An adventure...

At the beginning of this month I had such good intentions, and originally some decent motivation, to post a bit more often here!  I even have a draft of a post I started right after my last post on the 7th.  And then, just like that, the motivation switched off.

And then halfway through the month, my body must have decided that life was just a little too dull, and I was due for an unexpected adventure.

Before you get too excited or concerned, let me assure you I am at home, and I am okay.  But there is a story to be told, and whether or not you're interested in reading, I going to record it here.  I may regret it later...  but here goes.

It's hard to believe it's been twelve days ago already, but on the evening of Friday (1/16), a few hours after supper, I suddenly had sharp pains strike my mid section. I couldn't tell, exactly, where the pain was originating, but overall, I just knew I hurt like I'd not ever hurt before. 

I struggled to get comfortable for a couple of hours, but nothing helped.  Then nausea started.  As the pain grew worse and became so pervasive throughout my torso, I decided I needed to go to the hospital.  Everything online said if you suspect a heart attack to call an ambulance.  It didn't come on feeling like I imagined a heart attack might feel, but with pain radiating through my whole midsection, it was impossible to parse out what might have been the origination of the pain by this point.  I also couldn't straighten up to walk.  Around 11:00 or so, not at all sure it wasn't my heart, and frankly, not thinking I could walk into the hospital, I gave Greg permission to call for an ambulance.  It seemed to take forever, but a crew of men were finally coming in the front door.  I thought they'd be loading me up and getting me to the hospital quickly now.  Well, as nice as they were they didn't do much but stand there and ask what was going on.  At one point, one did come close enough to get down on my level and ask questions about what specifically was going on.  

I told him right before the pain started, I was riding our new recumbent bike - feeling really good.  I'd just done a couple of HIIT sessions (you know, to get my heart rate up, then rest, then do it again).  After the second time, I decided to get off the bike, get a glass of ice water, and take a drink.  

That's when the pain hit.  Fast and sharp.  And grew as I've described above.  

The young men who first showed up latched onto this information about the recumbent bike and quickly formed a hypothesis that this old lady was so out of condition she'd pulled a muscle in her middle.  Being an old lady who is no stranger to pulled muscles, I tried to tell them this wasn't muscle pain, but they seemed to figure I just didn't know.   It would have been more annoying, if they weren't so nice, and I wasn't so humiliated to have, I think it was 4 men standing in my living room just staring at me - everyone waiting for the ambulance to arrive.  What?  You all aren't with the ambulance?

I don't know if this is common everywhere, but in these parts, (and I sort of knew this, but had forgotten) if an ambulance is called, often, if not always, firemen also show up.  These were the firemen.  Nice as could be, but as far as I could tell, they didn't serve a real purpose.  I don't mean that unkindly.  Truly, if someone can explain why fireman are always dispatched when an ambulance is, I'm all ears.

Finally, the ambulance arrived - we had asked them to please not have the siren on as they came down the street and they obliged - at this point, my humiliation being taxed to, what I thought was surely my limits.  I was so thankful they didn't disturb the neighbors at such a late hour.  And I was thinking just maybe none of the neighbors would even have to know...

At least two more men came in, and the same questions started all over again.  They asked me if I wanted a ride to the hospital?  Confused, I began to doubt everything I thought I ever knew.  We could have driven to the hospital and back a couple of times already!  And they still had not checked my heart.  

I'm probably the one who's obtuse here, but in that state, I didn't understand the point of the question...  I mean, I do realize that EMTs may show up to scene where someone declines a ride to the hospital.  And I can see asking as in "getting consent", but we'd requested the ambulance.  And the question didn't come out sounding like they were asking for consent - though I'm sure asking consent was covered in the question, no matter how it was asked.  At this point, even though the firemen may have thought they were dealing with a pulled muscle, I knew that wasn't what was wrong with me, and I was becoming increasingly concerned it was my heart. 

I honestly don't remember what the conversation was to get them to put me in the ambulance where they hooked up a heart monitor, and they quickly determined it wasn't my heart.  That was good.  I was relieved.

They asked again if I wanted to go to the hospital.  Relieved it wasn't my heart, but seriously starting to feel regretful about all this attention, I began to doubt what I was physically experiencing.  I think I said, "I don't know, let me think."  Like it was a question I might pass or fail on, I sat there for a moment weighing my options.  I knew I needed to be seen by someone, and if turning them away just to somehow manage to get myself into our car, and walk doubled-over into the hospital (if I could manage that), and to sit in agony in the ER waiting room was my only other choice, it seemed ridiculous to not have them drive me there.  I don't know!  I feel like I'm missing something here!?

