OT (Somewhat) Life Takes You By Surprise (Long and Rambling)

Glad you're on the mend--and SO glad they caught it in time! Five years ago,
while my mom was dying, my husband failed a stress test before he ever got
on the treadmill. They wanted him in the hospital the next day. We asked
whether it could wait just a day or two, because of my mom. The dr said no.
Mother died at 1 am, and DH and I were at the hospital for his
angioplasty/stent at 6am. Turns out the placement of his blockage was what
they call a "widowmaker." You can bet we pay attention--and I'm very happy
you did...

Hugs from Philadelphia!

--Heidi

http://community.webshots.com/user/rabbit2b




"Ocean Gypsy" wrote in message
...
I just celebrated my first year quilting, and what a year it's
been! Over the past six months I haven't posted so much, but
however sporadically I manage it, I usually read everything.

As some know, I haven't been successful in getting employment
after moving out to OH from NJ 1 1/2 years ago, but I was lucky
to have a good cushion from a house sale and a husband with a good
job. I took a course in management at a local community college,
did well and then committed myself to seeing if I could handle 3
courses at once. I had to struggle a bit during winter quarter but I
succeeded and then took a deep breath and decided to become a full
time student this spring quarter, realizing that I'd cut into even more
"free time" but deciding going for a degree the right thing for me to
do.

Some of you also know that my two children have had their share of
trials and tribulations recently (and gosh does unemployment and
heartache seem to cut ever so much more deeply when it's your own
that are wounded), and my mom has been in and out of the hospital
a few times this winter as well. So I've had a full plate to balance
and It's been pretty hectic at times hence the lack of postings, but
certainly not out of control.....yet. ;-)

I've been very happy with the guild that I've joined and the beautiful
work that I see at "show and tell" inspires me. But truth be told,
this "guild" here inspires me on a daily basis. The wealth of knowledge
that I see so freely offered is unbelievable and has been invaluable
to me in my growth over the past year. And the support and
encouragement! What a difference being encouraged to complete
something makes to me, even in those instances where I'm not
the one directly being encouraged. Just knowing that there will
be plenty of people that would ooh and aah has served to help
me get through many a frog-stitching sessions.

And grow I did. From someone who had more enthusiasm than
patience, I've gone from a binding boob to a babbette. ;-)
I've got some more things to add up there, but my webshots
has most things I finished over the beginning of the year.

But there's a bunch more that are in some stage, some quite
close to finishing. My guild has a retreat that I went to and it was
soooo wonderful! I worked on finishing up blocks for what was supposed
to be an Ohio Star quilt, but turned out to be a variable or sawtooth
star, done primarily to showcase machine embroidery which I don't
have. I decided to make some lemonade and am using the centers
of the blocks to set soccer patches that my son received on youth
traveling teams to make a quilt for his college graduation this May.
I finished the blocks, bought the perfect stashing and later this
month will start sewing down the patches. I also finished assembling
a mystery quilt top and need to pair it up with borders and finish. I
finished my DSD Hearts and Princesses quilt top together with her
(she's my 6 y o cutter girl/pinner girl extraordinaire) and it's on to
borders and quilting for that too. That's her very special quilt along
with a rag quilt that I'm close to finishing for the tv room. It's
taking me an inordinately long time to finish this because I must have
not paid close enough attention to the sewing each sandwich to
each other part because after the first round of cutting there were lots
of "gaps" in the seams that I needed to repair before I cut the
edges in the other directions.

But back to the retreat for a moment. We had the bitter with
the sweet at our retreat as well in that on of the coordinators
lost her father that Saturday night. I had been having some nights
of pretty bad indigestion and heartburn, so my friend set herself
up as "The Dairy Police" and things were better. Came back
and got geared up to start my spring quarter on Monday, March 29.
Heartburn returns, so I make a doctor's appointment for Monday
morning before classes. Doctor doesn't like the look of EKG
particularly given my mother's history of heart problems and
tells me she's admitting me to the hospital for a stress test.
Take the stress test Tuesday morning, another doctor doesn't
like the imaging there and then I'm off for a heart cath.
and possible stent/balloon at the same time. Wait - I've never
had surgery in my life outside of the doctor's office and birthing
two babies and it's only heartburn! So I wake up Wednesday
afterwards and get shown some frightening pictures where
there are parts of my arteries/veins where the diameter looks
pinched off less than a sewing needle's width, so it's now
on to triple bypass on Thursday morning. How do I get off this
crazy roller coaster!!!!! But I stayed on...... I was out before
they ever took me into the OR so I don't remember the "count
back from 100" part, but I do remember coming awake
afterwards and thinking this wasn't some bizarre April Fools Day
joke after all.

