Greetings from South Texas where summer is here and Texas is going to be opened up on 1 May 2020.  

Some good news!  We were advised last Tuesday that Clay was Number One on the list for his Heart Cath and Aorta Valve Replacement for 1 May!  We are so glad!  We will not know which way they will replace the AVR until the Heart Cath is done Friday.  We will be there at 6 AM and the procedure will start at 8 AM.

Friday I had an eye appointment and Clay had an appointment at BAMC for a checkup.  It was an interesting day getting out of the house since we had not been anywhere but curbside HEB for groceries for 6 weeks!  I picked up some things at Whole Foods and as I came out of the store it felt like it was just yesterday that we had been out and about.

So for those who have not been out yet, believe me, once your area opens up, you will have the same feeling.

Today Clay had an appointment for Therapy at BAMC this morning.  He had purchased a gift for his surgeon Major David Wilson.  We were told Friday that he would be deploying in the next week or so and we would not see him again.  This morning we stopped in at the Clinic to leave his gift – a set of Oak Leaf Clusters that he will pin on when he is promoted to Lt Colonel hopefully by the end of the year.  We had prepared a card for him expressing our gratitude to him for saving Clay’s hand.  We left the Orthopedic area indicating we were heading to the Business Office to pay another bill.  When I came out of that office I looked up and here came our beloved Major Wilson looking for us to thank us for the wonderful gift and card!  I will admit that we broke all the rules because I gave him 2 great hugs and Clay also gave him a hug.  If we could adopt him we would!  LOL.  This was the highlight of the day for us!

Sunday our new yard man, Roger, did the yard!  He is absolutely one of the hardest working individuals that we have hired.  I do believe we have a permanent yard man forever, as needed.

I have been working on Celebrating Mary Brown this month (and it is not a lot).  I have mostly bought books or patterns (like I needed more) and gave up on OMG – difficult focusing.  I have finished 3 of the last 4 leaf blocks for Mary Brown.  I am almost finished with the 4th and hoping that it will be a quiet day tomorrow and I can do that!  So here is what I have done.  The  blocks will go on the bottom of the quilt.  I have not done the blocks with the Vase’s.

Here is a picture of the right hand corner of the quilt.

Lot of work yet to do to catch up, but I will be happy to finish the 4th block of leaves.

Again, I have not really had time or ability to focus on reading other Blogger’s post!  We are praying that things go well and our lives will return to normal in June, if not before.  I believe that our 2020 will begin in July which is fine.  We have received so many many blessings this year it is unbelievable.

Today was no different because we were unaware that the Base entry rules had changed and we had to go back to the Visitors Center to get Clay a temporary pass (I have a permanent one because I am a retired Civilian).  IF that had not happened, we would have been in the Orthopedic Clinic 30 minutes earlier and Major Wilson would have not been able to chase us down.  Life is good, even when we do not understand why things happen when they do!

Wish all a great week and will try to get an update out in a week or so!

Nanette

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Margaret, Emma, Tracy, Deb, Susan,  Nanette,  Edith, Sharon, Karrin, Connie, Bella, Gretchen, Daisey , Kathie.

Greetings from South Texas!  It appears that I have lost my desire to work on quilts since Clay’s accident on  New Years Eve.  I do understand that this is only a bump in the road and things will return to normal later in the year!   My focus has been 100% on Clay and getting him back to where he will feel better and his hand will be working much better!   He has always supported me when I went through surgeries and health issues, so I do not mind taking a break from quilting in fact, I am learning how to day each day as it comes – Good or Bad!  I began helping him with his therapy yesterday  – we work on his hand every 2 hours and our goal is to do it 4 to 5 times a day.  Since yesterday, his wrist seems to be doing a little better as far as movement.  YEA! A Blessing.

Blessing 2 – I found a great person to take over the yard work!  He and his wife came by last week to give me an estimate and he ended up taking the time to mow the grass in the yard (not the outside acreage since the ‘weeds’ were not high enough!   I was overcome with relief!  I also found a great company to come and exterminate at a later date.

Blessing 3 – I was able to obtain enough chicken to cover me for the entire month and all other essentials and food that we needed.  It took me 3 weeks to get all the groceries that I usually buy at one time at the first of each month.  I ordered from Walmart, who delivers to the house, and went to the local store and pick it up at Curbside.  I had to wait 9 days to get the first order – unbelievable!

