It's my lucky day!

Thankfully, I'm in pretty good health and don't interact much with medical professionals. However, I'm putting my new health card to the test! 

I had a physical yesterday. I didn't think they did them any longer, but my doctor wanted one done. Perhaps because it's so long since I last saw her. I laughed because she was taking my blood pressure and said, "It'll likely be high because of the pain and swelling in the knee." Nope -- she chuckled as the reading was very low! Let's hope it stays that way, as I have two members of my immediate blood family with high blood pressure. So that's two that need medication and three that don't!

And then I received a raft of requisitions as I thought I would. I also convinced the doctor to get my other knee checked out since the wait for the ultrasound would be long. 

Back to the diagnostics clinic to book appointments. Thankfully, it was the afternoon, and it was relatively quiet. I realized what the receptionist meant the day before about not being able to book an appointment. They only have a 3-month window of appointments, and that window was FULL. Next week, a new month would likely open up, and I could get my ultrasound appointment. OH -- I get it now. 

But if you are lucky -  I was chatting with the one receptionist, and the other one piped up to say that they just received a cancellation and asked if I would take that date? AH -- does the King of England live in England? YES  - please. So the date is June 26th. The timing isn't perfect as I am going on a quilt retreat that day, but seriously? Let's get our priorities in place here! And they will do both knees. I'm set! I'm sure there'll be a long wait after that to get to the surgeon, but at least I shaved a couple of months off the wait time. 

I got a date for a mammogram (in a month), and there were no availabilities for bone density, so I have to wait until more openings happen. 

Oh, and I got the X-ray done on the other knee. All that was time-consuming, but technically it wasn't too long. Actually, I think everything was done in slightly more than one hour. OH -- I have to do blood work, and when I went to that clinic, they would have taken me immediately, except I have to fast for a couple of them, so I decided to wait and do it all at the same time. That won't happen for a couple of weeks, but I WILL go, unlike the last time (many years ago, when I got a requisition for blood work) when I just didn't go. 

And I drove to the office yesterday as my knee was much worse, and I had other errands to do after. 

I also had to take my MIL to the dentist to have a tooth pulled. That process took way longer than all my stuff. I had to pick her up and then get her to the dentist. Can you believe in this age that this office is NOT wheelchair accessible? She can do the stairs, but she's slow. However, I think she was faster than I was yesterday! Of course, they were late, and we waited a half hour before they saw her. Now how can that be when we are paying for this and still have to wait? 

Then it was back home, and I had to get her prescription filled for painkillers and antibiotics. Can you believe that there were at least seven employees in the pharmacy, and yet, it took hours to get the prescription filled? We are a world that is happy to take pills to solve a problem rather than change our lifestyle and eating habits. Oh well --- unlucky for them -- lucky for me! Zero prescription medications on my schedule, and let's hope it stays that way! WAIT -- I know some people NEED medication, but what about those that could be eliminated by lifestyle changes? 

I had to go to Fabricland to buy fabric for a garment I need to make for my mom; I also got a geocache in that area. Then I stopped at the grocery store to get a few things -- when was the last time my car was in the grocery store parking lot? YEARS!! But anyway, I finally made it home in time to eat dinner. 

Then I vegged on the couch (OH MY GOSH - I'm becoming a slug) with an ice pack on my knee. It's feeling slightly better today because the swelling has decreased somewhat. OK -- I will try not to bore you with any more stories about the darn knee. It is what it is; all I can do now is wait for the ultrasound and hope for the best. 

One day, I will get some quilting stuff on this blog, as it seems to be my health woes or Murphy!

But she sure likes to entertain, and she loves to play with that ball! 

MOM -- I'm trying to be good! 

Wait -- I do have a quilt-related thing to share today. Cathy dropped off some quilt tops for Project Linus. She is the one who took the scraps, and I promised to quilt her tops!

Project Linus quilt tops

They are small, so it shouldn't take too long to quilt them, but it still takes time to get them done! I'm thinking seriously about the number of classes I'll be teaching/leading in the fall so I can have time to do stuff for myself and get some of these community project quilts done. 

The clubs are definitely going to be based on participation. The clubs with the least participation are already on the chopping block. The participants don't know that yet, and everything will carry on until the end of the year as scheduled. Then we'll see what happens next year. The one club that will remain FOREVER is the UFO club. Everything else is up in the air! I've got to stay strong, and when it comes to booking classes, I have to say NO. I'll be booking some, but they will be few. 

