Friday, December 5, 2025

Running Around AGAIN

Patrick didn't go golfing today. So, it was nice to sleep till 8 am. 

Got up and then tried to get ready to go do what I needed to today. I left the house around 9:30 am. First to Safeway, then to moms. I stayed about an hour with mom. Put out her wreath on the door. Then put her supplies away that she bought from Costco. Once all that was done, I picked up one quilt from mom. 

Next stop was Colleens, and I spend about another hour there. We chatted a while. She gave me two quilts, and I gave her two. I need to get them out of the car. lol 

Got gas and came home. 

Then we headed out to Denny Taylor's for him to frame my Bonsai tree piece. I want to give it away at Christmas. He said he would let me know the costs when he starts working on it. I'm going to be fine with what he does. His work is the best and a lot cheaper than Michael's or any of the other stores. I need to finish my other piece so I can get it done. Patrick thinks he can do the framing, but I like a professional job. Patrick doesn't cut to the size; he uses frames from the store. 

Came home and I just wanted to relax, which I did. After supper I decided I SERIOUSLY needed to work on the ornament. So, I worked on it some. 

I seem to be doing a third of it at a time. I will finish this tomorrow and get them put together; I need to stop wasting my time! Once this panel is done, then I will pull out my sets and get to work on getting the ornaments completed. I wanted to do another one, but at this rate, it's not going to happen. 

Mom's quilt group went to lunch without her today. I thought it was rude of them. They could have waited a couple weeks and then gone out. Mom was hurt by it as well. So, I ended up sending out a message to them all with her words. She wanted them to know she started the Friday day group in the 1990's and that it was every week, up to two years ago. Then it went to every other Friday. She let them know if they want it changed again, it wasn't going to happen and that it's her house. She also said they need to brown bag it come January when they will start back up. She had a little bite to her, but I reworded it a bit, so it wouldn't sound like she was ticked off. Which she was, and understandably. At least I'm now with them anymore. 

We are meeting next Monday at Georgie's house. I don't think mom can handle that much right now. 

Today, was running around from one thing to another, but I did find some time to try being Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Thursday, December 4, 2025

Cleaning Day & Baking

This morning, Patrick was golfing. I was able to sleep a little bit. Then I got up and ordered some sugar cookie cutters, squeeze bottles, and some different size cookie rollers. I will be ready for sugar cookies and want to be "professional" with the designs. LOL - good luck with that!

Then I vacuumed and did laundry. Woo-Hoo! Once all that was done, I played till about 2 pm. Then headed downstairs to get some backing and batting done to take a couple quilts to Colleen tomorrow. 


 Cutting batting for 6 quilts and backing for 4. I figure I can do the others later. I need to wash the backings but won't do it for a while.

Came back upstairs and baked my Scandinavian Almond Bread. It was really good! Patrick had to eat it before it cooled. UGH

Then I spend the rest of the evening playing my games. I seriously need to stop that!! It's not getting me any closer to being Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting! 

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

December Is Here!

I wanted to sleep in, but Patrick was already up. He doesn't sleep in much anymore. Dang.  

I was up and getting ready to leave for the casino. It turned out to be a short day at the casino. We played off the money they gave us for the week. I won a $750 jackpot. Then we played with that money. We ended up leaving and bringing $100 home. It just wasn't his day, and it wasn't very lucky for us. We'd win big and then it took it all. When we changed machines, they weren't winning much either. So, after a couple hours of losing what we won, we decided to call it a day. 

We stopped at Arby's for lunch and then came home. I tried to play and listen to my book, but Patrick had other ideas and I ended up stopping every 5 minutes. He wanted my attention too much. We did work on the kids gifts for Christmas, so that's a good think but frustrating. I will be taking my embroidery to Denny Taylor to frame. It's a gift for Christmas if I can get it done in time. No worries. 

We then left for the new movie "Zootopia 2" because I wanted to see it. I loved it! It was so good! I would go see it again! May have to watch it when it comes on Disney. LOL Made for a long day but not so long too. 

HOPEFULLY, tomorrow I can get a couple things done to get ready for Christmas!


