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

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.

Hello to Life

I have been given major thoughts on living lately and I find I enjoy the little things more than the big things. Going to be having a garage sale and getting rid of a lot of things that are no longer needed or haven't been used in over a year. Things have begun to clutter my life and I want a much simpler way of living. Even the tiny flowers on my confederate jasmin have brought me joy with their wonderful fragrance. Of course I have friends who suffer from hay fever, so they can't even go near them without sneezing.

Well we had an emergency and had to use the money for my craft room and we are lucky we had it saved. It has been raining in one room in the back of our house and a new roof on the section was needed, so the room is on the back burner. I did cry, but was happy we didn't have to borrow money to do it. My friend has been helping me and Al a lot lately, so we have been paying him to help in the back yard. We had some rotted eaves that have to be replaced and our insurance company is going to drop us. Our agent said if the work is done soon, they may consider reinstating our insurance. I cried like a big baby because we went out to get new insurance and it is going to run over $1,000 more a year and that's a pain where it doesn't need to hurt, if you catch my drift.

Since I will be downsizing, my existing room may be big enough to house all my cubes in the old craft room, so that will make me happy. As long as I have a place to work( not the dining room table again) I will be fine until we save up enough again to build the room of my dreams. Dreams should never be pushed aside, so I will keep on dreaming if it's the last thing I do.

My oldest son, Donnie, is in France right now and having the time of his life. He called Friday before he left the airport to say bye, he always does that, then he called from France to say he had made the trip safely and was already out taking in the sites. He plans on going to London in the fall and is already planning that trip. I am happy for my young globe trotter. There is so much of the world he wants to see. I have a niece who lives in England, so hoping they can meet.

Well, the heat is on over in the south here and although I am happy winter is over, I wish spring would last longer for us, but 89degrees is not my kind of weather. I do hope you all are doing well. I go for my mammogram this week and as always, I worry for nothing. Yes, I am a worry wart and worry about everyone and everything and haven't learned to just let go. See you later. Love and hugs, Pat

Joyful Blessings

As of lately, I have been a little depressed over the heart attack, especially since I had no symptoms. It makse it all scary and I've got one man who is scared too and even though I can tell, I don't think he knows that I know. He is always doing things for me, which is good sometimes, but making me feel so dependant. I guess you could call that a good thing, but sometimes it just feels over bearing. I am so thankful that I have him in my life because the scary would be more than it is. I see the cardiologist tomorrow and I hope to get some answers. I am not the kind of person who sues people but missing the blockage is another thing and it could have prevented the heart attack in the first place. The doctor who did it is now working in his office and is an associate and that makes it even worse.. Plus how could a radiologist have been so sloppy and missed something right in the front. This is one I will have to think over carefully.

Other than that, my life is good. I complained a lot about the craft room not getting started, but he goes on vacation next week and is starting then. Some of the plans have changed a little and it might not be as big as I would have liked, but we don't want to over extend ourselves. I do have lots of old crafts to sell in a garage sale and I am only keeping a few crafts that I do all the time----when I do craft. I have some adorable material that will make some gingerbread aprons  for the little ones in my life and the little chef hats to go with them. It's a really cute apron that I bought for the pattern and my sister bought the hat and said I could take it apart. I have 4 little grand nieces who will love helping their mom's bake and cook.

I have saved some money and I will be going to a Super bingo on the 16th of April and the pots are all $1,000, plus 2 super jackpots of $5,000 and $2,500. It sure would be fun to win one of those. Last night I went and my number to bingo was the next number up but someone beat me to it. That's how the game goes---it's all luck. But my friend and I enjoy going every now and then, so it's fun and I get to see people I have come to like.

Well I hope this wasn't too boring. I love you all and you are always in my thoughts and prayers. Love and hugs, Pat

A new grandbaby is on the way

Well we just found out that my dil is pregnant and we are so excited to have a new baby after 10 years. I thought I would only have 2 and looks like #3 will be here around September. Can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl. My granddaughter wants a little sister, so we will have to wait and see if she gets her wish.