I need to sit down with a calendar and a piece of paper and figure out how much I want to do, so I can have a free weekend from time to time. And I forgot there are SIX sessions this weekend, not five! 

OK -- and now, back to the girls. DH was watching golf, and I was vegging with my icepack; Lexi was cuddled up to her dad, and poor Murphy felt left out. 

Mom? Dad? What about me?

So, DH told her to come on up and there we were -- the four of us on our respective halves of the sectional, and everyone was happy! 

MOM -- this is the best! 

It was a great way to spend the evening. I didn't require a nap, so I'm good, but I must learn to take a sit-down break during the day with ice!

While I still have a ton of paperwork to address, I need to get some quilting and sewing done today. Hopefully, there'll be some quilt pictures tomorrow! 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

Mom - Can I come?

Phew -- another event done, and for those that could not attend, well, you missed a TON of information. Everyone left the events with loads of inspiration and knowledge that they were NOT expecting when they arrived! I like when that happens!

The drive was fine both ways, although I was getting a bit tired as I neared home, as it was well past my usual bedtime by then. But I'm listening to The Pearl Sister, the fourth book in The Seven Sisters series. Someone (I think it was one of you) mentioned they did NOT like this book, and based on the sister's personality, I didn't think I'd like it either. However, it's not bad, and I'm enjoying it. I'm only just halfway through this book. They are LONG - 20 hours of audiobook! And as the story unfolds, you try to guess how the sister is connected to the historical figures. I'm enjoying them, but I know the eighth and final book is out, so I must catch up. There are still four more to read after this one. 

The next set of events is in Winnipeg at Carellen's Sewing Center next week. We're talking accessories for PFAFF, Adventures in Applique, Quilting, and a hands-on event to test the sergers! It'll be a jam-packed three days, and if you live close enough to Winnipeg to attend, you will not be sorry!

So I'd better start unpacking and repacking for that, but I also have a lot of quilting and sewing to do before then, and there is the prep work for those five classes this weekend. 

I've decided to visit the doctor this morning, and WAIT -- I get to test out my new health card. Yes - it arrived while I was away last week. I booked the appointment for her to look at my knee, which I'm pretty sure is now the culprit to a torn (again!) meniscus. How will that affect my summer plans and daily walking? 

Some days (like yesterday), walking can be quite painful and unpleasant, so I'll get some X-rays, and then we'll see what the scoop is. The big question, and I know what you will all say, is whether I walk to the doctor's office or take the car? While quite stiff and, I presume, swollen, it's not hurting so much this morning. And how does one tell if the knee is swollen when both knees are chubby anyway? It's mostly moving to a sitting or standing position that causes the most pain -- walking is not so bad. 

It is all fun and games when you are getting old, and as we all know - it sucks! 

But maybe I'll ask for my blood work to be done as well since it's been a "few" years since it was last done. 

Yes -- I was good and did some research on the geocaches to find one near Groovy Threads in Trenton. I had a break between the classes, and it was quick to pop out and get it. I believe that makes eight days in a row. Two more days, and I will get another virtual badge. I know -- some people would ask how old I am -- well, it gets me outside for some fresh air and exercise - that's all I say! Besides, I've pretty much poopooed the idea of caring what other people think about my eccentricities. It's my life, and I'll do what I want (within the law, of course!)

Here's the thing - the geocache was near where customers pick up their online orders from a major store. So as the people are parked with their cars facing the edge of the parking lot with their trunks open to receive their orders, I'm in the threes right in front of them. I bet that looked very weird to them!

And I see when I went to bed that a brand new cache was published last night, and it's on the way to the doctor's office. That could be my cache of the day! 

During our MondayZoom sewing days, we have show and tell. It's so much easier to do show and tell on Zoom than in person. No one wants to carry extra things. People send me photos of something they are working on or completed. I assemble the photos into a PowerPoint slide show, and we can hear and see the story behind the quilt. 

I start the presentation with a picture of a sewing machine or some sewing-related item. And over the past couple of years, we've had some amazing photos. Some I found online or in my travels, and yet others were found by the group members. 

I should start sharing them with you after they are shared with the group. I shall try to remember that! 

