December 11th, 2017 - Lost in La La Land
No, not the movie. Just life. Lots of stuff has happened and I finally feel like talking about it.
I don’t post that often and shortly after my last post in March, my oldest brother died suddenly. He had a lot of health issues and while I wasn’t shocked that he died, it still was a very sad time for my family. I took him to all his doctor’s appointments, doled out his medication and tried not to argue with him about stuff (he was a schizophrenic with some really weird theories). The rest of my family was shocked because they didn’t realize the extent of his other health issues besides the mental illness. He had 4 children and 4 grandchildren with another one on the way. His daughter was stuck out west pregnant, unable to fly home to attend her dad’s funeral. So sad! My husband was his power of attorney and executor of his will. We have been working on that and boy is it a long process!
Just before all this went down, another brother (I had 7 of them) was diagnosed with lung cancer. The worst kind that a person could get. Small cell lung cancer that ended up metastasizing to the liver and the brain. It was sad as he was just 55 years old, seemed to have everything going for him and he even won a lottery 11 years ago. Anyway he had a round of radiation and a couple of chemo treatments and the doctors did some tests and discovered that the brain cancer wasn’t responding and there was nothing more they could do. He passed away in September. So sad to see how cancer affects a person and how it just eats away at the body and soul. My brother went peacefully surrounded by his wife, brothers and sisters. He had no children but numerous nieces and nephews that loved him dearly. It’s been a very tough time for my family and my mother.
And then my oldest son has been diagnosed with epilepsy. He had his first seizure in August and has had 2 more since then. The doctors can’t find anything wrong with him. The mysteries of the brain. His biggest concern is the medication makes him tired. And he can’t drive so that leaves all the driving to his wife and they have 2 small kids. This sudden seizure thing seems to happen to quite a few people and I never knew this until my son had a seizure. I hope and pray he doesn’t have anymore of them.
In light of all this, I kept on quilting. Some days it was hard to find enjoyment in something you love doing. I managed to quilt quite a bit. I started making things on the “Kits to Make” list. There are 43 things on that list. Kits, BOMs and projects that I have the pattern and fabric set aside. Of those 43 things, I have made 13 things this year. One of the BOMs was from 2002/2003 and there’s a lesson in there. Make all those kits and BOMS up just in case there are missing fabric pieces or poor instructions. If you wait too long, #1 the fabric is out of print, #2 the shop is no longer in business and #3 the pattern is so old that there isn’t a picture of it on the internet anywhere. I think the internet wasn’t even invented then. Not all these items are quilts but quilt related stuff like thread catcher kits and pin cushions and not on the list is my tuffet and the mini tuffet. Better update that list. Is anyone interested in the Civil War Tribute BOM? I will sell it no problem. I don’t know why I bought it, not my kind of quilt at all! And I just looked in the drawer where this BOM is and there is another kit to make that’s not on the list. OH NO!!!!!
Most of the 13 quilts are quilted but that’s another list. The “To Be Quilted” list has 52 items on it. No I didn’t make them all this year. There are 25 items quilted, so that leaves me with 27 items to be quilted plus whatever is on the other list. Plus I keep adding to the “To Be Quilted” list as I make things spur of the moment. It’s like a never ending cycle. I won’t get bored that’s for sure.
And then there’s the sewing room reorganization project. In mid August, we got some bedroom furniture for the spare room. there was a Ikea Expedit bookcase in the room and a double bed. My husband decided one night while I was out visiting my brother, that he should rearrange the furniture and take that bookcase downstairs and put it in my sewing room. Can anyone say CHAOS! OMG! And then to top it off, my oldest son had a seizure that night for the first time. By the time I got home and looked in my sewing room, there was stuff everywhere. Lucky for me, I kept all my fabric in Rubbermaid bins and tubs, 27 of them, so that part was somewhat okay. You couldn’t sew if you tried. It took me a couple of months to get it organized. And it’s way better than it was before. I can see 90% of my fabric whereas before I had to pull out the pile of tubs and search through them to find fabric. Plus when you move things in your basement, even though it’s finished, there are always those creepy crawly centipedes to deal with. Now the bins are gone and there are no hiding spots for my buddies. They come right out to see me. And then they end up………… No gory details here.
Okay, this post is way too long. I will try to post some pictures tomorrow. I have to get a refresher course on this. Have a great night!