We are coming up on the 9 year anniversary of the start of our amazing journey together. Brenda made this collage of us with our book when it first came out. Amazingly you can still find it in book stores.
We are doing posts for the next 12 days on where are they now? So be sure to check in to the Twelve Blog.
Mr C and I are taking off for a little trip to Central Oregon, staying in a B & B in Bend to celebrate our 52 years of wedded bliss.
Last week, we flew to Syracuse, NY so that I could attend my 60th high school reunion and touch base with my family. This photo was taken on our first night there. My sister lives on Little York Lake and we took their pontoon boat out for a sunset cruise.
The next day, I met up with 6 of my bff’s from high school for a cruise on the mail boat on Skaneatlas Lake. It was a small boat with tables and chairs so that we could have our lunch. It was fun to watch the delivery of mail to cottages along the lake. The girls at this camp come out and do a dance for their mail.
After the boat cruise, my sister and I headed to Auburn so that I could check out the SDA exhibit, Transgressing Traditions, at the Schweinfurth Art Center. I took photos of some of my favorite pieces. The exhibit consisted of very avant garde art pieces. I loved looking at each one and marveling at the creativity that went into the making of them.
This piece was not so innovative as it was beautiful, layers of printing by Elizabeth Odiorne. Here is a detail:
This piece by Diane Siebels was copiously hand stitched. I forgot to write down the title.
Here is a detail:
This wonderful piece is by Amy Meisner, called Inheritance. She used abandoned needlepoint, vintage doilies, cotton velvet, silk organza, wool. Click any image to see larger.
I have no idea who did this whimsical piece with pins, needles and safety pins.
I am a huge fan of Judith Content’s shibori kimonos so I had to have my photo taken with it.
This piece by Georgia Roswell is made from strips of discarded textiles. See the detail for a better idea of the construction.
I loved the graphic quality of this piece. It is all computer generated and printed on polyester and quilted!! By Russ Little.
This piece is so lovely and so organic. It is by Andrea Huffman and consists of variety of textiles and is hand stitched.
There is so much more to see in this exhibit. Click Here for a link to a video of the show.
Continuing with my trip! On Saturday, my little high school class had a picnic. There were 36 in my class in a very rural town in upstate New York. Here are the 17 of us who attended.
On Sunday, my sister and brother-in-law hosted a family gathering. Jim made us a fantastic feast of clams, lobster tail, shrimp, kielbasa, potatoes and corn. So delicious.
We got home on Monday but I have been busy catching up.
I finished all the hand-stitching on this. I need some more hand work cause I am stuck sitting around here waiting.
Today was the day when I was supposed to get a new knee. Due to a miscommunication amongst my medical team, it did not happen. It has not been rescheduled and I am not very happy.
Let me back up and explain what happened. When I went for my pre-surgery check up, the Dr. I saw thought I should be evaluated for sleep apnea. This was a surprise to me because I have never had what I thought were the symptoms. I don’t fall asleep during the day and usually can keep going late into the evening. I got set up for the home sleep test. I failed it. It was recommended that I go to the overnight sleep lab for a CPAP titration. My team bent over backwards to get all my appointments done so that I could make today’s surgery date. I went to the pulmonary lab and did all sorts of breathing stuff in a glass box and I had blood drawn from an artery in my wrist.
The called me last week-end and said they had a cancellation in the sleep center and could I come in. Which I did. Here is the lovely backdrop to my room that night.
I was fitted with a CPAP mask and took an ambien and went to sleep. They said I did very well and got lots of rem sleep. I moved on, meeting with my new sleep/respiration doctor and we talked about why I needed the CPAP at the hospital when I would be knocked out with opiate drugs for pain. She said my pulmonary breathing tests were great. Next day I met with my surgeon. We went over last minute things. I continued to do things to prepare for surgery like getting a manicure.
And, then, I got a call from the surgery scheduler telling me my surgery was canceled. I was a mess. I cried and I think I might have screamed at her. I am not sure. It was a blur. I couldn’t understand what happened. With Kaiser, you can email your dr so I emailed my surgeon and asked for more clarification. He called me and said that my respiratory dr had suggested it be canceled because I had not had time to complete all the sleep apnea things. I said that I had. He said it was out of his hands at that point. I then emailed my sleep/respiratory dr. She said she had not done that. Well, it turns out that I had another dr, who I never saw, who was responsible for deciding what I needed to have done. He did not know that every thing had been rushed through for me. By the time, my dr talked to him, it was too late to get back on the surgery schedule.
On a positive not, the CPAP and I are getting along really well. It is very high tech with a modem and blue tooth. It sends data to the sleep center and I can download the data to an app on my iPhone so I can see how well I am doing. I used to get up 3 or 4 times during the night. Last night, I slept until 6:30- woo hoo. I think I am beginning to feel different when I wake up. I have less over all muscle pain. My only problem is lower back spasms from my sedentary life.
I am waiting for a call for my new date. I think they are trying to figure out how they can fit me in sooner than the normal 5 week wait. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
I had a nice mother’s day yesterday. I made brunch for Stephanie and her family. She brought me these beautiful poppies.
Lisa and Clay were not here because they are in New York for book signing gigs for Lisa’s new book The Joy of Swimming. She has interviewed swimmers and done her typical illustration of all things swimming. If you are a swimmer or know one, you should check it out.
We had a really nice Easter week-end and I am feeling pretty good, right now. I am managing my pain quite well, sleeping all night and looking forward to May and a new knee. I am also feeling some creative mojo creeping into my brain. I stopped in at my studio and picked up these fabrics last week. I want to make my SAQA 12 x 12 donation quilt using the fabrics I bought from Elin Noble mixed with some of my hand dyes. I have a preliminary layout:
I also have a great idea for a larger quilt that I would like to get done before my surgery. The plan I have would allow me to do a lot of the work while sitting at my work table here at home, in my ergonomic chair. Standing for even short periods is very difficult for me.
Yesterday was a great family day. We had Easter brunch at Stephanie’s. She made her traditional cinnamon rolls shaped like a lamb, quiche, salad and bacon. Then the whole family showed up here for dinner. I planned a menu that would not require me to be on my feet a lot. I made roasted salmon, potatoes and asparagus. Clay made a salad. Since Steph’s birthday is later this week, we decided to celebrate yesterday. I made her a special cake with all her favorite flavors in it – a butternut squash spice cake.
It was Paige’s 4th birthday on Saturday and we were sorry to miss spending it with her. I stole this photo from her mom’s instagram feed. Isn’t she adorable? I did get to facetime with her and sing happy birthday.
Her present isn’t quite done. I have the back of the Pooh sweater done and am starting the front.
So, life goes on here and it is not too bad.
My dyeing workspace in the studio is covered with newspapers. I love the look of the splattered dye on the newsprint.
This week-end, I started working on dyeing the rainbow.
Here are my quarter yards marinating in dye and soda ash.
Here is a closeup of the purple. I love it. I can’t wait to wash these out and iron them.
I think I might have to redo some of the pieces which used orange in the recipe. My orange seems to be a lot stronger that my other dyes and has been overpowering. I will wait to see what I get before I jump in.
It was a busy week-end as it was Mr C’s birthday on Friday. We went out to dinner with Steph, Jack, and M & M on Friday night. On Saturday, we went to Lisa’s for dinner. Clay’s father and brother are here from Atlanta to go skiing.
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