Meeting the neighbors

So I met some of my new neighbors today. Not really the way I wanted to meet them mind you, but alls well that ends well. We have a little boy in our neighborhood We'll call "D". I had heard rumors of trouble connected with him but I like to judge people for myself rather than take someone else's word. Unfortunately some of the stuff proved true today. A bunch of the kids were out at the park today. The boys were playing football, the girls watching the boys, I suspect. In any
case "D" let loose with some rude comments about me, lewd comments about Julz, proceeded to give everyone "the finger" then threw the football and hit Nathaniel in the back of the head! (have I mentioned that "D" is 8?) Nathaniel came home practically in tears and you have never seen me bolt out of the house so fast! "D", by this time, was no longer at the park but hiding out at another mutual friends house so I went down there and called the little boy out! Let me tell you, we had a "come to Jesus" talk if there ever was one and then it was time to "meet the parents." Fortunately they were very nice people and I did start off by saying I was sorry that we had to meet under these circumstances and proceeded to tell them what had happened. They were stunned although not in disbelief cause I'm sure this wasn't a first time. They couldn't have been more apologetic and I believe it'll be a while before "D" sees the light of day again and hopefully, maybe he has learned a lesson here ~ Don't mess with me or mine!!! Of course in all the excitement I darted out of the house without my cell phone or leaving a note where I was. Left the door unlocked and Julianne at the neighbors house. In the mean time Richard shows up at home. Door is unlocked, my sewing machine is on. Cell phone on the dining room table and we are no where to be found. My car is still in the driveway and after a half an hour he is starting to worry. He said if I hadn't shown up when I did he was gonna start a "house to house" hunt. Silly me thought Julianne would come home and let him know what was going on when she saw his car in the driveway. I thought he handled the whole situation well cause I would have started calling police and hospitals immediately. Help ~ I think my family has been kidnapped!!! I do have a tendency to over react.

Speaking of new neighbors, I saw this one down at the lake. It's a really pretty spoonbill. He didn't let me get too close but close enough to take this...
Also came out the door the other day to find a 3' black snake making his way across the sidewalk. Wasn't fast enough to get a picture of him but I believe it was a harmless black racer and I was really proud of myself for not panicking. As soon as he saw me he slithered into the bushes and back out the other side and hopefully somewhere far far away. That was my day, how was yours?

ps. Look here for something fun (and shamelessly self promoting) coming in October!

I apologize

I know it's been waaay too long since I've posted ~ I've been meaning to, really. I can't really even blame it on the Bell's ~ well maybe just a little. It's still an adjustment but I am adjusting. I started physical therapy for my face on Friday. They attach these little pads to my face and then turn the machine voltage up high enough to get my face twitching.  He says he's taking it easy on me now but soon he'll turn it up higher so my whole face starts to contort ~ GREAT! He is also doing a type of acupressure. It's not with needles but looks more like a pen with a sharp point. It sends voltage directly into where ever the pen is placed. He does that in several places on my face and also several places on my toes, apparently where the pressure points for your face are located. The good news is that his patients are always recovered or well on their way within a month. He has also given me some exercises for my arm and we'll work on that next week. So, for the next month, I will see him 3x a week and hopefully we'll get some great results. I'm still not ready to show everyone the other picture of my face ~ Waay too scary. I posted this one cause you really can't see the damage to my face and the other thing you can't see is the HUGE grey roots in my hair. I am going to Tampa next weekend to get my hair done by the wonderful Diana and to deliver the last couple of customer quilts I have been working on. Also gonna meet with my friend Lori (hey girl) for the day and do something fun!

My mother in law Charlotte (or Ginky as she is known in this house) came up on Thursday. I think she just wanted to see for herself that I am okay. How sweet is that! We had a great time. We met Richard for lunch here. If you are ever in the area, you "have to" go and I'll be happy to go too. Wonderful menu. I had a tropical chicken salad on a bed of fresh fruit. It was super yummy. Charlotte had a crab sandwich and said it was great too. It's also got a sushi bar and from what I understand it's a hoppin night spot as well. Rich and Jeremy went here one night while Jeremy was here on business before the kids and I moved up. I also let her drive my new car since she is going to be in the market for another vehicle soon and let's just say I think we may have to make another trip to Space Coast Honda soon!

