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Enjoy your stay under the variable skies of Eastern Washington and watch the seasons change, from planting to harvest here on the farm...be sure to wrap up in a quilt during the winter, it's cold!!

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

I'm Still Alive!

Wow, I didn't realize that it has been over a year since I have posted anything!  Well, I'm still alive and so is my dad - YAY!!!  I am still in Reno taking care of him. 

I kinda moved in with him the end of March, 2016 (after spending 6 weeks on Oahu at my daughter's house!).  He is now 96.5 years old, so doing all the physical things around the house is too much for him.  From March, 2016 through December, 2016, I would spend 3 weeks with my dad then drive 760 miles home to see my hubby for a week, then drive back to Reno.  That schedule ended in January when my dad caught a cold on a Saturday and I was supposed to drive home that Monday.  I stayed in Reno and I'm so very glad I did - my dad ended up in the hospital on Wednesday with double pneumonia.  While he was there, we found out that he has an aortic aneurysm that measures 5.3 (I don't really know what that means, except that at 5.5 they schedule you for surgery immediately!).  I guess that explains some of his back pain!  After 5 days in the hospital, he came home but he now has oxygen 24/7 (and he hates it), so driving himself anywhere is now a major ordeal - besides the fact that him driving scares the heck outta me!  Consequently, I have been home once this year, way back in March.  I am hoping to get home for a couple of days before Christmas - I miss my hubby, horse and longarm!!!

I have been piecing a bit, but for some reason the pull of fabrics feels like more of a push away.  Has this ever happened to you and how did you get through it and back to playing with fabric?   The actual quilting is my first love and I think I'm a bit depressed because I miss that creative outlet, but I'll push on!

Color me crazy, but for the past year and a half, I have returned to the job that paid for my B.S. and M.Ed.  Can you guess what that might be??  I am umpiring 5-6 nights a week (April-November) for the cities of Reno and Sparks for the adult softball leagues.  3-4 games a night and I get to interact with 60-80 people!  It keeps me sane by providing me with social interaction with people from 18 to 91 years old!  In addition to that, it has helped me to lose 10 pounds - sweet!!!

I will be posting more...maybe it will help me to sew more, especially now that there is no softball until January 10 when Freeze Ball starts (yeah, we play no matter what the weather, even snow).

I did finish a quilt that I donated to my church when I went home in March:
I don't remember if I posted about this before, but it is the only finished quilt this year, so far!

These are the quilt tops I made for my new grandbaby that was due in August...didn't know the gender at the time so I made two!  Turns out I have a grandson, so he will get the triangle quilt that I hope to get quilted in time for Christmas!

And I am slowly working on the hand sewing on the geese on this quilt:
I decided that every goose needs to be hand-sewn to be curved!  Thanks to the easy method Ricky Tims has on youtube, they are three dimensional and bias edged!!  There are over 300 of them!  Did I ever mention how much I dislike hand work?  Well, I really want to get this quilt finished, so I'm planning on picking it up every day and trying to do at least one goose!

I hope there is actually someone still out there following my blog...I won't be silent for so long any more!!

Piece peacefully!!

8 comments:

Kevin the Quilter said...

You are such a good daughter Susan........and equally blessed to have your father, AND an understanding husband! Blessings to you all! Batter up to quilting! LOL

Carli The Quilter said...

wow. good to hear you well and safe. I akways wonder when a favorite blogger disaappears from posting. i will email you more thoughts on not feeling like playing with fabric. you are a good daughter!

Needled Mom said...

It is not easy to have you life turned upside down like that, But you will be glad that you did it in the years to come. I'm sure your dad is appreciative even if he is not able to express it to you.

Blogging will help inspire you if nothing else works. Sometimes that is all it takes.

Good to see you back again.

Susie said...

Welcome back and lovely to see a little bit of the quilting you got done. I sometimes have times where I don't do any quilting for ages but when I do pick it up, I am off on the journey again, but you have been so busy with everything else I think you can be excused from not quilting.

So glad to hear that your Dad is okay even with his issues, any amount of time spent with him is precious.

Love & Hugs, Susie & Treacle xx

Moneik said...

So glad to hear your dad is still alive and that you have an understanding hubby. Hope you get home soon. I went through a spurt when I wasn't sewing and it's a natural progression.

The Joyful Quilter said...

What a challenging time for you! Happy to see you have done a bit of sewing. Those baby quilts are adorable!! Your grandson will really enjoy that Triangle quilt.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Yay!! for the umping and for the quilt tops - and Wow!! you have a lot on your plate. It is hard sometimes to push through that creative slump - but maybe work on some small projects that you can finish at your dads? Sounds like he need to travel with you on a vacation to your house - ha ha!

Anonymous said...

I hope you do get home for a couple of days at Christmas - maybe the girls could watch your dad for that long? I'm glad you are joining us for HQAL! First post tomorrow - though I schedule mine for late Saturday night.