October 5, 2008

Kim W, Carol B, and I were emailing back and forth last night about going to the LNS for their First-Sunday-of-the-Month special. She realized that they were only open from 1-4pm and couldn't go because she had to be at her church for the Blessing of the Animals.

Carol was already out and about this morning and didn't want to go back home yet so she and I met around 11:30. We decided to explore some other stores close by. First we went to Michael's, where I picked up some $1 ribbon spools and some goodies for an Advent exchange I'm in. Then we traipsed next door to the PetSmart where I purchased Chet & Kasey's food. I figured we were already there, so there was no sense making another trip when they got closer to empty.

We arrived at The Stitching Post about 15 minutes before it opened so I worked on Baby Kasey while Carol and I talked. I ordered one of the charts from my wish list, Ebb Tide by Northern Pine Designs along with Dog Hair by My Big Toe. I also purchased the canvas for Ebb Tide and more silks that I need to stitch some of my Just Nan samplers. Lastly, I picked up the stretcher bars and tacks needed for the Ebb Tide canvas.

Carol purchased the beads I needed to complete Charmed Dreams a couple weeks ago; we just couldn't get together for me to get them from her until today.

As soon as I got back home I began working on Charmed Dreams. I had to frog one motif and re-stitch it. I thought all the stitching was done but then realized I never did one of the purple corner motifs so I had to stitch that too. I completed the motifs, placed all the beads, and finished Charmed Dreams just before the stroke of midnight! This is my 37th stitching finish of the year!

September 16, 2008

Happy Birthday, Mom!
I can't divulge how many years' experience she has after 29 because I value my life, but Mom did tell me that Ian took her out to dinner and gave her the bird feeder she's had on her wishlist for quite a while. Ms. Sheila next door put balloons and a banner on the front porch early this morning to suprise Mom as well.

I had to be at DORS first thing this morning again and completed everything I needed to before 2pm. I went straight home to pick up Kasey and found new stash had arrived!

I am on the auto-ship for the new Jeannette Douglas Design, My Stitching Album. A new chapter in this journal of stitches will be coming out every other month until next November. I can't tell you how excited I was to finally get the first part. I now have the front and back covers, as well as Chapter One, Mosaic Muse. I am trying to hold off on starting this because I need to get to work on smalls to meet my 100 finish goal. Also in the picture is my trade from Lizzie in Scotland. Thank you for the Waxing Mood Design! If I Stitch Fast is a very cute chart!

I'd like to thank Christine for trading with me. She sent Folk Heart Designs' Quilt Patterns in exchange for some linen and also included CS&CC's Nov/Dec 1993 issue from my wish list as a RAK!
CJ, even though she's a Redskins fan, RAK'd me with two tea towel leaflets from Leisure Arts. She sent Tea Time Towels and Kathie's Fun Fingertips. Thank you, CJ!! You can't help being a fan of those Deadscabs. Hee hee! Yep! I replied in Carol's blog to your comment!!
This is Charmed Dreams as far as I can go right now. I put in the other two sets of beads this evening. I'm waiting for the gold beads and to find out how the medallion needs to be treated. I'm not calling it a finish, but I hope to have the materials to complete it before the end of the year.

I also started Take Time to Stitch Too by Jeannette Douglas. I've only started the boxes so far, but hope to finish this quickly. Luckily Petra was able to find the Needle Necessities' MacAulvey Manor (127) that was required for this design. Thank you, Petra!

After mentioning it earlier, there seems to be some interest in making 2009 "The Year of the Sampler." A couple people have said they'd like to SAL with me as I try to deplete my stash of some of the samplers I've accumulated. We won't necessarily be stitching the same projects, but they will all be samplers. Because "sampler" covers such a wide range of sizes, shapes, and complexity of designs, I think I can stick to this theme for the year, although I will be breaking off from time to time in order to complete bread covers and biscornus. I am not going to name specific charts that I will stitch because I don't want to feel boxed in like I did with my 22 Project Challenge this year. I will say, however, that this will give me the perfect opportunity to complete some of the Just Nan, Sweetheart Tree, and myriad other samplers in my stash already kitted up. Better yet, My Stitching Album falls under this category, so I won't be starting it until January! Anyone else who would like to join is certainly welcome! You don't have to stitch JUST samplers, but you can join the SAL if you're working on a sampler at any time. If there is enough interest, I may even create a separate blog for everyone to post to, or a Yahoo group for those participating in the SAL. Please just let me know at bethxs@yahoo.com. The more, the merrier!!