Nathaniel got his interim grades this week and it wasn't a pretty picture. Let's just say he and all games video have parted ways until his grades go back up. Now mind you he is a very bright and gifted child but without a doubt the most unorganized and distracted young man I have ever known.  His teacher this year is tough (But fair) and the first day something is turned in late it's automatically a grade lower and after that it's a zero. This spells real trouble for our boy but it's a lesson he has to learn. I have also been "nominated" as his home room parent which I believe will be a good thing. I'll be able to chat with his teacher on a weekly basis and hopefully that'll help keep him on task. One of the things I will be doing on a weekly basis with his class is going with them to the science lab which should be fun. Look for pictures on this in the future.

Julianne's grades were good (not great, but good). Not sure if it's the school or the teachers or both but this year at school seems much tougher (tougher = better) for both of them.  She definitely has a style all her own, this child. This is what she wore to bed the other night ~ go figure!

Not to leave out the "other child" in the house ~ here is hairy toed Sadie. She will be going to see the groomer this week. I have to tell you, I did not put this shirt on her (well I may have helped a bit to straighten it out) but she jumped up on the couch and crawled under/into it. So spoiled.
Be sure to check out Jen's Blog and or Jeremy's Blog for a big announcement coming in the next day or two and that's all I'm gonna say about that for now. Well that's been my week. I promise to post more often. So how was your day?

How Time Flies

It's been exactly 6 months today since Jen & Jeremy tied the knot. In some ways it seems like it was just yesterday but in so many other ways it seems like it was ages ago, so much has happened since. They are both now living in Anniston, AL ~ both working on their Master's degrees. They are happy and healthy and doing well ~ loving being college students again. Rich and the kids and I are going up middle of next month to see them and I can't wait. She and I have been apart before but it seems different this time. She is a married woman starting on her own life, and I couldn't be any prouder. She is her own person ~ strong & beautiful. She can do whatever she sets her mind to. And then there is Jeremy! I couldn't have hand picked a better husband for her. They compliment each other in so many ways. I know she is safe in his arms and where ever they are together, they are home. It's everything a parent wishes for.
So ~ Happy 6 month anniversary you two. I love you both.

Things here are trying to return to what passes for normal these days. I am adjusting to my limitations ~ trying not to let it slow me down. Richard has been a sweetheart through all of it. So very concerned with my physical and mental comfort. I can't believe he and I will be married 20 yrs this year. Guess I got a winner too. He spent the weekend putting together furniture pieces, still trying to get the house together. Tonight I think he is going to try to set up my new computer. I'm very excited about that. Now if I could just get my desk cleaned off.

Before I forget ~ Happy birthday to Sue. She was my very first friend that Richard brought into my life. She called me a slut and we've been friends ever since. She and her family live in Jacksonville which is only about 2 1/2 hrs from us yet seems life gets so busy we haven't been able to get together since we moved here. I think that with all that life throws at us, we need to make the time to see our friends and our families whenever possible. The house may stay messy, and not everything gets done but in the end, it's the people you love that make the memories you carry with you always. I know I need to change that in my life and I hope you all will do the same. Make an effort to spend time with those that are special to you and when distance makes it harder, at least make time for a nice long phone conversation. Find out what's happening in their lives, let them know you are thinking of them. That's what is important. So, really, How was your day? I'd love to know.

