What An Experience…..Part I…..

 

   On or around December 21, of this year, I developed an allergic reaction to a new pair of sneakers I had just purchased. I am allergic to neoprene….highly allergic to it, but that’s another story. I got put on prednisone for the swollen lips and rash. I was to take 2 ten milligram pills for 4 days and then 1 ten milligram pill for 4 days to help me taper off. I was on day 5, on December 26 and that would be my first 10 milligram pill and my beginning to taper off the prednisone. I had been feeling very strange on this drug for a few days. The last time I took it, which was back in 2003, it gave me numerous amounts of energy and it worked very well for me….no side effects at all. This time, it felt strange. Christmas came and went and it was a really great one. My son stayed the night here with us Christmas Eve. My daughter arrived here at 11:00 a.m. xmas day and we all had a great breakfast together. After breakfast, we opened up our stockings and gifts….it was great! The rest of the day was spent at my brother in laws with my husband’s family and that was a lot of fun. I was not quite feeling myself but nothing notable was happening.

   Back to that December 26th day…..Hubby and I ended up getting a beautiful Christmas tree but it turned out to be a real dry one. Being concerned about the dryness, he wanted to get that tree out of the house. We figured we might as well take down ALL of the decorations once we started the whole process. That took a couple of hours to do or longer. I was having a hard time keeping up with my husband and that is NOT like me. This is what it felt like….A sore throat coming on and the tubes going from my ears to my throat were very irritated. Pressure behind my head and back of neck. Huge waves of nausea that got more and more persistent. ..dizziness that felt like the worst hangover I had ever had in my life….I thought I was coming down with the flu or having a panic attack. The ONLY place I felt comfortable was sitting on my closed toilet with my head on the sink….the nausea was overwhelming. Hubby called quick care and they were no help so he called Maine Medical Emergency in Portland. Two nurses called back and I spoke with each one for some time. They told me to come in and they would like to administer an EKG?? I wondered about that one?? Why……just to rule things out? Oh well. I hollered up to my husband, who was doing computer work upstairs and said….."They are saying they want me to come in…what do you think….should we go or stay?”   He says…."We might as well go.”

   Off we went. It was an exceptionally busy night at the ER. There was an accident and there were many firemen walking around with people. The ER staff kept coming by and apologizing for making us all wait. Finally I get looked at. I was so sick, I could barely sit still. Oh, I forgot to mention one of the symptoms was restless legs….my legs were jumping CONSTANTLY. They took my BP and other vitals. My heart rate was very low at 44. It was at that point that I remembered I was suppose to get an EKG. The nurse said “Oh…Ok….do you know why?” Nope…I don’t. Back to the waiting room again for a few minutes and then an EKG was administered in the hallway. “Have you had one of these before Debbie?” “Yes, I believe I have.” “Can you hold still Debbie while we do this test?” “I will try…but my legs won’t stop jerking…I’m sorry.” We got through it and I was back in the waiting room again. A few minutes later there was a crowd of people staring at me and holding a wheelchair. “Debbie….you are coming with us.” “Why am I going with you?” “Because you are having a heart attack.” “What???????????”

 

         More tomorrow………and please don’t be alarmed my friends. I am home and recuperating nicely and going to be alright.

Merry Christmas Everyone….

   In honor of my wonderful husband, here is the Christmas song he has been singing for the last week….well…he’s been humming it and blue…blue…blueing it, all over the house, and  he probably thinks I wasn’t listening….he’s so cute. Have a wonderful, happy, healthy and fun holiday and make sure you get back here to the blogs in one piece!

 

Moving Into The Christmas Holiday….

          

   Thanksgiving is over and we have had our first snow fall of the season. We got about 4 and a half inches, but whose counting!? Would you believe that just a few days before our snowfall, it was a record breaking 68 degrees here in Maine! That must be why they say “If you don’t like the weather in Maine, just wait a minute!” It’s true. You never know what to wear from one day to the next. It keeps things exciting!

   I have been busy over here on the plains making some last minute Christmas gifts for family and friends.  I found out we were invited to a family Christmas party on the 2oth! Any last minute work got kicked up a notch! I would show you some of the crafts I am working on but there are family members that read my blog! I can’t do that!! We must keep these things secretive you know! We had a great Thanksgiving. My day actually did not start out so great. My kids ended up not being able to be here. I woke up missing my parents terribly and between my kids not coming and that, I had a good cry. Once that was over with, I got on to the business of cooking and was fine. Just a minor set back, but I did miss having them here. My husband and his brother Joe deep fried the turkeys outside. This year they did a dry rub instead of a marinade. I think I like the marinade better from last year. The dry rub version was a bit dryer but still tasty. Here is hubby bringing in one of the turkeys…. and here I am….can you believe it….I am putting on a picture of me!,,,,taking a picture of my mother in law…taking a picture of me!

