the best laid schemes . . .

. . . o' mice an' men (and quilters), gang aft agley.

In other words, I didn't quilt last night.

Or today, even.

Ah well. On the bright side, Todd and I had a lovely Chinese dinner last night, had a wonderful visit with old friends, and did our grocery shopping for the week.

Today, I made two gallons of potato salad (from his fire captain's recipe, which is AWESOME!) and a gallon of 'nana puddin'. It's one thing to make quantities of these two delights in the RV kitchen; it's quite another to put them in the RV fridge. Especially after we've just gone grocery shopping!

Ummm, can you say no room at the inn?! Luckily, we're close to the pavilion kitchen, and I was able to store my goodies in the regular sized fridge until tomorrow!

I also watched five hummingbirds battle it out over the feeder, I finally saw a blue jay at our new site, and the does and their fawns have been very active (and quite bold) today.

The winner of the hummingbird battles!

He (she?) almost reached up and got a drink!

Plenty of corn on the ground.

These guys are less than fifteen feet away!

Mom's giving the call.

Evidently, this is better than corn. She gives the secret signal and they come RUNNING! What's funny is, when this doe was done, another of the does gave the same signal, and all three of the fawns went running to her, too! Kinda bizarre.

I've had five cups of coffee and two cups of tea. And I polished my fingernails. Not *put* polish on them, but used the buffer and actually polished them!

I've also got this waiting for me . . .

But fiddle-dee-dee . . . there's time for this later!

:)

flowers make me smile . . .

Yesterday started off on the wrong foot, pardon the pun. I was flustered, running late, unprepared, and in pain. Not a good combination! To make matters worse, I hit my tender foot getting back into the car, from opening the front gate. I was holding on to it just barely when Todd called on his way home, and my dam burst! I'm not even sure my end of the conversation was intelligible! Bless his heart, he is my knight in shining armor. I had been at work for less than an hour and my darling man shows up with breakfast, coffee, and lunch in hand (because in my lateness, I missed all of these things). Plus, he surprised me with these . . .

And just in case, he also brought a little something sweet . . .

FUDGE! :)

Needless to say, with flowers, chocolate, coffee and breakfast, all delivered with a hug and a kiss by the love of my life, my day brightened considerably!

We can be *so* silly at work!

From work I headed to my last physical therapy session of the week. I have three more regular sessions to go and then I have a re-evaluation. They all liked my pretty toes. LOL!

The ice with the electrons is my favorite part. I could sit there for EVER! :)

Yesterday evening, Todd and I headed back into town for the first worship service of a new church start, ignite city church. My daughter and her husband are part of the core group who make up this new church, and Todd and I wanted to worship and celebrate with them for their first service!

Joc is looking wonderful -- she is *glowing* And her darling husband is wearing one of my all-time favorite shirts. I laugh every time I read it!

This is Joc and her sweet friend, Amy, who is the wife of the new pastor, Robert!

And here's my precious girl and her daddy. It's hard to recall how rough yesterday started, when it ended with such sweet fellowship!

Tonight is Friday Night Sew-in! If you haven't signed up and you want to join in the fun, head over to Handmade by Heidi!!! Just click on the button below . . .

TGIF!

:)

foot update . . .

Last night, after my physical therapy appointment, I headed over to Glamor Nails for a *much* needed pedicure! I needed it for my mental well-being as much as for the well-being of my feet, too!

My technician, Kim, is a darling lady. I've been going there for more than two years, and she's always taken care of me. I haven't seen her since May (before the accident) when I ran into her at Publix, and told her I'd be in soon for a post-Mother's Day pedicure. It never happened. When I went in yesterday, she was very concerned and was a little afraid of handling my right foot, which I understand -- I was a little anxious myself! But she did a great job . . .

Pretty toes! What I really wanted was the scrubbing and scuffing and buffing on my feet, but she wouldn't go hard-core on *either* foot, though she promised she would next appointment! I had to coax her into buffing the bottom of the right foot! And after you've been in a cast/boot for twelve weeks solid, you foot needs *serious* buffing!

