September Odds & Ends

Goodbye summer and hello fall!  Hard to believe we are in autumn and another warm summer is but a memory.

Been plugging along with my unemployment duties each week, which involves training, resumes, reviewing job openings, etc. Early last week I applied for two local job openings. Good news is one of them scheduled me for a virtual interview. The set up was different - no real people just responding to questions and scenarios in writing and recorded verbally.  

Apparently, I passed that test as they called me for a 20-minute phone interview. The local contact then set up an on-site interview for next Friday. Things are moving quick!!  It's an in office job so, if selected, will have to brush off my dresses and drag out my heels!

We are thankfully coming to an end with Manny's intravenous chemo treatments which stop the end of October. OHSU has taught me how to flush and remove the chemo pump so this will eliminate the 15-minute trips to the hospital on Wednesdays following his chemo treatment every other Monday. 

Other recent life events have included the following:

We were recently in the oral surgeons office to set up extractions for Manny. They had a large, beautiful rug that reminded me of my abstract paintings. I took a pic then tracked down a similar rug on Amazon. Ended up purchasing a rug for the living room along with a smaller one to lay in front of the fireplace. Love the look!!

Found a huge bag of Scrabble tiles at Goodwill so snatched them up for a discount. Scoured Pinterest for ideas then decided to decoupage a few, added 3D clear Mod Podge for a resin vibe, attached a jewelry bail and bead words, and finished it off as a dangler.   Thought they may be nice to add to wrapped gift packages.

Discovered a couple of black and white beach photos buried in a craft drawer so decided to paint and embroider them. Here's one that had just the right number of girls to represent my sisters - I added thread to each top then watercolor painted the rest of the scene. 

Over Labor Day weekend we celebrated little Hazely's 2nd birthday. Here's a pic of mom Lexi with her cutie. 

Manny and Sam

Due to the fires in Oregon and Washington,  we had a very smoky sunset a couple of weeks ago.

For some strange reason, decided to strip and launder the covers of the couch yesterday. This turned into the biggest clusterfu*k idea of all time.

Unzipped and removed the sitting cushions with no problem. Began to remove the back cushions and what do I see? An absolute gawdawful ton of feathers stuck to the inside of the fabric! I knew the cushions were feather filled but didn't expect that mess.

Took the cushions and pillows outside to remove and pluck each feather from the inside of the fabric. This process took so long I began to feel like Ma Kettle cleaning a hundred chickens!

With the cushions defeathered and the yard filled with assorted brown, yellow, and white tufts, it was time to wash. Two loads to clean then more time to place the covers back onto the cushions.  (At one point I mistakenly chose the wrong cover for a seat cushion. Spent a good 20 minutes wrangling the larger cushion into the smaller cover, sweating a storm as I shoved and punched and pushed with all my brute force until I was able to close the zipper. Upon realizing the seat cushion was not meant to be shaped as a basketball, spent another 10 minutes releasing the foam padding from its binding and covered it with the correct cover.) 

The sofa looks great but we've decided it's time to get rid of the feather couch and replace it it with something much more user friendly!

Shout out to sis Julie who turned me on to the Washington Department of Revenue claims, which showed I may be owed money. Checked it out, submitted my claim, and about six weeks later received $109 in the mail!  Whoopee!

And finally, a big Happy Birthday to my sis Eilene on 9/21/24!!  Love you and hope you have a beyond fabulous day! 🥳❤️

Berries in the Most Unexpected Places!

Manny and I stopped by Denny's yesterday for a senior special breakfast. Where we parked there was a gigantic, sprawling thicket of blackberries just ripe for the picking. 

I asked the waitress if they were safe for eating (which I assumed they were as if they had been sprayed they would have been dry and withered.)  The dishwasher piped up and hollered "heck yeah - on my break I always eat a handful!"

With that Denny's approval in mind, we went back to the restaurant this morning and picked our little hearts out until we had three containers full of the plump berries.  Washed the batch then placed the zip lock bag in the freezer since their destiny is still being decided - pie, cobbler, or maybe even freezer jam!

Oy Vey My Life

Just when you think you are on the downside of a stressful four months of cancer treatment and leave, another life changing obstacle slaps you in the face!

Had set my return to work date; however,  they said the log in system needed to be updated and the team to where I would be assigned was still pending so my return to work date was pushed out by a week.  Had a teleconference with HR on the 22nd to go over the details. Unfortunately, instead of being assigned to a team I was laid off as my position was eliminated! Over six years employed so this was a shock! Thankfully, there is severance pay along with unemployment and sharing of COBRA so that's a plus.