 I would love to get back to being Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Another Day Of Running Around

This morning, I waited till about 10:45 am to get moving. I didn't realize till after I left that I was an hour earlier than I wanted to be. I got the times messed up. My first stop was at Safeway for the nicotine patch; to find out they didn't carry them. Then I stopped at CVS and was able to get the correct patch that mom needed. Next on the list was the museum. I needed up waiting for a while to see if Chip could answer a couple questions for me. Yes, we will have a quilt for a WWII veteran and no, he didn't know if the Chronicle will be there. So, I put Debbie on it. Last stop was Walgreens for our Christmas cards. Now I have to do that as well!

I stopped and got tea for both mom and me. Since I had to stop by. I don't want to have to stop again for a few days. I'm tired of all this. She's doing a LOT better and she's feeling better. I think after she had the Ensure Protein drink, that helped her to sleep. She was in a lot better mood as well. I sat and chatted for an hour. Then I headed to my PT appointment. Bob is saying he thinks it's in my back more than it's in my ankle. It feels like it's in the ankle, but he knows what he's talking about. He hit a few sore spots around my hip area. So, I figure he knows what he's talking about. He is going to request my doctor do an MRI on my spine. UGH

Came home after all that. Finally got home around 2:45 pm. Patrick was already home. I just needed a break from everything. So, I played on my tablet. I will work on my ornaments by Thursday. I also realized I need to do my panel quilts if we have 10 active-duty members. They should get the panel quilts and not the regular quilts. That got me in the mood of - "not now." UGH!!

It's been an interesting few days. I'm not a caregiver and I don't want to be. Nancy stopped by and she reminded mom of the quilt group luncheon. Guess they are still going to have it, when mom can't go. I thought that was rude, because they use moms house to quilt, but when she's not feeling well, they go out to eat without her. If it was me, I would probably let them know I wouldn't care for that. 

I will be going to the casino tomorrow and that should help calm me down. I really am tired of all the work I have had to do. At times, I wish mom would have stayed with my brother in Vancouver, but I know she knew I would take better care of her than he would. Just my luck. 

I wasn't having a day that I would have like to have - being Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!



Monday, December 1, 2025

All Day With Mom

Today, I was up early to make the phone call to the doctors to get mom in. I ended up leaving a message and waiting. I waited a good 45 minutes and decided to go over and see about making it in person. As I was headed to the bank, I received the call. We had an appointment at 1:45 pm. Yet, I was on my way at 9:00 am. Which left me with 3 hours of waiting.......and waiting. ....

I got to moms and she looked good. I told her of the appointment, and I let my brother know as well.  I didn't take anything to work on, but I did have the bag out in the car that has stuff I could work on. 

I asked mom if she had eaten and she said she did, but nothing tastes good. So, I got her ice cream. As I was going to get it for her, she said she wanted cookies, but she didn't have any. Which had me making her some M&M cookies. I got the original chocolate chip cookie receipt and got to work. 

I ended up cleaning her kitchen and putting her dishes away while I baked. I had to clean her blender as well. But by the time I was done, I still had another hour and a half to wait. So, I went and got my bag and got to work on my potholder. 


I finished it just before the timer when off to go to her appointment. 

We were there on time, she got another doctor because her's was on jury duty. Once she got in, I asked a lot of questions, and he gave me the answers. Mom talked most of the time. I didn't agree with her on a couple things. She said she doesn't sleep in her chair and I told him she does. So, they are going to work on her sleep to see if that could be the problem for her at night. 

I had to go to Walgreens to get some nicotine patches. It took me a good half hour and then I got the wrong stuff. It's expensive too! So, I need to go tomorrow and get her another box of the right stuff. UGH!! I took it back to her. Then I came home. It was 3:45 pm before I got home. NOT happy! Brother Patrick missed out on the doctor visit because he got too busy. 

I decided I was tired and would fix supper for myself and call it good. I didn't want to do ANYTHING since my day was GONE! I was hoping it would be a day of getting stuff done - Hell NO! So, hopefully tomorrow will be different, I have a PT appointment tomorrow. 

At least I had something in the car to keep me Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Sunday, November 30, 2025

A Little Of This And A Little Of That

Today, I slept for a bit, just didn't want to get up, so I laid there awhile. It's interesting how I don't want to get out of bed but when I do, I feel better. 

