September 26, 2009

Just a few more days to go….

If you’ve been following my blog you know all about what’s been going on with my mom.      Thankfully, by this time next weekend, she should be all settled into her new home and I can get back to “normal” (whatever that is).      This has been a really emotional time for everyone, not the least my mama, but she’s a trooper and is ready to bust out of the nursing home rehab and get settled in her new place.      Lots of changes, but they will be for the best.     I’m anxious to get back to some decorating projects around my house so I can share them with you all!    Just bear (or bare – whatever – take your choice!) with me and I’ll see ya’ll in a week or so!

September 21, 2009

Update on Mom

Mama has been amazing the past 11 days (the number of days she’s been in rehab).    They work with her 3 hours every morning building up her leg  and arm strength, her weakest areas.      So the days I’m off (Mondays and Fridays) I plan on meeting with her around lunchtime.

Today I had planned on meeting the lady (B.J.) who will be conducting the estate sale at mama’s house around 11:30.     She got there at 11:00 and we had such a good time talking that I didn’t realize it was 1:00 and I was supposed to meet mom for lunch!      I hurried over to the rehab facility which is literally 2 streets from mama’s house after stopping off to grab a quick sandwich.     I was quickly informed (by mama) that she was going to play bingo at 2:30 so unless I wanted to go to bingo with her, we could only visit for about an hour!     I wheeled her down to the “rec room” for bingo and decided I’d stay and play with her.    Mama has already made quite a few friends at the rehab place and there is a lady there from her church, too.     We all crowded around a table to play bingo and it was like a bunch of older “girls” in a sorority house!    She got tired of playing (and not winning) after three games so I took her back to her room and went home shortly myself to get our supper fixed.    

She’s also getting a little spoiled by my hubby who calls her and goes by Hardees to get her a Little Thick Burger (her favorite) with mayo and extra, extra onions!    She says he’s the only one who can get her hamburgers right!

I made a peach cobbler for dessert and we had to go to Winn Dixie for ice cream.    While we were there, mama called my hubby’s cell phone and said we needed to come up to her room right away.     We could see the rehab place from Winn Dixie so we hurried over….just to find out she and another “resident” had plotted and planned to be roommates!     They have a lot in common, both husbands were retired military men, they were at the same air force base many years ago, and they wanted to room together!       Mama wanted me to talk to the nursing supervisor and get her moved tonight….they promised they would.    Lord only knows what trouble those two will get into!

Now while I’m very happy she’s happy, I think once she moves to her new home, she’ll kick me to the curb!   

September 18, 2009

Guest Post At Southern Hospitality!

My good friend Rhoda at Southern Hospitality has featured some awesome bloggers this week while she’s having a little R&R at the beach.     I was very flattered and honored when she asked me to be her “guest” and take my place among these talented ladies.      Fortunately, I had a little project I was working on so I got busy completing it so I could share it on Rhoda’s blog as well as mine.

Several months ago we were at a local auction and this bench came up for bidding.     I had my eye on the bench all during the auction and was hoping it would be auctioned off late so a lot of competition would be gone and I might get it at a reasonable price.      It didn’t appear the auctioneer was going to run it so hubby went out to load up the stuff we did buy in his truck.     While he was gone, the bench suddenly came up for bid and lo and behold I was the proud owner of a somewhat rickety but darling (to me) bench for the sum of $25!     Imagine hubby’s surprise when he came back and found he had to rearrange everything he had just loaded to get this baby in his truck!

For quite some time it sat in my sunroom while I tried to figure out where I wanted to put it.    Could I rearrange some things in our bedroom and use it under the window?      What about putting it in the office/grandkids’ room?      There didn’t seem to be any place I could use it without making some significant changes in any given room.      One night it hit me….I’d put it on the porch and give the porch a new look.      It was after 10:00 at night when I had my brainstorm and I needed help moving it outside to paint.     I couldn’t believe it when the hubs got up and helped me move it to the porch (and he was in his BVD’s!….I kept all the porch lights off just in case any neighbors might be peeking outside).

Then came the question of what color to paint it.     Of course, black was my first choice but I sought out some advice from one of the most incredible ladies I know….Joni from Cote de texas….everyone knows Joni, right?     Joni had three suggestions:   white, black or possibly turquoise.    I painted three different areas in those colors, e-mailed pics to her and the unanimious decision was black (should have known).      

I wanted to put a pillow on the bench and since the burlap craze I’ve been wanting to try my hand at making one so here was my chance.    Got my pillow form, fleur de lis stencil and paint and spent one long Saturday night making my pillow but I’m very happy at how it turned out.  

Let’s take a look at some before, during and after shots:

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Here’s the three “samples” I tried out.   As you can see, the bench was in sad shape.     

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Painted out with the black.    I know it blends in with the shutters but there’s nothing I can do about that.

Now for the pillow……

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I put my pillow form on the burlap and cut out the size to fit, leaving room for seams.

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After cutting out the fabric and sewing the two long sides together, I popped the pillow form inside to be sure of the fit.    (Excuse the mess you see all around, it was my work zone!)

IMG_7359 After finding the center of  the front of my pillow, I taped down my stencil and painted it out

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IMG_7364 When I removed the stencil, I was a happy girl to see that none of the paint “bled” underneath.    I made sure I held the stencil down all over hoping it wouldn’t leak under and I’d have clean edges

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Here’s what it looked like all finished.    I decided not to sew the two ends together but tacked black ribbon on and tied into a loose bow

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 IMG_7379 My Kimberly Queen ferns do great on the porch…they are the only ferns I can keep alive!