So now I'm home and healing. It's remarkable how many
things you take for granted during the course of every day
that you need to think about and have someone else do for
you ("I can't get the cap to the pain pills off!" - "Can you
please juice this lime?" - "Can you please fill the pot with
water?"). My diet and exercise regimes are undergoing
radical overhauls. But in the big scheme of things, I'm
relatively young and in decent shape and thankfully got
on top of this before there was heart damage.

I've always tried to contribute to HUGS because that's
such a key way for me to give back to the community
particularly when I can't post that often, but I've blown a
few recent ones. I've dropped out of school as I can't drive
for a month, so hopefully I can move ahead on some quilting
projects when I'm able to handle my iron. :-)

For those that have made it through this - thanks. Think of me
when you have your next bout of heartburn and think about
getting it checked - far too many women in particular brush it off
and think it's nothing serious. I'm here to tell you that it
really can be.

Thanks for being there for me and all of us!

Crystal

http://community.webshots.com/user/ohiolyte

I just celebrated my first year quilting, and what a year it's
been! Over the past six months I haven't posted so much, but
however sporadically I manage it, I usually read everything.

As some know, I haven't been successful in getting employment
after moving out to OH from NJ 1 1/2 years ago, but I was lucky
to have a good cushion from a house sale and a husband with a good
job. I took a course in management at a local community college,
did well and then committed myself to seeing if I could handle 3
courses at once. I had to struggle a bit during winter quarter but I
succeeded and then took a deep breath and decided to become a full
time student this spring quarter, realizing that I'd cut into even more
"free time" but deciding going for a degree the right thing for me to
do.

Some of you also know that my two children have had their share of
trials and tribulations recently (and gosh does unemployment and
heartache seem to cut ever so much more deeply when it's your own
that are wounded), and my mom has been in and out of the hospital
a few times this winter as well. So I've had a full plate to balance
and It's been pretty hectic at times hence the lack of postings, but
certainly not out of control.....yet. ;-)

I've been very happy with the guild that I've joined and the beautiful
work that I see at "show and tell" inspires me. But truth be told,
this "guild" here inspires me on a daily basis. The wealth of knowledge
that I see so freely offered is unbelievable and has been invaluable
to me in my growth over the past year. And the support and
encouragement! What a difference being encouraged to complete
something makes to me, even in those instances where I'm not
the one directly being encouraged. Just knowing that there will
be plenty of people that would ooh and aah has served to help
me get through many a frog-stitching sessions.

And grow I did. From someone who had more enthusiasm than
patience, I've gone from a binding boob to a babbette. ;-)
I've got some more things to add up there, but my webshots
has most things I finished over the beginning of the year.

But there's a bunch more that are in some stage, some quite
close to finishing. My guild has a retreat that I went to and it was
soooo wonderful! I worked on finishing up blocks for what was supposed
to be an Ohio Star quilt, but turned out to be a variable or sawtooth
star, done primarily to showcase machine embroidery which I don't
have. I decided to make some lemonade and am using the centers
of the blocks to set soccer patches that my son received on youth
traveling teams to make a quilt for his college graduation this May.
I finished the blocks, bought the perfect stashing and later this
month will start sewing down the patches. I also finished assembling
a mystery quilt top and need to pair it up with borders and finish. I
finished my DSD Hearts and Princesses quilt top together with her
(she's my 6 y o cutter girl/pinner girl extraordinaire) and it's on to
borders and quilting for that too. That's her very special quilt along
with a rag quilt that I'm close to finishing for the tv room. It's
taking me an inordinately long time to finish this because I must have
not paid close enough attention to the sewing each sandwich to
each other part because after the first round of cutting there were lots
of "gaps" in the seams that I needed to repair before I cut the
edges in the other directions.

