I'm a "New Blogger"....

Thanks to Claudia, I finally switched over. Everything seems to be working. I guess time will tell. Does anyone know what happened to Teresa? She lost her blog when trying to switch and I haven't heard from her. She was on my daily run. So, I guess this is a good time to wish everyone a "Happy New Year" filled with happiness, good health, hope, love and understanding and a year of peace! That is my wish!!!!

Christmas is Gone!!!!

Yeah!!!!! I'm not happy that Christmas is gone.....I'm happy that I'm still kicking! It was a good Christmas with family and friends. It did slip up on me and I wasn't as ready on the last day as I wanted to be. Every year I make myself a promise not to get so far behind with my shopping. This year I will try again to keep that promise. I want to make lapghans and snowflakes and take them to the nursing homes. If I start early....this will take place. Now we have a new year to start and I pray it will be a very HAPPY NEW YEAR for all my blogging friends.

EYE EXAM.....

Bill and I went to the eye doctor yesterday for our yearly eye exam. Neither of our eyes had changed since last year. PTL! He actually said Bill had healthy eyes. I told him "Thank Goodness, It's so good to know he still has SOMETHING healthy and still working"! He laughed! He wrote new prescriptions so we can have new glasses. Mine are five years old and Bill stepped on his..... they don't even look like a pair of glasses..... he has been wearing his prescription sun glasses for six months. So after Christmas we will go to the glasses store.....hoping it will be five more years before I have to go again!!!! "MERRY CHRISTMAS" to all my blogging friends.

My Tree with Handmade Snowflakes....

Making these can be addictive. That's all I've wanted to do today. See site below.....

HANDMADE SNOWFLAKES....

http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/dstredulinsky/home.html Read description below....

Lucas Making Gingerbread Cookies.

Here's what it's all about. My grandson Lucas, in his glory. Ryan and Lucas was able to spend Saturday night with me, and this is how we used our time. After this we went to a Christmas Program at Va. Ave Baptist Church. I've already had my Christmas!

Afghan....Sunrise, Sunset.....

Here's a picture of the afghan I just finished. It is called Sunrise, Sunset. I imagine the light squares are the Sunrise and the dark squares are the Sunset. I worked the last two rows in the lobby of the hospital while Bill was having his cath. It drew a lot of attention. I told one elderly lady that I was on my last round and she said "Honey, I am too". That made me smile!

I'm Glad This Week Is Almost Over!!!!!

I have had a wearisome week. Bill went for a heart cath last Tuesday and after it was over he was admitted to CICU. His heart rate dropped into the low 40's and he had angina the whole length of the cath. They weren't about to let him come home. Altho he wasn't any worse than he has been for the last month. He stayed in CICU all night Tuesday night and half of the day Wed. Then he was put into a regular room and came home today...Thursday. The Doctors are debating whether to put in a pace maker and a defibulator. His appointment for the consultation is on Janurary 09. All of his graphs are closed except one. The third by-pass is NOT an option. He had a triple by-pass in 1992 and the second triple by-pass in in 1997. The Doctors here tell me there is not anything they can do. Maybe Duke is an option. We will see. Now for a little quite time. Please keep us in your prayers. Thank You!!!! And God Bless!!!!!

Bill Got His Mobility Chair.....

They delivered Bill's chair yesterday. Here is a picture of Bill sitting in it and Chuck who delivered it. If Medicare had a neck, I would hug it! It came with all kinds of attachments.
And Chuck brought Bill this Prayer Pillow . Some lady makes them just for sick people. I think he said she was 90 years old. It had this card with it which said.....
You are Gods Beautiful Masterpiece. God gave me the gift to make pillows in hopes of bringing you joy, peace, relief from your pain and fears. If you are sad, lonely or hurting.....hug your pillow and pray. God loves you and will make you feel better. Smile....God Loves You, For you are His beautiful masterpiece.
I thought that was so sweet. Bill seemed to be touched also.

TA...DA....My FAVORITE QUILT.....

I have been promising a picture of my favorite quilt on the Quilt Trail ....Here it is..... It looks like a "real" quilt hanging there.
Now take notice....I didn't say it was my favorite barn, but my favorite quilt. It is located on Joppa Mountain Road in Grainger County. Close up follows.

Close Up Of My Favorite Quilt...

From My House To Yours.....

While I was out making a picture of the sunrise this morning (below).....I made a picture of my front door. I will wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.....(early) You can barely see how red the sky looks. It was beautiful.

Sunrise....this morning.

The sunrise was magnifcent this morning. This was around 6:00 and in one hour it was so cloudy. The sun hasn't shined here all day long, but it certainly did show its self this morning.

