Saying Final Goodbyes

Saying final goodbyes...so hard to do...especially when it is a loved one  There have been 3 deaths in the last few weeks...2 family members and a high school classmate.

The first part of June, our daughter-in-law died unexpectantly.  Our son woke up on a Sunday morning, walked out to the kitchen and found her sitting at the kitchen table.  He tried to wake her and couldn't so went to get his daughter.  She was gone...the coronor was called, the fire department and police arrived.  Gerry got a call from son and he rushed out of the house to go to Roseville.  Our oldest daughter came over and gave me a ride to Roseville.  The family had a graveside service for her then friends and family were invited here to the clubhouse at the mobile home park where we live for a potluck.  What a difficult time that was, preparing for her service, saying our final goodbyes.  I don't know if our son has received the final autopsy report...those take a while to prepare.

This morning I received a phone call from a niece telling me that one of my older sisters passed away yesterday.  A while ago, she had been diagnosed with having pancreatic cancer.  This is a fast moving cancer and she wasn't given much time to live...hospice had been contacted.  Although it was expected, hearing that it had happened was shocking to say the least.  I had not seen this sister in a lot of years and had lost touch with her.  My younger sister stayed in touch with her and in fact the two of them were very close.  That sister took the news very hard.  My heart ached for her.

Then one day last week I received an email from a former classmate...another of our classmates had passed away.  What was so sad about this passing, it was someone that I had hung around with in junior high and high school.  She had been a close friend...of course contact had been lost after graduation.

Hearing the news of my sister passing away was a little strange to me...I was taking my morning shower when my niece called.  She left a message and I called her back.  I had been thinking about my siblings while in the shower...thinking of each one in order of age and where they all were...I later wondered if God was preparing me to receive the news.  I thought to myself I should call my younger sister and tell her what I had been thinking about...

Thankfully there are memories of each of these...those memories should hopefully help to make the sorrow I feel bearable...

We have no idea how much time we have on this earth...it is important to make each moment count with those that are dearest to us.

Sybil, Vi and Pat...you are free of pain now...your memory will live on with those of us who will always cherish the time we were able to spend with you...and will be missed so very much!!

Busy Sewing

These are pillowcases that I made for our bed.  This fabric was in a box in my closet, have no idea when I purchased it or what I purchased it for.  They are really easy to make.  Made another set, forgot to take a picture of it.

I purchased a yard of this upholstry fabric (barkcloth) from my friend, Barb Sasaki, Sasaki Bags of Kailua-Kona, HI.   I have always loved this pattern.  I made a tote bag for my neighbor, Sally, and then made one for myself this afternoon.  The background is black with red hibiscus and bird of paradise.  The colors are gorgeous!! 

This is the other side of the bag.  I have some fabric left over, enough to probably make a couple of zippered pouches...Want one?  Let me know.

Last summer I started a quilt top, my first one...ever...had to put it aside because of my cataracts and not being able to see.  A few weeks ago, I finally got the rows sewn together...last week I purchased everything else I needed to finish the quilt.  I got the borders sewn on earlier this week and now need to put the sandwich together to finish it...I'm avoiding that part...once I got the borders on, it changed the whole look of the top.  I have it hanging in the doorway of the closet in my craft room.  Didn't want it to get wrinkled and have to press again.

Here's a close-up.

I sold 4 tote bags, the 3 that were listed in the previous post plus one like mine that I just made.  Sally, my neighbor, bought 2 of them and Didi, my Hawaii friend Jalna's sister, bought two.  I have squares put together to make 2 more...will get around to those in the next couple of weeks.

I've also made some flag bags for 3 of the PGR guys...those were simple to make.  I am enjoying so much being able to sew again.  Card making has kind of gone by the wayside...lol!

Saw the optometrist yesterday at Kaiser and got my new glasses ordered.  I need glasses to read and do close up stuff...should have those in a couple of weeks or so.  Otherwise my vision is excellent...was able to read the 20/20 line without any problem...my eyes have healed very well from the surgeries...still have to use the drops for the glaucoma...the pressure reading yesterday was very good...will get that checked again in October.

What I Have Been Doing

 With my new eyes I have been busy sewing.  The above quilted tote bag is available for purchase.  It was made from a charm pack called Peony Blush.  The colors are pinks and greens.  SOLD 

A close up view. 

Pale Pink lining with a pocket.  The green fabric was also used for the handles and a panel that joins the front and back of bag.

This is the second bag I made from the same charm pack.  My neighbor saw the squares before I got it put together and wanted it.  So it is sold.  I was pretty happy since this is the first bag I've sold!  :)  SOLD

The colors are gorgeous.

This is a smaller tote bag I made last summer from left over squares that I am making my quilt top from.  It is not quilted, has a lightweight interfacing to give it some body.  The bag alone is $10.00...with the zippered pouch $12.50.  SOLD
The other side.