I've been down with my back and have only posted on fb because it's fast and I don't have to sit very long. My last epidural didn't do the trick, so the pain is back. It worked for a little while then stopped and the disk in  my upper back is killing me or rather hurting really bad. It hurts to grow old, but we all have to do it, so I learn to tolerate the aging and pain that comes along with it.

It's getting warmer for us down south. We had a hard freeze last night, but next week we are supposed to get into the high 60s and low 70s, so that is good news. Al will be going on vacation in March and will work on my craft room. Now it's beginning to seem real that it will happen after all. I can't wait and what ever doesn't fit, I will have a garage sale and make me a few extra bucks to decorate it. I plan on making things to decorate it. I have 4 square canvas mats that I am going to cover with scrapbook paper to make a collage on the wall. I was thinking of 6, so I may get 2 more.
Well take care everyone and hope to post more often. My computer in the country will be reinstalled on Saturday, because I have moved into the small house in the country just until the craft room is finished. I get anxiety attacks when things like that are being done. Have a great weekend. Love and hugs, Pat

A little sleet for us

Well I wanted snow, but all we are getting is some freezing rain and sleet. There is a chance for some snow flurries tomorrow, but we will wait and see. Schools are closed and waiting to see if the post office closes. The vehicles aren't designed to drive on icey roads, so I am thinking they will close.

I am so excited about the extension of my craft room. Al is taking vacation for a week in March and is going to do as much as he can on the room. I have a lot of my extra things packed in the storage room he built. My dream is finally coming true.

Confession time. I had started smoking again and it was making me sick and I have finally quit and can say that it feels really great and don't have to freeze to go smoke. I did smoke in our computer room because I didn't want my things to stink and I'm glad to say they don't. But I feel great and just praying now that my stress test goes well and my blockage hasn't gotten any worse and require surgery. Guess that is what scared me into quitting. I had 60% blockage in a main artery and 40% in the left one and that is not a good thing. Just the thought of having to open me up scares me. So this one, I only have myself to blame and I am such a fool to think that I am super woman and nothing will hurt me.

I hope I get to take some pictures for y'all to see. I am so jealous of the snow pictures I have seen, but don't like what happened in Chicago's Lakeshore drive. I can't imagine being stuck in my vehicle or bus for 9 hours. And now they have another blast of snow coming their way. I pray every gets through this.

We have our house in the country rented so I have to move into the small housse which is fine with me. Less to clean and it's only for a short time before I move back here. I told Al I wasn't coming back until he had my craft room built. He has procastenated long enough and I know love should not be built on such things, but you have to know him before you can understand him. This was a promise he made to me 4 years ago and something always gets in the way----his excuses have run out and I want my room. Am I being too "biatchy"??????????? I do love him, but trust has to be rebuilt before I move back with him. I thought it would be sooner, but things happen.
Well going crawl back under my throw. Have a great day and a safe one. Hugs, Pat

Thursday Thrift finds

I had some extra bucks before the month ran out and Al said to go to Goodwill for some shopping therapy-lol. I found this old jewelry box to go with a couple of othes I found and is in good shape. The little pink glass umbrella will be cute in my bathroom for guest soap and for $.39 who could pass up a birdhouse.

I have always loved seeing all the beautiful roses on blogs and I just couldn't pass this picture up, but I can't make up my mine if I should paint it white since it is going in my bedroom.Any comments would be welcome. I am tending towards the white, because most of my accessories are in a pewter color and not much gold in my room.

I used to cross stitch and couldn't pass up this beautifully done piece of work. I did repaint the matte because it was blue and the pink will be perfect---another paint job for the frame unless I find with a really vintage look to it.

Anne Geddes is a miracle artist and just the smiles from all those babies will make me smile in the morning when I brush my teeth. They have enough pink that they will be okay.