I got moving on the laundry but that didn't go far today. I got on the computer and set up a new email for my QOV group. I was getting tired of trying to figure out what was personal and what was QOV. This way, I have it all in one place. I sent out 20 emails to let veterans know we had them. I worked on my meeting stuff. I ordered the bags to go with January's presentation. 

I then worked on trying to get my family tree backed up. There wasn't enough room with the documentations, so after 2 hours of waiting to see if I could get it on a thumb drive, found out I couldn't. So, I tried again without the documents, and it worked fast. Next was to update the update that I got for it. 

While I waited on the updates, I beaded. 

I worked on this today. Should have got it done, but I found I was doing other things that needed to be done first. 

I unloaded the fabric that I ordered. I didn't realize I ordered so much - 9 bolts. That should be enough for a while. We put them downstairs with the fabric. I need to measure the tops and get them ready to be quilted. We have about 7 tops that need to be quilted. 

Called mom and she's doing better. I'm going to call Dr. Paul and see when I can get her in. May try for Thursday, but she might want to be in sooner. I will check. 

At least I found the time today to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

 

Saturday, November 29, 2025

Another Week Gone

Today, I was able to sleep a little bit, but was surprised Patrick was up since we usually sleep in on Saturdays. Not today. Even I didn't sleep as late as I usually do. 

I played my games, then Debbie came over to show me her quilt with her grandson's photos. It's really cool. Then I was back on the games. 

After supper I called mom again. When I tried earlier in the morning, she wasn't up. It took till 10:30 before she was up. She said she didn't sleep very well last night and was up most of the night. Finally getting sleep around 4 am. So, I chatted with her to see if she was eating and getting rest. She said she didn't do anything all day and that she didn't eat much. So, I was fretting and needed piece of mind. Patrick and I went over around 5:30 pm and she was looking a lot better. She was chatting with my older brother Chris, and so I ended up talking to him. Patrick talked to mom while I chatted with Chris. Patrick was letting her know she needs to take care of herself. Once he got all the information we were looking for and found she was eating and drinking, I was happy. We made her take her pills while I was there. Then we came back home. 

Our shows were not on today, so we watched "Columbo." While I was watching that, I decided to work on my beading. 


Finished panel 2 of 3 and started the 3rd. I was happy with getting this going again. I still need to do more. 

We decided we are not going to the casino tomorrow because the traffic is awful! We got on the freeway and ended up getting back off. The traffic was slow! We went through town, and we realized if we wanted to go out tomorrow, it will be worse. So, we will stay home and I will try and finish this up. 

I need to get another email for my QOV stuff. My regular email is always full. So, I'm going to move the QOV stuff to a new email. Hopefully that will help. 

I'm beat. I was working on QOV stuff today and have the fabric that arrived today. The fabric is still in the boxes and I need to open them and put them downstairs. I didn't get the batting which hopefully will be here Monday. 

I can tell I'm stressed, because I'm rambling! I should just call it a day and say I was Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Friday, November 28, 2025

Better Day

Today, I was up early and out the door. I got breakfast and then headed to Walgreens for mom's meds. Then I picked up tea for both of us. They were sweet, they gave me a free drink for mom since they knew she has pneumonia. (I'm learning how to spell that, since I've typed it so much! lol) 

I stayed and chatted with mom, then I came home. I needed to get home since Phil was coming today. He arrived about an hour after I got home. It was a very nice visit. I tried to talk Patrick into getting the new tree up so we could decorate while Phil was there. Of course, I wasn't "specific" enough about that, because he said no, he was doing it tomorrow. I tried again, actually 3xs and he still didn't get what I was saying! 

While Phil was here, I did pull the beading out and work on it. I told him he was getting 2 this year, since he didn't get one that mom did a couple years ago. He said he has them all out and has 5 of them. Now he will have 7. I told him the one he doesn't have is the cats, and I know he does want that one. lol 

I am really close to finishing this! I seriously need to get my butt in gear and get this done and then next one!

After Phil let, he went and got the table as well as got the tree out. I gave him crap for not doing that when Phil was here. We decorated it with the Precious Moments ornaments that his mother sent every year for over 10 years. I found Phil's "first Christmas" Precious Moment as well. It's all decorated now, and ready. I took pictures but I didn't load them to the computer - so you will see it in tomorrow blog. 

