Third Days Later - UGH

 The last couple days of just trying to behave have been hard. Since the bandage is off, it's a lot harder than one thinks to not do what we usually do. Even though I'm left-handed, I didn't realize how much I use my right-hand. 

So, I THOUGHT I might be able to do some beading. 

I worked by putting the beads out that I would need and not do them all. Then I set up a row to bead. 

One row added to Sophie. Now we can see the noise. I couldn't do any more to the tapestry. One row was all I could do. 

Yesterday we went to the casino. Lucky Eagle in Rochester, WA has made changes to their rewards system. I can tell you right now, they cut back on the rewards. Then the sent out a letter saying we couldn't take the rewards money as cash, have to use them in the machines. That's fine. BUT they also made the machines TIGHT! We played for about 4 hours, and we lost what we took. I wanted to play, but the wins were not there. The last 2 times we went, the winnings are not there. People around us had the same trouble. Usually there are people out there next to us or around us that are winning pretty well. NOT anymore. I don't think I saw one person who won a big amount. They were all small amounts and didn't last long. We put money in the machine 4x's and there wasn't one bonus. The bonus' are where the money is. It's a joke. Trouble is, we like playing, so it's not going to stop us. Just frustrating that the casino decided they needed the money more. That shouldn't happen. I was reading on FB some of the comments on the site. They had the same feeling we did. 

Today, I went to the ankle and foot doctor and ended up with a shot in the top of my foot. UGH!!! I have to go back in 2 weeks. Then I stopped and picked up 2 quilts from Colleen. I was already at the museum to drop of 6 quilts today, so didn't bother to take them to the museum. We are still moving with quilts! The quilts I dropped off, I forgot to get a photo of. UGH!! 

I put another row on Sophie before heading to bed last night. I can do one row at a time at this rate. May try another row tonight.  At least I can say it was brief, but still Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Stitches Out - 2 More Weeks

Yesterday, I was on my way to Olympia for my stitches to be taken out. First, we went to Kaiser for Patrick's blood tests, then Costco and back to Kaiser for me stitches to come out. I found out, I am not allowed to use my hand for another 2 weeks. UGH! At least not lift anything over a cell phone weight. I have been doing that from day one. I also found out; they were supposed to have made 2 appointments for me after the surgery but only made one. So, I had to schedule another one, but that one had to be with my surgeon. Now I have another appointment for Tacoma after we get back from Tahiti. So, I guess I better behave. I didn't think it would take this long with surgery but oh, well. 

Since my hand isn't wrapped up anymore, I am able to do some typing.  Trouble is that I can't do much. I'm thinking I may pull my cat beads out and work on them. 

I left the doctor's office looking like this. Then by this morning, the tape was gone and I know look a little better. Still stiff. Dry too. 

I spent the morning getting a bill paid and getting stickers for everyone on the water system, to mail out water information. After that, printed certificates for my cousin and have them ready to mail as well. Tomorrow or Thursday I will be going to the post office and mailing them as well as getting stamps. 

Not sure what today will bring. I'm enjoying this book that Phil gave to Patrick - "The House Witch" while Patrick reads it, chapter by chapter, I am listening to it on audiobook. I really like it. I guess there are more books after this, so I'm going to be having fun listening to it for a while. 

Flowers are looking great in our yard. I am thinking of doing a beaded one of our flowers that will work. This will be fun to bead! I'm not sure if it will work but I'm going to try and see which of the photos I have that will work the best. 

I'm still dreaming to be back to Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Still Frustrated - Can't Wait For Monday

 Yesterday we went to casino. We were there 4 hours and lost $300 but that wasn't a lot considering we have won a heck of a lot more in the last couple of months.

I am frustrated at not being able to do much of anything. 

Monday the stitches come out, and fingers crossed. Still frustrating not to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Frustrating - But Getting Along

 Being left-handed does have its perks. I am able to write at least. But in today's world we don't write as much as we used to. 

I ended up doing pit ally stuff. I can't wash dishes, but I can unload the dishwasher. I can't clean out the litter box, but I can scoop when needed. Patrick is getting tired of me asking him to open this or that. Plus, he wasn't happy today to empty the cat litter. I could at least tempt to clean the box.

So, most of my time is just playing one handed on the tablet. I never thought I would say this, but playing games all day is tiresome. I actually went to get early last night. I was tired of playing games and listening to my books.

I did start a bread with the machine today. When I need to shape it, Patrick is going to have to do that. He wasn't thrilled that I couldn't make gyoza's for Father's Day. I asked if he was going to make them and he just looked at me. lol

I am frustrated I can't be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

  

Good Thing I Am Left-Handed

 This week has been one appointment after another. Surgery was Tuesday, Thursday was another trip to Tacoma for my sprained ankle. Today, I had an appointment with Olympia for an ultrasound. 

I am having it hard not being able to use my right hand. Showers get interesting with a bag around my hand. Then when it comes to pulling up my pants - well that's another story! I can't wear jeans, because I can't do the button. So, I'm in sweats~ugh!! Hate going out in public in sweatpants. I know no one cares, but I do.

All week, this is the traffic we have had to deal with! You'd think we were in Tacoma or Seattle! I decided I wasn't going to go to my eye appointment on Monday in Olympia. Rescheduled for August. 

If I was right-handed, I would be in worse condition! So, I listen to my audiobooks and play my games with the tablet on the armchair. I so want to finish that quilt but realized I can't cut on the rotary board. Need presser from my hand. 

