WHAT A DAY!!! Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Hello To All!!

Yes, I am still here!! No, I have not quite mastered the camera with this new computer yet!! But, I am making progress. I have things set aside that go way back to Halloween!!

I am hoping and praying that today is the first day of my last interviewing and instructing potential Caregivers.

I hired a Canine Nutritionist for Miprezious the week of our past Thanksgiving. Her name is Maggie and she is the BEST!! When I first met Maggie I was so distraught over the horrific news we had just received about our beloved Miprezious that I completely overlooked the fact she was obviously pregnant!! She had her fifth lovely little boy a few weeks ago. It turned out to a very complicated and serious C-section delivery for her and her darling little Frankie. In the midst of the worst ice storm I have ever seen Maggie and baby Frankie were rushed by ambulance to the Iowa University Hospital, about 90 miles west of us.

Maggie and her husband, John, are two of the most terrific people we have ever met!! They have a lovely family of five boys. Maggie and Frankie were hospitalized for about two weeks. We got to meet the new little man last Friday. He is absolutely a real sweetie!! He still needs a bit of oxygen and various monitoring, however, Maggie has him in her shop all bundled in a cute little bassinet and he did not seem to mind our peeking at him at all.

Maggie and John have a very cute and very at home feeling shop. However, with Max's continued problems we rarely go out any more if he has to drive. Thus, Maggie recognized our problems very early on our meeting her and quite soon Maggie volunteered to bring Miprezious' meals and treats to our home!! It turns out they live about one block from us and could actually be called "neighbors". As with all our neighbors they are most helpful and caring to us!!

Max and I were absolutely astonished when we received a telephone call early the morning following Frankie's birth!! Maggie had left instructions with a relative of hers to contact us and make sure Miprezious had her meals and treats!! We were in utter disbelief that Maggie cared so much to check on us!!

Maggie and John make all Miprezious' meals fresh from real foods. John seems to be the baker and makes very yummy cookies and biscuits. Miprezious seems to favor the ones that have real cranberries in them. We generally need to replenish her meals and treats every seven to ten days. Maggie has taken the time to personally talk with Miprezious' doctor and has done much research on her kidney failure.
Very wonderful family and are truly TOP of our list of favorites.

About ten days after Frankie was born I got to chat with Maggie on the telephone while they were still at the hospital. Maggie was having John bring Miprezious refills of her meals and treats. Maggie also told me that a friend of theirs was just starting a Caretaker business. Maggie's recommendation was gold to me. I got very busy the following days my self and I had just not gotten to calling this lady to chat about coming to work for us. I had it on my mind, but just could not make the decision to restart a new Caregiver again!! About this same time, I received a telephone call from Debbie. Her name alone just made her have to be good!! Debbie was ready, willing and able, but I was the problem of simply making the decision to start over again with yet some one else new. Max and Miprezious both especially are requiring more care recently and they are also the hardest to get to make changes or remake our schedules anew again!!

Wanda had come back to help out as much as she could. However, with her working full-time every day and her membership in a great number of organizations made her time with us very limited. Eunice also had been discussing some one she recently met who was interested in working for us. I also very much value and appreciate Eunice's choices and she still does way too much for us her self!! All things considered, I was just unable to make a decision of what to do. I am right in the middle of our Spring cleaning and redecorating!! Each day I am greeted with a very small area, of the almost 200" front picture window, having draperies in place while the larger remaining area covered with Christmas wrapping paper!! A few days ago, Debbie had called me again to check if I had made a decision on hiring her. I suddenly felt like I was "drowning" with too much left undone with the new flooring installation getting closer each day, laundry piles beginning to accumulate, dust bunnies starting to retake the fire place mantle, bathroom tiles to be waxed along with the front window looking like hillbillies had taken over, I finally decided ENOUGH!! I told Debbie I would be most happy if she could begin as soon as possible with us!!

