Weekly Catch Up

Last week was a very full week it was also numbing and heartbreaking with the news of another school shooting in Nashville on Monday. So close to home. Mark and I had to go to Nashville on Tuesday for a four month check up for him. We always leave out around 5:00 AM and it takes close to four hours to get there. We gain an hour when we hit Central time so that is always nice. However the traffic was unbelievably bad probably worse than we had ever seen it. It took almost four and a half hours to get there. We barely made it in time for the appointment. It was surreal driving into Nashville knowing what had taken place there the day before. I am not sure exactly where the shooting was or how close we were to it. It’s just horrible. We decided not to do that drive on the same day as the appointment again. It’s just too exhausting. Next time we will go over the day before and spend the night it is not so stressful that way.

Mark’s bloodwork was great but we got bad news that his doctor is retiring in July. We knew it was coming but what a blow. We have been with this doctor since the kidney transplant and we love him. He gave us his cell phone number when we started seeing him and we have called him a couple of times with concerns. He always answers or gets right back to us.

Work continues to be so busy. We have been closed since January because of construction and we are trying to get back open this week. I have been so focused on this and my mind in a thousand different directions that I actually wore my house shoes to work on Friday. I noticed it when I got into town and stopped at Walmart. I noticed when I stepped out of the car it felt weird and I looked down and had my house shoes on. They are pretty beat up and look bad. Luckily I have a pair of tennis shoes that I keep under my desk at work. I put those on.

Our work days are usually so busy it is hard to have lunch with any of our coworkers. We take turns eating lunch. On Friday one of our team members made us a shrimp boil. We were all able to eat together and it was really nice and so delicious.

I had to work on Saturday so I had only one day off over the weekend to get a lot of things done. I am making some carrots for Easter. Our local Walmart has had a sale on fabric because they are remodeling their fabric department and doing away with the large bolts of fabric. Look at these colors I think they will make some adorable cloth carrots. I got the idea from a fellow blogger. You can check out her blog, Little Red House Blog and how she did them here

I cut several triangles to make the carrots. I may have gone a little overboard on the number of cuts I did. I don’t know how many carrots I will make but I certainly have enough fabric for a bunch of them. I am going to use the green yarn for tops. I will show the finished piece when I get there. I hope it is before Easter. If not I will have a huge supply for next year.

A few more Walmart finds at their big craft supply sale. These burlap bolts were only $1.50 each. The Pioneer Woman fabric was $5.00. I am going to make cushions out of that fabric. And the little buttons were $2.50 for the entire bag. All of that will go in my craft closet until I get ready to use it.

On Sunday I took a nice long walk around the yard and woods. Lots of things are blooming and it is just so pretty. The Azaleas are blooming!!!! I first thought that I was seeing a humming bird on the azaleas but I googled the picture in bug finder on my phone and it is a type of moth.

Busy times and I come home exhausted. But that is just the way it is for me this time of year. What have you been doing? Are you enjoying spring and being outside?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

Hello Monday

Happy Monday friends. I will tell you this has been the most Mondiest Mondays of them all. I was definitely having a Homer Simpson Day today. If you missed that post you can check it out here to see what the Homer Simpson reference is about. But I will give you a hint, absolutely nothing went right. It seemed like I could do nothing right, after I got to work that is. The computers had a glitch, the WiFi was acting crazy, none of the printers worked and when I finally got one to print it was out of ink. So it was definitely a goofy kind of Homer Simpson day.

The weekend was actually quite nice. Let’s go back to Friday. I took my sister to Knoxville to get her fourth chemo treatment and to see the doctor. She had had scans done earlier in the week to see just how the treatments were doing. We were cautiously optimistic. She has been doing great and had wonderful reports on her bloodwork. We felt that things were going good but we knew the scans would tell the tale.

We waited a little while to see the doctor. He came in and asked how my sister was feeling and she said that she was feeling really good. He said that is really good because the scans show that the splenic lesion is no longer seen. And that was very good. WHAT??? I asked just what that meant and he said the cancer is gone!!! We were blown away and so happy we were giddy. He suggested she finish the round of chemo to ensure a total remission. We walked out of his office in a daze we practically stumbled down the hall. We are so thankful and feel so blessed by everyone’s prayers and concerns. So many people have been there for her during this time. It is very humbling.

Here we are waiting to get called back for the treatment to start. I you have never been to a cancer center and watched all the brave, precious people then you really don’t know how lucky you are to worry about mundane things. Nothing is that problematic. It definitely gives you a new perspective.

So after that kind of news the weekend and every day could only be great!!! Of course a crazy Homer Simpson day is had by everyone every now and then so as I tell myself, DEAL WITH IT!!!!

I took several hats and headbands to donate to the Cancer Center when we were there on Friday. They have a basket at the infusion center where people receiving chemo or other treatments can pick a hat or scarf or anything that has been donated. I think this is a wonderful thing. I am so happy to be able to donate to them. I told the lady at the desk that some of the hats might be too warm for this time of year but she said lots of people loved them because the air conditioning was so cold. I plan to make some lighter weight ones for summer.

