Another Vet Visit for Kodi

Geez - seems like we just keep taking $500 hits to our budget. Kodi was experiencing some limping that just was not getting any better - so off to the vet with him I went. Dealing with the limp required x-rays of his shoulder; which required sedation to be able to get a good picture. She took one picture which showed "something" that she could not be sure if it was a tumor or more of a bone/ligament thing. We had a LONG discussion about CANCER in big dogs along with all the problems connected to ortho issues (kind of similar to what I just went through with my knee except WITHOUT any insurance). I made the decision to take the additional x-ray and send it out to a radiologist to take a look at it. Our vet was not that familiar with looking at x-rays of dogs the size of Kodi and would just feel more comfortable with someone who all they do is look at x-rays to make an interpretation. Unfortunately, he is STILL having toe problems and we had the discussion of amputating his toe (again with the possibility of cancer). He is getting a lesion on another toe and the nail to the really bad toe is hollow (yet another sign of cancer) As it stands right now he is taking medication for the pain and inflammation of his shoulder and back on anti-biotic for his feet. The medication itself cost over $100, but we can only hope it will take care of the shoulder problem and we just have to keep watching his toes. If the radiologists comes back with a report indicating a tumor, we will make the decision at that time if we will do a biopsy. The whole no insurance thing is killing us. Hopefully he just has an injury and with rest and medication he will bounce back. However, I think the whole toe/foot issue will be an on going issue as it has been in the past.

Later . . .

Label

Wow - after dealing with MANY problems with my embroidery machine, I finally finished and attached the label for Max's quilt. I was having problems with the bobbin thread showing through and thread breakage like crazy. I switched to a universal titanium needle which seemed to solve the breakage problem, but I still had some puckering that is not normal. Nonetheless, considering it was a "cheater" quilt that really did not require a label, it is a completed project!

I do think I am going to move on to the dog quilts before I revert back to a practice quilt to work on something besides stippling. I would like to try to do a pantograph with my laser, but I know I will need some practice with that. I have been practicing a bit just following the design with the laser and it is just not as easy as one might think.

Later . . .

Binding Finished

It was a long slow process, but I finally finished the binding for my "cheater" quilt. Because I had to cut the quilt down a bit, there are a few places where the stippling runs next to the binding - which in my opinion does not look that great, but what the heck - not bad for my first real attempt at doing quilting on my machine. I am in the process right now of making a label for it. Because Max liked it so much, it will be for her. I am going to do an embroidery label and should have that completed and attached by tomorrow. I will post a picture of the label tomorrow.

Later . . .

Michael's photo

Duane mentioned he wanted to see a picture of Michael - so I made Max email me one of the shots. It was really fun with all the lights and the back drop - like a real studio and Michael was very happy to be a "model".

Later . . .

Weekend

I have come to the conclusion that I have to start taking pictures with my camera IF I want to actually post any pictures on the blog. We had fun on Friday - Max picked up Michael after work and he came over and modeled for Max to try out all her new lights and equipment. It was fun and then we watched a movie before Paul came and picked him up (he had to work on Saturday so no spending the night). We hung and and did a bunch of nothing on Saturday (video games, knitting, and just kicking it). Sunday we took off to the Fly Fishing Show in Pleasanton with Paul and then Emil Villa's for a great breakfast. The rest of the day will be spent sewing the binding on my quilt and probably video game and then maybe watch the Oscars. I have to call after 5:00 pm to check about jury duty.

Later . . .

Yikes - glass is expensive!

Hmmmmm so I got the bad news about the window replacement - $508.50 (tempered glass like we had in it) or $439.02 (regular non-tempered glass). Couple that with the cost of a new hot tub cover (which we need) and we are looking at $1k of expenses. The hot tub cover was a given - I knew that needed to be replaced, but the window - Max's response was: "So much for pocket wizards".

Later . . .

