Back in action

As the song goes by Willie Nelson---Well hello there, my it's been a long, long, time. My health has taken a turn or the worse and I think I am dealing with it pretty good. I've been in the hospital 3 times since I last posted and was put in ICU the last time, a couple of weeks ago with a bad case o pneumonia. It was easier to post on fb than trying to post here, but I am back and hope to have the strenght to post more often.
Hubby got to stay with me in ICU, but had to wear a gown and gloves because of the MRSA. He went home during the day because he would have been in the way.

My children were in in May for a weekss visit and I was feeling bad then, but did not want to ruin vacation time. We did so much together and had a great time. My grandchildren are growing so fast and it's hard to believe that my grandson will soon b 17 and the baby 2 years old. Time sure passes fast when you are having a good time.l

Well this is about all I can muster for today, but hope to get some good reading in tomorrow or the next day. Hope to hear from some of my regulars. Love and hugs and many blessings.

Baby Lizzy

Lizzy is growing so fast and I miss her----haven't seen her in 2 weeks, so I am having baby withdrawals. She is sleeping good and just found her hands and it is so cute to see her eyes cross when she sees her hands. She is a loving baby and Heidi is having so much mommy time until it's time to go back to work in March. She will have to sleep when Lizzy sleeps as she works the night shift and daddy Jonathan will be her caretaker at night.

In other news, I am now on insulin for me diabetes and a very strict diet. I did cry and even though diabetes is not a death sentence, it was the cause of my dad's death---diabetic stroke. I watch all the carbs and sugar now and I do miss eating chocolate, but it's been over a year, so I am used to it. No candy for Valentine's Day this year.

Even though I have been awol lots of times, I still think of all of you who have come to share comments or just leave a little note of hello. I pray everyday for most of my blogging friends that they may see good health soon and not have to worry about money. God always provides our needs and not our "Wants".

I would like some prayers for my aunt (my dad's youngest sister) She just found out that she has cancer again and it doesn't look good, but the doctors say it is treatable with chemo, but she is so weak, that I am wondering when they will be able to start the treatments. Thank you in advance. Her name is Ruby and I lived with them when I first got out of school and she found my first job working in a dry cleaners checking in clothes and waiting on customers.

Well I wish you all the best and love and wishes to you all.

Baby Elizabeth

Hi everyone. Here is a picture of our new granddaughter, Elizabeth Jean, weighing in at 9lbs 4 ozs and Heidi had her natural after 2 sections and without any pain medication or epidural. She was the talk of the staff at Women and Childrens and she almost had her at home. By the time the medics picked her up, Lizzy was born within 1 1/2 hours, so they made it just in time. Big Brother Jacob and sister Theresa were thrilled when they met her and they cried with joy. Lizzy has red hair and is a chubby little angel.

I wish you all a Happy New Year filled with good health, wealth, and happiness. Al's surgery went fine and he will be going back to work on the 11th, so all is good on the home front. All my best wishes.

Hello my friends

To say it's been a long time is an understatement. I have been feeling down with no energy and the diabetes is getting the best of me. Al is having surgery in the morning, nothing major, but please keep us in your prayers.

I have been anxiously waiting the arrival of my granddaughter, Elizabeth, but it looks as though Heidi will keep her due date of the 19th. She has been having contractions and is 30% efaced, so it should be anytime now, just hope it's not tomorrow. I want to see my grandchild's birth. The hospitals aren't far from each other, so I would have no problem getting there.

I have been doing a little crafting and made some cute little angel earrings. I wanted to make them into hanging charms for your windshield, but my hands shake too much to string beads.

I miss everyone and will try to visit while Al is recuperating, because he won't be able to sit at the computer for long periods like he does now because of where the hernia is, so I will get undivided attention on the computer.

I have already gotten some very nice gifts from friends and one was filled with gingerbreads. I did put up my new white tree and decorated it with gingerbreads and if I could find my camera, I would be able to take a picture. Al wants to buy me a new one, but I know my old one still works and takes decent pictures and there are other things I could use.

We will be spending Christmas with our son and family and I will do all the cooking since Heidi won't be able to do much after the baby comes and we have invited a couple we know to join us. The more the merrier.