September 15, 2008

I had to drop Kasey off at home first thing this morning so that I could attend an Exploratory Career Assessment at the Department of Rehabilitation Services today. It was supposed to last from 9am to 3pm, but I finished by 2:15 and even did some of the Day 2 activities.

I went straight to dialysis, where I tried to stitch but ended up sleeping instead. Since I have to be back at DORS at 9:45 tomorrow morning, I didn't pick Kasey up after I finished my treatment. It was quite lonely here at HHHRC without her. I found myself starting to say something out loud to her and then quickly cut myself off after remembering she wasn't here with me.

The fact that I have to be here at all is outrageous. Apparently Medicare won't pay for outpatient IV infusion. So, because I have to get an IV antibiotic for a HALF HOUR EVERY OTHER DAY, I am stuck here and the taxpayers are paying $225 a day for me to be here. Talk about a waste of money!! No wonder our national debt is so high.

I was about to go ballistic tonight when I realized that I can't finish Charmed Dreams. First, the directions say to "treat the medallion before attaching to the fabric." TREAT? With WHAT? Are directions included?? NO!! So now I have to track down the webpage of the manufacturer to find out just exactly how this medallion is to be treated. Second, the gold beads weren't included with the order. I honestly thought that after having to wait for over two months for the charts and other embellishments, the beads would be here, but no Mill Hill 40557's. It's not like I only need a couple though! This chart calls for 82 of the suckers!

I completed all of the stitching on Charmed Dreams and put half the mauve beads on. At 11:24pm, I dropped the entire container of mauve petite beads across the floor. Guess what color the flecks on the linoleum tiles are? You got it! I spent about an hour and a half using strips of paper medical tape to pick all those stupid things up. Every time I got up, I stepped on another. Luckily I was barefooted so none of them broke. Next, I had to take the beads off the tape strips and put them back in their original container.

At least the Cowboys won!! The Monday Night Football game was great! Kasey wasn't here, so I didn't get any more funny looks for yelling at the television. You should have seen her last night during the Indy game. She thought her mommy had gone nuts! She kept looking at me worridly as I was yelling at the Colts to "knock him down!" and "Run!" I was probably even worse during tonight's game because I love the 'Boys.

September 14, 2008

There isn't a whole lot to say about today except it was quiet and relaxing, as you can see. If you look closely, you can also see the tip of Kasey's tongue peeking out. We don't call her The Baby for nothin'! The second picture caught her mid-yawn.

After waking up around 5am I went back to sleep a little after 9:00 and didn't wake up until noon. We went to the house to get Kasey's no-skid blanket for the back of the truck and then picked up my lunch from the Chinese restaurant in West Annapolis. We came back to HHHRC so I could eat and then went back out to Wawa because I forgot to get tea the first time we left.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in our room because it was too hot and humid for Kasey to be outside. I chatted with Debi and watched football. I was very happy to see the Colts win, as I have alot of respect for what Peyton Manning has accomplished in his career. Last week's loss to Chicago was a huge disappointment. I'm hoping that Indy has their confidence back and now they can work on regaining their running game.

I watched football until the end of the Pittsburg/Cleveland game but was stitching at the same time. I'm almost done the stitching on Charmed Dreams!

September 13, 2008

I had expected to be out all day but plans changed this morning. I couldn't stand the thought of sitting here by myself, so I went home and picked up Kasey. I had already shown her shot records to the weekend supervisor and that is the only requirement to have pets in here. Since I'm in a private room, she can stay with me the whole time I'm here. If I had a roommate, she wouldn't be allowed in the room while food is being served. The last time I had her here, we went to the gym while everyone was eating. It's much more convenient to have a room to ourselves.

The room is the same size room that usually holds two beds so there's a big empty area for Kasey to sprawl out with her toys. Clockwise from the top is her Christmas owl, Stinky ol' Raccoon, and Lucy Goosey. She's really enjoying the linoleum-tiled floor and the air conditioning. Since it's just the two of us, it's quiet and peaceful. So peaceful, in fact, that we took a two-and-a-half-hour nap this afternoon. I woke up at about 5:40 when my nurse came in.