Shattered Window

This is actually an awesome looking picture IF it were not for the fact that I have to find someone to replace the glass. Our gardener threw a rock into the kitchen window on Saturday and completely shattered the glass. It was actually cool because you could continue to hear the glass cracking. The not so cool part is that the company who put our windows in (with a life time replacement of one window a year) is no longer in business. I did get someone to come out and measure this afternoon and will find out what it is going to cost to replace it. Luckily they are double pane windows - so we still have a window keeping the elements outside the house and not inside.

Later . . .

Long Weekend

Duane and the family arrived Friday evening and we had a really nice weekend. Duane and Denise got to do some running around without the kids and we enjoyed spending time with them. The weather was beautiful and we were able to play in the backyard and enjoy the sunshine (Devin even ventured out with us and the sun and fresh air did not kill him). I have not loaded any of the pictures on my computer, but check out Duane's site for a couple pictures of the kids. It really was a fun weekend and we managed to find a place for everyone to sleep (They forgot the play pen for Deanna, but she managed to do okay on the floor between the two twins of Duane and Denise (when she was not rolling all the way under the bed). It was great to have them here and I will try to post some pictures.

Later . . .

Change of Pace

I decided it was time for a change of pace - so back to the embroidery part of my machine. I have been wanting to put these hummingbirds on my jacket for a long time. I also decided to finish the quilt blocks I was doing for Deanna ( I can't seem to get the link to open to show all the blocks). Now I have all the blocks for the kids done and I have to cut the others to finish up the pattern and put the quilts together. Still lots of work ahead of me, but it will be worth it when they are finished.

Later . . .

Catching up . . .

I wish I could write about being fabulously busy and all the things I have accomplished since the last post, but somehow I don't think that is going to work. Thinking back, I have managed to do some things. I have the binding machine stitched on my quilt (waiting for me to complete the hand sewing). I have the backs for the dog quilts completed, so all I need to do is cut the batting and I can load them on my frame. I took an all day machine quilting class this last Sunday, which probably would have been a really good class IF I would have gotten any sleep Friday or Saturday night. It was a fun class, but I was just tooooooo tired to really enjoy it. The one thing I found interesting is that all the expensive thread that they wanted us to buy did not work worth crap in my machine. I ended up using some Coats and Clark cotton thread I had with me for both the top and the bobbin. I will stick with what I know works with my machine in the futrue. I had to make a bunch of "sandwiches" for practice and also an Ohio Square. So that did take up some of my time. We managed to get our hands on a Wii and we have been playing with that and having a great time. Michael (who works at Wal-Mart) has been watching to see if they get any extras in the store. He cannot purchase one unless they have extras left after they first come in. His store got an over shipment and he was able to grab one for us. We also bought a Zelda game which I had gotten into at the grandkids house. We played all the sports things and really enjoyed them all, but especially the boxing. What fun and what a workout!

Anyway, we are going into the City for Valentine's day for dinner and Paula Poundstone. Kathy, Paul, Debby, Tomey, Max and I. Then Duane and family are coming down for the weekend and we are really looking forward to that. We will celebrate Devin's birthday late and Desirae's birthday early.

So actually I guess I have been rather busy.

Later . . .

OMG - I Did It!

I am AMAZED that I actually was able to finish this quilt considering all the trouble I had while doing it. I have continued to struggle with the ratchets on the bars. I had to take off the entire thing and put it back on. I ended up with stretched batting (which I managed to successfully hide). What can I say except LEARNING EXPERIENCE! In the large picture it is difficult to actually see the quilting, but I actually am pleased with the stippling I did (far from perfect, but not bad for a newbie). For the size of the quilt, I can not even imagine doing the stippling on my regular machine - if I thought I had problems with this on my quilting frame, I would have been tearing my hair out and giving up quilting forever. I am actually kind of excited to do the dog quilts now. I have to find something to bind this quilt with and figure out how to square it up. I may have to find someone who can help me with that, because it seems I have a REALLY difficult time squaring a large piece of fabric. Anyway it feels good to have accomplished the making of a usable quilt.

Later . . .