bits and pieces

I enjoy quilting. It’s creating with fabric something that wraps you in … love and warmth.

Here’s the two quilt tops and backings for BFF’s g-kids. GD loves black. Her quilt top is made of a kajillion different fabrics to create one image. With a backing that … tones things down. GS’s top has one busy fabric with two solids … to create consistency. And then a backing that using his favorite colors that he wants to keep to himself … pink, yellow and Mario characters.

BFF was fabric oriented … I am project/pattern oriented. She has tons and tons of fabric coz she loves it allllll. Bits and pieces and yards and yards. She grabs fabric and then somehow puts it all together. A scrappy quilter … very abstract. I have fabric to complete a quilt. I like a pattern and then go find the fabric that I want to use to make the vision I see. There’s no right way to complete a … goal … as long as you … complete the goal.

I’m still going through past Spark blogs. Geeeeeze … I was more “fabric” oriented picking up every train of thought I liked, going this way and that with doing what I thought at the moment, braggin’ when things were going well, hiding from Sparkers when it wasn’t. I’m reading through 2017 when I was … focused on losing weight and lost a total of 100 pounds. I was … project oriented. More true to myself.

My thoughts and feelings are allllll over the place. I can’t seem to settle inside. I can’t seem to hear my own … voice.

I feel like one of BFF’s quilts … bits and pieces.

are ya listening???

 Hubby has been doing great since weaning off the mania/psychosis intervention meds in June. He’s the man I met, fell in love with and would like to keep around. Dang, that motorcycle accident. Mental health … just as fragile as physical health that everyone talks about … mental health, not so much.

We met Hubby’s potential new doctor today … Dr G. So, allllll the past has been stirred up and slapped in our faces. Hubby has been dissected, questioned, embarrassed and sent home to let everything settle back down.

New doc is young though experienced; talkative, interactive between Hubby, DS2 and me; will work with current meds though they are old school; lots more explicit with directions; wants wellness visits 4x a year so we see each other outside of episodes which I have wanted from the beginning. AND Hubby was comfortable with him.

He is NOT a phone call away in a crisis like I have had for the last 10 years. Believes there should be NO crisis if Hubby will follow the HALT rule. Never get too:

Hungry
Agitated
Lonely
Tired

AND intervene earlier than later with higher dosages of meds than current Dr J prescribes … a 1/2mg WHAT??? Hmmm??? And taper off sooner than later like Dr J has us do. Hmmm … hmmm. He said manic episodes run about 30 days with no intervention … so with early intervention we should “suffer” less.

Dr G feels there is a lot that can be done BEFORE we find ourselves going down the rabbit hole with self-care. Hubby listened.

Next appointment is already set for October 20^th. Hubby initiated it. So, fingers and toes crossed.

It’s been an emotional day … I’m gonna do some self-care. I was listening to Dr G, too.

gotta catch up

DS1’s blood work indicates the meds are finally working. Whew. Just not fast enough. So, doc has upped them again!!! DS1 has been experiencing daily migraines for months … but just in the past 2-3 weeks they have lessened.

So, with the symptoms and blood work improving … stay on the increased meds until October when blood work and MRI will be repeated.

We love our DS1 immensely … but with the change … we won’t go back to Texas until the Fall. Texas in August … YUCK.

Met a lady yesterday at the store … they just moved here from Texas. The joke here in Colorado is … it’s made up of half Texans and the other half Californians. Texans getting away from the heat and humidity … Californians getting away from the smog and sky-high price of living.

A few errands this morning in the Springs and then the afternoon spent finishing up BFF’s GS’s quilt backing. I have been dragging my feet finishing it … coz, well … it’s kinda sad to be finished doing the one BIG thing I could do for BFF.

I got a couple of days of being … on track. I gotta catch up to OverWorkedJanet.

rodeo broncs

So … we have the most adorable neighbors. They both are in their mid-80s … retired and both ex-rodeo broncs. They were out around the corner collecting fire wood yesterday and got themselves in a bind. They high centered their truck and were … STUCK big time. 

They gave us a call and off we went to “dig” them out. After about 2 hours we got them home safe and sound … and with the wood they wanted.

We came home … dirty and … spent. 

OK … we aren’t spring chickens … I’ll turn 65 this September. Hubby is lots, lots, lots older than me at 68. But these folks … put us to same. We were huffing and puffing and gasping for air. 

Hmmm … out done by lil’ ol’ frail folks who have 20 years on me. 

Hmmm … what lesson did you get out of this???

Finding my way

 Well ... let's see how this works.

I came back from Texas all fired up to chunk these !@#$% pounds ... finally ... to find that Sparks was shutting down as we know it.

I'm stumbling through the buttons here trying to feel my way around in total darkness.

I would like these blogs to be ... positive, productive and have a bit of fun along the way.