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.

A Touch of Spring

Here is a shot of my tulips that I planted last fall. The picture really doesn't do them justice. Of course the fence is there to keep the deer from feasting on them. So far it has worked.

I went to a new doctor last week. Since moving to Oregon 8 1/2 years ago I haven't had a Gynecologist. I have been seeing my General Practitioner for my girlie tests each year. I decided I would find one and go and I did. Well the doctor I chose is very thorough. She tested me for my vitamin D and also wanted me to have a bone scan. No problem. I worked at Curves about 5 years ago and each year they had a bone scan offered to their members for a nominal fee and as an employee I was able to have it for free. When I was tested the "doctor" who administered the test (which by the way was of my index finger)told me my bone density was like that of a teenager and also told me to stop taking my calcium because I could end up with calcium deposits on my bones if I had too much calcium. Well, I didn't stop taking it but my DEXA scan results were shocking to me, to say the least. I have thinning bones. I don't have Osteoporosis (yet) but I am on the way to it if I don't take action now. She said I had two options. The first was medication taken once a week and the second is a supplement that contains the mineral strontium, which has been proven to regrow bones. I am going to try this method first since I don't want to have to take any prescription drugs if I don't have to . What they will do is retest me in 6 months to see how I am doing. Also, my test for vitamin D came back low as well. It is pretty common for people living in the Northwest to test low in vitamin D but I have been taking supplements for several years of 1000 mg a day. Mine came back at 40 and 50 is normal and 60-100 is optimum. Sooo, since this also contributes to your bone density I am now going to be taking 5000 mg a day plus the Grow Bone supplement which also contains some vitamin D.

Last night I was scanning the internet reading up on bone density and what can cause you to lose bone and one of the things I read is weight loss can cause bone loss. It said if you lose 20 pounds not only do you lose weight but you lose muscle (which I knew) and bone. Well, I thought about the amount of times I have lost 20 pounds in my lifetime and the fact that I've lost nearly 100 pounds in the last few years and it makes sense. Also, when I was have the reflux my surgeon had me taking Prilosec twice a day and last year I heard on the news that Prilosec can cause calcium to be leached from your bones. When I heard that I stopped taking it. I wonder if it affected my bones while I did take it. Check back here in 6 months and see how I am doing.

Next week I go in for my upper GI and possible fill of the band. Fingers crossed for good results.

Weekend plans messed up.......

We went to coast with another couple to join a camping club for a weekend outing on Thursday. We planned to stay until Monday and hoped the weather wouldn't be too awful. We arrived on Thursday a little after noon. The park we were in was very nice and has it's own lake. The first night of the campout was Friday. They had a little gathering in the clubhouse at 4:30. We were to bring "light snacks" and something to drink. I made Jalapeno Poppers from the recipe I got from my sister in law. They were a big hit. If you want the recipe here it is: Jalapeno Poppers 1 pkg of Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage 1 pkg (8 oz) of cream cheese 1 cup of parmesan cheese Fresh whole jalapenos Cook the sausage until crumbly and done and then add the cream cheese in small chunks. Mix them well and then add the cup of parmesan cheese. This makes a huge amount so you can freeze what's left for another time. Cut the jalapenos in half lengthwise and remove the veins and seeds. This will keep them from being really hot. Lay them on a cookie sheet fill the cavity with the sausage mixture. Preheat the oven to 375 and cook for 30 minutes. After our hors d'oevres time was about over I went back to our motor home to get our dinner plates and silverware for dinner. When I walked in, Chloe (our Bichon Frise) was standing in the middle of the floor not moving and her head was looking down. This was odd so I spoke to her and she didn't respond. I walked over to her and bent down and spoke again and put my hand under her chin to lift her head. She screamed like in pain. I couldn't imagine what was wrong with her. I had only been gone about an hour and she was laying in the recliner when I left. She then walked over to the front of the couch and laid down. I laid beside her and tried to sooth her and pet her. Then I reach up and got my cellphone and called Bob to come back quickly. When he got there she was still laying in the same spot . She would scream out every few minutes. It seemed as though maybe she had fallen and hurt herself. We stayed with her a while and then decided she was OK and went to eat our dinner with the group and then came back as soon as we finished. She screamed most of the night so neither of us got much sleep. Bob stayed with her and told me to get some sleep. I was in bed but couldn't sleep. We decided to bring her home to her own vet, since they are open on Saturdays. I gave Molly, our cat her thyroid medicine before we left and carried Chloe to the car and sat her on my lap. After driving about 30 minutes she seemed really uncomfortable and Bob stopped so I could get out and get into the back seat with her. She was more comfortable there and laid on the seat next to me. We drove straight to the Vet's office. They took her in right away and the vet checked her thoroughly but wasn't able to xray her because she would need to be sedated and wouldn't revive in time for us to take her before the office closed. He checked her legs, her neck and moved everything all over and she never screamed. He put her leash on and had me walk her through the office and down the stairs and across the parking lot and back and up the stairs and she did all of it with no problem. She did slow down and start limping a little on her right leg though. She has arthritis in that leg and was diagnosed a few years ago. So what he decided was to give her a shot of a non steroidal anti inflammatory and some of the liquid medicine she had been given before for me to take home. She started acting better within the hour. We went home and both of us took a long nap and she did too. Bob went back to the coast last night and I stayed home with her to make sure she was alright. She seems to me fine now. She ate her dinner and in fact is still sleeping now. I went in to see her a little while ago and she is sprawled out on her bed. She just now got up and went outside to do her business. She seems fine. The whole time I was at the coast it was raining. It isn't raining here at home but it is still cloudy. Bob called this morning and said the sun was out there. I hope it comes out here too. I need to go out and take pictures of the tulips I planted last fall. They're beautiful. They are in a fenced area out front because deer love to eat tulips. They actually could jump the little fence that is around the planter but so far they haven't. I guess there is plenty of food around for them to eat. Bob will probably stay there until tomorrow since we already paid for the 4 nights there. The people I did get to meet were very nice and I am looking forward to the next camp out so I can meet the rest and spend some fun time with them. It's kind of nice to have the house to myself though. It's so quiet though, but I can watch whatever I want on television and I think I will work on one of my quilts that is ready for quilting. I will put it on the frame and start the process today.

Weekend Hike.......

We went on a hike on Saturday with our group from church. Here in Oregon we have the most beautiful places to hike with foliage, waterfalls and rivers. Amazingly beautiful. I took a few pictures on my way. We had a great time and afterward we all piled into the church vans and went to one couple's home for a barbecue. They fixed skewers of chicken breast chunks with shrimp alternating and other skewers contained pork chunks or beef chunks. They all had been marinated and tasted amazing. The rest of us brought side dishes to go with it. We were all very hungry when it came time to eat after our hike. It was a mile long over a path in the woods and a stream running alongside it. Absolutely gorgeous. Some of the shots I took don't look real, they look like paintings.

My quilt frame working finally