I'm still having trouble with the diet that was ordered and have to go out to get my own food. This morning my tray had low-sodium salt alternitive, Sweet 'n Low, and 1% milk. I know I'm among the minority, but I DO NOT eat anything low-sodium (because I have low sodium already), low fat (I need it to keep my weight up), or low sugar (I need the calories for energy). I put Kasey in the back of the truck and we went to Wendy's to get some dinner for me.

Her dinner consisted of broccoli florets, baby carrots, and cherry tomatoes mixed into her dog food. Believe it or not, but the only thing left when she was done was dog food and one baby carrot. She was picking through the food to get the broccoli and tomatoes out. They're her favorites.

I chatted with a few friends online and read emails before signing off at 8pm to work on Charmed Dreams by Heirloom Embroideries. I ended up watching some television as well, but I was able to start the third of the four purple stars, so now I'm over half way through with the stitching. Once that is completed, I have to go back to do the beads and center medallion. I'm hoping to finish it this weekend, but we'll see how that goes.

September 12, 2008

First, I'll let you see how much I've gotten done on Charmed Dreams. I'm very pleased with how this piece is coming along. This is my progress for yesterday and today. I finished the purple star, did all of the half-rhodes stitches in the large circle, and most of the cream x's in the smaller circles yesterday. I completed the last set of cream x's, did all the specialty stitches on the two smaller circles, as well as the cross stitching with Choco Latte today.

I want to apologize for the pictures of this project. Usually I can enhance a picture with my Kodak Easy Share program but I'm having difficulty getting these to look like the project does in person. I used a different option tonight to see if it made a difference. It did, but it still doesn't have that "in real life" look. I am going to try taking it outside to photograph so that you can see those large stars are dark purple (Dinky-Dyes' Native Plum) and the fabric is a mottled tan color. The cream specialty stitches are done in DMC Perle 812, but the x's are regular DMC 812 floss.

I had my dialysis treatment, spoke with the discharge coordinator, and was transferred to the care of Heritage Harbour Nursing home & Rehabilitation Center. I had to go home and re-pack my bags because I need street clothes for HHRC instead of the pajamas and boxer shorts I've been wearing all week at AAMC.

Kasey went bonkers the minute I came inside. She grabbed a toy, jumped on the couch and commenced to rolling on it...sorta like this, although it was a different toy. She would run up to my bedroom door to see what I was doing and then run back into the livingroom and pounce another toy. At one point she was pouncing her tiger, given to her by my friend Tiffany, and Chet was in the way. When something like this happens he looks at her haughtily as if to say, "She's a dog and therefore doesn't know any better. Kasey is just a big galoot, so I will forgive her." He seems to realize when she steps on him by accident and doesn't try to retaliate in any way.

Kasey followed me out to the truck every time I put another bag in it (I'm going to be here for at least 12 days, so I have plenty to wear and to keep me busy!). I usually don't cry when I have to go to the hospital, but I get teary when I have to tell Punky and Bug goodbye to be re-admitted. I hate leaving them!!

And I have to thank Debi M for jinxing me! She asked me on Monday night whether I'd talked to Chet before I left the hospital and I said, "No, just Kasey." Last night, Uncle Wes told me that Chet darted out the door and kept going when he called him back in. Wessy said he had to herd Bug back to the door with his feet because he would not go back in the house. Apparently my boy is extremely ticked off, because Wes told me this afternoon that Chet had done it a second time. Usually Chet only goes outside if a door is left open. As soon as you call him, he runs back inside. We think he's going outside so he can look to see where I am.

For that reason, I made a point to pet him while I was home and tell him that everything was okay. Just before I left, I kissed Kasey on her muzzle and told her to tell her kitty that everything will be okay and I'll be back on Sunday to see them. I hate that the two of them are having all this emotional upheaval with me not being there. That is the hardest thing for me to deal with in this whole ordeal. I don't care about me, but they don't understand what's going on and why their world isn't as it normally is.