Blessing 4 – 7 inches of RAIN in the last week!!!  YEA

But enough of this boring stuff!  Now having said all I have to say about life, here is what I have accomplished in a month – A MONTH!  Would you call this a record for me?  LOL

These are 2 blocks for OMIGOSH!  I am using reproduction fabrics from Barbara Brackman’s Lady In Red an Richmond Reds.  To make a ‘block’ it takes 2 each 5 inch (unfinished) 9 patches and 2 shoofly blocks.

Monday morning I woke up with a creative idea as what to do with old bath towels that we usually lay at the doorway to clean our shoes whenever we get rain!

This is what I started with (old towel)

I had a total of 4 towels to retrofit to inside door mats that do not slip or slide!

Well, this is all I have for the month so far!  I am now relaxing and just enjoying life with no issues at this time.  With all the madness in the world, we are at peace.

Nanette

Greetings from South Texas!

Clay’s Heart Cath and Aorta Valve Replacement have been postponed until further notice.  We were called Wednesday and our choice was to go forward, Thursday the Doctor called and said it would be not be safe for Clay to have it at this time.  In the meantime – he has to take it very easy – no stressing the heart!

At first we were so disappointed, BUT THEN, we realized that we would have our lives back for a short period of time!  We have been in the house or at the Doctor’s office since NY Eve – talk about quarantine!!!!!  Even though we have the Studio, it was not in our hearts to come out and pretend that live was the same.  For me, I need this time without any stress.  Both of our minds and bodies need to recoup from the 81 days.

It has taken me 3 days to get over the stress of the hand incident, but this morning, the first morning nice New Years Eve, I woke up with a lot of energy and ready for my quilting life to start – even if only for a couple of weeks, or a month.  I know that there will be another bumpy road ahead, but it is so nice to get back to our normal routine.

Clay is working his hand all the time and doing therapy that they showed him, plus therapy he has figured out on his own.  The other day he was playing his guitar!  Here is a short video of a Miracle – Remember it was his left hand and this is only 81 days after the accident!  We both cried with happy tears!  Hope this downloads OK!

I know that others who cannot go to work are having a difficult time if they are not being paid and feel for them.  But I feel that the Government will make all necessary changes to ease the pitfall of this mess called “The Chinese Virus”.

I have always kept our pantry full (at least a month’s worth) and enough meat for about a month, so we are fine.  Things will start to get better.

We are probably the only 2 people in the Country who love to be told to stay home during this time.  I have a positive attitude today that if we run out of food we will not starve!  It is just not worth me continuing to worry about anything as we are alive and well!

Have a blessed day and pray that this situation we are in can be contained and things turn around in a short period of time.

Nanette

I have told all doctors that Clay has a fantastic immune System. The following pictures of x-rays shows before the 2 surgeries  and only after 73 days since the accident. Here is a miracle. The other picture is our beloved Major Wilson.

Doing a Happy Dance for Friday March 13, 2020

We are so blessed by the Excellent care given to Clay by our beloved military!

Now on to the next Blessing. Heart Fixes.

Have a blessed life. I am going to help Clay with therapy. We see Major Wilson on 24 April. He wants out of any cast and USE the hand.

Hugs, Nanette.

From my iPhone.

Greetings from South Texas. I apologize to Jan for not posting her Mary Brown block for February as she sent her picture of her block to me on time but I did not do a post for her.

Jan did a beautiful job on this block.  I love her colors.    Have a great day   Nanette

This is my 390 post since I started my Blog.  It should be double that, but life since 2014 has had just too many twists and turns.   The latest hit came when Clay’s Cardiologist called us at home on  Thursday evening at 9:14 and 10:00 and left a message to come to the office at noon the next day to discuss the results of the Echocardiogram that was done last Thursday and we were not scheduled to see him until 24 March.  Needless to say, it was a short night Thursday evening.

For the latest addition to our Social Calendar and hits in our Lives – Clay has Severe Aorta Stenosis.   The bottom line is this.  He will have a complete heart catheter procedure on 20 March to see if the arteries have blockages and if they can be opened with a stint, OR if they are completely blocked.  This is another 2 step process because he has to have his Aorta Valve replaced.  If the arteries are partially blocked and stints are used they can replace the valve through the arteries.  IF they are blocked, then he will have open heart surgery.

In the meantime, we have 5 more therapy sessions for his hand, 2 doctor appointments and I have 2 eye doctor appointments before the 20th.

This may sound weird, but we are still blessed – if Clay had not accidentally shot himself in the hand on New Years Eve, and BAMC being so worried about his heart murmer, along with the ER run with his heart issue a couple of weeks ago, he might have had a massive heart attack with a negative outcome.  All of this has led us to an excellent Cardiologist who is going to take care of the test on the 20th and then he will be referred to the Surgeons to do the Heart Valve replacement.

