Really Random Thursday, 2/21/19

What a week it's been.

Mark's brother sent him this picture from Minnesota. While it doesn't look really interesting at first glance, the thing is that the bird feeder is probably about five feet off the ground. And there is so much snow that the squirrels can eat the food out of the bird feeder! Crazy...

These super fun deck of cards arrived. I have spent a lot of time playing solitaire lately--so much more fun with this rainbow set of cards.

It took us from Gabe's birthday in October until last week to finally set a date for Chuck E. Cheese, one of his birthday gifts. We had so much fun.

This baseball game was one of his two favorites, the other being skee ball. If he released the bat at just the right time, the little bat on the inside of the game would hit the ball and he could get a home run, or advance players around the plate, or get a strike. Once he caught on, he did a great job.

In this game, he scored 12 runs, including a couple of home runs--his high score of the afternoon.

I love all cartoons having to do with a play on words or punctuation...

Sunday afternoon, Charlotte and I went to Starbucks. We keep a list of how her name is spelled, since it is so frequently misspelled. Good job this time, barista! I love spending time with this girl--I'm thrilled she is willing to share her time with me.

For some reason, I saw a lot of things this week relating to drinks/drinking. These are the ones that made me chuckle.

The best part of the week was undoubtedly Tuesday, the day I completed my radiation treatments. Yippee!! Mark went along to this appointment. I received a certificate of completion. :)

And I got to ring the bell.

When I walked out through the lobby, everyone clapped. I received lots of hugs from the staff. Every single person at the Fresno Cancer Center has been kind and compassionate. I was treated with respect at all times--which is saying something when each day you are lying on a hard plastic table with your breasts exposed. As much as I liked everyone who helped me on my journey to recovery, I hope to never see them again. Ever. Unless it's in the checkout line at Target or something... :)

Mark had a referee meeting in the evening, but I really wanted to celebrate the end of radiation. So Janice and I went one of our favorite places, BJs. We have shared many meals at BJs, usually three hours at a time--we can literally spend hours and hours talking about quilting and reading. And then do it all over again the next week. One of our favorite servers, Amy, waited on us. I told her we were celebrating the end of my radiation treatments. We were going to order a pizookie anyway, but before we had a chance, she came to our table and said, "I know it isn't your birthday, but you are celebrating something really important." Aw...

I had Janice take a picture of me with Amy. It was such a sweet (literally) surprise and I was very touched by her thoughtfulness.

My energy is already returning. Which tells me that at least 50 percent of a health crisis is psychological! I feel ready to return to the sewing room and actually turn on my sewing machine. It's about time...

Really Random Thursday, 2/14/19

Happy Valentine's Day!

Original design by Gabriel Wiens

I have followed mrprintables for years. If you have some card stock paper, there are so many cute things for kids. A few years ago I saw the cutest pompon maker (question: is it pompon or pompom??) They now come in three sizes. Yes, I have all three. No, until yesterday I had never made anything with them.

On Instagam (@pom.maker) they showed the cutest little Valentine's project. So I got out the middle size and experimented with several different kinds of  yarn I had on hand. I decided my favorite is by Stylecraft dk (the gold and the blue), which I happen to have in lots of colors!

Aren't they cute?? I put them in a little bag with some Hershey's kisses and a handful of conversation heart candy. Happy Valentine's Day indeed.

Things have been quiet around here. Every morning (Monday through Friday) I get a radiation treatment. This license plate belongs to someone who works at the cancer center...

After this morning's treatment, I only have two more left! Side effects have been minimal so far--a little sunburned feeling and a general lack of energy.

Christa preached in church on Sunday. She continues to be an educational coordinator for Central Valley Justice Coalition, an organization that partners with churches and the community to prevent human trafficking. She often teaches a 10-week class aimed at prevention--one will be starting for girls in juvenile hall. We are so proud of her passion for this difficult problem and her gifts as a communicator.

A year ago, Mark and I decided to have our DNA tested through Ancestry DNA. I was surprised to find out I had a rather high percentage of Great Britain, which thrilled me so much. However, they have updated my profile. *sigh* Decreased by 38 percent!

Speaking of DNA...
Haha, Number 1:

When Janice and I went to DIsneyland in November, we each fell in love with the Disneyland rose.

Janice did some research and found that it was available through Jackson and Perkins. She bought each of us a rose bush (!) and Mark planted it Tuesday.

He also stopped at Trader Joe's and came home with a gorgeous bouquet of tulips.

We are planning on doing a reclaimed wood project in our laundry room. And by "we," I actually mean Mark. He is also helping Stacie with a project at church, so Tuesday afternoon the two of them gathered a stack of barn wood. Looks like there is a lot of work to be done. It is being stored in the patio so it can stay dry during this rainy season.

The mailman has brought some completely unexpected treats this week. First, a pin and magnet arrived from my friend, Lauren. I don't know about super powers, but I sure like having red hair. :)

And Tuesday, this hand embroidered  bag arrived from Rene', along with some enamel pins she has been custom designing (you can find them here). I had seen her posts on Instagram about this bag and could not believe it when it showed up! The support I have gotten from friends after my diagnosis has been mind blowing and humbling.

About all the energy I have lately is to sit on the couch and crochet an afghan in a very simple pattern. It's the Sweet Pea crochet-along by Attic 24, and the colors definitely bring to mind my favorite flowers (more Stylecraft dk yarn).

We are scheduled to have more rain--above our yearly average, while unusual amounts of snow are falling in other parts of the country. You gotta love Bob Ross...

We finally were able to go to one of Charlotte's basketball games yesterday.

And we got to see her play for at least four minutes, which is a lot of time in a 7th grade girls game!

I'll end with these words of wisdom.

Really Random Thursday, 2/7/19

I'm not sure where the week has gone. Other than I go to the cancer center five days a week for a radiation treatment. As of yesterday, I'm halfway through!!

Tuesday the sky was full of huge fluffy clouds. If you are from the Midwest, you are probably used to skies that look like this. We mostly see icky grey smog so these skies were a treat.

The clouds turned the prettiest pink-peach when the sun was going down. However, there was too much stuff in the way to get a good picture. And this picture does not do the beauty of the clouds justice at all.

Our neighbor down the street had snow in his front yard, obviously from someone who had been up in the mountains. It didn't last long. And you do see all the blooming flowers in the background, right?

Yesterday the Sierra mountains (which we rarely see because of poor air quality) were showing off all the snow on their peaks, but again, I couldn't get a decent picture without telephone lines and street signs all over the place. :(

I entered these five quilts into the Best of the Valley show, held in April. Fingers crossed...

Kaleidoskop

The Prayer

Friendship Circles

Big Purple Machine

Finding the Way to My Heart

If you need a chuckle, you should follow @letterfolk on Instagram. Highly recommended...

And that's it for this week.