The lining, also made the straps from the same fabric.  They are about 9 inches long.

Then I made a zipper pouch with different squares on both sides.  SOLD

This is the inside of the pouch.  THE ABOVE 3 TOTE BAGS & ZIPPERED POUCH ARE SOLD.  SCROLL DOWN TO SEE TOTE BAG THAT IS STILL AVAILABLE.  THANKS!

I had my second cataract surgery on April 8th...left eye.  It was a complete different experience.  I did not doze off after given the IV sedative so I was aware of everything that was going on.  There was a tiny bit of pain and could feel tugging and pulling.  I also felt the injection that the doctor gave me to numb the eye.  He and the OR nurse were chatting back and forth.  I could have said that I needed more of the sedative, however the pain was tolerable and I wanted the procedure to be over as soon as possible.

I didn't have a long wait as I did the first time.  I think I was there a total of about 2 and a half hours.  I have done real well and have 3 more days of putting eye drops in that eye.  It is absolutely amazing how well I can see.  Everything is so clear and vivid.  I am enjoying being able to get back to my regular activities and especially enjoying being able to sew again.

Haven't done any card making, need to tackle that one of these days.  Actually thinking about downsizing my card making stuff so I have more room for fabric, etc.  I could really use my 6 foot table.

I need to make an appointment with the optometrist now to see about getting glasses.  Thankfully I still have my old glasses so I have been using them to read and see things up close.  My distance vision is fantastic.  I still have to use the glaucoma drops for another 5 months and will have a check up in October to see how that is doing.  Then next year in April I will have a complete eye test.

I couldn't be happier with the care that I got from my doctor and the entire staff at the Eye Surgery Center.  I got cards from them after both surgeries and a Starbucks gift card.  Well, the Starbucks was because of the 5 and a half hour wait I had the first time. :)

 Almost forgot to add this bag.  I just completed it this afternoon.  It is another quilted tote bag made from a charm pack called Tapestry.  The colors are corals and greens.  It is also available for purchase. $25.00  THIS TOTE BAG IS STILL AVAILABLE.

The lining is green.  I forgot to sew in a pocket.  The handles are about 9 inches long.

Leave a comment or email me if interested in any of these.  bettytownsend@hotmail.com

Thanks!



My Afternoon Project - Dish Towels

I've needed some new dishtowels.  I've seen several different projects on some of the sewing, quilting web pages that I subscribe to.

So the other day, I went up to Joann's to see if they had any toweling fabric.  The only thing they had was terry cloth...I wasn't too interested in using terry cloth.  So I looked over in the section where they have different kits.  I found a package of these dish towels, 3 to a package for $8.99.  I bought some trim and a fat quarter that I was going to use on them.

On this first one I used some fabric that I had in my stash.  It is pink with lady bugs on it.

This second one, I used red rick rack trim that I bought and a red stripe ribbon from my card making ribbon box.

A close-up...the rick rack looks orange...

The third one I used some strip ribbon that I bought.  I remembered that I had a spool of these daisies so used some of them over the ribbon.

I thought they came out pretty good...however after using them, they are not very absorbent.  I thought maybe they wouldn't be...will see what they are like after another wash or two.  I'll have to search online and see if I can find fabric to use in making dishtowels.

Other Projects:

This week I tried on all the skirts I have to see if any fit.  A few I have are way too big...I have lost quite a bit of weight with my diabetes.  I fixed one that has an elastic waist...it was too long too.  So I ripped out the waistband and made a new casing for elastic.  That took care of shortening it too.  One of the tiered one, I took out one of the tiers and put a new hem in it.  I took out a tier in another skirt, however the material is rayon so am going to take it to the cleaners and see what they'll charge me for hemming it.  A couple of others need new elastic to make them fit. 

I am so wanting to sew again.  I've seen several projects I want to try.

Left Eye Surgery:

My surgery on my left eye is scheduled for this coming Monday, the 8th.  I got a call from the surgery center yesterday.  I report in at 11:45 am and surgery will be, maybe, around 1 pm.  Hopefully there are no glitches this time and Dr. Baker is able to get into the OR to do his surgeries on time.   It will be so nice to be able to fully see again.  I will probably find out on Tuesday, when my bandage come off, whether I will still need glasses.

My distance vision is great with the new lens in my right eye.  I am having to use my old glasses to read and look at things up close.  So maybe I will just need reading glasses. 

I apologize, I don't know how that first picture got so large...and I don't know how to fix it.  Blogger drives me crazy sometimes... :) 

I think I fixed all the typos...lol.

