Wednesday, June 12, 2013

National Peanut Butter Cookie Day


Kathy called me this morning and asked why I hadn’t posted, after she asked me how I was feeling.  She said just because I wasn’t 100% gave me no excuse what so ever not to be posting on my blog…. So she thinks.  I really hate to whine, so I just haven’t been posting.  But since Kathy and others want to hear from me, let me share a memory with you all. 
Did you know today was National Peanut Butter Cookie Day?  Just that statement took me back to my childhood to a tiny two room schoolhouse in southern NJ.  Two teachers for five grades, kindergarten through fourth, and oh so many memories.  One special memory was the school cook.  Mrs. Ware was the grandmother of one of the students, although she probably had more grandchildren in the system and most had gone through that school.  She was the best school cook ever and I know she would have won awards for her cooking.  (IMHO that is.) 

And one of her specialties was… yep, peanut butter cookies.  They were huge, probably as big as my hand now, so gigantic to us little kids and they were oh so very yummy.  Crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.  It was an rare honor to get more than one cookie, and I know that more than one time I received that honor.  There were days that I needed a little something, and magically a cookie would appear to take away the drama of the day. 

I doubt I ever realized then how special that honor was, or how magically those cookies made me feel better.  And I doubt I never thanked her for being such a great cook and special friend, so I’ll send up my thanks now.  I hope all the angels are eating Mrs. Ware’s Peanut Butter Cookies today.
Here’s a recipe although I know it’s nowhere near as good as Mrs. Ware’s. 

Monday, June 03, 2013

Rainy Monday

We were up early to get John to the hospital for his procedure.  The ride home was horrible, so much rain I could hardly see out the window.  Then I had to go back and get him, and navigate around ponds in the road.  What a trip!

He’s fine, sleeping the anesthesia off.  I’m sure he’ll be starving when he wakes up, wonder what he’ll want to eat.  I’m a little hungry myself, sympathy hunger I guess, LOL!

Sunday, June 02, 2013

Doing better

Finally, for the first time since the end of April, I’m starting to feel almost myself again, almost.  I’m still very tired all the time, but the pain is pretty much tolerable now.  Not enough I can sew yet, but boy do I have a sewing itch. 

John on the other hand is not in a good mood at all… he’s prepping for that yucky procedure we all hate but have to do about every four or five years.  He’s not tolerating it well at all and I really feel bad for him.  I’m very thankful he’s scheduled for 8AM so his mystery will be over quickly tomorrow…. I hope…. history shows he doesn’t tolerate anesthetics well. 

As I said, I have a sewing itch, but there are two projects in the sewing room keeping me from starting anything new.  I will be back to it soon, perhaps even tomorrow, fingers crossed!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Update


Today I am revealing quilts I made in 2001 http://delawarequilts.com/MyQuilts/History/05.html  including my first batch of miniature quilts.  One of my favorite to make is Miniature Baskets, so I'm sharing that pattern with you now.
http://delawarequilts.com/Projects/Yearly/MiniatureBaskets.pdf

The next Mysteries For Relay project will start on June 29th at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MysteriesForRelay/

Other news, I have started my second Relay For Life of the year, a larger Relay in our region and one I have wanted to do for many years.  I’ve decided this is the year, so am starting fundraising all over again.  As long as there is cancer I will help raise money in the fight against it.  http://main.acsevents.org/goto/MargeGordon

PS... yes I am flaring so not doing much of anything, including posting on here.  I'm fighting it and appreciate all the concerning emails.  (And calls too!) 

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Explaining polymyalgia rheumatica

It is an all over pain for me, starting at the top of my body and sometimes going all the way through my toes.  It hurts to hold my head up, feels like there is a pile of concrete blocks stacked on top.  My shoulders feel like something is hanging on them, like a cement loaded back pack.  The tops of my arms feel like they are tied up and it hurts to even lift them a tiny little bit.  My legs feel like lead, or sometime like jelly. 