My wish for all of you is to have Peace and Love at Christmas time and always. I do hope everyone has a safe Christmas and if you must drive in the snow, please be careful. Love and hugs, Pat

Good days

I had my epidural last Wednesday and I am feeling really good. I still have bad days and the ruptured disk hurts so bad, I could cry. I also went for my 3 month check up and my glucose level was 6.1 which is really good. I also lost 7 lbs which is due to the diabetic diet I am on. I do cheat, but not very often, because I am afraid of being on insulin, because once you are there, it's for life. Got my flu shot and it put me down for a few days. Almost felt like I had the flu. All in all, everything is good. I try to keep a positive attitude about my illness, but sometimes it's truly hard.

My dil is getting big and she looks like she could be carrying twins, but she isn't. We have a shower planned for her and her family is giving one also, but it's too far for me to go. I don't handle travel very well anymore and sometimes just an hour in the car is brutle. I did manage to craft a few things for the shower, so I have been keeping busy.

Not much else is going on. I wish you all a Blessed weekend with lots of love

Beautiful Day

Today is gorgeous and we are in for some cool weather this weekend. I am so looking forward to it. I want to get my winter clothes out and freshen them up and wash some of them.

Why is it so hard to lose weight when you get into your 60s? I have been following a very strict diet and can't seem to lose much weight. It's sort of depressing because hardly any of my clothes fit. Praying that the winter clothes fit, because we have been saving for my craft room. My sister is so tiny and sometimes I envy her, but I don't have as much stress in my life. The girl is in a constant moving mode, so she tries to gain weight and I wish they could take from me and give to her.

Life is good, but I lost a dear friend because of a bad situation that he mistook and we have been friends for over 40 years.I'm not even sure why he got mad, because all that was mentioned was the utility bill  and he got really mad. Friendship for him means doing everything for him and if you make the slightest mistake he gets angry, but this time it is really bad. He did call me and say he just wanted to be left alone and not have any visitors. Not sure if it's his bipolar speaking because he has so many ups and downs. Guess I don't need a friend like that in my life. It hurt so bad that I cried for hours until my chest started to hurt. That's what made me realize that I was only hurting myself and I really need to take care of myself.

Our granddaughter to be is going to be a big baby. My dil is really big and she still has 3 1/2 months to go. She said the doctors will  give her an idea on her next ultra sound as to how big the baby will be. We are planning a baby shower and dates keep getting changed, because of her work schedule and my sisters, so I may end up doing the shower alone. I know my son will help because he is good with fixing party food, so I am not worried about taking it alone. The baby's name will be Elizabeth Jean and we are praying for a redhead. We have one already, but it would be nice if this little angel would have redhair.

Well wish I had photos to post but haven't been doing too much. I really need to get busy and make my Christmas cards or else I will be sending out store bought cards. I've got a new white tree and hoping I have the energy to at least put out a few decorations. I'm getting too old to do what I usually do, but each year I say that and they all come out anyway-lol.

Wishing you all a Blessed and Happy weekend.

Horrah for Fall

Well fall is upon us and I couldn't be any happier. Fall is my Spring and I am hoping I will get the energy I used to get at this time of year. Not much going on in my life except the anticipation of our new granddaughter. My sister and I are giving her a baby shower as she has nothing since her youngest is 11 years old and talk about an excited young girl.I think she will make a great big sister and she is already making plans helping her mom.

I got my first flat tire ever and I was grateful that I was only a mile from my sons house, so he fixed it for me. There was no way I could even get the lugs loosened, much less get the spare from underneath our car. That is the only thing I hate about my PT cruiser.

I am still having problems with my hands and it takes forever to type a post, because they shake a lot. This was caused (the doctors believe) from the stroke I had. My handwriting is horrible and signing my name is shameful, but I have to live with it. I do use a little rubber ball to exercise my hands now, because it was getting worse. The heart attack left me drained and I am just able to sleep better at night.