This time HHRCis much better because I have a room of my own. No elderly roommate who can't sleep unless the television is turned up as loud as possible, or has to have the light on. Just me, myself, and I. A Kasey Kay will be added tomorrow night, hopefully. I know, I told her Sunday, but I'm hoping to suprise her tomorrow! I'll let you know how it goes, but my plan is to pick her up tomorrow and keep her overnight and all day Sunday.

After stopping at Wawa to purchase another half-gallon of Lemonade tea and a 10" Italian sub, I arrived around 7:40pm and was shown to my room. I brought my bags in on one of those carts that hotel bellboys use and spent a while unpacking and getting settled in. I walked to the nurse's station for something and saw a familiar face in the dining room. Miss Jane was at the book rack straightening it out. She's been here since the night of Christmas Eve, except for 10 days when she went home in April.

We talked for a long time, me sitting on the top of the game cabinet and her in her wheelchair. My technican came in to take my vitals and the hilarity ensued! First, he took my temperature and asked if I was cold. I said no and he showed me the readout. 95.5! I let him know my usual is around 97.3. He said he didn't trust that reading and took a second one in the same ear. This time it was 95.4! Next, he tried my left ear and got 96.7. Don't even ask me how that's possible, because I was sitting on a big buffet-type cabinet and there were no air vents blowing on me. I wasn't cold at the time; I told him that I was, in fact, prespiring. I laughed and said, "I think your thermometer is broken!" Miss Jane was laughing the whole time and said that "she's an alien sent down to torment us!" I couldn't stop laughing when the blood pressure cuff wouldn't work and my poor tech had to go get another one. To top it off, and to seemingly give some credence to Miss Jane's claim, he couldn't find my pulse!! He tried my right arm, but that's the arm that's had ten surgeries and the neuropathy is still affecting it. He switched to the left and couldn't find anything at first but then found a weak one. The whole time this is going on, Miss Jane and I are laughing uproariously and the alien jokes were flying back and forth.

I'm back in my room now with everything unpacked and in its place. My iHome radio, which also charges and can play my iPod, is on my nightstand. Currently, I'm listening to my classical playlist. Bach is on right now, but Haydn and Ponchelli are my favorites. I wasn't a fan of classical music until I started dialysis. I find it very soothing and relaxing. Also, having it play doesn't distract me when I'm reading or stitching. I don't like to hear voices when I'm trying to relax; that just doesn't work for me.

I feel so much better now that my blog is up to date. I will make every effort to keep it that way, but with the way things have been going lately, don't be suprised if I'm a day late here and there. I have a busy week coming up, suprisingly, but I will tell you all about it as it happens. Have a great weekend!

September 11, 2008

I would like to wish everyone a Happy Patriot Day. This is the seventh anniversary of the plane attacks that killed more than three thousand people on this date in 2001. Please thank all your public safety personnel and remember that they're out there putting their lives on the line every day for us. Instead of getting an attitude when one stops you, try thanking them for doing a wonderful job and be polite. They are people too.

I did a little work on Charmed Dreams, but I forgot to take a picture, again. Being here in the hospital has really disrupted my routine. I was chatting online, reading email, and writing blog posts most of the day so there wasn't much stitching progress, really.

There has been a huge hulabaloo about the antibiotic that's been ordered and how and where I'm going to get it. First thing this morning, the hospitalist told me I was going home today. He said the antibiotic would be given with dialysis. I told him I was told it had to be confirmed with my dialysis center that they had the drug before I could be discharged and he said he'd check with them. I gave him the number of my center so that he could call and speak with the charge nurse.

He came back a few hours later and let me know that it was going to be about a week before my center had the drug, if they ordered it today. Then the question became whether I'd have to stay in the hospital to recieve the antibiotic, go to outpatient infusion, get home infusion, or be transferred to a skilled nursing facility (rehab) until my center had the drug.

The discharge coordinator came back in and said that my only option was the skilled nursing facility and I told her I prefer to go to Heritage Harbour because it's the closest to my home. She let me know she was going to put in the referral to HH and would also request that I get a private room, although that can't be guaranteed.

