Forever

my Dad carried this photo in his wallet forever

 

One Year

the look on Mom's face cracks me up

I can see her saying

"you aren't allowed up there but just this once..."

Melrose loved Mom as much as she loved him

today she has been gone one year

Dad four and a half years...

I am so blessed with all the memories of wonderful parents... 

her favorite song...

Cheri Payne Baskets

I love quilts with baskets

Cheri's are among my favorites

these are photos of designs 

from Pinterest 

 

Mom did not like baskets on quilts

or I should say in the past few years she didn't

so I skipped stitching them 

now that she's in Heaven

I'm hoping she'll be okay with it...

insert laughing here

she stitched many a quilt with baskets

lots of Jan Patek/Linda Brannock designs

 

Cats and Wool

so rare to find these two close to each other

they were both enjoying the breeze

from the front door

Olivia was there first...

the quilt on the back of the couch 

is the last one Mom made for me 

from 2011

I've been using it for napping

*****

dyeing more wool before work today

I'm getting ready to list it for sale

later this week

$11 a fat quarter

plus shipping based on your zip code

USA only

if I don't sell even one piece

it'll be fine

all the colors look so gorgeous next to each other

I haven't dyed much in a very long time

these will add some joy to my hooking

Happy Tuesday!

New Old Design Progress

still mostly pulling from the pre cut baskets

only the oragne strips are newly cut

I used nearly all the orange them last year...

cleaning up my old doodles

for the booklet has helped me get some of my 

hooking mojo back

tomorrow will be 3 months since Mom has been gone

there is such a big empty spot inside me

trying to stay busy and positive

knowing that's what she wanted

I am pulling old memories from my mind

from when my parents we younger and healthier

the past 10-12 had pushed those memories deep 

for the most part

 

 here's a recent good memory

Mom and Melrose were best buddies

they had their own little mutual admiration society

off to work soon

ah...the stories I could tell from the ER

 

Hooking Away

rug progress

approx 42 x 25

beyond time to choose something for the center

lightened up the second photo
closer to true colors

  

angel arrangement 

in memory of Mom from the staff at her facility

my sister has it

since the cats love fresh plants

some of my very old hooked pieces...

 as always

he wants to know why I'm not brushing/petting him

it's supposed to storm here later

so I better go tackle some weeds...

Sweet Memories

so I won't ever forget...

a couple of things from the last few days with Mom

I stayed overnight with her

holding her hand each time she raised it from the bed

something we've done for years now

only leaving for a few hours

to feed the cats

inject some meds

while my sister stayed with Mom

Thursday she had a high temperature

even while on antibiotics

so we knew

she didn't respond to us 

other than opening her eyes

early Friday was so much better

she even shooed away the male aide

from Hospice

when he arrived to care for her

with think she associated him with the Hoyer lift 

she talked with us on and off all day

on returning that afternoon

I woke her up leaning over to kiss her

oh the joy on her face

when I said hi Mom

she kissed her hand 

then placed it on my cheek

for a few days she refused anything to eat or drink

except a few Lifesavers

later that day I was sitting there

eating my gummy bears

when she said I sure was chewing a lot of gum

 I told her no, that was Judy

I was eating gummy bears

immediately her right hand went up 

she ate one and was satisfied

she was happy to sit up in bed

watching the Andy Griffith show

she even drank some butter pecan Ensure

just some general chit chat after that

lots of I loves yous...

Saturday morning we knew our time was short

the Crossroads Hospice team was phenomenal

I can't say that enough

***** 

my NC sister and her husband will arrive in a few hours

we'll just putter around my yard and house

catching up on chores and weeding

tomorrow we're all going to lunch together

my local sister and I have decided to

start with a clean slate

it's what our parents wanted most

all their girls to be friends

we think that she waited to leave us Sunday morning

until she knew we would heal our relationship

just one more loving gesture from Mom

*****

your words and prayers have touched my heart

filled me with love and hope

I am only sorry I can't hug you all in person

Gladys Banks

Mom passed away today shortly before noon

with my sister Judy and I by her side...

we were fortunate to have a wonderful team from

Crossroads Hospice

with us once we started the morphine yesterday

I know she is with her family in Heaven now

right where she belongs

I will grieve

of course

my heart is filled with the JOY of her life

the end to her earthly pain and suffering

I have been such a lucky daughter

Best Mom

Mom had a peaceful night

I stayed with her until around 9 this morning

when my sister showed up

We are lucky Mom has been sleeping

not needing morphine

she wakes up a bit to say hi

or go away 

( to her wonderful Hospice aide Brian)

even to ask to go home...of course

I'll go back in a few hours

I'll be staying overnight as long as needed 

Mom always laughs at me for printing out these 

coloring pages and coloring them for her...

she knows I've loved to color

way before it way cool for adults

Thank you all for your kind words and prayers

I know so many of you have gone through this

with parents and loved ones...

