Mood:  lazy

I have to admit, the Dad of our house, Beloved Hubby, wasn't well today. Still, he pushed himself through some work today, and is hopefully asleep. I'd join him, but one of my prescripts requires me to be upright for 30min after taking it.

It was a quiet Father's Day 'round here. Much as Mother's Day kinda got neglected because I was sick, so too was Dad's Day. I mostly cleaned the beyond unhealthy kitchen while he worked and got the piles of neglected dishes washed. Found out that, when I selected that 10lb bag of potatoes, I somehow got Pirates of the Caribbean spuds. Yup, there was a cartoon image of Capt. Jack Sparrow on the bag, along with a lame recipe featuring Goofy, and a food pyramid illustration with Mickey Mouse. Never heard of 'Disney Garden' vegetables, but clearly, they exist. At least the tubers didn't taste like Mouse...although I might not have minded a buttered, cheesy bite of Depp...

Looked around for some more freebie patterns, but didn't find any. Gonna have to roll up my sleeves later this week and dig. There are still some Vogue and McCall's patterns in print out there, and if you live near a Hancock Fabrics or Joanne's, or any other pattern-bearing craft store, it's a good idea to get on their mailing lists. It's how most of my $18. patterns only cost $4.75 or 99c. Also, most crafters know about the 99c sales. So those $20. McCall's rarely get above $3. plus shipping on eBay. All pattern companies have online catalogs, so you can see if there's anything you like before hunting in earnest for the best price.

All that said, I'm still gonna see what freebies I can find again. I swear, our old computer got taken out three months ago, and I still stumble over a loss from it every few days. Still haven't gotten Doll Shop Deluxe to even load on the new Vista-based computer, although Livingsoft says it should. (sigh) Even after I told them precisely what problem I'm having, and their own site doesn't mention Vista at all...

Well, I'm getting sleepy - warm ham on sourdough toast sandwich will do that to a girl ! - so I'm out. Hope your day was warm and wonderful !

Posted by dorriebelle at 9:36 PM CDT

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Mood:  a-ok

Ya'll must get really tired of me vanishing after a week or two. I keep meaning to write every day, but sometimes intentions and life just hit head on without helmets.

You may remember that I recently had surgery to remove a big ovarian cyst. Then I had to have surgery again when the suture opened back up. The first go-round, I was found to have some reduction in my heart's ejection factor - it's a problem I've had since Dearest Son's birth - so I was put back on several prescriptions, most of which I'd had before. It cleared up most of my breathing and what I thought were asthma issues, so when my staples were removed that first time, I was so glowingly healthy, I nearly danced to the car.

Then the suture split open that night, and I was back in the hospital via ambulance to have it closed up. I know psychologically I was unprepared for such a reversal - and it was scary as all h#ll to see my stomach opened up like that !! - so I thought at first that my moping around after I was discharged was mental. And temporary. Then I started feeling exhausted all the time, and unfocused. Then I started coughing, all the time. Sometimes so hard, I'd either throw up or have to race to the bathroom. I coudn't eat much, for fear I'd choke or aspirate, or barf. Between the coughing, the pain of staples *and* stitches on the second go-round, and the not-eating, all I wanted to do was sleep. And even that hurt.

Finally found a doctor taking new patients. I'm bad, I know it, I didn't have a regular doctor because I didn't need one. Dearest Son had one, of course, but... Anyway, he delivered the shocking news that one of my heart medicines was the culprit ! About all we could do was substitute a new med for the bad one, and wait for the old one to dissipate from my system on its own. But, slowly and surely, I was coughing less, focusing more, and sleeping only at night. About Monday of this week, I felt almost normal. Wednesday, my staples and stitches were removed, and I could drive without pain. What a relief - and I was feeling pretty darn good ! :)

Luckily, it was just in time. Beloved Hubby came home Tuesday with more than a touch of heat exhaustion, and we found out that it was on top of bronchitis ! And yes, it did feel weird driving him to the hospital, instead of him driving me. He's resting, and hopefully, he'll feel better by early next week. Honestly, I was darn scared for him Thursday. Getting him to a doctor is almost impossible ! I still creep in on him while he's resting, to make sure he's breathing.

