PJs for the Princess of Arizona

Well, here's the fabric, Allie. I couldn't find red hearts because they had sold out of their Valentine's material. So, I got pink fabric with Princess crowns. I think you will look wonderful--and sleep like a princess.

Another Fun & Done! Quilt--this one's special.

Here's a picture of the pieces--there are 960 of them (10 blocks X 12 rows)--each block has eight pieces. (Is 8 X 12 = 96?) There will be 120 blocks--I'm pretty sure 10 X 12 = 120!

Better

Well, some of the most commonly used words in the articles on gout were "acute", "temporary" and "short-lasting". That has been the case. By yesterday (Friday) my foot had quit hurting and I spent the day (and last night) ridding myself of all the stored-up water. By today, I feel pretty normal. So, if this just doesn't recur frequently, I'll be fine with this. Much to do today. I'm going to work on the new quilt--still cutting squares, strips and triangles. I'm going to make bread and grind some more wheat. Everybody have a good weekend--enjoy!

Uric Acid - Urate Crystals - Gout

I remember Grammy telling me she had been told she had gout and wondered how that could happen since she didn't eat red meat and didn't drink. Well, I have done some research on the subject and gout or uric acid can be caused by a number of things, including the fact that your mother had it, and the use of thiazide diuretics. Well, those are my things, I guess. I woke up this morning at 4:30 with excruciating pain in the base of my right big toe. damn. I went to the Mayo Clinic and typed in gout--as I was suspicious about this. Yep. There they were in black and white--my symptoms to a "T". The good news is that they last a short time. It's most common in men, but women after menopause get it, especially if their mothers had it. I wonder which mother had it first. I would not be surprised if my great grandmother had it (Martha). damn. The link if anyone is interested is: http://mayoclinic.com/health/gout/DS00090 That's my good news for the day. I'm sulking, irritated, sleepy and must get ready for my quilting class today. Hopefully I can just forget about this and enjoy it--my class, not the pain in my foot.

Avery

I spent 1 1/2 weeks with my great granddaughter. I watched (held) her for a week at her apartment while her mommy taught school in Austin, then we went to the Dub home in Houston where she stayed with us (she's still there, in fact) and I got to continue the holding. I sure love that tiny girl. She's such a little princess--and exactly what I would have expected one of my babies to look like. I don't know how many women are fortunate enough to become great grandmothers, but I can tell you this is a superb state of being. I love my tiny Avery.

Fun and (we're actually) Done!

Hard to believe, but this should be the last of the Fun & Done blogs--probably. We finished it this afternoon. It was pretty labor-intensive, but that's because we did it in two days. A person working at a reasonable pace could probably finish it in a couple of weeks. But since Bobby and I are heading home tomorrow, we had a deadline.

I understand that it has been snowing in Norman, and only got to 34 degrees today. Yikes!

Five Generations!

This is a first for our family! Five generations together. What a deal!

December '09

December started out in a funk. We had just had Jeff's funeral and buried him. My life is somehow smaller than it was because of it. I need to put something else in the place where he was, and I don't know how. Of course, in December Avery Danielle was born! That actually trumped everything else, good and bad that could have possibly happened. Karie did well, and that's something to be thankful for. So, Amy has her girls and both in good shape. There could be nothing in the world better than that for us. The day after Thanksgiving, Calysta and I brought my little 3' Christmas tree down from the upstairs closet where it lives (decorated and lighted). We put it in the front window. She chose a few other Christmas things she wanted to bring down and we did that too. That was a fun day for her and me too. Christmas Eve we were expecting Jennie and her family to be here for the holiday. We were visited by a historic cold and snowstorm. So, the W's stayed in a little town 35 miles south of us, safe and warm as they should have been. They made it up Christmas morning--when we had our aebelskivers together. Later on Calysta came over and we had present opening--and aebelskivers-- again. It was a very good time. So, as it turns out, many things transpired during 2009, some good, some great, some bad, some terrible--altogether probably an average year--except for Buttercup coming. We'll be going this month to visit Karie and her little Buttercup! --a new generation--I'm still trying to wrap my head around that.

November '09

I have to say, it's really difficult to write a post every single day. I was going to try to get through last year by doing a rough summary of a month every day. Sheesh. November was dreadful. It started out great. We went to Arizona to see Eric graduate from the University of Phoenix. After that, we went to the Grand Canyon to fulfill an item on our "Bucket List". However, while we were there, we got word that my young brother, Jeff, had died suddenly in Texas. What terrible news! When I look at our pictures from the Grand Canyon, I just remember how lonely and lost I felt that Jeff had died. It's strange that I should have felt lonely, as I was surrounded by people, but a real niche in my life--the one my brother had filled--was empty. I still miss him, and I'm sure I always will. I remember his asthma-filled nights when he was little and we lived in San Diego. I was so afraid he would die--he was very sick with it. After he stopped having attacks, I just always assumed he would outlive me--he was 10 years younger, after all. I didn't even see him that often, but I knew he was there, and he might call me, or I might call him and we would renew that connection easily. It's a big loss, and not only for me, but for the whole family, too. Thanksgiving was OK. I made dinner; Mark and Calysta came over, as did Bobby's son Ricky and also Destiny. Her family had gone to the other grandparents' home, but she stayed home and came to our house. Mark helped prepare our dinner, and I enjoyed that. Altogether it was a good day... ...but a pretty dreadful month.

October '09

Well, the thing about October is that Bobby was getting better and better. He finally was able to walk around without his cane--it's hanging on a hook in the bedroom where it has been since. I worked a day training to do patient charging at the clinic where I signed up to do occasional part-time work. After that, we couldn't get together and I didn't work again until December--sweet. Toward the end of the month, Bobby's short-term disability ran out and he decided not to have it extended, but to return to work. So, on the 27th, Monday, he went to work. He went to his HR office and did the paperwork to get back to work. Then he went out to the shop and talked to his boss. The boss said he didn't have much for him to do--they had had a lay-off while he was out and lots of folks were gone. He went around a while longer and finally said, "Never mind, I'm going home." The boss said he thought that was smart; Bobby went back to the HR office and told them to cancel the paperwork--he was retiring. He was home before lunch -- RETIRED! It was a great day!