Texas Lady

3rd baby quilt done

Life has its ups and downs and I guess I’m on the up side right now.  I’ve been to all the doctor appointments, physical therapy, been under and over medicated and given medicine that didn’t do a damned thing.  I wore a black back brace (that was only missing the sleeves to be a strait jacket) over one blouse and under another blouse for a month.  (Do you know how hot that is in Texas?  Too damned hot!!!!) So the amount of clothes I’ve had to wash has gone up by leaps and bounds.

Last week I had the follow-up appointment with the pain specialist.  I brought him up to speed on all the things ordered for me by the neurosurgeon.  Here’s what he said:  1. the reason the pain pills are putting me to sleep is because they are giving me too damned much.  He prescribes 300 mg/per day until the patient gets used to the side effects, then increases as necessary.  The NS (neurosurgeon) was having me take 300 mg 3 times a day (and I wondered why I was falling asleep sitting up!).  2. NS sent me to physical therapy which had done nothing but cost me and the insurance company money.  Pain doc says: my pain is caused from a cyst pressing against a nerve & no amount of PT will help that.  Quit immediately and save my PT visits for when I really need them.  3. stop wearing the back brace because the more I wear it the weaker my core muscles will become and then I’ll really have problems.  4. if the medicine isn’t helping just don’t take it  5. come back in October and we’ll reassess.  ……I love my pain doctor!!!!!!!!

So I went back to sewing.  We have another baby shower to go to on the 26th and I hadn’t started any of my baby gifts.  I had another baby quilt to put together, too.  In the past week or so I’ve finished the quilt and made 3 simple blankets (2 receiving, 1 fleece).  I’ve got several dog blankets hemmed waiting for embellishments and stuff to make another personalized baby blanket for Ronnie to take to work.  I have 6 bandanas for dogs completed and more yet to do.  They’re cool because you slip the collar through the top and the bandana doesn’t have to be tied on, so it doesn’t fall off.  There is a multitude of designs.  This is one of them:

no-tie doggie bandana

This week we babysat for a Chihuahua that belongs to our housekeeper while she & her husband drove to Tyler, Tx, for the birth of her grandson.  They are over the moon!  I’m so happy for them.  Since they had been planning on taking their other grandkids to San Antonio for 3 days this week, that trip had to be postponed.  So we’ll get to spend some more time with him in 2 weeks.  Freckles is about to become the permanent property of his new mom.  She’s going to come get him tomorrow and keep him for a whole week.  If it works out, she may not bring him back until time for him to go in for his heartworm treatment in August.  He’s on his premeds right now so it won’t be long now.  When Freckles and Conway aren’t with us we will be down to 8 dogs (counting Jolie, who isn’t ours but we are medically fostering her and she’ll be with us for life).  For a while I’ll get a rest and a bit of time for myself.

This is a picture I embroidered & mounted on a stretched-burlap board for my grand-daughter’s birthday.  She likes giraffes.

Giraffe in Pajamas

I have all kinds of ideas for more things.  Besides the baby and dog blankets, I’m going to learn to make burp towels, a different kind of hooded baby towel, pictures for both bathrooms, more dog beds, more dog bandanas or other donations, and a million other things.  Finding the time and the energy at the same time is the stumbling point.  Some days I have time.  Some days I have energy.  Every once in a while they both arrive in the same day.  That’s the days I pray for.  LOL  What do you pray for?