I love thrifting and we found a new place to stop near my son's house and just from my car window, I should have stopped, but will be visiting soon---bills come first always and I usually wait until the end of the month to thrift shop or the 1st of the month. I have been putting a little savings aside for my closet and things have started already. I have lots of plants that have to be replanted now that they are up from the ground and in pots. My little gazebo will be coming down because it is in the way. I put the layout on graph paper and I realized just how big my closet and sitting area will be. My closet will be 8x8 and the sittin are will be 12x8. The piers that it will sit on are there and Al is going order all the wood for the frame and base. We are using treated wood since living in the south, termites are a problem so besides the flashing on the piers, we are using treated wood for the entire project. Estimated cost without labor (hubby is the laborer) is around $1,200--not too bad.Now that doesn't cover the cost of finishing the inside,which right now is not our worry.We just want to clear out my craft room before my children get her for Christmas. I will still have the small craft room to work in, so that is off limits to them.

Well speaking of craft rooms, I am going turn the air on and do some crafting today. My brother went out of town, so it's quiet here and I want to take advantage of it. Have a great day. Love, hugs, and prayers, Pat

My Little(big) cottage

Today, I thought I would share with you, the little cottage we live in. The floor plans were from Sears and we called them shotgun homes because if you stood at the front of the house and you could shoot straight through to the back of the house. These are very popular in New Orleans and I fell in love with this one. We could have bought a new home with all modern things, but before this house was painted, it was horrible both inside and out. I will find the pictures of the before and after of the inside for another post.
                                            Click on pictures for a larger view. The house looks small but it is not.

This is what it looks like today, except for needing a new paint job and some new siding in spots. The closed in Porch was my craft shop for several years, then became a nursery for my grandson, and now it is a storage space for all my seasonal decorations.

This was once a worn out old shed and we spent a lot of money making a play house for my grandchildren, only to have our neighbors with a tree filled with termites. Since it had ceiling tiles, linoleum floors and bead and board walls, we never noticed the termites until it had eaten from inside to out, so it is no longer a part of our yard.

I made little walk ways with a mold that I bought and did all this before my surgeries in 2001. I had just about finished the entire landscaping when I got sick and I have not been able to work in it again. God has taken over and I am thankful every day that I used plants that don't need a lot of care.

The little square gazebo is overflowing now with vines and it is so pretty and fragrant when they bloom. The fench is covered in creeping jenny and is so cool to see other plants hanging from the fench.

this is the inside of the gazebo and at night it was always pretty to be lite up with lights and just sit and relax.

this is my side yard which is being cleared out for my storage room on the side of the window. Behind the arbor was a lattice filled with Confederate Jasmine, but was dug up a few weeks ago and planted next to my front porch. Still have lots to move and luckily the arbor is now gone, but the vine is just growing on the picket fench.

This is a before picture and I say that because after all the stenciling, we closed in the patio and made me a craft room and we have had nothing but problems since Lili struck, then Rita did more damage, so I had to move everything into my extra bedroom, which hopefully soon will be my pink frufru bedroom.

I told you I didn't live in a mansion, but my little cottage was my dream and all I have to do now is make a bigger craft room( the correct way) and I'll have my bedroom back. I am praying this will all happen before Christmas or very soon after. I know the addition will have to wait until we get our income tax refund but February is a good time to work-it's cool and he is going to take a weeks vacation to get it done.I hope you enjoyed seeing my little cottage. Love and hugs, Pat

