In crafting news...

Spring Break-- Day 2, step 27 of 50---finished! It is a team effort, I would not have the fortitude to attempt this alone. Brownie is both a enthusiastic cheerleader AND a hard driving task master, maybe we will finish this later today.

I fear that my blog is turning into a cancer and kid blog these last few weeks. Upon looking through my photos I have come across many that haven't been shared... Fear not, I am still a crafting blogger!
Wait... this is the "urban-farmer" blogger shot-- but come on, the eggs are coming back. Lay, lay me some more little chickies!
Back to the early morning sewing-- I am going to finish this for next weeks DQS#10 due date. I did limit myself to only one online swap the past few months, but I have still felt really, really busy keeping up with the monthly swaps at the EMQG.
Photo-happy blogger here--- at first I was grossed out by this sticker, but upon closer inspection I wanted to leave a note on the windshield because this sticker actually ROCKS!
Back to craft-blogger, crafting all over town-- knitting is a great anxiety soother, I am knitting a stella pixie hat for little mango in the pre-op appointment at OHSU. In the past few weeks I also knitted 2 hats for my mom, this one and one I invented-- she has been wearing them, but in all the hubbub I forgot to take pictures. The pixie hat went with me to L.A. and I worked on it a little when the plane was taking off and landing. Upon arrival back home, I have discovered that I added and subtracted some of the ribbing rows by mistake. Luckily, I will be using this project to entertain myself further after I rip out the weird rows!
Back to crafting in odd locations-- I finished my swap softie (see EMQG link above) in the car after picking the kids up from school. By bribing them with granola bars and pop music, I was able to finish the arms, hair, and face just in time to drop him off at a friends for her to take him to the swap for me.

Looking at these pictures makes me think that I (and YOU too!) have little excuse for not having time for craft and taking our projects out with us. Out around town, to the airport, to the doctor's office, when time to craft around the home is short, you can always make something to do on the go!

(My crafting P.S.A. for the day!)

JMB

The last weeks...

I thought that I would start with the end of my WHIRLWIND trip to L.A. first. San Fran airport... stuck there, but thank goodness for public art installations. They had a recycled art exhibit that I had to breeze through in my attempt to return to Oregon. I really wish that I could have seen the Button Hearse (top, 3rd from the left) in person. The scary person in the lower right-hand corner is yours truly... not enough sleep, gritty brain and new short hair-do. Long story short, it is such a breeze to travel alone, delays are very easy when you don't have to deal with spouses and children. Handwork also makes waiting A LOT less tense.

This past week has been one of great relief. I was SO relieved to finally make it home Monday @ noon. Thursday found my sisters, mother, and I back up in Portland for my mom's pathology reports. We were SO relieved to hear that they got the tumors out WITH negative margins (a nice area around the tumor that is cancer free) and the lymph tumor was a loner, all of the other nodes were cancer-free. EXHALE... To be honest I had no idea what a "good" result from the pathology would even look like. We have had one bad visit with the oncologist after another for the past 5 months, THE PAST 5 MONTHS!!! In my head the fact that my mom was breathing was good news for me. She still has to do 6 weeks of radiation therapy... but for now the cancer is all cut out. She is so happy. My sisters are so happy. I am so happy. The question now is, what is life? What do we do now? When we started this crazy journey down the rabbit hole ... what had I been doing? What had I been planning? I guess I have got to go and figure that out.

Peace

JMB

Fabric therapy...

Yesterday was a big day for us. My mom went in for surgery to remove a tumor in her breast and another in her lymph in her armpit. She came through the whole thing well. The surgeon said that he cleaned all of it out of her body. I am so relieved. SO. Relieved!