  

your thoughts and insights over the years

have helped me 

very much

 

 

Mom

Mom and Rhonda (aide)

a couple of days ago

laughing at my stories

of being tied to a tree as a child...

it was the only way to keep me in the yard at 3 or 4

today Hospice has put their comfort orders in to place

Morphine and Ativan as needed 

so far she has slept all day

no discomfort

I sure love this mom of mine

Surprise Visitor

yesterday I looked up and who do I see

but Mom's best friend of 80+ years 

Bea!

Mom said she wasn't so surprised

she knew Bea would visit any day now

fortunately Mom was just up from a short nap

ready to chat about their days in high school

Bea talked about a few of Mom's boyfriends...

Mom said one especially she really liked

 

Bea learned how to organize the wool strips

*****

my NC sister called her earlier this week

to update her on Mom

she has some wonderful memories of my family

I could listen to her stories forever...

she did share one about her son

who is always there to lend her a hand

he said if any time 

the doctor tells her she doesn't have long to live

she's to go straight home

to cook up a huge batch of spaghetti sauce!

she can't eat it anymore 

but keeps her freezer

and his freezer full...

I've requested some for my freezer...she's an awesome cook

 and the most wonderful friend

a person could ask for

 

Going Colorful

a little progress

not much time for hooking

spending a lot of time with Mom

by the time I get home at night I'm done in

in the morning I do my cleaning and decluttering

cut strips of wool for Mom to organize later

pack a lunch

play with the cats

then it's time to go see her

today is the last of my FMLA days

for a while I hope

next two days were long planned vacation days

then weekend off

back to work Monday

I'm going to start on Friday leaving at normal time

praying she's okay

the past 2 days have been her best in a while

minimal neck pain

minimal anxiety until later in the afternoon

( her normal bad time)

*****

 planning my container gardens

going colorful this year...

 

Keeping Busy

Link To Karen's esty shop

small rug on the frame

while I think about the Americana one

I have a lot of Karen's patterns 

keep putting off hooking them

because I want to dye some wool in her colors 

we all know how that's worked out over the past few years

so I started this one last night

changing the words/letters

thinking of a blue house

maybe

*****

going through closets again

very few things left of the parents

except sheets

wonderful Lands End flannel and cotton sheets

the worm ones are now rags

decent ones going to animal shelter

good ones to save and use

*****

Mom is not doing good

extreme pain in her neck and upper back

has been increasing over the past few weeks

making her anxiety worse

which makes her breathing worse

 

she was switched to using the Hoyer lift for transfers 

a few weeks ago

on Friday she started using her new wheelchair

it has a high back and head rest

she looks much better in it

feels about the same

though I do catch her using the headrest

she's always been stubbon

"Johnny Bull" English she says

now she is resistant to any change 

thanks so much for all your support

I know many of you have gone through this

heartbreaking scenario

your words have given me strength 

Borders and Mom

more border ideas

yep

just add a flag instead of the words...

 I see a theme with all these borders

very scrappy

love how the hearts fade into the background

if you're really stuck for a border

feel free to copy this one

on my patriotic crow rug

*****

haven't started hooking yet

still getting my wool in order

from the last rug

in case you don't know

I cut my wool into strips all the time

to give Mom something to do with her hands

I mix them up

so she can separate into bundles by color 

she has been having some very bad days

getting a good balance of anti anxiety meds is hard

I think she is too medicated

Hospice says give it some time...

so I am taking Family Medical Leave Act days

off work to spend lunch through bed time with her

yesterday she kept trying to get out of bed

after a short nap

it took over an hour for the aides to come help her

she would have been on the floor

if I wasn't there

she needs two aides to help her up

one was on break

next time I'll call the main desk

and ask for the nursing supervisor

I couldn't leave the room for a second

*****

please share your rugs pics in

The Out of Hand Hookers

group page on Facebook

progress big or small 

there are no size requirements

there is no deadline

this is just for fun

 

