Muldoon's Believe it or Not

In life it seems that we find forks in the road everywhere we turn...
This quilt started out red and ended up black.
Does not mean that it is better, just means it is different than what it started out to be.

I am a fool for scraps..

The backing which I have been hoarding for years...maybe 8??
Had to force myself to use it..so crazy.

Oh, Lordy...do I hate to be wrong...

From 54,678 people around the world..including a 3 year old girl at a restaurant...

I heard that my new whale fabric...was full of sharks!!!!  

Can u believe that????

Fine, but FYI....I still love it and I am not one bit scared.!!!

Myrtovl

Please, please, give me your email address so I can reach you privately...

Four days till my girl leaves...I know she has her own exciting life.  

I am so proud of her.

Today we went to lunch and did a Costco run.
We stocked up on all the heavy buys, like water, animal food and school snacks.

My friends basted this "black" quilt tonight..
.Now, the stack of unquilted, yet basted quilt tops, is almost to the ceiling.

Middle school homework for LD/ HD/HD Evan was a nightmare...tears..etc.
He has a 504 plan...I know that it is just a few days into it all...but...
Counselor and meetings are being scheduled.
Queen Katie to the rescue again..again xxoo

Working?? ..or not so much

Sew...the end is near.. I so so so wanted to use the flowering border for an Asian look.
It just did not work.
The orange striped batik works better..Busy is not always best.
The most important part of the quilt is always...for me..
stabilizing the quilt with an on grain strip...here the one inch black safety pins.
It certainly swallowed up inches of bias from the lazy black and white triangles.
Wonder how a bright orange or yellow would look on the back??
Maybe a yellow binding...it is getting a bit dull.....UGH...as I look at this post, really neither of them work..jeeze...not the look I had in mind....

Had a lovely brunch with my girl yesterday morning.  I savor each bit of time as in just a few days she heads out for a big adventure, following her dreams.  I was going to go home for an unneeded  nap, but instead headed for JoAnn's fabric store to find camping fabric...Alas, I found none...( I am cheap on the price anyway) I did find some adorable whale fabric on sale for $5 a yard plus a 20% off coupon...Yes!!  Lucky me still had some of the gift card from dear Michelle at Christmas...I am so grateful...a treat for sure.

Jeeze Louize...getting a grip...again...I decided to get another cat.
 I filled out an application at PAWS adoption
I even went to Pet Smart to see the cat I wanted..

Alas.. they rejected me!!
 I said that I would let the cat out for supervised outside play....
 and because the cat I have is inside/ outside.

I am depressed.
I called two Humane societies in both Union and Mecklenburg Counties..
They have the same rule.

So I guess they would rather euthanize cats than give one to me.

That my cats live usually 12 to 16 years is no matter.

Now, where do I go???
Well, let's just say, that I have re-done my application...

I thought the cat would lift our spirits..
Maybe it was a message...then, maybe I will just check out the shelter.

Tonight my daughter and daughter-in-law saved the day.
 My girl made cookies..healthy..mmm mmm good,
And she made dinner.
My DIL served the dinner and did the first day of school homework..
DIL even did hard stuff...like reading with kids who hate reading and cleaning the kitchen.
The grands would so prefer that she play with them and help them slide by the rules.

But, she is changing...TBTG and I am so grateful.
Katie came by ...You know that superwoman always knows when to save the day!!

The minute the darlings were on that bus...back to bed went old grandma!!!
I even skipped my WW meeting for a yummy Mexican treat with MP...
Deep inside, Grandma O'Quilts knows the good life.

Comfort and Value..

Nothing sewn together here...just pushing the limits..

Grandma O'Quilts home with old dogs and old cat..

Her comfort level is certainly not about middle school open house.

Actually, it is not about middle school mouth either...

TBTG for Katie...Her kind heart came with me.

She does not realize that I needed her so...then,maybe she does.

Throwing it all into my quilting, pushing value and color outside my comfort level.

Nice red border should finish this off.

A lovely dinner out with a widow friend...she also doesn't like it.

 Hanging with widows instead of her man.

Really now..who ever dreams that widowhood will be in their future?
 That it really could be them??

Going to watch a movie now..

Did you know that the DVD player has to be plugged in???

Did you know that the remote needs batteries??

We have fleas...Jeeze...

Funny how the hour of day changes it all.

