Blue Vinca

This is another blue that I did because my DH loves the color. I'm finding these little eggs to be quite addictive..grin I have found online some paints used for painting glass that also have cloisonne' pens and I think they would be wonderful for this. No one can find one of the cloisonne' pens here in town, so I may have to order them. There is one more place to look, so we'll see.

Yesterday was a really good telephone day. Calls from grandsons that we don't get to see very often are always a wonderful surprise.

Our friends from Virginia have called several times and there is no expressing how much their concern means to me. Pat, thanks for all the encouragement and advise...

I'm Home...

Well, I got home from the hospital around noon yesterday. The cardiac cath went well and I had to have one long stent. It seems that the front coronary artery was 90% blocked. I am still feeling the occasional bounding in my ears and neck, but am assured that it will pass as the stent becomes better seated.

As I could have nothing to eat or drink prior to leaving for the hospital on the 6th, I kept myself busy by painting this egg for DD. She wants to do her house in the tropical look.

Tomorrow is the Day...

I am so ready for tomorrow to get here. The call came this afternoon and will have to be at the hospital at 12noon tomorrow. I guess when it comes right down to it, I am nervous. It's really a lttle disconcerting to think about someone running something up through your heart... not to mention the 1 in 500 chances of a stroke or heart attack... but if it will help stop this pounding, I'm all for it. Dear daughter and her oldest son will be here tonight... Can hardly wait for that. Will hasn't been to visit in a very long time and I am really looking forward to his visit.

This is one of the latest eggs. I finished it today, along with several others. There are only 2 blank eggs left and I will have to get some more..grin I will put another up tomorrow morning.

Sadness

What's happening in our world? When I was younger and the adults in the family would talk about how things had changed, I would grin, shake my head and blow it off as nostalgic thinking. Today, I understand a little better. Yesterday's shootings in Pennsylvania leave me unable to speak. What is happening to us as a society when an adult male can find no other way to avenge his own hurt than to tie up and execute young grade school girls who not only had nothing to do with his problem, but are also completely defenseless? Three school shootings in one week. Since when does killing our children find it's way to the top of the list of "Things To Do Today"?

The 6th of Oct. will be 6 non-smoking weeks... I wish I could say "Wow... everything tastes better!" or "Wow! I feel so much better!"... but the fact is... nothing tastes any different and I certainly don't feel any better... I still want to smoke and I still have that slight tight feeling in my chest... I now have a horrible taste in my mouth and probably just as horrible hallitosis (not to mention gingivitis) because of the constant nibbling on something sweet to kill the smoking crave... I have gained at least 10 pounds and this is not good since I was already quite overweight...The only positive I have found is that I don't cough when I get up in the morning... Does anyone have any idea why I am still putting myself through this?

OK... enough on that... This little velvet heart ornament is another in a long line of "keep myself busy" projects... and I really like the way it turned out. I may have to make many more for my Christmas tree... grin..

Blue Rhapsody Egg

DH's favorite color is blue so I thought I would try to do some in blue. This one is done using metallic paints that give it more shine, but they don't come in as many colors.

Anyway, this one took a bit longer to do so the two other ones that I have backgrounded (is that a word??) in blue are still waiting for me this morning. It's always such an adventure (grin)... never know what I will be drawing until I pick up the pen.

Well, it's been 35 days since I have smoked. I am still wearing the patches and will be stepping down to the 14mg. patches in another 10 days or so. I have to admit to having a few bad days when I really would have "walked a mile for a Camel" recently. Some days I think "If it's going to be like this forever, why am I bothering with all this!?" DH assures me that it is because I am using the patch and it will get better as they patch comes off, but I wonder (??) .

Until yesterday around 1pm, the previous couple of days were the best I have had recently as far as the heart thing goes. Had been feeling really good (even if reminded 30 times a day to slow down, sit down or rest..grin). Deb and Roger were coming by yesterday so I picked up a couple of things and put them away, actually got dressed (amazing!), but did nothing of any note. Suddenly the pounding in my chest, throat and ears became almost unbearable for a while. So, the remainder of the day was spent on the sofa... Then was awakened this morning with the same pounding throb. I told DH that as soon as this is fixed, there will be a new sofa... I am so sick of this one! (grin)

Snails & Violets

Ok, so they're not really violets. Maybe miniature clematis. Anyway, this is what I did with the time that I was up yesterday. I finally found the dozen ceramic eggs that I had been looking for since Sunday... right there on the counter in front of my face..grin The tiny cabin landscape was done a few weeks ago, but there was nothing else on the egg... so I touched it up and finished the egg. The snail scene is one that I have been drawing on napkins for about 20 years. Two down... ten more to go...grin

I've Outdone Myself!

I've made some ugly things in my time, but I truly think I have outdone myself with these tweed slippers! ...lol... But I still haven't found just the right combination of stitches to make the slippers I want. Will continue to try... Anyway, they wouldn't be so bad if the right colors of yarns were used, but I am so determined to get rid of the Homespun yarns in my stash. I had no idea that two partial skeins could go soooo far. The pattern for these is up on the Fabric Follies site. Very easy to make (and quick).

Today is DH's birthday... "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HON!" Since we are still waiting for the cardiac cath procedure to be done in October, I guess there won't be much celebrating today except for a birthday breakfast in a small town nearby.

My Origami Purse

In the previous post, I said I had found a great site called my little mochi. The tutorial for making an origami purse just blew me away...grin

So I made one.

By folding the square of fabric, the purse has the deep center of the purse and two envelope pockets on each side. I did the embellishment on the envelope pockets in different ways so it would be easy to remember what was put in which pocket.

Komaneko

I did my usual wander around through the blogs and one led to another, etc. You know how it is. Well, here is a terrifically creative blog called my little mochi and on it is a link to another site on the YouTube.com site. You have to look....

Komaneko Episode #1

• Komaneko Episode #2
• Komaneko Episode #3
• Komaneko Episode #4
• Komaneko Episode #5

From there, a link to the Komaneko site...but alas it is in Japanese and my translation stuff won't do an adequate job of translating. But the little videos speak for themselves...lol They are wayyyy toooo true!

Congrats to Stan! & Hat Pattern is Up!

It won't be long until I will have a full month of non-smoking under the "growing larger every day" old belt. I think of that every time I see that commercial about women continuing to smoke because they are afraid they will gain weight. Well, I suppose the weight gain just goes with it, but I truly think that the addiction to nicotine is just like any other drug and the nibbling on something sweet helps with the craving. It's also a killer on the old teeth and gums... another great reason not to begin smoking. Anyway, I had a 2 day period when I didn't use the patch, but decided that I really don't want to go the route of taking chances after having made it this long, so put the patch back on and will continue with the step down patches.

The cardiac cath is set for October 6.

I have finally put the pattern up for the cap that matches the fingerless mittens. It's here on my Fabric Follies site.

Also want to say "Congratulations!" to brother Stan and wife Marla. They were married on September 16.