The hospitalist came back a third time and told me that he'd spoken to the director of my center, Dr D, and was informed that the antibiotic I've been ordered can't be given during dialysis or through a dialysis graft, that it's not on their formulary, and they will not order it. Although this sounds harsh, the reason is because dialysis removes the drug from the system, so it's useless to infuse it during dialysis treatments. He said that he was going to talk to Dr Y about another possibility that can be infused during treatments because my only option would be to go to HH for the entire time I need to get the antibiotic (every other day for 2 weeks) because I have to have a central line in order to recieve the infusion. He told me he'd give the final verdict tomorrow.

So that's where things stand right now: I'm waiting to hear whether they're going to change the medication to something that can be given at dialysis so that I can go home, or whether it has to be that particular one where I have to be transferred to HH in order to receive it.

September 10, 2008

I was rudely awakened by the Patient Care Technician (PCT) putting up the rail of my hospital bed this morning. I always jump when I'm woken up by a noise and I scared her. I asked her where she was taking me and she said to dialysis. I looked at her and said "Um, NO! I'm walking! I'll sit in a chair for my treatment." She said she would check to see if they had chairs. I was thinking to myself the whole time 'I know they have chairs, because I've used one many times before!'

I got up and dressed, brushed my teeth and hair, gathered my stitching, iced tea, book, and iPod and walked to the dialysis suite for my treatment. I didn't do any stitching because I only slept for about two hours. I just couldn't concentrate on stitching so I read my book instead. I brought three romance novels to the hosptial with me because I know how bad my memory and concentration are when I'm in here. Romances don't require thinking but they're great for at least staying occupied.

The infectious disease doc, Dr Y, came by on her rounds. She let me know that the staph I have is not the MRSA that did so much damage to my kidneys from 1999-2000, so that was a relief. She said that there was an antibiotic that I could get during dialysis so I may be going home Thursday or Friday, depending on the results of the blood cultures that were done today and yesterday.

The IT technician came into the dialysis suite during my treatment to find out where my laptop was. When I told him it was in the safe in my room, he said not to worry, he'd come back after I was finished. Miss Irene accompanied him and 'Lo and Behold! It worked! Out of the blue, it connected to the internet. Luckily he knew I wasn't making anything up because of Miss Irene's visit yesterday, but I was so mad! I'd like to know what happened and what changed all of a sudden and now there's no chance of that.

When I finally got to Yahoo, I found 181 email messages. That's what I did for the next several hours: reading and replying to the posts, as well as finally being able to send out a blanket post letting everyone know why I'd been MIA for more than two days.

Carol B called me and said that she was planning on coming down for a few hours tonight so that we could have a stitch-in in my room. Earlier, I'd emailed her best friend and told her that I was upset about missing the Heirloom Stitchers' meeting last night and that I wanted a do-over! Now I get it because Kim W is coming over to join us!

Kim only put in about four stitches on her L&L Enchanted Alphabet, but Carol got some progress made on her current LHN project and I worked on Charmed Dreams. We watched PS I Love You, which is why Kim didn't get much stitching done. Carol and I have both seen the movie (ok, you knew *I* have seen it because I talked about it too much...deal with it!) but this was Kim's first time seeing it. Now she says she has to see it again. Another convert! So now, how many people have watched it because I've reccommended it? Head count, please! Debi, Carol, Meari...who else?

The girls started gathering their stitching and headed home around 10:15pm. They were afraid their husbands would start worrying that they'd been admitted to the hospital, too! One of my nurses, Ellen, was kind enough to come in and take this picture of the three of us with our stitching bags. Pictured from left to right is Kim, me, and Carol.
My stitching mojo was still flowing, so I continued working on Charmed Dreams until the wee hours of the morning. This is my progress as of midnight. I have one-fourth of the stitching done, minus the beads. This design is a repeat of the first five motifs, so I have to stitch the purple star and the cream circles with the backstitched motif three more times. Then all I have to do is add the beads and the center medallion and this project will be completed!

September 8, 2008

After taking yesterday's update picture, I realized that the entire cream motif had to be frogged. I'd already ripped out most of it twice on my way to completing it the first time and it was still wrong! It took three more tries, but I finally got the placement and the stitch sizes correct at the same time. I just can't seem to be able to clearly see the fabric's threads. Three times I got to the end of the circle of embroidery stitches only to find that I was off by one thread! I finally gave up on doing any more stitching in order to get some rest before my busy day started.