Don’t mind the stain on my pants from something that dripped while cooking!  We had a very casual day as you can see by the way we are dressed!  It was… a laid back turkey day this year. We opted for paper plates and cups and it worked out fine. We were able to spend less time picking up and more time visiting. It was really nice. Hubby brought me these flowers the day before for the table. He just showed up with them out of the blue. He is such a sweet man! My wonderful mother in law Alice, made two different kinds of stuffing….a Peach/Pork stuffing and a rice/shrimp one and both were amazing!! It’s so hard to keep everything hot and my oven never has enough room for it all so we kind of did a cafeteria style line up.

Roasted vegetables and butternut squash (from my garden)……

My sister in law brought the mashed potatoes and I made the gravy from a can of turkey stock. The gravy was ok but there is nothing like gravy from drippings. Next year we will have a bird cooked in the oven I think.

A good time was had by all and we stuffed our little stretched out tummies! Apple pie and pumpkin pie made them almost burst….but not quite!!

 

A little turkey for the dark meat lovers at the table!

Hubby…in between the candles holding some wire for some kind of techno thingamajig! It was a great day and I am very grateful for all of these family members that came.

   So we are moving forward to my favorite holiday….Christmas!! I will be decorating the house this weekend. The other day I took a walk into my backyard and gathered some Jack Pine boughs. I made two swags….one for my mother in law Alice, and one for me….all decorated and ready to hang on the doors! This last weekend, I went up to Alice’s and found some great boughs in her woods! I got xmas boughs and hemlock boughs. Hemlock boughs are so darned cute with those teeny little pinecones on them! At least I think they are Hemlock? I will be using them for my mantle and elsewhere in the house. I love the smell of fresh boughs!! Don’t you?? They are so plentiful here in Maine….we are very lucky. I also got a bag for Alice too and the cutest little Charlie Brown tree! She put it outside on her patio table, potted, with a nice wreath around the base of it. We are having fun with the holiday season and I hope you are too. I will try to be back before the big day comes but if I don’t, I am wishing you all the best of holidays, from our house to yours!! Until then, I will leave you with this Lobster Trap tree in Rockland!! Can you believe it?

Now if that isn’t a red neck Christmas tree, I don’t know what is! Ha ha….

Happy Thanksgiving…..

 

Blessings to you all……………

It’s Official…My Place & Deep Fried…

   Every year we are always wondering right around this time where we are all going to gather for Thanksgiving and who all is coming? Last year my brother in law Joe had us all up to his place. It was a lot of fun. Each of us pitched in by bringing a dish or two and helping to set up tables and so on. The big surprise was that Joe was deep frying the turkey! Not just one turkey….but two!! Two different kinds of marinades gave us a slightly different taste of each one and it was fabulous!! This was my first time having deep fried turkey and I’m not kidding when I tell you it was amazing!! We have all decided, that turkey day, will be here at my house this year, and weather permitting, Joe will be deep frying two more turkeys in my yard!! Here’s Joe cooking last years birds in his yard…. I guess this will be the scene at my house,  next week, and it should be fun! My mother in law, makes the most amazing pork/peach stuffing in the world, and she will be gracing us with that. I think my sister in law is making mashed potatoes and bringing that. That leaves me with the rest of the fixins like butternut squash and whatever else I come up with. Plus… the cranberry sauce, pickles and olives, rolls, pies and such. It should be a lot of fun and we hope the weather cooperates. If not, I will be cooking a large turkey in my oven….not a problem! I may cook a small one anyway! I need gravy for those mashed potatoes don’t I?? Above photos were from last year and here are a few from the year before at my house….I’m starting to see a pattern here….My house….then Joe’s house….then my house….. Before the crowd arrived…my son playing guitar. Starting to arrive….. Gathering the goodies….. Fun and family….Woody goofing around. Maybe just ONE piece of that pie!! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I will be back with updated photos of this years turkey day soon…..if not before!

   Meanwhile, I am working on more mouse pincushions and other crafts when I can. My cousin took some of my mouseeees to a craft show she goes to…we’ll see what happens. I don’t think any of them will sell. I have been working on some new and improved ones! I’ll show you soon. The weather here in Maine has been so nice during the day! We are blessed. I will leave you with this wonderful Irish blessing…..

