Dads Flowers Brighten Up The Holidays

This Amaryllis has been a Thanksgiving bloomer for over 20 years, probably more like 30 years.  It was gifted to my mom by one of her friends.  Here in Indiana this plant cannot survive the winters outside.  To keep it alive it must be brought indoors before the first frost and taken outside after the last frost of the year.  

Mom passed in 2017 of a rare cancer.  She battle it for about seven years.  Near the end when she knew her battle was coming to an end, she started giving dad instructions on how to maintain things without her.  Taking care of this flower was one of those things he needed to learn.   He's done well.  It's nice to see these gorgeous blooms every Thanksgiving.  They brighten the my spirits in so many ways.

The holidays for me can be a reminder of who is no longer with us.  Mom's last cancer diagnosis was between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Two years later she had a major surgery that nearly killed her on Christmas Eve.  The entire family spent that Christmas week in intensive care with her.  Two years later she passed right after Christmas.  Long before moms battle with cancer my brother(Greg) died in a car accident.  Greg's birthday is today, Nov. 28.  Sometimes his birthday falls on Thanksgiving.  

He was a character to say the least.  The pictures below are two of my favorites.  The one on the right is him wearing mom's wig.  She had bought the wig long before she had cancer for those bad hair days.

The most recent holiday heartache is the passing of my baby boy, Trever, October 2, 2022.   For those of you who have lost a child you understand and I'll leave it at that. 

When we all get together for the holidays we don't dwell on the ones who are not with us.  We just enjoy the time together.  Last year was very hard, this year was a little better but not by much.  

So when I said those flowers brighten up the holidays, they really do. 

I snapped this picture of dad last week when taking pictures of the flowers.  He was trying to think of an old song name.  He's 77 yrs. young and gets frustrated when he can't remember like when he was 25.  Honestly his memory is better than mine and he could probably out run me any day of the week.  He works out three times a week, sings in a band and takes care of his home and six acres all by himself.  The only thing he isn't good at is cooking.  His mom and my mom always did it for him.  But he's learning.  To supplement his lack of skills I take him a homecooked meal as often as I can. 

Now back to his aging and memory loss.  At 77 yrs old dad takes only one prescription medicine.  He used to be on a handful of them several times a day.  After mom passed he felt more freedom to do as he wished with his health.   Mom "harped" on him to visit doctors and take meds.  Dad prefers to find the root  cause of the illness.  He has many books on how to supplement vitamins and herbs instead of taking prescription meds.  And that is what he has done.

 Several years ago he had a stent put in near his heart.  A few years later he had a quadruple bypass surgery.  This is when the meds started adding up.  Beta-blockers, blood thinners, blood pressure meds, statins and blood sugar meds.  Today he only takes the blood sugar med if he eats something that is high in carbs.  That's right, he eats low carb.  Which means almost no bread, no starchy veggies and no sugar.  His main food group is fatty meat with a little added non starchy veggies.  

His bloodwork comes back nearly perfect every time.  This time his A1C(blood sugar) was a little high, in the prediabetic range.  So he decided that taking the Metformin might be a good idea until he can get his sugar back under control.

The rest of his health issues he had in the past are kept under control by supplements.  The doctor thinks dad is taking all the prescriptions because his test come back great.  He's buys the prescriptions but never takes them.  He's "cured" his medical conditions with diet and supplements.

  Would you believe his 100% blocked carotid artery is now 85% blocked.  They wouldn't do the surgery to clean it out when it 100% blocked for fear of dislodging a chunk and it going to his brain.  His doctor was so impressed with it clearing itself slowly, he told dad there was no reason for him to come back to see him.

I veered far from memory loss conversation but I had to set the stage for the next picture.  Well, in the previous picture there is a magazine on the table.  It's there because dad wanted me to read an article on a new supplement for memory loss.  I took this picture of the name of the supplement also known as PQQ so I could do a little Google research.   What I found was just like every other supplement.  Some folks out there say it's a good thing and others say your paying for expensive pee.  So I'll let you know if dad starts reversing his slight memory loss.   Why do I share this with you?  I believe in my dads health success story and hope it can help others to think outside the box and take their health into their own hands.

My dad was miserable before switching to supplements and a low carb diet.  He could barely walk.  His body hurt all over and he was fat.   The sad thing is, he was doing everything the doctors told him to do and it wasn't getting better but worse.  He wanted to live, so he started doing his research.....and it paid off.  He says we don't have health care in America, we have sick care.  If they cure it they can't make money off of us over our entire lifetime.  That' something to think about.

