[gma22]

Good morning to you all! It is kind of chilly here this morning, but I think it is going to warm up into the 50's. I am certainly ready for spring to get here. I haven't heard from the doctor's office yet. I hope maybe they call today and let me know what they have decided and such. I am hoping that the fact I still have diverticulum on my intestines will not prevent them from doing surgery. We shall see.

I bought tickets to the Houston Astros/Chicago Cubs game this morning in Sept. Since my surgery mucks up having a regular long vacation this year, we still wanted to do something so decided to pack up the pooch and go to Houston for a couple days in Sept. We are staying at a really nice Hilton that excepts pets only about .5 mile from the ballpark, which is nice. Fortune is a doll to travel with. He is not a barker so he doesn't disrupt anyone else in the hotels, which is perfect. He can be left alone as not only doesn't he bark, but he is puppy pad trained as well as outside so he won't muck up anything. Since it is an afternoon game, we may just walk it and save on parking! I wouldn't want to walk around at night downtown, but I think in the daytime it will be ok. The hotel is only about 5 miles from a really nice mall so I can do shop shopping for the boys if I wish. It will be nice just to relax for a couple days. From our house, you go through Louisiana. There is a section of Louisiana interstate where you drive over long long bridges one after another. There are signs all over not to stop, not to get out of your cars, etc, because of alligators. We went to Houston for a game a few years ago and stopped at a really beautiful rest stop in Lousiana that had a pond or lake in back with big signs about not going near the lake because of alligators. I took a picture with Jack at the sign, went peepee and we were out of there! People were wandering about 2-3 feet from the water and I thought they were NUTS!

Susan: I am so sorry poor Stan is having another issue which is causing him to feel poorly. Hopefully it can be adressed and fixed up for him. Have loads of fun at the quilt show for the next few days!

Take care. I am off to do chores and try and finish the little bell bottoms today.

Faye

[QuilterInVA]

Good evening, ladies! Had a great day at the quilt show - so many beautiful quilts. Got inspired and bought some beautiful fabrics. Faye, I wish you could fly up - there are several booths selling yarn and knitting supplies - gorgeous stuff you don't find every day. I'm really tempted to get enough and make a sweater.

I suppose Jean is basking on the beach today. It was only 36 degrees today and a cold wind was blowing.

Well, my knees are worn out. According to the pedometer, I walked more than 3 miles at the quilt show and I'm headed for an early night to bed.

[gma22]

Good morning gals. I am a little sick at my stomach this morning so just decided to come downstairs for awhile.

Susan: Sounds like you are having a great time. Don't you just love looking at beautiful fabrics, yarns and such? I get so inspired just looking at pretty yarn that I want to make something. The beauty of quilts is unmatched by other crafting in my opinion. I think because of its true symbol of american life for one thing. It was the one craft that woman made in colonial times and on that not only was for practical use, but was made for its beauty. I am amazed at the intricate patterns and shapes of quilting and though I don't have an ounce of sewing ability other than hand sewing, I love to watch quilting shows on tv and see what women come up with. Speaking of that, men are really coming around to knitting, do many men quilt, do you know?

I was going to keep the car and do some errands this morning, but I am not sure I feel like it. It is pouring down rain at the moment and I don't feel my best so I may just wait and do them tomorrow. They can wait an extra day at least.

I am going to crawl up into the recliner with a blanket and rest. You all have a great Friday and a terrific weekend. Jean will be home to tell us of her fabo trip before you know it.

Faye

[gma22]

Good morning ladies! Looks like it is going to be a cool day, but nice today. Our town is going to be overloaded with college basketball fans today. The Memphis University Tigers are rated #1 in the nation and they are playing #2 Tennessee so you have fans who want to see #1 and #2 play, and all the fans from the state of Tennessee who either support Memphis or the Vols. Jack said there was a guy selling tickets to the sold out event for $10,000 apiece! On top of that, ESPN is going to broadcast so Digger Phelps and Dick Vitale are in town too. We are definitely staying away from downtown today!

Hope Jean is having a great time in Maui and Susan at her quilt show. I get to run errands with Jack today! lol

Here are the little mary jane shoes. The buttons finally arrived yesterday so I was able to get them sewn on. I love the little heart buttons. I am almost done with the pants so I will post a total outfit pic when everything is all done. I will then be done with baby shower gifts.

