Our Crocheted Flower Garland

Love the bright colors!

They were fun to make.

Tomorrow I'll show you the darling little owl Kelly crocheted.  He is so cute!

She also made the cheery dragonfly in the window

Thrift Store Finds

These are some prints I found at the thrift store a few weeks ago.  They are numbered, signed prints by an artist named Mollie Jones.

I was going to use the frames, but once I got them cleaned up, I liked them, so Kelly hung them for me.

Mounted Sun and Moon Dolls

Kelly took some great pics of my dolls in their shadowboxes. It was hard to get pics of them in the boxes--there was always a glare--but you get the idea in the third picture.  Not sure why the jet black of the background turned out gray in the biggest box

We've hung them on the wall in my bedroom, and I love looking at them.

Another one down on my bucket list.  :o)

Thanks, Kel!

Hard Days and Bucket List Progress

The past couple of days have been pretty rough.  Yesterday I was very weak, slept nearly all day long.  Better today, but not as energetic as I'd like to be.

Kelly brought me some polyester fiberfil and embroidery needles, and I took the "pocket sleeves" off some of my old yukata on Sunday.  Yukata are called summer kimono because they are very casual and soft and cool for summer.  They are always blue and white in color, and have classic Japanese designs and flowers.  I only used the big square pockets on the sleeves, so there is still a lot of fabric left for other uses.  Kelly ironed them for me, but I need some bigger embroidery needles because I want to use the whole strand of floss in the hem.  So she will bring me some big ones.  

We hung our crocheted flower garland and it's so pretty and cheerful on my window.  The colors match the beads in the beaded dragonfly Kelly made, which is also in the window.  

Kel downloaded some pics of the dolls we mounted for me, but they don't really show the shadow boxes, so I think we'll try to get some more pics of those.  I have some pics to download from my camera and phone, too.  Everything is such a hassle.  I can't just get up and get my cords to download stuff.  Someone has to bring it to me.

I got an email from Fr. Moses, who will celebrate my Requiem Mass.  He answered some questions I had, and gave me some good advice.  He is such a wonderful priest.  Please pray for him.

Live Cam of Alaskan Brown Bears

I've been enjoying this live cam of Alaskan brown bears on the Katmai River.  Thought some of you might like it, too.

http://explore.org/#!/live-cams/player/river-watch-brown-bear-salmon-cams

Come Saturday Morning

Hope you're having a great weekend.  My days seem to kind of run together, so it's hard to remember what day it is.

Ron is mowing the grass out back, the girls were in the pool at 8 AM, but they've gone with their daddy to get chicken sandwiches now.  

I had another weak day yesterday.  My BP was only 60/40 at one point.  I slept a lot.  But it's back up today, and I feel better.

Ron brought me some Cheerios with fruit and coffee for breakfast, and I'm keeping a close eye on my sugar levels.  Guess I'm having chicken for lunch.  :o)

I think Kelly is coming over today.  I untangled the embroidery floss that the girls messed up yesterday, and I'd like to start on the handmade pillows I want to make.  I can cut them, but need Kel to turn under the hems and iron them down for me so that I can stitch them.  I'll also need some polyester fiberfil.  

I'll have to update my bucket list in a day or so.  Haven't done much, but some bits are getting there.  Happy weekend, dear ones!

A Quiet Day with Kelly

Johnnie, Evann and Braden left this morning.  The kids wanted to go see their beloved Great Gran.  They came by for a little while to say good-bye.  I hated to see them leave, but loved our time together.  So they are in Bryan with Gran and Sandi tonight, will stay Friday, and head back to Kansas on Saturday.

Jason and Ahlyssa also went home.  I will surely miss my chef and carb watcher.  :o)  He took wonderful care of me.  But he said he will be back.  I know his family has missed him, and he has business to take care of at home.  I'm fortunate that he is a computer guy and can work from here as easily as he does from home.  He has some plumbing problems to take care of, too--no fun.

They had to send a nurse out this afternoon to re-draw my blood for labs.  For some reason the ones taken yesterday didn't work.  I had never seen her before, and liked her very much.

