Thank You, Blogger Friends!!!

Zip and I would like to express our heart-felt thanks to all of you for your concern over his recent health problems.  He's doing MUCH better!

Zip read every one of your kind comments.  He sincerely thanks all of you.
He also would like to thank you for the excellent suggestions and encouragement for quitting smoking.

He has cut way back on the caffeine by mixing regular coffee with two thirds decaf and hasn't had any negative side effects.  He's not smoking, at least not that I have SEEN.  I have to TRUST that he will do what is best for his health and not be a NAG!  His family doctor seems to think he has the motivation to quit without medication. 

With just a few days of changes, his pulse is already skipping fewer beats.  The doctor has asked that he wear a 24-hour heart monitor tomorrow to rule out any other problems.

My stress relief during all of this has been working on my rug.  (NOT eating!!!)
The blue really shows up bright in the picture!  I may have to tone it down a bit.

I usually work inside at the kitchen table where I THINK the light is good.  But does it ever make a difference when I take the piece outside and see it in natural light!  I know my eyesight isn't the greatest any more, but I can't believe it makes that much difference in the way I see the color.

I've fallen behind in leaving comments this week.  I am sorry!!!
I have been READING your blogs and hope to spend some time going back and commenting later today.

Thanks for stopping by!
I sincerely appreciate all of my Blogger Friends!!!

The Big Scare

On Sunday evening Zip went fishing.  Because he usually fishes till dark, he came home about 10 p.m.
We were sitting around talking and I noticed him looking at the inside of his elbow.  I asked what he was doing and he said 'I never saw it do this before'.  He has thin arms with very big veins and you can see his pulse in one of the vessels.  The pulse was beating
    *** *** ** *** ******** *** ***!
Lots of skipped heartbeats.  I checked his pulse and it was the same thing.  I mentally go into panic mode but try not to show it.

I check the internet and don't like what I see. Too much caffeine or nicotine (guilty as sin!), heart disease, congestive heart failure, heart attack.  NOT GOOD!

So I ask if he wants to go to the ER and he says let's wait till morning and call the doctor's office.  We go to bed and I cannot sleep.  I keep checking to see of he's OK.

In the morning he is still sleeping and I call the doc.  The nurse consults and comes back with 'the doctor says go to the ER'.  I call Brad and Kami and they are spazzed too.

Zip gets up, pulse is the same, and showers, shaves and gets dressed.  He says that he isn't in any kind of distress, no weakness, dizziness, or chest pain.  I am WORRIED SICK!

After having done an EKG, bloodwork including cardiac enzymes and electrolytes, and a chest xray, the doctor says he's OK to go but mentions that he should switch to decaf coffee and try to quit smoking.
We stopped on the way home and got a big can of decaf.  The quitting smoking is going to be the rough one.

Brad and Kami now are on a campaign to keep us on the straight and narrow healthwise.  They also decided to come down once a week and do some of the chores around the house so us old folks don't get so stressed and tired.
They bought us a cell phone.  I've been thinking that it would be a good idea, but hadn't wanted to make that technological next step.  I'm glad they did it!
They win the award for being The Most Caring Kids of the Year!  Thank you guys!!!  We love you!!!

                                                    Brad and Kami - Christmas two years ago
Today Zip seems fine.  He's drinking the decaf and I don't think he's had a smoke.  This evening his pulse is steadier. 

Tomorrow we both have doctor's appointments.  His is a follow up from the ER visit.  I have some questions for sure, like how can such an irregular heartbeat be 'OK' and healthy?  But what do I know???
I'm having a sebaceous cyst removed from my scalp.  Good grief!  I have fatty things growing on my scalp.  I just can't seem to escape the fat!

We are just very thankful that the Old Guy is going to be OK!  We want our dear husband and dad to be around for many more years.

 We love you!!!

Color Planning Chaos

Disorderly Conduct.
Yep, guilty as charged!

As usual I changed my mind about which project to work on next.  I had planned to take the 'spaghetti and meatballs' rug to Zip's bluegrass workshop, but when I got up Saturday morning I realized that I didn't have adequate amounts of many colors to even begin a larger rug.  So I decided instead to take my small 'Amish couple' mat.  Surely in my messy stash of wool I would have some suitable colors.

The problem with having hooked for twenty years is that you end up with a lot of small leftover pieces from every project you ever hooked.  Mine are all jumbled together in a plastic bin, with hardly a piece larger than 1/4 yard. 

I don't usually buy wool ahead of time just because it's a pretty piece.  It's NEVER what I need at the moment!  I have a good stash of light neutrals that I dye as necessary.

So I dig through the mess and pull out the possibilities and lay them around me on the table.