Dearest Son, of course, is wonderfully healthy, and is home on Summer Vacation. So you can see, I haven't been *near* my dolls or the studio ! Maybe next week ! I'd love to hit a few of my doll haunts, but we're too broke from med bills, so I'll enjoy what I have for a while longer.

Speaking of enjoying the less-expensive things - Lindsay, there's a link to a free Tyler pattern on Elphie's page. I made the white with green dotted-swiss sundress from it. Here's the link - http://donnernblitzen.tripod.com/  There's free patterns for Gene, Barbie, and Tyler, too, and she's a great person. If you sew one of hers, be sure to drop her a note - she loves seeing what we do with her patterns ! Here's Elphie's page for reference - https://dorriebelle.tripod.com/id28.html

(modestly) There's also some tips on pattern-free peasant blouses and sock shirts on the main site - linkies !!

Peasant Blouse - including a photo of Elphie's -

https://dorriebelle.tripod.com/id30.html

Shirts you can make from socks ! -

https://dorriebelle.tripod.com/id30.html

I lost some links for other patterns and ideas when the old computer got taken out by lightning a few months ago - so I'll try to find some of those for ya. I think I remember some, and I can probably find the others ! I do love a challenge !

Well, Hubby's awake and folks want food. See ya later - if it kills me ! Just kidding....

Posted by dorriebelle at 7:08 PM CDT

Updated: Saturday, 16 June 2007 7:33 PM CDT

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Mood:  a-ok

Not much going on, as usual. Figured out why it hurt so much to drive when it doesn't hurt to sit, say, at a computer. Can't really do much about it - if I sit the painless way in the car, I can't work the clutch - but at least I can adjust the seat while I'm waiting for Dearest Son. Only a few more days of school left !

Read doll magazines and thought about the weekend. Doubt I'll be driving anywhere, so I'm thinking of staying home and working in the Studio. Beloved Hubby says I can order the next case I want for decor in there - a white version of the 1968 Pepto pink case I had as a kid - but I feel bad about it, as I haven't hung the Midge and Barbie ones I got a few weeks ago. There's also piles of new acquisitions sitting around that haven't been stored or used yet, so I think I'll play with those.

But once those are hung, I'm getting that other case ! :)

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

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Mood:  d'oh

I was whining about my stitches hurting - let's face it, I don't have many other topics of conversation anymore ! - and Beloved Hubby said something I'm still pondering. He told me that one of the reasons I'm having so many problems lately is because I never learned to be gentle and careful with myself. I expect too much too soon, but only out of me, and I don't often let myself rest unless the pain or need is too great to ignore any longer.

Well, shoot. Never thought of it that way before. But heck, I wasn't my parents' favorite, and I'm their only child ! I'm used to being last considered, even in my own mind. I thought buying $20. worth of Barbie clothes last month was being nice to me, and it was more than I deserved !

I'm still thinking it over, and we'll see where it goes. That errant owie stitch is still buggin' me, but it's not as bad as it was. At least I didn't need half a pain pill and a three-hour nap as soon as we hit the Chez Insanity doorframe this afternoon.

Still not much going on that's doll-related. I can't bear to have anything near my tummy right now, so I haven't been out shopping...plus the bills from all this have begun to roll in. Eeeek. I'm hoping that I can at least hit a yard sale or three - or maybe even see what's at TRU ! - this weekend. Like I told Dearest Son, who was having a rough day today, it helps to have something to look forward to, and focus on that when things are tough. Even if TRU doesn't happen, the idea might just get me off my rump tomorrow !

PS - Happy Star Wars Day tomorrow ! Thirty years ago tomorrow, this low-budget little space-opera movie opened in theaters - with industry folks expecting George to be editing it one last time in the projection booth !

