Do you ever get an idea and....

Just can't decide on where to go with it.
I have an idea in my head about making a quilted panel for the top of the window in my room. I am thinking of using a pattern for a table runner. Just can't decide on a pattern. Plus I don't want to pay big $$$ for a pattern that I will use 1 time. I have done a little quilting, but not an expert by any means. The window is a double so it is wide. 63 inches. Any ideas anyone?
 It is very warm here today. Almost 80 degrees. Very warm for the end of Sept. But after the winter, spring and summer we had this year it shouldn't surprise me. The flowers and bushes all did well. Some even exceptionally well. But lets not talk about the veggies. Except to say that the harvest was a lot less then usual! But some years are just better/worse then others. Just the way it goes. I told Jeff not to judge this years seeds, etc as the weather was just so weird. We never seemed to get the right temps, conditions at the right time. It was a truely mixed up summer. It is that time of year again. Time to start cutting back plants. Looking a little ragged out there. I never look forward to that as it seems like it makes winter seem so close. But that is the way of life. Everything has it's season and luckily every season has some beauty. Might have to look harder in winter....but it is there.
My mom is doing well yet. No bad pain from the cancer yet. Tires easier, but that can also be part of her age. I tease her that she is 85 and not 80 anymore. (she was very active at 80). She is terminal. So we never know when things will change. Day by day is how we have to think of this. But it sure doesn't make it any easier. Yes, we have had her here for a lot of years and we are very lucky. ( alot of people I know have lost parents at younger ages. My husband lost his mom when she was 55.)
Not much else going on. I have been reading everyones posts. Just haven't done a lot of commenting. So I am sorry about that. But some days I just have the energy to read. Hugs, Teresa
Sorry no pictures today. They just don't seem to want to load. :(

Oneida Indian Pow Wow

This was the only way that I can get pictures on here.    Sorry picture overload. I had to copy the URL for the whole albumn. Hugs, Teresa



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Having trouble uploading pictures!

I really wanted to show you some of the pictures I took at the Pow Wow a couple of weekends ago. But am not having any luck at all. I tried uploading right from Picassa but got an error message. Also tried one at a time on here but not much more luck. Guess I will try again another time.

I was able to get this one in. It is one of my favorites! I love the look of pride on her face. Plus the happiness of the girls.

Been gone so long

       
It has been so long since I had posted anything. The last 7 months have been so busy. Mom is done with radiation now. They can't do anything else. The tumor has shrunk way down, but she wasn't able to handle chemo so it is not completely gone. But we are hoping that it will be slow to grow back. The PET scan looked good. No cancer anywhere else. She is gaining strength every day and is able to get out more now. But of course the best laid plans....she had an bladder infection so that has wiped her out the last few days. Not sure if it was the infection, anti-b's or not eating good. Being sick from the anti-b's. She was just taken off her daytime tube feedings, but has put herself back on once a day just to make sure she gets enough to eat. She is still on 12 hours over night. Hopefully now that she is off the anti-b's she will be able to start eating by mouth again without getting sick. Not that she can eat much by mouth. The scar tissue/tumor is still blocking part of the esphogus tube. But she does get some food past it. Hopefully she will get back to where she was a week ago. She was able to finally go places. Anyway it has been a long 7 months, but I would not trade my time with her for anything. We don't know how long she will be around so we all are making the most of it. I always thought that Hospice was for when you were dying.  But she is on it now. They will help monitor her and get anything she needs. When we saw the Dr the last time she told mom to get her affairs in order. Contact Hospice. etc. The Dr hopes that the cancer grows back slowly. But better to get everything taken care of now so that we aren't scrambling around at the last minute. This was so hard to hear. I went to work that night and had to go home after an hour and a half as I started crying and couldn't stop. Stress built up and it had to come out somehow. Funny how you think you are handling things so well, and then... Mom just turned 85 on thursday. Only one person has said something about her age. I know she is old, but... Anyway I hope this all makes sense.
The collage is pictures I took of the moon in the last week. Hugs, Teresa

Sandhill cranes and an update

My sister is a seemstress and the first thing she saw when I posted this picture is that this crane has a sewing needle for a beak!! lol

Their walk just cracks me up

This is Lucky. Some how he survived the bitter cold and deep snows that we had this winter.