Cataracts & Diabetes

I can see again...well, with my right eye that is.  I had my surgery on Monday, the 11th.  I had my follow-up appointment with Dr. Baker this past Monday and the right eye has healed and my vision is excellent in that eye.  I was able to see and read the 20/20 line on the eye chart.  I did miss one letter... :)

I had to wait about 4 hours before I actually got into the operating room.  The surgeon that had morning surgeries got way behind from the onset.  That pushed all Dr. Baker's patients back. 

We got to the surgery center at 11 am, was suppose to check in at 11:10am, got taken back to be prepped for surgery at 1 pm and it was 3 pm when I was actually taken to surgery.  The awesome thing was that we were sitting in the car at 3:45pm ready to go get something to eat, finally...and I was talking to my sister, Ernie.

The patient that was Dr. Baker's first, kind of caused a ruckus while we waited.  It was a gentleman in his 80's (?), he kept asking how long it was going to be while he was still in the waiting room.  He had to get up to go to the restroom 3 times which meant having to unhook him from the monitors.  He had the staff running back and forth into the OR to see how much longer.  The third time he had to get up, he was quite loud by then and kept saying he was going to cancel.  The staff tried to placate him which was not working.  He wanted to talk to Dr. Baker.  Dr. Baker tried to reason with him to no avail.  He finally got dressed after Dr. Baker told him he could reschedule.  He no sooner left and I was being wheeled into the OR.  If he had just hung on a few minutes he would have been done. 

I was doing very well, my BP was good, however right at the point of his getting louder, my BP spiked a little.  Different ones of the staff kept coming over to my space making sure I was ok.  At one point my nurse closed my curtain, I was right across from this man.  They all apologized for the delay and the unhappy patient.  Just before I went into surgery, my nurse went out to get Gerry so I could see him for a minute.  I started to get weepy when I saw him so was glad it was just for a minute.  He thought I was already done.

The last thing I remember in the OR was one of the nurses telling me a pipe like thing she was placing in the side of the bed and over me was for my oxygen...and then the next thing was Dr. Baker telling me we were done.  I was given a mild sedative which put me to sleep at the beginning, however supposedly I was awake through the actual surgery.  I could hear a whizzing sound...that was the machine that powered the instrument to suction the cataract out. 

I think I was only in recovery for about 10 minutes.  I walked out to the waiting room, on my own, with help from one of the staff.  Everyone was so nice...must say I had excellent care.  Yesterday I got a card from the OR staff and a letter from the prep staff, apologizing for the delay and thanking me for allowing them to take care of me.  The prep staff sent a Starbucks gift card. :)  I've had on my mind to send Thank you cards and I need to do that.

The next day I had the bandage taken off...since then I have been like a kid in a candy shop...marveling at the vivid colors and being able to see so much...Red is really red, greens are really green, yellows are really yellow...it is so exciting!!  Gerry laughs at me when I tell him about something I've noticed.  I had to wear a shield over my eye all of last week...that was so I didn't rub it or hurt it in any way.  I need to make sure I have sunglasses on when I go outside and it was even advised that I wear my old glasses in the house.  I am wearing them which is helping quite a bit to see things, like read the newspaper and my desktop computer.  I reduced the zoom on the desktop from 200% to 125%.  I can see the words at 100%.

The surgery for the left eye is scheduled for April 8th, about 2 and a half weeks away.  I am so excited to get it over with and get back to doing things that I haven't been able to do for so many months.  I'm looking forward to driving again.

I am doing a lot better with managing my diabetes.  It was so frustrating in the beginning which had a lot to do with not being able to see things.  This past week I've made 3 recipes from one of the cookbooks Gerry bought me.  One was not too exciting, the other two were pretty good, especially the dessert I made...I'm having some now.  My glucose readings have been consistent...not jumping all over the place when I first started testing.  I couldn't eat anything the day of my surgery nor take my medications.  Gerry was concerned about that, especially since it was about 16 hours without food.  They tested me at the surgery center and it was really good...right in the range where it should be.  I was really thankful for that.

I am so thankful my surgery went well, I couldn't get over how peaceful I felt.  I knew it was because so many were praying...I certainly felt those prayers.  I said in a status on Facebook that morning that I was resting in the Father's arms and that is exactly where I was through it all.

I hope to be blogging more, I have missed doing this.

Checking In

It has been a while since I have been on my blog.  It has been a huge adjustment trying to deal with being a diabetic.  It can be so frustrating at times.

The first of my cataract surgeries is this coming Monday, the 11th.  The right eye will be done first since it is the worse of the two.  The surgery for the left eye will be 4 weeks later.  It will be a welcome relief to get my eyesight back.  It is getting to be worse than a broken record, saying constantly "I can't see" or "I can't see anything".  It has been very difficult to be on the computer, to read, etc.  Thankfully I have my tablet to use although even then it is challenging.

So not much has been happening around here.  I must say I miss blogging.

Ok, that's about all I can manage to type.  Catch up later.