..... My gums swelled up and my lips look like I was injected with Botox .... And my eye looked like I was punched by Mohamed Ali.....  Did not know if it was a tooth or sinus infection, but the verdicts in I need a root canal ,not happy about it, because I do not know what to expect.... We are talking about a person that never had a cavity for 52 years of her life and now all of a sudden I am in my 60s, 
everything is falling apart the knees, hips, the eyes, you name it and I got it.  Well, onto more joyful topics , which includes pictures of my grandchildren, on grandparents day, their school had a open house to see their classrooms.... Wow déjà vu! brings back memories.  Those were the same classrooms my husband and I attended.

This is Gabrielle.  She is in third grade.  She loves school, she takes violin lessons, also in dance class, she loves to sing.... She is in the children's church choir and enjoys that very much.  She surprised me by telling me she was going to sing Think of Me from the Phantom of the Opera...at the next talent show at school ..She gave my sister and me a sneak preview of what she was practicing..... We both looked at each other and said , my goodness, I am getting goosebumps !

This is Annika she is in first grade and loves school also ...she does have the middle child syndrome though and I know how she feels, she plays soccer, and loves to sing, she tried out for a theater group and was cast in Pinocchio 2.  She even has her own solo, which Grammy cannot wait to go to ... Last year at the school talent show( now remember, this is when she was in kindergarten).  She sang Bad Bad Leroy Brown.... And if you ever listen to the words you can understand my concern.But her Grammy has her brainwashed and the other two grandchildren that Celtic thunder is their favorite group.... Hopefully this year.  I can talk her into singing A Bird Without Wings.

Now here we have Andrew he is four and is heading for kindergarten in September, he is not happy about it, but I am sure he will get used to it.  They have all day sessions and it is going to be a long day for him.. He also likes coming to Grammy's and playing wii.   I do not have the heart to tell him he is wearing me out.  He has boundless energy, wish I could bottle it and drink some so I can keep up with them..

Just look at those smiles!!!  Their smiles make me smile!

Also was surprised by my husband with some flowers and a balloon for Valentine's Day !

Well Tuesday  I am scheduled for my root canal.  I guess everything will be okay , I heard  the survival rate of a root canal is really good,... I just better make sure I take a nerve pill  before I go .. The dentist scares me..... Sooner go to the gynecologist...Well have a nice rest of the week!!! 

Finished hooking one and onto the next!

Hi everyone.....  I guess you all know it snowed again here on the east coast.  Well I think we have got 12 to 14 inches.  Not sure, did not wander out to see exactly but I am sure the pictures I took will give  you some idea...

Here I am peeking out the front door to take

 a picture of the shrubs and the front steps.  Where did the front steps go?

And these are the trees in our backyard. 

My sister's car covered with snow! 

 Good luck cleaning that off.

 deck railing and deck never have been covered so much. 

As you can see we have a roof over the deck, the 25 years

 that we lived here we never had to shovel this much snow off of it!!!

Could hardly see my bunny rabbits that sit on the railing.

Well enough about that four letter word that seems to be plaguing us here in Barto.  Spring is just around the corner.  I hope!

Well finished hooking my snowman rug.  It is not yet whipped and pressed but I thought I would show you a picture anyway..

Still have not decided the color yarn to use to whip but it will come to me slow but sure . After I second-guess myself a few times!

 close-up of the snowman.

I remember telling everybody that I was not going to do a snowman next. And I had my next project already picked out ,the pattern's name is Star Spangled Horse. By Searsport..

Hope you can see the pattern on the pictures good enough! 

I got this pattern a few years ago. Joanne and I were in Vermont

when I bought it and I think it could be at least three years ago if not four.....And you really do not want to know how many more I have stashed away to hook, that is one reason why I am trying not to buy any new patterns until I hook the ones I have  but it is soooooo difficult when I see one I really like.I have the same problem with wool ,I think I have more wool than  100 sheep  could produce , just kidding ! I think,maybe not.

Have not decided on the colors yet but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated I am not really a red white and blue person, (but I am heading in that direction) guess if it is done with a dark cream and old Christmas Red and also a dark colonial blue is one of my ideas.  Of course, the horse would be a brown or rust color and the horse's mane would be vice versa.  And of course the tree trunk would be a brown  Leaves on the tree would be the color green .

Please if you have any suggestions please leave a comment I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks everybody.  Have a great day!

TGIF AGAIN!

