It's Been A Minute!

This is a long post. I am just recapping this past year. Scroll through if you don't want to read it. There is some quilty goodness at the end.

Sometimes we just get challenged. And when that happens you just have to suck it up and carry on chicken. You have to look for the positive light in the process, there always is one.

Covid 19 lockdown was a blessing, we got packed and moved during the lock down. Unpacking has been interesting...LOL...why, exactly did I choose to bring this box of .....to Idaho with us? Yes, that has come up more than once. It's funny what we choose to hang on to over the years.

Getting contractors out to make various improvements to the house has been like pulling hens teeth. It's a slow process but it feels as though we are making some headway.

The basement sewing room was finally finished, along with the additional bathroom. The deck on the back of the house and the pergola got finished, the garden area was rocked and the raised garden beds were installed. The RV pad on the side of the house was completed. Fences and gates were replaced with new. The entire front yard was leveled with a dozer and new soil brought in along with sod. A "He Shed" was built for Mr. Sister out back. He says he's going to put up a NO Girls Allowed sign...LOL. The fire pit was dug and rocked pathways created. All the toilets in the remaining three bathrooms were replaced. New shower door for the guest bathroom upstairs. And a gazillion other little things have been done. Looking back it has been quite a year and we have accomplished a lot in a short time.

Two of our sons came to visit, Andrew stayed for the summer in his RV on the side of the house. Jeff, Miranda and the grandkids came in May and stayed for a week. We met John's cousin Jana for the first time, she came to stay for a week and then we all flew back to Minnesota for a family reunion. And there was a shop hop going on while we were there! Wheee! Then back to Idaho for the Eastern Idaho Shop Hop which encompassed, Wyoming, Utah and South Eastern Idaho. Always fun!

And then there was my birthday surprise...November is always a difficult time for me for personal reasons. My birthday is November 9th. I haven't been online much because I had lost feeling in my hands and feet a couple months prior and it felt uncomfortable to type. Long story short, after seeing three different doctors and finally getting a referral into a neurologist, he confirmed that I was not losing my mind, I had no feeling in my hands and feet. He ordered up a bunch of tests and an MRI. 

We were out to dinner with our dear friends the Morrows and after dinner I was driving us home. The phone rings and it's a doctor calling me. He tells me who he is and that the Neurologist asked him to look at my MRI. He then tells me I need to go straight to the emergency room and get checked in for surgery! I said, whoa, I don't know who you are, tell me what's going on. He informs me that by all rights and measures I should be a quadriplegic right now, that my C3 disc has blown into my spinal cord and if I move wrong, that could be it. He texted me a copy of the MRI. One look and I knew I could not avoid it.

Over 25 years ago, I had a similar thing happen, 16 hours of surgery and they got me put back together c-4 through c-7. I got home and just started bawling because I was reflecting back on what I went through last time. Not only was the surgery last time, horrific to go through; but as I was recuperating my best friend committed suicide. We were in our 40's, I had known her since we were 7. It was devastating. I don't think a day goes by that I don't think of her. At any rate, lots of trauma was brought to the surface. One of the Brother's from church came over and he and John gave me a blessing. It was very short but I felt this incredible wave of calm wash over me and I knew everything would be alright.

The neurosurgeon sent me to get a neck brace on the 10th. We were in his office for a consult on the 11th and on the 12th, early in the morning, he did my surgery. I remember coming to in the recovery room and I could feel my hands and feet! The surgery took only 2 hours and here I am typing this blog post. I have even done a bit of quilting and hand sewing.

My husband has been amazing, stepping up to the plate and taking on all the household chores, helping me shower and dress, putting up with my moods. Our neighbors have brought in meals, picked up prescriptions. The neighbor boy plowed our driveway and sidewalks. We are just blessed beyond measure.

In January, as I was feeling pretty good and recovering nicely, I got Covid. A really bad case of it and had to be on oxygen for a couple months. It has been a struggle to get past the side effects that have lingered on. Mental fog, mood swings, body aches. They are lifting, I still have good days and bad days.

So, the bright side...I am recovering, taking things slow and trying not to run (which is my tendency).  Sometimes, you just have to suck it up and do the thing you don't want to do, know that God will get you through it and look for the blessings. There is a Power in Adversity, it is always a teaching experience, a humbling experience, an opportunity for growth and self reflection. This day, this hour, this minute will never come again. 

I am grateful for all of you folks online who have followed me on Facebook and have given me words of encouragement, prayers for healing and have been the kindest friends through this journey. Thank you, you just have no idea how much that means to us. Looking forward to a bright future, new explorations in design and quilting and let's have some fun!

With the brain fog, I wanted to quilt something that wouldn't require a great deal of mental effort. (just reading a pattern was straining my brain for a while there) I love the Irish Chain. A simple nine patch put together with a plain square and row by row it all comes together!

Last summer when I was shop hopping my dear friend Annalee Leonard who owns The Day Dreams Quilt Shop in Idaho Falls, gave me a couple packets of fabric in the prettiest shade of blue. I knew when she gave it to me that I wanted to make it into an Irish Chain.

I will post directions for this quilt in my next blog post!

Thank you all again, for following along!