Friday, March 8, 2019

Back to My Normal Life

I have been busy getting back to my relatively drama free life.  Duane is home and doing well.  After a couple of months of physical therapy and occupational therapy to help him recover from his stroke, his remark was, "Oh, goodie. Now I get to go to heart therapy."  Sometimes we have to make jokes to keep depression at bay.  He says his diet is basically don't eat anything that tastes good.  But in all seriousness, he and his family are grateful that the problem of clogged arteries was found and fixed before he had a heart attack.  There have been many prayers of thanks as well as heartfelt thanks to all of you who have kept me and mine in your thoughts and prayers.

I have been getting back into a sort of routine.  I found some ideas for quilts that will make use of all the leftover pieces of fabric from other projects.  I have been ironing bits and pieces, getting them  ready to cut into little squares and rectangles.  Who knew a person could accumulate so many scraps of fabric, but there they are.  I can't make myself just toss them all.  Not when they can be made into something useful.

I was talking with the nurse who comes in to care for my legs.  In the course of conversation we decided that the 4-inch gauze pads that are used to cover the open areas on my legs could just as well be made from flannel.   If I order the pads, sometimes the delivery person brings them to my door, but most times they are left at the bottom of the stairs and sometimes outside.  A box of 25 pads costs anywhere from $9 to $12, depending where I get them.  If I buy white flannel, cut it into 4-inch squares, run a zig-zag stitch around the edges to keep the fabric from fraying, I can get 90 pads out of one yard of flannel, which is on sale now for 2.99 per yard.  Even including the price of the thread, that's still way cheaper than buying ready-made.  And they can be washed and re-used.  So my daughter is making a run to Joann Fabrics to buy flannel for me.  Looks like I will be busy next week.

Mother Nature is still grumpy.  She is sending us more snow for the weekend.  They say between 6 and 12 inches worth.  At least the temps are now above miserable cold.  We may even see some thawing next week.  I was beginning to believe a new Ice Age had arrived.  :) 

Not much else going on here right now.  I have more canning to do, but that will keep until a couple of my sewing projects are finished.  Nothing I can do about the snow except watch it fall and pile up - from my rocking chair - wrapped in a green fuzzy blanket - with a nice cup of coffee.  They only way to get through another snow storm.  :)

14 comments:

  1. Glad Duane is doing better - still praying for him and you and the family. Remember to tell him about soluble fiber; beans are the easiest way to get it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me,too, Gorges...And thank you. It is good to have friends we can count on when the chips are down. You just told him about the fiber - he reads this blog and all the comments. :)

      Delete
  2. Vicki, it's good to hear from you again!

    First, very happy that Duane is home and doing well. Even though it is difficult to accept the changes in diet, I think he will be a good patient. And a few treats now and then most likely would be okay.

    Second, I think you have hit on a terrific idea for your reusable cloth pads for your dressings! If the time should come when ordering and having new gauze pads delivered would not be possible, you will already have transitioned to the flannel pads. The cost savings will really be amazing. I sure hope it works well for you.

    Yes, like you, we are preparing for another weekend storm...Winter Storm Taylor. They are saying warmer temps are moving in next week. That will begin the melting progress and provide us with lots of mud to slop around in for a few weeks.

    Love the fact that you are putting all the leftover fabric to good use. I'll look forward to seeing you r creations.

    Take care and stay warm under the "green fuzzy" blanket, CW

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi CW...I guess I needed a couple of days to just decompress!

      I'm happy to have him home again, too! He got a good report from the doctor today. And he knows about diet, being diabetic. But you are right - a treat now and then likely won't hurt, which is why he went home yesterday with a dozen, fresh from the oven peanut butter cookies. He can eat just one and leave the rest alone, where I have to hide them from myself so I don't grab a couple every time I walk by. :)

      I guess the flannel dressings idea came from seeing some videos about folks using cloth for napkins and paper towels. Some use flannel squares for toilet paper and others make cloth monthly pads, all of which make some sense to me if you can get past the 'eew' factor and realize that all those things can be used over and over if care is taken to wash them well. Jill (my daughter) said she would try to get the flannel to me tomorrow before the snow starts. Flannel is on sale right now, so I asked her to get me 4 yards of the white and another 20 yards of whatever they had for that price. I don't have space to store paper towels, so I would like to make some of those and I can use flannel for batting in some of my quilts. It is warm and easier for arthritic hands to work with than is batting. Sometimes when you live in a town and in a small apartment, you need to find alternatives. We shall see how it all works out!!

      I saw by the forecast that we are in the middle of the storm warning, and I expect you down in Iowa are, too. Batten down the hatches. Here we go again!!! The green fuzzy blanket is ready, but I likely will be too busy at the sewing machine to use it much. :) Take care.

      Delete
  3. Good news about Duane, Vicki!

    I thought about you and your sewing when I was making my Mom a fidget blanket for the nursing home. Happy sewing!

