I am still around.......

I am still around, I just haven't been posting. We have been at a lake, camping for the whole month of July. Hubby goes out fishing in the morning and again in the late afternoon. I am ready to leave. I am soooo bored. The mosquitoes were really aggressive when we first got here. They have decreased in the last week. We've had several friends here for a week at a time so it's not too bad. Last week we had rain most of the week and dreary weather. Now it's so pretty again. I have read two books and I know it sounds like a nice relaxing vacation but I feel like all I do is wash dishes and vacuum the motorhome and pick up and put away things. Not to mention cooking all the time. The last few days were better because we made group meals with two other couples so I didn't have to cook the whole thing. Tonight we are making smoked baby back ribs and baked potatoes. One of the couples will be bringing corn on the cob. I took a picture of the lake with the moon over it the other night. Our wifi is so overworked here that I can't upload it until I get home. Next Thursday we are leaving for Sweet Home, Oregon for the Oregon Jamboree . We've gone for the last five years and it's so much fun. We have met lots of new friends waiting in line to get in each day. I have been reading all the posts I follow and even commenting on them when the computer doesn't make me wait too long. I hope everyone is having a good summer and I hope the areas suffering from the heat get relief soon.

My Next Rag Quilt

Here is the latest rag quilt for my Sis-in-law's new grandson. I am working on the last one for a little girl yet to be born. Finally I will have one done before the baby is born.





I haven't been working very hard on getting these done. I am ashamed to say I wish I devoted more time to my quilting. I go to the gym 5 days a week and when I get home I start with my housework and then I make lunch for my hubby. Before I know it it's time to make dinner and I haven't worked on my quilt. I guess if I worked on them every single day I would get sick of sewing. I don't know. As it is I love it, when I do it.





I am feeling a little sorry for myself today. I am watching the scale creep up a few pounds and my jeans are feeling a little tight today. I workout hard when at the gym everyday I am there. I still use a small salad plate at dinner and yet, I feel as though I am gaining weight. I am thinking of rejoining Weight Watchers. I have until the end of August before I see my bariatric surgeon again. At that time it's any ones guess what he will decide. I only hope there will be an improvement in my esophagus and maybe he'll decide I don't need my band taken out and maybe he will even adjust it a tiny bit so I can have some restriction again. I haven't written my blog in about a month. I just read everyone else's that I subscribe to. One of the blogs I read is
Can't Wait to Lose it.
Jacquie had her lapband removed today and it was replaced (if everything went as planned) by a vertical sleeve. I hope she is doing well now, I believe her surgery was early this morning.
I don't know if I should consider this type of surgery for myself if I have to have my band removed. I will have to wait and see.

Our weather has been so nice this week. Sunny every day and warm but not hot. Today I kept hearing meadowlarks singing all day long. Beautiful. It's pretty quiet outside now. They must be eating and getting ready to call it a day. My hubby went fishing today with a couple of his buddies. He also went on Tuesday. Today they went to a lake and Tuesday they went to the ocean. He caught a couple of lingcod and some black bass. Today he gave what he caught to one of the other guys. He doesn't eat fish and I only eat it occasionally so he doesn't keep most of what he catches. Well, I need to get back to the sewing machine and sew some more before "So you think you can dance" comes on. Good night all.

2nd rag quilt

Here is the rag quilt I have made for my sister-in-law's grandbaby. I have two finished now and I am in the process of trying to find a box to mail them in. They live in Nevada. I still have two more to make. She is being blessed with 4 grandbabies this year. Two boys and two girls. These are all flannel and so soft. I am currently cutting the fabric for the third one.

I am trying to eat right and not have any between meal snacks. It's hard to do since I have been getting hungry between lunch and dinner each day. If I keep busy maybe I won't go looking for something to eat. And if I am really hungry I need to find something healthy to eat rather than crackers or pita chips. I always look for something quick and satisfying. Since I have no fluid in my band for 8 months now I am finding I am slipping back into old habits. So I am trying to only go for something that will nourish me and hold me over until my next meal. What are you all planning for the Memorial Weekend? We don't have any plans this weekend. The forecast is that it will rain all weekend except Sunday. We've lived here in Oregon for almost 9 years now and this has been the longest winter/rainy season so far. I am so ready ( being a Southern California girl) for sunshine and warm weather. But you can't beat the green here in Oregon. I love it.

I also want to thank everyone for their nice comments about my lapband troubles. It makes me feel so good to know I have friends out there in cyberspace.

Doctor

Yesterday was my appointment with my bariatric doctor. I was his first patient in my town. We chatted a while and I told him I didn't want my band removed if I have a choice. At least it gives me some restriction and without it I would have none. I asked him if there are many people who are having the same experience that I am having. He said that there are alot of people who are having the same experience. Most of the ones having the experience have the same size band as me. It is smaller than the ones being used today and they are finding the smaller band is causing more slippages, erosions and esophagus dilations due to the band cutting into the esophagus. He also told me he wants me to take another upper GI test in three months. I agreed to it. He also mentioned a test where they measure the muscle tone in the esophagus as I swallow liquid to see if I have a normal response. It was alot to take in and I am not sure if or when they will do that test. He never mentioned replacing the band, if it needs to be removed, with the vertical sleeve. He did, however say that he could replace the band I have with a newer band. But we will wait and see how things go.