My dance with Bell's Palsy

Happy Sunday! Just wanted you to know that I am doing much better today. Half my face is still paralyzed but I am learning to deal with it. I wear an eye patch now at times to help my eye rest which allows me to have some time on the computer ~ I was going through withdrawal y'all! I thought I'd bring you up to speed on what was happening with me. The first indication that something was wrong came on Tuesday night (the day of the MRI!). I felt a dull pain behind my right ear, like I might be getting an ear ache but not quite. Wednesday morning the pain was still there as was a bit of a headache on the same side and my tongue felt like it had a wool sock on it. I even commented to Richard when we met for lunch that day that I had already brushed my teeth several times that morning. We had pizza for dinner that night and I remember asking him if he thought there was something wrong with the pizza, it didn't taste like anything ~ he said it must be me. I knew there was something wrong that night ~ I couldn't sleep ~ but I just didn't know what was wrong, nothing I could really put my finger on.
Richard let me sleep in the next morning but when I did get up and got on the computer to post a new blog, read my mail, etc., I noticed my right eye was burning and tearing. My face just didn't feel right. I got up to look in the mirror and was a little freaked out ~ the whole side of my face was drooping. Trying not to panic I went back on the computer to see if I could figure out what was wrong with me and came up with Bell's Palsy. Had a 3:00 PM doctor's appointment already that day to read the results of the MRI. Nothing torn, but a compression in the shoulder for which I will be back at physical therapy next week most likely.
The doctor was a little apprehensive and ordered a CT scan immediately which they do in the same office and THANK GOD was nowhere near as traumatic as the MRI. I will tell you that the dye they inject does some very weird things. You can actually feel it as it flows through your body, spreading a heat though you (especially down in "female land") but I digress. He was also of the opinion (without my saying it) that it was Bell's Palsy but because I could still move my right eyebrow he had to make sure there was nothing else wrong because in Bell's Palsy the whole side of your face should be affected and mine wasn't (yet). As it turns out I just caught it quickly and the symptoms were still coming on. The good news is, in doing a CT scan they actually found a brain ~ imagine that!!! Who would have thought?!
Most of Friday I stayed in bed watching the Lifetime Movie Network ~ YIKES! You know you are in trouble then. Most of Friday and Saturday the symptoms developed but I think they have peaked now. My right eye doesn't blink so I have to be careful and keep putting artificial tears in. They eye patch looks so ridiculous I'm thinking of making my own. I figure if I have to wear it, it should at least match my outfit. Richard says I should embroider one that says "What are you looking at?!" I'm on a very strict regimen of pills 5 times a day and I can only eat small bites at a time (hey, maybe this is the diet I need!) because I don't have full control of my mouth. I have to drink thru a straw and brushing my teeth is pretty comical cause I can't swish and rinse right! The funniest part though was hearing Nathaniel tell Angie "Yeah, Mom looks like Jimmy Buffett." I looked at Richard ~ "Jimmy Buffett??". Then Nathaniel says "No, wait, Jimmy Kimmel. Yeah, Jimmy Kimmel with a hangover." Now I ask you does it get any better than that!!! Leave it to my son!
I let Richard take a picture of my last night but I really don't know that I'm ready to "share" that just yet. I'm not crazy about pictures of myself to begin with and this is a doozy! What I will share with you is a picture taken about 3 years ago. It's me and Nancy Zeiman. For those of you who don't know who that is, she is a world famous seamstress (a rock star in the sewing world) who also has Bell's Palsy. She got it as a child and is one of the very few who never recovered. It was her shyness due to the disease that started her sewing and now she has the longest running sewing show on cable TV along with countless books, videos, patterns and her own website/store.
I'm still not comfortable talking much ~ B's and P's are especially hard to say but I'm not going to let this get me down. Life continues and considering half of my face is paralyzed this is the best diagnosis I could hope for ~ it could be so many worse things. So, I will try not to bore you with all the details but thought you might want an update. I really appreciate all the good wishes you have been sending my way ~ Hey, this even got my dad to start reading my posts!

Also wanted to send a happy birthday to my friend Karen. I've known Karen and her sister Becky since we moved down the street from them when I was 4. Their house was my second home and we've continued to stay in touch over the years and for that I am grateful ~ so hope you have a great day Babbie!

Well this has been a longer post than I had planned so I will go rest my eye now and put my patch back on ~ ARGHHH Matey! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Just so you know...

