Wednesday, July 15, 2009

The Good...The Bad...The Ugly




Since my last posting a lot has happened around here. I can hear you all saying, "What else is new?" Trust me, life is always exciting around here. First the good news.




Our July 4th celebration was wonderful. We all had a great time with good food, fun games and warm friendships. We look forward to the event each year and this year everything was perfect....not too hot either.







Smoking hot!!!!





First sparkler.










Fun......






Fun......









Double fisted fun.











The bad ............





My mom had to return to the hospital ICU when she developed a pulmonary embolism ( blood clots in the lungs). It was touch and go for awhile, but she seems to be doing much better now. The doctor was not very optimistic when the ambulance arrived, but once again, she has rallied and is now in a regular room and eager to get home. I am fairly certain that the extended bedrest of two months contributed to the condition but there were no other options to finally close the septic hip. She continues to inspire and amaze us all.









The really ugly......







The night before last our beloved dog of 16 years was attacked and killed by what they suspect was a mountain lion. Needless to say, we are devastated at loosing him. He was one of those dogs that was a perfect puppy and a delight for all sixteen years. He was just a "pound puppy" and seemed eternally grateful that we had rescued him. He was a good sized dog at around 50-60 pounds and it frightens me to think there is an animal out there who could take him down so easily and in our own fenced back yard. The Department of Fish and Game tell us that this is the fourth pet kill in recent months and they, too, are very concerned.







In other news, the peaches and apricots have kept me busy with canning for the last few weeks. It seems as though they always ripen at the "wrong" time as there is so much else to do. It, however, is well worth it come winter and those fresh pies, cobblers, jams and fruits are begging to remind you of warm summer days.







Our #3 son, his wife and their recently graduated son are enjoying the week in Hawaii before our grandson heads off to college. They have a sitter for the other nine children half of the week and then we will have them until they get back on Sunday. We are both looking forward to the stay.






Many evenings lately have been spent at the baseball field as we enjoyed watching our grandson play on the All Star team. The park is beautiful and the weather has been so pleasant. The park happens to be where many of the old western movies were filmed. It is also about a mile from the old Spahn Ranch where Charles Man*son and his family were living forty years ago. As kids we used to ride horses up on the ranch and always laughed at the weird "hippie" people living there. Little did we know.......











Another memory from forty years ago this week was the Americans walking on the moon. I can still remember it so clearly. We were living in Pensacola and were at the naval base for a BBQ. We all rushed to be home in time to watch the moon walk. Did any of us ever look at the moon the same way again? It was so exciting. It did seem like it was forever from when they landed to when they opened the hatch to descend the stairs. I wonder if they will ever return to the moon again. I wonder what the flag looks like after all these years. Hmmmm.





There has not been much time for sewing lately, but I did manage to sew all of my nine patch blocks together. That's about all I have done in my sewing room the last few weeks. Sigh!








I did finally get the pictures from our anniversary party. They are on a disk and I just have not had a chance to upload them onto the computer yet. I will post them when I get a chance. It seems like the party was ages ago.
























19 comments:

  1. Oh, my, so sorry to hear about your mom's hospital stay. She certainly has had more than her share to deal with. I think her loving family is what has helped her bounce back from all these episodes.

    I would be very nervous to think a mountain lion was prowling around my house at night! Do you live in a sparsely inhabited area? Guess all little kids, dogs and cats are kept indoors when it starts to get dark. So scary.

    Love your nine patch. I'm slow but getting close!!! Just a few patches to finish. I see you did yours on point. Are you going to add the strips and sashing?

    Those pies and cobblers will be wonderful next winter. Yum.

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  2. Your mother is a trooper that is for sure. She amazes me. I agree with you about the bedrest. That mountain lion would scare me to death. Again, I am so sorry for your loss. I love your quilt top. Are you doing that with Amanda Jean? I haven't had the time to work on mine but plan on catching up when school starts.

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  3. Good heavens! You have certainly had your ups and downs in the family lately.

    I'm so glad you had a wonderful 4th of July celebration with your family. Your pictures are great and it's nice to see your family having such a great time.

    I'm so sorry to hear of the sad news of your dog...how disturbing. Also, your mother's being hospitalized had to be very scarey, but thankfully she is on the mend.

    My prayers are with you all as you heal from the bad news and enjoy the wonderful things that are happening in your lives.

    I haven't done any canning in a lot of years, but I understand your point of view with things ripening at the "wrong" time!! It takes a lot of time to get it all put up.

    Take it easy and know that I'm thinking and praying for you.

    Hugs

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  4. So sorry about your mom, but glad she's doing better! She really is an inspiration!

    Sorry about your dog, and that is really scary that something could come in the fenced yard and kill an animal!

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  5. dogSorry about your dog, love the nine patch.

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  6. Sorry that Mom has hit "another bump in the road", but it's amazing how they can bounce back!

    Also sorry at the loss of your beloved dog...that's scary stuff.

    How wonderful to see photos of your large family gatherings..you're so blessed.

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  7. Wow, I am so sorry about your dog - that is incredibly scary!

    So glad your mom is doing so much better - she's like the Energizer Bunny, isn't she??

    I pictured myself where I was when I was hearing the walk on the moon story on the radio. How could it be 40 years already??