But back to the retreat for a moment. We had the bitter with
the sweet at our retreat as well in that on of the coordinators
lost her father that Saturday night. I had been having some nights
of pretty bad indigestion and heartburn, so my friend set herself
up as "The Dairy Police" and things were better. Came back
and got geared up to start my spring quarter on Monday, March 29.
Heartburn returns, so I make a doctor's appointment for Monday
morning before classes. Doctor doesn't like the look of EKG
particularly given my mother's history of heart problems and
tells me she's admitting me to the hospital for a stress test.
Take the stress test Tuesday morning, another doctor doesn't
like the imaging there and then I'm off for a heart cath.
and possible stent/balloon at the same time. Wait - I've never
had surgery in my life outside of the doctor's office and birthing
two babies and it's only heartburn! So I wake up Wednesday
afterwards and get shown some frightening pictures where
there are parts of my arteries/veins where the diameter looks
pinched off less than a sewing needle's width, so it's now
on to triple bypass on Thursday morning. How do I get off this
crazy roller coaster!!!!! But I stayed on...... I was out before
they ever took me into the OR so I don't remember the "count
back from 100" part, but I do remember coming awake
afterwards and thinking this wasn't some bizarre April Fools Day
joke after all.

So now I'm home and healing. It's remarkable how many
things you take for granted during the course of every day
that you need to think about and have someone else do for
you ("I can't get the cap to the pain pills off!" - "Can you
please juice this lime?" - "Can you please fill the pot with
water?"). My diet and exercise regimes are undergoing
radical overhauls. But in the big scheme of things, I'm
relatively young and in decent shape and thankfully got
on top of this before there was heart damage.

I've always tried to contribute to HUGS because that's
such a key way for me to give back to the community
particularly when I can't post that often, but I've blown a
few recent ones. I've dropped out of school as I can't drive
for a month, so hopefully I can move ahead on some quilting
projects when I'm able to handle my iron. :-)

For those that have made it through this - thanks. Think of me
when you have your next bout of heartburn and think about
getting it checked - far too many women in particular brush it off
and think it's nothing serious. I'm here to tell you that it
really can be.

Thanks for being there for me and all of us!

Crystal

http://community.webshots.com/user/ohiolyte

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEE's
BBBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCKKKKK
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!
Welcome home.
School will be there when you are ready for it. (Hope you got a bit of a
refund even if it means taking letters in from the Dr--or your bill from the
Hospital...some places ARE good about that)
Enjoy your rest period and let us know what all you are working on
Butterfly

"Ocean Gypsy" wrote in message
...
I just celebrated my first year quilting, and what a year it's
been! Over the past six months I haven't posted so much, but
however sporadically I manage it, I usually read everything.

As some know, I haven't been successful in getting employment
after moving out to OH from NJ 1 1/2 years ago, but I was lucky
to have a good cushion from a house sale and a husband with a good
job. I took a course in management at a local community college,
did well and then committed myself to seeing if I could handle 3
courses at once. I had to struggle a bit during winter quarter but I
succeeded and then took a deep breath and decided to become a full
time student this spring quarter, realizing that I'd cut into even more
"free time" but deciding going for a degree the right thing for me to
do.

Some of you also know that my two children have had their share of
trials and tribulations recently (and gosh does unemployment and
heartache seem to cut ever so much more deeply when it's your own
that are wounded), and my mom has been in and out of the hospital
a few times this winter as well. So I've had a full plate to balance
and It's been pretty hectic at times hence the lack of postings, but
certainly not out of control.....yet. ;-)

I've been very happy with the guild that I've joined and the beautiful
work that I see at "show and tell" inspires me. But truth be told,
this "guild" here inspires me on a daily basis. The wealth of knowledge
that I see so freely offered is unbelievable and has been invaluable
to me in my growth over the past year. And the support and
encouragement! What a difference being encouraged to complete
something makes to me, even in those instances where I'm not
the one directly being encouraged. Just knowing that there will
be plenty of people that would ooh and aah has served to help
me get through many a frog-stitching sessions.

And grow I did. From someone who had more enthusiasm than
patience, I've gone from a binding boob to a babbette. ;-)
I've got some more things to add up there, but my webshots
has most things I finished over the beginning of the year.

