January Is Just Flying By!

 This month of January is just flying by! 

I had my last chiropractor appointment for my sciatica adjustment & the news is good! I feel so much better, not 100% but almost there. I will go for monthly adjustments from now on. I have a curve in my spine that puts pressure on different nerves if it gets out of alignment. A monthly maintenance program & some core strengthening should put me back on track to begin 2021 & all that this year has to offer.

Today is my MRI to see what is happening deep in this body of mine, fingers crossed that it is just an ageing thing that time & wear & tear has produced.

Bill has been home looking after me & he's done so much work around here. The last couple of days have been my good ones but before that it was ice, heat, repeat for several times a day.

Bill said that when Christmas was put away the kitchen walls were to be filled & painted to freshen up the area.

He went to work on that project.

I was nervous watching from the great room as I did my ice/heat treatments & seen the cabinets full of dishes moving away from the wall.

 

Mission completed with nothing being broke!

It does look fresher with a simple coat of paint & everything moved back in place.

The house looked bare when all the Christmas decor was gone, now it looks fresh!

This area is high traffic as it is the opening from the front foyer & the throughway to the great room.

The pantry is also on that runway & when Bridget & Baxter come in from outside that is where they head for their 'treat' each time. It is a very high traffic area for all!

With having to 'sit/stay' with the heat & ice I needed to keep my mind & hands busy so I knit together a woodsman gnome! 

I gave him green wellies & a striped shirt! The coat was modified from a Luna Lapan pattern & I was pleased with the way it turned out.

I used a piece of thrift store blazer that I had taken apart & washed/dried to mat the wool for applique.

He has a striped coordinating toque to his jacket too! He was fun to bring to life & helped me get through some painful hours of treatment.

His Swedish buddy was my inspiration from the Christmas decor. I've made the gnomes in all three sizes, these ones are the small ones.

So glad that idea is out of my head but there are so many wanting out right now.

I worked on this Bonnie Sullivan design for the center of a pillow. It was all done in wool fabric & I added some fluff to the tops of the mittens.

I had purchased a piece of cross stitch adia cloth for the background & was happy with the texture when the wool pieces were applied. 

The snowflake buttons added a winter festive feel to it too! The surrounding fabric to the pillow will be in navy velvet & it will be added to the guest room decor for next winter when the kids are home again.

I am really enjoying the mantel & its brightness from the mirror as I stand at the ironing board parallel to it. I spent so much time standing as that did not give me pain, sitting was unbearable! I was frustrated having the new sewing machine & not being able to sit & use it!

The view from my sewing room, the snow has arrived but nothing like we are used to having!

I have dug out the 25th Anniversary quilt that I started back in 2010. Where does the time go?!

This is block six of the twelve blocks to this quilt. We will be celebrating our 34th anniversary this 4th of July...maybe I can have it finished & on the bed by then?! lol

Block six done! These blocks are all hand appliqued in the needle turned techenque that Robyn Pandolph showed me years ago. 

This is the quilt when finished the good thing is that it will look great in our bedroom with the yellow velevet drapes. Those swags are going to be a lot of work...maybe the 35th anniversary?!

How sweet are these little mice?!

I did the tutorial on Ann Woods blog & they turned out so cute!

I even tried one with cat whiskers that I cut down, that was too much work glueing those small whiskers with the hot glue gun.

The beads are seed beads & I tried a wee pink one & liked the look of that!

The back side of the half of the walnut, it is tricky to get a full 1/2 of a walnut from old frozen then thawed ones! Thanks for your help Bill, these are packed for next years Christmas tree.

Bill brought to life an idea that I had pulled out of a magazine a couple of years ago.

It was to make a doggie den under the stairs!

I use that area for some of my fabric stash & sewing machines not in use. The area was perfect!

Bill had to move the furnace temperture control but he did that with ease!

Then the cutting was all done & the measuring began for the den insert.

He had purchased some dense plywood at a very high cost, the cost of wood will surprise you when you go to purchase it this year!

The insert was ready for installation & was very heavy!

He laughed as he was doing it as Grandpa Richardson & Bill did the same thing back in the 80's under our stairs in our London home for our TV. It was a large handmedown that still had tubes that needed to heat up before the TV would work. lol

The unit slide right in & the Boston's were very curious to what was going on.

He applied a couple of coats of paint to seal & brighten the area for the Boston's.

It was made large enough to house each one of their crates, side by side as they are use to.

Then their crates were placed inside. It did not take long for Bridget to snuggle with her stuffie.

There is not stuffing in that stuffie or any of her stuffies, she & Baxter have destuffed them all!

Now Baxter joins her & they both love being in the middle of our bedroom, office, & kitchen. I think they like hearing all the daily living noise that goes on in the house & being right at the heart of it all.

Bill found matching trim from the hallway & now the custom den looks like it has always been there!

You have to pass them if your coming out of the bedroom, dressing room, laundry room, the two bathrooms on the east side, the exercise room, or the office. They love hearing the traffic flow to the kitchen or great room & will go inside their crates just to nap, knowing that they can keep track of us as we pass through that busy hall. 

Rexton has found a new love...my heating pad!

Once I'm done with the medium heat, I turn it to low & point to the pad,  Rexton imediatly gets on it!

She is so comfortable with the warm satin, Manx's are known for having artritis in the end of their spine after the age of five, she's going into her sixth year. 

She will sit & glare at you until you turn it on low, I think she has me trained! lol.

I have a surprise to show you about her training, with photos to follow!

I've been busy with a new Valentine quilt ideas & will show more as I bring it to life in the next blog.

We are the only area in code orange right now so we do not go far.

But it is time to leave for the Miramichi Hospital for my MRI, very nervous knowing that I have a sewing needle from 1987 in my knee. They have told me I have nothing to worry about...I'll let you know how this outing goes.

Thank you for stopping by & stay safe, wear your mask, & when possible stay the blazes home!

Cynthia