Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Makes Me Feel Like the Cat

This is how I feel today....like crawling under a quilt

and hiding...hiding till good health comes.

That would be a long time of hiding...as

I don't think good health will ever come

again unless God gives me a miracle.I have been doing better but this week I am fighting

a case of diverticulitis and having to take antibiotics

again. I just finished a round a few weeks ago for an

infected tooth. Antibiotics drag me down. I avoid them

till the "last dog dies, or at all cost at times".

After reading some of the other CFSers posts, I wonder

if I am having herxing symptoms when on

antibiotics.

I have no right to gripe, as last year was very rough

and I have a lot of stress with Mom. Stress with my

husband's health, older brother's health and family

stress in general...not to mention the economy.

So I am thankful I have been doing as well as

I have been.

Mom is living in a little "Senior Apartment" not far

from us and we have home health coming in

twice a day to help with her. It is a lot better

than dealing with her being in the nursing home.

I still had to go there everyday to stay on top

of things with her there...now we do it in the apartment.

I really do not think she will ever go back to the

farm to live again. I am sorry for that....I know

she gets homesick for her home, but I can

care for her better here and get better help to

come in with her in this county.

Goldie still loves to find new hiding places and

she really likes the quilts that are sitting waiting

for me to bind them. Putting off binding my quilts

is my worst habit....I think sometimes it is because

they are so big and it take so much energy to wrestle

them around to get them through the sewing machine.

Or that is my excuse...really it is true.

Warm Wood Heat

The fireplace it up and running.

This last weekend it really turned off

super cold. Down in the lower teens at night.

I am thankful that we have this wood heat as

it helps to keep the Empire Gas bill down.

Usually close to the fire is where the cats at. Right now she is laying on that cushion in the rocker all nice and toasty.

Oh To Live a Cats Life, Free of CFS and Worry

This is how I feel.....I'd like to just stick my tongue out

at illness.Look it straight in the face.....without fear.

Crawl in my box....in the sun. Turn my back on the worries and stress.

But, can't do that, must go forward.

I've lost almost a whole week bending to the

demands of illness.

Missed Thanksgiving with family.

Missed the laughter of my grand kids....and

their squabbling.

Missed eating things I love.

But, I will go forward one day at a time and

CFS and illness may be in my life but

it does not own my life.

The View From the Kitchen Window

This is a very common sight when looking out

the kitchen window. The cat begging!!Gladys gets fed twice a day. She does not think

that twice a day is enough. So this happens often.

We almost always give in and take her out some

treats to the back porch.

As soon as she hears the back door open,

she tears down the railing that she is perched on

and heads to her food dish!!

I thought I would post this while it was on

my mind. I got up from an afternoon

nap and am sitting with my lap top

at the kitchen table.....and what do

I see out the window......little black ears!!!

Old Singer Sewing Machine

My Mother gave me this last year.

See the little key hanging down on front?

There is a little round hole on the left end of

the case that you put the key

in to unlock the case.It is OLD.

The cat had to snoop, she was not sure what was in that old brown case. It runs smoothly.

I can remember my Mother repairing denim

jeans and overalls on this machine.

I have not sewn any of my quilt projects

on this machine but have gotten it

out and just sewn to see how it

is working.

It was manufactured in Elizabeth, New Jersey on

August 29, 1927.

15000 of this model were made.

I keep it sitting on top of my old Kenmore sewing machine and cabinet. I have sewn a lot on that Kenmore. It was the one Mom taught me to sew on .

Just About Fire Time

November is here and with it the nights are really getting cooler.

A few weeks ago Joe pulled the Earth Stove out of the fireplace

and cleaned the chimney.I could not believe how much had built up in the chimney.

This is the worst pile we have ever cleaned out of there.

I know when it was really super cold last winter,

we had to burn some wood that was not seasoned well

and our seasoned was too wet to mix in.

As usual in our house, this task did not go without supervision!!

It won't be long and we will have a fire going.

Happy Halloween

Our very own Black Halloween Cat!!!!

Gladys...

Remember that picture of the scrawny rescued kitten

with the pumpkins a few posts back?Here she is now!!! She is a short little cat.

