My dog tore his ACL and had to have surgery. He had it today. He's home from the vets and is miserable. He's whiney and can't find a comfortable place to lay down. I just gave him pain meds an hour ago and hoping they put him to sleep. He needs to rest. He won't drink any water and won't even eat his favorite treats.
He has to go back to the vet 6 times in the next two weeks. I'll be running the highway back and forth with him. They are going to do some kind of laser treatment on his wound and muscles. The vet said that it helps the healing process.
Seeing him like this makes me wonder if we did the right thing by getting the operation for him. Was he in this much pain with the torn ACL? I just don't know. They said he will be almost 100% when he fully heals. I sure hope so. If we did all of this and he's not better, I will feel so bad.
He isn't allowed to go up or down the stairs for 6 weeks. Good thing we have a door to the outside from our family room, where he and I will be staying for the next 6 weeks.
I get to do his physical therapy also. I'd rather do it myself than trust someone else doing it.
Here is a picture of my poor boy.
Well, I'm going to lay on the floor with him so he doesn't feel alone. I just hope the pain meds kick in soon.
I'd like to take a moment to say Happy Father's Day to my hubby and all the father's who read my blog.
I wish I could tell my dad that one more time. I don't know where his soul is right now, but I hope he's in Heaven waiting for me. It's kind of sad not to know. I hate it when people just assume when you die you go to Heaven. At least I know Shawn's dad is there and will meet me at those Pearly Gates.
Shawn and I will be celebrating by going to Virginia tomorrow afternoon to pick up some pieces of wood that someone is gifting us for shuttle making. Some really nice species. I'm very excited.
We got a band saw today and I have been having fun cutting those thick pieces of wood into workable ones. I cut up a huge block of Paduk today. I can't wait to make a shuttle out of it. It's such a beautiful species of wood.
Time for bed and a good night's sleep.
I am so excited. I registered yesterday for the Palmetto Tat Days Tatting Conference in Georgia. It's in September. I can hardly wait. It was hard to pick the classes because the schedules are kind of strange. No rhyme or reason to which ones are 2 sessions and which ones are 1 session. I got it all worked out, although I didn't get a class by Martha Ess. She was one of the teachers I really wanted to get a class from. I did get one by Jane Eborall. That just thrills me to death. And one from Nina Liben. I also got one by Vicki Clarke and someone named Erin. This is going to be a great conference. I will get to meet more of my online friends. Some people I already know face to face will be there also. I'm kind of nervous because I'm driving 10 hours by myself and going by myself, but I think I will be OK.
I am also going to set up a table there to sell my tatting shuttles and hand dyed thread. I'm hopefully going to have a new shuttle design to unveil at the conference. I wanted to unveil it sooner, but I will wait until then.
I got to attend a tat a long in VA on Sunday with Linda Slater Barnes and Karen Beary Parent. It was a great day. I got some new tatting books that I have been wanting and some more thread colors that I've wanted.
I've been working on bookmarks for Nate and Naina's wedding. I asked last week if I could make some for table favors. Several people have offered to help me make them. I feel blessed. I have about 130 bookmarks to make. I'm using two simple patterns, one for the men and one for the women. Three colors of thread. That's about 22 bookmarks for each pattern and color. I've already gotten 6 done. Well on my way. LOL.
I have until October to get them done and I am confident that it will happen. So many people are helping that if I only did 2 a day for the next month, then the rest will be done by my friends.
I will post pictures when I get some from all three colors done.
Back to tatting bookmarks.
If you follow other tatters, you may have already seen the recent issues now coined as 'Copytatting'. If not, you should pop by Martha's Tatting blog (I'll leave the post link in the comments).
I just wanted to add my 2 cents on the subject and say that I know this isn't a new phenomenon, myself and many other tatting designers that I respect have experienced many different similar incidents. I often design using vintage and antique patterns as a jumping off point and maybe that is a gray area, but what's not gray is stealing patterns and counting stitches from modern designers who can easily be contacted for permission.
So please think twice before you copy a piece from a picture online or share an un-sourced,clearly scanned pattern or image on Pinterest.
Designers work hard on their art and many like myself earn our income this way. Sorry about the rant and please do check out Martha's post for an excellent post on the subject.
There are so many posts on facebook lately about people selling tatted products. It worries me because I have seen so many posts on blogs about people stealing patterns, designs and then selling them. This is very scary for someone who is in the process of writing a tatting book. My own designs are my intellectual property and I don't want to get caught up in this situation.
I also design and make tatting shuttles that I am fearful of someone stealing the design. I guess that if someone tried to sell a shuttle that my hubby or I designed people would let them know. We have become widely known for our designs and I think it would be hard for someone to copy our designs.