Debbie arrived at 9:00 a.m. this morning!! She is a very pleasant lady who needs little instructing!! Within minutes of her arriving, she asked could she begin changing the linens on our beds!! I told her I had just bought all new linens in my attempt to "freshen" each room in my home. Debbie then asked if I was ready to use the new linens and I told her I assuredly was more than ready. Debbie pointed out that with my very fair skin she guessed that washing the new bed linens would be a good idea. I told her I would love to have them washed, however, I did not have any one available to give her a tour of our lower level and washer and dryer, etc. Debbie promptly said she was capable of finding a washer and dryer and that it would be no problem. She then began to replace the bedskirts. With "the beds" you must get a very large Phillips screw driver and remove several screws and brackets. I had no idea of this!! Debbie promptly located the tools she needed to put the new bed- skirts on, BUT she additionally asked if I would mind if she starched and ironed the new bedskirts as they came out of their zippered bags quite wrinkled!! She also asked if I would mind her dusting and rehanging the canopy. Now, I have NEVER had a Caregiver who did any thing like this "procedure" even upon my direct asking them to!! I was totally astonished that she pointed out these things needed to be done before she could complete changing the beds!! Additionally, this lady gently reminded me I had been up on my legs much longer than she thought I should be and suggested I just sit down and stitch!! I truly thought I was having a "nasty" day with my morphine and that this truly could not be real and actually happening in my home!!

Soon, Max's bus arrived and was waiting for me to appear in the doorway before they begin to help Max get off the bus and in to the house. Debbie immediately asked if Max would be upset if a "stranger" went out to bring him in the house!! It is freezing Iowa!! We have a long driveway and Max now moves very slowly!! Have I gotten a crazy person working for us!!

For the first time in years, I was seeing my house become my beautiful home again. AND, I was fast thinking, I am just giving "yes" and "no" answers to questions and was not having to tell Debbie every move needed to be done.

Lunch time came. Debbie asked what did we want for lunch!! Now, I really thought I was still sleeping and only dreaming or my meds were really kicking my rear today!! We usually make breakfast and lunch, one meal, on dialysis days. Max and I simply are not used to meals prepared for us since before we had the doctor ordered "meals on wheels" delivered each day!! I always have fresh bran muffin batter in my refrigerator so that they can be made at any time. My mother had just requested that I make her a new batch of batter so I had made another for us also. Soon we had the nicest lunch of fresh hot bran muffins and fresh fruit that Debbie had peeled and sliced!! I was then sure I had to have still been fast asleep and in dream trance!!

After lunch, I noticed the large bins of laundry were disappearing. Not only was the laundry disappearing the drawers that held the clean laundry were being emptied on to the beds and were being cleaned and reorganized!! Every thing was beginning to look like my pre-accident
perfect order clean and shinning!!

Late this afternoon, Debbie came looking for me and wanted to know what I had planned for our dinner and could she prepare and/or
cook it!! The plan is to fix our dinner the days she actually is here and to have the other days prepared as far as she could make them ahead!!

Debbie also finally said she could not help, but notice how bad my legs and especially heels have hardened. She said she had previously worked for a podiatrist and could she massage a softening cream in to them.
Have not had this done in years as I am too embarassed to go in to the salons any more. I am in dreamland!!

My house is again a perfect home!! I am anxiously awaiting Friday to get here as Debbie will be back!!

NO ONE WAKE ME!!

Okay, I only had my lovely "trance" until about noon. Miprezious was a bit less awake and looking for a place to nest after Max's taxi had picked him up at 5:00 a.m. However, she has her less perky days now and then. However, by noon, even Debbie was asking if she should call Mi's vet and/or Maggie and she had just met her. Miprezious has had a very "nasty" day and her evening has not gotten much better. My heart has skipped many beats over the course of this day and evening. Mi's doctor was not very optimistic when I first noticed some thing was wrong last Thanksgiving. We have only had the option of changing her food and simply watching her. She had a day or two like this just before Christmas, but she recovered nicely. I have been praying a whole lot as there is little else we can do!!