Still not Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Thumb Surgery Today

 This morning we headed to Tacoma for my surgery at 6:45 am. We left early just in case. Good thing we did because it too 1 hour 45 minutes to get there.  Usually, it takes an hour 15 minutes to get there.

I ended up waiting in the room for an hour and a half before my surgery. I was awake the whole time.  Luckily it didn't bother me. 

Afterwards we went to the Spaghetti Factory.

I am limited to what I can do. Right now, it's painful. So, I won't be posting daily, till the pain goes away. I can't get it wet for 2 weeks. 

I will try and post in that time, but it's a wait and see thing. I am more upset that I can't be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Embroidery At Moms - At Least She Had Air Conditioning

 This morning, I was up and called MDG to let them know that I picked the wrong fabric for the backings of quilts. I scheduled a pickup and also order more batting and backing. I used the last of the one batting today. Had to start on my "extra" which tells me to order more. Once that was done, I cut the backing and batting for 2 more quilts tops that need to be quilted. Then I hurried out the door to get gas and head to moms. 

I stopped and got a cool drink at DB but found that I really wasn't that crazy about it. I don't think I will order it again. I don't care for strawberries, and this had that in it. It was okay, but not a drink for me. 

Arrived at moms. Georgie, Bonnie, Gerilyn and I were there. Mom was quilting and we had a very good visit. Gerilyn got a couple magazines that were duplicates. She told us about her trips over the last 6 weeks. She's been gone a long time. We enjoyed her stories. I worked on the pink flowers from the Distant Learning class. I was able to get one of the petals all done over, and it's ready. Now I just need to do that to 3 more. I didn't have my bead floss in the bag I take to work on, so I wasn't able to finish the rose piece I was working on. Stopped at Jo's to pick up the 2 quilts for July and went home. 

When I got home, it was cooking HOT!! I was at 89 degrees. And getting hotter. We don't get to the full heat till about 3-4 pm in the afternoon. I was home by 1:30 pm. 

So, I went downstairs. I got the 6 blocks from Georgie that I asked her for. Mom couldn't find the panel, so I used one of the ones I had here. Patrick and I talked about what to do and I got to work on getting that quilt top done. 

The strip on the right will be turned around. I want the red on the inside. I'm going to put that between the star fabrics. There are 6 stars, so top and bottom will have the bigger strip than the ones on the side. The star blocks are 16" so when I'm done it will be 15 1/2". That helps with the size. The gold around the panel will also go around the quilt when it's done. I actually got more done than I thought I would. 

I called it quits and sat down (downstairs) to work on my beadwork for the cross stitch. I was able to do some, but it is hard when the lighting isn't that good AND I didn't have my magnifier to help me make sure I was in the right spot. 

Sophie was happy to be downstairs. She slept next to me the whole time. 

This is one of Jo's quilts she had for me. I love it. One of the better ones. 

I'm tired for some reason. So, I'm calling it a night early. Need to be in Tacoma by 8 am tomorrow. My surgery is shortly after that. It will be interesting. I'm really not worried about it, but by tomorrow morning that may change. I'm told it doesn't take long, about 5-10 minutes but I'm guessing the prep takes longer. We will see. Might not be able to type tomorrow but will try. That way you all know I'm still kicking! lol 

Today was a three way of stitching. From embroidery, to beading, to quilting. That's what make me Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Enjoying Lunch With Friends

This morning, I got some cleaning done. Then I headed to Centralia to meet up with Sandy and her sister JT (Jeannette). We must have talked for over 2 hours. I've missed Sandy since her job moved out by us. She couldn't get her Monday's off. The two of them were checking out downtown Centralia by the time I got there. The restaurant was nice and cool. I could have stayed there all day!

We were in the low 90's today. I believe WA broke records on being so hot today. We have another hot day coming tomorrow. I will be at moms, so at least part of the day I will be cool. We are in a heat wave today, tomorrow and Tuesday. UGH

 Came home after picking up 3 doughnuts at Fullers. Patrick wanted his doughnuts and I decided to get myself one. I had that for "supper/dessert" and now I'm paying for it. There was a reason I didn't eat doughnuts anymore. 

I am so hot that I can't do anything! I played on my tablet but even then, it was hard to do. Sweating isn't lady like! So, I'm cooking in heat and not able to get to Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

QOV Presentation Day

This morning, I was up and getting ready to head out to the museum for our presentation. 

The museum was busy with a car show that had a lot of people showing up. We had to figure out where to park and find a place for mom to park as she's not so steady on her feet. We also had to find a place for the one veteran in a wheelchair. 

We were able to be upstairs, so that was a plus. Our meeting started a little late because Debbie and I were dealing with the quilts. We decided to add 3 more presentation days to our schedule. It will have us going for every other week. But that's what they wanted. We are back to adding August. Then we talked about taking the summer off for sew days. We will start back up in October. 

We will need that sign next month and I'm going to ask the museum to keep it. We were able to honor 7 of the 8 veterans today. It was a really good presentation. Tim did an awesome job filling in for Patrick. I was able to get a few more things done. 

Came home by 2:30 pm and crashed. I played my games and listened to my book on audiotape. I wasn't in the mood to do anything else. Which tells you, I was not Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Yet, One More Trip To Olympa

 I am beginning to think we should move to Olympia at this point. I received a message from Kaiser to get a MRSA test done before I got to Tacoma for my surgery on my trigger thumb. So, I had to run up there today. 

Patrick went golfing this morning and when he came home, said he needed some time before we left. So, while I waited on him, I worked on more beading. 