Well hope you all have a nice Hump Day. God Bless

Hurricane Irene

I pray that everyone who lives on the East Coast was spared any damage or flooding. I was worried about my son in NYC and as things turned out, he missed the subway to go home in Jersey so had to stay in NYC with a friend in the Bronx and wasn't able to get home until this morning. Not sure if his flight to Oregon was cancelled or not, but he was supposed to fly out this morning.

I'm doing well considering the 100 degree weather we have been having. It is too hot to do anything or go out and the air conditioning is straining to keep us cool. I for one will be happy to see fall next month with cooler weather. I am not much on winters anymore but this will surely beat the heat and humidity we have. We are predicted to have some 80 temps at the end of the week and hopely that will help cool things off. A couple of weeks ago, I had to drive in a lightening storm and it was not fun or pretty. Several homes caught fire from lightening strikes and the strikes came awfully close to me. It was the longest drive in memory.

Hope everyone is well and doing good. I miss blogging, but too tired to get on sometimes. Since my heart attack, I have been a little depressed off and on and it's the one thing I thought would never happen to me. Oh well life goes on such as it is.
May you all be Blessed. Love and hugs, Pat

It's a Girl

We just found out the sex of our future grandchild and it's a girl. I am thrilled and so excited and can't wait until December but like everything else, I have to wait.

My diabetes is giving me hell and most of the time, I am so hungry, but there is very little that I like that is on my list of foods. At least I can have fresh fruit because that would have done me in. I ate some wonderful carrots the other day, only to find out that's a no no on the list.If anyone is a diabetic, please share how you managed. Love and hugs, Pat

Peek a boo, it's me

Well it has been a long time since I have been here and not much has changed except my health and I wish it were good news, but I am now on diabetic medication. I always prepared myself for it but nothing can prepare you. Everyone in my dad's family are diabetics and it's not because of our diets, because I rarely eat sweets, I eat a low carb diet and watch every little thing I eat. It's genetics at it's worst. But I am dealing with it, but I am tired all the time and don't feel like doing much. My craft room has been put aside and I rarely go in it, because it is a mess but hopefully this coming year will bring better news for the new craft room. I don't give up on my dreams very easily, so there is still hope for me having one big room.

My family is doing fine and next week I will find out the sex of my soon to be grandchild. They went on a family cruise together with Heidi's mom and family so this may be their last trip for a while. My baby turned 37 today and it's hard to imagine me having a child that old. My grandson has a girlfriend and she is the granddaughter of our former governer. He will be 15 next month and time sure has flown by.

We rented out the big house that we all own and I have a friend who is staying with me for a short while and doing work around the property for us. My sister fired my brother because he was too undependable.

"We have been getting rain every day now for a month and today was the worst. It has been raining cats and dogs since early morning and has yet to let up, but the farmers need the rain, so we are tolerating it. It's hard keeping the grass cut and I was dumb enough to fertilize it, so by the time it gets cut, it's time to do it again.

I am out of the loop, so I will try and visit as many as I can. I miss all of you and hope that every one is fine and healthy.

Well going to check out some blogs. Love and hugs and many prayers for everyone.

Just peeking in with news

Well things have not been good for me in the last month. I got a bad case of pluracy and pneumonia and did not know what pluracy was, but soon found out how painful it was. My white cells were 17,000 and I was feeling like a sick dog, dragging my feet. After many tests, they found out the problem and treated it but it was hell and I pray never to go through that again. I am just getting out of the bed after resting for 4 weeks and not being able to breath very good. My strenght is coming back and Al started moving things around in my craft room.

Hope you are all fine. Love and hugs, Pat

Prayers Needed

Sorry I have been away, but things are complicated right now. I lost a friend through selfishness and I don't think I want that drama in my life anymore.

My doctor is detoxing me right now so I need prayers right now. I have been going through withdrawals and nothing but nausea, the shakes, and headaches, not to mention I have to endur the pain for 7 days until this is over. Then he will put me back on them again. My body got used to them, so he said I was addicted to them and needed to stay off for a week. I also have to have an MRI on my left shoulder. I fell like a fool and did something to it and he doesn't want to treat it until he knows what it is, so that will be done on Tuesday.