When we are outside she is always meowing at us....begging for some cat treats. She also likes to beg at the kitchen window from her perch at the porch railing!

HAPPY HALLLOWEEN! ENJOY YOUR TRICK OR TREATERS

Rescued Cat

Well, here it is 80 degrees at 1:30 in the afternoon, one day air conditioning and the next day the heat is on, then back to air!!! They say that's Missouri for ya!!

This is Gladys, our outside cat. We rescued her off the street three years ago in October. She was so skinny we didn't know for sure if she would be ok. This picture was taken a few weeks after we had been feeding her. She is not as big as Goldie the house cat and we think it is because she had a rough start in life.

Gladys is our block Halloween cat. She hangs out on the front porch. Gladys likes to hop up on the railing and beg at the kitchen window for treats to be brought out to her. I will post a current picture of her later on. I thought I had one on this desk top but it must be in the files on my laptop.

Where The Cats At #4

This is my sewing corner in the extra bedroom.

I always have supervision when I sew....furry supervision.

The quilt block is called Whirligig.

I am using 1930's reproduction prints.

Pizza box cardboard is very comfortable, napping

comfortable!!

Have I mentioned before that I tell the quilter there may be a little

extra fiber on my quilt tops? We have several lint rollers in the house and one in the car!! I keep a lint roller next to the sewing machine. It is very handy, not only for cat hairs, but to roll over the cutting mat to get the tiny crumbs left behind from rotary cutting fabric.

Where The Cats At #3

When the cat was little she played in the water box after I emptied it.

So this last week I threw one down on the floor to see what she

would do. Joe told me she would not be able to fit in one anymore.

Looks to me like she fits into it!!

It is so funny, she will put her face right up against the plastic and stare at us. My goodness, it doesn't take much to entertain us these days.....mmm

Where The Cats At #2

I really did not think I would have another post about where I have found the cat again so soon, but here it is!! I keep my sewing machine in the spare bedroom and as I went in there Saturday morning I found the cat up on these boxes on top of the dresser!! Never seen her there before!

Well, no telling where I'll find her next!! My Red Head DIL is always telling me, "you know, when your not home she is probably all over the kitchen table"! Their cat is perfect....he doesn't get up on things like Dodie does....yeah, right!! But you know what? I always wipe the kitchen table down before eating.....mmmm.

Where The Cats At

Back in the fall of 2007 our family went through a trying time. I decided it would be a good idea to get a cat. That way when the grand kids came to our house they would have something new to take their minds off the troubles of a divorce that they did not want or understand. Yes, a cat would be the answer and would help provide a distraction and comfort. When she was still a kitten the kids did play with her some. Today when the kids or anyone for that matter comes to the door the cat shoots down the hallway and hides under the bed. If the kids are here for a while she will eventually come out and sit where they can gently pet her, but if it gets too rowdy, under the bed she scoots. Where is the cat? That has become a very common sentence in this house. Whenever we open the closet doors she likes to sneak in. When we open the door to leave the house she likes to sneak out. You get the picture. So, often Poppy Joe or I will holler ....where is the cat at? I am surprised at times where the cats at. I think quilters and cats are common. On different blogs I have seen pictures of cats on sewing tables supervising the creativity that is going on. Cats on top of fabric also is common. There is hardly ever a time when a new piece of fabric leaves the dryer and hits the ironing board that it is not initiated into this house by a cat sniff or is sat upon. Here is a picture of "where the cats at" her name is Goldie but she is most often referred to as Dodie. The two youngest grand kids could not say Goldie very well and at first that is all they called her....Dodie. I keep quilting block projects in pizza boxes and had just earlier in the day moved two to the sewing table. Later when looking around this is where I found her.

She does not like the red eye light on the camera and will get miffed and move when I try taking her picture.

Forward to 2010 if you will. I believe the kids enjoy the cat...even love the cat.

We love our cat. Yep, I said love the cat. When all is said and done though, I believe it has been Gramma Peggy that the cat brings distraction and comfort to when going through rough patches.

When the Napping Quilter hits the bed it is usually only a matter of minutes before Dodie comes flying down the hallway and lands on the bed and curls up on the throw at her feet.