Not for Queasy Readers ! My Fat Dog's Buttons

Anyone that knows me (even a little) knows that I have a FAVORITE fat dog. Her name is Chelsea. She comes to work with me every day & has been for 9 years. I don't think I will dothat when we move to TN. Anyway - Monday a co-worker was petting her & says to me "Hey Miss Sam - what's this lump on Chelsea's ear?". To which I answer: "What lump?" My fat dog, Chelsea, had this huge lump on her right ear. It looked like what batting does in old quilts & wads up in big lumps? Only this was soft. She didn't like me fiddling with it. So my plan was to take her to the vet today while I was off Only my office help had the flu and we swapped days so she could stay home & get well. My co-worker's wife (a very good friend of mine!!), CJ, volunteered to take Chelsea to the vet. Well she didn't come back with my dog!!!!

CJ said that Chelsea had an ear infection & has shook her head & ruptured a blood vessel in her ear and that is what caused the swelling. The vet has to lance it, drain it & put a compression bandage on it. I admit that I didn't have a clue what a "compression bandage" was, but I was not prepared for BUTTONS. Bless her little doggie heart. He lanced the swelling & literally sutured the buttons from inside to outside of her ear. This is to prevent her ear from swelling again while it heals. If it does appear that it is swelling , (yack here) , I have to wash it & clean it until it drains. I am not kidding , these are actual BUTTONS on my dog's ear. he shaved her ear too. Poor Chelsea, she is still quite loopy in these photos.

I feel rotten too, since I didn't notice anything. I'm sick over it. How can I NOT see this? For goodness sake, I bring this dog TO WORK WITH ME !!!! When CJ didn't come back with my dog, I cried. I was so upset over the whole situation.

I hope I didn't gross anyone out with these photos, I really didn't think anyone would believe me that she has BUTTONS stitched to either side of her ears. I called CJ & she was astounded & I called my bud Zan - she read all my emails today bemoaning how rotten a pet owner that I am to let something like this slide & SHE was astounded too. I've never seen this. Never. And the poor dog is just fretful....The vet siad she has to wear her buttons for 2 weeks. I know it's awful for her, but I'll bet you a dime that all the people I work with are going to ask me if I did that!!! Even DD#2 didn't think that the BUTTONS were actually stitched on her ear. I was already being a big bother to my dog - she wouldn't let me get any closer to her ear....do you blame her?

DH is't home - I have got to figure a way to get my favorite fat dog upstairs & into our room - she's too heavy for me to lift into our bed. Don't roll your eyes! I HAVE to make sure she doesn't scratch the buttons out. Maybe I should just sleep in the downstairs bedroom?

Where's a baby gate when you need one? if I can get her into a specific bedroom, I have to KEEP her there!!!!

This is going to be a LONG night.

Sam

Weeks & Weeks & My Older Quilts

It's been a few days - cetainly more than a few - days that is - and maybe a week since I posted last. I have been SO busy. I have traveled every week - out of state for the past 3 weeks. This week & next week are the 2 that I get to get back to normal. Whatever normal is. Then the first week of April , I am traveling BACK up to TN to spend 2 days of house hunting. Seems I don't LIKE house hunting much....I really don't want to get into that rant right now.

My friend & fellow blogger, JP, posted a quilt on her blog that looked familiar to me! I made one too. I think it was in some scrap quilting book or another. And then also in the Fons & Porter magazine. It has a zillion little 8 pointed stars in ti. It was SO boring to make! I think I had 1800 little 1.5 inch star points. No joke, I counted them! Anyway - It's the quilt on the 4 poster bed. that's the master bedroom bed. The quilt is really too big on the bed, because I made it a queen size & the bed is full sized. The quilt hangs down on the sides to the middle of the sideboards.... We have queen size beds in the guest rooms . (that will change when we move)

Top 2 photos are of the quilts in the master bedroom. The Blue & White Zig Zag quilt that I call my Rick-Rack Quilt is also a Fons & Porter pattern from thier magazine. I actually made 2 of those Rick-Rack Quilts! I over-sewed too many blocks & only ended up making about 20 more to make another quilt!

the next photo is of the quilts in the "pink" guest room. I love that quilt on the bed. It is so beautiful & all in Thimbleberries prints. 100% Thimbleberries. I have 2 quilt racks in that room - along with a quilt on the footboard of the bed! I made all of these.

Last is the "yellow" guest room. I call that quilt on the bed "896". Why? You ask? Well, because there are 896 flying geese units in that quilt. I didn't think I would EVER get those finished. but I did, & it's one of my favorites too. That armoire is in the yellow room - I plan on FILLING it with quilts.

