Sunday night and tired.

I have been busy the last couple of days, playing with my sewing/embroidery machine.  Don't tell any one but I have had the machine 3 or 4 years and other than one little design when I first got the machine I have not used the embroidery part of the machine.  Bad me, because it was an expensive machine and I thought at the the time, that I would be using it a lot.  HA! HA!  Guess not.

So any way, that all said, the last 3 days I have made 8 pinafore/aprons for my Chatty Cathy dolls.  They are white, pink, beige and yellow and with different designs or different colors of the designs.  This is is my favorite, a butterfly.

 

 

I just knew it.....I can't seem to write every day.

Here it is Thursday and I haven't got anything done with sewing or writing in two days.  

I am blaming it on the weather...do you think that will work?  Doubt it but I am sticking to it.

I did make it out yesterday to thrift store and was looking for some old canning jars but didn't even find one.  I did come home with 4 new dolls.  Dolls I don't collect but hopefully they will sell.  Two are from 1986 and 1975 and they will go to the antique show.  The Berenguer baby will probably be sold on eBay or if someone wants these, they will be sold on a first come basis.

    Yes, I know there are only 3 dolls in the picture but you don't want to see the little dirty, dirty fourth doll and all the little clothes that came with her.  The dolls in the picture have been cleaned up and the Tyco Rub a Dub in the left back with get a new outfit.  The Dancerella works and is clean and the Berenguer in front is now all cleaned.

Well off to see what I can get into the rest of the day.
 

It is time to start a blog and see how many days I can write on it.

 

Do you think I will be able to write every day?  Ha!  I am not a writer and things seem to keep me away from the computer and zap the day is gone.  

I have two friends who are challenging each other to write every day and maybe that is what I need.   Well knowing me that probably wouldn't help this little brain.

So it is Monday and the wind is blowing AGAIN today.  We have had strong winds for over a week.  Yes, we live in a valley between two mountain ranges and yes the Colorado River also runs through our valley but this is so unusal to have the wind blow so strong for so many days.

So today and even yesterday, it was back in the sewing room...or that mess I call a sewing room...and I finally got a couple of things made.  Right now I am working on clothes for the Chatty Cathy family.  This dress is the one I did yesterday for the Cathy doll.

     So now I hope to be able to get something made on a daily basis or at least a couple a week.

I have several dresses that I have made over the last few months on my website at http://www.ejcrafts.com if you care to look.  Most dresses that I make are in cotton or cotton blends.  I find that these are the easiest to care for they can be packed away then pulled out and with a little ironing they are like new again.

 

Where has the time gone???

 

The last time I wrote on here was in October right after my husband had his stroke.  It has been a roller coaster every since then.  I really haven't even had the time to work much with my dolls or make all the doll clothes that I intended to do.

I guess I should start where I left off on the last post.  John was in ICU for 9 days and then came home for a month.  Our daughter was here with us for the first week that he was home and then she had to go back to her home in Maryland.   Next was a 4 week wait for the brain swelling to go down so that they could do surgery on the artery in the neck.  In the meantime our youngest son was able to get here at Halloween time and he will be living with us to help with the care.

So it was Nov and Dr. Cooper, a very nice lady surgeon, did the surgery and everything seemed to be going well and they sent him home after 3 days. He seem to be doing quite well until a few days later he got to start shaking.  We called the paramedics and we were on to the hospital again where he ended up in a full seizure.  The brain had swollen again and the blood pressure was out of control.  It took another 5 days in ICU to get everything controlled.  While we was going through this brain swell, he got very confused and tried to get out of bed and he fell, cut his head above the eye and had a black eye.

So after all that he was finally able to come home and he does require 24/7 care but he can get around the house without help.  They just don't want him to fall and someone not be here.  He can partly dress himself and I do the rest.  The personal hygiene is all on me too.  He has only partial use of the left hand and arm and because he is left handed, this part has been hard on him.  Also he has problems tells us what he wants sometimes.  He knows what he wants to say but it doesn't always come out right and that frustrates him.  The doctor has told me that we almost lost him three times so we are just thankful that he is as good as he is.

He is now in physical therapy twice a week, which he doesn't like but it has helped him a lot with balance and use of the hands. 

I am thankful too that our son is able to be with us and help out.  I know it is hard for him to be here and he is looking for a job but hasn't been able to get anything yet.  Our fingers are crossed that that will change soon.  I really don't know what I would have done without him over the last two times in the hospital because he could talk to the doctors and understand a lot of the medical stuff I couldn't.  That helped so much.  Now he helps with the wheelchair when we go places, helps with the cleaning around the house, even repaired some things that needed to be taken care of plus he drives the car so that I can sit back an relax.

So all that being said and probably no one really wants to know what we have all been through here but it helps me just to know that there are so many of my cyber friends were there when I needed them.  I have to thank all my friends who called and wrote notes and emailed me.  And then all the friends from CraftBuddy, Wet Canvas and Facebook who checked with me every day to be informed with what was going on and to send prayers and positive thoughts our way.  I wish I could thank each one of them personally as they were so much help to keep me going.

Now that we are back into a routine, hopefully I can get back to the dolls and enjoy cleaning, sewing, dressing, showing and selling my dolls.  I have lots to do and I want to be able to show you want I have been working on and what direction I want to go with dolls.

Thank you one and all.