My messy craft rooom

I thought I would show you were I make my creations. It's a mess right now, but working on things, so no reason to clean it up. I have been collecting cubes for over 10 years now and have amassed a great many, so when my craft room is enlarged, everything will have a place. I bead, make cards, do some altering, sew, decoupage, well you name it and I might create it. I have never knitted or quilted, but would love to learn, but I'll wait until I am old to do that-lol. Clicking on the picture will let you see the mess I have right now. Ignore the light dangling---my dad made a 3 way switch and Al doesn't know how to connect the wiring for the fan. I have a switch in my bedroom to turn the light on, in the craft room and on the other side because where the closet it, there was once a porch for emergency exit. I still need to paint the door, but right now helping my siblings is the last thing on my mind. Playing and making things for friends is far more comforting that that. Also it gave me a chance to finish projects that I started before 2000 when I got sick. I am able to do a little each day, so hoping to finish before I move back to Crowley. They are trying to get the money to buy me out and that would be great even though I feel at home here and it's so peaceful. Hope you all have a great weekend. We finally got a real Spring season this year. 80s during the day and high 50s at night. Perfect weather for moi.

Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway below. It is going to be a good one for whom ever wins.

Just stopping by to wish you a belate Happy Easter

Well I have been so busy that Easter slipped my mind a little and forgot to come in wish all of you a very Blessed and Happy Easter. Sorry I'm late. I did have a wonderful day and Al came over and bar-b-cued for me---that was sweet of him. I made the potatoe salad and beans and he cooked chicken and pork sausage---I don't eat red meat and it was so good. My son and family went to Heidi's mom's for Easter, but we have the gc next weekend, so we will have another Easter with them.
Please keep me in your prayers this week. I am having an MRI to see how much damage my brother caused and then in the afternoon of the same day, I will have my mammogram. I will let you all know if I am approved for breast reduction, but not sure I am brave enough to post pictures. We will see. I know that it is a painful surgery, but my neck and back can't take it anymore and I can't have anymore epidurals for a year.
I lost some more weight, I went from 133 to 125 and didn't even try to lose it.
I will tell you another sorry story later, but now I need to get my booty to bed and get some rest. The weather is too great to sleep the day away and I have more painting to do. This one is a project I am making to sell, but it will have to be locally and I don't think I will have a problem selling it. I also want to finish my giveaway and I will give you a few hints. It's an altered canvas with music, lace, old trim, and some bling, so stay tuned, because that will be done before anymore projects are started.
Love, Hugs, and many Blessings to all of you and prayers for all who need them. May God answer your prayers as He sees fit. Just remember, He always gives us what we need. Have a great day.

My Temporary Craft Room

Having fun even though I don't have all my craft stuff here. This is my temporary room for crafting. It was actually my bedroom and apartment at one time. This was used as a kitchen and dining area and my bedroom that I am in now was me and my babies room with a bath in the middle.

A lot of these baskets and little shelves I got at Goodwill. They were brand new with the tags still on them. I am working on a Spring Fling giveaway, but I took it out of the room until it's finished, then I will post it for the giveaway. If you click on the picture you get a better look at things. I've also been painting furniture and I was finishing what I started, then got Al to bring 2 more things for me to work on.....3 stools from my kitchen and another cabinet he made for me that needs to be primed and repainted. I think when the time comes, I am painting my kitchen white with pink accents..I already found some pretty rose dishes at my neighbors garage sale. I am going to mix some soft green into it also.

Al has the money to start my bigger craft room and I am looking forward to it. We aren't getting the house, so I have to let go of that and move on. My sister posted something ugly about me on my Facebook---she called me "One sick Individual" and yes I am, but not in the way she puts it. God forgive me but I never liked my sister---ever. She lives a totally different life than I do and I want no part of the things they do. Thank goodness Jackie, one of my former craft friends, sent me a message about it, but I couldn't block her, so I got adminastration to do it for me. She told me that all Donnie's friends could read my Facebook posts, but she is wrong because I have friends only that can post. What makes people so hateful? Is is because they are jealous seeing someone happy? I just don't know. I only know I lost my very best friend with all this and she will never speak to me again. Oh well, that was how our mother was, she held grudges forever and could not say I'm sorry ever. It was always me that went to her even though I knew I had done nothing wrong.

Okay, I'm rambling now and I don't want to. So I am going back to finish one last coat on 2 pieces of furniture, then to bed. Have a great night or day. Love and  Hugs, Pat