I just realized that I am NOT saving those photos. They go into my presentation and are then deleted week by week. But I found this picture. It's a tin tile that must have been used as advertising in a store that sold Clark's Cotton thread. How cool is that? I found this on the checkout counter at Heart n Home quilt shop in New Hamburg. 

A tin tile

As I was packing the suitcases yesterday, Miss Murphy was beside herself. MOM - are you going away again? I NEED to come with you. Please................... And when I was packing the car, she was trying to escape the house so she could jump in the car. 

She is like a puppy and follows me everywhere in the house, and there is that darn ball. She's carrying it around the house now, hoping someone will throw it for her. 

Mom -- I've packed my ball! 

So now that I'm home for five days, she can have her fill of me! But I notice that it's Lexi beside me in the office this morning, and Murphy is nowhere to be found! 

Hopefully, there'll be some exciting quilt stuff to share with you tomorrow as I'm off to start things for the day. I did NOT make it to spin class. I was tired, and I thought my knee should get a break! 

Have a super day!

Ciao!!

It's all in my head!

I don't get worried about my health very often. I had issues when I was young, but for the last several decades, I've been very healthy and very active.

This whole knee issue has really put a kybosh on my activity level and the pain - well, I won't go into the details. Let's just say that it's been an interesting couple of months and I do have a much better appreciation of how disabled people feel.  I know, having a bum knee doesn't put me anywhere near to being in a wheelchair but not being able to walk properly has sure put a lot of stuff into perspective.

Not only am I worried about my daily activities which include walking that darn Lexi, although she would prefer to go to the dog park!  I was getting worried about Fall Market at the end of this month which will entail a lot of walking. While I'm able to finally put weight on my knee, walking for any distance is - well, not fun!  Hey - I was even contemplating renting a scooter or a segway which for me, well that's totally unheard of!

Something has to be done!  

It's time to take action!   I HATE taking pills and supplements are just not part of my vocabulary.  However (and this is so NOT me), I've been hearing endorsements for this product EVERYDAY and I thought I would give it a try.

I stopped at the drugstore last night and picked up a bottle of Sierrasil.  I know - I never do that. I never get pulled in by an ad. But I did.

I took one pill last night and I slept the ENTIRE night without waking up. That hasn't happened in a long time. I usually wake up because of the pain in that knee.  While I still have pain today, I'm not limping and the pain is better.  Not perfect by a long shot.  And let's not forget, this is NOT the knee that had surgery.  That knee is fine!

Now how could this be working in such a short time???   I don't care if the pills aren't actually doing anything, although it's inflammation that is my problem, not so much the joint.  If this is all a placebo effect, I don't care!!!!   I actually feel a bit more like my old self today and that's all that counts!!!!!

On that note, I'm going for a run at lunch!  Just kidding!!!   I hate running!

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!

Just say NO!

I was at Tim's yesterday morning getting my tea on the way to the dog park. Guess what I saw?

Pumpkin spice muffin!

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!    I love those muffins, but I refuse to buy them. I used to eat a lot of those muffins. I think I would buy one every day. Then I realized something - there is a LOT of calories in those muffins.

Depending on the muffin, there is between 350 and 370 calories per muffin!  Doesn't take long to pack on the pounds if you eat one a day.  That's what happened to me and how I gained about 8 pounds when I didn't need to. It's all muffin! And I've got muffin tops to show for it!!!

Even this morning, I was so tempted to order a muffin to have with my tea, but I just said NO!  The more I say NO to things like muffins, the easier it becomes to say NO to extra calories. And since I'm a bit incapacitated these days - imagine what would happen if I started to eat those muffins and can't walk?  Well - we won't go there!

Knee is swollen and it hurts even with the pain killers. Can't begin to imagine what it would be like without them. I wonder how medicinal marijuana works? Does it actually make the pain go away or you are high and don't care?  Hmmm - how do I get me some of that magic stuff?  I'll survive and will not stop living because of a bit of pain, but I can sure appreciate the mobility issues that people have. It's not the flexibility of the knee that hurts, it's putting weight on it. I got out of bed this morning and just stood there - willing myself to take a step. My bladder said MOVE and my brain said NO WAY - this is going to hurt!!!   I wonder if a cane would help with that????   Once I get moving, I'm sort of OK - it's just the going from sitting to standing that's a bit of a challenge at the moment.