The first two hours in the waiting room were OK. After those came and went, I kept watching the clock and started feeling anxious and punchy. There was a fisherman in the waiting room and he and the "concierge" nurse got in to this loud discussion about fish, eating fish, meaty fish, mushy fish, and cooking fish. A LOT of talk about fish. After a while my sisters and I couldn't help but get the giggles. Some people eat, some smoke... my sisters and I get the giggles when we are anxious.... and it was A LOT of talk about fish. Laughing helped release the nervous energy, but we all were able to really exhale once the surgeon came out and told us our mama was in recovery. I am so thankful that we were together. No one would have helped me laugh like those two girlies.
This past week I also found A LOT of fabric that wanted to come and live with me... brighten my life, if you please. I put all the skulls and purples together and I kinda like that mix. This next lot is for the kids. I am putting together another "I spy" and there are a lot of goodies here. I think the pac-man ghosts are going to be a hit.
More fun!! The town print is really fun!
SNAPS and VIEW MASTER!!! I am so in love.
Tickets, writing..... I can't say no to chicken wire!
Germs AND text??? These are really weird, but I like that.
These were on big sale @ Fabric.com. The watercolor-ness of them is just perfect for spring!

I was so sad to miss my EMQG meeting last night... but rumor has it that it still was fantastic, even though I was gone. (I am so happy about that! It means we have found some good folks here in Eugene!) I was glad that I got to be with my mom and my sisters. Throughout the past months my mom has been saying that some of the pain that she had been having in her shoulders is feeling better. She believes that is the power of all of the people praying for her. Thank you so much for keeping her in your prayers, it means so much and it makes a difference.

JMB

Thinking of Spring...

For a moment after Blondie's Hip-Hop class yesterday, I was just able to think of the coming of Spring. Thank you for your support.

JMB

Stardate February 24, 2011... Mission: Snow day!

It didn't last through the day, but BOY, it was fun while it lasted!!

(Mango's featured pants are the reverse side of the pants I posted yesterday.... LOVE SEEING THAT FABRIC in the "everyday"!)

JMB

Delayed due to .... forgetfulness?? The Oscars!

Dealing with cancer makes you do funny things. I think that I have been in search of opportunities for light-hearted fun. This was one little vacation I went on last week, Hot Swan-Mama in the Brownie Bus. Yes, I was in full costume, and YES there were no parking spots close to the party house so I had to walk a block, and YES there was a van full of dudes fixing the house next door as I knocked on the door. Luckily, I was wearing a mask and no one could tell who I was. Yes, it was quite the disguise. The wrap-up is here. Thanks Emily for the crazy trip!

JMB

While I learn one thing, she learns another...

I am hoping to cover many things with this mosaic...

*my feeble, but diligent, attempts at guitar

*my funny, funny little Mango

*my February pattern pick (FINISHED!!!), a pair of "Quick Change Trousers" from this book.

Guitar-- Received for Christmas too long ago, trying for the second time to make some "beautiful music". Also my first picture for this series.

Mango, she is a funny girl. The past two weeks have been HUGE developmental weeks for her. She is running all over the place now. Her vocabulary is exploding, but to be honest she is using "no" as just a regular conversational word rather than an answer to a question. I will ask her if she would like a cookie and she smiles widely, holds out her hand and says "No". It all comes off as very coy and cute. We have said "goodbye" to the night time bottle of milk. She is really just part of the family kid-pack now. I am so happy to say hello to this new "big kid", but also sad to say another little goodbye to my last baby.

I was so happy to finish stitching up these cute, cute pants. To be honest I cut them out in early January, there was a rogue afternoon where both boys were whisked away by Grandma and Grandpa. They had just sat, cut out and folded on the kitchen shelf.... as a reminder that I needed to finish them. Finally I found this great little group that is doing a pattern a month... I had to sew them together. Mango looks so cute in them. I love the waist finishing. It looks so professional and the directions were really easy to follow. Maybe my most favorite thing was cutting into my "Good Folks" fabric, the stash that I have been hoarding for a year now. This month I am making a little dress from the same book. I have the bodice done. I will post the finished piece when I get back to it.

This coming week is going to be a biggie... My mom is having surgery, on March 9th, to cut out the cancer in her breast and armpit. We are trekking up to Portland to the OHSU Knight Cancer center. Her surgeon is well respected and has done this surgery before so I am hopeful that we will have a good outcome. Your prayers and thoughts are always appreciated.

Until we meet again!

JMB