My New "Sewing Cottage"

Since moving to town about 8 years ago,  I have had my sewing machine in the laundry room, on a table between the washing machine and dryer!  Not much room to sew.  Also my serger sits beside the sewing machine.  Most of my sewing materials are in the storage building in the back yard.

Today I gained a building to put all my sewing supplies in, including a table for my sewing machine and serger.

It will be so nice to have everything in one place - and I can leave everything out until I finish sewing a project.  I've never had a separate room for sewing.

This came about when we cleaned out James "club house".  We gave several boxes of baseball cards to Bo Sauls, my cousin Betty's husband.  He also took all of James' trains and accessories, as well as some old record albums that James' had collected over the years.  Also included were several collector baseballs, a few toys, and other miscellaneous items.   It was sad parting with James' things and we were sad to see them go.  We were so glad that Bo wanted them.  He said he might have to build a train room now.

Nobody in our immediate family wanted them and we need the space.

The small building is insulated and has nice birch paneling, 4 windows, air conditioning, heat, and carpet on the floor.  It also has cable TV and stereo radio.   I can watch TV or listen to music when I am sewing.
The building is located just outside the back door, at the end of the porch.

I don't sew very often; mostly make repairs or hem tablecloths on the serger.  In the past I made our granddaughters costumes or night gowns when they were growing up.  My latest sewing project was to make our granddaughter Nerissa's wedding veil.  I think she is very pleased with it - a long, cathedral style veil for her wedding on April 28, 2012 at Clemson, SC.

I will post a photo when I get my sewing room in order, hopefully in a week or two.

Christmas 2011 in Florence, SC

 We spent Christmas 2011 with Bill and family in Florence, SC.  Jim and I went to our former church, First Presbyterian, for the 7 P.M. Candlelight and Communion service.  Bill and the girls went to midnight mass at St. Anthony's.  We stayed at a motel and slept in on Christmas morning, arriving at Bill's around 9 A.M. We ate breakfast around 10 A.M. and then moved into the den to open presents.

Caroline announced that she wanted to be Santa this year and hand out the presents. She handed out one to each person in the room and then we took turns opening them, one at the time.  These pictures show some of the presents.

Dec 22 - Nerissa graduates from Clemson

We traveled to Clemson University in SC  on Dec. 21 to attend Nerissa's convocation at 8 A.M.on Dec 22, 2011, for the nursing graduates.  It was held at Tillman auditorium in one of the older buildings.  It was very foggy when we arrived. The 38 nursing graduates walked across the stage and were "pinned".  It was such a nice program.  Mark presented Nerissa with a dozen red roses when the program was over.

Getting Pinned

Roses from Mark

Vahle's: Kristen, Mark, Barb and Chet

Convocation 

Caroline checking out the Nursing pin

We left the convocation and went to the Littlejohn Coliseum  where graduation was held at 2 P.M.  It was starting to rain and it was raining real hard when we came back outside.  We went to Pixie and Bill's restaurant for a late lunch.  

Nerissa graduated Summa Cum Laude

Graduation for 1,200 graduates

Proud Dad

Clemson tradition:  Reversing class ring after graduation

My greenhouse is full!

Saying Good-Bye to my pimple on my nose

Today I spent the morning at the Dothan (AL) Surgery Center to have what I thought was a tiny growth near the tip (and on the left side) of my nose removed by a facial surgeon; surgery, including Mohs surgery, in which skin is cut out and immediately looked at under a microscope to check for cancer. The process is repeated until the skin sample is free of cancer.

 I really thought it was a lot to do about nothing when the Dr. said he wanted me to go to the surgery center for the procedure.  Last Friday I had to get a lab test done at the Elba Hospital Lab to check my potassium and creatine and both were normal, and an EKG, since I have a heart problem called bradycardia.  Nothing has changed there so today I headed to Dothan at 7 A.M. to be there for my 8:15 A.M. appointment for surgery.

I had difficulty sleeping last night; kept waking up all during the night and became very anxious.  No wonder I woke up with Vertigo this morning!!  I stumbled around and got dressed and couldn't have anything to eat or drink.  I sneaked in about 1/2 cup black coffee to get going.

I got checked into the surgery center and just as we were getting seated in the waiting room, waiting for me to go to Pre-Op, in walks Dollie Moore, a friend since childhood who lives in Dothan.  We talked about our "procedures" and she was called in ahead of me for a check-up of her stomach.  She has celliac disease and was there for them to put a tube into her stomach via her mouth (ughhhh).  I decided I'd rather have a small bump removed from my nose.  

At 9:20 A.M. I went into pre-op to get ready for surgery.  Jim stayed with me until they were ready to put me to sleep - around 10 I think.  I kept thinking all of this preparation to take a small bump off my nose.  They put in an IV to use for antibiotics and anesthesia.   The nurse gave me some warm blankets and I almost fell asleep while waiting for the surgeon.  I never did see the Dr.  They put me to sleep before he came in and what seemed like a few minutes, I opened my eyes and asked what time it was, and the nurse said 11 A.M.  I asked when the Dr. was going to do my surgery, and they said he did it already!!  But they couldn't sew up the incision  until the pathology report came back.  The Dr. had to do two more procedures before he got it all and in the meantime I was awake, and they numbed the area to finish removing all of the cancer tissue.  I was getting pretty anxious by this time.   I was so happy when he said, this will be the permanent removal; we will have it all this time, and I could feel him cutting tissue deeper into and farther up on my nose.