I had PT session number seven last night. I asked Tracy, my therapist, given that I only have four appointments left after this week, if I'd be ready to be released. She laughed at me. I guess that means no. Then she told me that on the twelfth appointment I'd be re-evaluated and the doctor would prescribe additional sessions. I had to laugh -- evidently TOC (where I go for therapy) gives out tee-shirts to their patients on their last session. Tracy said there was no way she was handing me a TOC shirt when I was still walking all gimpy. She said it would be *terrible* advertising! LOL!! I love this group!

Overall, I'm doing great. The healing process is coming along nicely and I'm working my way through therapy and my exercises nicely. The wound from the 'break out' is finally starting to completely heal over. And the swelling over the top of my foot is fading, too. They told me it would take nine months (or possibly more) to be *close* to pre-accident condition. Ugh. Isn't it amazing that a single moment in time can effect the next hundred of thousands of moments to follow?

The swelling concern, now, is on the right side of the ankle. It's where I have the most pain now, too. Advil has become my good friend. They've added ultrasound to my therapy routine, to help. It's nice, but I'm not sure it's made much of a difference yet. She said it can take a couple of sessions, when the swelling is this acute. Last night she measured the swelling -- 31 cm! Egads! My neck measures 33 cm!

There's a closeup of the *wound* healing. I need these for posterity. :)

Here's where I really see the difference between the healthy foot and the healing foot! I have to laugh -- if I hadn't taken the photo myself, I'd have to question whether or not the foot on the right was really a foot -- and if they were really part of the same body!

I'll just focus on the toes, for now!! Kim even gave me sparkly, pretty designs ... I have classy toes!

:)

camp hopping . . .

This week has been my *first* week where I worked a normal schedule and drove myself to and from work on my own, since MAY! I'm working a normal schedule except I'm leaving a little early for physical therapy, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. After spending twelve weeks of not being able to do much, this week it feels like I'm progressing by leaps and bounds!!

Monday, Todd and I had appointments to visit three camps in the area. We're working towards an improvement plan for MACOBA, and have wanted to see what other camps have and how they've done things. We started at Camp Trico, a Girl Scout camp.

I won't bore you with the details and all the photos we took of cabins, bathhouses, and lodges, but I will share with you some fun finds on our adventure . . .

Isn't this dragonfly beautiful? This must be the year of the dragonfly. They are *every* where! All different kinds, too. I don't go outside that I don't see one! My daughter, driving home from work yesterday, told me that they were hitting her car left and right -- she was afraid they were leaving dents!

On our way out of Trico, Todd's good eyes caught this fellow!

Here's a side view, close up. He certainly is well-camouflaged!

Our next stop was Camp Ney-A-Ti. It's off the same road as Camp Trico, so we didn't have to go far. Todd went here as a kid, so it was fun for me to see a glimpse into his childhood!

This is the beautiful view of Lake Guntersville, from the dining hall.

These pretty sunflowers were growing wild just outside the camp. Todd said they were facing the sun, but I think they were enjoying the view!

Our last stop was on the opposite side of the county, Camp Helen. Like Camp MACOBA is owned by the Madison Baptist Association, Camp Helen is owned by the Limestone Baptist Association. They had a dining hall, two bungalows and a swimming pool. I know my husband -- a swimming pool will not be an improvement he champions!

So basically, this is how I spent my day . . .

But Todd and I had fun tooling around together. We finished off the day with a grocery shop and headed back to our own paradise. It was a nice day, and we got in early enough to beat the deer!

Today, I'm headed to physical therapy after work, and then . . . for a PEDICURE! I'm so excited! My orthopedist cleared me, and I'm *so* ready to give my feet a little attention! Pictures will be forthcoming, I'm sure!

Happy Wednesday!

:)

alert! alert! alert!

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And it's PHENOMENAL!

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You will not be sorry. I promise!

:)

design wall monday, prepping for friday night sew in!