Over the weekend I thinned my Irises. They were getting too thick and didn’t bloom much last year at all. I took out quite a few of them and now I have to find places for them. These came from the house where I grew up. My mama loved irises and had one side of the yard full of them. They’re very special because she actually started them many years ago. I have given them to several of my nieces so that we can keep them going. I may decide to take some to work to have them there as well.

Several of my orchids are blooming. This is Ophelia. I have had her for a little more than a year. This is the second time she has bloomed. I am starting an orchid journal to keep up with all of them. I now have seven and see more in my future.

A few weeks ago a friend at work made Reese’s Pie and put them in these containers. I decided to try them for myself. I was very happy with the way they turned out. I bought these small containers to put them in. There are so many uses for these containers. They are great for individual servings. If you were going on a picnic or wanted to give these out as little individual gifts they are great!!! I got all of these from Amazon. You can do cakes also. These make great individual servings for people to take home with them.

Look how cute they are with the lids and the little fork/spoons.

I rescued these two chairs from the dumpster at work. Can you believe they were being thrown away.!!!! I am going to clean them, redo the vinyl and paint them. They are very sturdy and solid. I will give you an after picture as soon as I have them finished.

Sometimes Gus is a big bully to Kitty Kitty. I worry about her but I saw her in action today when she swatted him back and made him run away. I think she can handle herself. HA!!!

How was your weekend?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!

Weekend Happenings, Springing Forward

Well here it is winter again. The temps tonight will drop well below freezing. Some of the Bradford Pear trees have been hit by the cold and their milky white blossoms have turned a yucky light brown. That’s just how it is in East Tennessee. You never know what kind of weather you will get. The redbuds are also blooming but they seem undisturbed by this little cool spell Mother Nature has thrown at us. It is also time for the Dogwood blooms to emerge and I am holding my breath that they don’t get bit by this cold weather.

Thinking of flowers and blooms and colors, I decided to get some seeds started inside in small pots so that they would be ready to plant outside in a month or two. If we wait until the fear of frost is over, to plant outside, we could be waiting for a couple of months for blooms. I think planting them indoors and getting a good root system going makes for better plants once you put them outside. Plus it is a way to get spring going inside the house. I worked on them Sunday and now I have them spread all over the house trying to find spots that will give them ample light. I will let you know how they do. I planted Marigolds and Zinnias, two of my favorites for summer.

***I had to move Zsa Zsa over a bit to get these little seedlings into the light.***

I was feeling very creative over the weekend. I pulled out these big needles and made a scarf. The yarn was very thick and it knitted up fast. It will be good for next winter. I am wondering though, if maybe I am procrastinating by not working on the temperature blanket. I have it almost finished and like I mentioned before I am just over it!!!! But I have to finish it. I must!!! It has grown into more than I can handle. I know I will love it when I am finished. I guess.

I also made a hat. I have been working on doing some hats to donate to the Cancer Center where my sister gets chemo. There is a basket in the infusion waiting area and people often donate hats, bandanas, headbands etc. This one is a bit thick and might be too warm for spring, but who knows since our weather is so fickle. I am working on some that will be a lighter yarn and will be good through spring.

I made a blueberry cobbler over the weekend and did the meal prep for my breakfast burritos. I love blueberry cobbler and I put it in the refrigerator to have for the week.

I am reading a couple of good books. All in all a pretty lazy weekend, except for that jolt into Daylight Saving Time, I am okay with lazy weekends because my work is about to be crazy and will continue that way through summer. Any down time I can get now I will happily take it.

How was your weekend?

Always remember

Lover your day your way!!!!!

Goodbye February

The Bradford Pears and the cherry trees are blooming. The grass is getting greener and small shoots of flowers are starting to emerge from the ground. The weather has been so nice. Spring is definitely on the way. I know that February is a short month but my goodness it passed by so quickly. We had very mild weather and luckily no snow!!!!

I decided over the weekend to put out some Easter decorations. It’s not that I am not a fan of St Patrick’s Day but I just don’t usually decorate for it. I am on to Easter. We had a fairly slow and quiet weekend. I didn’t really cook a lot. I made a cake. I have been wanting a chocolate cake not that I need one but who ever really needs a chocolate cake?

Several years ago I made decoupaged Easter eggs with two ply napkins, plastic eggs and Mod Podge I bring them out every year. Here is the how to on making them if you are interested. Making Decoupaged Easter Eggs.

Another oldie but goodie. I made this wreath several years ago. It has held up pretty well but I may do another one this year and put this on the back door.

Several years ago I bought these huge eggs at Dollar Tree. They were in a wooden crate and I never really knew what to do with them. The crate sort of fell apart so I took them out and put them in this bowl. I love them!!! I don’t know why I never thought of doing this.

I added this picture of me below because I am curious if you are anything like this. I got up on Monday morning and went through my closet thinking to myself, I have nothing to wear. We all know this is not true but I tend to reach for the same old clothes over and over again. I decided NOT TODAY!!!! I pulled this green sweater out, and put it with these pants and added the black shoes, that I have never worn before, and some necklaces and I felt like I had made an effort. It felt great too and that feeling stayed with me all day. Sometimes I forget to make an effort. I think that can be a habit and it is one I want to change. Please excuse my messy bedroom.