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I love this view from the driveway looking through my crape myrtle tree.

And there you have it!     This was a fun project and I love how it turned out.     I just hope I remember to bring in the pillow when it rains!

September 12, 2009

Happy Birthday To Me!

Today is my birthday and some good things happened:

1.   Got my mom settled for her 20 day rehab and she’s doing great!

2.   Auburn won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  W-A-A-A-R Eagle!

3.   Supper and birthday cake at daughter’s with my babies and their babies.

Here’s the candle Jackson put on my cake….I love that boy!

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I also want to thank everyone who have commented on my mom’s recent situation and for all the prayers being sent our way.      How wonderful to be able to share our hearts and needs through blogging and know we can count on our sisters (and brothers) in Christ for love and support.     I can’t thank you all enough.

September 10, 2009

Amazing Grace

Just a quick post to let you all know what’s been going on in my life this week.   

My 89 year old mom is a very independent lady.    She has lived by herself since my dad passed away in 1980.   In the past few years she has had several falls at home and we always get “that call” in the middle of the night.     Thankfully, she’s never had any broken bones.     In the last year and a half, things have progressively gotten worse and we’ve had some real close calls with head injuries, ER visits, stitches, etc.     This past Friday night she fell and when my husband and I got there she had drug herself through the house trying to reach a phone to call us.   We found her halfway under her bed!   She has a life alert button but was apparently disoriented and did not buzz them first.     Then on Monday night about 1:00 a.m. we got another call.    When we got there, a dining room chair was knocked over, there was blood all down the hallway carpet, on the walls and on the door frames and she was on the floor in her office very confused.   We got her to the ER and she had to have 5 stitches in her right hand.     Her entire right side looked like she’d lost a battle with Mike Tyson!     However, x-rays revealed no broken bones.    When I got her home at 4:00 a.m. she passed out in my arms and sank to the floor.      I could go on and on but you get the picture.     We finally got her into her bed, hubby went to our house to sleep a little before going to work, one of my sisters came from out of  town to help me get her to her doctor but as things turned out, we had to call an ambulance to transport her back to the ER for admission.     Since then, they’ve run all kinds of tests, etc.     Bottom line is tomorrow she enters a 20 day rehab program and from there we will transition to an assisted living place.    She is at peace with that and ready to give up her home of over 40 years.

I say amazing grace because although this has been a very stressful week for all of us, the significant changes about to take place in her life have fallen into place very smoothly.      My mother is one of the most dedicated Christians I know.     She walks the walk and talks the talk.    I firmly believe her faithfulness in her daily walk with God  has kept her safe even though these falls could have had a very different outcome.    The people we have come in contact with, i.e. realtors, assisted living personnel, etc. have been so helpful and understanding of our situation.     Now that the time has come for her to make her move out of her home, God’s love has helped guide us to the right people to help her through this difficult time.    

We’ve got a long way to go and I have had a lot of emotional ups and downs the last few days but I know like the beautiful song says:  “His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me”.   

Please keep her and our family in your prayers.   

September 7, 2009

Light & Easy Salad

We try to eat light a couple of times a week but it’s really hard to come up with ideas we both like that are tasty and easy.     One of the meals I “cooked up” recently was a wedge salad.       Here’s what I used:

Lettace, tomatos, onions, bacon bits, grated cheddar cheese, blue cheese, homemade ranch dressing

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All I did was cut up a head of lettace into wedges then we each built our salad to suit our tastes.    I used EVERYTHING on mine and topped it off with homemade ranch dressing.   

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The only bad thing is after we ate our salads, we went out for a strawberry milkshake!    We’re s-o-o-o bad!!!!!

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September 1, 2009

Why Me Lord?

How many times do we say this?    It’s usually because I’m having a pity party and I can hang with the best of them when I’m feeling sorry for myself or my situation.     But last night I read something on my Facebook page that really affected me.     Later, sitting in the bathtub (does that happen to you?) the words to this song came to me.

WHY ME LORD?

Why me Lord, what have I ever done to deserve even one, of the pleasures I’ve known.

Tell me Lord, what did I ever do, that was worth love from you, or the kindness you’ve shown.

Lord help me Jesus, I’ve wasted it so, help me Jesus, I know what I am, now that I know, that I’ve needed you so, help me Jesus, my soul’s in your hand.

Tell me Lord, if you think there’s a way that I can repay all I’ve taken from you.   Maybe Lord, I can show someone else, what I’ve been through myself, on my way back to you.

Lord help me Jesus, I’ve wasted it so help me Jesus, I know what I am.   Now that I know that I’ve needed you so help me Jesus, my soul’s in your hand.

A plea for prayers came from a fellow blogger who I met last summer at her little vintage shop in Sylacauga, Alabama.   Her friend’s cancer is not responding to treatment and Hospice is being called in today.    Apparently the lady is at peace with her prognosis but wants to see her grandchild due in October.   

Life is a vapor.    It’s over in an instant.   But so many times we moan and groan our way through life feeling sorry for ourselves, wasting our days away.   I wonder if I found out some devastating health news for myself, how would I spend my remaining days?  Instead of asking “Why Me Lord” in such a negative way, I really should be asking what have I ever done to deserve the love of God.   

Let’s keep Lena Taylor in our prayers.    Thank you.

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