Oh well - on with what happened yesterday.  I spent the entire day chained to TWO sewing machines and I was happy as a clam. I was exhausted when I shut them both down after dinner. You can't see what I did on the one machine until it gets posted on QUILTsocial, but I can show you what I did on the other one.

Yep - I started another embroidery block. Thought I would show you some of the tools that are necessary to make this happen.  I have these knife edge applique scissors that I bought years ago.  They are made of stainless steel (they sound so nice when you close them - not the same sound you get with plastic scissors!)

Applique scissors to trim 

 Because of the flat edge, you can trim things nice and close.  Notice that you don't take this out of the hoop to trim - you are trimming in the hoop!

Trimming the batting

 And then the sky goes on.

Sky is stitched in place and trimmed

I mentioned these pre-wound bobbins the other day. While I like them, my embroidery machine does NOT sense when they are empty and will continue stitching away. If I'm around, I can hear the difference when the bobbin goes empty, so I need to keep an eye on that.  The bobbin ran out the other day when I wasn't around and it did a LOT of stitching with no thread! But so cool - when the thread is gone, the spool is flat!

Full bobbin, empty bobbin

I'm not sure if this is how the jump stitches are digitized in the design or whether that is how my embroidery machine deals with them. I do know from messing with the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC and the Husqvarna Viking Ruby Royale that the jump stitches are taken care of by the machine. However,this is something that I will have to check with my sources - this may be just a result of the way the file was digitized.

Jump stitches that need to be trimmed

 And there is a cool pair of scissors for trimming them

Curved scissors to trim jump stitches and other thread ends

 Remember - you are trimming those threads in the hoop and sometimes under the foot of the embroidery machine.  The curve really comes in handy!

Curved, angled embroidery scissors

 I've hardly ever used these, but now they are being put to the test!!!

There are a "few" thread changes. I'm not working with the brand of thread that is listed in the booklet. No worries - I just select a color that I feel is appropriate and I've changed a few. Well, there area few yellows in the blocks. I choose one yellow for something, then felt the next yellow I needed should be a bit lighter and then for another part, I felt the shade needed to be different yet again, so I picked another yellow from my embroidery threads.

Well, imagine my surprise when I was rifling through the threads in my tin and noticed this!

Same NUMBER!!!

 Yep - I had selected the SAME yellow for all three spots. Imagine that I had three different spools of the same yellow. How does that happen????

As was suggested to me, I'm keeping all those threads I'm working with in a separate space for the duration of this project.

Threads in use for this project 

I'm sure there will be more. It seems that I need to pick at least one different color per block, although I think I've got most of the colors I need now.

And I'm getting good at the applique. I no longer cut a piece of fabric (except for the sky and the ground - those are standard sizes). Nope - I just place the entire piece of fabric, stitch it in place and then trim it!  Way easier that way!

Placing the applique fabric

And so what exactly did I get done yesterday????

The witch block

The scarecrow block

The vampire block

I know - I couldn't help myself. I was having so much fun even though I had other stuff to do, but I was on the other sewing machine so it wasn't like I wasn't getting anything done!!!!   I now have FIVE of 25 blocks completed!  And one of those blocks had almost 50,000 stitches in it!!!  Thankfully, the other two were in the 36,000 range.

Five blocks DONE!!!!

I think I mentioned this yesterday, but there are a few issues with the steps in the booklet and the digitized images. They don't match!!!!  While I can figure most of them out, the one I didn't like was the thread change that happened with NO STOP in between.  Luckily I was sitting at the machine at the time that happened. Otherwise,  my scarecrow would have had a green outline around his face!!!!!   I'll be writing a little bit of feedback to the company because of the five blocks I've done, there has been an issue with FOUR of them. I'll be polite - don't worry.

However, in trying to figure out some of the issues, I did learn something.  You see the design layout below - it has a whole bunch of weird colors on it???  And you see the bars of colors on the right hand side - each of which has a number???  Well - those numbers correspond to the numbered steps in the booklet and the colors correspond to what is on the screen. DUH!!!!!   OK - so it took five blocks for me to figure that one out.  It helps a bit, but the fact that that thread change wasn't indicated anywhere and was in ONE STEP - that's a problem.

The colors and steps are coded to match!

Well, that's it for the day!  Today is a new day and there's a bunch more exciting stuff waiting for me!!!