TGIF...Don't know about everybody, but it sure was a long week for me snow and freezing rain earlier in the week, and now more snow to deal with this morning.  I am so ready for spring! We had to miss the hookin at Grant Street yesterday (boo hoo), which I enjoy very much.  Joanne IM me on Wednesday and asked if I wanted to go.  I was so excited on the thought of going but soon my excitement came to a halt because of the weather report of snow.  Joanne said we would wait until morning to see if the weather changed, but of course not.  That would have been a wish come true.  She said she would call me in the morning if she was going, well never got the phone call, so I knew it was going to be another boring day.


Later  I saw Joanne on the PC and we were talking back and forth about maybe going in a couple of weeks. Cannot wait to see everybody .  Thank God for Joanne, who does not mind driving to Chambersburg.  She is a good friend, and I enjoy her company.  We never seem to run out of things to talk about on the whole trip.

Thursday was a good hooking day at home got more of my snowman finished, the rug is coming along and should have it done very soon.

                                     Here is an earlier picture of the snowman rug I am working on.

                                      And here is another picture with more of the border finished.

With all this snow you would think I 'd be tired of doing snowmen but that is something that  takes me back to my childhood, playing in the snow and building snowmen,with my brothers and sisters, sledding and ice-skating, which I  don't  do anymore, now I just watched the grandchildren enjoy it. Sledding was so much fun, I remember three or four of us on one sled coming down Crow Hill , years ago we did not have to worry about the traffic like we do now.

                       This is a snowman gift from my secret pal, (at the hookin) which is so adorable. 
                                                   I never met a snowman, I did not like!
                                                             THANK YOU SECRET PAL!


             Some good pictures, I want to share with you are of my husband John relaxing.

One good thing about the dogs resting on John is it keeps him very warm and he leaves his fingers off the thermostat!

I know he will surely miss Cole, Caramel and Josie .

And I am sure they will miss him too.

I am so glad that John gets along with my sisters dogs, it dosen't feel like she has been living with us for two months already.  We both know that she will be moving out after her divorce is final. 

Well there is a lot I want to get accomplished today maybe get my rug finished because I already know what my next project is going to be and I cannot wait to get it started.  Guess what it is not a snowman!!!

Everyone have a good day and even a better weekend!

SNOW OH No!!!

Waking up to snow this morning was an awesome sight.  Do not get me wrong I do not like to drive or walk in the white fluffy stuff, but it sure takes pretty pictures.

here is a photo from inside my dining room door

and here is a better picture of the backyard from the deck

see the little red burn barrel and all the way back is the creek

where the trees start to go up the hill.

I just love the clean white snow but we all know it get dirty so fast .

Well enough about the snow.  Just wanted to post some of my chair pads that I know I did not show at the hook in.  These are not hooked rugs.  They are the punch needle seat covers and I designed the pattern myself

I made the four chair pads the same

and here I made the captain's chairs a little different

they were really fun to do, had them done in no time. 

I wanted something quick, fast and easy .

Made all six chair pads in three days.

  Now here is a project that took me several years to finish and only took about 20 years to get it framed.

  This is an embroidery picture of the Last Supper.  Every line had to be done with one strand of thread.

To tell you the truth it was really fun to do but I still like things to get done faster.  That is why I enjoy rug hooking and punch needle and punch rug.

Was feeling a little sad about taking down all the Christmas decorations but the sun is out so nice.  I really cannot wait for spring.  January and February are my worst just cannot seem to get out of my depression state but good friends like Joanne, Kathy, Beth, Linda, and Jill are so great to be with at the hook in on Thursdays.  I just love those gals, they really can make me laugh  .

So I hope everyone has a Happy New Year and a healthy one!

Grammy's Boy

Oh where does the time go.  It seems like only yesterday that my daughter came and told me that she was adopting her foster child.  He was this cute little three-year-old that we fell in love with  immediately.  That little boy had been through so much when he first came but he always seemed to have a smile on his face.  Not only did his heartbreak when his mother died, but my heart ached double for the loss of my daughter and the loss of his mother.  This grandson is growing into a wonderful young man.


      I was just on Facebook and could not believe some pictures of my grandson wrestling, he is growing up so fast and he just loves playing sports(his mother would be proud).  Here is one of his wrestling pictures that somebody took:

here is Cody getting ready to start his match

I cannot believe how tall he is look at the muscles. 

No wonder all the girls are chasing him 

and here is Cody pinning down his opponent. 

I do not think his opponent had a chance

because when he puts his mind to something, there is no stopping him

and here he is winning the match

We are so lucky and proud to have him  in our lives.  He is one of the sweetest boys I know maybe I am just prejudice because I am his Grammy and like to spoil him.  But that is okay because that is what Grammies are supposed to do.