Wow, was it a fiasco!

On top of the massive frog attack before going to bed, I woke up too early and couldn't get back to sleep. This has been happening alot lately and I usually take a nap later in the day when my eyes won't stop closing despite my best efforts to keep them open. Unfortunately, that wouldn't work today.

Since I had extra time, I told Kasey we could go for a walk to the end of the driveway and back. As soon as she heard that "w" word she grabbed a toy and trotted to the door. Our neighbor, Mrs A, was out on her deck reading and enjoying the cool morning air. As usual, Kasey ran over to say hello and get some attention.

Mrs A and I started chatting and I mentioned that I was leaving shortly for an Embroiderer's Guild of America meeting and that I cross stitch. You could have knocked me over with a feather when she said that she did, too! I've never seen any needlework when I've been over; she's always been reading when she sits outside.

I told her about the Yahoo stitching groups, EGA, and Heirloom Stitchers and invited her to the meetings. She had other commitments this month but said she was very interested in going to next month's meetings of both groups. I was so excited to find that another cross stitcher lives next door! I can't wait to show her some of my finishes and WIP's and to see what she's working on.

I left the house a littler earlier than I had planned because I was nervous about finding the building where the meeting was without getting lost. I wanted to be sure I was there on time. This specific chapter of EGA meets at the Howard County Center for the Creative Arts in Ellicott City, MD. It took about an hour to get there, and that's factoring in the stops to get something to eat and drink. It was about 33 miles one way.

I really liked the EGA meeting and the ladies I met. Everyone was suprised that I was actually stitching with my arm in the shape it's in. I am very excited about attending in the future because the ladies at EGA all do different kinds of needlework. There were ladies knitting, crocheting, tatting, cross-stitching, embroidering, and more! This will be a great learning experience to meet with all these talented needleworkers. I have to admit, though, that a dog was the main reason I went. Seriously! I was told that there was a lady who belonged to the Chapter whose assistance dog had originally been the family pet. I've been trying to find someone to train Kasey Kay to be my assistance dog so I wanted to find out how she did it.

I walked up to Edie and her dog as soon as they arrived and told her that she and her dog were the reason I was at the meeting. I explained about Kasey helping me and letting me know when something isn't right with my system and she said she'd be happy to send information about where they did their training. Edie is a very nice lady and sat beside me for the meeting. Her Akita, Yugio, is a sweet boy who is allowed to wander around to visit all his favorite people.

The program for this month's meeting was a sort of Show and Tell of antique and vintage sewing paraphernalia: ivory crochet hooks, knitting needles made from feathers, Victorian silver needle cases, mother of pearl tatting shuttles, tiny sewing machines that were hand-powered...all kinds of things to "ooo" and "aaaah" over. I couldn't stay for the entire meeting this time, but I'm going back and will most definitely join when my budget allows!

Carol B was at the meeting as well and she acted as my other hand when heavy or ungainly items were passed around. I still can't lift or hold stuff in my right hand so it was nice to have Edie on one side and Carol on the other to pass things along. Carol and I both left around 12:15, but we're hoping to be able to stay through the whole meeting and the stitching time next month. This is a picture of the one eyelet stitch I did while at the meeting. You can also see the difference between yesterday's picture and today's. The placement of the cream circle was way off!

I'm looking forward to November's meeting because it's a stash swap. I plan on taking my entire trade cabinet and maybe a few extra items as well! Each participant gets a table to spread her wares on and you are allowed to sell and/or trade. The President's Challenge for the Chapter this year is to reduce, reuse, or repurpose your stash and this activity is geared to help members towards that goal. I've been doing that already with all the trades, sales, and RAK's I've been doing all year, but I still have a 3-drawer cabinet full of items I won't use.

I arrived in Annapolis for my appointment with the vascular surgeon with five minutes to spare. The nurse practitioner, Louise, took my sutures out and my arm felt better immediately! No more sharp pains! She said I'd have to come back in two weeks to have Dr M look at the CryoVein and decide when to use it for my treatments. I let her know he told me it would only be a week that I'd need the perma-cath, but she said they wait four weeks to use new CryoVeins. So I go back on the 22nd to determine whether or not the CV is okay to use.

