He passed away.

Bears are in the Super Bowl!

Evening all. This Sunday brings a very tired but happy blogger. The day has been a cloudy snowy day. Perfect football weather though for those of us who live in the Great State of Illinois! This is a very happy household due to the game today.

Woooo Hooooo Da Bears are going to the Super Bowl!!!!

Here is where the tired part comes in for this blogger. In the last couple of weeks that I havent really had time to blog many things have been going on. The last time I gave news on my father-in-law was he decided to stop all treatment and come home to Hospice care. Well things changed the following Tuesday after he made his announcement. I had to go and take my test that day. The doctor had come back in the room with my father-in-law and asked him several more times if he wanted to go ahead with the radiation. He told him that it would help alleviate some of the pain that he was having by shrinking the cancer cells in a couple of areas. Well my father-in-law agreed with this and was released to go to the nursing home where transportation would be the easiest to get him back and forth for treatment. He went for his first consultation with the doctor at the cancer treatment center and the ride out there was bad. A week ago yesterday the nursing home sent him back to the hospital for numerous things. While there we talked to the doctor and tried to talk them into not sending him out for the radiation. The doctor did agree to do less treatments but a more aggressive approach to treatments. My father-in-law agreed to this and was transported out by ambulance for these. He was released to go back to the nursing home this last Wednesday. While back in the nursing home he continued with the treatment and was suppose to come home tomorrow after his last treatment to hospice care. The pain and the cancer is growing extremely fast and he has gone downhill in the last couple of days. Today the pain was extremely bad and even after upping the pain medication it was still bad. We could not even touch him without hurting him. The nursing home sent him back to the hospital tonight where he is finally resting. Not sure what tomorrow will bring. Only the man upstairs knows and it is in his hands. We have been told that this is a very aggressive and fast moving cancer. They say he only has about a month left it that. If he does get to come home I dont think it will be for long and it will be back to the hospital for pain management and control.

Yesterday my hubby made me take the morning off, which was really nice. That is the only reason I got to kind of catch up on my posting. But I have a feeling that you wont be hearing from me for a while again. I will post as often as I can. And I will try and remember what I havent blogged about yet. Mostly everything right now is just a blur.

Well I am off to bed. I have to get up bright and early to get up to the hospital. I just might be able to finish off the sock I started the other day. We will see. I turned the heel tonight and started on in the instep and foot. Miss you all very much. Know that I am reading when I get a chance just dont always leave a comment.

Sweet Dreams Jelly Beans!

PS...... I passed my test!!!

Embossed Leaves Socks

Here is my current project that I am working on. I am finally making my second pair of socks. I started this on Jan. 15th after I finished up the fringe on my mini Lady Eleanor. I am using the Frog Tree sock yarn that I bought in Galena. It is 100% alpaca wool yarn and it feels oh so soft! Its kind of a dusty rose color. I didnt like the cuff at first, thought it was too big. So I already frogged it and restarted it. The design on this is beautiful and very fast knitting. Hopefully it wont take me a month and a half to make this pair of socks.

I think that this is about it for posts from me today. I will hopefully be able to come back tomorrow and post so more news and updates in my life!

Stay tuned Jelly Beans!

A very Big Thank You!

I would like to send a very big warm and loving Thank You out to a dear sweet lady! Andi sent me this Care Bear that she made with a really sweet card to let me know that she was still thinking about me. This was really sweet of her. It is super soft and very cuddly. Now my daughter and my hubby both have tried to steal this from me. Right now her home is on my desk where I see her every day.

Thank you very much Andi!! Big Hugs to you!

Mini Lady Eleanor

Here she is in all her mini glory. My Mini Lady Eleanor. I am still going to do a full size version of her, but I wanted to practice before I take on a full size version. I have to say here that I totally agree with AJ that entrelac knitting is very addicting. I love making this pattern and the yarn just made this an even more fun to knit.

