Busy as a bee!

So I did get to Quilts At The Creek.  The quilts were magnificent and I have to say I love them in the "old world" setting however, I was very disappointed with the numbers and I truly wish I had made the effort to get a few of mine into the show.  I will certainly consider it for next year.  I was also a little disappointed with the Merchant's Mall.  Having participated last year, I know the turnout was not the greatest but it was only the first year.  Had I still had the store, I certainly would have been interested in participating again.  

If you did not make it to the show I would like you to know that it was fabulous to see everyone and I have to thank Gillian for her stubbornness and perseverance.  She insisted that we go and that she actually push me in a wheelchair.  She has a fractured wrist so this was truly quite a feat, but we managed nicely and I did get a very decent walk out of the outing as well.

It is a fact that I am a Fabriholic, so needless to say I did a little bit of damage at the Merchants' Mall.  I have always loved Kaffe Fassett fabrics so when I saw that ‎ Hyggeligt was there (www.hyggeligt.ca) I was in heaven.....

In my defense, I only bought 12 - 1/2 yards!  Do I have a plan?  Yes!  I need to plan an outing to London, ON to get some shot cottons to go with these gorgeous fabrics, then I will decide what the quilt will be.  There is something percolating, but like a good cup of coffee, it may take awhile.

After the show we stopped at Metro to do some much needed grocery shopping and to be honest, that knocked me flat for a good 24 hours.  My energy levels are very low and when I "exert" myself, I really have to pay the piper.  I spent Sunday doing a minimal amount of cleaning and organizing and the rest of the time in bed.

Yesterday there was another outing.  Liz picked me up at 7:00 P.M. and off we went to Costco (they have a scooter which I gratefully use) and then off to have a CT Scan at Sunnybrook where I was served my gallon of "Pina Coladas" (not) and then subjected to lying flat on my back for the scan.  This is not a position I am ever comfortable in and I think between that and the lovely liquid I was done in for today......

Didn't stop me though!  When I am determined to do something, even if it takes me twice or three times as long, I do it!  I was determined to make my Sour Cream Coffee Cake for dessert tonight.  It took easily 3 times longer than usual to prepare but it looks like it was worth the effort.....

I can't wait to see the "girls" - Cathie and Gail are coming down for a visit and Liz may also come by (I hope so)!  I'm so excited, it's been ages since I've seen them.  Cathie may even be bringing Charlie (Daniel's doggie) and I always love a good cuddle.....

Will take some pics.....it is, after all, an event for me....

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann

I was determined......

....to post a blog today!  (yesterday)  Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan.  I finally had to break down and download Google Chrome in order for anything to work. Trust me, this is not a "new" computer so I have been hesitant about certain upgrades but it did the trick and that's really all that counts.

Had my second treatment on the 31st and as you can see I made it to the other side. Feeling relatively good some days, others not so much but I think better than last time. You know the old saying "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger"!  You have no idea how I've come to hate that saying over the past few years.  I tend to look up to the heavens every once in a while and ask - "So, am I strong enough yet????"  At any rate - one day at a time is really how I'm getting through it.

The Farmer's Wife - 64 Blocks done!  Woohoo!!!!  I am now prepping the next five or ten or more....depends on the neuropathy in my fingers whether or not I can continue doing hand piecing.  Here are the last 3 I finished in the past couple of weeks....

 Block # 42 - Fruit Basket - 29 Pieces

 Block # 45 - Grape Basket - 29 Pieces

Block # 49 - Honeycomb - 24 Pieces

Not a lot done but it is progressing.  I found them a little tedious this time and I look around and see everything else that needs to be done.  Jonathan says I can't die because my bucket list is too long.....ha, ha!

Gillian came by a couple of weeks ago to take me on an outing (the week before my last chemo) and of course, she could not sit still so there we were on the patio and she started a major clean-up effort.  I should have taken a photo of the before but I really wasn't thinking....  Now I have this absolutely gorgeous place to sit and enjoy....

My view from over the hedge is the driveway and a lovely little park

This is the view as you walk in from outside - it's like having a front door

This is the view from the other side by the door

I wish I could sit out there all day but unfortunately I am sun sensitive with the chemo so my quiet times on the porch are reserved for the evenings.  It really is relaxing and I would love to have some plants out there but my thumb is not green.  My next door neighbour has that one covered, she has plastic flowers all over the place and little twinkly lights on her hedge....very pretty actually, if you don't know they are plastic.

I have been systematically going through all of the bags as I am looking for something in particular which I have yet to come across.  I was thinking I should make a list of all the projects I need to finish and at what stage they are.  (Which is why Jonathan says me bucket list is so long...)  Truthfully, I think that might be a bit scary.  At a quick glance I think that I average about 1 project per week since the store opened in 2006!!!!  It was November so you can only count maybe 2 projects for 2006 but seriously, do the math, pretty scary....  I need to come up with a different method!  Something that is not so overwhelming.  

At the moment I really can't set up the quilting area properly because of the boxes so there we are again.  The priority is getting those boxes sorted out.....

On that note, I think I will go plan a "box" strategy.

Have a great day everyone!

Jo-Ann