It’s not like I can take a Tylenol and the pain will go away.  Vicodin doesn’t take the pain away.  Not even sleep helps, not when you feel like you are sleeping under the mattress and box spring instead of on top.  Every little thing you do drains you of any energy you might have.  Every tiny little chore hurts.  How can you brush your teeth when you can’t life your arm to your mouth?  Sitting still in a chair reading a book hurts, like the chair is pressing on your body.  Of course it has to be a book on the computer so I can change the page with a click of the mouse because I can’t hold a real book in my hands. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymyalgia says “Polymyalgia rheumatica (which takes its name from the word "polymyalgia" which means "pain in many muscles" in Greek followed by the term "rheumatica") abbreviated as PMR, is a syndrome with pain or stiffness, usually in the neck, shoulders, and hips. The pain can be very sudden, or can occur gradually over a period. It may be caused by an inflammatory condition of blood vessels such as temporal arteritis.

Most PMR sufferers wake up in the morning with pain in their muscles; however, there have been cases in which the patient has developed the pain during the evenings. Patients who have polymyalgia rheumatica may also have temporal arteritis, a potentially dangerous inflammation of blood vessels in the face.

PMR is usually treated with courses of oral corticosteroids.   Most people need to continue the corticosteroid treatment for two to three years.  PMR usually goes away on its own in a year or two, but medications and self-care measures can improve the rate of recovery.

I have crossed out the parts that do not apply in my case.  I do not have temporal arteritis and I pray I never do.  And I have been fighting PMR for over three years now. 

Wikipedia goes on to sayThe cause of PMR is not well understood. The pain and stiffness result from the activity of inflammatory cells and proteins that are normally a part of the body's disease-fighting immune system, and the inflammatory activity seems to be concentrated in tissues surrounding the affected joints.  During this disorder, the white blood cells in the body attack the lining of the joints, causing inflammation.  Recent studies have found that inherited factors also play a role in the probability that an individual will develop polymyalgia rheumatica. Several theories have included viral stimulation of the immune system in genetically susceptible individuals.” 

 About treatment Wiki says Prednisone is the drug of choice for PMR and treatment duration is frequently greater than one year.  If the patient does not experience dramatic improvement after three days of 10–20 mg oral prednisone per day, the diagnosis should be reconsidered.” 

Note here, when I was diagnosed my family Doctor said I would feel 100% better after I took my first dose of prednisone, 80 mg.   He actually said I would feel like dancing… well I didn’t feel like dancing but I did feel significantly better. 

“Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen are ineffective in the initial treatment of PMR, but they may be used in conjunction with the maintenance dose of corticosteroid.”

Maintenance dose?  Well in my case that was a gradually decreasing dosage of prednisone daily for the last three years.  I went down and down and down until January 2012 when I went off the prednisone completely…. for two whole weeks.  Then it all started all over again, and I started taking the prednisone again.  I started at 10mg for a week, then down to 7 1/2mg, then 5, 4 1/2, 4, 3 1/2 and then it all came back again, all the pain and agony.  I knew for sure I was flaring when I slept 31 hours in a 48 hour period. 

I tried going up gradually the same way I came down, but that isn’t working.  And pain meds aren’t working either. 

Wiki says “Along with medical treatment, patients are encouraged to exercise and eat healthily. Exercise will help strengthen the weak muscles, and help to prevent weight gain.”  Someone tell me how you are supposed to exercise when sitting still hurts like hell?   

“A healthy diet will help to keep a strong immune system, and also help build strong muscles and bones.  Eat a diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat meat and dairy products. Avoid foods with high levels of refined sugars and salt (sodium).”

Fortunately, or is that unfortunately, the prednisone helps with the eating thing, giving you unsatisfiable cravings galore.  Although sometimes the prednisone doesn’t help at all and I have zero appetite. 

I love what the Mayo Clinic says about complications:
Symptoms of polymyalgia rheumatica can greatly affect a person's ability to perform everyday activities. The pain and stiffness may contribute to difficulties with the following tasks:
·         Getting out of bed, standing up from a chair or getting out of a car
·         Bathing, combing your hair or performing other tasks related to personal hygiene
·         Getting dressed or putting on a coat  (You should try putting on bra!)
These complications can affect a person's health, social interactions, physical activity, sleep and general well-being.

And that is how I am living my life recently.  I’ve been fighting this since April of 2010 and it seems like I have gotten nowhere.  I just want my life back.  And I want people to understand just because you can’t SEE my problem, doesn’t mean I don’t have one.  I am not faking it, I am not lazy and I am not mental.  I don’t want sympathy either, I just want understand, and for this PMR to go away.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Today's quilting tip

Bobbin thread is required if you want your blocks to stay together. 