Kelly was here while Ron took Jason and Lyssa to meet Jason's friend halfway.  She is starting to put our crocheted flowers on a vine with leaves to make our banner.  It looks cute.  She has also been cleaning out our office/craft room.  I haven't been in there in months, and Ron lets the little girls play in there when he's on the computer.  (No more--I've put the kibosh on that).  They make the most unbelievable messes.  Kelly said it looked like Hoarders in there.  She hasn't finished yet.   She will take what she wants from the craft supplies and get rid of the rest.  She's such a treasure.

I hardly slept last night, so after Kelly left I took a nap.  Josh grilled me a steak, and I had broccoli and a little bit of sweet potato with it, then a couple of pieces of the wonderful chocolate covered bananas my cousin sent from Edible Arrangements.  

I can feel the love.  :o)

Mary and Family

Thank you so much for the delicious Edible Arrangement.  It arrived today and my grandkids, who love fruit and chocolate, were so excited!  (Me, too)!

The one I got was a little different from this one. Our pineapple is formed into flowers.  It also came with a box of chocolate covered fruit.  Reece and I just enjoyed  chocolate covered bananas for dessert tonight.  They are soooo good!

Johnnie, Evann and Braden were here when it arrived, and they thought it looked wonderful, too, but none of them would eat any.  There is plenty for everyone.  They should have tasted it.  :o)

How thoughtful of you to send the arrangement.  We have a store in the shopping center near us, so it is very, very fresh.  Love you all so much!  Thank you again!

Wednesday Night

Johnnie and her grands got here late today because they went to see the Alamo and the Riverwalk.  I'm glad they took some time to have fun.  They ate at Dick's Last Resort, a crazy, kind of fun place on the Riverwalk.  

I love having them all in here with me, lying on my bed, looking at pictures and talking up a storm.  Reece and Braden are so cute together.  

Cyrise made a yummy dinner for us, pork in the crockpot.  And I had a little dish of ice cream for dessert, which was a real treat.

Johnnie and her grands are leaving tomorrow.  They will go to see Mom and Sandi in Bryan before heading for Kansas.  

Jason and Ahlyssa are going home, too.  Ron will drive them halfway, and Jason's friend will meet them and take them home.  I'm glad he is able to do that, because it will make the time Ron's away shorter.  He has another two furlough days on Thursday and Friday.  I think Jason is planning to come back in a couple of weeks or so.  I'm sure going to miss him.

Kelly will be here tomorrow to spend time with me until Ron comes home.  Cyrise and the kids will be here, but Cyrise has her hands full with the girls, so Ron wanted Kelly to be here as well.  Sometimes I feel as if I'm an awful lot of trouble.

I'm kind of tired tonight, but it's a good tired.  See you back here soon!

Rainy Tuesday

http://www.lillarose.biz/karenkuplack/index.html

Reece and I are sitting on my bed.  He's watching Ben 10 while I'm on the computer.  He wants to be in here with me as much as possible, which I love.  But I also want him to go play outside or with his sisters instead of being cooped up inside.

Yesterday was not a good day.  I was extremely weak and just wanted to sleep all day.   I feel better today.  The good thing was that my sister, Johnnie and her two oldest grandchildren arrived.  It's been very good to have them here.  

The little girls have fallen in love with their cousin, Braden.  He is so sweet with them.  Aubrey has been following him around ever since they arrived.  They love his sister, Evann, too, but Braden is someone new to them and they are very interested in him.  It's fun to have more teens in the house.

My friend, Karen, was here this evening.  She sells these pretty Lilla Rose hair clips and I wanted to get Kelly one for her birthday.  Kelly and I went to her website and Kel picked out the one she liked (the one in the picture).  It won't be a surprise, but I like that she got exactly the one she wanted.  It's always fun to see Karen and we had a nice visit.

We've had rain for the past two days.  Johnnie drove down from Kansas on Sunday and said it poured on them the whole way.  She spent Sunday night with Kori in Austin, then they drove the rest of the way Monday afternoon.  We need the rain, but I hope it clears up so that the kids can swim and enjoy being outdoors.

