My Mom

First, let me say, I love my mom! I really do, but it is now at that point of time where I am the mom and my mom is my daughter. Mom is 76. Her health could be worse and it could be better. This picture is 3 years old, at our cabin in Mammoth. Since I have not been working, my time has been filled with taking mom to her numerous doctor appointments, helping her clean her place, helping her shop, ect. I am not complaining, but it is so hard to see her aging. Today she had her physical, and her doctor was very surprise that she was still driving, and had a very stern talk to both of us as to why she should not be driving any longer. I kept my composure, my mom did not. I could for once see through my mom's eyes as to why she was so upset. This was in her eyes, her last bit of independence. She has felt very bad having me take her here and there, a lot of my time devoted to her needs. She was afraid my family would resent her taking up my time away from them. This was not even close, my family understood, and asked how they could help. My hubby has been really wonderful, even though he and my mom really do not get along, he does care for her and worries about her. After my mom's doctor appointment, I took her to dinner at Mimi's, a place she loves. It was there I talked to her, a really heart to heart talk letting her know I feel her fear and disappointment of not being able to drive anymore. Her main concern was, who was going to drive her elderly friends to their doctor appointments when their family members were not able to. That's my mom, always worried about everyone else. I told her that there are people in town who were available for that, I would help her get her friends in touch with them. She could still visit her friends in her complex via her walker and check in on them, stop and say hi, drop off a book or magazine she has finished reading ,ect. She seems to find little comfort in this, she was more worried that so and so would not bother to go to their doctor appointment if she could not take them. I asked her to try and get some rest and I would check on her tomorrow, and we will figure this out together, she was not alone. I truly feel that God does not close a door with out opening a window, and this is my purpose in life now, to take care of my mom, with out the responsibilities of a full time job. My mom, she is quite a character, whom I love dearly!

It's Raining, It Pouring!

Another rain storm has hit us in Northern California. We are so saturated, we are having flood warnings, and not just small creeks, but rivers and by-passes! At least one thing is good, tonight is Friday Night Sew, and with the rain, that should, hopefully, help motivate me to get some stitching/sewing done! Don't forget to check out everyone's blog to see what they worked on tonight, hope you are dry where you are!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Enough said! Enjoy!!

Whew, I am SO Tired!!!

Man, the past 5 days, have been so busy for me! My friend, Matilda, (the name have been changed to protect the innocent!) and I have been participating in a shop hop in the Central Valley and Bay area, and a little down the Central coast, but inland. It took us 3 days, but we did get to 20 of 22 stores! The only 2 stores we were not able to get to was due to the tsunami evaluations, and traffic was TERRIBLE! It wasn't for lack of trying for us, it just came down to traffic, other than that, there were no other problems or issues with traffic, just with me reading a map, but that is a whole other story and yes I do know my left from right, just no N,S,E, or W! What a great way to see other shops and also see what is going on in the quilting community. I was very disappointed, there was hardly any embroidery! (Except for Thimble Creek/Concord, which is my go to store now, they have anything and everything for embroidery and the staff are out of this world!!) Matilda has already plotted our plan of attack for Quilt Rush 2011 next month, and I cannot wait. I am sure/hope Jackie and Mona can join us! I had Christmas Sew Along on Saturday, but was unable to sew since we were finishing up our shop hop, but I plan to sew this week, so I will catch up. Oh, if you are in the Manteca area, stop by Ladybug Quilts, www.ladybugquilts.com. I happen to be there last Thursday when they received a shipment of Moda fabric, Dragonflies, OMG, the fabric is so beautiful! Plus the gals down there are about the sweetest in the world, and their shop is just too cute! Enjoy your extra hour of sunlight, I know I will, hugs to all!

Friday Night Sew

This Friday is Friday Night Sew. I have just started to participate in this a couple of months ago, and yes, you really do get a lot done. It's nice to have it on the schedule and when you look to see what the others had done, there is a lot of inspiration. So come on, sign up, join the fun, you will not be disappointed! www.handmadebyheidi.blogger.com On the home front, I haven't been blogging too much, I have been so busy! Working in the yard, clearing closets and cabinets out, meeting friends for lunch/coffee, and catching up on some reading. Tomorrow, I am meeting up with 3 of my coworkers who were also laid off for lunch, and a afternoon of fun, window shopping! Have a great Tuesday!

Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning

That seems to be all I have been doing since I was laid off. I thought I would be relaxing and sewing and stitching, but no, I have been cleaning out the drawers, closets, cabinet, under beds, the garage, you name it, nothing is safe in my house thankfully, the trash man comes tomorrow, since there is no more room in the recycle can or trash can, and I am out of large trash bags for Goodwill. But, on the other hand, the house is clean and seems organized, which I like, so maybe now I can sew and stitch. I pulled weeds today before the next storm comes in tonight and tomorrow, and I feel so much better knowing things are organized, so I can relax, hopefully! I have some kits I have bought over the last 2 years that I can start on, I just need to decide which one! I am setting up a schedule for me, (I do so much better with a schedule), 1 day for working on UFO's, 1 day for cutting, 1 day for new projects, and 1 day for meeting friends for coffee/lunch/shop hop, and 1 day for errands/downtime for me. We'll see how that works, in the meantime, have a great week!