My quilty friend is planning on coming up tomorrow--YEAH! It has been so long since we have had a visit and we only live about 15 minutes apart. She has had medical problems in her family, too. Plus she has a MIL that she cooks for every day, plus she has 4 grown kids and 3 grandchildren so her life gets rather full part of the time.

Hopefully, I will get motivated to get back into something quilty. My nine-patch is half done. And this past weekend we got my desk ready. Maybe I should say my husband got it ready. We just have to wait to find help to get it down in the basement. It is sooo heavy. I really hate for Roger to lift on it, but I am so anxious to have it down there. I think once I get this nine-patch done that I will try to make myself piece on my Pfaff till I can have it ready to quilt any time.

My basement is so full of stuff--this will make 3 full sized office desks with sewing machines sitting in them. I feel like I have come a long way from having a Kenmore sewing machine that I felt guilty over even giving it away...it was horrible. My husband got it for me probably for my first birthday after we were married. I thought for the longest time it was just me that couldn't sew with it. I worked full time then and only sewed a little every now and then.

But after we moved to Tennessee for a while and I didn't work outside the home, it would sew good for a while, then all heck would break loose and it would not sew. I would do everything imaginable and finally it would start sewing, but I could never figure what I done to remedy the situation. I would do the usual of cleaning bobbin/bobbin area, rethread, change needle, etc.

Finally my oldest daughter was in elementary school and I tried to hem a simple cotton blouse one night and ended up doing it by hand. That was the final straw. I started shopping for a machine and settled on my Pfaff Tiptronic 1171. I have really loved that machine! That was around 1992 and I have only had one little problem with it this past winter, and it wasn't affecting the sewing. It just made a chirping noise...so took it in to be serviced and he could not find what was causing the noise but kept oiling it till it stopped.

I wonder just how significant this day is going to turn out to be for me--will it be a day that fades into vague memories or will it be the day that starts a time apart. I had to go for more views of my right breast today--I cannot count the number of views the lady took. She was so nice though.

The bottom line is while I have an old cyst that has been there a long time, I also have a place with about 30 microcalcifications and the radiologists wants me to have a biopsy done. Right now I am more bothered by whether I should tell people or whether I shouldn't. I don't want people to worry, but would appreciate the prayers. I really do not want one of my sisters to know cause I know how upset she will be.

It really affected my husband, but like I told him, it isn't a death sentence just because a biopsy is called for. I just really don't want to worry about it.

On to happier subjects, my daughter called tonight and she thinks I will be able to bring my kitten home this weekend. I cannot wait...I have been searching for a name for him. So far Moses is my choice. I would call him Mose for short. He is the kind of tabby my Cougar was....I still miss him. Here is a picture of my Cougar--I think it is the second picture of him I took with my digital Canon Rebel. This is not too long before I had to have him put down. He was one smart kitty--he answered to his name, knew the meaning of 'no' and a whole lot more.

I am finally able to eat fairly normal--it took long enough. I think night before last was the first real meal I have eaten since starting on the new antidepressant. I cannot tell if it is helping me yet or not with the exhaustion and moods. The moods came and went anyway, and I still could sleep the day away if given the chance.

I have to go back for more views (mammograms??) of my breasts. They think it is just calcifications, but just want to be sure. I do not feel worried, though maybe I should. I have had one sister and one maternal aunt with breast cancer. That is Monday morning.

Still not into sewing or even photography...I did sew a few lines earlier this week and keep promising myself to get back down there. I did have to redesign my sketch of the quilt top I am making...the one I was going by used only 56 blocks and I have 72 made. It is going to be old-timey looking. Mainly browns and dark colors. I am trying to use some of my older fabrics.

You might ask what I have been doing. The answer is not much. I have been trying a new antidepressant--once before I was suffering with this fatigue thing and an antidepressant did the trick. That was several years ago, and I have not had any real problems till now. Anyway, this is totally messing with my stomach. On the positive side, I should lose some weight. The negative is that besides not ever feeling like eating, I don't even like to think about food--don't want to cook it or even smell it. I just feel out of sorts all the way around.

I accidentally forgot to take it once, and was able to eat a little better the next day. So yesterday I skipped taking it till I would actually enjoy eating something today. I have been taking it since the 8th and have not ate a full meal since. Even with not taking it yesterday, I didn't really eat much today.

I went to the doctor partly because I have been so moody plus just extreme exhaustion. It might be that time of life for me since I am 51 yrs. old. So, if this don't work, the doctor is going to do farther tests and see if Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) might be an option. New studies have shown that it is not near as dangerous as once thought...in the original studies done, they avoided having one segment of women in it.

It turns out that it is NOT good for women who are past menopause, but shows that in the others, that 40% of those that don't have HRT will develop Alzheimer's by age 80. There was an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, and also an article about that article in the Los Angeles times--June 21st I think is the date.

