OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been away from my blog for awhile.  Too much going on or not enough.

I haven't been doing much creating art.  I seem to be doing a LOT of reading though.

   Two weeks ago I started to get back spasms again.  Haven't had them in ages.
So I went to the doctor and he set me up on a pill regime, not much but enough and by
Saturday morning my back and therefore my life was back to normal.  Or so I thought.

On Saturday afternoon I was fairly busy in the shop. After one customer left I headed into the house  to get my dinner started.  (Lasagna)  As I was walking down the stairs to get on to the patio
I lost my balance.  And down I went. On to the concrete and brick. My customer who is also a very good friend and my husband both heard my screams for help. They came running to help. I had landed on my back.... and put a nice gash in my head.

Off we went to the emergency room.  The doctor was worried so had me get a CT scan to make
sure it wasn't a fracture..  It wasn't.  So he gave me 7 staples..... ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!!!!!
He then said I could go home.  My back was bothering me but he was pretty sure it was connected to
the spasms I had been having last week.

Well maybe so.....  but today I went to my regular doctor to be checked out a bit more thoroughly.  He says I banged up my back, bruised some bones and set off the spasms again so back to the pill regime.
I have to use the heating pad a lot and don't sleep too well. Funny thing, I never did get a headache from hitting my head.  Just have a hard head I guess.

Once all of this is behind me I intend to get back to doing some art projects.  I have three things waiting for me. Mean while I am getting lots of reading done.

It has been dumping rain here the past few days off and on and everything is really growing fast.  I hope to get a few pictures of my garden when I feel up to it.

Bentley and Nature

Bentley is so improved that we are letting him walk around the house a bit during the day.  Yesterday he wanted to sit up in the kitchen window so he could look out and see all the stuff he was missing.

   Here he is looking out the window, sad that he is trapped inside.... like kids they don't always appreciate when we do something for their own good.
        Here is a little gold finch eating on the bag of niger seed.  Doesn't it look nice next to the beautiful petunias.

 

The wind had blown over top part of birdbath but the Blue Jay was still hopeful.

      
But after a lot of looking Bentley decided a nap would be better.

While he was sitting in the window I stayed close by working on a new project.  It is an interesting type of journal.  I will show pictures in the next day or so, after I get a bit farther along.

A day at the Flea and Farm Market

On days that are good we often head to Leesport, PA (on Wednesdays) to go to the big flea market and farmers market.  We discovered this market long before we moved to PA.  It might have been one of the reasons we decided to move here.

This week was a fairly typical day at the market.  We spent the first few hours looking at all the "junque" at the dealers "up on the hill"  as they call it.  And we managed to put a LOT of items in our van for resale in our shop.

Then I headed out to the Pavilions were they sell flowers, produce and all sorts of other goodies.

I have a new cell phone and it has a camera and I am just learning to use it.  Therefore the pics may not be all that great but you will certainly get the idea.

I took a few pictures to give you a flavor of the market.


First there are always livestock there.  They have a livestock auction later in the day.  Here are a couple of shots of the goats that were in a little pen right out on the walkway .  Behind them in another pen are cows but I thought these guys were so cute I had to take their pictures. Apparently the little fellow who is black, stayed in that back corner all the time.  I checked back a couple of times and he was still there.  The others liked to move around a bit.

After seeing these guys I went out to the produce area.  We were planning to buy some plants today so I started my look around.  Here are a couple of shots of some of the plants available.

  

This second picture was taken inside the pavilion area and the light seems a bit strange but adds to the shot I suppose.

Back in the other pavilion I stopped at one stall that sells lots of rustic looking yard art.  We have bought from her in the past but today I just enjoyed looking.  Here are a couple of pictures of the kinds of things she sells.  She always has them in cute little vignettes.

So that was a small part of our day at the Flea and Farm Market. We hope to get back again very soon.

Bentley the Cat is greatly improved!!