Posted by dorriebelle at 4:12 PM CDT

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Mood:  don't ask

Sorry - today's MOTS (More Of The Same). Follow up appointment went well, and as expected, nothing was removed. They said I'm healing well, and there's no sign of infection, which is what everyone's worried about. A reopened suture is a hotbed for that, and it's very dangerous. Finished in time to talk to Billing and get Dearest Son from school...but for some reason, one of the few stitches that never has bothered me is mega-painful now. I darn near exploded when I sat down in the car, and was honestly wondering if they'd tightened the stitches somehow. I know they didn't, but why did it hurt so d@mn bad now, when it didn't an hour prior ? Oh, well - follow-up in two weeks. School will be out by then ! :) And I lost two pounds since the last visit.

Toughed it out, though, and came home to the glory that is half a Lor-Tab and a three hour 'nap'. It included several Lego-based reinactments of events chronicled in Small Soldiers from the amazing mind of Son and the memorable soundtrack crash of dozens of multicolored plastic bricks. Yeah, not a lot of rest there. But it was his version of 'Entertain Mommy Theater', and I appreciated it. He even wrote me a 'get better soon' note at school, and you *know* that's going into my memory box ! Who says live theater is dead ? I think it helped - the pain is now in occasional waves, where it was constant when I lay down. Our sweet son...

Got the grocery shopping done earlier, and bought a fat-quarter package of several luxe green fabrics - a sheer pale green with gold stripes, a slightly darker green with silver iridescent dots, a medium green stretch velvet, and a slightly darker raw-silk piece. The package said 'six pieces', but as you just read, there were only four. At least I got it on a decent markdown.

Looked at the dolls, not much new. I've discovered that 50c/can generic beef broth with spaghetti noodles boiled in it is delicious, so I bought several more cans. Also some angel-hair pasta - it's fun to eat, and cooks faster, too. Son has a Transformer Lunchables for Friday, and  he's so excited. He had a balloon - bright orange ! - from the bank tied to his booster seat waiting on him, and he's happy.

Well, dinner's needing to be made. Don't worry, Beloved Hubby either does it or we have easy-to-make stuff. He wants me to heal more than he wants meatloaf ! Hope your evening is pain-free !

Posted by dorriebelle at 9:02 PM CDT

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Mood:  lazy

...I did, at least, take care of myself. For some reason, the stitches really hurt today. Staples, not so much. But the stitches hurt in every move I made, even when I was driving the car. I think I may have stressed them a bit last night when I got out of bed rather awkwardly. I'd just remembered that I left the sunroof open, and rain was forecast. Sometimes I get up before I wake up, it's not that unusual. It just normally doesn't hurt. Oh, well. Least the car wasn't flooded this morning (didn't rain after all !).

Oh, the car. That got lost in all the hullaballoo of the last month. Beloved Hubby got me an early birthday present - a 1991 Mazda MX6 ! It's in fabulous shape, everything works. It even has a sunroof ! I've always wanted one of those. It's low slung and sporty and has a manual transmission, but I guess that always goes in a turbo-engine car ! I actually have to be careful to keep her at the speed limit, she loves to race. And her bright red color is darn near an announcement to the cops to write me a ticket. She's great on gas and is so much fun to drive. I've called her 'Lightning Molly', and I really, really enjoy the morning drive now.

But for some reason, the stitches hurt with every crack in the road. I slept through the pain in the morning, but it came roaring back this afternoon. Came home from school pick-up and took half of one of the 60 painkiller pills they sent me home with after the emergency room and initial surgery. And slept for two and a half hours. Poor Dearest Son was really worried about me, and woke me to ask if I was all right. Such a sweet boy.

So I didn't get to sew or do any of the housework I had planned. I have a follow-up appointment at the surgeon's office tomorrow, but I doubt anything's getting removed. Darn it. Oh, and I found the tick that got me last week. Took much pleasure in roasting his icky butt.

Just wish the healing this time around was going as quickly as it did the first time. Oh, well. It'll heal on its own time, at least I'm getting some rest. Still no word from LivingSoft about Doll Shop Deluxe not working, but maybe they'll get to me soon...