We are positive that all will be fine in the end and we keep on praying that it is.  In the meantime, we are focusing on his hand issue and hoping that by the 20th he will have a good progress report from the Doctors on therapy and the bone graft.

Have a wonderful weekend and next week!

Hugs

Nanette

Greetings all who take the time to follow me!

How about some good news – Clay is doing very well with his home therapy on his hand.  He is dedicated and does all that is required.

Here is some bad news – Last Wednesday we had another ER run to the Emergency at the hospital – Clay had some symptoms that we thought could be his heart!   We did not have to stay as the issue calmed down, and were referred to a Cardiologist and had an appointment this last Monday.

We also discussed the episode with our BAMC Orthopedic doctor who advised Clay that this could have been a side effect of the block on his arm on the surgery on 13 Feb.

Good news for Clay –  we have the most wonderful new Cardiologist now and tomorrow Clay will get an updated Echo Cardiogram and will wear a heart monitor for 2 weeks.  He is a wonderful doctor and we are so blessed to have him.  We will see him on 24 March for a follow up. Clay is doing fine just needs to move around more and I have to quit feeding him so good!  LOL

Good news for Nanette – I have found a surgeon who will do the repair to the loose skin on my eyelids.  Found him on the internet and he is a full time Military guy and works 2 days a week with a well known Eye Group and specializes in this type of surgery.  YEA

Bad news for Nanette –  I thought that I had cataract regeneration cells on my right eye as my vision was becoming cloudy!   Today I saw my wonderful Dr Young whom I love dearly.  She did the cataract surgery but does not do the eye lid surgery.  I do not have cataract regeneration cells in the right eye – it is a swollen Retina!  Lovely – I will be on Steroid drops for 2 weeks, go back for a checkup and will be on them until the swelling has gone down.  Cannot tell me how long it will take, but I know there will be NO quilting or hand work for a longer period of time.  My left eye is tired as it has been taking over for the right eye so I have to rest it!  BUMMER

So will be the last post for awhile!  I can not tell all how much I miss my quilting life, but I have to accept the fact now that it is so far on the back burner that it might be another month!  So in case you missed me – I am here in the Cook Hospital Ward in South Texas for people who are getting all the health issues finished with together!

BOTTOM LINE!  Not a lot of time on the computer and for those who follow me and whom I follow I will be quietly reading but not commenting – keep on quilting and having a wonderful week.  We, of course are working on our Social Calendar which is full of nothing but doctor appointments!

Stay safe and well!

Hugs

Nanette

This was not the week for quilting!  Won’t bore anyone with details of having no life.  Clay is now in a splint that is removable and he is in therapy.  All can be done at home and he has improved with moving the hand after 7 weeks in casts.  The recovery really does start now the doctor performed a miracle with his hand and Clay will do all he can to make the hand work like it used to.

I have nothing to show this month for HQAL nor Slow Sunday!  Now I have problems with my right eye.  I kept thinking that the glasses were dirty – WRONG,  I think that the cataract cells that were not totally removed are now giving me cloudy vision in that eye!  They can zap them with a Laser beam!   Hoping to get into the Doctors this week.

Wonder when life will finally get back to normal.  Hopefully I an find a surgeon I trust to do the surgery on my eye lids.  So far that has not happened 2 down many to find.

Have a great week.  Please check out the other ladies who participate in HQAL!

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Margaret, Emma, Tracy, Deb, Susan,  Nanette,  Edith, Sharon, Karrin, Connie, Bella, Gretchen, Daisey , Kathie.

Happy Valentines (belated) to everyone.  Clay gave me Red Roses and I gave him two Vermont Teddy Bears that we both love.  We just love our President Trump and now we have the cutest Vermont Trump Teddy Bear!  The Koala Bear was just too cute to pass up!  The Roses are artificial and so pretty!  They will last a LONG time!

Now on to where I am in my quilting projects – Should I just say ZERO?  LOL.  I have progressed very little on Mary Brown but as always hoping to produce something this week.

On one of my post I believe I discussed the issues about me doing scrappy quilts!   OMIGOSH is extremely scrappy and I tried 2 different fabrics to make this quilt last month with no success.  I decided that I would just work on a couple of on-line BOMs until Clay was up and running again.  Well, that did not work out too well.

I made one block from one of the 4 selected BOMs and after spending the time and effort in doing that, the block has a problem, but I don’t anymore – it is called TRASH CAN FIX!  The block and the other projects I had printed out to work on are also visiting the TRASH CAN FIX!  I hope I have learned that I have plenty of beautiful patterns and do not need to participate in the on-line BOMs!  OMIGOSH is a quilt that I have been wanting to make for years!