So with all of that being said, I am working on the designs for the book. I have come up with a concept for the book. That's going to remain a secret for now. I'm pretty excited about what I am coming up with. I need to get some patterns tested. I want shuttle and needle tatters to both test them. Boy this process is going to be a long one. But I think with doing it this way, the book will be more successful since I know that the patterns will have been tested by wonderful tatters who's opinion I trust.
Another topic - I feel bad for Shawn. He is getting bombarded with orders. It's kind of a good/bad thing. Good because it is generating income for him, but bad because he's always in the work room. He has made so many shuttles in the past three months. I guess that's what happens when you design an unique and beautiful shuttle.
I've been working on two shuttle designs. I'm running into a few little glitches for now. I will just have to refine the designs and get working. I'm pretty excited about each design. Pix to come soon.
On the eve of Decoration Day, aka Memorial Day, I sit here thinking of all the men and women who have given their lives serving this country. It humbles me and makes me grateful for being able to serve my country honorably and not during war time.
It also makes me appreciate what I have and who I am because of my time in the US Army. I enlisted when I was 17 years old and left home before my 18th birthday. I grew up, reinforced respect for authority and added to my pride and appreciation for the freedoms we receive being US citizens.
I looked so young in my military picture. Hard to believe that photo was taken 33 years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday.
I was honored to get to spend several hours with The Saluting Marine, Tim Chambers on Friday when he attended an event at a local motorcycle apparel shop that I organized. There wasn't a huge turnout due to the time of day, and that was ok because we got to know each other and talk. I have called him my friend for a while, but now I consider him closer than a friend. What an amazing heart he has for our military personnel.
This reflection also makes me think of all the people in my life that I admire and respect. Those who were there for me when no one else wanted to be. Those who have stood by me through thick and thin, good and bad, ups and downs.
I get kind of mushy this time of year because I am so proud of the lessons I have learned and what I have been able to accomplish because of those lessons. I believe that every able bodied person should be required to serve their country for at least 2 years right out of high school. I feel like this country would be so much different if that was required. I know that my belief is not a popular one, but think of all the respect our young people would have and the discipline demonstrated.
Tomorrow we will have a cookout at our house with some family and friends. We are hoping Tim and his group of people will be able to make it. If not, that's ok. He's invited Shawn and I to come to CA to visit and stay with him. Bonds have been made.
My nephew was sworn in and joined the US Army on Thursday. We are not sure when he will have to leave for basic training. I am so proud of him and the decisions he has made for his future. I will miss him terribly. He comes over often to check on me and to spend the day with me. I know I'm not supposed to have favorites but Nick always has been and always will be my favorite nephew. We just have a bond and connection I don't share with the rest of them.
Thank you to all of my fellow veterans, active duty personnel and especially those who paid the ultimate price serving this country. I am proud to be a member of this club. HooRah.
I've been away for a while. Been very busy and no time to post.
Last week we finally got the remodel money in our account. We called a couple companies to get estimates on flooring. Empire Today came out first. We really liked the carpet from them, but the hardwood flooring was wayyyy to much money. We nixed the hardwood and went with carpet. Since we haved 3 floors, we chose to only do two floors for now, so we had someplace to put the stuff from the rooms we needed to clear out. The company is known for next day install, so we had less than one day to empty out several rooms. We got it all done and decided to purge when we unpacked.
The flooring guys came on Friday morning and installed all the carpet in what seemed like no time at all. They only sent two guys but they worked well together and they worked hard. We are so pleased with the look of the floors and now I'm not satisfied with the floor that has the old carpet still.
Oh, on Monday our foyer got ceramic tile installed. Boy it looks amazing. Kind of tan but ties in with the grey/blue carpet we chose for the house.
We got the outside of the house painted along with the front door.
We picked out the deck doors and need to make sure the measurements are correct before we order them. It will take 5 weeks for the livingroom slider to come in because it has to be specially make due to the size of it.
Then on Tuesday, the guy who is doing the deck came over to give us his estimate and help design the deck. We are doubling the size and doing a bump out for the grill to fit in. I also want some built in seating. We are going to purchase all of the supplies and provide most of the labor so it won't cost us very much to get the entire deck done. I am so happy that this is all in the works.
We also picked out the new stove and dishwasher. They will take about 3-4 weeks to come in.
The rest of the upgrades and repairs will be done gradually. The major things are either done, or in the works and it's a little overwhelming right now. The poor dogs and cat don't know what to think of all of the changes. Zura was shaking the other day watching us pack up the living and dining rooms. She just didn't understand. I think she's calmed down now.
I haven't been getting much tatting done, or any other craft for that matter. I've been unpacking all of my supplies. Since we rearranged the furniture in the house, I don't have the little corners to stash my stuff any more. I'm making it work tho. It's nice to purge stuff we have had for years and don't need.
So not much else is happening right now.