I thought I should tell you all that I probably won't be posting for a few days. Yesterday I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy. If you would like to know more about this condition click here.
Basically, the right half of my face is paralyzed for the most part causing trouble speaking, some problems with my sight as well as hearing. It is, for the most part, temporary. Endurance and recovery times vary quite a bit. All in all I am doing well though. Tired for the most part ~ not much up for talking and it hurts my eye to read or type on the computer at any length so I will take a short break but I will be back, I promise with loads of goofy stories and adventures. Until then.. I'll miss you all ~ and Richard will check up on my mail and comments so leave me some ~ Love ya'll
Barb

Here's to Angie

Today is Angie's 28th birthday. For those of you who don't know, Angie is our Nathaniel's birth mom ~ but that's just a small part of who she is in our lives. We met an 18 y/o Angie on June 28th 1997. I'm not sure who was more nervous, her or us. I mean really what do you say to someone who is giving you the most precious gift in the world, their child? Thank you just doesn't cut it. Those first two days of meeting her in the hospital are a bit blurry these days but what I do remember about Angie is that I "knew" she was meant to be in our lives and I think she knew it too. It was supposed to be a closed adoption and she was never to know who we were and we were never to know who she was but because that feeling between us was so strong her mom Judy managed to slip me her business card inside a present they left for Nathaniel ~ they rest, as they say, is history. We did send letters and pictures back and forth thru the agency like we were supposed to but it took an awfully long time and so Richard found Judy on the computer and the relationship really began. First we spoke on line, many times and for many hours and then when we went up to bring Jen to college for the first time (in a city about a half an hour from Angie) we took Nathaniel to see her and her family. It really confirmed everything we already knew ~ she was a part of our family.

I don't know if this is true of every birth mother but Angie loved and still loves that little boy with all her heart. While she was pregnant with him she took such good care of him and even named him( Nathaniel it is!). She made him the most precious "life book" with stories and pictures of his birth family and a letter you will never be able to read without tears. What she did in giving us this child was the most unselfish thing anyone has ever done. To love someone so much that you are willing to sacrifice yourself so they can have something better than you can give him yourself. I honestly don't know that I could be that strong ~ but she is. In the end though, she still has him in her life and he loves her and can tell her so anytime he wants or she needs! He even picked out his own card for her birthday today (the rest of us had to get our own). As for us, we got so much more than Nathaniel out of all of this. We love Angie with all our hearts and she is and will always be a very special part of our family. It does my heart good to see her and Nathaniel together and to know that I could give her that gift. After all she has given us, it's the least we can do and I always tell people that you never know where you will find love in your life and we got a very unexpected dose from our Angel Angie.

Happy Birthday Darlin' ~ We love you.

Ahoy Maties

Today (according to someone) it's "National Talk Like A Pirate Day." That's it... that's all I've got for today!






ARGHH!!! How was your day Matey?

So here is our day at Universal Studios.

I know the first photo doesn't have the kids in it but damn it the guy was just too buff NOT to take his photo.








We sprang for lunch at one of the "ritzier" places in the park...

The weather was beautiful. Not too hot but warm enough to play in the misters at the park.

The park was not crowded at all. We pretty much walked onto all the attractions, some of them twice!

We even made some new friends along the way...


The kids behaved so well ~ didn't even whine when it was time to go home.

That was our day at Universal Studios ~ How was your day?

A Most Sincere Apology to my Mother in law

Okay, so today was the MRI on my shoulder so they can maybe figure out why its still hurting (yes, even after the cortisone shot). While talking to my MIL about it last week she wished me luck and told me of her MRI adventures. She is somewhat claustrophobic (I think we all have a bit of it in us) and said it was one of the worst things she has ever had to do. I very flippantly said "Oh, I'll just probably sleep through the whole thing." No big deal, right ~ WRONG!

