Busted Back

Well, hey.   Once again, sorry this post is late today.          Never promise anything that you have no direct control over!       Last week, I think I said something about this week being back to normal, and posting 5x.       Heh heh.        “What is normal, but a setting on your dryer???”        (That is not original, I copied it from Barbara Johnson, a humorous Christian author.)

Anyway, so yesterday, I thought I’d have time to write today’s post, since I didn’t get them written last weekend.       Nope, stuff happened.       For one thing, this new phone is exasperating!!       I try to download/upload, whichever, new pix, and it says there are none.        I literally just took the pix 5 seconds ago!!       Arrrgghh!!  

Then, dun dun, dun...   my back went out last night.       So, I just tried to survive the night.           Sleep????        What’s that??       I no longer have any pain pills, because I dumped them out, a while back, when my back was out, and I noticed I was getting addicted,      “Take every 6-8 hours”.        But then, the pain returned in 5, so I’d take it then.        Then it was every 4, and 3 hours, and then every 2.       At that point, when my headaches would start right on the dot of 2 hours and 1 minute, I realized what was going on.      I was addicted!!           As a recovering alcoholic, that was terrifying to me.  So, I threw them all away, and suffered thru the horrible headaches, and prayed to God to help me.       And He did.

And I’ve not gotten another prescription of Vicodon, or anything else like it.             So, when my back goes out, like last night, all I have is Tylenol.        Which my pain laughs at.          

But, I WILL not ever knowingly let myself be addicted to another drug.

Sugar doesn’t count!!         (I heard all y’all say, “But your peach Fantas!”)

Anyways, here I am.       Since it hurts any which way, I decided to get up and write.

I have no pix today, please bear with me.

I have 9, count ’em, NINE drafts waiting for pix!!         sigh

As always, thanks for listening!!

I love ya!

(Do you feel like you’re reading my diary??)

Regretful Repeat

Okay, since I accidentally posted TWO posts yesterday, today, you only get this:

 

 

 

 

haha! Just kidding!  You get the same old slob- ME!!

Okay, back to today’s semi-post.

 

Regretfully, I posted twice yesterday.  It was an accident.  So, please go back and reread:

FB Fiend, and/or Nony Need.   I repeat, I regret the error.   

Thank you for your continuing patronage.

                              “The Management.”

Finally Fini

The amazing, long anticipated quilt:

Already rounded 3rd, almost home!

IS DONE!!!  (cue music: dun, dun, DUN)

Can you hear the scream of excitement???

Final proof of fini!

YAY!!!  It’s only Thursday night, and I’m DONE!!   {Slaps the chess timer like a Grand Champion!}  Woo hoo for me!  On budget, (only because Sheryl bought everything and gave it to me, but whatever), and before deadline!  That part’s all ME!!

I must say: it’s the very first quilt I’ve ever made that I pieced both back, and front.  Very unusual, but twice as nice!

Remember the front?

And the back of quilt?

I will never forget them, myself!  Once I invest blood, sweat and tears into a quilt, it’s part of me for life!

[Well, not real blood, not this time.   I have sewed my finger with the machine needle before.   How ever did my fat finger fit under there, when I have a hard time fitting 2 layers of material, with batting?????]

manhandling the many material layers but, you can’t see my hands, cuz I’m holding the camera, then pushing the button!  A very delicate operation there!

Graphically Gross

WARNING:  The following picture is graphically gross!  If you’re squeamish, cover your eyes, and chant rhythmically to yourself: “Lalalalala, I can’t SEE you!!”

Roach squooshed in my hand.

This is the “after”.  I did the deadly deed in the bathroom.  With my hand.  By PurpleSlob.  (Anybody catch the “Clue”??)

Okay, you can look now. All clear.

I know you think, (at least I THINK you think) it’s gross that I squoosh roaches with my hands.  In my defense:

1.  My hands are washable.  Sterilizable, even.
2.  Inexplicably, the roaches never respond to my shouted demands requests to sit still while I run and go get a shoe with which to annihilate them.
3.  A dead roach in the hand is worth much more to me than a hundred running around behind my back, especially running around in front of my back!
4.  I don’t carry a can of bug spray on my person at all times.  It interferes with my swatting arm.
5.  I honestly don’t mind bug guts on me.  It gives me such a sense of personal satisfaction to cream them, by my own “hand”iwork, that I kinda revel in the bloody evidence of a battle well won!

I guess I could try wearing a chatelaine,

Chatelaine, 1765-1775 Victoria and Albert Museum no. -C.492:1 to 7-1914

and just add a heavy-duty fly flap, some of those suckers get huge!!  It would just have to have some sorta quick release mechanism.

Nah, it’d weigh me down too much.  Back to hand-to-roach combat for me.  Hoo-Rah!

Ceiling Situation

One night, I was laying on my bed, on my back, looking up.  I thought

“Hmmm, that looks funny.”

Like a dummy, I gave it a poke.  Can you say DUMB???

Splat!

There was a wet me, a wet pillow, and a wet bed.

It’s a good thing I have another bed to roll onto!!

The next day:

DH rode to the rescue.

Dh’s handy dandy knife

After moving the beds and getting a bucket, he made a slit in the ceiling tile, with his handy dandy knife.  He’s a lot smarter than I was!

The ceiling must relieve itself.

Now we’ll see how long it takes to get the roof fixed.  Oh the joys of home ownership.

sigh

Update:  2 days later, he borrowed a ladder, got some gunk, and painted the roof.  Hasn’t leaked yet!  Here’s hoping!!