This morning I was full of gratitude.

This evening I am full of sadness and crank..again....

My son went into treatment in the mountains last week.

This week he is out...

My DIL needs a cancer screening.

My daughter is helping her with Obamacare as she has no insurance.

Please forgive me for the whine...

If the wine is not red, then it should not be in print at all.

Such is my Friday night lament...Ah...well...

The O'Quilt grands go to school open house and Grandma becomes unglued.

Time for a new project.  Spare scrap log cabin blocks.

Of course, it was not enough to put them up on the design wall, but tonight

after a crazy open house at school...I had to experiment with colors.

 Then I got cranky!!

 OK...I got crankier.....!!

 Let it go Diane...too late at night to make a decision...grrr
Of course then....I got into the M&Ms Katie gave me...and I had just lost 13 pounds...
Now I have a stomach ache too...to bed with me.!!

Happy...Happy..is the cool zippy pouch that Katie gave me.

Yesterday's fun around the O'Quilts' household included having my van window replaced..

.Oh, my the crack was something to behold...

The replacement process was better than going to the movies for the grands.!

The installer was so kid friendly..

Me thinks that my nerves are shot.

I went to open house with our first grader and 2nd grader tonight.

Stephanie came with me and Evan came with me to carry all the school supplies.

Still Grandma O'Quilts became unglued.

The good news is that they have awesome, carefully picked teachers..

The noise...the clatter...the meeting of new staff...the delivering of supplies..

Something must be wrong with me..No one else seemed  noise impaired.

Tomorrow is Evan's turn, at middle school..TBTG Katie is coming with me.

.

Mona sent this link...reminding me of just yesterday when my dear man, the kids and I huddled under mattresses in the hallway while the frightening wind howled.
.I will never ever forget Hurricane Andrew.

The infrastructure was gone...no street signs, no electricity for a month in hot Miami..all the medication died with no refrigeration, no gas, no laundry, no money, trees down.  

We were lucky.  We had our lives and a roof.

We sold our house in 10 days and we were out of there, headed to Charlotte, NC where my sister lived.

Hurricane Andrew

That is for sure.

Resilience

The midnight hour rescue...Stitching heals!!

Cross top finished.

 Just happened to  have on hand...cute clothes pin backing.

 Took out a quilt from the closet for a gift...and I liked it better than when I made it..lol

 Saw this advertisement..  Really...no quilter would ever pay this...

Potluck cover tute  makes them way cuter and way way cheaper!!

Night night my friends...

Himself, with Love

Potholder Play....

Dylan, age 6, finished his very first potholder.  He did it all with me.  He put his hands on my hands and felt, oh..so good about sewing with Grandma.  He learned about the presser foot and the cutting button, about right sides together and lining things up...He picked out all the scraps and a Dr. Suess backing.  So proud!
It is for his Aunt Brandy who invited him for the weekend.

Remember this???
Our trip to Foust last year...

So  exciting to have bits of cute scraps for my potholders:
Sold by the pound...they seemed almost free!

No Xanax needed  here...It is creating potholder time!

My wonderful DIL took her two children for school shoes this morning.
And, then for a movie.  Two and a half years clean, she is a totally  new person.
I am grateful..because now I can go to the movies with friends too!!
Last night a Black Belt Boot Camp for my grands.  They got very high scores on push-ups and board breaking.  I am amazed, especially at 7 year old Lynsey.  She did 25 push-ups this morning to show us.  The pediatrician was thrilled at how physically fit my grands are...wahoo!!!
Before my DIL came this morning, Lynsey and I played Old Maid.

 Above we have...loving to win!!
And below we have...just having a great morning.
I found these cool card holders online for their small hands.

And a great grief post.
Stifled Grief

A Day in our Lives...

No, Dylan, six is too young to sew...Well...OK!!!

He put his hands on my hands and off we went.

He is so thrilled to have sewn a seam, like his brother and sister have done..

All done..snipped, washed, labeled and put into the closet for someone special.

 This scrap log cabin was made from random 1.5 inch strips.  I loaded my Little Blue travel sewing machine into a Walmart cooler on wheels.. I added a number of odd 3 inch square red scraps and a big bag of scrap strips. With no fuss, measuring, messing etc, I wrapped those strips around the square...The squares took a long relaxing time as I only sewed on them at Bees or Sit and Sews...
I sized them, sewed them and voila..my favorite type of scrap quilt, no measuring required.