But there's a bunch more that are in some stage, some quite
close to finishing. My guild has a retreat that I went to and it was
soooo wonderful! I worked on finishing up blocks for what was supposed
to be an Ohio Star quilt, but turned out to be a variable or sawtooth
star, done primarily to showcase machine embroidery which I don't
have. I decided to make some lemonade and am using the centers
of the blocks to set soccer patches that my son received on youth
traveling teams to make a quilt for his college graduation this May.
I finished the blocks, bought the perfect stashing and later this
month will start sewing down the patches. I also finished assembling
a mystery quilt top and need to pair it up with borders and finish. I
finished my DSD Hearts and Princesses quilt top together with her
(she's my 6 y o cutter girl/pinner girl extraordinaire) and it's on to
borders and quilting for that too. That's her very special quilt along
with a rag quilt that I'm close to finishing for the tv room. It's
taking me an inordinately long time to finish this because I must have
not paid close enough attention to the sewing each sandwich to
each other part because after the first round of cutting there were lots
of "gaps" in the seams that I needed to repair before I cut the
edges in the other directions.

But back to the retreat for a moment. We had the bitter with
the sweet at our retreat as well in that on of the coordinators
lost her father that Saturday night. I had been having some nights
of pretty bad indigestion and heartburn, so my friend set herself
up as "The Dairy Police" and things were better. Came back
and got geared up to start my spring quarter on Monday, March 29.
Heartburn returns, so I make a doctor's appointment for Monday
morning before classes. Doctor doesn't like the look of EKG
particularly given my mother's history of heart problems and
tells me she's admitting me to the hospital for a stress test.
Take the stress test Tuesday morning, another doctor doesn't
like the imaging there and then I'm off for a heart cath.
and possible stent/balloon at the same time. Wait - I've never
had surgery in my life outside of the doctor's office and birthing
two babies and it's only heartburn! So I wake up Wednesday
afterwards and get shown some frightening pictures where
there are parts of my arteries/veins where the diameter looks
pinched off less than a sewing needle's width, so it's now
on to triple bypass on Thursday morning. How do I get off this
crazy roller coaster!!!!! But I stayed on...... I was out before
they ever took me into the OR so I don't remember the "count
back from 100" part, but I do remember coming awake
afterwards and thinking this wasn't some bizarre April Fools Day
joke after all.

So now I'm home and healing. It's remarkable how many
things you take for granted during the course of every day
that you need to think about and have someone else do for
you ("I can't get the cap to the pain pills off!" - "Can you
please juice this lime?" - "Can you please fill the pot with
water?"). My diet and exercise regimes are undergoing
radical overhauls. But in the big scheme of things, I'm
relatively young and in decent shape and thankfully got
on top of this before there was heart damage.

I've always tried to contribute to HUGS because that's
such a key way for me to give back to the community
particularly when I can't post that often, but I've blown a
few recent ones. I've dropped out of school as I can't drive
for a month, so hopefully I can move ahead on some quilting
projects when I'm able to handle my iron. :-)

For those that have made it through this - thanks. Think of me
when you have your next bout of heartburn and think about
getting it checked - far too many women in particular brush it off
and think it's nothing serious. I'm here to tell you that it
really can be.

Thanks for being there for me and all of us!

Crystal

http://community.webshots.com/user/ohiolyte

Thank goodness you made that appointment and that the treatment was so
fast, even if it has felt like a rollercoaster.

Gentle hugs and all good wishes for a speedy recovery - you'll have to
train a helper to press the seams for you :-)

Lizzy

--
Lizzy Taylor
Heywood, Lancashire, UK 53:36:00N 2:06:00E
http://www.thetaylorfamily.org.uk

Hullo Crystal
Well, I did make it through - and so did you!
Wow, what a scare. Do hope you'll be well from now on. You may have to
re-assess things yet again; but at least you know you have support.
All the best.
..
In article , Ocean Gypsy
writes
I just celebrated my first year quilting, and what a year it's
been! Over the past six months I haven't posted so much, but
however sporadically I manage it, I usually read everything.
snipped scary tale

For those that have made it through this - thanks. Think of me
when you have your next bout of heartburn and think about
getting it checked - far too many women in particular brush it off
and think it's nothing serious. I'm here to tell you that it
really can be.

Thanks for being there for me and all of us!

Crystal

http://community.webshots.com/user/ohiolyte

--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

Crystal, you need some ((((((HUGS))))))! My FIL had a triple by-pass a
while back, aged 82, and is doing wonderfully, so I'm hoping you do as
well as he.