Wow! It's been ages since I've had the ability, desire, wherewithal, whatever, to do a design wall Monday post! But I woke up this morning thinking about this quilt and the fabrics I'd use, so I took that as a sign to get going!

Since I've finished all the redwork blocks for my "Overall Sawyer" quilt, it's time to put the nine patch blocks together that flesh out the quilt top.

The pattern shows it with a solid red, and a red and white fabric. I've always visualized my final product with blues in it -- a bluesy, denim blue -- so I pulled out my stash this morning and pulled out blues, blues & whites, and reds that I thought might work.

These are what I found:

I thought about doing the blue & white with a more solid navy like this . . .

Or this. I really love the blue in the fabric above; it's got that washed denim look to it. I love it! But the blue and the blue & white just didn't cut it. Hmmm.

So I tried pairing the blue & white with the red . . . I really like that red, and it's perfect with the color of the embroidery thread I used! But, nope, I didn't really like that pairing either.

Now mind you, I'm not going to use the sailboat fabric, but I did decide I like the combination of the red, white & blue with the blue solid. It ties the red in nicely from the redwork blocks and still gives me the blues I want. These blocks are relatively small -- 7-1/4" finished -- so I'll want to find a red, white & blue fabric that's a smaller print, but I don't mind doing a little fabric shopping!

To see what's on the rest of the quilting world's design walls this morning, check out Judy's blog, Patchwork Times.

If I'm able to get the fabric in time, it's probably what I'll work on for the August Friday Night Sew-in!! If you've not participated in this before, you should really check this out. It'll be my first (I really wanted to participate last month, but wasn't able). You can sign up on Heidi's Handmade by Heidi blog. Click on the button to go directly to the signups! It's this Friday, August the 20th.

There's been a flurry of activity out the back window this morning. Deer have been in and out all night, from the looks of the corn -- there ain't none left! LOL! It was still pretty dark when I first lifted the shade, but I could make out two does. A little later on I looked and there was nothing. Then I looked again and there was one doe, then two does, then nothing, then a doe with three fawns! One of the fawns headed out early, though, so I'm assuming it belonged to a different doe. Especially since the doe and the other two fawns headed out in the opposite direction! As I sit here, another lone fawn is crossing the camp road, heading out of the woods behind the pavilion, over for a bite to eat. It hasn't taken them long to figure out where the good stuff is! Not that there's much left this morning. LOL!

It's also light enough now that the birds have come in for breakfast -- they do carry on so! We put a fountain/bird bath out this weekend, but so far nothing's come in for a drink or a splash. Of course, we've had a bit of rain both days - let it get dry enough and they'll be lining up.

Have a great day!!

:)

glad to be home . . .

This has been an exhausting week, but not without some pretty terrific highlights.

First the exhaustion:

For some reason, early on, I had this idea that the twelve week healing process would end, they'd take the cast off, and I'd walk out of the doctor's office. Yeah, yeah, I knew I'd have physical therapy to build back muscles and strengthen tendons and whatnot, but I really thought I'd be able to walk when the twelve weeks was up. As time passed, I understood that was not to be the case, and actually, as it got closer to the twelve week mark, I was really *glad* that there was going to be transition time. What I was *not* prepared for was that (for the most part) the most pain I've had, in this entire process, would be NOW! Physical therapy is WORK!

And though I came to realize that twelve weeks wasn't really my magic moment mark, it's been full of firsts (some actual firsts, some firsts in a long time) . . .

We're back in the RV, full-time. There are advantages -- the space is smaller, so it's easier to get from here-to-there on the crutches. The living area is not carpeted, which also makes it easier on crutches. The kitchen area is very compact, so I am able to do more in the kitchen these days. There are also disadvantages -- the gate, namely, but never mind that for now. I'm also not really at a point where I can do a whole lot (moving boxes, rearranging low cabinets, etc.), so I'm not able to organize or put things away the way I'd like them. But that will come in time.