After the TRASH CAN FIX, I decided to go back to OMIGOSH – especially when Gretchen posted her finished quilt.  She made a smaller version, but I love the way the 9 patches show the diagonal lines!  We were going to start this quilt together in January, but of course, I am behind.  My biggest problem was fabric selection.  When I first started my OMIGOSH you can see what I ended up with.  I really like the little top that I made and the 9 patches really did provide the effect I wanted.  For the 2nd fabric start, I selected some Jenny Beyer fabrics BUT that did not work out either.

Gretchen used a white background for her quilt which really allows her Shoofly Block fabrics to pop in this quilt.  When I saw her finished top I realized that I could use my original Reproduction Fabric selections but change the background to a Bella Solid beige background.  Yesterday I started working with them and I am very pleased with the first 9 patch block.  All blocks are 5″ unfinished and 4 1/2″ finished –  I really do enjoy working with the small blocks and the positive out of this story is that I have practiced enough that all blocks are coming out perfect!  YEA.

This is the first row of the Shoofly block and I really think that I will be happy now with this quilt.

This is the stack of fat quarters that I will use.  They are from Barbara Brackman’s Union Blues, Lady Albums, and Richmond Reds.  I do hope that this turns out like I want it to.  It will be “scrappy” but very controlled!

OMIGOSH is a quilt that I can pick up at anytime (with current time constraints) and not have to revisit the pattern to refresh the memory (what memory I have left these days)LOL.

UPDATE on Clay:  Clay had a highly successful reconstructive surgery on Thursday morning.  He is doing very well and his Orthopedic Doctor is very pleased that the Masquelet Technique** used in repairing his hand.  The gunshot had shattered almost an inch of the 5th medial bone in the middle below his little finger.  By the grace of God there was solid bone at the top and bottom of the bone remaining and Major Wilson was able to put a screw into the top portion of the bone and the bottom portion and grafted bone from the wrist in the middle!  Major Wilson was praying that this would be possible as he did not want to have to use pins. We are so indebted to BAMC and the Excellent Orthopedic Team that has been caring for Clay!  They have performed a miracle.

The Masquelet Technique**of repairing trauma incidents like this and those on the battlefield is absolutely amazing.   We go in for a checkup on Friday!  We are about half way through the toughest part in this process.  He most likely will be put in another cast in two weeks or so.  Right now he has a splint on his hand and will find out Friday about the next phase.

UPDATE:  I forgot to post about the neat Smart Cart that Clay also bought for me on Amazon.  I used it for the first time Thursday morning and talk about saving my back from carrying a snack, purse, and water – great little cart!  Love it! This time I had two Mophie’s (extended batteries for iPhones)stuck in the outside pocket – this way I would not run out of battery time if we had to stay overnight!  This little cart will get a lot of workouts in the future!

**Masquelet technique, which is the use of a temporary cement spacer in the first surgery followed by staged bone grafting in the second surgery and is a recent treatment strategy to manage a posttraumatic bone defect.  This procedure was developed by the French and used in combat injuries.

This week will be busy and probably very little time for the Studio but it is OK as after Friday I do believe things just MIGHT slow down and I can get into my quilting rhythm again.  Less stress means more quilting!

Nanette – have a wonderful week

Linking To:  My Quilt Infatuation; Confessions of a Fabric Addict; Finished or Not Friday ; Em’s Scrap Bag; BOM’s Away;  Sew Fresh Quilts; Crazy Mom Quilts;  Oh Scrap; Scrap Happy Saturday; Slow Sunday Stitching  Quilt Fabrication Mid Week Makers; Peacock Party; Design Wall Monday

Weather Alert – Winter is over with in South Texas – EXCEPT for tomorrow.  80 today and 49 tomorrow…. Hummm!  Best way to get the correct weather report these days – open the back door and see if it is cold, warm, or HOT!  LOL

Now to the important things in life!  Quilting!   A quilter knows when they have a great friend!  Gretchen gave me some very sound advice Sunday and I am following it!    She encouraged me to work on the new iMAC and Celebrating Mary Brown rather than trying to make another quilt during the day!  I tried that yesterday and I know now that I was just trying to do too much given our situation!    I do believe things will get easier for me now!  THANK YOU GRETCHEN!   I just cannot be Wonder Woman anymore!  LOL

I finished my Sunflower Block yesterday!  This is a large quilt and when preparing each block, you will notice I have a tab that states the Block Number.  I find this very useful when making a quilt – pieced or appliquéd!

This block completes the 4 upper right corner blocks.  Looks like I need to get the connecting vines done soon!