And while you are changing your bobbin, might as well get rid of the dust bunnies that have multiplied under the bobbin casing.   Machine will run much smoother and quieter if you do.  Not that I ever have any dust bunnies in my bobbin case!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Today's quilting tip...

Don’t sneeze while cutting… just saying…  results will vary. 

Today's wonders

Today I wonder how could I live in an area where life can be wiped away in one quick swoop of the wind?  I thought about it a lot, and then saw this video.  Nothing to do with tornados but everything to do with life, and dying. 

Yes, I could live in fear of everyday something happening, or I could live life to its fullest the way I want to.  “You don’t have to find out you’re dying to start living” 

Monday, May 20, 2013

So it’s Monday..


So it’s Monday.. I got up and the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Checked email and facebook and then decided to start my day. Threw a load of laundry in washer and then jumped in the shower. While in there it got very dark, then darker when the power blinked for a minute, but came back on again. Got out of the shower and the sunny day was gone, raining. Checked email one more time after receiving a phone call about a retreat and had to get back on computer to answer her questions …. and found out that another friend has died from cancer. A 50 plus lady with a brand new grandbaby, and amazing talent as a quilter and artist too. She had a headache which wouldn’t go away, test showed a tumor on her brain and a week later she’s gone. Not such a beautiful day anymore even if the sun has come back out.
I hate cancer!

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Odds

I find the lottery amusing and sometimes ridiculously stupid too.  I mean come on... your chances of winning are 1 in 175,223,510 according to the Powerball web site.  I prefer smaller odds, like 1 in 55.  And if I had played my favorite numbers in this latest Powerball drawing I would have beat those odd, the 1 in 55 I mean… I would have had one number and would have gained a whole two bucks. 

I much prefer gambling with my fabrics.  Now there are some interesting odds… the chances that I’ll use up all my fabrics before I die, probably pretty close to the odds of winning the Powerball Jackpot.  Odds of ever finishing all my UFOs this year, I’d say the odds on that are about 1 in 12,244, but I’m just guessing…. 



Saturday, May 18, 2013

Why?

Why do I need to raise another $1000?  Because I want to make another sponsor donation to another Relay event.  I use my sale profits, and in many cases all of the money from my sales to donate to Relay For Life at a sponsor level.  I would like to make another sponsor donation, but have used up all my money, so I need to sell some quilts. 

And honestly, any offer will be considered.  Take a look at what I’m selling and save yourself the time and effort of making it yourself.  My prices are almost at the cost of the materials. 

Friday, May 17, 2013

Quilts For Sale


I need to raise another $1000 quickly, can you help?  Make me an offer on any quilt.
Thanks!!

More on Anonymous comments

This morning when I first opened email there were 23 anonymous comments to be moderated and in the hour and a half since I deleted them, 11 more have come in.  SO… in an effort to stop the robot that has latched on to my blog, I’m setting comments to registered users only for a short time. 

Now I know there are quite a few quilters who follow my blog who are anonymous commenters.  Most of you have started emailing your comments to me a long time ago anyway, and you know who you are…  But if you are anonymous or not a registered commenter, please send me an email.  My address is quiltersretreat  at  hotmail.com, just take out the spaces. 

Your comments ARE important to me, they let me know what I’m doing wrong, or right, or even just let me know someone is reading my words.  THANKS for all of your comments.
Now…  I promise to get back to quilting soon, and quilting posts too! 

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Uh Oh

I was just working with the comments trying to see if I could do anything else to discourage anonymous comments, and I accidently deleted the last 50 comments on my blog.  SO… if you made a comment, and there were quite a few in the last few days, I wasn’t trying to delete them, but they are gone.  I am so sorry. 

Comments ARE important to me, even the anonymous ones are good for a chuckle sometimes. 

Again, sorry if your comment disappeared, it was not intentional.  

PS, so far today I have received 43 anonymous comments... I may have to block them for a while and see if that will stop them. IF you are an anonymous commenter, send me an email. My email is quiltersretreat  @  hotmail.com, but take out the spaces.


Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Anonymous comments

Anyone else getting bombarded with anonymous comments recently?  I think some robot has posted fifty or more comments on my blog in the last three days. 
And that is why I have comments moderated… I can easily delete or reject anonymous and happily accept real comments!