Grandma and Grand-baby Bunny-Rabbit

These Grandma and Grand-baby Bunny-Rabbit

 are some of the gifts in the Birthday package

I made for a little darling baby girl...

The pattern for these Bunny Rabbits is not mine,

I have it for years but I don't know where I got it from.

Some time ago I had shown you another felt bunny 

I had made for my sister-in-law;

You can see it in here.

Anyway, I can already tell you that my grand-baby girl 

just loved them bunnies... she sure is a sweet darling and

I love her very much!

8 years ago me and J delightfully had welcome her

as our newest precious grandchild!

A year and a month after that

J sustained the brain injury that pulled him apart

into another different world for more than six years.

She doesn't remember much of her Papaw prior to the "accident"

but she was the loveliest one to him during the injury years!

Also she had posted an order with me for her Birthday..lol...

She ordered another

Oh La La Lolita Doll.

She really loves these dolls!

Here it is, her most recent new Lolita Baby Doll!

By the way,

just a reminder

to let you know you can find

my Oh La La Lolita Dolls

for sale here at

my ArtFire BearyNiceMade Shop.

I can tell you that this Pink Lolita Doll 

is going to be very much loved and cared for,

just judging from the hugs and kisses she got

when my little grand-baby found her amongst her other gifts!

And that... that made my day!

I wish you all a very good friday and I'll see you all later!

Strip quilting, new curtains making and J's shower

Another week went by, and I didn't succeeded on my purpose

to publish my posts more often...

The truth of the matter is I keep really busy all week long,

more now than in winter time

because of all the outdoor work that has to be done.

Oh!, but I'm not complaining, no...

keeping busy is good, really good!

During the week we had several thunderstorms warnings

but never got any rain.

Anyway,

this post today

is really to let you know what's been going on...

So, a few time ago I started a new quilt,

it's called strip quilt and it's made very much the same way as a selvage quilt (I've been collecting the selvages for ever!,

but still didn't make anything with it).

I've been sewing the blocks and I'm still kinda playing with them,

rearranging the patterns to see which way to go...

Here's what I've got so far:

I'll show you when it's done.

Also this past week I received my fabric order for the new curtains.

Remember when I told about the curtains I've made that I didn't like very much?, I told you about it in this post here.

OK, so I decided it was the right time to make new ones

(ah!ah!, tax refund time!).

And I've been working on it too.

I will show you how they came about when I'm done.

Today was J shower day,

and I thought about showing you all a little bit

what it is like giving him a shower.

I do it every other two days

(remember I am totally on my own for all of his care).

I've started around 9:00 AM and finished around 1:00 PM

(from the moment I start getting things out to the moment I finish cleaning the bathroom, after J is totally done and ready back on his bed).

I get the lifter out,

get the shower chair ready and in position

and when is already rolled in the bathroom,

waiting on me to shave and shower,

I'll make the bed,

getting it done and ready for when we finish the shower

(I'll be showering him with my bathing suit on, 'cause I'll get totally wet).

As soon as he's finished and dry,

it's time to lift him back from the chair and into his bed.

The bed has a low air loss mattress system,

which has been terrific all these years

(J doesn't have any pressure ulcers, aka bed sores).

This is the little engine gadget that inflates and alternates the air in the mattress.

After he's back in the bed, I still have to do his trachea care, change wet dressings, roll him over again and again to get the sling from under him and then again to wash his back (which I can not do while in the shower since he's sitting on the chair), do the breathing treatment, and so on and so on...

After all that, have to clean the bathroom and do the laundry (3 loads every time).

And that's why it takes me 4 hours to shower J.

But let me tell you:

J loves all this routine,

and I would do it every single day if I could.

Acorda a Alentejana recipe, Pin Cushion Mobile/Wall hanging

It's finished! The mobile/wall hanging with the pincushions
I've talked about here... it's done!

I used some ideas I found in different places
and put everything together as a mobile/wall hanging.

I think it came out really pretty.

This last week has been busy,
and I have been multitasking,
doing this and that almost at the same time,
busy busy busy...

J has been fairly alright,
except he kinda gave me a big scare yesterday,
breathing problems,
and then I realize what had happen:
I had changed the vent circuit like usually,
but decided to add the extra 20 inches tubing that comes with the circuit
(as the RT had suggested before)...
it really worked well, not pulling as much on his trach, or so I thought,
till his pulse and blood pressure started increasing...
a whole bunch!
As I kept wondering what could be the reason,
I decided to remove the extra tubing, just to make sure...
and there it was!
Everything went back to normal!
Isn't that something?...
I was almost considering call 911 to take him to the ER... just imagine!
I'm just so glad I didn't!