I finally got back over to Walmart and got my contacts ordered. Only cost me $23 for 6 boxes with my insurance. Not too bad. I need 8 total boxes, but I can order them online for between $14-18 a box and Walmart sells them for $24 a box so I will order probably 4 more boxes to have extras online.

Not much else exciting here!
Have a great Saturday!
Faye

[gma22]

Good morning ladies! Today is commissary day. Jack is going with today though so maybe we can get done quickly. He pushes the cart while I throw stuff in. I budget my groceries so I shop with a list and calculate so it takes a bit more time.

Well my Memphis Tigers probably lost their #1 spot to Tennessee last night. They also ended a 45 games winning streak, which was too bad, especially since they only lost by 3 pts.

I am trying my darndest to get those pants finished, but I forgot to buy the elastic when I was at Walmart's yesterday so am going to have to go and find some so I can finish them up. I am sure tired of knitting them.

Just wanting to make sure we stay on the first page until everyone gets back in here. Not much else going on. Have a great Sunday!

Faye

[gma22]

Good morning this fine morning. Well, some of you may be having some bad weather, but it is still a fine morning. I have to try and get the downstairs cleaned today. It really needs it. I may have to do it in sections, but I am going to get it done someway!

I am hoping I hear from the surgeon's office today regarding the test results and my surgery. I haven't heard a peep. I am going to give them the rest of the week then if I haven't heard anything, I am going to call them. You always seem to be on their schedules even when they tell you the results will be in a couple days and they would call you (this was from the surgeon's nurse when I scheduled the test) I am just anxious about where we go from here. I can live with whatever decision there is, I just want to know.

Here is the complete baby outfit. I finally finished those dang pants. I never realized how boring knitting tan stuff is! I have started the lace pattern sweater for my friend and I think it is going to really look nice. It seems to be a fairly easy pattern at long as you pay attention.

I imagine Susan is back to work this morning and Jean should be home from vacation sometime this week then the group will be back to normal.

Have a great start to your week. I am off to start cleaning.
Faye

[Jean]

Aloha! I have returned to the "real" world of rain, ice, wind, and snow! We had a 1:30 dismissal because of the weather . . . should have had a late start like everyone around us. What can I say except that we spent a wonderful week enjoying sunny 80 degree days, the beach, and the whales. We went out 5 different days on the whale watching boat; the whales are as awesome as the last time. We visited a winery that was interesting. They cannot ship wine to some of the states, for whatever reason, and Iowa is one of them. They also make other items such as lotions, creams, oils, jams, etc., from the nuts and grape remnants which can be shipped anywhere. The worst part is the long plane ride home which was 2 hours late getting started. We were beyond tired by the time we got home late yesterday.

I see there are lots of posts to catch up on. Hope you all have a relaxing evening and a terrific Tuesday tomorrow.

Jean from Iowa!

[gma22]

Good morning to everyone! It is really windy here this morning and a bit chilly, but not really cold that I could tell. I only opened the door and peeked out. This old condo's windows rattle when it is windy so I knew before I even got up it was windy outside.

Jean: Sounds like a marvelous time. Too bad you had to come back to terrible weather. When we left Las Vegas last year it was sunny and around 80 that morning and got home and it was cloudy, raining and chilly. Puts a damper on the rest of the day!

I got the downstairs cleaned yesterday and am going to tackle upstairs later on this morning. I brought handtowels, rugs, etc down to wash, emptied the trash cans and made the bed and such, but no cleaning yet. I have to wake up first! I did get my sweater started yesterday and it is coming along. I have had to tear back a few times so I am going to have to be particularly careful doing the rows. It is a series of 10 every odd knit row has a different pattern to it every even row is straight purl. I have usually had to just take out what I am doing, the purl row and the patterned row behind it to find the mistake.

I saw yesterday they are canceling my favorite show, Las Vegas. They aren't even going to do part of a year to finish up the cliff hanger they left us in. They have 400 bazillion Law and Order shows on that no one wants to watch, but they cancel a perfectly good show. They say it is ratings, but everyone that posted about the show on AOL was complaining about it being canceled. Guess I will have to stick to the food network, bbca, and a and e!

I better get a move on. I haven't done my daily downstairs chores yet and want to knit a bit before tackling the upstairs.

Have a great Tuesday!
Faye

[QuilterInVA]

Good morning, ladies. Its cold, rainy and dismal today. I'm going through another bout of depression and this doesn't help.