Have a great day!

Ciao!

OH - I think Lexi has something to tell you today! She's such a nut.

How big can it be?

I had a couple of errands to do yesterday. One of the projects I'm working on - well I didn't like the way it looked - you will get to see it eventually.  So I needed to go to Fabricland to get some new cord.  Of course, I didn't take the piece with me and they had three different styles/colors. Thank goodness the stuff is cheap because I bought some of all three!!!

Three different styles/colors of cord

My next errand wasn't quite as easy.  I will be teaching a class on tuffets in the new year. Don't know what a tuffet is???  Check out this link. I needed to get some upholstery batting to go between the foam and the fabric.

There is a factory not far from work that sells this stuff so I went there. Yes - I could have gone to Fabricland but I didn't.  At the factory you buy this stuff by the roll. Now seriously - how big could that roll be???   When I went around to the loading dock (that should have been my first clue), I saw the roll sitting there. Yikes - how am I going to get that in the car?

It's huge. I couldn't shove the thing down enough to get in the car so one of the workers came to help me. And it fit in the car!!!

Roll of fibre (that's what they call it) in the car

Want to know how much is on that roll???  I forget how many yards, that's going to make a LOT of tuffets!!!!   Fortunately it doesn't weigh very much. It's mostly air.

Popping the roll of fibre out of the car!

Now here lies the problem.  I needed to get the fibre in the house - I figured that would be cleaner and easier than the garage. Thankfully my front door has a little side door that opens to make it bigger so it was easy to get in the house.

But wait - I had to get it up the stairs first. And for some reason, I put my leg with the bad knee on the first step and put a bit of weight on it and I thought someone had driven a knife to the core of my leg and twisted it. So there I am at the bottom of my front step (in my PJs, no less) and I'm bent over in excruciating pain and this massive roll of fibre at the bottom of my front step!  I'm laughing about it now - thank goodness that took place fairly early in the morning when no one was around!!!!

After what seemed like an eternity, I did manage to roll the batting up the steps and as mentioned, opened the sidelight on the door to get the batting in the house.

I left it in the front hall as I was in so much pain, I couldn't do anything.  The pain has subsided so I'm going to move the batting and take a picture. Just a minute.

Told you it was big!

The update on the knee - well the pain killers finally kicked in yesterday which helped with the swelling, however it only takes the constant dull ache off - doesn't take away the sharp pain.  I've no idea what's happened to it, but at least by the end of the day yesterday, I was able to walk somewhat normal. What I know it doesn't like is a long walk like when I take Lexi for a walk.  That isn't fun!!!   X-rays and ultrasound on Tuesday morning.

I'm trying to be committed to this Halloween project so last night - back to the embroidery machine and here is the latest block

One more Halloween block done!

However even at the price that we pay for these designs, there were two things I didn't like about this block. One - there were errors in the book - so STEMS was actually the pupils in the cat's eyes.  While I'm not an expert in this field, I know enough about it to know there was a mistake. The other thing I didn't like was the stars and the cat's whiskers were digitized in the same step. Now in the original, the stars are grey so that works for the cat's whiskers. My stars are GOLD and now the damn cat has gold whiskers.  I knew that was going to happen, You just have to follow the guidelines in the booklet and study the imagine and I figured that out. If I would have had half a brain, I would have stopped the machine after the stars, loaded on a thread for the whiskers and started the machine again.  I forgot and let the machine go and well - I've got gold whiskers.

If it bothers me that much - I can always rip the whiskers out and do them free hand.

Gold whiskers on the cat!

My two blocks - only 23 more to go!!!!

I see Lexi has been busy this morning - you should check out what she had to say.

I have been making good progress on my QUILTsocial blog posts. Working like crazy on the sewing machine, taking pictures. Everything so far is edited and uploaded on the internet.  And I'm FOUR weeks away from the go live date. Normally, I'm hours from the go-live date!

It's going to be an awesome weekend.  No appointments (well just one for a quilting customer), but nothing else planned. Ooops - there is a crap load of fabric calling my name. But first - we're off to the dog park.

The big decision of the day is going to be what to work on first!  But I've been pretty darn focused - I don't think I'll have trouble. Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

PS - if you need to send me an e-mail - click on this link!!!   I changed it a while back, not everyone has the new address which is good - I get way less e-mails!!!