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  8. Wow!!
    Sending healing prayers for your Mom. I'm so sorry about your puppy :(That's pretty scary!
    Your 9 patch is beautiful!
    Hugs to you Tango

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  9. So sorry to hear about your mom, and I will pray that she continues to improve.
    So sad to hear about your dog. Hope that they catch the lion.
    Loved the family photos of your 4th of July. Hope you have fun with all of your grandkids.
    Your quilt is beautiful. I wish I could do that.
    God bless.

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  10. So much has happened! I'm so glad that your mom is better and so sad that you've lost your wonderful pet so tragically.

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  11. oh my! so much is going on is right!

    The 4th of july celebrations look amazing! lots of room to have a nice time! The weather was perfect here as well!

    So sorry to hear about your mom! That had to be a stressful time! I pray she is back to her self now!

    How scary to hear about this mountain lion, how devastating to loose your dog this way! VERY SCARY!!!!

    Your 9 patch is a beautiful pice! How do you do it all!???!!

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  12. So sorry to read abt your Mom's hospital stay~ hope she is doing better everyday! And a mountain lion! that is scary! So sorry you lost your dog. :(

    Your 9 patch looks great! I love how you put them together.

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  13. What a beautiful quilt!! WOW!! That is wonderful!!
    Thanks for stopping by and seeing my crocheted purse. i really love it and am on a second one now.
    I feel so sorry for your dog!! How awful.
    Sandy

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  14. Oh my goodness, you sure have had a lot going on! So, so sorry about your beloved dog! What a horrible way to lose a much loved pet of so many years. What about the other dog? You do have two don't you?

    Your guilt is beautiful! There is nothing like a nice nine patch is there? That's really getting back to the roots of quilting. I too don't know how you get so much done!

    Your mother is amazing! Like one of the other commenters said she is like the Energizer Bunny! So glad she is doing better and will come home soon. She has been through so much the last few years hasn't she but still keeps such a good attitude!

    Your 4th of July celebration looks like it was wonderful! We were here freezing! haha! Thankfully we have had some nice weather since then but it is raining again today. Sigh.......there will be nothing left of my veggie garden. Lots of people have replanted and replanted but I just gave up. I hope we at least get a few cucumbers and pumpkins but it's iffy. We are getting lots of raspberries this year which is great. I guess they like the rain.

    Yes, I can remember the walk on the moon too. It was just amazing and we were all sitting there with our mouths wide open in awe!

    We went to Story Land with T and D yesterday down in New Hampshire. We had a great time but it was a long day! We left at seven in the morning and got home at seven that night! I'll be posting some pictures next time I write in my blog.

    Horses are fed and out in the pasture in the rain getting a nice bath. R's Blackberry went off at about 5:15 this morning so I was up early!!! Grrrrrrrrr...... I'd like to throw that thing in the river! Does E carry one all the time too?

    Son and DIL are flying to Foxboro this afternoon to the Billy Joel-Elton John concert. They will be home tomorrow. Mimi is coming in to stay with T and D over night and then we will have them Sunday till they get home.

    Well my friend, I guess I have written a book not a comment! Hope your eyes aren't glazed over! lol! Take care and again I am so sorry about your dear dog!!!! xoxoxo

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  15. I am sorry to hear of your mom's recent health problems and hope she will recover completely and quickly. I'm sure this is very scary for you (especially with your nursing background and knowing so well what embolisms can do). Other than that, it is HORRIBLE about your dog. Gosh......if it was a little kid out there, they'd not have stood a chance, for sure. Those things don't attack in daylight, do they???? On a happier note, your photos are lovely and I enjoy hearing about your adventures.

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  16. Hello dear Mary, I'm finally catching up once again! I so enjoyed seeing all your photos from your 4th of July celebrations, how wonderful that so many of you can get together like that:-) I really miss having my brothers and their families nearby.

    Oh dear, I'm so sorry to hear that your mother ended up in the hospital again but it's great news that she's pulled through once again. Isn't it unbelievable what they can go through and yet rally on...it's like Ross, so many times we thought the end had come for him but he always fights back. He's very thin right now but is feeling good and going out with mom every day, even if it's just to go to the mall for a coffee:-)

    How very sad to hear of the loss of your beloved dog:-( I can well understand how devastated you all were. It's also scary to think that a mountain lion is coming into people's yards and attacking pets like that. Hopefully something can be done before other pets are lost!!

    Your quilt is just gorgeous! You always make me wish I knew how to quilt:-) I'm sure once all the canning and such is done for the season, you'll be back in your sewing room sewing up a storm! I would love to have my own fruit trees...well we do have an apple tree but it's really been struggling the last couple of years.

    How funny that you used to go over to where Charles Manson and his family lived....as you say, little did you know what they would end up doing!!!!

    Take good care of YOU and thank you for being such a wonderful friend. xoxox

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  17. So sorry your mom ended up back in the hospital. Glad to hear she is pushing through. She really is an inspiration. The loss of your dog is horrid. I am so sorry. Enjoyed your 4th celebration pictures. Have fun with your grandkids this week. Should be great for all of you.

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  18. that is sooo sad that happened to your loving dog!! my thoughts are with you. it is so hard to loose a part of the family, and how sad that it happened that way.

    love the nine patch!! lately when bumps have come along in my life, my sewing machine has been such great theropy!!

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  19. I am so sorry about the loss of your dear pet. And glad that your Mom is showing a lot of improvement, even tho a few bumps on the road to recovery. Love your nine-patch quilt! Great job!

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