I really went there with no worries at all... I get to do nothing but lay there for 20 minutes ~ yes please, can I get two? The guy doing my MRI was very nice (not too bad on the eyes either) and explained how it all worked, put pillows under my head, my arm, my knees for comfort. I was even okay when they strapped me down (go ahead, insert your own dirty thoughts here) but the moment the table went into the tube I started to panic. I now know how sausage feels being put into casing. It packs you in there like a sardine and then I made the mistake of opening my eyes! Yikes. What I actually said at that point was "please bring me back out ~ please" but inside my head went more like OH MY F...ING GOD ~ GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE NOW!"
Fortunately he did just that and I felt like a complete idiot but I said "I'm sorry ~ I don't think I can do this". Actually I think I said that several times all the while knowing I was being completely irrational but also knowing there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. There was no way I'd be able to be enclosed like that for 20 minutes. He did say we could reschedule and there were drugs they could give me so that I really could sleep thru the whole thing but even the knowledge that I'd still be in that tube was really freaking me out. Now you also must know that this is what the call an "open" MRI with the widest tube and the shortest tunnel ~ still, no help there. But the technician was a very nice guy and actually was listening when I said "it wouldn't be so bad if I could see out the other side" and he got an idea. He took the pillow out from under my head which solved two problems. One being that my face was now a good 6" away from the inside of the tube as opposed to 2" and secondly I could now (by looking back) see outside the tunnel. PHEW. It was still not a happy place but with a little help from the tech I managed to get thru it but I can promise you I will never see another one of those hospital shows and watch someone get an MRI without breaking out in a cold sweat!
Kudos to those of you, and I know several, who actually do sleep thru these things and don't understand the problem. I thought I was one of you but never again will I mock anyone's irrational fears ~ they are very real to me now. I'm actually worried about going to sleep tonight for fear I'll dream myself back in there. That was my day ~ so how was yours? Got any phobias you want to talk about? Go ahead, I dare you... click the "comments" button and let's hear them. It won't help them go away but it'll make me feel a whole lot better!

p.s. Here's the tech (American Indian I believe with a long black pony tail down his back ~ yum) and the "coffin of doom." ~ and yes, once I regained my composure I was a dork enough to ask him to pose for me ~ but hey, he offered to do it shirtless (that photo is in my "private collection").

My own "Quilt in a Day"

I recently saw a quilt that I fell in love with (Big shock, I know).. but I loved it for it's simplicity. The whole body is made from just one striped fabric, cut and turned so that it looks woven. I've wanted to make one out of every stripe I've seen since then. Well I finally succumbed when I found a trio of coordinating fabrics that included a stripe. It's not the colors I would normally use but there was just something irresistable about them so here goes...

It still needs to be quilted but not bad for a day's work. I already know how I'm going to quilt it so that's half that battle. I'll give you a hint, it involves some really cool buttons I found! Looks like I'm ready for fall, doesn't it? Oh and here's Nathaniel checking it out!
And then back to the gameboy he goes....
So, How was your day?

CONGRATULATIONS!

I just found out that my Alex is pregnant again! Tyler is going to have a baby brother in January and I'm very excited for all of them. So, CONGRATULATIONS! Guess I better get started on another quilt!

I miss my cousins!

I really do miss my cousins. My mom's family had 7 children which made for a total of 17 of us in the "Granger Cousin Clan." Now mind you, I did not grow up with my cousins. They all lived in New York or New Jersey while I was in the fun and sun capital of Miami and Miami Beach (not a bad place to gown up in back then). I did see them on rare occasions and actually spent several summers with my Aunt Honey. So I guess growing up I was closest to her daughter Linda who was also the closest in age to me.



There was also the time that three of my aunts with children in tow, showed up for my parents wedding in a VW bus that they "stole" from my Uncle. It was a crazy time with 16 people in a tiny little house... and did I mention that they showed up in the middle of the night in the middle of a thunderstorm and had all their luggage stored up on the roof. Everything was SOAKED.

I did get to see a few of them when on the spur of the moment I went with my sister Joey to see them when Jen was just a baby....This is Jimmy and George (don't ask me which is which) although I do talk to Jimmy more than any of the other cousins now. He keeps me up to date on all the latest happenings. But my point is, I didn't really grow up with them and I felt I was missing something ~ that there was a part of my life not quite whole.