I added the beads on the right side and got the flower area finished. 

Then I worked on the sash. It was interesting and I kept checking my pattern to make sure I stitched it right. Guess I did. The other side doesn't match the right side, which makes it look like I didn't do it right. Oh, well. 

Then we headed to Olympia for my test. We got on I-5 and it took us 30 minutes to go from Chehalis to Centralia, which are twin cities. There was an accident according to the car information. When we got where it was supposed to be, it was cleared up. Then as we came into Tumwater/Olympia area, we ended up going through almost the same amount of time. It was surprising that it took so long. We were thankful we didn't have an appointment. When we got there, I went to the check-in desk, and they sent me to a nurse that was "available", but we ended up waiting 15 minutes on her. It wasn't even a 5-minute visit for the MRSA test. 

We then came home and I cooked a lasagna to freeze for my meals when Patrick isn't feeling good - like today. I fixed a stir fry for super instead. I have a piece of the lasagna in the frig, but I took something else out for tomorrow. We'll see what I'm interested in tomorrow. I will be at the presentation with a meeting before that. Should be interesting. 

So, I'm happy that I could find time for Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Took The Day Off

I slept in till around 9:30 am. I just didn't want to get up. But I finally did. Patrick went golfing. 

I received a message that I need to get a MRSA test done before Tuesday's surgery. Oh, what fun! 

Went out and walked my 7 laps. I ran into one of my neighbors who asked me how many times I go around the neighborhood. Told him 7 and it comes to about 2.3 miles. He had his corgi dog with him. Really sweet guy. 

Came in and Patrick was back from golfing. I had laundry going all day. I played and listened to my book on audiobooks. It's good enough to keep me interested in the book. Lately I seem to swallow up the books on tape. I can't seem to stop listening to them. 

Then I went out on the deck and trimmed the hanging baskets, as some of them were looking a little poor. I was able to clean them up quite a bit. Hopefully they will start looking better now that they were picked over. 

Some information came in on one of the QOV guys we wanted to award in July. I went ahead and scheduled him for next month. Then I called Diane. She called me later today to say she finally got a hold of the guy we were trying to get that was active duty. She was in tears. He passed away 2 weeks ago. I told her it happens but so far, it's only the 5th one we have missed. He wasn't that old, so I wonder what happened to him. It makes it rough when we try so hard to award a quilt and then they end up gone. That's the hardest part for us. Diane was taking it hard because she still hasn't gotten over her husband's passing 8 years ago. 

My day was ignoring stuff and just playing my games. It wasn't anywhere near Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Casino & Quilts

This morning, I was up and wanting to play my games for a bit. Instead, I went for a walk and made it around the neighborhood 5 times. Patrick wanted to go to the casino early, so we left about 10:15 am. I had a message to Martha to meet us at IGA. Then Colleen said that Jan would be there to. 

We arrived at about 10:55 am, and both of them just arrived as well. Jan took 2 of the kits for quilts, while Martha took 2 as well. Then we headed to the casino to play. Neither one of us were really "excited" about going. Arriving around 11:15 am, we played till 2 pm. By that time, we were done with playing the slots. I won the mega again on the machine. Which by the time we were tired of playing, we had $1,200 coming home with us. Weird how we have been winning lately. I'm so used to us playing and losing money that this is getting interesting. We figure we are over $4k ahead this year. It's nice to have the money to play. Not that we need it, since we don't do much to spend our money in the first place. 

Came home and I fixed stroganoff. I froze what was left, since Patrick doesn't eat it. He wanted a burger, so I got it ready to cook.  I asked if he wanted soup or the burger and he said he wasn't ready yet. Then said, "Let me know when you want to eat." I told him I wanted to eat now, since mine was done. He came in the kitchen, and I handed him the bag with the burger. He looked at me and said, "I thought you would fix it for me." SERIOUSLY, wait till my food is hot and then make me cook his burger. NOPE! He ended up cooking his own. I was fine with that. 

When we got home, 2 quilts and a box of fabric were at the door. I didn't realize I got flower fabric for batting. OOPS. 

It will just have to be for a female's quilt. Or we may sale it at the garage sale to get our money back. It will be up to the group. 

I was trying for something different on the backs of the quilts. I like this pattern. 

I ended up labeling 8 quilts. This one is for next month. The good news is that I have 3 quilts that will work great for Saturday. Panels are coming in. I will pick up 2 of the anniversary quilts from Jo on Monday. 

I don't know if sewing labels on quilts count for being Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

We Seem To Live In Olympia These Days

 This morning, I woke to find Patrick on the couch. He didn't have a good night sleep. He wasn't feeling the best. 

I went walking and missed a round. I must have done 6 thinking it was 7. I will fix that tomorrow. 

Spent the morning playing. I was chatting with good friends. Then it was time to head back up to Olympia for my visit. 

Since I'm having to take medication for my cholesterol, I had to go see the nurse to see how to inject the medication into my tummy. I wasn't too thrilled about it, but I didn't get myself worked up. At least I didn't think so. It was a really good visit. The nurse told me all I needed to know. When I pushed it in my tummy, it didn't work, but she made sure I didn't remove it to do it again. She helped push harder and then I could hear the click and feel it. Not my favorite thing, but I am so glad I was instructed how to work the pin. I did get a little woozy, but I did good. I stayed and had to chat with her for a while. She wanted to make sure I didn't react to the medication. I know what to look for and I'm good. I don't look forward to doing this every 2 weeks, but I need to, so I will. 