Quilt Barn...Ritter Farm

This barn is in Grainger County. Ritter Farm is one of several places that grow and sell Grainger County Tomatoes in the summer. There is a produce building beside this barn where you can buy all kind of vegetables. I love to stop there. It is on 11W between Bristol and Knoxville.

Close up of Quilt Barn at Ritter Farms.

Christmas Tree and Window.....

This window is beside my back door and that is the door everyone uses that comes to my house. I crocheted the curtain hanging there. It could have been a little wider, but it will have to do. I kinda like it.
Here's my tree. You can't see the lights. I love to sit there and watch.....they do eight different things....I think when I snapped the picture, they were changing functions.
There is another post below. Blogger is being a Scrooge this morning. I couldn't get all the pictures in one post.

My Christmas Village Mantle...

O.K.....Here's my Christmas Village on the Mantle. I made two views...one end and then the other end. It looks pretty at night when its all lit.

Quilt Barn....Co-op....

The Quilt here is hung on the co-op building in Blaine, TN. This is on 11W, about 15 miles before you get into Knoxville, going West.
Close Up.

Mobility Chair.....

We had put in a request through our Doctor for a Scooter for my husband Bill. It has been in the process for about two months or more. Last week, the Mobility Company called me and said everything was finished and they were ready to deliver the scooter. We set up a delivery date which was this morning at 11:00. They came right on time and the guy backed the scooter out of his van without any problem. Well, when he tried to bring it into the house, it wouldn't run. The battery was fully charged and he checked all the connections and he called the help line for assistance. No one could figure out why the thing wouldn't go. I told him I thought we had a lemon! He agreed! In the meantime, there was another Mobility Chair in his van. That is what my husband wanted in the first place.....but I wasn't educated about the difference between a chair and a scooter. I tried to get the guy to leave the chair, but he said he was delivering it to someone else.....but he would tell the case worker that my husband needed the chair instead of the scooter. So....it all has to go through the Doctor again, but it will be worth the wait, I think.
In the meantime.....I need a nap....that was so tiring!!!!! If I have many days like today, they are going to need to bring me one.

Crocheted Baby Sweaters....

I just finished crocheting these baby sweaters. A friend of my daughter is going to have twin granddaughters. I love to crochet or knit baby clothes. (Especially little girl things.) I have always made things for my grandsons, but for some reason the frilly things turn out so much cuter.

Close Up of Sweater.....

Busy Week-end!!!! But I survived!!!!!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My daughter and her family came from Knoxville early Thursday morning. I had everything almost ready when they arrived. We had such a good time together, and the best part.....the boys got to stay with me until today (Sunday) We took them home today. (Dot, maybe after today, I will be back in the groove)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Blogging friends. May your heart be filled with thankfulness and love.

Quilt Barn....Hawkins County....

This barn is in Hawkins County. I always look at the compost pile in front of the barn and think I would like to have some of that to put on my garden! The quilt square is pretty, but my favorite is yet to come.... Stay tuned!

Close Up !!!!!

Quilt Barn.....and Gift Shop

This barn is in Grainger County. I had to stop right on the highway and was a little nervous about being run over ...so I didn't get a close up. I would like to stop and see inside the gift shop. Someday I will.

What is It??????

What is it????? How many of you know the answer? I saw the "thing" while on my quilt trail. I think it used to be common to see this a long time ago, but today it is rare......in my area anyway!

White Barn....With Quilt

This barn isn't very far from my house. It is directly across the road from Bristol Motor Speedway. I like the white barn. Marci, it reminds me of your barn.

My Dr's Visit.....

My Doctor was a happy camper today and so was I! Last week I went for the ultra sound on my carotid artery. Today I went to my Doctor for the results. It hasn't changed at all since last year. It has been two years since my second operation.....both on the right side of my neck. He says if you can go three years without any more blockage.....you are probably out of the woods. If I can stay on the right track for one more year......I might live to be 100!

Continuing Saga of the Quilt Trail....

The quilt I post today is in the Washburn community. I'm saving my favorite one for the end. Is anyone getting tired of seeing barns? I still have several I haven't posted. Leave me your thoughts!

Persimmon Tree.....

The persimmons are really good now. This tree is located near Lisa's and it's loaded. We always stop beneath the tree and pick up what has fallen to the ground. I love to make persimmon pudding.

Quilt Pharmacy....

This Pharmacy is in Blaine, Tn. Okie's II Pharmacy. It is on highway 11W, between Knoxville, and Rutledge. I'm glad they joined the Quilt Trail. That's Lisa's truck parked out front while I made the picture.

Sam.....Our Dog.....