My mail came and I did have a few surprises!! I received a very cute cross stitch kit from a lady in my ILCS Group. It is a patriotic design that is to be finished in a really nice card frame. It will be a real welcome decoration that will look very nice all year. I truly thought I had received this by mistake. It is from Lily. I have had so little online time that I have missed so many of the nice gals who have recently joined my groups. I have yet to really be introduced to Lily, but she has to be a very nice gal to have sent me such a pleasant surprise. I am now also looking forward very much to getting to know Lily hopefully in the near future. I also received the "Advent Angel" chart I won in the 123.Stitch January drawing. She is a beautiful angel, but just not my favorite to stitch any time in the near future. I am overall attempting to complete my downsizing and this lovely angel will be shortly looking for a new home with some one who is interested in stitching her!! And, finally I received my very first H.A.E.D. chart - all 35 pages of it!! I chose the "Candlelight and Moonlight" chart. All the blues just called out to be in my new living room!! However, I predict this will be the rest of my life project!!

And, I did get my living room repainted by the "faux paint designer" I hired to paint it. She described the new paint to resemble simply just sitting in a cloud and we truly got just that. I have been waiting for all the new draperies to arrive as the sheers need to be hung first and they are back ordered till at least March 09. The new carpet is to be installed on February 24. I definitely will be getting pictures of this.

The bathroom is needing about a day's work yet to be completed. However, the majority of all the wall tiles have been waxed and are shinning very brightly. Debbie did clean and reorganize the entire linen closet today and has told me to leave the other cabinets for her next day here. And, this new flooring will also be installed on February 24.

I found out two people who are very loved by us are very ill while at church Sunday. I feel very helpless to do any thing for these two. Thus, I have found a very nice bookmark by Jeanette Crews Design that I hope go very well for me to stitch and complete soon for each of them.

I have just also started the Just Another Button Company 2010 Monthly Series of Teaspoons. Originally, I have been very diligent in getting the 2009 Tea Cups and the 2008 Tea Pots. I heard "teaspoons" and thought great as they did not sound too interesting to me. Surely I would not want to stitch teaspoons!! And, then I got a glimpse of them. They were instant "must haves"!!

I have several Little House Needleworks pieces started. I did not even know these existed till Kathy K. pointed me to them!! Now, it seems I have an entire notebook devoted to just Little House Needleworks charts!!

I also started a Brooke's Books perforated paper birth sampler for a baby girl. I have never been so frustrated with such a small little piece of cross stitching!! I have every angel and perforated paper kit that Brooke has designed. I can only hope all the different angel series goes much easier than this one!!

I have gathered up all my doll's houses and plan to devote many days of the week to each of their individual constructions!! I love to stitch houses. I got my new copy of Just Cross Stitch today and got a glimpse of a new "building" series they are also beginning!!

And, to see Karen's newest Newsletter earlier this evening with all I have at arm's reach. Karen owns Wasatch Mountain Stitching and her Newsletter is full of the new Nashville Market updates!! So many new things and no space to place them!! My beloved "Stitching Sanctuary" is literally closing in on me!! I have to downsize!!

I also opened my mouth and told the Sunday School teachers I would be glad to resume an old tradition I had years ago, again pre-accident. I agreed to purchase and fill two pinatas for a special treat for the children's Easter celebration!! In researching my online sites for these I found they now have bags, sold by the pound, with pre-mixed candy and small toys to fill the pinatas with. This should make it an easy project!!
Famous last words!!

And, now I go to start planning my start of "Candlelight and Moonlight".
All 35 pages of it. I have to ask some of the "pros" if I am totally crazed in thinking I want to stitch it on a 22-Count white Aida I have staring at me.

Hopefully, I will start to learn how to post pictures as I have so many to post and share!! And, I hope to get some additional online time to get my Blog in to an interesting format. I truly want to get to know so many of the new people in my groups also!!

Just DO NOT WAKE ME!! If I wake to Debbie again on Friday I will make these wheels learn to happy dance!! I am very much torn between is this too good to be true or have I finally went through enough Caretakers that I finally have found the right one!!

Love and Hugs!!
Deborah and Max
and
Miprezious, too!!