Moose Fetish

For as far back as I can remember Spencer has had a moose fetish... the good kind, mind you! When he was a teenager I made him his first moosey-quilt and one Christmas Auntie P made him a moosey-throw. He's been the recipient of moosey-gifts. Sadly, some of those have gotten away from him in his years of moving around... but I told him, "No matter, new life... new mooses!" That's the background...

When Gordon and I were at Gracie-Lou's looking for chenille bias for my skirt (see that post separately) we saw... well, let's let my Facebook Thanksgiving post tell it:

Thanksgiving post #3- Today I'm very grateful I took my husband with me to the quilt shop (Gracie Lou's)! He spotted a quilt I just HAD to make! That means I needed to buy more fabric... and fold it... and pet it... and lick it? (No! don't be silly! If I lick flannel it will get fuzz all over my tongue!)

I bought the *prescribed* amount of flannel on the quilt pattern but, come on, you know my rule: If it's worth making... MAKE IT BIG!  (Hey, even Gordon agrees with me! "That quilt looks a little small, doesn't it need to be larger?")

So, of course, that meant another trip to another quilt shoppe, dang!! This time Corn Wagon where we found some wonderful MOOSE PRINTS! It was meant to be.  I whipped up some more quilt-wiches and then played that game of cards I love so well- deal 'em out, shuffle 'em around (My friend Ann taught me that one), then sew them together (mixed them up even WITH the photo!).

Here is Spencer's (and Deborah's) newest moosey-quilt on the design wall. 



Since this is a raggy quilt, all of the seams are on the front and then clipped.  Ahh... what a blessing to have hands that work again!  I took it easy but didn't have any of that old numbness I used to be plagued with before surgery.

A quick wash and not-so-quick-dry (I have to empty the lint trap numerous times with these raggy quilts), wrapped up and in the mail off to Spenny's house...

Do I have a photo of it finished? Are you kidding me? Again? Not to worry... Spencer is sending me a photo of the completed quilt...  I'll update the post when I get it!  Shesh... I truly have a problem here!

*As promised... moosey-cuteness!

Busy Hands take a Vacation

It was a month yesterday since I had my bilateral carpal tunnel release. It seems like so much longer! As I type that short span of time I am able to be more patient with myself. I guess I didn't realize how busy my hands are or how much of an impact having them *surgered* would make.

The scars are still very hard (I say they feel like a pork-chop bone. My body always does this with scars. They will soften with time) and my hands are tender. I can't do much that requires palm strength and especially not pushing! Yikes. I've become adept at knuckling my way around (hmm, like a chimp?) instead of using my palm. It's amazing what we don't realize when we have a normal healthy body!



I thank my Heavenly Father every day for the continued healing! And I'm grateful to I know that 6 to 12 months from now I will have my hands back, strong and healthy without the tingling, pain and numbness from pre-surgery days.

But for now... these two little not-quite-so-little hands are taking a vacation. (Thank you Stuart for taking over the lawn mowing!)

Poor Babies!

Do you ever surprise yourself with your lack of thinking things through? I sure did this time!

For some reason I had it in my little-girl-mind that today, when the bandages came off, my hands would be all better and ready to go!

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

I'VE HAD SURGERIES BEFORE!

I KNOW IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY!

Look at these poor babies!

• I have some numb spots- I knew that would happen.
• My wrists are sore and emaciated- I should have known that would happen after 10 days in boxing gloves!
• The incisions are sore and hard- my scars always go through that stage.
• My bruises hurt- now this one I don't get!  If I had *damage* to my forearms: IE got hit by something I would expect bruises to hurt, but this is just pooled blood from the wrist.  What does THAT hurt?  I don't know!
• My incisions itch like crazy- normal- thank goodness for Vitamin E and Topricin.
• I still have weak hands and have to be very careful how I use them- I SHOULD have know that would be true.

Ah, well... I came home from getting the stitches out, laid down on my bed to read and ended up sleeping for 3 hours!  That's what the trauma of disappointment will do!

CTR

Hey! I have the most exciting news! I just had CTR surgery yesterday and now I can always-

Choose The Right!

Boy-oh-boy! Don't we wish it was that easy?

This kind of CTR stands for Carpal Tunnel Release... and if I'd know how easy it would be I would have done it years ago! Compared to-

• Tonsilectomy
• Tubal pregnancies (plural)
• Appendectomy
• Varicose vein stripping

...this is a stinkin' piece of cake!

I will be so nice to have my hands back for-

• hand sewing
• painting
• hand writing
• gardening
• lawn mowing
• nose picking

The only downside is I have to wear my *boxing gloves* for the next 10 days and keep them clean and dry! (I'll have to give you a shower/hair washing update!)