Okay... so it might be a good time to insert that I can be a bit of a stoic - emotionally, if not philosophically.  My father was a gregarious man who didn't mind sharing his emotions, but my mother held things in.  Never showed fear.  Knew (better than me) how to hold her tongue.  I only heard (never saw) her cry once in my life. It was terrifying. I thought my brother and I had broken her.  My emotional stoicism isn't the caliber of my mother's, but a sense of decorum seems to kick in when I know others are observing me when I am suffering. 

So...  I don't know if it was because I was trying keep the drama to a minimum, and honestly... just breath (I couldn't get a deep breath at all) - that this is how the encounter went.  Or is this the way these encounters typically go?  It's left me questioning so much - and thinking I'll probably have to be unconscious before anyone ever calls an ambulance for me again. 

Rather than make this crazy long, Part 2 will be in the next post.  Because you know there's a Part 2, right?

An almost finish...

Rather than begin a new project, I thought a good start to the year might be to finish something.  I remembered that I have a set of Christmas stitches that were begun a long time ago, but never finished.

I knew right where they were - I think because I pulled the project out a year or so ago and thought, "I really should finish this", and then put it back in the box and went on to forget about it.  I think I've done that more than once in recent years, actually.  And I probably recorded it here somewhere.  

When I took it out yesterday, I was shocked at how little was needed to complete it.  Why did I let this languish so long?!?

This is a Creative Circle kit, and as the picture above shows, I had done all the crewel work on two of them, and most of the stitching on the one on the far left (in the 1980's is my first guess).  But I only finished one into a "bag" and have used it as an ornament on our Christmas trees for all these years.  Here is that one:

This kit has a 1979 date stamped on the preprinted panel (below).  I was two years out of highschool in 1979, and wasn't married yet.  I wish I could remember if I stitched these that long ago, or if I bought the kit in the '80's.

I know, dear reader, none of that matters to you, but I very much wish I could place the image I have of myself stitching these in the correct time frame in my memory.  I know I did some embroidery work as a teen and young adult, but while I remember specific projects I made many years ago, I don't have time frames locked in. 

Anyway...  everything was in the original bag, a cut-out photo of the finished projects, printed instructions with diagrams, and a clump of old wool yarn.  All I had to do was find a large-eyed needle and a stitching hoop to hold my work taut as I finished stitching the the little bear in the stocking.

I love the "fluffy" top on the stocking.  First I stitched the loops:

Then each loop got snipped and fluffed and trimmed.

And if you thought you'd see the finished projects, you would be incorrect.  I did get the last one stitched up late last night, but I'm going to take a little time to finish them into their final form.  Hopefully, soon I'll be back with those photos.

   

Hello 2026...

I don't normally go for walks outside after it gets much below 50, but today - while it was only 33℉, it was a calm day and I thought taking a walk outdoors would be a excellent start to the new year.  

I often enjoy walking in the local cemetery because it's fairly private, and quiet.  And if I don't feel up to a long walk, I can simply park my car anywhere and walk as long as I want on the many intersecting roads and not ever be very far from my vehicle.  That was a good plan for a day I didn't know how long I could tolerate the cold.

That said, I found myself wishing I'd chosen another option, simply because a cemetery seems a less than optimistic place to begin a new year.

On the other hand, I was surprised at how many people were visiting graves today.   As I walked, I avoided passing closely to those visitors, but I could see well enough to not see people out beside the graves.  People were evidently sitting in their vehicles - yet feeling the need to visit a lost loved one on this first day of the new year.  

It struck me as rather profound.  A day when some are working, but most are relaxing at home, and on a cold day like today, not too inclined to go out unless something is needed - as was evident by the many sparse parking lots I passed while driving through town.

I understand.  I don't know the stories behind the visitors to the graves, but I can imagine that going to the graveside of a loved one today was exactly the right thing to do for whomever it was.  

And for one who calls herself a Christian, who too often fails miserably to that calling, simply walking the paths there, I am soberly reminded whose I am.  

He will swallow up death forever.

The Sovereign Lord will wipe away 

the tears from all faces;

He will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth...

Isaiah 25:8

Goodbye 2025...

Posting here has been sporadic this year (okay, for a few years now), but this year in particular it seems I haven't written about some of the most important things that have happened.  Not that most of what's in this post is all that important, but I thought a round-up, especially of things I've photographed, but never posted about would be appropriate.

I promise January is the most wordy month.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.

January brought some new healthy habits:

Not through resolutions, but through external (which became internal) motivations.

I'll spare you the storytelling (leaving some humorous moments on the cutting floor), and get to the main points.  After experiencing a few random episodes of tachycardia between I think...  September of 2024 and January of 2025, and after having an echo cardiogram, and an EKG, my GP ordered a heart monitor for me to wear for a week in late January. 

It's a nifty little thing that sticks (somewhat) discretely to one's chest, monitoring every heart beat and sending a report via a cell phone to the monitoring company.  My instructions were to press a button on the accompanying cell phone any time I felt like my heart was beating rapidly for no obvious reason.