This pattern came from Scarf Style. This book has the original pattern for the Lady Eleanor in it. I used the Patons SWS in the Natural Pink colorway. It took 3 and 1/2 skeins of this yarn to make this mini version. I even did the fringe similar to the original Lady Eleanor. I started this on Jan. 3rd and finished it up on Jan. 15th. Actually the first one that I started on the 3rd I ripped out cause it was too wide. I wanted a little narrower scarf than that. I also used smaller needles than what the pattern called for. I did not block this either. I love how it lays and I did not want to take away from the effect that the knitting gives it.

One of the CNAs at the hospital feel in love with this pattern and the scarf itself. She has offered on numerous occasions to buy it from me. All I have to do is name my price. Still not sure if I want to sell it or for how much considering the time and the cost of the yarn. I dont really know what to charge for something like this. Any ideas? Let me know.

Argosy Scarf

I started this darling little scarf on Dec. 19th. Worked on it only for a day till I bought the yarn to finish up the Prairie Star afghan. When my father-in-law went into the hospital I figured this would be an easy project to carry along and finish up. I started working back on this Dec. 27th and finished it on Dec. 31. This killed alot of time sitting at the hospital.

The pattern came from Knitty. The argosy scarf is a really quick and easy knit. The pattern is one that anyone can remember and not have to refer to the pattern. I used Shine Sport blush from Knit Picks. It took 3 skeins of this lovely cotton and modal blend yarn. Feels like silk when working with it. I so love this stuff.

This lovely little number was gifted out to a dear friend. She has already gotten it and said that she loved it. I am going to make myself one just like it. I love the color and the way it hung and everything. I have more than enough of the yarn leftover to make 2 or 3 more.

Prairie Star Afghan

Here is the Prairie Star afghan in all its completed glory. I started this around about December 13th. I completed it while I was sitting at the hospital with my father-in-law.

Last year about this time I made another Prairie Star for the lady that I worked for. When we were in her exercise class another one of the older ladies asked me how much I would charge for one and I told her. Well back in September she asked me if I could have it made by the first of the year. She took the afghan and donated it for a cancer fundraiser to be raffled off.

The colors I used for this were burgandy, painted desert, linen, lt. blue heather, country blue, and off white. The lt. blue heather is not true to the color in person. It is much more softer than in the picture.

The lady did not seem overly joyed but I guess she liked it. She still paid me and that is all that matters.

PS... this is the most I have ever made for anything that I have crocheted. Yay!

Saturday Sky

Good Morning. Today is a beautiful sunny and cold day. I would like to share this little bit with you and maybe you will start to feel the same way I do.

I walked into my father-in-law's hospital room one day and it was just a cloudy miserable day outside. He seen me and said well hi there. I asked how he was doing on this beautiful cloudy day. He looked at me and smiled and said everyday you wake up is a beautiful day. So no matter the weather outside just think of it being beautiful and it will bring a smile to your face too!

Yesterday I was going to do a really long post on everything that I have not been able to share with you. I have been so busy here lately that I dont know what is going on most of the time myself. I didnt get to post yesterday because I didnt get the day off like I thought I would get. I will explain more in the following posts that I am going to do. Instead of doing one long huge boring post that most will not read all the way through, I am going to do little mini ones all day long today. Or when I get a chance today between laundry and cleaning and kids.

Stay tuned Jelly Beans.....

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Good Morning all. Tomorrow I think my hubby will be filling in for me so I will have a morning off. I want to finish getting all my software back on here so I can post some pictures of the lovely things that I have been working on. I have 3 completed projects and a new one on the needles. Not going to tell you what they are till I can post some pictures. Plus I will give an update on my father in law. I also need to change my layout on my blog. Keep your fingers crossed that I can get all this done!

Till tomorrow Jelly Beans.....