Bentley is recovering surprisingly well.  He can't walk yet but he doesn't seem to be in pain anymore.... been off pain killer for 24 hours.....    He does all the necessary things though is a bit messy with the litter box.  Here are two pictures of him.  It is hard to believe that less than a week ago he was in such trouble and pain.

In the picture he is just "resting" in his little bed.  But if you look at his eyes you know he is plotting something to happen as soon as he can move properly again.

And in this second picture  he seems to be resting on his haunches.  He broke his pelvis and had fractures in his back legs so they "must" be healing.

To get to the litter box he still sort of pulls himself along though he tries to use his back legs but they won't let him.

We continue to be so thankful.  And a huge thanks to the folks at the Animal Emergency Veterinary Hospital.  Especially Dr. Haas.  We know he saved our kittie's life.

Reporting in on Stitch-a-long

It may take me forever to finish this project but I WILL do it!!

While we were traveling a couple of weeks ago I managed to get 5 more squares done and here are the results.

 And here is a book I just bought that really has helped me to do even more flowers and stitches.
 Silk Ribbon Embroidery Bible.  I bought it at Amazon.

 I hope to be inspired to get more done as soon as our house gets organized again with the Bentley "hospital" I now have to take care of.  And we have to unload from the antique show as well.  It never ends.  No big travel plans for awhile which is probably just as well.

Bentley the Cat was the star of a drama here in the family.

My husband was off doing an antique show and our cat was not that thrilled.  I know he kept looking for him when ever he went outside..
Well, Friday night at 6:20 he ran out of the house on his "hunt" I think.  At 6:30 I heard a horrible screaming sound on the back porch.  It was Bentley.... I didn't know what at happened at the moment but realized he couldn't walk, only crawl.  He had apparently gotten hit by a car.... crawled back to the back porch and started screaming for me.  I got him into the house and called the Vet.  He sent me to the Vet Emergency Service and so the "fun" weekend began for all of us.  He stayed at the hospital two nights, had x-rays, was given a lot of pain killers and antibiotics and today we got the call we could come and get him..... he was resting comfortably, eating and generally doing all he could considering he couldn't walk.

So now we get to spend the next several weeks playing nurse maid.  We are so thankful he is doing so much better.
We made him up a little "room" on the shelf of the bay window in our kitchen.  He can't get out.  There is a litter box, a bed and some food.  He just needs to "understand" he will get better if he rests a lot
In the first picture you can see him in one of the beds in his new "room"  And he has on the collar he was given to wear.

  In the picture above he is looking out the window rather forlornly.  He much prefers outside.

And in this final picture he is in the other bed.  He has two choices, isn't he lucky.

Tonight we had fun giving him his medicine.  He took it very well though
We finally took off that collar.  It was driving him crazy and it wasn't really serving any purpose anymore.

I imagine it will get to a routine eventually.  Meanwhile though it will certainly keep us busy.

 My husband had my camera with him at the show so I couldn't get any pictures but now I can again so I hope to get back to the blogging on a more regular basis..... that sounds familiar.... probably said it before.

Catch Up Day

Today I will attempt to catch up a bit.  I feel a bit overwhelmed these days.... NEVER enough hours to do all I want to do.

I am taking the Artist Classes again.  This time it is called Garden Party.  One of the lessons involved using broken or old light fixtures in a new way.  So I thought I should show you the "no longer a light fixture" I have in my antique shop.  I got the idea from a Lowe's Home and Garden magazine quite a while ago.  I really love it.      

It is definitely spring.  Hot weather one day, cool the next.  But I have been encouraged by the weather to get out and clean out some more beds,.  I have worked on all but one now.  That one is a notorious hiding place for poison ivy so I don't touch it.

Here are a couple of pictures I took. 

  This is the edge of the garden filled with poison Ivy.  It pretty much grows as it pleases because of that.

 

 
Today it is rainy so it has slowed outdoor work.  But it is making everything very Green looking.  Love it.