Off the Frame

off the frame this morning

next to block, steam and bind

made a small dent in the worms

great to use up the ones that have been passed by

for so long

it was a bad day

made a little better 

by a new afghan from a coworker 

her mom loves to crochet 

she has a dozens and dozens made

we've been gifted with 7 of them this year

2 mom kept

the rest for other residents and a patient at work

*****

here we have my next door neightbors garage

only 6" along the side is hers

the rest is my property...

this year I'm putting in a bird/butterfly garden 

to stop the spread of her clutter

given time

I'd like to turn my entire backyard

into a flower garden amongst the trees

 

On the Frame

a little more progress...

you see the evidence on the right side

this is being hooked over a Woolen Memories pattern

one I started half a dozen times

this is my year to use things up

move on from past projects

that just don't work for me

fabric from a sweet friend in Texas

Mom is in awe of all the beautiful colors

she loved putting them in the basket

we are not going to use them 

until everyone sees them organized

I stayed until she fell asleep last night

she was telling her NC daughter all about the fabric

laughing and laughing about

all the fabric crazy quilters we know and are

it has been a while since we heard that laugh

my sister had tears in her eyes as she thanked me for calling

we sure love hearing Moms laugh

Mom would like you to know

her arm is not that big in person

and those are scars from when she was in a fire as a child

not wrinkles

we are still work on adjust her meds

fine line between each dose change

my favorite pic from St Patrick's Day 

if you are in my tribe sorry for your luck

but I'm going to need all the crazy this month

Changing Rugs Again

my current project has been set aside

just not feeling it...

so now I'm on the lookout something to hook

I like these colors...

I keep coming back to this rug

it might finally be time...

*****

Mom's meds seem to be working pretty good

but her desire to go home and visit her mother

pretty much overrides everything

we've had a few good days in a row

reality says

about time for the roller coaster to change course

  *****

my NC sister and her husband

are visiting much earlier than planned 

only 2-3 weeks and they'll be here!

a treat for all of us

 

Slow Progress is Still Progress

in case you're not on Facebook

here's my rug progress

still working out which colors to use

which to leave out

I'm used to hooking much faster than this

especially with such a stash of wool strips

right now I'm splitting my time between hooking and cleaning

my NC sister will be here in a month

she and her DH will be doing some work for me

they know I have no time

but still...

Mom went to the hair salon for a trim today

she's been refusing for about a month

( we had a good day

she was looking serious here

after dropping a puzzle piece on the floor)

it's a roller coaster ride for her

always happy for good days

they started her on a new medicine

an anti-anxiety cream 

praying it helps

so we can keep the Haldol to a minimum

some day I get all boo hoo about my life

then  I talk to a lady at the facility who is my age

has MS, broke her leg last year, hasn't walked since

she has been doing rehab for months

as her leg heals while she works to lose some weight

 

a little giveaway for my blog readers

please don't share

I'd like this to be for my regular readers...

a very nice book

but once through was enough for me

a little worn around the edges

from bouncing around in my totebag

leave a comment on this post

letting me know of a story you'd like to hook

I'll draw a name Saturday morning

March 11th

it's already in an envelope with a piece of wool

planning on getting to the post office Monday morning

Making Do

on the frame

using up a pattern/backing from 2004

drawn on soft linen

 I'm not at all fond of this sort of linen

so kept passing the pattern by

using it for a geometric worm busting rug is perfect!

yesterday I was dithering over dark or light background

I'd prefer light 

the worm baskets said dark

this is one of the antique designs on the pattern

it might be tough hooking over them 

*****

I'm being as frugal as can be this year

saving for when I'll need time off for mom

there is so much in my stash to "make do" with

next step will be to sell off a few things

that I haven't gotten around to

Mom has had some better days as her meds 

are being decreased...

yesterday was awesome

hated going to work she was so much herself

 

Yesterday

NC sister has been sharing some photos

that she must have snagged years ago...

Mom and Grandma 

I never knew Mom was a candy striper

late 30's or early 40's

 

 Deb had a lot of foot problems when she was born

her little legs are in casts...

1952/3

a better day yesterday

not so medicated

working on our new garden puzzle

maybe today she'll let me do her hair!

nice Mary is to her right

she always cries in the afternoon

she has been so worried about Mom

they hold hands

 planning on heading home any day now

at the end of the table is Dorothy

she's 100 and 5 months

she was on a tear yesterday

cracking up at everything

asking for a new Cadillac, any color would do

thank you so much for your kind words, support and prayers

it all means more than you can ever know