HERE is where I first heard about the article...it at least gave me hope that something can be done. Maybe.

Will things ever get back to normal? I hope so after today. The living room awaits its new blanket of carpet while my dining room sits crammed full to the brim of living room furniture. It is worth the effort, but I am oh, so weary. I hated to see my husband have to go back to work after this weekend. He is still not back to normal from the surgery and was so tired yesterday evening.

I also have enough tomatoes to do another run of salsa, and that after making 4 quarts and 1 pint more on Saturday. I did not look at the garden yesterday...I am afraid of how many more I might find. But I am not complaining! I have made 20 quarts plus the pint so far, and could use all that myself...but will be sharing with my daughters so that is not much to pass around.

LATER
It is about 11:15 as I write this. My house is somewhat back to normal. I still have books to get on the shelves, which will be a fairly big job. I am just so thankful to have this done. Makes our house look like a home again.

I am in a teary mood--homesick for Tennessee and the little shack we lived in in 1978-1979...been listening to a song by THE_EVERYBODYFIELDS called SO_GOOD_TO_BE_HOME...had a hard time understanding all the words till I found someone that knew the lyrics. This is not the entire song and not as good as the version I have, but it is a sample of it. (Click for the Official_Everybodyfields_Site )

A friend came by to see the new floors, and as she was leaving a kitty from this house south of us came running across the street to us...I picked it up till my friend would not run over it. It is soooo skinny, and was just craving affection. She just purred so softly as I held her.....I have seen the little girl over there just kick her. I feel so bad for both--my husband asked me where I thought the little girl learned those actions...and he is right. They also have a puppy over there and I have seen her hit it across its face for absolutely nothing! And she is only maybe 4 or 5 years old at the most!

I will probably make a run to the store tomorrow and pick up some kitty food so if it comes over here again, I will have something to feed it. Then maybe I will feel a little better if I know it has something to eat...I will be needing food for my new kitty in a couple weeks anyway.

I have new linoleum on my dining room floor, and will have new carpet in the living room come Monday! The installer called yesterday morn and asked if I could have the dining room ready for him by today and I said yes. What a job! You just would not believe all that fits into my china cabinet...and of course it had to be unloaded to be able to move it.

Also my computer is set up in the dining room, so had to take it down. Just a great big maze of cords! I took it down and put it right back up till I wouldn't be without it. Only to get up this morn to find I was without internet service. I was on the phone with teck support for almost two hours before she finally gave up and decided it was on their end. At least it was someone I could understand--they had an accent but I don't mind so long as they understand me and I understand them.

The guy was here promptly at 9:00 to install the linoleum. I held the door for him while he brought things in...then rather than just stand and watch him, I brought in more jars and washed them. Then went and picked tomatoes

like the ones shown here and made 5 more
quarts of salsa. They are not perfect to look at but sure taste delicious....

I have been getting the dining room emptied out--I get new linoleum put in tomorrow. I have been at this room for the most of the day and still have this computer to take down. I am not sure if I am going to set it up in another room or just leave it down while the job is being done.


I cannot believe the amount stuff that was crammed into the china cabinet...and all of it stuff that I do want to keep. Things my children have given me for the most part with a few things from other people. So I don't think I will be disposing of any of it. I think my younger daughter would want some of it if she had room, but she has less room for stuff like that than I do.


Other than being really glad to be getting this done, I truely wish it was another time. I have lots of tomatoes about ready to can--I probably should make a small batch of salsa tonight. Will see what I feel like when we get this room ready and

Monday morning and rain....I don't think we will get a lot but it will probably put a halt to lawn mowing. That is okay. I had rather mow it towards the end of the week and would like to slowly get it back there. I was mowing on Fridays for a while, then we had a dry spell where I didn't mow for a month or over. Next came rain for several days and I had to grab the chance to mow...which happened to be a Monday, and Monday it has been for a while.

I have been in a horrible mood...can't stand myself even. I think about quilting and taking pictures but that is as far as it goes. Ever since I discovered I had cut my lining too short for the log cabin quilt top, I have just been out of the mood.

I have tons of laundry to do...got off track with that the past few days also. All last week I suffered with that just totally exhausted feeling every day. I had some place to go every single day, and even though it was nothing much to do, I would come home totally wiped out. I went to the library and my back hurt so bad that I didn't stay long enough to even make a nice selection of books.

I went to my younger daughter's another day for a couple of three hours, we did not do anything other than visit, and I came home exhausted. I get to feeling like a hypochondriac, but I don't think I am. I have not been to a doctor in over a year. Not for anything. Wouldn't a hypochondriac be running to the doctor?

I went to some yard sales with my older daughter Saturday--neither one of us found any treasures. No, I take that back. There was a woman selling iris bulbs for a $1 each and I bought three. I have not planted them yet....that is something else I need to do in the next day or two.