I'm sure you'll get back to that course and finish the degree, but it
can take a back seat for a while. You just take care of yourself and
get fit again, and post when you've a mind to. Don't let it detract
from quilting time! Sounds like the right time to do a few small
hand projects to me!

--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Hugs, Crystal! Keep stitching - I find it so relaxing and invigorating at
the same time! A true renewal of spirit and strength.

--
Wendy, waxing poetic tonight
http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm
de-fang email address to reply


"Ocean Gypsy" wrote in message
...
I just celebrated my first year quilting, and what a year it's
been! Over the past six months I haven't posted so much, but
however sporadically I manage it, I usually read everything.

As some know, I haven't been successful in getting employment
after moving out to OH from NJ 1 1/2 years ago, but I was lucky
to have a good cushion from a house sale and a husband with a good
job. I took a course in management at a local community college,
did well and then committed myself to seeing if I could handle 3
courses at once. I had to struggle a bit during winter quarter but I
succeeded and then took a deep breath and decided to become a full
time student this spring quarter, realizing that I'd cut into even more
"free time" but deciding going for a degree the right thing for me to
do.

Some of you also know that my two children have had their share of
trials and tribulations recently (and gosh does unemployment and
heartache seem to cut ever so much more deeply when it's your own
that are wounded), and my mom has been in and out of the hospital
a few times this winter as well. So I've had a full plate to balance
and It's been pretty hectic at times hence the lack of postings, but
certainly not out of control.....yet. ;-)

I've been very happy with the guild that I've joined and the beautiful
work that I see at "show and tell" inspires me. But truth be told,
this "guild" here inspires me on a daily basis. The wealth of knowledge
that I see so freely offered is unbelievable and has been invaluable
to me in my growth over the past year. And the support and
encouragement! What a difference being encouraged to complete
something makes to me, even in those instances where I'm not
the one directly being encouraged. Just knowing that there will
be plenty of people that would ooh and aah has served to help
me get through many a frog-stitching sessions.

And grow I did. From someone who had more enthusiasm than
patience, I've gone from a binding boob to a babbette. ;-)
I've got some more things to add up there, but my webshots
has most things I finished over the beginning of the year.

But there's a bunch more that are in some stage, some quite
close to finishing. My guild has a retreat that I went to and it was
soooo wonderful! I worked on finishing up blocks for what was supposed
to be an Ohio Star quilt, but turned out to be a variable or sawtooth
star, done primarily to showcase machine embroidery which I don't
have. I decided to make some lemonade and am using the centers
of the blocks to set soccer patches that my son received on youth
traveling teams to make a quilt for his college graduation this May.
I finished the blocks, bought the perfect stashing and later this
month will start sewing down the patches. I also finished assembling
a mystery quilt top and need to pair it up with borders and finish. I
finished my DSD Hearts and Princesses quilt top together with her
(she's my 6 y o cutter girl/pinner girl extraordinaire) and it's on to
borders and quilting for that too. That's her very special quilt along
with a rag quilt that I'm close to finishing for the tv room. It's
taking me an inordinately long time to finish this because I must have
not paid close enough attention to the sewing each sandwich to
each other part because after the first round of cutting there were lots
of "gaps" in the seams that I needed to repair before I cut the
edges in the other directions.

But back to the retreat for a moment. We had the bitter with
the sweet at our retreat as well in that on of the coordinators
lost her father that Saturday night. I had been having some nights
of pretty bad indigestion and heartburn, so my friend set herself
up as "The Dairy Police" and things were better. Came back
and got geared up to start my spring quarter on Monday, March 29.
Heartburn returns, so I make a doctor's appointment for Monday
morning before classes. Doctor doesn't like the look of EKG
particularly given my mother's history of heart problems and
tells me she's admitting me to the hospital for a stress test.
Take the stress test Tuesday morning, another doctor doesn't
like the imaging there and then I'm off for a heart cath.
and possible stent/balloon at the same time. Wait - I've never
had surgery in my life outside of the doctor's office and birthing
two babies and it's only heartburn! So I wake up Wednesday
afterwards and get shown some frightening pictures where
there are parts of my arteries/veins where the diameter looks
pinched off less than a sewing needle's width, so it's now
on to triple bypass on Thursday morning. How do I get off this
crazy roller coaster!!!!! But I stayed on...... I was out before
they ever took me into the OR so I don't remember the "count
back from 100" part, but I do remember coming awake
afterwards and thinking this wasn't some bizarre April Fools Day
joke after all.

