Happy Fourth of July, and a new Wreath!

I hope everyone has had a Wonderful Fourth of July!  I want to take this moment to say "thank you" to all those who serve or have served our nation to ensure this freedom that we all enjoy.....and to the families of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice, I hope they know how much our family appreciates the enormity of the price that was paid for us to enjoy living in the United States.

To celebrate the Fourth, I made a simple rag wreath to go over our mantle....these wreaths are all over the craft blogs, and are super easy to do.    Let me apologize early for the awful pics....it was late at night when I did this, and there was no natural light in the room!

So, here's what you will need:

1.  a wreath, obviously :)    You can use a straw wreath, a foam one, a metal one, etc....I did the cheapo version, and had Dijon bend a wire coat hanger into a circle!  FREE....love it!

2.  fabrics of your choice     I used four different coordinating fabrics for this wreath....mixture of reds, whites, and blues......mix of solids and prints.   I used about 2/3 of a yard of each one, and had a bit left over.   The amount needed will depend on how many fabrics you use, and how big the wreath is.

3.  things to cut fabric....I use scissors, fabric cutter, and fabric measuring thingie (you folks that sew know what its called! LOL)

 I LOVE this project cuz its soooo easy.....I took my fabric cutter, and laid the fabric out....For the wreath this size, I cut the strips to approximately 1" by 6".....This is NOT an exact science!  :)   Close is good enough!!  And I think the raggedy edges make the wreath all that much better.  (NOTE:  If you use a thicker wreath, like a straw one, the strips will definitely need to be much longer.)

 Cut and cut until you have piles of fabric strips.  This is kinda tedious, so have something good on TV or Pandora to listen to....just sayin'...

 Then just begin to tie them around the wire wreath, one at a time, alternating the patterns....I just make one loop with each strip and pull it taut....the fabric stays nice and tight.  Continue until the wreath is full....I put lots of fabric on mine, so that its very full.

 (wow, did I get this picture off-center...)

Finally, just tweak the fabric a bit, to fluff the wreath.  You can tie an extra long piece of fabric, or a piece of ribbon on for a hangar.  I actually just hooked mine over the nail that's on my antique window over the fireplace mantle.  

I've made three of these wreaths now, for different times of the year, and just love them!  Hope you enjoy it too.

Have a wonderful holiday!!

See ya soon,

~~~~~Sally~~~~~

This and That

What every LSU Tiger fan would love to be driving.....or at least THIS Tiger fan would!!  Isn't it just adorable????  If it only didn't have that aggravating little sticker with the $$ on it....:)

On a more serious note, our Mr. B is back in the hospital.  He is having fainting spells, and the vets have found he is very anemic.  Now the quest is on to figure out why.  We are hoping against hope that it is a minor fix and nothing too serious.....sweet boy :)

Keegan News:  He has been sooooo quiet!!!!  I have almost felt (dare I say it?) normal that last few days!!!  So much more energy, less pain, less tingling and numbness.  Today, a bit more of the symptoms are back, but no real surprise there, with all the stress from the Mr. B situation.

I mentioned earlier about taking my fibro much more seriously and I have been doing just that.  Next time I'll start explaining what I mean.

See ya soon,

~~~~~Sally~~~~~

An Epiphany, and Happy Father's Day....

It's been two weeks plus since I wrote here....Life has been busy here!!  Mr. Bentley has been recovering nicely from his surgery, we've had Daughter #2 in for a visit, and Dijon and I will be leaving town tomorrow for a few days.  Never a dull moment around this place!!

And I've been doing an awful lot of thinking about my health.  I've come to realize that for many years, I've merely viewed fibromyalgia as an inconvenience of sorts, an aggravation, an irritant, but maybe not much else.  The last two weeks have shown me how wrong I have been in that thinking.....my fibro is much more than that.

For whatever reason (and for the life of me, I don't know what that is), Keegan is on a roll, and my fibro is flaring something awful lately.  It has been absolutely brutal some days, and I have realized that there truly is something terribly wrong with this body of mine.  I don't know exactly why my body is the way it is....neither do the doctors or researchers.  But there are lots of things that I can do to help reduce the impact of fibro, and ease the symptoms.   I have realized that I haven't taken all of this seriously enough.....I've been very hit and miss, and I'm doing myself no favors.  

So, I'm starting from scratch again....more research, keeping a diary, trying different supplements, exercising.  And recommitting to taking care of me.  I've realized I have to treat Keegan with a bit more respect than I have in the past.  And I'm planning of using the blog to help me with this plan!

*************

On a lighter note, Happy Father's Day to my Dad, my father-in-law, and my Dijon, who is the best dad my two girls could have hoped for!  And to all the dads out there, I hope your day was wonderful!