Then he started pulling skin over the incision from the side of my face near my nose and he sewed and sewed.
After he finished with the stitches, the nurse applied a lot of small band aids over the stitches. The the bleeding began to come out along the edges of the bandages.  They couldn't remove them. Eight hours later and I  keep wiping my face to keep the area clean.  The numbness has gone now and thank goodness for good old pain killers.

I had to miss the Rotary Club Christmas dinner tonight but I couldn't eat anyway.  I can only chew on one side of my mouth, plus I'm not hungry.  Also I didn't want people to see my "wound".

I go back Dec 21 to have the stitches removed.  The next day is when we are to go to Clemson to attend Nerissa's graduation and Nursing ceremony at 8 A.M. and 11 A.M. on Dec 22nd.  I hope my face will be "cleaned up" by then.  If not, I'll just turn my face sideways when we have photos made.

I'm so thankful that Jim insisted that I follow through with this procedure.  I thought it was a lot to do about nothing - just a small bump on my nose.  A biopsy had already revealed that it was a basal cell carcinoma and you cannot tell how involved it is until you remove it.  Today I found out that it was not just a tiny bump!!

A Christmas Memory

Today I went to the Montgomery Shakespeare Theater to see a play, "A Christmas Memory", based on the story by Truman Capote.  I have read his book and seen the stories on TV several times, but could not imagine how it could be made into a play/musical that could last over an hour.

It lasted almost 2 hours and was fantastic.  The players were so very good, especially Miss Sook, and the young boy Buddy.  And then there was Queenie, the little dog.  My, my.   What a sweet story.

As we got off the bus and entered the theater and the cold wind hit us in the face, I remembered the lines from the opening of the book,"Today is fruitcake weather!"

Aunt Sook and her little nephew were so intent on baking a lot of fruitcakes to give away at Christmas each year, with little money to buy the ingredients.   So, so funny and at times very sad.

I went to the play with some friends from a local church, all people I know.  We went to Dreamland Ribs afterwards and this made the day complete.

A Christmas Memory

A Wistful Southern Premiere Christmas Musical

“an entertaining and heartwarming theatrical work that is just perfect for the holidays. “    
-    Charlie McCollum, San Jose Mercury News

The aroma of pecan pie and the flicker of candles in the window banish the December chill of a 1930s Alabama winter.  This musical version of Truman Capote’s enchanting holiday tale follows the deep friendship and delightful shenanigans of cousins Buddy and Sook, who make the most of what may be their last Christmas together.

Thanksgiving activities

Front row: Judy, Nerissa, Nell, Caroline, Liz, Ally
Back row:  Guy, Bill, Jim, Chad, Ron, Andrew

Thanksgiving Day meal was at noon when we met with the Westbrook family at Shady Grove Primitive Baptist Church out in the country near Zion Chapel.

Pictured here are those members of our family plus two friends (Chad and Andrew).  Two of our family were unable to be with us: Cindy (Ron's wife) and Bill's middle daughter, Katie, a student at College of Charleston, who had to work.

My sister Judy and her husband Guy also spent Thanksgiving with us, along with their dog Ollie.



Front row: Janna, Ben, Sharon, Betty, Emma,Linda, Bow
Back row:  Phillip, Ed, Tom, Chip Curtis, Chip, Janet

  My cousin, Linda Westbrook, always invites us to come to their Thanksgiving meal.  Here she is shown with those of her family attending:  Missing from their family were Kathy and Bobby who went to Pensacola to see Timmy and family, and Bill and Lorie from NC.


Four of our 5 granddaughters had fun being together for a couple of days. Liz  graduated from Univ. of Texas and has a job with a scientific journal publishing company in Austin,  Ally is a senior at the University of North Texas, graduating with a degree in Ecology on May 14, 2012.  The next two are sisters; Caroline a sophomore at West Florence, SC and Nerissa, who will be graduating
summa cum laude  with a BS in Nursing from
Clemson University on Dec. 22, 2011.  Katie (not pictured) is a Jr at College of Charleston and has a part time job working as Innkeeper for Ashley Place, a B&B in an old antebellum home.  She had to work on Wed., Thurs., and Friday so she didn't get to come.  We will see her Christmas in SC.


Brothers Bill and Ronnie don't see each other very often since Bill lives in Florence, SC and Ron lives in Austin, TX.  They are pictured here inside the church eating Thanksgiving dinner.

Thursday night our family gathered at my brother Perry's cabin on a little pond inside the city limits on Beaver Dam creek and had a big bonfire and roasted marshmallows.  It got too cold and we had to come home around 7:30 p.m.  The evening was spent playing cards, watching ball games, and just having fun visiting.

Friday we had another thanksgiving dinner at our house for our kids and Judy and Guy.  We had turkey and ham, dressing, veggies, pumpkin pie and much more.

After lunch we gathered in the living room for my 77th birthday.  I got a lot of nice gifts and they took photos of me as I opened each gift.  Everybody but Judy and Guy left early Sat. morning to head home before the big traffic jam on Sunday.  Judy and Guy headed to Sarasota, FL Sunday morning.  It was sad when the last car pulled out.