Quilt show was wonderful. Sad to say, the hand quilted ones were few in number. I'm part of a dying breed. Everything is getting done by machine. They were all beautiful, however. I took Stan on Sunday. He enjoyed getting out for a few hours and seeing people he hasn't seen in a long time. I didn't realize how hard it could be to push someone in a wheelchair for hours - whew, got my workout! I bought some beautiful fabric.

Stan's surgery is Thursday. I just want to get this over, get the wound healed and then left him have a breather before they even think about doing anything else.

[Jean]

Good Evening, Flowers! I don't know why but I am more tired tonight than last night. Tomorrow is a full day of school and I am dreading it. There are a couple of kids in each study hall that are becoming a real pain in the butt and tomorrow is going to be show down day. We get no administration support so that doesn't help either. I fell asleep in front of the TV tonight so need to put in another load of laundry and clean up the kitchen. Life would be so simple if we didn't have to eat.

"Gma" -- I did a quick read of the old posts. I'm so glad your test if over with. Any idea when they will schedule the next surgery? The outfit is so cute! I did some tanning before we left so didn't burn like I normally would the first time out in the sun. I'd like to keep what little tan I have now.

Susan -- I'm glad you enjoyed the quilt show, and hope you are feeling better. I know you and Stan will be glad when Thursday is over and Stan is on the road to recovery.

Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday tomorrow. I'm going to finish my chores so I can go to bed!

Jean -- from Iowa!

[gma22]

Good morning to everyone! I hope your day is starting out well. I am having a totally free day today. I cleaned the upstairs yesterday and have my daily chores done except for folding a load of clothes that is in the dryer. I get to knit all day and I am going to need it. I had to take out 7 rows this morning because of a mistake. When it comes to lace knitting you can't make a mistake or it screws everything up. At this rate it will take me 3 years to get this sweater done!

Susan: Give Stan my good wishes on successful surgery. That poor man must be one super human to have endured all that he has and still come up swinging. I applaud you both for your courage and strength through everything. Here's hoping it is the last surgery!

Jean: Must be like having a root canal to go back to that mess at school. Hopefully you can keep your tan until summer gets here and you can work on it some more. How many times did you go to the tanning salon before Maui? Are you fair skinned or medium? We aren't taking a big vacation until next year, but I just wondered what it would take to build my tan up a bit before going. Still waiting to hear from the surgeon's office. He told me last time I was in his office he wanted to do surgery in April if the test came back good.

We have begun the process of searching out what cars we are interested in looking at when we get ready to buy. We aren't going to buy until around this time next year, but we want to get an idea about size, price, etc. We are looking at smaller/midsize suvs and cuvs. We are looking at the Honda CRV, Hyundai Santa Fe, and the Ford Edge, which is a CUV. The big draw with the Edge is though it is about $3000 more expensive, my brother works for Ford and can use his discount for us. I am not sure whether it is 10 or 20% but that would mean a savings of 3-6 thousand dollars on the car and with our down payment we would be in pretty good shape. We are going to go ahead and use the same finance company we have now as they almost beg us to buy again. Jack just got an email from them offering us a Visa gift card when we secure another loan with them! We still have a couple months before our Grand Marquis is paid off and I want to start saving that payment for our down payment. As long as the Grand Marquis holds up we are fine.

Well, I am going to go back to knitting. I have all the rows torn out where I went wrong and can begin there again.

Have a good morning everyone and a great day!
Faye

[QuilterInVA]

Good morning, ladies! Another cold overcast day. The daffodils are blooming, however, so spring is right around the corner.

Jean, I couldn't do your job - I'd have killed a kid by now.

Faye, you always make a beautiful knitted project and I'm sure this one will be no exception.

Stan called and said the dietician wants to see me when I come to pick him up. She's going to have some information for the hospital dietician if he is admitted. He's lost 10 pounds this month which is not good. Per her instructions, I make anything he wants to eat but he just eats a bite or 2 and says he's full.

[Jean]

Good Evening, Flowers! Today was a full day at school and the "I, Me, My" attitudes were running wild. One girl even had the nerve to go to the principal to complain about the special ed. study hall rules (like be quiet!). DUH! Her IEP says she has to be in a special ed. study hall so until she gets her poop in a group she won't get out of special ed. I get so tired of being the crab all the time . . . if they would just be quiet I would be happy! Enough complaining! We get out at 11:30 tomorrow and no school on Friday so that is something to look forward to.