Then they become piles of Not Right, Maybe, and It's a Keeper.
Meanwhile the 'hooker's little helpers' move in.

Izzy is lounging and daydreaming in wooly splendour.

Deiter sits on Mommy's hoop because the nice round shape conveniently fits his body.

Mom will just have to sit and drink coffee and watch the snow fall.
I was able to make a little progress.  I'm still not sure of the background.  It may be a little too dark.

Yesterday I ventured out of the house to go to the Blue and Gray hooking meeting.  A lot of people showed up.  Everyone must be getting cabin fever and needed a day out in spite of the frigid weather.

I took some pictures but they aren't the best.  The sooner I got finished with the photos, the sooner I could TALK!

Our featured hooker for this month was Peg V.  This is only a small sampling of her many lovely hooked projects.

And this is her first rug.  She was good right from the start!

There were many other people's rugs on display.  Our meeting last month was cancelled due to the weather, so there were lots of new rugs being finished.

Here is Marion's completed peacock rug.

Doris is working on her Adam and Eve rug.  She usually hooks pictorials in a fine cut, but this is proof of her versatility.  Here she is using a wide cut to create this delightful primitive.

Isn't Adam cute!

It was an enjoyable meeting, with lots of conversation, sharing of ideas, and wonderful rugs on display.
I'm glad I decided to go.

Several of you asked about Zip's bluegrass workshop on Saturday.
There was a good turnout in spite of the fact that the morning started out with snow coming down.  The activities got started a little late, but everyone made up for it with their enthusiasm.

Most of the class.

I sat in the back and hooked on my mat and talked with a few other 'bluegrass widows'.  The music was enjoyable.  The lectures were interesting even though I don't know beans about music.

Here's Zip!

Almost ready for Nashville, do you think???

Life Goes On...

It's been quite a while since I've posted.  Seems like nothing exciting has happened lately, at least nothing worth writing about.  First we had the hot weather.  Sitting at home in front of the fans is not news to write home about!  And now we are having a few days of cooler weather, which is a great relief, but still we haven't done anything fun.  It must be the end of the summer rut.

Zip is continuing with his guitar lessons but is now down to only one day per week instead of three.  Maybe that's where so much of our time goes.  He is specializing in bluegrass under a new instructor.  Much of his day is spent sitting on the front porch pickin' and grinnin'.

A lot of my time has been spent sewing uniforms for Brad and Kami.  I'm averaging one tailored wool woman's jacket, skirt and hat per week.  Their business keeps growing.  I thought I was 'retired'!?!?

I have missed several weeks of hook-ins because I was having trouble deciding what pattern to do next.  The Toad rug seemed to have taken up all my creative energy.  But this past week I decided that I must move on, no matter what.  So I've decided to do my Thanksgiving pattern.  Fall is fast approaching!  I think it's possible to get it done before the end of November.

It will be done in  mostly browns, oranges, and terra cotta with some green.  I may not even have to do a lot of dying.  I ran out of printer ink so will have to get to Staples before I can enlarge and put it on backing.  Will have to get it done before Monday so I have a project to work on at the Blue and Gray hook-in.  (Thank you Marian for emailing me and letting me know that the Cumberland Valley hook-in is Monday, not the B and G.  I am so lost sometimes!)

I needed a break from sewing today so I decided to make pizzelles.  They are not something that's common in this area.  They are very popular in western Pa where Linda Keller (Grant Street Woolworks) grew up.  Her Mother, who passed away a few months ago, used to make these.  Linda kindly gave me her recipe.

The batter is made of flour, sugar, eggs, oil and flavoring.  Today I made almond flavored.

We are lucky in Shippensburg to have an old-fashioned hardware store that still sells unusual and hard-to-find items.  Pague and Fegan has been a family-owned store for I think, over a hundred years.  I found my pizzelle iron there.  As you can see, it looks a lot like a waffle iron.

You just spoon the batter in.

And in a few minutes you have thin crispy light golden cookies.

This recipe makes a BIG batch.  So after two hours and over a hundred cookies.....

It's time to rest and have a nice cup of tea.

The kitties continue to grow and provide us with entertainment.  I don't have any good new pictures of the little guys, but the big ones need some attention too.

Tipper and Deiter usually don't spend time close together.  They are usually like two kids in the back seat of the car on a long road trip.  Mom, he touched my tail!  Swat!!!  She's giving me mean looks!  Smack!  Hisssss!!!  Then they both run off to separate areas of the room.  But here they are, tolerating each other fairly well.

Tippy only looks a little bit grumpy!  And half an hour later they are still together, with Deiter's head against Tippy's thigh.  Could they be forming a pact to stick together against the foolishness of little kittens???