Lee's Progress

My sister was moved to regular room today. When we got to the hospital she was still in the ICU sitting in a chair eating her breakfast. They had her up walking. She walked all around the nurses station at quite a pace. I was truly amazed at how well she is doing. She was even amazed at how good she feels compared to yesterday. Can't wait for her to come home. Northwestern is such a long trip.

Better

My sister is doing better considering what she has gone through. There is pain which is expected. She is off the respirator and was eating jello this afternoon. They say they will get her sitting in a chair this evening and maybe a regular room tomorrow.

A Setback

My sister was taken back in to surgery last night around 12:30. It seems she had a bleeder in her chest wall, not related to the heart. The entire surgical team were there to do the repair. Her husband Tom was called back at 11:30 last night; he had just left at 9:30. She is now back in ICU and resting comfortably. I will be going back up there this morning.

A Not So Fun Couple of Days

My sister was scheduled for open heart surgery on Thursday at Northwestern Hospital. They kept delaying the start time because of issues with an earlier patient and then they finally cancelled it for Thursday and told her to come back today. We spent the entire day there yesterday and Lee was not happy about the delays. One gets psyched for the surgery only to have it delayed another day. So we left at 0 dark thirty this morning as she was to be the first on the heart surgeon's schedule. After sitting around for a while she was finally called in to the pre-op area where she was processed quite quickly. The surgery went well; besides repairing her mitral valve, they closed a hole in her heart that they didn't know about. She was in intensive care just coming out of the anesthesia and still on the respirator. Tom stayed and will let us know how she is doing. I will be going back to the hospital with him in the morning. Please keep her in your prayers.

And More Snow

SNOW

It's snowing again this morning and as I look at the weather forecast for the week, there are snowflakes every day. It's not a lot just enough to make things miserable. I want spring.

My Aching Back

My back and arm muscles ache today after shoveling that heavy snow yesterday. And then I had to shovel the front walk that wasn't done by the snow blower guy. I know I need the exercise, but I am getting a little too old for this.
This morning there was a little snow on the driveway, but that melted. And it snowed pretty hard for a while later this morning, but that too melted.

More Snow

We got about 5 inches of snow overnight and the snow plow left a huge mountain at the end of my driveway. I had an appointment this morning so shoveled a path to the end of the driveway and started to remove the mountain so i could get out. My neighbor was doing her drive so she came over to help make a clearing so my car would get through. Before I had to leave, the neighbor came with his snow blower and cleaned the whole driveway. All I can say is that I did get some exercise moving the mountain.

Looking back at the two pieces of art I posted yesterday seems to be a theme. I didn't realize how similar the pot and the watercolor are. The same flowing lines.

New Artwork

I went to an art show/fundraiser yesterday and purchased this small vessel to hold a small diffuser bottle so the liquid doesn't spill. My friend Pauline made it. She has become quite the potter.

I put a bid in on this picture in the silent auction called Spirit. Its a water color. The woman who painted it went through some bad times and read the Bible to get her through the rough times so she included them in the painting they are included in the lower right corner of the painting and are John 4:24. John 3:5-8, John 6:63, Luke 3:16b, Acts 2:1-4, and Romans 8:11. Each of these passages mentions the Spirit. I think it is quite nice.

Beautiful Sunshine

The sun is shining brightly and it cheers me up. I finally took down the Christmas tree that was in the middle of my front lawn. The ground wasn't so frozen so it did come out easily. I went out to the super Walmart in Lockport to buy a few odds and ends including potting soil. I bought a new plant at Home Depot to replace the one that I wasn't having any luck with. So now I have to get my hands dirty and plant.

SLUG

I've been a real slug all week. Just didn't have much to post and too busy to do much carving. Too lazy to upload pictures and not inspired to write anything. Is the winter getting to me? Today it's in the high 30's and bright sunshine. That should cheer me up. And I got a hair cut, and it's a good one, yesterday which usually makes me feel better.
I am trying to finish a book called Conspiracy of Kindness by Steve Sjogren so I can pass it on to Pastor and the rest of the leadership council. Its written by a Minister that believes people should do acts of kindness by showing God's love in a practical way.

Dinner Dance/Auction

Last night was the dinner dance/ auction at Woodbine golf course. We had a lot of folks and some really nice stuff on auction. My carving of the church went for $90 to long time members celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary. The gourd and cross were in the silent auction and didn't raise as much as I hoped. But, hey, every little bit helps. I bid on and won a lava lamp( I never had one), an afghan made by Gail that Karrie wanted and a service call from a computer guy(want him to see why my computer is so slow) and the car wash by Pastor Mike. There wasn't a lot of action on the car wash, so when the bidding stopped , I raised my hand for a hundred dollars and that was the last bid. I won the car wash a couple of years ago and invited the congregation to come to my house and watch. I supplied a keg of beer and some soft drinks for the kids. It was a fun afternoon, so I'll probably do that again. I had my camera with me and didn't take a single pic.

Snow

A knight in shining armor, actually dressed in warm clothes, came to my rescue today. Someone did shovel out my driveway yesterday, but then it snowed a bunch more. I heard a snow blower this morning and looked out and it was a young man from around the corner. So I went out a gave him some money and thanked him profusely. So my driveway and front sidewalk are clean of snow. I did see the sun shining today, what a wonderful sight.
The big talk today is the earthquake felt by many people in the area around 4:00 am.. I didn't feel a thing, slept through it all.

Sausagefest

I received the sausagefest book that my niece Samantha put together using Shutterfly. It really turned out cute and is a photographic story on how we make sausage. That's Bob, Bruce and Lee on the cover.

I don't know why I get so excited about the super bowl commercials. They haven't been very good for the last couple of years. Since I listen to talk radio and that's all they are talking about at least I've seen what they are describing. And who are The Who? A couple of old codgers who should have hung up their guitars years ago.

Income Tax

I started my income tax yesterday and will work on it again today. And then I let it sit and then I go back and check everything out again. Using this program sure makes things easier.
Super Bowl is today and I look forward to the commercials and prefer to be alone to watch them. I make my own party.

Clown Shoes

Since I'm not finishing anything, thought I would share work in process. These are the clown shoes being carved separate from the clown because I didn't like how the original ones that were attached to the clown looked. So off they went.

This is the tiger head, getting more form. This one better turn out good for all of the time I'm spending on him.

Busy Thursday

Another busy Thursday. Woodcarving this morning and then right to Church for another luncheon meeting and then praise team rehearsal this evening.

Chicken and Dumpling Lunch

We had our LWML Mighty Mite service and lunch today. The lunch was homemade chicken and dumplings, salad and rolls which was really great. I must get the recipe from Nancy. For dessert we had Mexican wedding cake and German chocolate cake made by Norma which also was yummy. I guess I don't have to worry about supper as I am stuffed. The tables were decorated with floral baskets for Valentine's Day put together by Ellie.

Monday

Just got back from a trip to a warehouse in Itasca helping Lutheran Church Charities box and palletize stuff to be sent to Haiti. The stuff was donated by different churches and trucks were going to the collection churches and returning to the warehouse for sorting, boxing and palletizing. My group was working on linens and towels. The others from our church were working on personal hygiene products. I think we packed enough wash cloths so that every person in Haiti would get one and maybe two. The Lutheran church had a presence in Haiti even before the earthquake. We have churches, orphanages and missions there. So every thing was being shipped to Florida then in containers to be sent by boat to Haiti. The missions and churches there will disperse everything. There were pallets of water, Baby food and formula, dish and laundry soaps, linens, personal hygiene, food, medical supplies, tents, buckets, and tools.