Strawberry Startings

If you missed any of the story: go here:

Part 1, Strawberry City, part 2, Man Giant, part 3, Strawberry Banquet, part 4, Strawberry Love, part 5, Strawberry Slush, part 6, Strawberry Sickness, part 7 Strawberry Daiquiri, part 8, Strawberry School, part 9, Strawberry Struggles, part 10, Strawberry Sessions.

a blog.  What would she talk about?  Well, her house was a mess, and clutter had followed her to this place.

She hadn’t thought too much about messes, and clutter, what with all the excitement of Strawberry Grandbaby

being born.  Then the hospital, rehab, and therapy.

But, once she started thinking about it, that’s ALL Strawberry Girl could think about.

She was sick and tired of messes , and clutter.  Ranch Man was working hard, but all he could do is keep up with day to day stuff, feeding and caring for an invalid, semi-invalid, and a baby.

So, Strawberry Girl made up her mind to clean up her own messes, and clutter, and document the process.

She found other blogs that inspired her, so she began.

At first, all she could do is sweep under the high chair.

Then, she would sit down exhausted.  Of course, her fingers weren’t tired!  Just her back, and legs, and arms, so she could write her blog posts.

And so she wrote, and wrote, and wrote.

To Be Continued….

(After a week’s break. Sorry, Laura!  Hang in there!)

     

Strawberry Sessions

If you missed any of the story: go here:

Part 1, Strawberry City, part 2, Man Giant, part 3, Strawberry Banquet, part 4, Strawberry Love, part 5, Strawberry Slush, part 6, Strawberry Sickness, part 7 Strawberry Daiquiri, part 8, Strawberry School, part 9, Strawberry Struggles.

Strawberry Girl was in the hospital, flat of her back.  Her broken back.

After 5 days, she was moved into a rehab facility for therapy.  It was hard work!  She was in a wheelchair, because it hurt so bad to walk.

Therapy was not fun.  But she made friends, and was as okay as she possibly could be, considering.

Strawberry Girl realized she would be nearly helpless, once she went home.  So, she decided to beg Ranch Man to forgive her, and come back to her.  Fortunately, he did.

So, now Ranch Man

was doing all the work.  He took care of Strawberry Girl, in her wheelchair, and the Strawberry Grandbaby.  He and the Strawberry Grandbaby went on walks, and he took Strawberry Girl places, with the Strawberry Grandbaby on her lap.

Strawberry Girl was not doing well mentally, so back to the hospital she went, to the Ward again.

And again.  And again.  three times in 12 months, she went back to the Ward.  The nurses, and counselors, and her doctors knew her by name, and told her to “Get well!  Don’t come back here again!”

She began going to weekly counseling sessions.  That helped.

By this time, she had graduated to a walker, instead of the wheelchair.  So, she was able to get around better, and do stuff.

She decided to start…..

To Be Continued…..

So Slobby Sewing Space Sequel

Remember not long ago when I boasted about my superb sewing space?

Not changed at all

Yeah…. not so much now.  😦

In the continuing effort to pare down, by purging, I gave up the nice big gray cabinet, which was wonderful for storage.  Purging  it caused a twinge of angst, but only a small one.

Then, Brother needed more room, so his ginormous bean bag somehow ended up in there.

Brother’s Ginormous Beanbag chair

Hmmmm, how exactly did that happen?    That thing is heavy!

Then someone gifted me with a huge bag of fabric for quilting.  Who could turn that down? Not I!

And just when the storage cabinet went away too.

Gray cabinet gone, gone

Bad timing there!

So, once again it’s a slobby sewing space.  sigh  And here I had been breaking my arm, patting myself on the back that I was making progress.

So how much does it count to have gotten rid of 1 huge thing, when it put the whole room straight back into chaos again??  See how I blamed the cabinet’s absence for the mess, instead of admitting it was me?  Pretty slick, right?

 

Posted on these Parties.

First Day

I’ve been reading Nony, from A Slob Comes Clean, for about a month now. She has motivated me to get my butt in gear. Sunday night, Monday morning!, I bought her 2 e-book set. Drowning in Clutter, Drain the Ocean, and 28 Days to Hope in Your Home. Of course, being me, I read them immediately.  Then, I got up and emptied the dw.  DH was so excited when he opened it Mon. morning and saw it empty.  Then I got really CRAY-CRAY, and while he took the grand baby, Pudding Pop, for her morning walk, I swept and mopped the living room. My back hurt, and I was huffing, and puffing. Yes, and sweating too.

This is from Juming museum.

 

But, it only took me approximately 10 minutes, start to finish, including moving the toys. Then I sat down, and basked in the glow of a job well down. And basked all day! And posted about it copiously on FB. and private messaged everyone who didn’t comment on my post. I’m so needy for approval. Then I decided to start this blog, to look back on my accomplishments, and brag on myself!

Actually, I’ve been working on cleaning up for longer than just 1 day.  After I got out of Physical Therapy Rehab, June 5, I started getting the itch to have a house that was nice. Not pristine, magazine level, no one can touch anything, just nice.  So, I began going thru boxes, and getting rid of stuff. It felt good to see those 3 boxes of donations, 1 box for consignment, and 13 gallons of trash leave out the door!  We straightened up the living room, and began having people over, well, family.  Then I even had the nerve to have Pudding Pop’s first birthday party here! Everything looked really good. 

I have sewn 1 curtain for the living room, now I need to do 1 more. And wait for DH to put up the rods.

If I continue to help with the dishes, and sweep and mop every day, he’ll soon be putty in my hands!