I didn't want to post withot showing some photos, so - there they are - some of my most beloved belongings. Quilts! All made by me. My quilts are more than just a hobby - they are part of me. Blood sweat & tears. Definately one or more of blood sweat & tears has gone into the making of any one of them . There are more - some at DD#1's apartment in the big city & some with DD#2 at her apartment at college. and I probably have 5 (maybe 7?) quilt TOPS hanging inn the closet.

If you wonder WHY I stand the pillows up on end (you can't see them - but they are up on end on the bed in the pink room too.....) on the beds...it's because I forget to close the doors to the rooms to keep the cat out & if the pillows are down, or propped up - he'll sleep on them. I hate the cat on the bed and he really only gets up there to sleep on the pillows. So ? Problem solved now. He doesn't even get on the beds at all if he can't get on the pillows!!

Ha ha

Good Night

Sam

Home Again! And Garage Photos !

Sunday ! WOW - I am home from the "big city". Glad too. I lost my car at the airport yesterday. I wrote down where I parked. Level/isle/letter....but failed to find where I wrote it down when I returned to the airport. Being gone for 7 days didn't improve my memory either. I searched for about 30 minutes & then airport security helped me. They drove me around & around & around while I kept hitting my car alarm on the little key ring fob. We found it, and it was no-where near where I thought I had parked. I felt completely stupid with a capital "S". I'd have been there until dark, had it not been for the security folks. I'm glad that they were not super busy & couldn't help. I was near tears as it was when I finally DID ask for help.

Sunday we got up & went out side to work on the garage. We got the soffit finsihed on the front & all the vinyl installed on it. DH had been home a day & a half during the week & he got the single bay painted & got the 2 bay sanded & painted, the metal bent & installed on the garage door opening & this neat little vinyl peice with a rubber "seal" type thing installed too. It looks so NICE !!!On Saturday - while I was playing hide & seek with my car.....DH installed the vinyl on the front of the garage. After we finsihed the front soffit, we installed the light fixtures. 4 on the front of the garage, 1 on the side at the standard door & the last on the back of the house. Total of 6, they all had to match. When we got those done, we started installing more 1 X 4 strips onto the tall ends of the garage, for the soffits on them. It's more of a one man job since we don't have scaffolding......I'm a good stepper & fetcher......we got the one end half done but can't finish until we get the "bird box's" built on the back side of the garage.....the 3rd photo from the top is the soffit that we ended with. DH said that since there is no air flow on the "ends" that the vinyl soffit is solid, in the front & the back, the soffit is vented (has holes). I LIKE the vented soffits better. More eye-appealing.....but that's just me. DH says that the solid soffit is harder to install too. I know it harder to cut! I have a small blister on my thumb from the huge scissors we use to cut the vinyl. I say small, because MY blister looks like a flea bite compared to the blisters that DH has on his hands.....

When we got to a point that we couldn't do more without getting into night, I came in & gave the favorite fat dog a bath. She wasn't too dirty, not much washed off in that department. But I sure hope the stink came off. She was potent after spending the majority of the week in the kennel. then I took a shower & started dinner. What was DH doing????? (He's a work-a-holic....) he stayed in the garage hooking up electrical outlets. The last photo is of him on the first one he started. He got 2 walls done & the face plates installed too! He jammed the screw driver into his hand too, bled all over........I asked him to stop but he said he wanted to work late enough so that he could turn on all the lights on the front of the garage & "SEE" how they all looked.

DH did a wonderful job. It looks beautiful all lit up!

Last week while I was in the big city, I stayed with DD#1. It was SO nice to visit. No hurry, no holiday. Just night time talk & cooking & watching TV. Boy ! We sure tore up the town! Ha Ha. DD#1 had an allergic reaction to either some new make-up brushes or the make-up itself (don't know which) either way - she ended up with swollen eye-lids & had to come home early on Thursday from work & take some Benydryl (sp?) She looked better by Saturday but her eye-lids were still puffy a little bit. DD#1 cooked while I was there too. She's a good cook! Lasagna one night, wine poached chicken another night & then chicken burritos on Friday night. We ate out 2 of the nights.....

I mis-read my flight arrangements - thought that the flight out was 11 AM - it was 12:43 & I waited at the wrong gate too - only got on the right one, because I overheard the lady say "Birmingham" - whew! Nearly missed my flight! I'm a nit. I guess?

Got to see DD#2 for a short while. Less than 24 hours! She came home on Saturday evening & left by 10Am on Sunday morning.....she said it was goingt o be her only "free" weekend all of March. Seing her a little is better than not seeing her at all....

Gotta go - got to check on some other emails & got to un-pack my trip bag & pack DH's for the up-coming week. Monday should be a bear. Gone all week & closing to deal with ! How fun for me! (I don't think I can really call it fun)

Sam