I've rambled on for far to long.  If you're still here thanks for hanging in there until the end.  I promise not to do this again anytime soon. 

 Now, it's time to get stitching.

Until next time...

I hope you find time to stitch up something sweet!

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Happy Mother's Day , Visiting Dad

 Wishing you all a Blessed Mother's Day!  Hope you are able to spend a little time with those you love today.

As for me and my family we chose once again to stay apart due to not being able to stay outside and a safe distance apart.  As soon as the weather is warmer and we can be outside we will have a little shindig!

My dad pretty much calls the shots when it comes to whether or not we visit.  He's the oldest and most likely to be effected by our current situation.  I visit with him at least once a week and take him some food.  Sometimes it's a sweet treat and other times it's a nice home cooked meal.  He's always happy to have company and share the progress his making around the property.

Gardening is new to dad.  He would buy the flowers, mom would plant them or tell him where to plant them.  There's very few of them that he can name.  Weeding flower beds can be difficult when you don't have a clue what most plants are before blooming.  Of course he's plucked out a few keepers but I would never tell him.  It's nice to see him doing his best to keep it looking nice.

This Snowball Bush is looking pretty good this year.  It was a gift from my son to my mom about 2 years before she passed.  It's one of the last things she planted. 

Dad was also very eager to show off his old Coke machine he finally hooked up.  It's been sitting on the porch of his detached garage for awhile but he hadn't plugged it in or loaded it with soda.

Of course he wanted to show me everything about it.

This gave me a chuckle.  It holds more than Coke!  My dad rarely drinks but he's ready for those who do.  It's a man thing I guess.

 

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~ My Talented Family ~

This is a post about my creative and talented family.  Before going any further I want to give you a heads up/WARNING about what you will see in this post.  The WARNING is being made due to the highly PC culture that has taken over our society.   So if you would prefer to NOT see a handmade knife don't read any further.  You have been warned, so please no snarky comments, they will be deleted.  

*******

As a family of makers we tend to give gifts that we put our heart and souls into.  This doesn't stop with just me and my quilting.  My entire family loves to make things, from homemade baked goods to rebuilding cars, everyone has a craft.  Most of us dabble in many different hobbies.  Each one of my children is talented in many different form of the arts.  For my birthday this year my two sons worked together to make a knife.  Remember we're talking about a form of art not a usable tool.  It could be used, it's sharp.  Just like in quilting, some are made to be used and some are made to be hung on a wall.  My youngest son has always shown a talent for working with metals.  He originally wanted to be a jeweler.  Here's a piece he did about 10 yrs ago while still in high school.

The two boys also worked together to make my older sons wedding rings.  My DIL also helped with this project.  What an amazing gift to one another.  The rings are not fancy just a simple band made with love.  Does it get any more romantic than that?  Makes a momma tear up knowing how much they love one another.

So who are these amazing people? (Yep, I'm bias)  This is my youngest son Trever(the jeweler and knife maker) and his fiance Heather.  A fun couple that keep me in stitches.  Always joking around and telling funny stories.  Both are dog whispers and are trying to build a relationship with our Khaleesi.  The truth be told I think they should go into animal training.  They both seem to understand animals on a different level than the rest of us.

My oldest son, Derek and his wife Kristi.   As you can tell by the picture they love adventure.  But they too are just overgrown kids that love to have a good time.  They are such a joy to be around.  Not only for the fun times but because it's so obvious they are in love.  These 2 are modern day hippies, full of love and peace.

So when I was given this little box of what looks like tea I knew the contents was not tea.  Of course it would be something homemade.  But were these mischievous boys up to no good?

I was surprised to find this hand crafted little knife.

How cute is this?  Look closely at the shape of the entire knife.  It is half a pair of scissors, how clever!

They even made a little sheath with hand stitching.  There's a story behind the handle.  My oldest son found the piece of cedar while canoeing on the Ohio river last fall.  He was going to burn it that evening at camp.  But when he was cutting up the wood for the fire he saw the beautiful color and design and couldn't stand the thought of throwing it in the fire.  He loved it so much he couldn't even bare to throw out the cedar shavings when carving he handle.  They became filler in the tea box.  The  attention to detail is beautiful.  The little cut out in the handle is a copper inlay.  That copper is his signature.  He is a pipe fitter in a local union.  

The copper has also been used to add a little interest on the top of the handle.  It's amazing workmanship.  A one of kind piece.  It makes me proud to know my boys put so much time and effort into such a small gift.  Priceless.