When my Uncle Frank and Uncle George passed away a few years ago I went back. It was really the first time I had seen them all in so many years. Some of them had been so young they really didn't remember me although they had grown up hearing stories of "Crazy Aunt Dottie" aka my mom. And while it was a really sad occasion (losing 2 uncles in 2 days) it was a wonderful experience for me. For a little while "I" was one of the cousins and was treated like I had grown up with them. They accepted me as one of their own ~ I was loved, I was picked on and I was surrounded by my "clan." It was a glorious feeling.
The reason I am missing them at this moment is last night I went to pick up a pizza at Brooklyn Pizza and Pasta ~ a family owned restaurant here and what a family it was. Loud, crazy but definitely a family with all the cousins working together. It made me miss what could have been.

I have to say I have reconnected with some of my cousins ~ Here's Richard and my cousin Nate a couple of Halloweens ago. There is a Granger Cousin Clan vacation planned for next summer in Aruba. I'm still trying to figure out how we can get there without the two little ones. In the mean time ~ I'll be missing them all along with my Aunts and Uncles, those still here and those that are gone.

So this post is dedicated to family ~ not that first tier that you see and speak to on a regular basis... the "second string" which is so very important as well. So, how was your day?

It makes me feel so young...

Well yesterday I went to a "seminar" at the local Bernina Dealer/Quilt Shop. I think I liked it better when I showed up a day early and there was no one else there! I am not really picky about the ages of my friends (I mean really ~ look at all of you!). I have always had friends of all ages and I certainly don't have anything against people older than me but dear God the people here are ANCIENT!
It's really sad that I was the youngest person in the place... I actually brought the average age down to, oh I don't know... ALIVE. So I'm squeezed in between these two woman and I smile pleasantly and start to look through the information packet/magazine etc. I've been given.
The woman to my right starts to do the same and proceeds to dump her cup of coffee all over the two of us. Now I know this could have happened to anyone but it was her frailty that caused the catastrophe and her inability to be able to do anything about it.
Then there was the woman to my left who was even older and covered in ace bandages on her arms etc...  I really do understand that as people age their skin gets very thin and they bruise and cut very easily. Well this woman had a "sore" on her arm that had to be 6" in diameter and I guess she had bumped it against something on the way in to the room and it literally exploded. I look over and there is black scab hanging on for dear life and blood everywhere! One of the ladies that worked there offered to get her a band aid but a) the "sore" was too large and b) the bandage would have wounded her skin worse so she assured the worker that she was fine and proceeded to bleed everywhere all the while blotting herself with paper towels. In the mean time she's passing informational papers to me and the "Bloodborne Pathogens" classes I was forced to take at the YMCA comes flooding back to me and I really don't want to handle this stuff with my bare hands and now the sight of all the blood, gore and bloody paper towels all over the floor is making me very queasy.
I did stay for "most" of the lecture which would have been interesting if I had planned on spending a good $6000 for a new sewing machine and a few thousand more in software and accessories for this machine ~ YIKES.

Anyway.. I hightailed it out of there smelling like formaldehyde and so for now I've decided that I absolutely DO NOT want to teach any quilting classes at the local quilt shops! What I did do though was sign up for a miniature quilt of the month ~ very very beachy and I'm very excited about it. It's all done in hand-dyed batik fabrics with beading and such. Here's a sneak peak at the patterns and I promise to show mine to you as I get them done.

I also got this book ~  I guess I was in a very tropical mood yesterday.

Speaking of yesterday (Sept 13th), it would have been our Kibbles' birthday. She was such a great dog. For those of you who never got to meet her she was dumb as a post but with a heart and a butt as big as the sky. We have so many wonderful stories of her and although it's been over 10 years we still miss her.

Today I abandoned everything else and made a quilt top ~ but will post about that maybe tomorrow. Tonight I must get some sleep. My wonderful mother-in-law has not been feeling well the last couple of days so think good healing thoughts for her please. Other than that we are all doing well ~ staying young and alive! So, how was your day?

