Wednesday, 31 July 2013

Girl4, Boy5,and pain


Girl 4 has been with me for awhile, but on Monday, she went to a new home.
She just melted my heart.....so very cute, she was!!




She was such a sweetie and there were many tears when I had to say goodbye to her.


Here she is enjoying the "KONG" :  this is a hollow rubber toy I fill with peanut butter or Vegemite. They all love the PB and Vegemite and work very hard to get it from the inside.

I only had to wait one day for a new companion and here he is, Boy5, my first boy pup.



He is by far the biggest one yet, weighing 30.7 kg, which to me is 67.68 pounds.  WOW! I have given him treats and he is SUPER gentle with me.  He is also like a bull in a china shop knocking things over with his tail wagging, so I have had to  put a few things away for now. All good though!!


He adores the bunny (shown) and the teddy bear (as seen with girl4)  and loves to bring them to me.  I have been taught to say "thank you" when this happens and here is why:

Both girl4 and boy5 are in a new program as service dogs.  Girl4 is being trained as a wheelchair assistant. Boy5 will go live with an autistic child. As service dogs, they are learning to open doors, turn on/off lights, put items in a shopping trolley (as directed by a pointer), fetch keys, etc. If you are interested in this subject and would like to learn more, just google "service dogs" and you can view videos on YOUTUBE of their amazing talents.

I only expect boy5 to be with me x8 days until next Wednesday. His loving family is on holidays.
He is a joy to have around and I will enjoy every moment except I think that  tonight I will put him outside while I prepare his evening meal.



It's a bit hard to see in this picture, but while he is watching me, he drips drool from both sides of his mouth all the way down to the floor. Both sides...solid from mouth to floor...please enjoy this visual with me!!  This puddle is actually  bigger than a dinner plate!!! It was gross but sent me right into a fit of giggles too....so very cute!!

Last, about the pain.  I've had many blood draws since I became so unwell in 2010 and they don't worry me much anymore.  Last Friday, I went for an early morning draw and the pain was excruciating this time!


As soon as the blood lady put the needle in, it felt like an electric shock from my elbow to my wrist.
It was so bad, I cried, and she wanted to take it right out, but I said I didn't want to get stuck again either so she left it in as she only had to fill two tubes.

I don't think I have ever cried for a blood draw until now!!  After, she gave me a patient information sheet and told me I should go buy a lottery ticket since this is so rare.

Here is what the sheet says: "There are other rare complications of venipuncture but you have to be unlucky to suffer one of these. For example you may have a tiny branch of one of the sensory nerves of the arm actually running over the surface of the vein. Rarely the needle will hit this tiny nerve on the way into the vein.  This may cause a sharp electric-shock type pain as it happens. This may be all that happens, however, a tingling type of pain may persist for one to four weeks as the nerve heals. This is inconvenient and unpleasant but it eventually heals up".

Because of this, I have not sewed since last week.  Just call me unlucky for now :)
xx debbie



Friday, 26 July 2013

Christmas In July

I have really enjoyed seeing all the Christmas pressies.  There are some amazing gifts out there! Sending out a very special thank you to the swap mama Cheryll for sorting all of us out.  It has been  so much fun.



I was very lucky the super talented Noela  was my partner.  She has posted photos of what she made for me which you can see at her blog and I have taken a few photos today too.  I really don't want to put these things away and plan to find a place to enjoy them all year. 



                                           The stitching on this wall hanging is beautiful.


                    How gorgeous is this?!  That is the cutest Santa button I have ever seen.


This quilted table topper is NOT getting put away either. I want to enjoy it all year. 
                      Thank you again, Noela. I love everything you made for me.

My partner to make for  is  Maria W  in WA.  I had an email confirmation earlier this week from Aussie Post that the parcel has been delivered.  However,  Maria has not yet updated her blog, so I am hoping all is well with her (sending hugs)! and that she has enjoyed the goodies.  Here is what I sent.




The snowman is a little cutie with satin stitch carrot nose and beads for eyes and mouth.

I think Maria likes bright colours, so I stepped out  a bit with hot pink, lime green, and white
stars to make a swag.


The pattern for the stars came from a scrap quilt book I have had for years. 



This pattern is in the same book and it is called "Treeflake".   This has many, many pieces!  The smallest were 1 1/2" squares.  It was a challenge, but enjoyable to make. 
                                                  Can you see the trees have snow on them?


                        I machine quilted it (my fave part)!! around all the white bits.


                                   Here is the back when I was finishing sewing the binding. 

And a snowman label......made of white on white snowflake fabric, of course!



                                              (a peek at what I am working on today) xx debbie
                                                       

Wednesday, 24 July 2013

A 4 A Quilt Blocks

Today I was able to finish Lesson 1 of the Aiming for Accuracy Quilt Along.  I  am making two quilts, so will have two sets of very different blocks. 

 
 
 

                                                                  So far, so good.



                                                    Off to choose fabrics for Lesson 2.
                                                                        xx Debbie