So now it's time to reflect on my upcoming career choices and if I should focus on HR, insurance, or something entirely different. Been browsing the openings on line and perhaps something will pop up and call my name.

Here's an acrylic pour painting with crushed glass that I finished a couple of weeks ago.

Last weekend found this almost new set at a garage sale - they are a perfect replacement for my battered wicker chairs.

Painted my nails with a marble vibe.

New wildlife visitor who has come by a few times on a peanut hunt.  Lucky to capture this cute picture with his tongue out.

Repainted the metal globes and Mr. Squirrel found them to his liking!

From Trauma to Tassels

We are on the downstretch for Manny's cancer treatment but not without events.  

He was scheduled to obtain his chest port for the intravenous chemo; however, his tooth/face began swelling. We had a chemo doc appt on Monday, June 10 so he reviewed his symptoms and sent him straight to the OHSU ER. They hooked him up to strong antibiotics and scheduled him for surgery the next day.

On Tuesday surgery went well and they cleaned out the abcess infection, which had blown out to his mandible and neck. The team removed his ventilator and were wheeling him to the recovery room when the doctor saw he was struggling to breathe and was turning white. His tongue had swollen out of his mouth and they were unable to get an oxygen tube in so they were forced to perform a tracheotomy!  

He ended up in the hospital to Saturday recovering. He was unable to talk until Friday (which is his favorite hobby!) 

The next two weeks involved Manny recovering from the crises with me changing out his trache bandage each day. 

He was finally able to get the port surgically placed on the 28th and began the intravenous chemo on July 1st. We were expecting him to experience nausea but surprisingly that has not happened. He has been doing exceedingly well during all of these treatments.

July 4th we hung out at home but the neighbors were shooting off a variety of fireworks so we didn't miss much.

On to my crafts!

Tassels made from salt and pepper shakers.

Sewed curtains for the living room.

Painted a vintage window and hung it outside.

Made a set of curtains to hang above the mirror in the kitchen.

Reupholstered a chair that was gifted to me by sis Erin, using $1.99 fabric from Goodwill.

Last but not least - summer has arrived! Was in the 90's this last weekend and will continue this week with 99 on Monday and Tuesday! Blessed to have air conditioning!

Hello 31 and Adios Radiation

Happy #31 to Jordy on May 23! Sam had us all over for a celebratory dinner. Sam also showed us his guitar skills by whipping out an original tune.

On Tuesday, May 21 Manny rang the bell to celebrate his last radiation treatment! We are now gearing up for him to start soon the more intensive intravenous chemo which lasts for 5-6 hours once every two weeks. Last night we visited OHSU for a new MRI. The appointment was for 6:30 pm; due to the Memorial Day holiday we sailed through I-5 setting a new time of arrival record. Appointment ran late so we didn't make it home until almost 8 pm.

Here's an update on my crafting obsession:

Fabric horns and decoupaged body of my antelope.

Picked up a $1.99 box bench from Goodwill which screamed for a makeover! Following is the original cougar fabric:

Recovered the seat with an old velvet throw.

Covered the box with burlap and a strip of suede-type fabric from the lining of the quilt.

Picked up a ceramic hand from  Goodwill and added a mama and baby chick to it.

Pulled together Dollar Tree ribbon and yarn to make a bird tassel.

Another GW find - repainted the welcome message and placed it out front.

June is going to be here soon! Hello Summer!

Chasing Me To My Grave

Antiques Roadshow is one of my favorites to watch. I recently saw a program based in Louisiana where a guest had brought in a Winfred Rembert painting done on leather. The appraiser talked about the artist and how he had survived a lynching then learned the leather painting when he was in prison. All of his artwork are based on stories from his life. It wasn't until he was in his fifties he began selling his art which depicted the beauty and ugliness of the South. The appraiser mentioned a memoir of his life; it so intrigued me that I went right to Amazon and ordered it.

Took me two days to read  through "Chasing Me To My Grave: An Artist's Memoir of the Jim Crow South" and it was a sad, shocking, hopeful, and inspiring story. It actually won the Pulitzer Prize. There's a documentary about his life that's on my watch list to view soon.

If I remember correctly, the appraised value of the guest's painting was about $50,000. 

Enlightening book that makes you think about the human race and the surprising depths a white person can sink in his treatment of another human being.

Winfred (now deceased) holding one of his leather paintings