I finished my second rag quilt this week. I plan to mail off the two I have completed to my sis-in-law so she can send them to her two grandbabies. I am going to start on the third one tomorrow. I will download the picture I took of the newest one and post it tomorrow. They are quick once you start piecing them together.

Not good news......

Well, I went for my Upper GI and was very disappointed. The doctor said, "there has been no change" What???? No change??? He said there had been no improvement in the last 3 months. He told me I had two options: to wait another 3 months (which would mean 10 months of waiting)or have my band removed. I am so bummed!! I just stood there stunned. He asked me if I wasfrom out of town and when I told him I was from Roseburg he said he is opening a new clinic in Roseburg starting this month on the 24th. He told me to call his office and schedule an appointment for the 24th and we would discuss it then. I did just that, but I am worried about what will happen now. Please think good thoughts for me or prayers are so appreciated. I feel like two of the three years I have had my band have been stuck in a holding pattern over this problem.

Rag quilt finished....

I made this rag quilt to give to my sister-in-law for one of her four new grandbabies being born this year. I am a little late since 3 of them have already been born. I wanted to make something that would be quick to make and yet be soft a nice for a baby. I am so happy with how this turned out. I just have to wash it to make the fringe show up. I just need to make another one for a boy and then two girl quilts. I have the first girls quilt cut out and realized I don't have enough of the fabric I wanted to use so I will be making a trip to Joann's after church today and hopefully they have some matching fabric. This was made with flannels and each square is 8 inches with a 7 inch piece of batting inside the sandwich. I made it 6 rows of 6 squares and I love the size for putting on the floor for baby to lay on or play on and so soft and warm too. It only took me a couple of days to make start to finish.

Yesterday we walked at one of our parks for the March of Dimes marchforbabies.org. It was a considerably smaller turnout and administration than I had been used to when I lived in the Los Angeles area. But it was fun, none the less and we participated in a fund raiser of the very best kind, for babies. I had recruited all the ladies I workout with at the local YMCA and only two of them showed up. My hubby and his friend Rich also came along. It was a short walk of 3 miles and it took us an hour to get back to the starting point. They were cooking hotdogs and also had free ice cream. We got home before noon and had the whole day to do whatever. I worked on my quilt.

Tuesday, we are going up to Eugene with our friends and taking our motorhomes. There is a new Cabella's opening on Thursday and our fellas want to be there for the opening. Actually, friend Rich has one of their credit cards and has an invite for the day before the opening so I guess we'll be there on Wednesday. We are going on Tuesday because I have my appointment with my surgeon for the upper GI that day. I am hoping this time I have healed enough to have him start my fills again so I can start to lose weight again. It's been a long 7 months without restriction and I have gained about 9 pounds back. I am eager to have that not hungry feeling again.

It's a beautiful Sunday and I am off to go to church now.........God Bless all.

Fender Bender......ugh!!

Friday morning I was attempting to get to the gym at an earlier time than usual. An old friend of mine, who I worked with back 20 years ago, lives here in my town and goes to the YMCA also. She does a workout class at 9am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. She has been after me to give it a try and I decided to try it last Friday. After my shower and a container of protein shake I headed for the gym. I think I was feeling a bit rushed and was maybe driving a little faster and less safely than I usually do. I usually take a short cut on my way to the gym, thereby avoiding the busy intersection and 4 way signal. I headed down the street I take and there was another car in front of me, as I came down a slight hill I noticed a woman on the side of the road down on the ground. I thought something was wrong until she stood and I realized she was weeding. I only was looking at her for a couple of seconds but when I turned back the car in front of me had stopped to make a turn into a driveway. YIKES!! I slammed on the brakes but still hit him. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt. My car had no damage at all, his not so lucky. His whole bumper will have to be replaced at the very least. The man was very kind and invited me into his work (where he was making the turn to) to exchange information. He is a CPA and his office was quiet and private. I thanked him for being so calm and nice to me after I plowed into him.
I debated whether I should go on to the exercise class or go home, I went on to exercise. I was glad I did. When I got home and told Bob what had happened he said "sounds like you were in a hurry and that short cut you always take is proof of that, but accidents happen and that's what we have insurance for" I knew he would be ok with it. He was only concerned with whether there were any injuries.

A friend of mine is getting started on quilting now also and couldn't get her machine threaded the other night so I went over and helped her with the threading and showed her how to wind the bobbin on the machine. It hadn't been used in years and was a bit stiff and hard to get going. I suggested she take it to be serviced before trying to make anything with it. She took it in Monday morning and called me when she got home to tell me they had a Singer Featherweight machine. I have one that was my Mom's and I believe she bought at a Goodwill store in the 1960s for about $10. It is in great shape and I love it. Well, she asked if I would go with her and see if it was worth the $399 the store owner was asking for it. I said I would go and our husbands tagged along. Her husband tried to get her to buy a new Janome machine for about the same price and the same size with quilting attachments ie: walking foot, freemotion quilting foot and so I tried sewing on each of them. Although the Janome was a perfectly nice little machine that also had several different stitches built in, but that Featherweight sewed like a little dream. There is just something about those little machines. They just are so smooth. Needless to say, she got what she wanted and was sewing on it all day yesterday. She called me again to thank me for coming with her to the store. I am glad she is a member of the Featherweight Club too.