Just another day in paradise

Well things are finally starting to calm down around here after the long car fiasco. Kids are actually in bed at their bedtime as opposed to being at the car dealership till 9:00 and then trying to grab some dinner. Nathaniel about fell asleep in his mac and cheese at Chili's last night ~ poor baby.

Tonight we went over to the kids school to meet his teacher (we missed Juliannes last night) and things went well. I like his teacher and I think she likes him which is so very important for him to do well. We did some more school clothes shopping for him as his shorts are all getting waaay too short for him and he's at the age where it now matters. He got a pair of the skater type plaid shorts and I have to say, they look really good on him ~ but then what doesn't. Julianne has always been a little clothes horse and fun to dress but boys aren't always so much fun till now!

After the school function we ate dinner at a little Asian place. Julianne and I had sweet & sour chicken and Nathaniel had some tempura shrimp ! Richard went with the sushi. Smoked eel and avacado as well as some tuna. I'm glad he enjoys it! EEK!

Before I forget I want to say a belated Happy Birthday to Adam (or as he's known in our house, Frances ~ don't ask)! His birthday was yesterday but I just didn't have it in me to blog before going to bed last night or at 4:00 am when I couldn't sleep and wrote about the car. so... HAPPY BIRTHDAY! In case you don't know Adam, he is my Alex's husband and father to little TYLER!

Please check out my daughter Jen's blog. She's been writing a series of articles about a wonderful family and specifically the son, Greg. He has been fighting cancer almost all his life and this week lost the battle. She has become quite close to the family and will be flying down this weekend to attend the memorial service. She is the only reporter his mom will let write the story. Her posts and articles on him are quite well done and very uplifting. I'd love to hear what you think. You can get to her by clicking the link on the right that says "Jen's Blog".

I finally got my cortisone shot yesterday and it really didn't hurt much at all. Dr. Steve spayed it with some numbing stuff till it was good and frozen. My arm feels a lot better but not completely without pain yet. I will have an MRI done next week as he thinks there is more to it than a torn rotator cuff. I'll keep you updated.

Sadie got to go to the doctor too yesterday. We got really lucky in finding Suntree Animal clinic. Everyone from the girls at the front desk to the Veterinarian herself were wonderful with Sadie. You can tell these people really love animals. She does have an ear infection and is in desperate need of a teeth cleaning which we will probably do next week. She also got her anal glands expressed which I'm sure was more than you needed to know. I think later this week we will go to the groomers cause she is badly in need of a trim.



I'm very excited because Richard ordered my new computer yesterday and it should be here next week. I'll be able to have all my music and embroidery files and photos organized and in one place! I've got simple needs but I want what I want when I want it. Is that too much to ask??

Did a lot of running around today (in my new car) which started with me showing up at one of the local quilt shops at 10:00 this morning for a seminar that is actually at 10:00 TOMORROW morning! Way to go me! But since I was there I manage to pick up a really nice batik fabric as Richard has asked for more pillow cases for our bed and I thought this fabric would make nice ones.

Hopefully I'll get them done tomorrow and yes, Jen, I know I owe you a set of pillow cases too! I also went over to another quilt shop in Cocoa to pick up some fabric for my friend Mary Catherine and of course couldn't resist some for myself too (Just don't tell Richard). Also hit Target and got some much needed cabinets for the master bathroom which has no drawers so our stuff is all over the place. I'm hoping to get that all organized this week too. All in all it's been a pretty busy day for me ~ So again I ask.... HOW WAS YOUR DAY?