Our neighbors fell in love with Sam. They don't have any children to love, so they lavish all their love on animals. For about one year, every evening when they get in from work, they come and get him and keep him at their house until around ten o'clock that night. He goes riding with them in their truck. He knows when he gets in the truck, he is going for a hamburger. They even built him a huge dog house and insulated it for the cold weather. For about a year they have begged us to sell them Sam. I would have, but Bill said he liked him so much, he couldn't get rid of him, altho he was going to be right next door. This past Monday I was outside working and Barb (the neighbor) came and asked me again if we would consider selling Sam....that Wednesday was her husbands birthday, and he would like nothing better than to have Sam for his own. I told her again that I would ask Bill. Well, I asked him and he said he would think about it. So yesterday morning he told me he was going to give Sam to Patrick for his birthday. Early this morning, I took him across the fence with his big box of dog food and a birthday card , and tied him to the huge dog house. I rang the door bell and ran! It wasn't long until my phone rang. It was our neighbor, and he was beside himself. But you know, I think it did me more good than it did him. The saying "It's better to give than to receive". How true!!!! And after all....when I want to see Sam, I can go out back and climb the fence and there he is!!!!!

Mayan Indian Archeological Site...Honduras

Copan Pyramid, Copan Ballcourt...Teams fought here for the right to be sacrificed.


Lisa on the Frog Rock. The Mayan Women went to this rock to have their babies.

Mayan Indian Ruins in Honduras....

Another one of Lisa's adventures.....This site is large....there are 3500 mounds in the 9.5 square miles. An area know as Copan Bottomlands. It is said, walking through these ruins is an eerie experience, like being a child lost in a crowd of demi-deities.

Today has been ~crazy~ and I am tired......

I;m glad today isn't an example of what all my days are like. Bill's aunt called me early and asked if I would take her to get a flu shot. Well, I had to go to the Dr's office anyway to pick up bill's Morphine prescription. It is a controled drug and I have to go to the office and show my picture ID and sign for it. I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and I called my Dr's office and asked if she could get a flu shot even though she wasn't a patient there. They said yes. So I go get her and head for the Dr's office, put the prescription in my purse, she gets her shot and we start back home. She wanted to stop at Family Dollar. I did and we shopped a little bit. I bought two or three items. Now, I take her home and pick up Bill who stayed with his Mama while we were gone. Now, I go to CVS Pharmacy to have the prescription filled. I couldn't find the Morphine prescription. I told the girl it must be in the car and I would be back in a minute. It wasn't in the car. I continued to dump everything out of my purse and my wallet and it wasn't there. I called the Dr's office to see if I had left it there. The girl said, "I saw you put it in your purse". The only other place I had been was the Family Dollar Store. So here I go back to the other side of town to the Family Dollar Store. I walked in and the same girl was on the register. I told her I had just left there and asked her if she had found a prescription with William Melvin's name on it. She opened up her drawer and there it was. It had fell out of my wallet when I paid for my things. When I got back to the Drug Store, I told the pharmacist I lost the prescription at Family Dollar. She just about died! By this time, I was ready for some R & R. I just thought how many people would love to get their hands on that prescription and I knew the Dr would not write me another one and Bill was going to have to suffer for a month before he could get more pills. It made me so tired. I felt the need to take one of the Morphine pills myself!!!! But I didn't!!!! Maybe next time!!!

Another Quilt Barn.....

This Quilt Barn is in Washburn. To get there go across Joppa Mountain , off 11 W HWY. Take a right at the bottom of the mountain. I found several quilt barns on this road. It is called Clothesline of Quilts.

Close up of quilt barn at Washburn.

Lisa' and Donaldo's Adventure in El Salvador.....CA

The next fifteen pictures are some of the adventures of their El Salvador trip in Oct. 2006. Keep on scrolling and you will see them all. This one is where they started to the place no one had ever been before. It is an island with a huge mound of dirt and all kinds of broken pottery. I wonder what is under the dirt?????

Mangrove Adventure

Keep on scrolling down.....

The Adventure Begins.....

Lisa and Donaldo walked two hours in this mangrove in ElSalvador, Central America. More pictures follow....

The Mangrove...in ElSalvador......

This seems to be getting more difficult each moment......

The Adventure Continues......

Here's Lisa and her husband walking in the mangrove. An "unplanned" adventure. I think Lisa was worried about her 30.00 Mary Jane Crocs more than she was the "crocs" in the water that could have bitten off her leg. She said nobody had better not EVER call her "chicken" again. She also asked her husband if he knew of another woman anywhere that would do what she was doing, and he said "No". Then he said, "Yes, I do.......your Mama would do it". He's probably right!!!!!