So now I'm home and healing. It's remarkable how many
things you take for granted during the course of every day
that you need to think about and have someone else do for
you ("I can't get the cap to the pain pills off!" - "Can you
please juice this lime?" - "Can you please fill the pot with
water?"). My diet and exercise regimes are undergoing
radical overhauls. But in the big scheme of things, I'm
relatively young and in decent shape and thankfully got
on top of this before there was heart damage.

I've always tried to contribute to HUGS because that's
such a key way for me to give back to the community
particularly when I can't post that often, but I've blown a
few recent ones. I've dropped out of school as I can't drive
for a month, so hopefully I can move ahead on some quilting
projects when I'm able to handle my iron. :-)

For those that have made it through this - thanks. Think of me
when you have your next bout of heartburn and think about
getting it checked - far too many women in particular brush it off
and think it's nothing serious. I'm here to tell you that it
really can be.

Thanks for being there for me and all of us!

Crystal

http://community.webshots.com/user/ohiolyte

Wow... You are very fortunate to take the pains seriously. Too many people
just chalk it up to "it'll pass" and it doesn't. A break from school is not
a bad thing... you have to listen to your body and mind and go back when
both tell you it's okay to do so. It took me almost 7 years to complete a 2
year graduate degree... life happened and I had to take some breaks.

Prayers sent your way for continued healing...

Gina in IL

Crystal, I can't believe how much you've accomplished in a year! Thanks for
sharing your pictures.

Thanks, too, for sharing your story about your heart problems. There's a
history of heart problems in my family -- two uncles, Dad, Grandpa -- and I
am gratified when people take the warning signs seriously, particularly
women, since the symptoms are far from what we normally think of as the
"classic" ones. Thank God you went in to be checked when you did, and now
you're back here with us on the road to recovery.

And now, if you can find time between quilting projects, I hope you'll be
back here more often -- our "guild" needs to have all its members around as
much as possible.
--
Louise in Iowa
nieland4 at mchsi dot com
http://community.webshots.com/user/louiseiniowa

"Ocean Gypsy" wrote in message
...
I just celebrated my first year quilting, and what a year it's
been! Over the past six months I haven't posted so much, but
however sporadically I manage it, I usually read everything.

As some know, I haven't been successful in getting employment
after moving out to OH from NJ 1 1/2 years ago, but I was lucky
to have a good cushion from a house sale and a husband with a good
job. I took a course in management at a local community college,
did well and then committed myself to seeing if I could handle 3
courses at once. I had to struggle a bit during winter quarter but I
succeeded and then took a deep breath and decided to become a full
time student this spring quarter, realizing that I'd cut into even more
"free time" but deciding going for a degree the right thing for me to
do.

Some of you also know that my two children have had their share of
trials and tribulations recently (and gosh does unemployment and
heartache seem to cut ever so much more deeply when it's your own
that are wounded), and my mom has been in and out of the hospital
a few times this winter as well. So I've had a full plate to balance
and It's been pretty hectic at times hence the lack of postings, but
certainly not out of control.....yet. ;-)

I've been very happy with the guild that I've joined and the beautiful
work that I see at "show and tell" inspires me. But truth be told,
this "guild" here inspires me on a daily basis. The wealth of knowledge
that I see so freely offered is unbelievable and has been invaluable
to me in my growth over the past year. And the support and
encouragement! What a difference being encouraged to complete
something makes to me, even in those instances where I'm not
the one directly being encouraged. Just knowing that there will
be plenty of people that would ooh and aah has served to help
me get through many a frog-stitching sessions.

And grow I did. From someone who had more enthusiasm than
patience, I've gone from a binding boob to a babbette. ;-)
I've got some more things to add up there, but my webshots
has most things I finished over the beginning of the year.

