Wonderful Fabric Contest to Enter + Update on ME

Hi there Everyone,

    Sorry to have been MIA for so long but I have been very ill and in a lot of pain. My dear 85 yr. old father-in-law Pa Bear was in the hospital as he had to have a foot of his intestine removed. He has been in there for the last week and they are hoping to release him early this week.
    I lost a really good crafting friend this past week as well, her name was Lynn Brookside (May She R.I.P.). Her loss was an unexpected one although I believe she knew her time was coming to an end as her last post to all of us was that she wanted us to know that she really loved us. It has been a week, but it is still hard to function at times for missing her. I think,  for me, the hardest part was knowing that she had died alone except for her poor kitty Bonnie Blue who is now missing and that she had been dead for 2-3 days before her friend came to check on her and found her. That is so hard to take in. I just pray that when it is my time to go that I have family surrounding me with love. They think that Bonnie Blue might have escaped while the ambulance was there to remove Lynn. I do pray they find her and that someone loving will take her in. I still need to make a card for Lynn's estranged daughter Angela. I just pray she will accept the card in love which is my intention. I would have done it sooner but I have been hurting too bad physically to do so.

    Onto, the happy news, I received the most wonderful present from my brother (who is in prison for the next 24 yrs.) So it is really special to me. It is a single pearlescent rosy pink rose that sits in a varnished sandstone base. It looks to be hand made. It is so very precious to me as he is.  Today is his birthday so I want to shout out to my brother HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Stephen I love you and Miss you!!

   The last three days or so I have been keeping busy crocheting little bowls out of yarn. I plan to give a nested set of them to my dear sister-in-law who gave me the yarn to play with :O) I really hope she will make use of them! But I am not telling you who until after she gets them :o)

  Now who wants to win a lot of fabric besides me?
  Well here's your chance!!!

  Win a lifetime of fabric

  Just click on the link and it will take you directly to the form to fill out :O)
  Betcha thought I would keep this little linky all to myself didn't ya?
  As tempted as I was my good side won out so here ya go :o) Aren't I just so very nice?;o)
 
  Anyway, I've got to get back to making more yarn bowls  for my desk and crafting table and fancying up my binder clips. I also have my tote bag to finish. I am gonna try to do a tutorial on the tote bag. Hehe, I guess that is why it is taking me so long to do it as I am a bit nervous. It has been three weeks in the making so far as I can only handle sitting upright for a small amount of time before my back starts screaming at me to lay it down with the ice pack.

  Have a very creative week and hope to see you soon ya'll! *waves a paw*

Color Challenge at Outlawz-Cranberry, Pea Green and Coffee Bean Brown

Hey there Everyone * Waves a Paw* 


 It's another fabulous week at Outlawz Challenges! I just finished my card for the Color Challenge:Cranberry, Pea Green and Coffee Bean Brown.

Make sure you Hop on over to Tami Mayberry's blog for a chance to win a prize! 
 Have a great day y'all! {{{hugz}}}

What's Happening Lately

    Well, for starters, I finally finished that cute little hat I was crocheting along with the lap afghan I had been working on for the past few months.

Hand crocheted hat based on a child's pattern by Red Heart.

Lap Afghan hand crocheted.

Shell stitch made up of 5 Double Crochet.

   In the hat picture you can see what my next project will be. It will be new pillows for my sofa. I just have to wait for my sewing machine to get looked at if the machine oil does not do the trick.  That is why I have a month's worth of mending left to do. My sewing machine went wonky on me. I am trying to fix it on my own. But if it needs to go to the shop I am pretty much out of luck as I do not have that kind of money. I am operating off of a $20 a month allowance. I am disabled and cannot work at all. Due to my disabilities but I cannot seem to get that Administrative Law Judge to see it. So we are appealing again from a different angle. So wish me well in my endeavor.


   Right now I am working on a secret project that cannot be discussed for a few more months. At the right time I will post pictures of my project. I cannot let my little secret out ahead of time or it would ruin the surprise factor. It is a grand little surprise I have!


Here is a picture of the very first Ripple afghan I ever made.

Me and my first ever Ripple afghan taken on April 4, 2007.

 

 

 

 

  I really must make another sometime. Only this time in blues.

  Well, I guess that's it for now until I get my machine working right again.
  Have fun creating and please do share your crafts with me!

Health Update

        Just a short post to let you know that I am battling with no health insurance and a herniated disc in my L4-L5 region. I am trying desperately to get coverage so I can have my surgery to no avail at the moment. I am very frustrated and in an excruciating amount of pain on top of my usual Fibromyalgia pain. So please keep me in your prayers.

       New News- 11-08-2011: I have a Referral Request in the works and am just waiting to hear back from Virginia Mason Spine Clinic as to when the appointment is. Wish me well! 

      The pain has increased and it now feels like my low back and right hip are on fire constantly. Also it feels like my right hip is actually bone-on-bone which makes it excruciating to walk even from the bedroom to the bathroom which is like just five feet from each other. The last three days I have pretty much spent all my day catching up on missed sleep due to the increase in pain. Using an ice pack several times during sleeping hours.  The pain is somewhat tolerable upon waking but as soon as I sit up on the edge of the bed it kicks into high gear and becomes unbearable. 


        To give you an example of one such night: I went to bed at midnight, woke up at 1 a.m. grabbed an ice pack and laid with feet propped up on pillows on the loveseat. I went back to bed and fitfully slept until 2:30 a.m. I painstakingly made my way to the bathroom, took 2 Percocet then grabbed ice pack and laid on loveseat again. this time it took until 4:30 a.m. to get the pain level back to somewhat bearable then I went back to bed and slept until 6:17 a.m. at which time I was friends with my ice pack again and my over-the-counter Salonpas pain patch. I was awake until 9:45 a.m.  then I laid back down in bed and fitfully slept until 10:30 a.m. at which time I then got up to spend time with my hubby until 12:30 p.m. and then I crashed and burned until 4:30 p.m. 


        I am truly hoping in my case that the surgery improves my sleep. I however, have heard of cases where one surgery begat five more surgeries and then chronic pain. I am truly praying for a decrease in pain as far as my back is concerned. I know that I will never be pain-free because of my Fibromyalgia, but I do pray for my constant level tolerable pain back again. Having my back out pretty has pretty much bedridden me even though I do when the pain is somewhat tolerable get out and walk my dog, Pepper.  I truly miss being able to sit at my craft table working on my crafts whatever they may be. I do, however, have an idea for an adult sized version of a beautiful baby afghan made with 2 yarns crocheted at the same time into little shells. Hopefully, I can get stated on it soon and maybe I can work on that while I am laid up . We'll see! In the meantime, please keep those prayers rising up to God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.


       Also, share some of your crafting websites with me so I can get even more creative ideas :o) So I have something positive and cheering to look forward to!

My Baby Girl, Pepper, My Emotional Support Animal

     Keep on creating and exploring different crafts this week and I will try to get back to you later this week or as soon as I know when my surgery appointment will be.  God Bless and keep you!