We stopped and dropped off some fabric for Colleen. Then Patrick got me a burger since he wasn't hungry and didn't want anything. 

Then we came home and I had to make a few phone calls. I was setting us up for the Fair and getting QOV meeting notes for Saturday. I kept busy with QOV emails to let the veterans know we haven't forgotten them. I must have sent out 50 emails - at least it felt that way. 

Now I'm done, and I want to call it a day. I'm done. I wish I was but ended up not even close to being Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Trip To The Vets And Stitching

 This morning, I took Sophie to the vets. We stopped at the credit union before heading there. I ended up spending a good 15-20 minutes there. Good thing I left early. I wanted to get some tea before getting there, but my time ran out and I ended up getting it on the way back. Sophie was good. She just wanted to hide. It was good seeing Bob again. He's wanting to go to Europe soon. I would love to go, but that won't happen with Patrick. Sophie was quiet when we got there. She meowed the whole time to the vets. Then we walked in and she shut up. When we were coming home, she didn't say a word. lol 

It was just a checkup, so it went well. 

Came home and listened to my book and played my games. I'm trying to decide if I want to continue playing the war games. It's not fair anymore. People who play on that game send thousands of dollars to get powerful things. Those of us that don't pay to play are left in the dust. If they offer things to win, then the powerful ones pay to win them. Never ending circle. 

After supper, I pulled the cross stitching out and got to work on it. I was surprised at how many stitches I missed on the cross-stitching part. 

I worked on the left side and then headed to the middle. I'm almost done with the middle area, then I need to add more to the right side. I rolled it once, but I may need to roll it again. It's coming along. I do like it. But it does have a TON, and I mean a TON of beads. There is a lot more to do. Then I will have to outline it as well, the closer I get to the top part of the body. UGH But I do like what I'm doing. 

At least I made myself get back to stitching so I could be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Game Play & Beading

This morning, I was happy to see the "Kingdom vs Kingdom" fight was on around 9 am our time. I rarely get to play. I played today. Wasn't my favorite time because there wasn't a rhyme or reason to what was going on. We played for points in honor of our playmate that passed away this week. All our names have been changed to honor her. Not sure how long that will last. I had my icon changed with her in the background of my hawk. I will change my name back later. 

Then I went for my walk. The best part was the earbuds arrived just before I headed out there. I wanted a separate pair, so I didn't have to go in my phone or tablet to disconnect the earbuds and reconnect to the device I was listening to. These are green and from a different brand. I like them but I like my other ones better. This one, has the volume/voice a little different than I like. I do like the green - so I can tell them apart. The green is for my phone and then other is for my tablet. I have been listening to my phone all afternoon because I needed to recharge my tablet around 1 pm. That was a good excuse to get some stitching done! YEAH!

It's closer to getting halfway done. It's amazing how much work this is! The beads take forever. 

Since the floss came in yesterday, I stitched the leaves in. It was easy to do. I enjoyed being able to do something other than beads. I have more outlining coming up, and that will break up the beading. 

I am now working on this side of the dress. I have a lot to do, but at least I did a lot today! I'm happy with the results. Tomorrow is another day. 

I have to take Sophie to the vets tomorrow. She's not going to like me. lol 

At least for today, it was Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Spent The Day With Georgie & Mom

This morning, I was up and ready to get ready for mom and Georgie to come over. I had to work on the cake I messed up yesterday on. I did the chocolate ganache. Then I put it in the frig till after mom left. 

Mom and Georgie arrived around 10:30 am. Mom was going to bring lunch but that didn't happen, so I had to make grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. 

We finished the border on one quilt. Mom was doing the sewing on my machine. I was cutting and getting things ready to sew together. Then I worked on the backing and batting for 4 quilts. I had to sew the 2 sides of the border on the anniversary quilt because mom and Georgie were saying how lose it was. So, I worked on it and got them done. If Georgie hadn't come, we probably wouldn't have gotten very far. Both of them worked on getting fabric for 3 of the panels. They are set to do 3 more panel quilts. I was showing them how to decide on what to do. It will be interesting to see what they come up with. 

This is one of the quilts we finished. It's pretty when you see it live. I gave it to Colleen to have one of the gals quilt it, but then I realized after I did, that the backing wasn't with it, because it was in the dryer. I was washing the backings to go with each of the quilts. 

This is how I cut the batting and backing material. It's on the floor with my cutting matt. It takes a lot to do it this way, but the batting doesn't fit on my table, and this is the easiest way to do it. I also measure the backing and cut it this way as well. It can wear me out getting up and down for several quilts. I let Colleen know I have 6 quilts that are ready to be quilted. She will be working with a couple of the quilters to see if she can use their machines. It will be interesting to say the least. It will be a good month before she will have a machine to quilt at her place. 

After mom and Georgie left, I finished up the cake with a mouse and frosting. I will say this much that cake was WAY TOO MUCH for the 2 of us. It was a mess when I was done, but a 3-layer cake is just too much. We even agreed on not doing Ganche again. I think I would make it with 2-layers and just put the stuff in the middle of the 2 layers. It was way too much work and a big mess. If the cake came out right, I may think differently, but all the time and effect into the cake, I was disappointed. It's way too much chocolate for me, and that's saying something. Since I love chocolate. 

I called it a night after that. Bryan called and we chatted for 2 hours. I was done. I'm ready to crash! At least today was a day of Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Rainy Day - And Not My Day

This morning, Patrick was golfing and I was sleeping in. Then I finally got out the door to walk. Only made it 3 laps before the rain started to pour. Just as I got into the house the water was fast and strong coming down. I would have been even more soaked than I was. 