I talked to my former bil today and we had a nice chat. I miss him and he has said he is going to come and visit me and Al. He's like a brother and is the sweetest, kindest, and selfless person you would ever want to know. There has to be another woman out there for him, but he has yet to find one. I think he is stilll in love with my sister.

Well I wish you all a safe and wonderful Memorial Day. I think Al might bar-b-cue some steaks, even though I don't eat beef, so I might get him to get me some pork to eat instead. Still love you all and miss you.

My aunt

Well my aunt is now buried and the funeral was so beautiful and they buried her in a site called the circle of trees. So as a gardener and lover of plants and trees it is a beautiful circle of trees and she is in the middle of alll of  them. It was a sad day and we all gathered at her house to remember all the great times we had with her. She always smiled every day and never let stress get to her. Even when she gardened she had her face done up and she had her little yorkie with her at alll times. She was a wonderful aunt and we visited her many,many times. I will miss seeing her smile and she was always a gracious hostess when we visited. Thank you all for the prayers. Here daughter Sandra will be the one who misses her most, because at 4pm every day, they had coffee together and just talked about their day.Sandra is with the Sheriff's office and many of her workers were there and they made a line for the coffin to pass through. Her 3 children will miss her very much as they were a close knit family and she had many grandchildren and a few great grandchildren.
I know she is walking on golden  paths with many flowers to tend to and she is now with her other sisters and brother and my dad. Her journey has just begun and I know it will be a wonderful new journey for her. Love and hugs, Pat

Sad news

"Today I have bad news. My aunt died yesterday after a battle with alzhemiers. She sufffered, but the last 2 weeks went by fast and she rested and was out of pain. She went peacefully yesterday afternoon. Please pray for my cousins and her sisters who are very sad today, but Aunt Beulah is out of pain and her new journey has begun. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Love and hugs, Pat

Happy Mothers' Day

Just wanted to drop in and wish you all a Happy Mother's Day. I wish my mom were here, but I know she is watching down from Heaven. My children will not be able to share in my day, but they will all be coming down in November to share in our 40th anniversary. They are giving us a party and we will renew our vows to each other. I thought about getting a short gown to wear, but I think I will stick to a dressy dress or pants suit, maybe a tunic style in a soft beige or pink. "They are working long distance to get this done but my sister is helping them, so that will make it easier to do. It will be our 40th and it just happens to fall on a Saturday, so that is great also. I never had a real wedding, so I am excited about this.

My daughter is very thoughtful and she got me the perfect gift----a Lowe's card. I know that may sound silly to some, but with the money we are saving this will just be added to it for my bigger craft room. I wish I could  part with more things, but as I went through some things, I thought about what I could make and do with a lot of it. There is a lot that I can use in another giveaway because I have so much lace and ribbon, I will never use it all.

Again, Wishing you all a very Happy Mother's Day. Love and Hugs, Pat

Shaky hands

I have not been blogging a lot lately due to the fact that my hands were affected by the stroke and heart attack.. We couldn't figure out why my typing was getting so bad and I had to back space so much. Also my handwriting is horrible now. We pulled out old cards from years gone by and my handwriting has changed almost 100%. My hands are constantly shaking and I tried beading on a card and it just isn't there anymore. I wanted to cry and sit on the pitty pot for a while, but won't go there. There are far too many people who are worse off than myself and I pray for those who are sick or hurting just about every day.

I have been going through some of my craft things and trying to organize, so I can move back into my old craft room now that the roof is fixed. I may have to get rid of one of my large desks but if at all possible, I will try to fit it in.

So other than that, I am doing okay and miss blogging, but I have lost my camera and have no idea where I placed it, but I know it's probably somewhere so I will continue to look for it. Might have to check Al's desk and see if it was left there. Have a great week and a great weekend. Hope you are having some beautiful weather. A friend in Colorado said they just got 6 inches of rain---in May. Love and hugs, Pat

Freshly painted house

Well our little cottage is almost finished with the new paint job. Only the north side is left and the first picture shows the house scraped from the old paint and ready to be primed. Our littel house is about 1500 sq ft and just right for us. We moved out of the big house because it was just too big to handle, but now I regret it because I would have a large craft room with french doors leading into the living room. "The room was a formal dining room that was rarely used and the bedrooms were much bigger. We chose to buy instead of renting even though it was cheaper to rent and we didn't want a big house again. You have seen most of the inside although only with Christmas decorations. I like my little cottage and wouldn't trade it for nothing.