I got to my dialysis clinic around 2pm and they were ready for me right away. Usually I arrive at 2:30 and I have to wait a few minutes, so it was a nice change. I asked about the blood cultures that were taken on Friday when I wasn't feeling that great. Beatrice, the charge nurse, told me that one came back positive. She said that Dr D would be around today to talk to me about what he wanted to do.

Dr D told me that he was going to order an IV antibiotic to be administered for the next two weeks during my treatment and another antibiotic to be taken orally four times a day, also for two weeks. We got to discussing what antibiotics I could and couldn't take, which led him to call my infectious disease doctor. "Guess what Dr Y wants to do?" Dr D says. "Change the antibiotic?" I reply. "She wants you to go the hospital for IV treatment." NOT what I want to hear!

After my treatment was over I stopped at Wawa to buy 3 half-gallons of Lemonade Tea and a 10" Italian sub. I will not be deprived of my Wawa addiction! I went home and packed clothes and enough small projects to keep me busy for at least two weeks. Why so long? That's how long it took to get rid of the last bad infection I had. I wasn't told what bacteria I had until I got to the hospital. I was very upset when I discovered it was staph. I had MRSA for 2 years back in 1999-2001. Before the infection, which settled in my kidneys, my kidney function was over 40%. By the time the infection was gone, function had plummeted to under 15%. That infection is the main reason I had to go on dialysis as early as I did.

Of course, they HAD to try to put in a regular IV line but it didn't work. The IV Therapy nurse wanted to try a vein in the back of my wrist after she missed the only other vein she could find in my arm. I told her there was no way it'd work! Number one: I'm left handed. Number two: I can't lift anything with my right arm because that still makes it hurt, so I have to use my left hand. Number three: I can't keep my wrist from bending 24/7; I'd end up blowing the IV in a matter of hours, if not sooner. So she gave up and agreed that I needed a central line (which I had been saying all along).

I spoke to Debi on the phone tonight because I can't get internet access. I talked to someone in IT, but she couldn't helpe me with my problem because she doesn't work on the public access, but she said she'd let someone know about it when they come in tomorrow morning. I was getting really bored with Spider Solitaire, so I turned off the lights and tried to get some sleep.

So that was my day...I certainly hope your Monday was better!

September 7, 2008

Keeping with the trend, here is my third finish in as many days! I'd Pick You is another Doodles for Leftovers by Hob-Nobb Designs. The LNS included some hand-dyed fabric in lilac with the chart pack. I thought it worked beautifully with the WDW and GAST fibers I chose, so I didn't switch it out like I did with God Bless America. This is my 31st stitching finish of the year.

I'd Pick You was done using Weeks Dye Works Plum and Gentle Arts Sampler Threads Shutter Green, Pine, and Royal Purple. The chart calls for the lettering to be black but being the purple fanatic that I am, I had to use the dark purple over-dye! I'm going to keep this handy for a small stitched exchange or a RAK. I may also keep an eye out for a pretty flower embellishment so that I may stitch another for a needlebook or flat fold finish.

I think IPU is a much quicker stitch than God Bless America; I only worked on it for about 7 1/2 hours. All the backstitching certainly goes faster than cross stitching, that's for sure!

My next project is Charmed Dreams by Heirloom Embroider-ies. I purchased this with the thread and embellish-ment packs back in March and have been itching to start it ever since.

I have to thank Kathy Y for making this start possible. Kathy gave me the True Colors sponged evenweave at June's Heirloom Stitchers meeting. She brought some stash to give away and the fabric was among the items up for grabs. When I showed her the chart pack for Charmed Dreams she agreed that it was very close to the Golden Harvest by Silkweaver that was recommended. The model was stitched on 32ct, but I'm using 28ct. That will make the design approximately one inch larger, about six inches square.

I've already finished the stitching on one of the motifs and started another. The design is comprised of four repeated elements in the shape of a circle. There is a gold medallion in the center. I'm especially happy when working on this piece because it uses my favorite fiber: Dinky Dyes silks! I'm not sure if you can tell by the picture, but that's dark purple, DD's Native Plum. The main thing that attracted me to this design was the fact that it's stitched with purple...and the specialty stitches! Specialty stitches go much faster than regular x's, so I'm hoping to have Charmed Dreams finished in seven days or less.