I needed to go to the grocery store for some things to make dessert. Mom said she needed me to come to the Bazaar so she could give me the quilt top that was done. So, I headed down the street to the Bazaar. They were doing okay with the sales when I got there. It wasn't really busy, but it was getting some interest. They sold a few plates and a few of the wreaths we made. I will ask mom tomorrow when her and Georgie come over. I bought a couple cinnamon rolls that one of the gals was selling. Then I headed to Safeway. I didn't have much luck with coupons. That didn't make me happy. lol I picked up a lot of stuff and then come home. Patrick helped me unload. 

I wanted to bake a cake from scratch. I did pretty good, till I forgot to put the eggs in the batter. So, I added the eggs and mixed it up. Then I told Patrick not to worry about the pan and just go ahead and oil/flour it. Of course, he had to do that since I was putting the dough in the pans when he asked if I added the eggs. OMG! I didn't! So, fixing that issue and then trying to get them in pans, well that's another issue. Of course, when they were cooked and coming out, I couldn't get them out of the pan. So, of course they broke apart and I will have to repair them when I put the frosting on. UGH!! After we had such a hard time, Patrick reminded me that I could have put parchment paper down on the pans first. REALLY! Now you tell me! Okay, in honesty, I haven't baked a cake in a long time using the round tins. The 13x8" pans work great for me. But this was a cake that was rounds, so of course, I had to make it right. We put them in the frig downstairs for tonight. I will work on the frosting tomorrow; there are like 3 kinds to this one. Lord help me, that I can fix it and it doesn't look like a cow pie. I will let you know tomorrow. 

I got the patter back that I was looking for that I bought for QOV. Now I have it, I'm going to get a couple kits ready for it. It's a simple pattern that will us up our big eagle fabric we have. Even the flag pattern fabrics will work. It works great for fat quarters too. So, when I get to the point of fat quarters, I will use them. 

I was trying to measure the quilt for batting and backing. Miss Sophie decides she wants to play with it. She was climbing under it and playing. So, I had to measure somewhere where she wouldn't get to it. 

It turned out, my days was more of "oops" than anything else, so I wasn't in the mood for Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Part Casino Day

This morning, I was up and walking. I didn't get but one round in when I ran into one of my neighbors. We chatted for a while. Then as I was going for the next round, Raymond my next-door neighbor was driving by and chatted. Found out one of our neighbors passed away last week. Found out another neighbor has cancer. Things aren't looking good on the street. We must have chatted for a total of an hour between the two. So, I went and finished my walk after chatting with Raymond. 

Patrick got home shortly after. I didn't get far. I did get some paperwork in the mail and had to take care of that. I sent off stuff to QOVF. 

Then we headed to the casino but had to stop at the post office first. We arrive around 12:30 pm or 1 pm. Not sure. I figured we stayed for about 3 hours. We played our games and it was funny, both Patrick and I weren't really in the mood since we have been on the run for the whole week. So, we decided we would be done at 4 pm so we could get a pizza before coming home. It was fun, but we just weren't into it that much. Surprisingly, it didn't matter because Patrick won another MEGA for $900 +. By the time we decided to call it done, we were ahead by $1000+. I'm happy with that. Funny, I know our winning streak will be over but so far, we are doing great. 

On the way home, we stopped at Colleen's and gave her the 2 quilts back so she could bind them. Her quilt machine died, so now she has to get it first. In the meantime, she is working on quilt tops. She had 3 quilt tops from a couple of our volunteers. 

Bought them home and I measured them. Showed Patrick what they looked like, and he didn't like a couple of them. Yet, he was the one that picked the colors. I may change a color on some if I don't care for the combination because he has been known to be a little off at times. I'm waiting to do more kits. I want the pattern that one of the gals has but hasn't brought back. I kick myself that I didn't make a copy at the time! Even with all that, I didn't get anywhere near Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Three Days In A Row

I woke to the phone ringing at 9 am. It was my cousin Bryan. He needs me to do something for him, but I will wait till tomorrow. After I hung up with him, I took my shower. Then to get another phone call from Kaiser about the medication they are sending me. I had to know how much it would cost me per month. It's $100 a month to get my medication for cholesterol. It's only 2 applications a month. It's like an allergic pin. I can't spell all the stuff I need to, so please forgive me for that. I will have to "shot" myself. 

Then I had a message from the nurse at my doctor's office. She wanted to schedule my appointment to come and learn how to do that.  I was going to text back to let her know, when Patrick called me as I was walking. His doctor wanted him in the infusion center for his calcium. So, we ended up driving back up to Kaiser to get him there. I ended up waiting downstairs for him. I was going to wait in the waiting room there at the oncology/infusion area. I decided I didn't want to see the cancer patients coming and going. They were looking at me to see what I was there for. So, I went and got myself some tea from downstairs. Then I played on my phone and worked on one of my embroidery pieces. I didn't take a photo because I really didn't get much done at all before Patrick came down to get me. 

We came home and watched TV after supper. We didn't get to go to the casino today, but that's fine. Since he's retired, it really doesn't matter. I need to go back up on Tuesday for the nurse visit, and he will get his blood tests done then too. That's life. 