News on the Homefront

Evening all. Just a real quick check in. Alot of things have been happening pretty quick this week. We have had a few ups and downs. Yesterday was a very long and tiring day. Father-in-law had a real bad night and had the nurses call his wife. We were called and asked to go to the hospital with her in case some major decisions needed to be made. I thought for sure we were going to lose him yesterday morning. They had taken the ng tube out the other day and yesterday put it back. Hubby and I were also told how long he had left. They are giving him a max of 2 months, but that is very hopeful. My father-in-law asked me yesterday what the doctors said and I told him. He said please God make it sooner. Some really important things took place. The biggest one being that he finally told his family that he is tired and wants to stop everything. He is going to be coming home around Tuesday and Hospice will be coming in. I will be very busy as I am going to be over there as much as possible to help take care of him. This is my way of helping my husband. Last night was very emotionally and hubby broke down pretty bad. It was really had on him and his brother and sister. They have already been through the cancer with their mom and now to have to do it with a second parent. I cant even imagine. This is really hard for everyone, exspecially my daughter. I cant get her to talk about it. She just wish it would all stop happening. My son is coping pretty good and talking to the youth minsters and counselors at school about it.

Me I am doing pretty good with it all. Getting really tired by time bedtime gets here and my house looks like crap. But on a side note I am getting someone else to get me caught up on laundry. I was just going to take it to the laundry mat and get it all done, but I talked the next door neighbors daughter into doing it for me for a little $$. She even folded it. Not the way I like but folded just the same. I am also still working on my knitting while sitting at the hospital. For the next couple of days all my spare time will be spent getting fil's house ready for him to come home. We all are working on it together and should be done and ready by Tuesday.

Well I am off to have a little soak in a bubble bath to help me relax a little. I will be back with updates when I get the time. Miss reading all my friends blogs. I will try to check in once in a while.

Sweet Dreams Jelly Beans!

Insert Foot! *blushes*

Morning all. Just a few minutes to spare this am and thought I would share an update on how things are going......

My days so far consist of getting up, taking a shower, and going to the hospital. I usually sit up there with him till noon one o'clock. Then I come home and do a few things around the house or run to the store, cook dinner, and then back to the hospital. Now we need to add the kids going back to school from break into the equation and oh baby am I tired. I have been getting lots of stuff done. I have the Prairie Star Afghan done and the scarf that I started in the pink done. I am now doing an entrelac pattern and I promise to have pictures up soon. I had to reboot the computer on Christmas so I dont have everything put back on here right now. And I promise to post about my Christmas. Just so many things right now..... *sighs*

Father-in-law is still in the hospital and it looks like he is going to be there a while. The had to put a ng tube in cause he was blowing up like fish. It was not pretty. Poor guy, as soon as they got all that junk out of his stomach he was ready to eat, but couldnt cause the ng tube. He has his days where he is super spunky. Then there are those days that you just want to sit down and cry, asking God "to please just take him home". (FIL's words not mine) They did surgery last Friday on his leg because he had fractured his femur and his pelvis. They tried to repair the femur as best as possible to make it stable and keep him out of pain as much as possible. The fractures were caused by the cancer in his bones. Not much else. They are keeping him pretty much comfortable. I just wish the doctors would all get together and figure out what they are each doing. Almost had a mix up last night, but got it all worked out, I think?

Ok now for the insert foot in mouth incident.... Last night while we were visiting my father-in-law we were all joking.. Now for you ladies who have talked to my hubby on my messenger you know what he is like.... now add son into this mix and he is just like his father. Well they were cutting up and carrying on and we were all joking and laughing and my father-in-laws pastor walked into his room. Someone else from the church was brought up to the hospital last night. Anyways, hubby was picking on his dad and we were joking around with him. I told fil that I would give him my knitting needle to poke hubby with. The pastor looked at me and said would you like me to take this off so you can use(meaning his belt).... Now in defense I was really tired, been up since 5:30 and it was 9 pm... I popped off and said..... "No he would like that" Up people I felt like crawling under a rock, but I really think I saw the Pastor laughing about it... In all honest opinion he is a laid back kind of guy and I hope he knows I was joking! OMG... I am never going to be able to look at him again!

Well I have to get my son up for school now... Then I am taking hubby out to breakfast. He really deserves it today. This all is about killing him. Also before I forget I will be taking my recertification test next Tuesday if nothing happens between now and then. Keep your fingers crossed....

Till Later Jelly Beans............................