While it was a small, easy-to-wear device, I have to say I found it very stressful - not knowing exactly how the information being collected was going to be interpreted.  And even now I don't consider it to have been in any way helpful in understanding what was causing the tachycardia. But on a good note, I came through all the tests and wearing this little monitor with nothing worrisome showing up.  

Also, in January, since I was doing all these heart related things, I had a Coronary Artery Calcium score done, and while it did show some evidence of calcified plaque, I felt like my score was much better than I deserve.  

Now... because of all the above, during the time from about October to January I was researching the topic of heart disease, which included educating myself about cholesterol, metabolic disease and insulin resistance - and how all those things are involved in the development of arterial plaque.  By late January, while wearing that heart monitor, I became highly motivated to make serious changes in how I eat. I won't go into it deeply, but significantly cutting out refined carbs and sugars since the end of January, has appeared to bring to an end to the tachycardia.   When I've mentioned it at different doctor visits, they concur that these things may have very well been the culprit.  I'm thrilled that simply eating healthier (evidently) made the tachycardia go away, and that there were no obvious issues that needed tending to.

And while I've indulged just a tad over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, I'm pleased to still be maintaining a much healthier way of eating.  And feeling better for it.

February brought dozens of cardinals to our yard during a snowy spell.

March brought an early spring with early budding trees!

...the local cemetery remaining a favorite place to walk.

April saw lovely blooms from an Amaryllis my neighbor had propagated and gave to me a few weeks earlier.

May brought the perfect amount of strawberries, as hoped for.

And finally some dry days to plant a garden.  We had a LOT of rain last spring.

June gave us a daughter-in-law.

This is a woefully inadequate mention of something that makes us exceedingly glad, but the happy couple married in a unique and private ceremony with friends attending, and we celebrated a month later with extended family.

July had me in this funny contraption for taking measurements for new glasses.  I had some trust issues over it, but amazingly, it worked!

August saw Greg in the hospital for a scheduled heart catheterization and stent.

Before stenting - LAD was 80% blocked:

After stent - LAD is wide open

Again, so much more could be said, but it's not really my story to tell.  I'm just glad Greg finally got in to see a cardiologist after much much too long of "feeling tired".

August also saw this little guy eating all of my cherry tomatoes:

September brought my sister (who last year moved from Florida to Louisville) and my niece to our place for a visit.

And saw me canning and freezing produce from the garden, and otherwise.

I can only estimate what I put up from what is still in the pantry and freezer, but this is pretty close:

Green Beans: 55 pints, and 2 quarts

Sweet Pickle Relish:  25 jars (some half pints, some 4 oz.)

Dill Pickles:  18 pints

Sweet Corn (frozen)  20 ziploc bags with 8oz each of corn 

And this doesn't even account for what was eaten and given away fresh.

For a garden that didn't seem very ambitious when I planted it, it produced quite a bit.  

Actually, for a garden that was really only half a vegetable garden due to all the sunflowers I planted, it produced very decently.  I've made a note to self that I don't need nearly this many sunflowers next year, and they need to be more strategically planted so as to not shade lower growing plants.

By the end of September, swallowtail caterpillars were feasting on the dill:

October  finally brought cool enough weather to shut the garden down.

November held autumn's most beautiful colors

Enjoying a drive to visit a friend in Brown County

and, while leaves were still turning and falling, November brought our first snow!

December brought frigid weather early on.

But by Christmas, it was almost balmy.

I learned that having a cracked lens cover 

on my phone makes for some artsy pictures.

I have no New Year's Eve photos, but we ended the year today eating chili and playing games with long-time friends, and getting home shortly after nightfall.

2025 was a very good year overall, but it went insanely fast.  We spend our youth wishing we were older, and our last decades wishing we could slow time down.  Since we can do neither, it is good to simply be grateful for whatever time we have here.    

I hope you have a blessed and prosperous (in all the ways that truly matter) 2026!

Making simple hotpads...

Just a short post with pictures of hotpads I finished earlier in the year for my adult kids as part of their Christmas.

These were simply squares of fabric sewn together with Insul-Bright batting as the middle layer, and then quilted on the sewing machine.  For the last pair pictured I made the binding with a contrasting cotton fabric for my first attempt at mitered corners using the technique shown in the short below (though I joined my ends differently):

The other hotpads were bound with store-bought seam binding.  It was a bit of a time savings to use the store-bought seam binding, but I do wonder how well they will hold up. The seam binding fabric seemed thinner than  regular fabric.  I'll have to follow-up with my kids after they've had time to use and hopefully abuse these.

Posting this makes me realize I keep backburnering fabric-piecing and making some simple quilt projects, but I don't know why. Small projects like this are pretty satisfying to make.

~~~~~~