Say goodbye to Goldilocks

I know I haven't posted in quite some time and I promise to remedy that tomorrow (well, later today really) but I can't sleep and I believe it's because our poor Goldilocks deserves her own farewell post so here it goes...
I think most of you out there know our darling "Goldilocks" ~ our Gold colored Mercury Villager ~ so named by the kids on the day we got her and forevermore known as. She has been a great vehicle for us. She made more trips from North Carolina to Florida and now Florida to North Carolina than I care to remember and been eaten in, spilled in, peed in (you know who you are out there!), neglected, been the death of more love bugs than any other vehicle and still has the scars to prove it! I guess her greatest feat was the trip from NC (where we lived at the time) over to Clarksville to see Paul and Shannon, then up to Indiana to see "they who shall not be named" (don't ya love Harry Potter?), then down through Nashville (Ricardo always wanted to see it) to Alabama to see my sisters and their families and then down to Florida in time for my mother-in-law's birthday (Don't worry Ginky, I won't say which one!), catch up with some old friends (hey Ralph) and family and then back to North Carolina. A great 2 week trip if there ever was one.
Well Goldilocks has been taken out to the "Farm" where she can spend the rest of her days with lots of other cars running free and happy. If you've been following my car saga of late you know there have been troubles and the troubles continued... lets see where we left off... oh yes, finding a new mechanic...
Since she's still under the Tires Plus warranty I find another Tires Plus located 20 minutes away in Merritt Island and take her there to be checked out and tell them my oh so very long tale of Whoa and they promise to "get to the bottom of the situation and make everything right." RIGHT ~ NOT!!! What they do is proceed (but in a timely manor) to give me yet another $800 list of new things wrong that ABSOLUTELY need to get fixed. Now I'm no mechanical genius but I say these things didn't happen in the last week so why wasn't I told about these with my first $800 list of what I consider the not so important stuff that goes under the heading of "It if ain't broke don't fix it" like my battery that I had no problem with but they said read dead and the hoses that weren't really broken but "needed" to be replaced. Anyway I told the mechanic that if I had been given a list of $1600 that needed to be fixed (oh yeah and an oil leak I MUST KEEP AN EYE ON but is not included in this list I wouldn't not have chosen to fix the inconsequential stuff and I'm not putting another $800 in this car so please close her back up (without fixing her). Maybe it's time for her to visit "the farm". I guess they weren't really pleased with my decision because on her way home she got even worse. She's overheating again (although they say she has fluid and no leak) and now starting to miss gears and stall. At this point I'm panicking and calling Richard and freaking out so he sends me on an Internet mission when I get home to look at cars which I proceed to do for the next 3 hours. Y'all there are lots of cars out there and since I'm not really a "car" person it's hard to narrow it down but I do make a decision that our first stop is going to be at Space Coast Honda where I've now had two really nice conversations with a young salesman named Justin Bishop. I actually went there to look at Elements but after many long hours with two starving and tired children and two hungry and exhausted adults and a very patient salesman with all of us, so many negotiations but not a lot of pressure for which I am so thankful for, a few test drives ~ I am the proud and happy owner of a silver Honda CR-V (not yet named - Buggy suggested Sylvia - but already loved)

So what is to become of our fair "Goldilocks"? She was a good car and I don't blame all this nastiness on her. She was a victim in all of this. We traded her in but her story doesn't end there. On the way to bring her to the dealership (the day after getting the new car) the poor baby died on I-95. Richard was able to revive her twice and get her off the highway but we ended up having her towed into the dealership, saving what was left of her dignity.

I believe she was again molested by the mechanics because I wouldn't let them perform yet more acts of aggression on her (and for which someone somewhere is going to be getting an earful from me in the morning) ~ in other words they did something to her to cause her to be in worse shape in hopes that I'd HAVE TO get her fixed. The dealership and specifically Jason was great about the whole thing when I called and explained the situation. The trade in was still honored for which I am grateful and if I was still of child bearing years I'd name my next child after him but thank GOD I am not and I think I'll leave that up to him (he's got one due in Nov!) . I guess all's well that ends well. We'll miss Goldilocks ~ the kids are sad to see her go. It's the only car they remember me having.

Richard and I are happy with the new car (I let him drive us home tonight cause I am such a good wife ~ that along with the two "drinks" I had at dinner tonight so it seemed like a good idea). I am looking forward to lots of new adventures and great stories with her. Thus ends the story of Goldilocks and the Alburys. So, how was your day?