But there's a bunch more that are in some stage, some quite
close to finishing. My guild has a retreat that I went to and it was
soooo wonderful! I worked on finishing up blocks for what was supposed
to be an Ohio Star quilt, but turned out to be a variable or sawtooth
star, done primarily to showcase machine embroidery which I don't
have. I decided to make some lemonade and am using the centers
of the blocks to set soccer patches that my son received on youth
traveling teams to make a quilt for his college graduation this May.
I finished the blocks, bought the perfect stashing and later this
month will start sewing down the patches. I also finished assembling
a mystery quilt top and need to pair it up with borders and finish. I
finished my DSD Hearts and Princesses quilt top together with her
(she's my 6 y o cutter girl/pinner girl extraordinaire) and it's on to
borders and quilting for that too. That's her very special quilt along
with a rag quilt that I'm close to finishing for the tv room. It's
taking me an inordinately long time to finish this because I must have
not paid close enough attention to the sewing each sandwich to
each other part because after the first round of cutting there were lots
of "gaps" in the seams that I needed to repair before I cut the
edges in the other directions.

But back to the retreat for a moment. We had the bitter with
the sweet at our retreat as well in that on of the coordinators
lost her father that Saturday night. I had been having some nights
of pretty bad indigestion and heartburn, so my friend set herself
up as "The Dairy Police" and things were better. Came back
and got geared up to start my spring quarter on Monday, March 29.
Heartburn returns, so I make a doctor's appointment for Monday
morning before classes. Doctor doesn't like the look of EKG
particularly given my mother's history of heart problems and
tells me she's admitting me to the hospital for a stress test.
Take the stress test Tuesday morning, another doctor doesn't
like the imaging there and then I'm off for a heart cath.
and possible stent/balloon at the same time. Wait - I've never
had surgery in my life outside of the doctor's office and birthing
two babies and it's only heartburn! So I wake up Wednesday
afterwards and get shown some frightening pictures where
there are parts of my arteries/veins where the diameter looks
pinched off less than a sewing needle's width, so it's now
on to triple bypass on Thursday morning. How do I get off this
crazy roller coaster!!!!! But I stayed on...... I was out before
they ever took me into the OR so I don't remember the "count
back from 100" part, but I do remember coming awake
afterwards and thinking this wasn't some bizarre April Fools Day
joke after all.

So now I'm home and healing. It's remarkable how many
things you take for granted during the course of every day
that you need to think about and have someone else do for
you ("I can't get the cap to the pain pills off!" - "Can you
please juice this lime?" - "Can you please fill the pot with
water?"). My diet and exercise regimes are undergoing
radical overhauls. But in the big scheme of things, I'm
relatively young and in decent shape and thankfully got
on top of this before there was heart damage.

I've always tried to contribute to HUGS because that's
such a key way for me to give back to the community
particularly when I can't post that often, but I've blown a
few recent ones. I've dropped out of school as I can't drive
for a month, so hopefully I can move ahead on some quilting
projects when I'm able to handle my iron. :-)

For those that have made it through this - thanks. Think of me
when you have your next bout of heartburn and think about
getting it checked - far too many women in particular brush it off
and think it's nothing serious. I'm here to tell you that it
really can be.

Thanks for being there for me and all of us!

Crystal

http://community.webshots.com/user/ohiolyte

Wow - that really hits home, how short your reaction time can
be sometimes. Must have been tough going through.

Thanks for the good wishes!

Crystal

In article , "hfw"
wrote:
Glad you're on the mend--and SO glad they caught it in time! Five years ago,
while my mom was dying, my husband failed a stress test before he ever got
on the treadmill. They wanted him in the hospital the next day. We asked
whether it could wait just a day or two, because of my mom. The dr said no.
Mother died at 1 am, and DH and I were at the hospital for his
angioplasty/stent at 6am. Turns out the placement of his blockage was what
they call a "widowmaker." You can bet we pay attention--and I'm very happy
you did...

Hugs from Philadelphia!

--Heidi

http://community.webshots.com/user/rabbit2b




"Ocean Gypsy" wrote in message
...
I just celebrated my first year quilting, and what a year it's
been! Over the past six months I haven't posted so much, but
however sporadically I manage it, I usually read everything.

As some know, I haven't been successful in getting employment
after moving out to OH from NJ 1 1/2 years ago, but I was lucky
to have a good cushion from a house sale and a husband with a good
job. I took a course in management at a local community college,
did well and then committed myself to seeing if I could handle 3
courses at once. I had to struggle a bit during winter quarter but I
succeeded and then took a deep breath and decided to become a full
time student this spring quarter, realizing that I'd cut into even more
"free time" but deciding going for a degree the right thing for me to
do.

