Is it really the end of May??

For those of you in Southern Ontario you will know that our weather has not been very spring like. We have been lucky to have quite a few sun filled days but it is cold and windy.

Me and my Gardener did some gardening and lawn work this weekend. I took pictures last weekend and this weekend. My gosh can you ever see the difference in just a week. Just imagine if it was actually warm out...lol






















Now look at the pictures I took today and see how the garden has grown.















I even managed to get a sewing project done this weekend. 32.5 came over and *cough* did *cough* helped me make a curtain for my gazebo. It looks great and helps block out my neighbours backyard.



That's my weekend in a nutshell.

Spring has sprung!!

And my mind is racing in 100 different directions and none of them include quilting.

I worked on my yard today and it is really starting to look nice. I pulled about 10,000 dandelions. Thank goodness my gardner (DAD) has a fancy shmancy dandelion plucker. You can do it all without having to get down on all fours. (not a pretty site..lol)










The Happy Gardner.


My mom and dad.

It was a little cool today...about 11 degrees celsius (about 52 fahrenheit)but it was sunny all day.

I also did some work on the inside of my house the last few weeks. The Canadian Government is offering a tax grant to people who do renovations on their homes...so I took advantage of that and had my stairs and upstairs bedrooms recarpeted. I also had a little painting done.


Here is a large picture so you can see close up how disgusting my carpet was...don't you just love that huge stain?? I have no idea what it was that was spilled on the carpet but it went right through and even stained the wood subfloor underneath...yuck!




Before.


After.



I had the woodwork painted out on the stairs. I am so glad I did it.

Well, my blogging buddies, I think that brings my life up to date.

I hope everyone is enjoying their springtime. Happy Quilting!!

This is just to cool not to post

I hope this makes you smile as much as it did me.

Happy Monday!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UE3CNu_rtY&feature=player_embedded

Happy Easter

I did some sewing today. I worked on my multicoloured stacked coins quilt. It is going to be a lap quilt...I think I still need to add one more border to it.





I know this next statement will be hard to believe but I don't have any fabric in my stash that work as my final border. I guess I am going to have to make a visit to my favourite quilt shop.

I was talking to 32.5 today and we made sure that we both wanted to go to the Creative Needlework Festival. I enjoy the spring show so much better than the fall one.

Just an update for my faithful blogland friends. I'm feeling good....I'll be going back to work soon. I'm still not smoking (woo hoo) and I will be attending a Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. I am really looking forward to that, as the program teaches people how to live a heart healthy lifestyle.

Happy Easter to everyone.

My Quilting Mojo has returned

I'm feeling better...thank you for all the well wishes I received from my blogland buddies.

I knew I was feeling better when I suddenly wanted to quilt again. :-)

Here are the pictures of the row robin quilts Momma Newbie and I are working on.

This is Momma Newbie's quilt


This is my quilt


They are both done and ready to go north. (no pressure Aunt D. LOL)

I started working on a stacked coin quilt. I am just kind of winging it...I want to make it a lap quilt. Wow, this quilt sure does go together quickly. Even quick for me...lol

After much internal debate

I have decided to share my recent excitement.

On Tuesday March 3 while watching The Biggest Loser, I started to experience some chest pain...within about 20 minutes I realized (or finally admitted to myself that I needed to go to the hospital) To make a very long story short and sweet. I was admitted and had an angiogram done. They discovered I had a 90% blockage. So I had angioplasty and 2 medicated stents placed in one of my arteries. I have been home now for a couple weeks and I am getting better and stronger everyday.

One of the reasons I didn't want to share my story was I didn't want people passing judgement on me and my health and lifestyle.

Full disclosure moment LOL
I'm 41
I smoke
I'm overweight
I am not overly active

One of the reasons I finally decided to share my story is because I do not fit the mold for heart problems. (Woman under 50 don't usually have heart problems) And I wanted women to take symptoms seriously...and not to ignore them...like I did.

Denial is very real....I did it for more than two weeks. I was lucky when I had the big attack (was not an actual heart attack..thank god)I had classic signals that even I could not ignore.

Chest pain.
Pain down my left arm
Left arm and hand numb
Pain in my throat
Pain in my jaw (both sides)
throwing up

Take it from me....do no ignore these signs.

Some signs I had before the big day. Mild chest pain when walking to the train. (excuse...it is cold out and I'm out of shape)
Out of breath (out of shape)
heartburn that would not go away with medication (Rolaids etc) (just chalked that up to just being weird)
Generally not feeling well (February blahs)

I am lucky, I had a doctor in the emergency room who didn't care that I didn't fit the mold and who listened to my symptoms. I had a cardiologist that didn't care that I didn't fit the mold and sent me for an angiogram.

Now, the good news. I am no longer a smoker. I have not smoked since March 3. I no longer live on Coke/Pepsi and chips...and I have cut out salt. I have lost 12 lbs since this happened and hope to lose more.

This has certainly been quite a month and I learned much. Knowledge is power and I educated myself quickly. One of the sites that provided tons of info was The Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Educate yourself and don't ignore the signs no matter how scary it is. (the alternative is much scarier)

Birthday Weekend Extravaganza

Friday night I met up with my oldest (there is a joke there somewhere but I'll be kind) friend to celebrate our birthdays. My birthday was Saturday and her birthday is next Saturday. We went to our favourite restaurant Go Believe Sushi in Whitby. The food was wonderful as always but the service was a little quirky. Not bad...just strange, it certainly gave me and my friend lots of laughs.

Saturday I met up with 32.5 and we headed out to Uxbridge to check out a couple of sewing stores and have lunch. Of course I bought fabric, because it was my birthday and if I want fabric I'll buy it. LOL. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME...LOL. I was good though I only bought a little bit. I don't know, I think I am gaining some self control in my old age. 32.5 treated me to lunch at Frankie's Ristorante.

32.5 took some pictures of our adventure and gave me permission to steal some of them for my blog.




Can you tell how excited I am to be shopping for fabric? LOL

Saturday night my mom took me and my dad out for dinner. My dad's birthday is two days before mine. We went to Kelsey's in Oshawa.

Sunday was another nice day...spent with my parents. Went and did some shopping/bonding with my dad...and then my mom and I came over to my house to do some sewing. I actually didn't do any sewing...I ended up doing some housework but my mom finished up her row on my quilt. She even got to use the fancy sewing machine, so she was very happy...lol





Excellent work mom....you are becoming a real quilter.

Thank you 32.5 for a lovely lunch and afternoon on Saturday and for letting me steal some of your pictures. I can't wait to see your blog post.