Wishing you always...
Walls for the wind,
A roof for the rain
And tea beside the fire.
Laughter to cheer you,
Those you love near you,
And all that your heart may desire……:)

Just Let It Go!

   My son moved down to Portland from Bangor about 5 months ago now. He lived with his sister for about 3 months and then finally got an apartment with two people he had never met before. He’s been working at a golf course in Portland as a short order cook and the work has slowed way down so he needed some extra $ to see him through. What he really needs is a second job! We are having some unusually nice weather here in Maine for November. We set a new record yesterday,  for the warmest weather on this date in November.

   Hubby and I never got a chance to rake the yard and get rid of all those pine needles and leaves, so we invited my son to come out and do it. He was up for it since it meant earning some extra cash….which he has none of! Now my son used to be the kind of kid that tried to get out of doing ANY kind of work. He would do the heavy supervising while leaning on the rake or tree. I was the worst enabling mom at the time. Having gone through a divorce when my kids were 5 and 7, I guess I was filled with guilt. I let them get away with murder and tried to “fix” everything myself, thereby never letting them learn those great lessons in life that they needed to on their own. Heck….I wouldn’t even let them cook for fear that they wouldn’t do it right or they would hurt themselves! They couldn’t leave the driveway on their bikes until they were 20! No…it was more like 12 I guess. I am so trying to change that person that I was back then but man is it hard!

   The deal was that my son could go out and work in the yard as long or as short of a time as he wanted to….until dark or just until lunch…if he liked. My husband gave him instructions about the giant tarp in the cellar….the key to the shed…which areas he wanted raked….which little saplings he wanted cut with the clippers and a couple of other chores if he had time. He started at about 10:45 yesterday morning. He came in a couple of times to use the bathroom and get a drink and a bite to eat but kept at it. Hubby went out twice to help with a couple of things, but all said and done, he did not finish until it was dark at 5:00!! I was actually shocked that he lasted that long!! I fully expected the old moaning and groaning, the rolling of the eyes and all those expressions you get from kids when they feel put out to do chores but this was different. This was a grown kid….a 25 year old who was simply digging in because he really needed to earn some money. 

   I was in the house doing chores and baking a chicken pie, making salads and wrestling with the chaos going on in my head! Am I the only mother that still goes into protective mode when it comes to her grown kids??? I was thinking to myself….Oh this has been a long day for him….oh he must be thirsty….oh he’ll be sore…oh he is going to be hungry….on and on and on. I struggled with all of these thoughts until I realized how I used to be when they were kids. Because I was such an enabler when they were young, it definitely had a lasting effect on them….especially my son. This was my chance, as I saw it, to let him be the man that he is supposed to be. I know that sounds crazy but it’s true. I kept busy….stopped looking out the window…and sailed through it. When he was done, he came in with a grin and a hungry belly and a little sore but it was a good day. We got a beautiful job done in our yard and he got some hard earned money. He got to be a man without mom jumping in to “save” him. It was all good. Now…..if I could just get that Jack Russell of mine to do what I say.:) :)

I’ve Been Mousing Around……

   

I’ve been busy making mouse pincushions from fabrics I acquired at a yard sale a couple of years ago. I am trying different designs and materials. I got the pattern online and here it is if you are interested.

               Mouse Pincushion Pattern

They are quick and fun to make. Most of the eyeballs are made from a broken necklace I got at another yard sale. I just color the center with a permanent marker. The ears are black felt. Some I like and others…not so much….but it’s been fun trying different methods. My next experiment will be giving them a little collar or some bling.

Here are some close ups of the animal print one. His nose is a little too hairy! The tails  and whiskers are black cotton twine of some sort….not a big fan of this type though….I need to find something else to use. Here’s  one without whiskers….kind of looks nekked! I like the lines in the fabric though. The little guy to his left is kind of cute. The fabric is a leaf pattern…..well take a closer look….. It’s such a soft fabric and I love the leaf detail. When you are not able to cinch the fabric together at the bummie, you can stitch a round piece in there, like I did here. Actually….most ALL of them I had to do this with!

I also do not have the whiskers the way I like them…still working on the prototype! Here are a bunch of them sniffing out some of my fabric pieces! The red one was an experiment with brass eyes….again, broken jewelry, and the one on the far left has that cotton black string for eyes. I made him last year.The blue plaid one has beads down his back and I absolutely hate the look of it but will probably give it to a little one….they won’t mind a bit!! Here’s the animal print above, with pins stuck all through him…ouch! I also am crocheting some purses…..this one is for a little 10 year old girl. My friend’s daughter…… Front and back.