Some of you also know that my two children have had their share of
trials and tribulations recently (and gosh does unemployment and
heartache seem to cut ever so much more deeply when it's your own
that are wounded), and my mom has been in and out of the hospital
a few times this winter as well. So I've had a full plate to balance
and It's been pretty hectic at times hence the lack of postings, but
certainly not out of control.....yet. ;-)

I've been very happy with the guild that I've joined and the beautiful
work that I see at "show and tell" inspires me. But truth be told,
this "guild" here inspires me on a daily basis. The wealth of knowledge
that I see so freely offered is unbelievable and has been invaluable
to me in my growth over the past year. And the support and
encouragement! What a difference being encouraged to complete
something makes to me, even in those instances where I'm not
the one directly being encouraged. Just knowing that there will
be plenty of people that would ooh and aah has served to help
me get through many a frog-stitching sessions.

And grow I did. From someone who had more enthusiasm than
patience, I've gone from a binding boob to a babbette. ;-)
I've got some more things to add up there, but my webshots
has most things I finished over the beginning of the year.

But there's a bunch more that are in some stage, some quite
close to finishing. My guild has a retreat that I went to and it was
soooo wonderful! I worked on finishing up blocks for what was supposed
to be an Ohio Star quilt, but turned out to be a variable or sawtooth
star, done primarily to showcase machine embroidery which I don't
have. I decided to make some lemonade and am using the centers
of the blocks to set soccer patches that my son received on youth
traveling teams to make a quilt for his college graduation this May.
I finished the blocks, bought the perfect stashing and later this
month will start sewing down the patches. I also finished assembling
a mystery quilt top and need to pair it up with borders and finish. I
finished my DSD Hearts and Princesses quilt top together with her
(she's my 6 y o cutter girl/pinner girl extraordinaire) and it's on to
borders and quilting for that too. That's her very special quilt along
with a rag quilt that I'm close to finishing for the tv room. It's
taking me an inordinately long time to finish this because I must have
not paid close enough attention to the sewing each sandwich to
each other part because after the first round of cutting there were lots
of "gaps" in the seams that I needed to repair before I cut the
edges in the other directions.

But back to the retreat for a moment. We had the bitter with
the sweet at our retreat as well in that on of the coordinators
lost her father that Saturday night. I had been having some nights
of pretty bad indigestion and heartburn, so my friend set herself
up as "The Dairy Police" and things were better. Came back
and got geared up to start my spring quarter on Monday, March 29.
Heartburn returns, so I make a doctor's appointment for Monday
morning before classes. Doctor doesn't like the look of EKG
particularly given my mother's history of heart problems and
tells me she's admitting me to the hospital for a stress test.
Take the stress test Tuesday morning, another doctor doesn't
like the imaging there and then I'm off for a heart cath.
and possible stent/balloon at the same time. Wait - I've never
had surgery in my life outside of the doctor's office and birthing
two babies and it's only heartburn! So I wake up Wednesday
afterwards and get shown some frightening pictures where
there are parts of my arteries/veins where the diameter looks
pinched off less than a sewing needle's width, so it's now
on to triple bypass on Thursday morning. How do I get off this
crazy roller coaster!!!!! But I stayed on...... I was out before
they ever took me into the OR so I don't remember the "count
back from 100" part, but I do remember coming awake
afterwards and thinking this wasn't some bizarre April Fools Day
joke after all.

So now I'm home and healing. It's remarkable how many
things you take for granted during the course of every day
that you need to think about and have someone else do for
you ("I can't get the cap to the pain pills off!" - "Can you
please juice this lime?" - "Can you please fill the pot with
water?"). My diet and exercise regimes are undergoing
radical overhauls. But in the big scheme of things, I'm
relatively young and in decent shape and thankfully got
on top of this before there was heart damage.

I've always tried to contribute to HUGS because that's
such a key way for me to give back to the community
particularly when I can't post that often, but I've blown a
few recent ones. I've dropped out of school as I can't drive
for a month, so hopefully I can move ahead on some quilting
projects when I'm able to handle my iron. :-)

For those that have made it through this - thanks. Think of me
when you have your next bout of heartburn and think about
getting it checked - far too many women in particular brush it off
and think it's nothing serious. I'm here to tell you that it
really can be.

Thanks for being there for me and all of us!

Crystal

http://community.webshots.com/user/ohiolyte