The hospice chaplain was here this morning to bring me the Eucharist.  He is such a nice man.  Then the RN came this afternoon.  She did a blood draw for my labs, and did the usual vital signs and took care of an ugly pressure sore I've developed.  

So it's been kind of a busy day.  We had Thai food for dinner.  Johnnie and her grands have gone shopping.  They are staying at Mom's apartment while they're here.  It's nice to have that available for company.

A Good Day

It's been a lovely Saturday here.  

My morning routine is to wake around 6:30 or 7, take my synthroid and check my blood sugar levels and wait for Ron to wake up.  We are getting my bathroom routine down.  Potty, dress, roll into bathroom for washing up, toothbrushing, hair combing.  The hospice people come some days--RN, aide, pastor.

When I'm ready, Jason or Ron usually makes my breakfast.  Lots of protein and good food for the immune system, like bacon and eggs, steak and eggs, omelets, eggs and cheese, and always a little bit of carbs, a little fruit and a yummy cup of coffee.  Jason often adds some veggies, hummus, yogurt--much like the food we ate when we visited Israel together in 2005.  Very healthy.

I usually lie back down around 12:30 or 1 for awhile.  Feels good after sitting in my wheelchair all morning.  I don't usually sleep, but have my computer, the TV remote and the phone available.

This morning I worked on learning the pattern to the crocheted flowers Kel and I are doing.  She came around noon and helped me with that.

She made me some soup for lunch, with bread and parmesan cheese and a glass of iced tea.

I went downstairs around 2:30 or 3:00 and spent the rest of the day down there with everyone.  Kelly and I poured off the oil from the peppermint leaves to make the peppermint oil.  We used some to make toothpaste.  We used my homegrown peppermint.  It's all very natural and healthy.

Kel and Lys went to Hobby Lobby in the afternoon to get the shadowboxes I wanted for the dolls I made.  Kelly framed two of them already, and they look like museum pieces in the boxes.  I just love them!  I'll try to get pics tomorrow.

The third one is for a little fairy I started of polymer clay.  He isn't finished, so Kelly is going to complete him for me, and we will put him in the last box.  His head and body are done, but he needs some arms and legs, an acorn cap for a hat and some kind of leaflike clothing.  Kelly will have fun completing him.

I loaded the dishwasher, with a little help from Cyrise to reach things.  It felt good to be doing something productive.

The children played so hard all day.  They went to IHOP with Papa and Uncle Jason this morning.  They were in the pool all afternoon.  Cammy fell asleep on the couch for awhile.  

We drew pictures for a bit.  I'm still trying to learn to draw a bird.    

Jason made planked salmon and cauliflower rice, and Cyrise made green beans with bacon for dinner.  It was all so good!  Then Jason made me a berry shortcake in a mug for dessert, which was really tasty.  I have it pinned on my pinterest recipe board, but I can't figure out how to put a pinterest button on my sidebar so people can look at my boards.  Let me know if you'd like the recipe and I'll post the link to the website where I found it.

After dinner, Jason made the marinade for kalbi ribs, which we will have either tomorrow evening or Monday--whenever Johnnie gets here.  I'm so looking forward to having her here with us for awhile.

As you can tell, my appetite is still very good.  That makes me think that things are going pretty well so far.  Dr. O has written orders for labs, and the lab people are coming here on Monday for a blood draw.  I am curious to see what my labs will be like.  I have noticed a little shortness of breath lately, but nothing too bad.  I'm having some allergy symptoms, so it may be just that.  Of course I am praying for God's will, and asking that that be a miracle.  :o)  But truly, I am content, happy and I totally accept whatever it is He wants for my life.

If you are Catholic and pray the Divine Mercy, I would appreciate it if you would say it for me now and then.  Thank you so much!

Teddy

Mom is unable to have a dog at Sandi's apartment, so Kelly has been caring for her little shih tzu, Teddy.  Kel already has three dogs, so she really didn't want to keep Teddy, even though she loves him very much.

So we've been hoping to find a good home for him.  My hospice aide fell in love with him when she met him one day when he and Kelly were here.  Kelly told her that we were searching for a home for him, and D said that she would love to have him.