These are the  4 upper left hand corner blocks that also need the vines that pull these corner bocks together.

I have 8 more blocks (Bottom Right and Left corner blocks) that are a repeat of the above except for the birds.  There is another block that will replace them and I think probably one of my favorites!

Have a great week – we are one day closer to surgery and hopefully on the road to recovery for Clay’s hand!  AND it appears that listening to Gretchen is proving a big positive for me in de-stressing and just enjoying things.

Nanette

In September 2019,  Karen and Cathy selected Celebrating Mary Brown as their next project and invited anyone to join in the fun!  The following quilters are participating.  We will be showing completed blocks on the 30th of each month!  Take the time to visit them to see their completed monthly blocks!  If interested let Karen know you are interested in joining the group.

Linking To:  My Quilt Infatuation; Confessions of a Fabric Addict; Finished or Not Friday ; Em’s Scrap Bag; BOM’s Away;  Sew Fresh Quilts; Crazy Mom Quilts;  Oh Scrap; Scrap Happy Saturday; Slow Sunday Stitching  Quilt Fabrication Mid Week Makers; Peacock Party; Design Wall Monday

Well,  we are still living the good life, ‘alive and well’, re-organized daily schedule, and used to the ‘new and different life’!  BUT one month down and about 2 or 3 more months to go when Clay will be ‘almost’ back to being a 2 handed person!  YEA.  He is ready to get rid of the cast for good.  We are not sure as to what comes after the surgery – will find out on the 7th when we go to Pre-Op appointment.

Reconstruction surgery is scheduled on the 13th of February.  His birthday is the 6th of February and we will be celebrating with Jan and Mike at Sea Island Restaurant!  Our Valentine gift this year, for both of us, is to have a successful surgery that will get him back on the road to final recovery!  Our 2020 will start around 1 May!

Between the changes in daily routines and doctor appointments I have been limited on my quilting.  It seems by 7pm in the evening I am what you call “DONE”.  This has caused me to be late in my work on Mary Brown, BUT I am almost finished with my Sunflower block for the month.  I should have used a lighter color leaf fabric for the middle leaf, but too bad – no changes or redo’s this month!  LOL  Maybe during the Super Bowl tonight I will have it completed!  Just the middle and the bottom 2 flowers!

Here is Jan’s block for January.  Jan and I definitely did not get off to the great start for 2020 as we have planned, but we will recoup and catch up soon – right Jan?  Jan was not feeling well and we all know what was going on in the Cook household!

Now for an update on OMIGOSH project. Gretchen asked me if I would like to make this quilt with her this year and I jumped at the chance to have a quilting buddy while making this quilt.  She posted her progress yesterday on her blog, click on her name to view her colors and blocks.

I wanted to make this quilt with Reproduction fabrics, but my idea for that one did not work out.  I made 5 of the double nine patch blocks (each block is 5″ unfinished – 4 1/2″ finished) and 4 of the ShooFly blocks.  Here is a picture of the one square in a square I made before realizing my error by using a larger print for the HSTs!  Keep in mind that these are 2″ HSTs and the SnS is 2″ and the 4 patch in the center block is 1/2″!

It did not take long to realize that my fabric selection would not work, so here is what I did with the blocks I made!  Great Computer Laptop Cover (when quilted of course).  There is a problem with the lower right corner, but it will remain as it is!  I tried to use a larger print for the ShoFly block and it definitely did not work, although I like the outcome of this little mini-quilt!

At first I decided that I would just give up on OMG – but it is really a lot of fun making those 2″ 9 patches and then there is the lovely 2″ Square in a Square block.  They are all made from 1″ strips – so much fun, and really something that is not really challenging (other than the size) for me to work on during this time of healing.  One thing I do not like to do is to give up on a project because of a pattern problem, wrong fabric selection, or just do not like the way things are going.  I take it as a challenge.

With that being said, Here is another group of fabrics that I have selected.  They are Jenny Beyer fabrics that I was going to use for Hexagons for a Lucy Boston quilt but that will never happen!  I am testing them today to see if they will work out better, if not then I will probably go for a 2 color purple and lavender quilt!

Have a great week, enjoy the Super Bowl if you like football, and keep on stitching!

Nanette    Hope to see more progress the next 2 weeks!

Linking to the following groups!

Mary Brown Group – In September 2019 Karen and Cathy selected Celebrating Mary Brown as their next project and invited anyone to join in the fun!  The following quilters are participating.  We will be showing completed blocks on the 30th of each month!  Take the time to visit them to see their completed monthly blocks!  If interested let Karen know you are interested in joining the group.