I have more laundry going. Saturday is my day to work in the gift shop again. We ordered pineapples to be shipped over and they arrived today, so we will be delivering them over the weekend.

"Gma" -- We rented a Chevy SUV and I must say it was quite comfortable in the back seat, but I'm only 5'4". I never sat in the front but Bob said there was enough leg room and Denny, who is 6' 6" seemed to have enough room. The back end held 4 huge suitcases and 2 smaller ones with room on top to pile smaller items if need be. You are wise to start saving now. I read where inflation is supposed to be 7.9%; I'm sure the average pay raise won't be that much. I would say my skin is medium; I will burn the first time out in the sun if I'm out for very long. The last time we went, I tanned in a "stand up", 3 times a week for 4 weeks, starting with 3 minutes and building up to 12 minutes. I barely changed color. This time I went to a different place and used the bed. I started with 8 minutes, 3 times a week for 3 weeks, and built up to 16 minutes. I had a better tan line where my straps and watch are. I know I got more color while we were gone because people mentioned it this time where they didn't the last time. We were out in the sun more this time too.

Susan -- I don't talk about school much at home because Bob thinks they should be kicked out the front door and not let back in once they become a problem. I hope Stan's surgery goes ok tomorrow and he will feel like eating in order to gain back what he has lost. I'm sending positive prayers your way!

Not much else is newsy from here. The weather is supposed to be warmer and that will melt some of the ice on the streets. We didn't even rate sand on this last mess. It's time for spring!

Hope you all have a terrific Thursday tomorrow. Smile and be happy!

Jean -- in Iowa!

[gma22]

Good morning to you all. I got a wild hair and decided the apple hat needed booties so I made some to match. I wanted to put little leaves at the end of the ties, but I tried several different ways and it didn't work so I gave up. The booties are newborn so now she has a newborn hat and booties and a whole outfit in a 12 months size. I am totally done with baby stuff. I have a good start on the sweater and am actually having a good time knitting it. I thought it might wear my patience with all the row changes and such, but I am really enjoying it. Have to knit in silence though or my mind wanders....

Jean: My son and dil have a Honda Pilot and it is very comfortable to ride in. It is a bit bigger than what we are looking at, but then we don't have a growing family to worry about either. We usually rent a Chevy Equinox when we travel to Indiana and it is about the same size as what we are looking for. We plan on taking Fortune with us in April and it will be nice for him to sit high enough in his car seat to see out the window at the people, though the car seat is a big cube and comes all the way up to our Grand Marquis window so he can see out, but this way, he can look down on folks passing by. He travels so well, you don't even know he is in the backseat and because of his little size all the kids at the rest area want to pet him and such and he loves that.

Susan: I hope you can get Stan on the road to recovery and get him back to eating again. Maybe big fat chocolate shakes would help him out if he doesn't seem to eat much. Did you buy any quilts at the show or just look?

My poor son and dil are buried in snow, cold weather and a sick baby. Jay said he has been having to go out every morning and clean walks and driveway and that Jackson has been feeling bad and not eating or sleeping. I suspect the culprit is more teeth cutting, but that doesn't help parents not getting any sleep. He said they need a vacation. Their anniversay is a few days after we are up there so I bought them a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant and told him I want them to go out to dinner on Sunday while we are there and we will babysit. They could use a couple free hours just between them. The better news is, I get to babysit! lol

Well, morning chores aren't done as I wanted to finish the booties so I better get to them. Have a great Thursday!
Faye

[QuilterInVA]

Good evening, ladies.!

A long day at the hospital. Stan's potassium was so low they delayed the surgery until they got 200cc of IV potassium in. That is really cruel because it burns like fire going in. So that took 2-1/2 hours and then they had to do another EKG and blood test to be sure it came up enough. The wound wasn't as bad as they thought on the inside but it did take some debriding. They are keeping him overnight in the recovery room because the hospital is full so surgery patients are staying in recovery. I'm very tired of just sitting and waiting. The anesthestist told me to call his heart doctor and get him taken off the BIL immediately. It has a heart drug and a drug for hypertension in it - and he has low blood pressure so that is what is causing his blood pressure to drop to dangerous levels during dialysis - and he's also on a drug for hypotension from the nephrologist. I'm also going to insist on a potassium supplement. When your potassium is low, it affects your heart rhythm. I really get upset that his doctors didn't notice this medication mixup before.

Jean, enjoy your day off!

Faye, happy knitting - I plan on doing some quilting after I get him home tomorrow.