I'm driving. Todd rode with me as I drove to work on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then on Thursday and Friday, I drove alone. It's gonna be okay. It's a bit of a pain (and I have to allow myself the extra time) to get the boot off and on, so I can drive, but que sera, that too will not be for long. It's mentally exhausting, because I'm hyper-vigilant, and physically exhausting because it is working that healing foot. I'm not really ready to drive much more than to work and back.

I'm back to my four-day work week schedule. Except for physical therapy, which I try to schedule for late in the afternoon, I shouldn't have to miss much work in the future. This too, is pretty tiring, but I'll overcome that in no time.

My physical therapy, for all that it's tough, is also very wonderful. I opted to use the satellite location, so it's between work and home (which is lovely) and it's much smaller and less busy (which means less waiting to get in). And the folks that work there are GREAT! After a week, I'm on a first name basis with all (four) of the staff there. The atmosphere is very light-hearted and easy going, and I get at least one good belly laugh every time I'm there! And since God Himself tells us that a cheerful heart is good medicine, laughing while I'm doing physical therapy has got to be very beneficial! :)

Okay, so PT is exhausting, but it's also been very rewarding. After just one week I can already tell I've got much improved range of motion in my foot, and my foot and leg are getting stronger. My calf muscle, which was pretty much non-existent a week ago, is back and already has some definition. Plus, I really *really* like the icy electro machine, I get to put my foot in at the end of every session. I'd like one of those for home, please!

Some of my best rewards, though, have come from looking out my back window. I have the BEST view! Last night I sat here and watched this chubby little squirrel just plop himself down in a little puddle of corn Todd had thrown out, and eat to his heart's content. He was so funny!

And the deer have been incredible. Five fawns, so far -- two sets of twins and then a single fawn. One set of twins is still nursing pretty regularly and when their mama gives them the go ahead (which she's done twice, right here in my backyard), they HOP TO IT! And watching them nurse is hilarious! They are so frantic to get while the getting is good. And I'm serious, because she gives them about a minute, and then she hops on over their heads and leaves them wondering what happened! This morning they were so close, I could still see drops of milk on one of the fawn's mouth whiskers!

I've seen almost every bird we had at the old site, here at the new site. The flicker and the red-headed woodpeckers have both made appearances, so I know they're about. The only thing we haven't seen is the blue jays. I hope we can lure them in, because they're such clowns and so pretty to look at! We're putting a little water fountain in this weekend, and I'm sure that will lure some new critters/birds in and be a focal point for activity!

I am making Todd a strawberry glace pie today (sugar free, of course). I probably need to get going on the crust! Enjoy the weekend!!

Adieu!

:)

. . .

Today is definitely a day I'd not care to repeat!

I drove this morning, and while it was a little painful, it was also nice to be behind the wheel. This is the very first time I've driven my new car! She's fun and handles nicely. It's weird, but she feels a bit more substantial than my last PT Cruiser felt.

I couldn't fit my poor little foot into any of my shoes. Not even my Yellowboxes (which I thought for sure would fit). I had to wear a sock. And even it was tight!

I was not prepared for the surge of emotion I'd feel when I drove by the accident site. We'd passed it before, but I'd never driven by it before. All of a sudden I was crying. In fact, I thought I might need to pull over because of the tears, but it was okay. Wow, just reliving that moment brings the tears back to my eyes! I've been reliving the accident in my sleep again lately. I guess it was because I knew I'd be driving soon.

I told Todd today that I didn't mind our arrangement of him driving me everywhere and that I could live that way forever! He said no. :)

We didn't have a/c at work today. Ummm, that's yucky. I spent six hours in 90+ degrees. Not to mention the humidity. I was cranky. Even the cat was cranky. Luckily, Todd agreed to let me be a passenger on the way home. He's a good man!

Luckily, tomorrow is not today, and the a/c guys came and by tomorrow it should be back to normal. And I'm driving again tomorrow. *And* we're moving the rest of our stuff from the house back to the RV. And I have physical therapy very late tomorrow afternoon.