Then we pretty much watched a movie and enjoyed a nature show. I didn't feel like finishing this panel, shame on me!, so I played my games. At least I tried and managed to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Thursday, November 27, 2025

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 Today we were taking it slow. We had to leave by noon to Vancouver. We actually got moving around 11:30 am. 

The traffic wasn't bad. It could have been worse. We didn't see a lot of trucks out there. So, I think that helped the traffic a bit. 

We arrived around 12:30 pm. They were getting things ready. Had a few things in the oven warming. My brother smoked the turkey, and it was resting. Mom didn't look good at all. We were told she was coughing up blood. Nate told her to take it easy and see the doctor tomorrow. As the time went on, she was getting worse and loosing color. So, we hurried and ate. Then Alicia and Christina took mom to the ER. The good news is that they got her in right away. We waited with my brother Patrick at their place for news on mom. 

Long story short, she has pneumonia and wouldn't let them do a CT scan. She wanted to come home. So, we brought her back home, put her to bed and came home. It's now 10:30 pm and the day is gone. I had a good visit with my brother.

Tomorrow, I have to go to Walgreens for mom's meds. It's going to be another long day tomorrow. Hopefully mom will get better. I need to make an appointment with her doctor and go with her. Then have my brother and Alica on the line so they can get involved in this as well. 

In otherwards, not a day to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!



Wednesday, November 26, 2025

A Day Of Quilting!

This morning, I actually slept in. I was surprised at how long I slept, but it felt good. 

Then I asked Patrick to heat up the fire downstairs. He had an appointment in Olympia this afternoon, and I decided since I don't go in with him, I would stay home and try to get a couple quilts done. 

First things first, I had to get this done. So, I added the white border when I was finished. I need to put the blue fabric with it, so they can use that for the binding. I think this gives me 5 quilt tops that need to be ready to be quilted. I will have to cut the batting and backing later. 

While I was ironing the top, I came to the table to get back to work, to find Sophie cleaning herself. UGH! Since I had to cut some fabric, I let her stay for a bit and then kicked her off my chair. 

Once that quilt was done, I needed to get back to this panel. So, I cut the strips for the borders. The stars were cut back down to 12 1/2." That was to make it easier for me. BUT I didn't have enough of the two-colored borders, so had to put more white in there than I wanted to. 

By the time Patrick came home around 4 pm, I had this much done. I need to cut the borders to size and add the stars to put it all together. Just looking at it this way, I think it's the size I need, but I may have to add another border if I come up short. I will try and work on it this weekend if I can. 

Miss Sophie made herself comfortable watching me. She was busy just before this. 

My table is a Kawala (sp) table. The place were the sewing machine sits, need to be replaced. The plastic around the wood, is cracked and broken. I really would like to get another table, but I am going to try and see if I can get the piece that lowers and raises the table. I need to get Patrick to help with get the right thing. 

After calling it done, came upstairs and worked on the salad for tomorrow. It's the pudding mix salad that has pineapple, banana, cherries, and Madeiran (sp) oranges.  It's Patrick's favorite. So, I made a double batch and split it in half so we keep one and take the other to my brothers in Vancouver. 

It turned our to be a great day to enjoy being Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Tuesday, November 25, 2025

Busy And Not So Busy

This morning, Patrick went golfing. About the time he got home, I was heading out to the museum and then my physical therapist appointment. 

Met Debbie at the museum and we put the quilts that are done in the stacks. We found 2 of our quilts in the wrong spot. So, we need to let everyone know not to mess with the quilts there. Sam said she would pay attention if she sees a quilt go out of the storage room.  They were giving out turkey's to the veterans that could need one. I called Patrick to let him know Chip told us to take one, because there are still too many there. I got a butterball and not a Jenny-O. Then headed to Physical Therapy. 

I was having to walk upstairs at the PT area. I got a lot of walking in. Since it was raining, we stayed indoors. I have some exercises to do and just realized I need to do them again before bed. 

Came home and unloaded the quilts I picked up at moms while dropping off a quilt for her. Then I gave Patrick the turkey to find out it is just the turkey breast. Oh, well. It will do for us, it's just the right size. 

Then I took the rest of the day off. I was beat after Bob worked my leg! Oh, well, today was not my best day to be Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!



Running Around AGAIN

Patrick didn't go golfing today. So, it was nice to sleep till 8 am.  Got up and then tried to get ready to go do what I needed to today...