I was on my game today, when I found out one of our players passed away. She was "Freebird" in our game. I will seriously miss her. I won't be playing much in the next couple days. It's hard to play when one of the "family" is gone. I will seriously think of her when I'm playing. I was looking for her this past week. She was playing one of the games and went to the hospital. After that, no one heard from her. Not sure how Sux found out she passed, but someone checked on her. I may just go in and get what I need to do, and leave. It may take time to come back and play. At least it wasn't Sux that passed. That would really kill me! 

I did find time today for Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Another Trip To Olympia

 I was up and playing on my tablet for a bit. Then around 1 pm we headed back up to Olympia for my doctor appointment. Everything looks good, except I have to get a different prescription for my cholesterol medication. It's one they advertise on TV and I have to give myself a shot every 2 weeks. Not looking forward to it. I will try. My doctor told me it's not that bad, but I should try it. If that doesn't work, then I will be able to get the one that was denied. UGH!! I also got a couple other things done and everything is looking good. Patrick went to get blood work, and just as we were getting in the driveway Kaiser called to tell him he needs to go to urgent care to get calcium in his veins. He told them he didn't have symptoms and he wasn't going in.  He wants to add more of the calcium and potassium with his pills. They didn't sound very happy with him, but he decided he wasn't going in. I will keep an eye on him to see if he gets to the point, I have to take him in. 

I worked on my cross stitching today. 

It's coming along. Just not as fast as I would like. 

I just realized I need to order my floss. I will do that now. I was able to add all these beads. This has so many beads, it's driving me crazy. lol 

At least I found the time for fun and Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Enjoying Time With My Daughter

This morning I woke to find Katt had already left for moms. She was having breakfast with her. She came back around 11:30 am. Guess my mother kept her busy. 

I just listened to the end of my audiobook. Then I got ready to leave for Olympia. Patrick had his eye exam and afterwards we went to Red Lobster up there. Katt came along and got to see what Kaiser looked like.  It was good. I think they are a little better than the one in Longview. But then I thought a few years back that Olympia wasn't very good. So, they seem to have improved. 

I received a letter from Medicare that they refused my prescription medication for cholesterol. Now I have to find something else that might work. I have told them I refuse to take shots every day for it. I would rather get a shot from them every 6 months, but now that it has be refused, I need to figure out the next step. 

We were busy today. I stopped at Colleen's to give her the cash box for Friday. I also gave her her batting she wanted. Then I picked up 3 quilts - 2 needs bindings. We chatted awhile and then when I was up in Olympia waiting on Patrick, I got a text that Colleen's machine was "died." She called for help, but I guess he hasn't called her back. It will be a while before she can quilt again. I have 2 quilts ready to be quilted and she texted later to say she has 3 tops that were finished. So, we are going to have a stack of quilts that need to be quilted. At least 2 are at the church and will be done. We will work on the anniversary quilts as we need 2 more to get done. 

Other than that, I really didn't find the time for Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Trip To Seattle - Mariner's Game

This morning, we left for the Mariner's game. We went to Angle Lake to hitch a ride on the tram. We then road the tram for about 30 minutes. Once we arrived behind the stadium, we walked the 3 blocks. We had seats in the upper 2nd floor. Patrick got them in the "den" area. I love where we were. 

One can't see it, but we were on the corner area. Just close to the yellow pole that divides the home run and out of bounds area. It was awesome. A home run hit the pole. 

They had the fish race just below us. It was awesome! The fish in the lead was held up by the mascot. 

So, the other fish won. It was so funny!

The best part is that we won. It was cold there and took till the 6th inning for the sun to come out and warm us up. I bought a Mariner's hat. I needed a better-looking hat then the one I had.  We had a really good time. The food was good. I had a hamburger and part of a pretzel. Oh, and Katt gave me some of her fries. I didn't eat many fries. The food is very expensive. I bought a burger and 3 cokes for $50!!!! Oh, well, we were there to have fun! The best part, we won!! It went into another inning. I didn't know they had a new rule for going into "overtime" that a player is up on the second base. That way they have a better chance of getting into home. It was different then I remember, but that's a new rule. I did learn more about baseball then I thought I knew. Guess since I haven't played baseball for over 50 years, it would make sense. lol 

And, NO, I was not Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Trip To Olympia - Daughter Arrived From Lewiston

We took mom to get her hearing aids at Costco. So, we headed up around 11 am. Patrick didn't get his times right, so we ended up getting a couple things done after we got back. We were being charged twice for our car wash, so Patrick went to check on that. They gave him a phone number to call. 

When we got home, Katt was already here. She cleaned up the house a bit. I was surprised and very thankful. She put dishes away and clean the dishes on the counter. It wasn't much, but every little bit helps. She even vacuumed the stairs for us. 

We enjoyed chatting and catching up. Then after a bit, I pulled out my cross stitch and added a few more beads. I wanted to listen to my book on tape but didn't want to be rude. 

I was able to add the RIGHT beads to the brown area. Then I worked on added the beads on the right side. It's coming along nicely. Since I ordered the floss I needed, they still haven't sent it, so I sent a message to cancel the order. I hope she does. I am enjoying this. 

We played games and called it a night. I was at least able to have some Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Another Day Off From Crafts

 This morning Patrick went golfing. It was nice to have part of the morning to myself. I even got a walk in with 7 laps. it felt good to walk, since I haven't been very good about going out every day.