But it won't be a repeat of today!

:)

finally . . . a finish!!!

What a happy day today was! At some point I was sitting here playing on my laptop, and I turned around and saw this . . .

Yay! A doe and her twin fawns! They are so darling. I wish I could pet them! The fawns are a lot more jittery than the mom. They'd all of a sudden take off running, and then run back. Mom didn't even lift her head!

This sweet little goldfinch has been hitting the feeders off and on all day. He makes his rounds to the four feeders, and then flies off, so the female can come in and get a bite.

This solo doe came up through the camp this afternoon. It had rained briefly and cooled the temps, so I guess the deer were moving around a bit more. I happened to look out the side window and thought I saw a chipmunk in the woodpile. Then I started, as I saw a pair of legs through the hedges, walking down the paved road. Then I realized it was a set of legs . . . a set of four! The doe peaked her head in through the short cut I'd trimmed into the hedge, and tentatively stepped on into the site. She'd been here before, I'll bet, because she walked straight to the corn! The doe with the two fawns came back through a couple of hours later.

In the meantime, I squared this up this afternoon . . .

Since the back of the pillow top will be hidden, I wanted to get plenty of pictures of it. LOL!

And then I pulled out the ol' sewing machine and worked that thang! It felt really good. Really, really good. I'm so tickled with the end result!

The back is simple and I did a fold-over flap, so that I could pull the pillow form out and wash the cover, if I needed to.

Today, this . . .

Tomorrow, this . . .

This is a week of big things for me!

:)

my hero, and a lovely weekend . . .

We're transitioning! Yesterday we woke up at the house, but Todd wasn't feeling well so I sent him back to bed. When he woke up again, I had this crazy idea that we head back to the RV ... and SPEND THE NIGHT! What makes this all the more fantastic is, I'm off today, he's working! I'd like to think we're back . . . FOR GOOD! :) We sat at the table last night and watched two does come up to eat, and a host of assorted birds and squirrels hit the feeders. This morning Todd came down to find the whole raccoon family out there! Now I'm sitting here, drinking my second cup of coffee, and watching the nuthatches flit back and forth from feeder to tree!

When we moved the RV over to the new, permanent site, Todd found the phone line that the old caretaker had used. He called to check with the local phone company and guess what? We have DSL! Whoohoo!! I can upload photos and download patterns to my heart's content! Plus, I got an HDMI cable for my laptop, so we can watch stuff from online (like Rick & Bubba's USTREAM) on our flat screen! :)

Last time Todd was on shift, the whole station headed to some appreciation dinner (National Night Out). While they were there, they had their pictures taken . . .

The fire fighters of Station 6, Third Shift. Great group of men!

And here they are again with all their trucks! Todd is the fire fighter on the ladder truck.

Here was my kitchen, Saturday afternoon. I made spaghetti and garlic bread for lunch that day. It was really good! Probably because I used a $9 jar of spaghetti sauce. Good grief. It was the lowest in its sugar content (3 g per serving) and it was organic! LOL!

And there's Todd, talking about Camp MACOBA, no doubt, at his station! We've got a great picture window right there at the table. It's our favorite place to park ourselves! And yes, those are my crutches in the left of the photo there. I'm starting to get around better and better on them!

Saturday evening we headed over to the pavilion to meet and greet the group that had come up for a church picnic. There were about 25 folks there. They'd had dinner, but invited us to go through the line and sit for a bit. That was really nice, because it meant I didn't have to figure out what to do for dinner! We stayed and chatted as they wound things up and headed out. We were the last ones there and I turned and saw the sunset hitting just so on the back side of the pavilion and thought, this is worth a photo. We are in a most beautiful setting!

I went through my fabric bin last night and though I didn't have as much of the fabric I'd backed my first quilt with (which is where the block is from), I do have enough of the fabric I used for the binding, so that's what I'll use. I may play with that today. It would be nice to have a finish of any sort under my belt, after so long!!

Happy Monday!

:)