What I'm Up To

The answer.......not much! I've had ups and downs this month and blame it on the winter! I'm learning that I don't do well in the winter, especially when the skies are grey and gloomy.

I have been working industriously on my Eddie blanket and I'm almost there. I had to buy more yarn so the Hubs and I went to Knoxville last Sunday because the Joann's on the other side of Knoxville was the only store within a 50 mile radius that had the yarn. I had calculated that I needed 5 more balls and according to their inventory in the app, they had 5. When we got there, they actually had six but 2 of them were a different dye lot. How lucky was I to be able to get the very same dye lot on 4 balls that I bought in October from Lion Brand direct??? The fifth ball is slightly off but I believe it will work. Abby said to work it in during the rows so it won't stand out. That daughter of mine has a good head on her shoulders. Here's the last photo I took the day before we went to get more yarn:

That's a full size bed it's lying on. My adjustable bed, I might add!  I'm still in love with this bed. I have approximately 15-20 more rows and I'll be finished.

Having said that, I've not crocheted at all this week. Monday, I was totally worn out from our trip. Tuesday was laundry and termite inspection. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were just rotten days and I didn't want to crochet. Saturday was more of the same and today, I'm trying to get myself into my chair and work on it.

I've had some blood pressure issues over the last couple of weeks. I have been feeling really good. I even bought myself an inexpensive FitBit like thing called a Smart Band. I've been measuring my steps and my sleep and I've been doing well. Last week, I had a couple of days with I was lethargic and dizzy. When I checked my BP, it was 93/71 and stayed in at area for the rest of the day.  I emailed my doctor and explained what was going on and she advised me to cut my medication in half and try that for a week and let her know. That didn't go so well as my BP started climbing and got to 156/93 along with a miserable headache. I went back to the whole pill and continued to monitor and by yesterday, I was back down in normal range of 124/73. We went out to eat today and to get groceries and I started feeling dizzy, really tired and nauseated. I check when we got home and I'm back down to 90/71 with a heart rate of 97. So I've emailed the doctor again, and I'm going to call in the morning and try to get in to see her. I was hoping to avoid that because there is really a ton of Flu A and Flu B going around. I've had a flu shot but I'm not sure how good the protection is for these strains.

Hey ho, such is the life of a almost 67 year old woman with RA and other assorted problems. I have to keep my sense of humor. Otherwise, I'd curl up in the bed and never get up. And with RA, that's one thing you don't want to do, because you might not be able to get back up again when you want to.

Moving on past this dismal stuff, I have been reading and listening to books quite a bit. So far I've completed 4 books (one was a hold over from 2017, but hey, it still counts). I've decided this year to concentrate on the series I have been delving into and see if I can complete them all. I'm going to start book 5 in the Outlander Series and I've finished book 1 in the Lord John series. Book 5, "The Fiery Cross", has had mixed reviews on Audible but I'm going ahead. I've also downloaded "All These Worlds" the final book in the Bobiverse series. I think I'll listen to that one first and then start on "The Fiery Cross". (If any of you have read or listened to "The Fiery Cross", I would be very interested in your take on it.)  I'm reading "City of Endless Nights" by Preston and Child. It's the most recent in the Agent Pendergast series.

My cross stitching has been put on hold until the Eddie Blanket is finished, but I'm continued to load up on projects and my stitchy fingers are itching to get going again. I've also been looking at Lucy's, of Attic 24, new CAL called the Woodland Blanket. I love her patterns and her choice of colors is almost always right up my alley. The Eddie Blanket is being done using her Granny Stripe pattern.

Okay, I've rambled enough. Bad Grammy hasn't checked on Lilly Bug in the last week but the last time I talked to my son, he said she was doing fine and the cast didn't seem to be bothering her at all. He said she was going 90 miles a minute, as usual.

Abby got sick on Wednesday and tested positive for Flu A on Thursday. Sam started running a fever on Saturday and tested positive for Flu A. That only left James who tested positive today. Doug was taking a preventative dose of Tamiflu so hopefully, he won't end up with it. One of the few things I don't miss about being a mother is having both kids sick and then getting whatever myself.

Apparently, I hadn't rambled enough!  HA! I'm going to close now and go pick up that crocheting and try to get a chunk done tonight. As always, thank you for being my bloggy friends! You mean the world to me.

Hugs,
Sharon

Update on Lilly Bug

Our Lilly is home with pins in her elbow and a purple sparkly cast.

She also got her hair braided by the anesthesiologist while she was asleep. Her Dad said she was amazing through it all. She was calm and very tough. I've calmed down so much now that I know she's home and everything is fixed. This sweetie is the most loving, most caring little you can know. Of course, she's a bit adventurous also. She broke her elbow by, in her father's words, "Climbed on a wobbly table in her room and rode it to the floor".