Posted by dorriebelle at 5:43 PM CDT

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Mood:  smelly

Forgot I had a sort-of follow up at the hospital this morning. They wanted to see if a mark on my liver had enlarged, vanished, remained, etc. So I hopped up on the ultrasound table promptly at my 9am appointment time - and lay there for two hours, feeling like I was getting slowly and gently beaten up by roll-on deodorants. They never did find the thing (maybe it was removed when the cyst was), to which the Dr. who requested the test shrugged and said 'That's fine.'. By the time I got home, I was growly with hunger and slammed down two sodas without even realizing it. Now, if I could just convince myself the whole thing was an extremely expensive massage - on just one side of my body that's still covered with the sticky oil the sensor needs - maybe I won't be so whiny.

So I didn't get to sew. I did, however, take a bra apart. So far, it's yielded some bright pink knit 'grafitti' fabric, two vinyl belts, two strips of black elastic, eight hot pink hooks and eyes, and four more silver doll belt buckles. It's from the yard sale I got to go to Saturday, and it was my fave 'stuff a bag for a buck' kinda sale. Dearest Son got six new shirts and four brand new (still tagged !) pairs of shorts, Beloved Hubby got a luscious sweater that looks soooo sexy on him, and I got two purses, a bra, and five new fabrics to work with. I do love those yard sales. One of the purses has Barbie on it, the closest I've seen to one all year.

I hardly ever find dolls anymore. Of any kind. There's hardly any at the thrift stores, either. I'm starting to wonder if little girls play with dolls around here. I've seen maybe three dolls at yard sales and the same dozen in sad shape at the flea market three times this year.

But hope springs eternal. Usually around 8am on Saturdays ! :)

Posted by dorriebelle at 3:23 PM CDT

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Mood:  accident prone

Whoo, it's been a life since we moved back in February ! The move, a lightning strike, being sick for two months...It's no wonder I barely feel connected anymore. But I'm starting to come back- hell, I'm having to fight for it now ! - and I'm really enjoying what I have. Or at least, I will, once I can sit down and get up without wincing.

Couple weeks ago - on a Sunday - I was contemplating making pancakes for breakfast for me and Beloved Hubby. Dearest Son was still at his grandparents'. I coughed...and I was engulfed in pain. Roiling, sweating, mind-blowing agony. From a niggling little chuff of a cough. Part of the pain was not knowing what the h#ll was going on. I'd had a similar experince around St. Patrick's Day, but this was worse. Far worse. It made the St. P's experience seem like an absolute pleasure party in comparison.

Hubby urged me to rest, but rest was not to be had. I must have rolled around in bed for over an hour, seeking desperately for some position that didn't hurt, and never found it. I raised the white flag, and we were on our way to the Emergency Room.

A few scans, x-rays, and a glorious painkiller later, it was as I suspected. My c-section hernia had torn. And I was scheduled to have it fixed on Tuesday ! Well, ya can't wait around on those things, evidently. I'd be going home that evening...

But that didn't happen. Once I was in surgery, it was revealed that the hernia was quite small. What was causing all the commotion was a honeydew-melon sized ovarian cyst ! That required a much larger incision, and a two day hospital stay. Urgh. To add to the fun, they forgot to feed me, but it's not like I had much of an appetite anyway. And it was rather surreal to watch E. R. reruns from a hospital bed.

Got to go home Friday morning. With a Wednesday appointment for follow up. It hurt, but I was soon moving around comfortably, and itching at the staples holding my tummy together. I'd lost 27 pounds in 4 days, too. And, as it turned out, some of my asthma issues were actually heart issues, so I'm back on some of the same meds I had shortly after Son was born. Still, excepting the sore tummy, I hadn't felt so healthy in months !

Wednesday finally arrived. My staples were removed, and I felt well on my way to recovery. We celebrated with some McD's, and life was nice. Son had been upset at my hospitalization, but I'd reassured him that Mommy was fine...and then I saw a tick on my foot. ICK !! I flailed at it...and felt the incision open up. A trip to the bathroom mirror gave me flashbacks to a scene in Alien. Oh, s*&^%...