Patrick got home and he worked in the yard. Then after he showered, we headed to Safeway to get a few things for when my daughter gets here tomorrow. I bought a salad for myself, and Patrick decided he wanted shrimp for supper. I put the chicken in the oven to go with my salad when Patrick asked me when I was going to start his supper. OMG! I looked at him and said, "I thought you were doing your own supper." He came back with something along the lines of, you usually fix it, not me. I couldn't believe it. I was ticked. I got my stuff in the oven then pulled out the air fryer. When I was off on the time - getting everything done at the same time - I told him, if he would have told me he expected me to fix his meal, then he should have said something sooner. Good thing he didn't answer that! UGH

Tomorrow we are taking mom up to Olympia for her hearing aids. Katt should be here by the time we get back. 

I was enjoying my audiobook so much that I didn't do anything! Really, I didn't do one thing! My first day of not being busy all week that I took advantage of it. lol 

Which means, it wasn't Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Trying To Get Caught Up

This morning, I couldn't get my rear out of bed till 9 am. I thought it was odd that Patrick didn't let me know he left. Found out why, when I walked into the living room to find him sleeping on the couch. He's stomach wasn't doing good today. I sent him back to bed because I had things to do. 

I got laundry going. Washed the new sheets we bought and the sheets from changing the bed. So, I ended up folding 2 sets. Not my favorite thing. 

I was cleaning the cat litter, vacuuming and listening to my audiobooks. I finished one and started another. I even tried to get some walking in but only got 3 laps before I had to come in. It was warm today. A little on the hot side for me. The weather is great. I do enjoy this weather; I just have a hard time being in it. 

I had to get a couple doctor appointments set up. Seems like June is going to be appointments. At least my trigger thumb will be fixed in a couple weeks. I can't wait! Tired of the braces. As for my sprained ankle, that's another story. Still waiting to see when I can get in to see the doctor on that. 

It was a working day for me. I'm okay with that. Things need to be clean and easy to get around. I can't do with a messy house. I have a hard time with my sewing room. It's messy all the time and I can't seem to go down and work on anything because it's messy. I clean it up and then I don't get anything done. lol 

We are still kicking! We keep busy but today wasn't busy being Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Not My Morning - Afternoon Casino

This morning, I got up and took my shower to find that my headache got worse, and my sinus' weren't working right. My allergies got in the way. So, I ended up crawling back to bed to sleep. The headache got worse and my stomach was ready to heave. I slept for about an hour, got up and took a headache pill, then went back to sleep. Woke again, and took my allergy meds. Back to bed. 

Patrick came home from golfing and I was sleeping. We had plans to go to the casino and I was determined to go. But I slept till 12:30 pm instead. I wanted to get the quilts to the church to be quilted, so I got up and ready to go. My head was still pounding, but I did it. Told Patrick I wanted a Burger King hamburger. He thought I was nuts. Told him my stomach was fine; I just want a burger. So, on the way to the casino, we stopped at the church and BK. Then off to the casino. I didn't have my "lucky" earrings on. But we still did pretty good for about 4 hours. We lost some of the money we brought, but like I said on Saturday, we are still ahead of the game.  We played our favorite 2 machines and then came home. 

I didn't feel like doing ANYTHING, so I played on my tablet and called it a day. It was no wear near Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Busy Day Getting Kits Made

Today, I woke and tried to play games. I needed to get the laundry going. 

Once the laundry was started, I headed downstairs to get the batting and backing for 4 of the quilt tops. Patrick came down with me, and we worked on getting 7 quilt kits ready for the QOV quilts. Patrick wanted to do all the fabrics for the kits, and I let him. He's a pain when we disagree with how it's done, so it's just easier to let him pick the colors. Once in a while I would pull another fabric out to go with it, just to show him some fabrics are better than others. I let 2 of the gals know I had kits ready. Barbara texted back that she wanted to pick up 2 of them. She arrived and took 2 after telling me all about the KY quilt show in Paduca. 

After all that work today, I still pulled out the cross stitch to get the beads on it. 

 I put the wrong green beads in the swirl area. So, just before I wanted to call it a night, I took them out. I will replace them tomorrow or Thursday. 

I realized I needed to add the beads to this left side. It wasn't all that easy, but I have been putting them on. I have green coming in and I need that floss for the greenery that I ordered on Friday. I sent a message hoping she will get it in the mail this week. 

It's slowly coming along. I just need to get more done. The beadwork is taking a long time to get done, but I want that to stay, so it will take a while before this is finished. 

At least today I was busy being Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Not My Favorite Meeting Day

This morning, I was up and out the door by 9:30 am. I go the car washed and me tea before getting to moms. I was the first one there. We had 5 of us. 

Mom was chatting about the groups she helped start way back when. She talked about a member who would like the pattern someone was working on, go home and have the quilt done in a couple weeks, way before the original person had theirs done. She said how she hated that. I told her that's exactly what she does to me. We had an argument about that. She said she didn't and I told her she did, the Christmas quilt. Man! She tried to tell me she bought the pattern herself and made it, and I told her she copied my patterns when she made it. I couldn't believe she would try and say she didn't do that! I was ticked. 

We chatted about the different groups, and I worked on my embroidery. 

I worked on the beads to get this poor piece done. I have a few more beads to do on the bottom left. May do that next week. 

After everyone left, mom needed my help. OMG!! I ended up spending 2 hours to cut the fabric for the 250th anniversary quilt. I had to get her to understand the panel needs to have a border. We need it to be 60x80." She was short 5" around it. She didn't want to add the borders. So, I had to go through the explaining why before I could cut the strips. She wanted the strips, till I cut the strips and then she wanted me to cut them to the size she needed to sew them up! At this point, I was steaming because I could have put the dang quilt together myself doing all that work. All that is needed right now it so sew it up!! GRRR She played the "I don't know how to cut them" card. And yet she was a judge for 60 years!! My rear she didn't know how to do that. Either she's losing it or I'm being played!