 This is the lap quilt I made for my mom. Not perfect. You can see that by the top row. But she was so happy with it. I took these pictures at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Never imagining that she would be diagnosed with cancer just a few weeks later. They are pictures of my siblings and their families. Of course mom is in a few of them. The sayings in each corner were found on the web. I wish I would have taken the picture before I washed it. It wasn't as wrinkled! It turned out pretty good for someone who doesn't sew much. Nothing like sewing something for a seemstress! But she said that it looked perfect to her. It does look much better in person.
Some how I lost half of my post. so I will have to type it up again.
Update on mom
She is happy with the news she got yesterday The tumor is statrting to shrink. Not a lot, but anything is great. So that is good news.But when she got home she got a call from her sister. Mom's brother in law passed away. Big blessing for him. But not easy for us of course. But he is in peace now.
Mom did pretty good so far this week. They stopped the chenmo for now. They felt that combined with the radiation that it was too hard on her. She will probably get a couple of treatments after radiation is done. She was having a big problem with fluids as she had very bad diarrhea for awhile. But now we have a medication to put in her feeding tube when she has problems. So right now she is scheduled to have fluids only 2 days a week. Hopefully she won't have any trouble this weekend and have to go in. The last three weekends she has either been having to go in to the clinic for fluids or like last friday ending up in ER. Hopefully she will have a good weekend now. I mean Sat. and Sundays are her only days off from going in. Would be nice if she didn't have to see the hospital for a couple of days. :)
She fell Sunday night while I was there. She slipped off her tub seat. I had to pulll her out of the tub. I thought i was going to have to call my husband. But I was able to get her out. I don't know if that is why she is afraid to be alone now. We were staying most of the day and all night. But now she is afraid to be alone at all. So we are scheduling everyone so that she is never alone. Luckily I have 7 siblings!!! I don't know how anyone does this alone!! It sure has been a roller coaster ride for emotions. Tears come easily, but I am better then I was. I think knowing her treatment scheduled helped. The forst 2 months were full of tests and not knowing what was going to happen next. Kind of like 2 steps forward and 3 steps back.
We are really amazed at the the strength that mom has shown. She is much stronger then me. How can I be so strong when I am around her and be weepy (at times) when I am at work or home? Never know when that is going to happen.
She still has a couple of weeks of radiation. But yesterdays news has really helped. Knowing that it is working.
Please continue to pray for our family. Thank you. Hugs, Teresa



Eagles and up-date on my mom.

This eagle was hoping for a easy lunch. The golden eyed ducks would dive for fish and the eagles and sea gulls would just wait for their chance to take the fish away.

 

Immature eagle. There were a few different ages of eagles there.

I have been waiting to get a good shot of one in flight.

Not sure if he was going after the duck or the fish that the duck had caught.

There were a lot of sea gulls also flying around.

The golden eyed ducks. They were the busy workers there. The eagles and gulls were just waiting for a free meal. This is the first time I have ever been there. It was fun to watch the antics of the Eagles. Winneconnie is only about an hour away. The skies were so blue today that I just had to get out there with my camera. So Jeff and I jumped in the car and took a day trip. It was VERY cold though. There was 9 eagles in flight, on the ice and a couple in the trees. My battery was low and my back-up was dead. I am usually very aware of my batteries as I hate to get somewhere and not be able to take pictures. But the battery had enough juice to take enough pictures for me to get some I liked. Whew! It was a beautiful day!
Up-date on my mom.
She is scheduled to have surgery on tues. She is having a port put in, plus a feeding tube. They will check the stomach over more to see if there is any cancer that they are unaware of. But the Drs feels that she is a good canidate, even at 84 as her lungs, heart, liver and kidneys are in good shape. If she didn't do anything she would have about 6 months and starve to death. Being treated with chemo and radiation will, hopefully, at her age and good health (except for the cancer) about 18 months. Of course no one can promise that. But she says that she has too much to live for. So she is ready to fight. We didn't press her on it as it is her choice and whatever she would have decided we were ready to support her. This past month has been so hard. Every time we thought it was a go another test was ordered. But now a plan is in place. Not saying that it will be easier of course (actually it may be even harder), but at least there is a plan now. I don't think that I have ever been in tears so much. I held it together when around her. But other places not so much. Even at work. Luckily most of my job isn't around people!!! But my co-workers have seen me in tears. I never know when that will happen. But they said that this is normal. Some have gone through it themselves. I was starting to wonder if it was or if I was just being a wuss. What I cry about the most is knowing that my mom has to go through this. Seeing her in so much pain, mentally and physically. I can't even imagine what she is going through. Any way. If you want to pray for her I would apprieciate it. Her name is Beata. Don't worry everyone slaughters her name!! Thank you. Hugs, Teresa

Snow, moon and prayer request

The moon was HUGE tonight! Here it is trying to hide behind the branches.

This one was two nights ago. I love the different shades of grey and black with the white moon.

This was last night at midnight. We had a 4 inch snow fall and everything was so bright. The trees were gorgeous in the moon light.

After shoveling today. We have had 53 inches of snow so far this winter. We expect to get another 4-6 inches tomorrow. I don't know where we will go with more!

Even the hive was sporting a new coating of snow today. But at least we had very blue skies!!!

The kids love all the new snow. We shovel paths for them. But Summer the english cocker (in back) likes to blaze her own also. They love to chase eachother and take turns chasing and being chased.

This is what I woke up to this morning. Gorgeous colors.



Somehow Blogger always seems to put one picture out of order. This is another one of the yard after shoveling today.

Sorry I haven't been blogging much or at all, the last month. My mom found out that she has cancer. She has one more test this wed and then will find out what her options are. I have been a wreak. Good around her, but when I am at home or sometimes at work I break down. I can't even imagine what she is going through! We are trying to keep her spirits up. But it seems like every time we think we know something she is sent for another test. I know that all these tests are important though. Wed. she has another test, then sees the radiologist oncologist. Friday she sees the oncologist. So hopefully we will know more then. My prayer request is that you keep our family and ESPECIALLY HER in your prayers.  Thank you so much. Hugs, Teresa