This is the house all painted and fresh. That's my PT in the front. Will try to take more pictures later. Some people are lucky to live in large beautiful homes, but God must have known what we needed to buy at the time and I am not ashamed to tell you what we paid for it. He must have known that I would get sick and this way we won't lose our home due to medical bills like so many have done. I appreciate the simple little house and it is cute inside. We did all the work ourselves except for 2 rooms of carpet. We got this little house, it was a repo from a couple who lost it because of medical bills and paid $17,600 for it and is now appraised for nearly $90,000, so we did good in my mind. We thought about selling it but we still have room in the back of the house to build me a bigger craft room, which is on hold right now because of a leaky room in the back part of the house. I am a happy camper in my little cottage and we hope to add some gingerbread trim to it to give it character because right now it just looks like a white house.

I hope you all have a great and Blessed Easter tomorrow. My son and his family willl be joining us for lunch. Love and hugs, Pat

What I learned from the Easter Bunny

                                                    All I need to know


                                           I learned from the Easter Bunny!

                                       Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

                                    Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.

                                  There's no such thing as too much candy.

                             All work and no play can make you a basket case.

                                    A cute tail attracts a lot of attention.

                                  Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.

                                Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.

                                   Some body parts should be floppy.

                            Keep your paws off of other people's jelly beans.

                        Good things come in small, sugar coated packages.

                         The grass is always greener in someone else's basket.

                  To show your true colors, you have to come out of the shell.

                         The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.

                              May the joy of the season fill your heart.

                                    AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU!

Happy Easter to all of you

Just dropping in to wish you all a very Happy and Blessed Easter. Hope you don't eat too much chocolate. I used to be addicted to it, but I have broken my addiction and it wasn't that hard to do. All I had to do was think about taking another pill for diabetes and that did it for me.
They just finished painting our house and got our insurance reinstated. Can you believe that is the reason they were going to drop it. Only a small section in the back needed to be painted, but they were being strick on their clients---so there went my craft room. I did cry, but I know that Al will save some more money and get it built. At least we had the money to pay someone to do it. So now it is a crisp new white cottage and it really does look better. Wish I could have helped them, but there was no way my back could take that.
So now I have to get busy and clean out closets and rooms to get ready for my garage sale. I wouldn't be lucky enough to make enough for the craft room, but I do have furniture for sale and lots and lots of things to get rid of. I have already given some things to my friend for a girl he knows that does crafts and anything left over, she can have. She is into altering things, so I'm sure just about anything I have will do.

Again,  wishing you and your families a very Blessed and Happy Easter. Love and hugs, Pat

Donnie in France

My son is having the time  of his life and I am so happy for him that he is a globe trotter now. His next trip will be in the fall when he visits London. I hope you enjoy the pictures he posted.

I have photos of him at the Effiel Tower, but I don't think he went up in it. He is due home next week and has many other villages to visit. He went to the beach there, but I can't remember the city off hand.

In other news, I had my yearly girly mammogram and so far, I have not heard from them, so all must be well. I do have a cyst that I would like removed because it can hide a cancerous cyst, so I will be talking to my doctor about having that done towards the end of the year. I have to wait because of the Plavix I am taking.

Al is slowly getting the work done on my old craft room and I have so much to go through and get rid of, but it will be an easy task with my friend helping me. Yesterday, I tried climbing 2 flights of stairs and almost didn't make it. My heart was pounding and I almost lost my breathe. Now I understand why the doctor didn't want me climbing stairs so soon.

I have not been a nice blogger as of late. Too many people to visit and not enough time in the day. I tire easily, so I usually end up on the sofa, falling asleep. This is not the norm for me. I could never fall asleep on anything but my bed.
Well going to try and visit some blogs and catch up on everyone. Love, hugs, and many blessings.