I am working on an afghan too….same one for 2 years now! It’s big! I am sewing a lap blanket out of scrap material and am making more purses. I plan on going to some of the local craft fairs starting up around here and hopefully getting some more ideas on crafts for the holidays! What fun things are you all making >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>???

Do tell!!!!

I Got An Award!!!

                       

  Hey girls….I got an award!! It’s called the Gorgeous Blogger Award and it was given to me by my good friend Dawn from C&G Design …….Check her out….she has a wonderful blog filled with crafting and family and gardening and she is a master at all of them! Thanks Dawn….it is much appreciated! What I am supposed to do is list 6 things about myself and then pass this award on to 6 other people. Here are 6 things about myself.

1. I am deathly afraid of lunar moths and can go into a frenzy pretty quickly if I don’t get away from them….crazy I know.  Especially if one happens to fly into my car…. I have to stop and get out!

2. I absolutely love, love, love, Christmas! I always have and probably always will. I love everything about it. I think it is the one time of year that everyone seems to be generous and giving and loving and full of humanity. I just wish it lasted all year. I try to soak it all up during the season!

3. I lost my first child when I was 22 years old and 5 1/2 months pregnant. I found out I had an incompetent cervix as a result of my mom taking a drug to prevent HER from having miscarriages. It was very hard and some day I will meet  my little girl Dahlia in heaven. As a result of finding this out, I was able to have two healthy children after that. They gave me a purse string stitch, with each pregnancy and then took it out before I gave birth.

4. I’m a sugar addict! I love candy and just about any kind. I am especially addicted to fire balls. I always have a dish full of them in my house. I keep them in my purse and the cars. I think it was all that penny candy as a kid that got me started!

5. I was in a gun powder explosion when I was in my early twenties. I was at a party and we had all been drinking. One of the tenants loaded his own shotgun shells. There was a bag of gunpowder under a table, unbeknownst to all of us there. A cigarette ash fell onto it and boom! I was in the hospital for 10 days, along with two other friends, and out of work for months. An FBI agent visited me in hospital, asking questions about the explosion.

6. My all time favorite song in the world is called “Don’t Play That Song For Me” by Aretha Franklin. Here is an old video of her doing it….. It gets me going like nothing else!

Ok….I guess that’s 6! Now…..I need to list 6 people that I want to give this award to…..so here goes!!

1. DownEast Doing Stuff

2. Note Songs

3. Smart Mouth Broad

4. Wrestling With Retirement

5. My Little Cottage In The Making

6. Kitschen Pink

Thanks Dawn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :):)

Love that song…..

   I am still having problems getting to some of your blogs but will be addressing that soon. We have been busy lately and I plan on catching you up with some of the crafts I have been working on….so darned cute…some of them. I am making mouse pincushions and crocheting some purses for friends and children for xmas. My niece sent me an email the other day from Ft. Lauderdale. She’s a great girl and I am always thrilled to hear from her by email or phone because we don’t get a chance to see each other that often. In the email was a version of that old song Sara Smile, originally done by Hall and Oats in a duo. I’ve always loved that song….haven’t you? In this version, it is sung by a guy named Jimmy Wayne and my GOD does he blow me away with his version!!! Sooooo bluesy and quite close to Hall and Oats in range as well. I tend to like the beginning better but he really rocks on his version of Sara Smile…..check it out…….

What do you think? This song was in my head all day after this…….

Be back soon with craft photos……………………………………..hopefully before Halloween!!

Taking Our Furry Friends Trick or Treating…

   Hello all….I just wanted to let some of you know I am having trouble getting to your blogs….Far Side and others. We have Mozilla Firefox and some of your blogs won’t let me in with that. I try internet explorer and that won’t load up!%$#@ Hubby has been real busy so I have not bothered him too much about it. I just wanted you to know I have tried!! Drives me crazy but I will get there. It’s been a little nuts over here anyway but wanted to pop in and say thanks for all your comments about my last post….so darned touching! Oh…did I mention I can’t leave comments on MINE either!?? I see some of you did a bit of research too….that’s so cool. I loved it!

  Hey….is it wrong to take our animals out trick or treating? Think about it……

 

And another……………

Hope your furry pals have a wonderful Halloween….

    OUR BABY GUARDING THE PUMPKINS AND TOMATOES.