Kelly took him to the vet, made sure he had all his shots up to date and took him to be groomed, so that he would be all ready for his new family.  D took him on Monday, and he is doing great.  We are so relieved to have a loving home for him.

Suzanne

Wednesday night we had more visitors arrive.  My daughter-in-law's sister, Suzanne, drove in from the Houston area with my granddaughter Ahlyssa and Suzanne's daughter, Kayleigh.  They stayed in a hotel nearby.

Suzanne is a family member by marriage, but we have always felt like family.  She is remarkable, raising her five children and working as a nurse at a hospital in Houston.  

Like Becky, she took charge of the little grands on Thursday. She took Reece, Aubrey, Camryn and Lily to Chuck E. Cheese for the afternoon.  Then they went to the hotel for awhile.  All of them had a blast.  They were gone for hours, giving Cyrise a rare break from the kids.  

Suzanne went shopping Thursday night and got all the ingredients for beef vegetable soup.  The beef cooked all night last night in the crockpot, and she came over this morning to add the veggies and barley.  I had some for lunch with a King's Hawaiian roll, and it is delicious.  I feel so totally loved and pampered.  :o)

Suzanne left this morning, taking Kayleigh and Lily with her.  Lily has been here with her daddy for the past few weeks.  I'll miss her, but I'm sure she's ready to see Mommy and her brothers.  Jason is still here, and Ahlyssa stayed, too.

So, I have been given the gift of so much love and caring this week, and it has meant the world to me.  I'm glad that loved ones are coming to see me while I'm still feeling okay, so that we can spend time together.  So far this process I'm going through has been one of the most beautiful, peaceful, loving experiences of my life.  God is so good.

Becky

Hello!

I've been having a busy and wonderful week.

On Tuesday, my BFF from Missouri flew down to see us.  Her name is Becky, and there is no one in the world so sweet.  She stayed until Thursday.  My grandchildren fell in love with her immediately, and she took charge of them the very day she arrived, taking them with her to her hotel and letting them explore.

On Wednesday, she spent the whole day cooking in my kitchen.  She helped Lily make snickerdoodles, then she made chocolate Reece's cookies.  Then, she made her mom's famous, delicious lasagna for us.  We had it with garlic bread, salad, and a strawberry jello salad for supper that night.  It was sooooo good!

And, she made these fantastic desserts called peach bombs.  They are simply whole peaches wrapped in pie dough.  After they baked to a golden brown, she poured a syrup flavored with almond extract over them.  I've never had anything quite like them.  They are absolutely delightful.

When I became a Christian back in the early 1980's, it was because the Holy Spirit used Becky in my life.  You can read more about that in my conversion story.  The link is on my side bar.  He is still using her in my life.  Our friendship is eternal.

Thank you, my dear, dear friend, for everything.  I am so grateful for our time together this week.  Love you forever!

Just a note.

Back soon with a post.  Just wanted to let you know I'm okay.

My Little Summer Bucket List

Don't worry, I'm also planning a little fall bucket list and a little winter bucket list.  :o)

I was thinking about some of the little fun things I've been meaning to do for a long time and decided to write them down and do them.  Want to see?

1.  Get 3 shadowboxes for some little dolls I've made.

2.  Make a crystal garland.  Years ago Kelly and I had a craft booth at a craft show in Blanco, and a couple traded me a big bag of crystals for one of my candlelights.  We are going to twist wire into loops and curls and hang the crystals on it for some sparkle.  Won't that be pretty?

3.  Make oatmeal cookies with Reece.  I'll have to use the piano bench and round oak table as my mixing area, but that's okay.  I can't stand at the counter any longer.

4.  Have a tea party with the girlies.  We have a special Gramma tea set, and another that I got Cammy for her birthday that we can use.  Maybe we will wear hats.  Reece will be invited, too.

5.  Play Ave Maria on my violin.

6.  Learn the chords to Mull of Kintyre on the mandolin.  I couldn't sleep one night, and this song was in my head.  It has become our theme lately, with Ron and Jason finding some beautiful Scotch whiskey to drink from Ron's birthday Glenfiddich glasses.  I don't drink it, but I smell it, and it smells wonderful.  It came from the Mull of Kintyre.  It's called Spring Bank Single Malt Scotch.