So, I was soon headed back to the emergency room, holding my stomach together, but this time in an ambulance. If I thought Son was upset before, it was nothing compared to now. (sigh). Thursday, they re-stapled and sewed the recalcitrant suture back together again, and I got to come home again Friday morning. Didn't I just *do* all that the week before ?

I even have a Wednesday follow-up appointment. Healing's a little more painful this time around, so I haven't been as active. Even sitting hurts after a bit. At least my appetite has dried up some. I've lost another eight pounds since the initial surgery.

So that's where I've been for the last month or so. Trying to figure out what I want to do next, for more than a week, then getting walloped by my stomach for three more. Part of it still seems surreal and too comic for real life, but it all happened. At least I'm home, and I doubt I'll have anything removed this Wednesday !

But these darn stitches hurt...and I itch ! Hope the last month went better for you ! I'm getting darn upset at not being able to do anything - instead of being upset at being able to do anything, just not doing it - so I may try to sew a bit tomorrow. Can't get Doll Shop Deluxe to work with Vista, so I'm hoping to hear from LivingSoft soon. And I still haven't reinstalled all my old patterns, so maybe I'll do that and something simple.

My life's been up in the air, it seems, since the move. Time for me to drag it back down and live it !

Posted by dorriebelle at 6:05 PM CDT

Updated: Sunday, 20 May 2007 6:08 PM CDT

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Mood:  down

Dearest Son's field trip got called off, due to rain. Yeah, I was a parent volunteer for it, which was fine. I'm kind of disappointed for him, kind of relieved. I wasn't sure how I'd handle the mile walk up and mile walk back with this 200% humidity - but I was gonna try.

And I'll tell ya, leaving in the middle of a thunderstorm to pick him up made me nervous. Last month, we got hit by lightning ! But heck, ya can't live in fear forever. Seems like I can live being sick forever, though...

Finally got all the doll and sewing and doll sewing books organized. The shelf with the doll magazines is bowing in the middle. It's official - I have nine books of doll patterns. That doesn't count the 40 or so Simplicity/Vogue/McCall's ones, a round dozen of 'kitchen table' patterns bought on eBay, the hundred or more magazine ones, and the few thousand I got on that pattern exchange group I used to be a member of. But what I was I doing yesterday ? You got it, looking at doll clothes patterns. Luckily I didn't buy any ! I haven't even reinstalled Doll Shop Deluxe !

One thing's for sure. I gotta spend more time sewing and less time shopping ! But then I see this 'Yard Sale' sign...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

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Mood:  cool

Not much going on today - I did buy the second Fashion Fever set, again for the shoes for Aylene. Still, it's a cute set. Hopefully I'll have some time for photos this weekend. Gosh knows I can't spend any more money !

It's really bad. I have all this stuff sitting around waiting for me. There's a floor to make (adhesive tile and foamcore from Dollar Tree), Elphie's bed to redo (foam square from Hancock's on 60% off sale - in March !), and patterns to scan. Too bad I haven't even reinstalled the printer that Brother so graciously traded out for us yet !

The thing is, I'm still rather sick. All this coughing hurts, and I'm so far behind in housework, I'm surprised our kitchen hasn't been condemned. I'd hoped to catch up by Friday, but it ain't happening. All I want to do is sleep, since I'm waking up a few times a night coughing. I should just bite it and see a doctor or at least a 'doc in a box' clinic. There's too much for me to do to still be sick !

The nice seller who sent me the Barbie case with the Midge one I won won't take any extra funds - heck, shipping alone is almost what I paid for the whole thing ! Since they're active duty, I'm going to donate $15. to the Air Force Aid Society as my way of saying 'thanks' for both the case and their service. It's the only way my bookkeeping (WindowsKarmaXP) will be satisfied, and I can enjoy it all.

Still not sure how I'm gonna hang 'em. Don't wanna use pushpins or nails. Or hang them, most doll cases like these are already stressed at the handle - and let's face it, these are over 40 years old, I don't need to push it. I'll probably get some small hooks or clips and balance the bottom on two and the handle on a third.

Right now, all the new acquisitions are piled up. Heck, I just today got the sewing books all in one place ! Gotta do that for the doll books too, they're scattered all over the house right now...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

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