Stopped and dropped 2 quilts off at Colleens. Then I came home and called it done for about an hour. Vented with Patrick and then stewed. 

When I finally calmed down and my tablet needed to be charge from this morning, I sat and worked on the beads that go with my cross stitching. 

More is getting done, and it's looking pretty good. I just need the floss to arrive soon, and at this rate it will be a couple weeks before it arrives. 

The bottom of the dress is almost done. I have to add the beads where the design is on the brown. But it's coming along nicely. When I get to the greenery, that's when I need the floss I ordered. 

Even though I got mad at mom, I did get a lot done today. I accidentally brought the quilt pieces home, instead of leaving them for Georgie. I could be a pain in the butt and finish it, but I will give it to them to finish. When I was able to calm down on the cross stitching, I felt Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Trip To Battle Ground, WA

 This morning, we worked on getting a few things cleaned up before heading to moms to get her. 

We picked mom up around 10 am. Then we headed down to Battle Ground for my great-niece's 1st Birthday party. We were at the park in Battle Ground. At first, it was hard to find them. There were a couple groups there in the different areas, so we called Alicia and she came part way from the picnic area to show me where to go. It was a walk for mom, but she did well. She enjoyed being there with her great granddaughter. She was looking good and everyone there knew her, so it was a gabby day for mom. 

I was enjoying my time with the 1 year old as well. She's a sweetheart. So cute! Plus, she's a busy beaver!! She was contently moving in my arms. The funny part - she didn't want me to give her over to mom! I had so much fun with her, but man, she's heavy! lol 

We came home around 3:30 pm, dropped mom off first. Then we just sat and relaxed the rest of the day. I got 2 backing and battings done for tomorrow. I need to do 3 more. I will work on those either tomorrow or Tuesday. They will go to the church. The last one I will have ready. I think I have another quilt coming from Mom tomorrow as well.

I slept the way back. I'm just not in the mood tonight to work on anything. I thought about it, but we all know what thinking about it does - nothing! So, I will try tomorrow, to be Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching! 

Casino Day

This morning, we left around 10 am to go to the casino. We like to play games in the morning to afternoon. Nighttime is just too crowded and I don't like crowds. Plus, fewer people try to get me out of my chair so they can play the games we are on. 

We played on their money for about an hour, then we put some in. We ended up playing on that for a bit and put in a little more. We only did that about 3 x total. Patrick won the Mega at $1,126 and we played on that. I won a big pot as well. We played for a good 5 hours, and we still came home with $200. We could have come home with more, but we wanted to see if we bet higher if we could win the bonus wheel. NO SUCH LUCK. We do better where we are when it comes to the betting. So, chances are we won't do that again, unless we have money to burn. We played on the casino money all day. It works for us. We tried a new game and won some money there. Patrick won the $750 from Good Cents and then we played on that for a while. It all worked out. The funny part of all this, is that we are still playing on the money we won for the past month and a half. I know it will run out eventually, but right now it's fun to have it to play with. Plus, we aren't taking any money out of the bank. We ate at the casino. Patrick had a yogurt and I ordered French Fries. I wasn't too hungry and French Fries sounded good to me. 

We got home around 5:30 pm. I wanted to play my games but decided I needed to work on finishing my cross stitching. I know it will take a few days to work on, so I got a few more beads in. 

I finished up on the flower beads. Then I got started on the "train" or hanging piece. 

The beads are interesting. The change in the gold to the pink are so slight you don't really notice the change in color unless you are seeing it with your own eyes. The camera makes them blend in too much. I have the last set of flowers to put on that "train" and then I can go back to the middle and work from there. It's fun, I just need to make sure I "x" all the beads and not just put a "/" there. The "x" holds the bead in place and is an added protection from getting cut or pulled out by accident. I'm having too much fun with beading this! Keeps me Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Olympia And Back

 This morning was another trip to Olympia. My biopsy was today for HPV-16 virus. Oh, what fun!! Not my favorite thing to do, but once a year, I can deal with it. Three years in a row so far. I hope it goes dormant soon, I'm getting tired of this. 

Before that I stopped and got my blood tests that my doctor wanted. I've been getting messages all day of what the results are but will go over them on the 2nd with my doctor.  

We stopped at Costco to get a few things. I was limited to time because I wanted to be back by 1:30 pm for my war game. Since we were done sooner than I thought, we were able to go shopping at Costco. Had to pick up a few things for Phil and us. We got what we needed. They didn't have a couple things we were looking for, but we got most of the stuff on the list. Then headed to Phil's to drop off his groceries. 

I made it back home in time for the game to start. I was about 15 mins before it started. The good news is that I didn't pass on to the final game. I made it to the semifinals and I'm okay with that. Since I didn't spend the money to be a top player, what I played was closer to the bottom. I couldn't get on rallies, so I helped where I could. I'm not moving on, and right now I'm okay with that. I don't have the power to move on anyway. 

After supper, I figured I would do some stitching. Actually, it was both stitching and beading. 

The beadwork takes some time. I had to finish the stitching where it was needed. I did the green stitching where the beads are. Once that was done, I added the beads. There is a lot more to do, and I hope by the time I get this part done, the floss I ordered comes in. Right now, it's "pending" which means it may be another week before I get them. UGH. 

At least I could find time for Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!