I've also finished my first book for the 2018 challenge. "I Let You Go" by Clare Mackintosh. This is a library ebook. The description says,

 "On a rainy afternoon, a mother's life is shattered as her son slips from her grip and runs into the street....

I Let You Go follows Jenna Gray as she moves to a ramshackle cottage on the remote Welsh coast, trying to escape the memory of the car accident that plays again and again in her mind and desperate to heal from the loss of her child and the rest of her painful past.

At the same time, the novel tracks the pair of Bristol police investigators trying to get to the bottom of this hit-and-run. As they chase down one hopeless lead after another, they find themselves as drawn to each other as they are to the frustrating, twist-filled case before them."

This was a great book filled with unexpected twists and turns that kept me guessing about where the book as going. It was one of those that make you think you have it figured out but then you find you've been totally wrong. I really enjoyed this book.

I've started "The Midnight Line" by Lee Child. I've really enjoyed this series in the past but not so much now. I think the fact that Tom Cruise was cast in this role in the movies has put a damper on my enthusiasm. If ever there was a mistake in casting, this is it. Jack Reacher is 6 ft 5" tall with a build like an NFL lineman. In an interview, Lee Child described his face:  His face looked like it had been chipped out of rock by a sculptor who had ability but not much time. 

Tom Cruise is nothing like this. I can't seem to get past the fact that this is such a wrong casting. But anywho, the books are good and I just need to let go, I guess.

So there you go. Our Lilly Bug is home and feeling much better now and I've vented about Tom Cruise. Enough, yes????

Thank you, bloggy friends, for reading and commenting. Thank you for being my bloggy friends.

Hugs,

Sharon

Happy New Year (7 days late)

Happy New Year, all my fine fellow bloggers. I hope the holiday season was as good for you as it was for me. I have been enjoying reading about Christmas on the blogs and thought I should get my act together and do mine.

We had a quiet day here at the Braxton household on Christmas Day. I was spoiled this year with a new quilt and blanket to fit my bed. Since I downsized from a king to a full, the blankets I had would not stay on the bed. They kept sliding off and were cumbersome to deal with. The blanket is lightweight and, layered under the quilt, it keeps me warm and toasty all night. I've needed this the last few nights as we have had temps in the teens and single digits. Thankfully, we've not had snow; just really cold temps. My body doesn't do well with these cold temps. I have had a couple of days of pain in my joints, especially my hands and feet. I also got a Chicago Cubs ornament, 2 thermal bottles so my water will be ice cold (I can't drink water otherwise) and a "learn to knit" kit from Knit Picks. Or rather I got a copy of the page which said it was out of stock. HA! I'll be getting that as soon as it is back in stock. I don't know why I wanted that but I thought it might be fun to learn and if I can do it, at least I'll be able to make dishcloths and scarfs......maybe!

We had our family Christmas on Friday, December 29. Our house was full to the brim. Both of our children were here with the grandkids, my sister, niece and nephew and my sister- and brother-in-law (husband's sister and husband). Sadly, my son-in-law was sick and stayed home and my brother-in-law had to stay home because of repairs to their water heater. BUT, we had a great time. The tree was full of presents:

the food was spread out everywhere and we had a glorious time. At least I did. I'm in heaven when all my fam is around and I got a huge dose. AND I have photos!

The oldest (Ella) and the youngest (Sam)

James, Lilly, Ella, Sam, Elijah

All the grands on the front porch swing!

Lilly and her Papaw. 

Poor Lilly. I got a text last night around midnight from my son. Lilly fell yesterday and broke her arm; specifically her elbow. He said it was dislocated and a piece broke on the end of the larger bone in her forearm. The ER sent her to Atlanta to the Children's Hospital by ambulance with her Mom. Doug called on the way and told me she will have to have surgery. As of the writing of this post, she is in surgery where they will do pins to hold the bone in place and she will have a cast. I hope she gets a purple cast; that's her favorite color. Doug said she had been amazing through everything, very calm and very tough. 

I did make my goal of 65 books in 2017. I barely squeaked by, reading the last book on Sunday, Dec 31. I've started my new goal for 2018. I'm trying for 70 books. That works out to 6 books a month. I might have set myself a hard goal this year. If I make it, fine; if not, that's fine also. It's just the pleasure of reading, both ebooks and regular ones and listening to audiobooks. 

I'm still working on my WIP parade. I need to get everything listed in my cross stitch journal and then photographed. I had plans to do that this week but the weather decided to get so darn cold, I just couldn't.

Anyhoo, I want to thank each of you who visits my blog. I hope 2018 is a year of happiness and joy for all of us. Thank you for being my bloggy friends.

Hugs,

Sharon