Anyway...
Yesterday was Easter Sunday (Happy Easter you all),
but I didn't get to make anything special...
My sister had sent me some Easter candy and dried cod fish
(obrigada de novo Isabel!),
and I had been wanting to make a Portuguese dish
(acorda a alentejana)

that I've been craving a lot
(it has been way more than 10 years since the last time I made this dish).
It's really easy and traditional from Alentejo,
the Portuguese region that names the dish.
So, this is how I remembered it (will serve about 2):

• 4 cups of water
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 pieces of cod fish (the dried kind, after being rehydrate for about 24 hours)
• 2 eggs
• 6/8 slices of day old bread
• cilantro
• salt & pepper to taste

In a medium pot boil about 4 cups of water, the olive oil and the garlic.
Add the cod fish and let it simmer till it's cooked.
Remove the cod fish when it's cooked, let it cool for a bit,
and then remove the skin and bones. Flake it in small pieces
and returned it into the pot.
Let it get to a boil again and then poach 2 eggs (open the eggs one a time into a small cup and just let it slide into the boiling water).
Decrease the heat and let it simmer for about 10 more minutes.
Slice some day old italian or french bread and place it on the serving bowl.
Pour the broth on top of the bread, with cod pieces and one poached egg.
Season with a pinch of salt & pepper and top with fresh cut cilantro.
If desired sprinkle it with a little bit more of olive oil.

Yummy! I was really craving it!

Things have been a little busy around here

Things have been a little busy around here and aren't still quite alright.

We are back home since last Thursday,

after a week in the hospital with J.

We are finally home.

Unfortunately, since in a while he has to be hospitalized.

He seems to be doing a little bit better now

but it is always very rough on him to stay at the hospital.

Of course I'm always with him, I stay day and night

(thank goodness for those chairs that lay down and make a bed!)

but I also feel the effects of being away from home.

This is Lemur.I got it for J while in the hospital. It cheered us both up!

It has always been only the two of us alone but I'm okay with that.

Anyways...

I usually meet neat people (patient families) while I'm in there.

We try to support each other

and this time I met a very curious character

which caught my attention since I first saw him.

Remember Georges Moustaki?,

now think about the song Le Métèque

(juif errant, prêtre grecque, avec mes cheveux aux quatre vents...),

and that's him!

About late 50's early 60's, very tall and thin,

long long gray beard and gray hair tied in a long pony tail.

I am describing him just so you understand why I tought of Moustaki
and the surprise I felt

when he told me about his wife

(in a serious condition, she had undergone brain surgery).
He said he had told her if you see the light just go toward it, you go!

So I asked him
why did you tell her such a thing?
(I would have told her to fight and not to go) and he said:

Because we don't belong in here, we belong in heaven and this in here is hell!

Definitely not what my beloved Moustaki would have said!

But again... what do I know... I don't know why I always have grand expectations from people I really don't know.

But don't get me wrong... he was a very nice person

and I wish his wife a total recovery.

Also met a mother and a sister
whose son and brother

had brain injury (like my husband) since earlier this year.

We all knew the same institutions, the same medical staff and had the same grand questions...

It was really nice to talk to them

and I could tell they felt the same.

Mostly, we all feel outraged with the lack of structures and specific support for brain injuries (severe brain injury in both our loved ones).

In their case he has been in a institution since the accident happened
and been having some serious health problems
(lack of hygiene, pressure ulcers and so on...).

When we meet someone that has been going trough the same you have...
it really feels good just to share.

I wish them all the best!

And that would be it for hospital talk.

The cats were very happy to have us back!...

The poor things!... no dry food for all this time, but I'm pretty sure they ate...

yeah, the poor birds come for dinner in the garden... and the cats join them for sure!... :0(

Of course the one I missed the most was Baby.

He's bigger now and likes to fight me!... :0)

Before all this events I had been working on a new quilt for the wheel chair.

I got the idea for this quilt from Geta´s Quilting Studio @
http://cadouri-din-inima.blogspot.com/2009/04/quick-and-easy-quilt-tutorial.html

(thanks for the easy tutorial!)

and then I altered it a little bit.

Like I said it's a small quilt for the wheel chair and

I've applique a flower in each square.

I've also finishd two raggedy bags,

but this time I made the handles differently.

I used some eyelets and cotton cord.

I like the way they look.

They are smaller than my usual ones

(I've used 4 x 4 squares) and probably they will make some Xmas gifts!

Adding to the Xmas gifts and while at the hospital

I made a few more little pouchs,

the tunisian crochet ones.

One of the staff members told me: They look so good just like store bought!

And that was quite a compliment! :0)