See ya soon,

~~~~~Sally~~~~~  

 

Mr. Bentley's BoBos

~~And again, I've ignored my poor blog....but with good reason.   I noticed last week that our Mr. Bentley was very lethargic, and he had stopped eating.  I took him in to our vet, and she found that he was suffering from patellar luxation....i.e., the kneecaps in his rear legs were moving out of alignment.  (From what I've learned, this is pretty common in Pomeranians.)   She felt he needed surgery, to prevent further damage, pain, and the onset of arthritis.   This came as a total shock, as Mr. B never seemed to be in any pain....such a stoic little guy!!

A trip to the surgeon was scheduled....we met yesterday morning, and after examining Mr. B, he agreed that surgery was definitely in order.  So Bentley had the procedure done yesterday afternoon.  He's still in the hospital, at least until tomorrow, if not Saturday.

I visited Mr. Bentley this morning, and he posed for a new picture....he wasn't feeling very chipper, I'm afraid.   Dijon and I went back to see him again tonight, and he seemed to still be in considerable pain....the tech on duty was about to give him more pain meds.   We'll see him again tomorrow morning, and hopefully he will have had a quiet, restful night. 

If you have pets, please give them an extra hug tonight, in honor of Mr. Bentley.  And if anything seems a bit "off", take them to the vet....you never know what can be wrong.  They give us so much, and ask so little in return...

~~In fibro news, Keegan has been a quiet little dragon lately....thank goodness!  I'm working on tweaking my regimen, and have a couple of new things to blog about....I'll share more next time, in the very near future!

See ya soon,

~~~~~Sally~~~~~

Living in Louisiana...

Sorry to have been away so long again....nothing huge going on, just incredibly busy with life....bridal showers, choir programs, college graduations and graduation parties, retirement dinners....all in the last two weeks!  Beginnings for young ones....changes for older ones.   And life goes on....

I reconnected this week with a dear friend I met while helping those displaced by Hurricane Katrina.   If you've been thinking of calling, emailing, texting, writing, or visiting someone, please do it....you may just get the biggest blessing ever :)

Its been an incredibly difficult time lately for many areas of our nation weatherwise....tornadoes and storms have hit so many towns.  Our prayers go out to all of those folks affected.  Here in Louisiana, we carefully watch the waters of the Mississippi River, and pray for those who have already flooded.

All along the Mississippi (including here in Baton Rouge) there are levees that prevent the river from flooding.  

On the Baton Rouge (east) side of the river, parts of the levee have concrete steps.  This picture represents a normal river level.

 Here's where the river level was a couple of days ago...the young man is sitting on the top step, and the orange tube is an additional sand-bag type structure used to add height to the levee.  In Baton Rouge, our levees are about 47-51 ft tall.

 

 An aerial view of the levee keeping the Mississippi River from flooding.  The ribbon on top of the levee is a road used for maintenance.

 This levee in northern Louisiana was breached, and water came crashing through.  

Water is released into the Morganza Spillway (and Bonnet Carre Spillway) in an attempt to ease pressure on the levees and prevent flooding in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and to keep river traffic moving.   Unfortunately, some folks and farmland will be flooded.

Both of these homeowners have built their own levees to try to save their homes from the floodwaters.  You can see the water surrounding the dirt berms. 

Please keep everyone affected by all these natural disasters in your prayers.

Keegan went on vacation last week for two days.....really, I was nearly symptom free!!  Unfortunately, he came back, ready to play more than ever.....But I sure did enjoy my break from him....Maybe I can book him another trip very soon.....

See ya soon,

~~~~~Sally~~~~~

Becoming Aware....

May 12 is National ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia Awareness Day, a day to hopefully spread the word about these "invisible illnesses" that affect such a large portion of our population.  Symptoms can be debilitating, and force many out of work and normal, everyday activities.

If you have a moment, please check out this link....there is some good info on fibromyalgia, and a brief slideshow that offers explanation about the syndrome.  And maybe wear purple today, to show your support :)

http://www.medicinenet.com/fibromyalgia/article.htm

The quicker we raise awareness, the quicker we find a cure.....no offense, Keegan, but I would love for you to live elsewhere.

See ya soon,

~~~~~Sally~~~~~

Happy Mother's Day :)

Happy Mother's Day to you all....

I've been enjoying the new camera!

I've missed being here....Dijon and I were camping in the woods with no internet!   I'm looking forward to catching up.  Keegan is angry right now, and I'm hurting a bit.  Time to get my dragon back under control....

See ya soon,

~~~~~Sally~~~~~