Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Way too quiet, and some medical stuff.


My last 2 posts have elicited virtually no comments, but I don't know if people just don't like what I've done or whether they're not interested. Admittedly, the reversible quilt I'm putting together is very basic as far as quilting blocks go, but I'm making it for mostly beginners, and the class is designed for them to learn a technique of putting a quilt together by finishing each block as you go. The class is only one day (6 hours) and I want the participants to make as much of a quilt as they can in that time, which is why I've chosen a simple block.

On the medical side....my mother was taken to hospital Sunday night. She has acute pancreatits and may need an operation to remove the offending gallstone which has caused it. Here's a photo of Mum with a cheetah and handler at the Auckland Zoo - this was our birthday present to her last year, and my cousin Judith took her. Mum loves cats and had a wonderful time. Thanks, Judith!

As for me, I had my 2 -yearly mammogram today; a quite uncomfortable procedure, but one that all women over 45 in NZ are offered for free as part of a breast cancer screening programme.

17 comments:

Nora and James McDowell said...

The simple quilt is quite happily colourful.
The best wishes to your mum for her recovery. We've an elderly friend (near ninety) with whom they were able to "harvest" the offending "stuff" from the common bile dict using some sort of miniscule "bucket" and he is much the better for it.

Deb R said...

So sorry to hear your mother isn't well. I hope she won't need surgery. (Love that pic of her! That looks like fun!)

Kate said...

What a cool present - beats bath salts any day!
Best wishes to your Mum and good health to you both.
(I bet if men had to do a Testicular gram every 2 yrs they would have funded a much less painful form of diagnosis.)

Webfrau said...

Great photo - that must've been an amazing experience for her. I hope she's better soon.

Anonymous said...

Great present for your mom!

I wish her wellness

Deb Hardman said...

Wow, I hope they get the ofending stone & your Mum does ok. Pancreatitis can be a long term & recurring illness. I hope they can nip it in the bud for her. It's not fun. Maybe they can unplug the duct with an ERCP, then get gall bladder out laproscopically, (much nicer than the old fashioned 9 inch scar like I have).

I love cats too. So if I go to that zoo would they let me pet the cheetah, or do you have a special connection?

I think your simple square quilt is a perfect beginner quilt, it's just not as exciting as what you ususally do. Kind of like the rag quilt I just made for my grand-baby. Very simple, not exciting, not a prise winner, but just what it needs to be. No shame in purpose!

I like the name of the bird you mentioned on my blog.Pied stilts? Just sounds fun.

Julaine said...

Iunderstand the "quiet" on the blog sometimes...

Healing thoughts are on their way -

Janet said...

I hope Mom is ok...I had my gallbladder removed and prior to that...oh the pain! OUCH!!!

I've got my mammo scheduled for 6/27, we get them yearly here, and our health insurance (through work, in my case) pays for it.

Digitalgran said...

I do hope your mother gets well soon and without the need of an operation.

Grangry said...

Shirley, I put something for you on my blog - enjoy!

http://smockery.blogspot.com/2007/06/manogram.html

Shirley Goodwin said...

You can have a session with the young cheetahs at Auckland Zoo "by appointment" - I think there are 2 of them that are tame enough for this.

Susan D said...

What an amazing experience that must have been for your Mum, what a beautiful animal. I do hope your Mum gets better soon and without the need for surgery.

Sheila said...

Hope your Mum is on the mend soon. I like the quilt. You are right with enough contrast it can make a stunning quilt. Good to use up the commercial fabrics.

Suzi-k said...

oooh, best wishes to your mum, and to you who are worrying about her!
Whatever you do, do NOT fall into the trap of judging the quality of your work by the number of comments you get! Sometimes it has nothing to do with it, it could be that your regulars have been too busy to visit for a few days, or just that one doesn't always feel qualified to make a knowledgeable comment, and it feels lame to keep saying "lovely" over and over....or are just having a "lurking day". You are the best judge of your work, you know when it works and when it is lacking, so be true to your intuition, and don't be swayed by the perverseness of the ethernet!
We love you Shirl.... don't despair!

Kathy Morrow said...

Shirley, I love your work, both simple and not so simple. Besides, what the hell is wrong with a simple quilt block? Those are the kind that let the fabric do the talking, and isn't fabric what it's really all about??

Kathy Morrow said...

Damn, I forgot to say that I hope your mom gets better really soon. She looks like a spunky lady -- sort of like her daughter??!!!

Anonymous said...

My elder daughter is at this moment visiting New Zealand and having a wonderful time so your pictures of snow and sea views were very interesting. I am longing to visit myself.

I am told that if you take 3 tablespoons of olive oil with the juice of a lemon before bed and again on waking that this softens gallstones and allows them to pass into the stool - look for them. You can use grapefruit juice instead. Maybe, worth a try to avoid surgery.

Loved the manogran! I debate the value of mammograms, again worth doing some research, perhaps look at Dr. Mercola's website. I understand they can cause more harm than good so have taken a decision to avoid them.