    Fern

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We sure are pleased with the way things are going now. A positive doctor report today sure helped, as has the kindness and concern of others.

      I hadn't been doing much sewing lately as I have been trying to work on the last two afghans that seem to be taking forever. This weekend, the sewing machine should get a workout, though. I saw your post about the fidget blanket for your Mom. That was a brilliant idea. It is amazing what can bring comfort to someone who is so ill. I was reminded just a little bit of my youngest son who, when he was very young, wanted something fuzzy to fidget with when going to sleep - the dog, the cat, the fur on the top of my winter boot... Whatever works. :)

      Delete
  4. Sigh..Winter...yuck. Glad you both are feeling better. Some spots in town have standing water. Next week I think the city will be opening the blocked drains on the corners. If they don't we all will need a canoe to get around

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Rob...Things are looking better each day.

      I see some of the snow has melted here, too...just in time for the next storm! At least it isn't so bitter cold now. I am really glad Shakopee was built on a hill. The Minnesota River floods nearly every spring, but the floodwaters have never reached us. I just want winter to be done. Soon!

      Delete
  5. Glad for the update and to hear that Duane is home again. And with homemade peanut butter cookies, yum. That's gotta be better then hospital food any day.
    What a great idea to make your own bandages. And I had never heard about using flannel in place of quilt batting, that's a great idea too.

    Snow is still on the lawns here but very slowly melting off. I'm ready for spring and my gardens. And my asparagus!! As usual, MrDog is fast asleep by my side. Made soup in my instant pot before and while I was making breakfast. So dinner just needs to be reheated. Love it when a plan works out.
    Cheers, SJ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SJ...It is so good to have Duane next door again. The cookies are pretty good. Sometimes comfort food is necessary.

      When I ordered the bandages, I would order at least 10 boxes at a time, but finding a place to store them was a problem and the way they were delivered wasn't always easy for me. I hate to ask Duane to haul boxes up the stairs until he is fully recovered, so I have been trying to come up with a solution. The problem with my legs isn't going away. There are always going to be spots that need a bandage and they will always need to be wrapped in ace bandages. When I ran the idea of homemade 4-inch square bandages past the nurse, she could find no reason why flannel wouldn't work. I may even cut some flannel squares maybe 6 inches x 12 inches and zig-zag the edges to use instead of paper towels, which are hard to store as well. My grandmothers managed just fine without paper towels as did my mother, so I expect I can, too!

      The weather has been sort of ugly most of the day. It rained all afternoon and then started snowing hard an hour or so ago. I have the scanner on and there are accidents all over and lots of folks slipping into the ditch. Jill didn't make it here with my flannel, but I expect she will one day this coming week. In the meantime I am cutting out pieces for a scrap quilt. I usually use batting for my quilts, but thought the flannel would work for a light weight quilt for spring and fall.

      It was a good day for soup, here - there. I just opened a jar and heated it for lunch. I love it too when a plan comes together. Give Mr. Dog a head pat for me. :)

      Delete
  6. Great plans for the flannel. I haven't bought paper napkins in years. The ones I purchased at the thrift for $2 for a dozen are going strong. I still buy paper towels but keep a basket of cloth kitchen towels next to the paper roll. I find most things I use the fabric towels for. The basket right there makes it easier for me to chose the fabric ones. I've also just started using fabric hankies instead of kleenex. I started buying them at the thrift store. So far, they are stacked on top of my dryer which is a very convenient location. I need to find a basket I suppose. Every little bit helps.

    Snow is predicted on Monday but today should be amazing with clear skies and sun. Cheers, SJ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SJ...I suppose it isn't so much that I am on a crusade to save the planet by using cloth rather than paper (big grin here) but more that I just don't have any room left to store bulky stuff like paper towels. I probably will keep a couple rolls on hand for things like draining grease from bacon or draining french fries, (didn't we used to use brown paper grocery bags for that?) but using cloth makes more sense to me than trying to figure out where to store more stuff. I like the way you have found to keep the towels, etc. I have a few baskets that will work well. I already use handkerchiefs too, though not the pretty, feminine ones. Mine are the farmer bandannas, but they work. :) I'm trying to find ways to save money and save space for the really necessary stuff.

      We wound up with rain, then ice, then some snow yesterday and last night. Tomorrow looks bright and sunny, followed by three days of rain. That should get rid of lots of snow, but bring on flooding. Glad I live far enough above the river so the spring floodwaters don't reach here. What I really want out of life right now is to see tulips. And lilacs. Especially lilacs. :)

      Delete
  7. I admire your stoicism, Vicki. Seems like you handle the ups and downs of life with aplomb and grace. I have a tendency to get mad and throw things....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Harry...I have been known to pitch a monumental hissy fit now and then and to throw whatever was close at hand, but these days I don't seem to have the energy for it all. About all I can muster is a rant every once in a while when something really aggravates me. There is something to be said for your method. You get the aggressions out there to be dealt with while I tend to hold them more inside. There really ought to be a happy medium somewhere....

      Delete