7.  Buy mandolin strap (this one's done).

8.  Work with Reece on his reading and math.

9.  Draw.  Birds.  Flowers.

10  Make natural peppermint oil with my mint.  Use in toothpaste.

11.  Get rid of old green couch.  (I can't do that myself, but I can nag).

12.  Get another anointing.

13.  Visit the local Schoenstatt Shrine.

14.  Visit the local Divine Mercy Mission Center.

15.  Make handsewn pillows from my old summer yukatas.  I'll hem them with blanket stitch.  Simple and soft.

16.  Crochet flowers with Kel to make a cute garland together.  (We got a few of these done today--me one, Kel four). 

17.  Get a new water bucket for my dogs.  Their plastic one keeps getting moldy.  Yuck.  I'll get a metal one. 

That's it.  Happy weekend, dear ones.

Thursday Afternoon

Tuesday Ron, Jason, Kelly, Lily and I went to the coolest little store, Guitar Tex, looking for a nice strap for the mandolin.  We found a perfect one, and enjoyed looking around at everything.  They had a bunch of vintage ukuleles, and Kelly thinks she would like to learn to play one.  Her birthday is coming.  :o)

One of the owners played a little tune on one of them, and Lily had such a smile on her face and was doing a little hula dance in her swirly yellow sundress.  Wish I had gotten a video.  It was so cute. Music from a ukulele just feels happy.

So yesterday, Jason took the mandolin Ron made for me back to the shop and they are putting on new strings, angling the bridge and intonating it.  The guy was pretty impressed that Ron made it and doesn't even play.  :o)  He said it has a "good voice."

The shop is over in Olmos Park, which is a fun area to drive through, with huge old homes and gorgeous yards.  Lots of neat shops in the area.  Then we went to Sonic and got malts and banana splits.  While we were there, an RN from hospice called wanting to come see me.  She probably thought I would be at home dying, but I was out having fun.  :o)  She came today instead.

I had a terrific omelet and some nectarine for breakfast, cheese, berries and ham for lunch, and now I'm going downstairs where Josh is grilling.

Happy 4th!

Happy Independence Day, 2013

I'll keep my mouth shut about politics and just say, hope you have a great holiday.  We're grilling and swimming and the kids want to go see some fireworks tonight.  Not sure I'll do that.  

This and That

My friend Karen came to see me yesterday evening, bringing two of her sweet daughters with her.  The girls swam in the pool with a couple of our grands.  I think they had a good time.  :o) We are hoping to see them again soon, for more swimming and visiting.  

Karen took this picture of me and Ron.  I like it.  She is a terrific photographer!

And she brought us peach cheesecake, which is absolutely delicious.  All of us really enjoyed having some last night.  I've been eating really well lately.  Everyone is taking such good care of me.  Thank you for the yummy treat, K!

Kelly is on her way over.  Ron went in to work for awhile today.  He's been going in for a few hours each day.  They have been so nice at work, to allow him shorter hours.  Next week he has a couple of furlough days.  No pay, but time off.

I want to go out today, mostly just to get out of the house.  But I've wanted to get a strap for my mandolin for a long time, and Jason has been playing it some while he's here and needs one, so we're going to see if we can find one.  I swear that boy could play a broken rubber band and make pretty music.

Sandi called this morning to say there's been a glitch in Mom's medicare supplemental plan--the prescription part in particular.  It seems that her insurance changed when she changed cities, and in the small town of Bryan, benefits are not as good as they are here.  So Sandi is having to deal with all that right now.  I'm sure it will all work out.  I just wish things would fall into place simply instead of being such a hassle.  

Mom is doing great, though, and that is such a blessing for me to hear.  She enjoys being with Sandi.

Please send up a prayer for my little sister, Johnnie (my stem cell donor).  She lost her job yesterday.  I know she is stressed and heartbroken.  I think the loss of her job was done in a very unethical manner--the supervisor brought a friend of hers into the office to basically take Johnnie's job.  Then they told Johnnie it was because of financial cutbacks and losing some of their doctors.  

Maybe she will come to Texas for awhile.  (Silver lining)?