I pulled this image off of Dereks instagram account.  He's working on the knife with the guidance of his younger brother Trever(the knife maker).  I had no idea when he posted this picture that the knife was for me.  Sneaky boys! Some things never change.  I'm a proud momma.   They are good boys, with big hearts and loving spirits.  What more could a momma want?

You thought this would be the end of the story, wrong!  There's another crafty man I would like to give a little shout out to today.....Mr. Podunk!  It is his turn to shine.  You all already know he's a handy guy.  He is also known as Mr. Fixit.  That's a self imposed title.  He says it's what he was born to do, fix things.  And he does a mighty fine job.  So this week I gave him a very simple task of making a quilt ladder. I've been wanting one for years but I'm to cheap to buy one.   Here it is in the early stages of construction.

When I went out to the garage yesterday evening to see how it was going.....TADA!  It's done!  Well his part is done.  I'm the finisher.  Now to decide do I leave it as is or add paint?  I'm not sure. I'll give it a few days before making my decision.  

#familyofmakers #khaleesithegermanshepherd #treverbrummett #derekbrummett #podunkpretties #dailyquote #dailyinspiration 

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Happy Giggle Day!

So what's Giggle Day?  Any day that is spent with my two boys is Giggle day.  Derek(oldest son on the left) and Trever(my baby on the right) have a love for life and laughter.  Even when life is kicking them around a bit they find a way to joke about it and laugh. 

And they're always willing to help momma with anything.  Even when the weather isn't the best for the task at hand.   All I wanted was pictures of the backing I pieced last week for my Podunk Posy quilt and good pictures of the Posy quilt top.

 They never complained or asked if it was over yet.  Real troopers that are willing to do what ever it takes to make momma happy.

After the quilt photo shoot we decided to take a little walk.  Mom and Dads property is gorgeous.  I love this old Sycamore tree.  It was about knee high when I was 6 yrs old.

For a brief moment I thought how this would make a great spot for a family photo.  Then reality kicked in....my boys can't be serious!  They're even corrupting Trever's girlfriend Heather!  Every time I put my finger on the camera button they would strike a goofy pose, that's why I love'em...The Goof Troop!

Linking with Sew Cute Tuesday@Blossom Heart Quilts

~ Lea Anne ~

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We're having a baby girl!

Say hello to Hunter, my grandson, and Sparky, the garbage disposal. That quilt, its one of the first ones I made(And my daughter still uses it on a daily basis.)  There's a long story behind the quilt so I'll make it short.  Each one of my three children were told I would make a quilt for them, just name the quilt and I'll make it.  My daughter wanted a rebel flag quilt.  Why?  Because she's a rebel, it has nothing to do with it's real meaning.  Honestly making the quilt was easy as far as the pattern.  But we all know the issues that come with displaying such a controversial symbol.  Really she just likes the word REBEL, and that she is!  You know the type tattoos, piercings, anything to make a momma shake her head.  She's a good girl, kindhearted, and hard working.  

And looky here at this baby bump!  We're having a girl in September!  This is Amanda my oldest child.  She lives about 3 hours away so I don't get to see them much.  What grandma doesn't just love making goodies for a baby girl!  Pink gingham's, posies and butterflies, lace!  They already put in a request for a quilt.  Are you ready for this?  They want a U Of L(University of Louisville) baby quilt....WHAT!  You got to be kiddin me!  Where's the lace, gingham and posies!   Oh well... I can always make two quilts.

Until next time..."Quilt out of Your Comfort Zone!"

Lea

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Party Time!

3 wives, 3 bouts of cancer, 2 near death accidents and 8 kids later he still drives!

Below is my gramps and my mom.  I asked him what was the most exciting invention he witnessed in the last 90 years and he says "well really nothing stands out".  Gramps is just an ole country boy that took life as it came.  Besides all those kids he also had pigs, chickens, cows, goats, horses and a tomato farm.  Retired from truck driving in the 80's, then worked for the city, retired from that and began working for a horse farm until about 12 years ago.  He played and worked with Bill Monroe(for those of you who don't know Bill Monroe he's a famous Bluegrass musician)

The youngest at the party, my second cousins.  What hams!

Below from left to right, my dad, my sweetie, and the guy who stole my singing solo in middle school! Its a sore spot we won't go into..LOL  The lady looking deep in thought is my aunt Lou who organized the party.  Thanks Aunt Lou for all your hard work!

                                       Until next time "Quilt out of your Comfort Zone!"

                                                                               Lea Pin It