 Finished...my first nursing home, knee replacement quilt.
I have enough of that random jelly roll to make 3 more...Again..this is made from a bag of 2.5 inch random scrap strips. The jelly roll has then been cut into this size with lots left.

 Its zebra backing..

Wing Haven summer camp...worms, bugs and birds!!
Dirt and so much fun...

And..a few helpful posts...
Recovering addict gives his side of the story.

I found this article..that tells it like it is...

Anticipatory Grief and more
And, this:
Innocent Victims of Drug Abuse

Process

Cross quilt process:

My process:

To give me strength etc, etc..I follow a number of private groups on Facebook:

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, ALS caregiver widows, some addiction posts, et al

They help me feel not so alone.

I found this interesting article.

Thoughts on Death

Now in all my selfishness, in order to keep functioning, I really never thought of how my love felt in these terms.  He was busy dying and I was busy trying to keep him alive.

His primary goal as he died, was to be sure that I was OK. He was giving me his gift of love.

Today is 16 months a widow.  I am better, I am sewing and going out with friends.

This past week, I ate out with friends 6 times.

My belly and my budget squealed.

Why did I not think of how he felt in terms of burdening the family??

I do not know.

I do know that I could not have reassured him of that..only of my love for him.

He knew the reality....He had worked in the ALS clinic.  He knew ALS was one way...Down.
.The very day he was diagnosed, he told me that ALS was a very expensive illness.
 He told me that I could well lose the house in order to pay for his care.

 Already, raising our three young grandchildren was taking 60% of our income.

He was afraid I would get sick as I let myself decline in health, eating junk and crying in the recliner. I would not bathe, I would not go out, I sunk deeper and deeper into despair.

Paralyzed in the bed, he arranged for friends to come and talk with me.
My quilting friends stuck by me.
My pool friends stuck by me.
His family stuck by me.
My family stuck by me.
My Naranon friends stuck by me.
My blogging friends stuck by me.

He counseled me so I would not go completely berserk...

He used his one good hand to comfort me.

Just writing this brings tears to my eyes, even though I know that we both did the best we could in terrible circumstances.

Twenty two months was quite sufficient for him to live this disease of paralysis and death..

He is done with it...well on his spiritual way.

I find myself still living it.

Me and the White Zombie

Craft beers are popular in North Carolina.
 Actually, our state is rated number 15 in the country for this..
My latest try:
Yummy..and I loved the can...ha!!  Guess I am not ready to kick the can yet...OMG

Working on this tonight instead of much needed potholders.
Just showing the process so you do not think I am lazy..

Someone just got a new back to school hair cut for second grade...just like her mommy's.

I am doing so so so well...A big surprise to moi. 

 It really has been a week or so since I cried or felt forlorn...

I am finding more of myself again.

 I went into Lowe's home improvement store the other day.

I was full of myself walking along with my new knee...no pain at all.

Out of the blue,..I was dizzy. 

 I realized that I had not been in that store in at least 3 and a half years.

The last time I was there....

 the contractor was putting in the handicapped bathroom for my dear man.

Nostalgia came in waves..The pain of ALS interrupted my delight.

I could not control the craziness and had to get out of Dodge.
I did recoup quickly after my nap...TBTG

That of course, leads us to:
The Health Benefits of Quilting
(link found on My Go Go Life)
Sooo...I am now listening to Oldies but Goodies on U-tube and...
Sewing!!!

All in a Day's Work

Old Grandma is quilting...working..having a good time.
I found these fun Plus blocks...added a few tonight.

 Two quilts finished...just need a bit of snipping and a wash.

Tigger...Really?????
You certainly did not lose much time did you????

The littles went off with JP today to the park and Chick-Fil-A
Such a nice break for me to go to Toast for brunch with my girl.
Wednesday night quilting..a gab and wine fest..so fun.
And now, a show and tell..
All told from the top of the roller coaster...I know, I  know...
One has to get down one day...as in crash!!!!
But, just for today I am way ok..

Did I tell you that I had turned a corner...If I have two tummies instead of one...so what!!
If I am 68 instead of 48...so what!!
You do not like it???  Then just walk on by.
I have a new knee..I am woman!!
 Hear me Roar...
I am alive!!
Wahoo!!

Cute Tula Pink short...for Bernina