What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 Pink is the Rainbow Scrap colour of the month, so it was time to get stitching on my RSC blocks.  I found a pretty pinkish scrap laying around, just the thing to use in my baby quilt.  Quick and easy, they were done in a jiffy.

Four blocks done

Then I laid the blocks out on the floor, to see how they all looked together.  Coming along nicely, with those pretty soft colours.  I like the way the colours march down the quilt, pink, green, red and blue so far.  This will be 25 blocks, so only a few more ...

OH OH OH --- I love the idea of using the soccer quilt as a NICU quilt. I will look into that!!!!! Thanks for the suggestion. 

I cannot say enough about the Microsoft support team, which is also located in India. I asked yesterday! Every person I've talked to has been great, but the most important thing? When they say they are going to call, they call at that time! We usually set a two-hour window because they could be on a call with someone else, but for the most part, they have called right at the start of the ...

 Sadly, not a single finish and just a little time working on my craft projects this last couple of weeks.  I picked up some sort of nasty lurgy from my recent coach tour and after two seeks I'm still not over it.  Cough, cough, coughing, generally in the evenings, and luckily I'm no longer trying to sleep propped up on pillows at night.  But I am feeling tired so need a Nana Nap most days.  Would you believe I have purchased three different types of cough lozenges - two from the chemist and one from the supermarket.  One lot ...

Since I last posted we've made a quick trip to New England and back. The trip wasn't a planned one but came about as a result of another quick trip: one that Dad made straight to the floor a week ago Friday. He got up from his bed that morning and was going into the bathroom, the next thing that he remembered was waking up facing the ceiling; he had fallen backwards, striking the back of his head

Since I last posted we've made a quick trip to New England and back. The trip wasn't a planned one but came about as a result of another quick trip: one that Dad made straight to the floor a week ago Friday. He got up from his bed that morning and was going into the bathroom, the next thing that he remembered was waking up facing the ceiling; he had fallen backwards, striking the back of his head

 OK --- I tried to come up with a catchy title regarding toenails, but I didn't want to gross anyone out with a title. I'm happy to report that one of the two toenails fell off, and the second one, the one that was black and blue, is looking much better. Yeah!!!! Baby steps, and it's incredible to see the new, teeny-tiny toenail growing in place. It makes you wonder why we even need them. 

If you do some research on this, a toenail that falls off can happen for many reasons. My trauma occurred when I descended ...

 It's just as well that I have finished a couple of pair of woolly socks recently, as Winter has returned with a vengeance.  After weeks of fine, calm, sunny but cool days we now have wind, rain and cold temperatures.  Spring may be just around the corner, but our Spring weather is often fickle and rather changeable.

My two pair of nice, thick, wooly socks used up some remaining sock yarn.  The dark pair was knitted using double knit navy wool, and the rest of coloured sock yarn I had left over from knitting myself a pair of 4ply ...

A transcribed handwritten journal entry from this morning.

I’m mad at Lola, but being mad at her won’t stop her from walking across my pillow when I’ve just gotten back to sleep, much-needed sleep ended prematurely by this furry little bitch. Nor will it stop her dispensing poop on the counter as she licks herself from her latest diarrheic episode, nor will it stop her from sticking her ass over the opening of the litter box so she craps on the floor. It won’t stop me spending $100’s on special diet food and new litter ...

I just applied for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). I don’t expect to get it. Although I have at least 3 qualifying conditions — Crohn’s Disease, Bronchiectasis, and Major Depression (treated) — I haven’t been hospitalized over 48 hours for any of them.

The application process was worthwhile anyway, because it brought me to the SSDI Blue Book. This lists all the ailments that may qualify you for Social Security monies doled out in modest increments prior to retirement age. They are a reminder of the many things that go wrong with the human body: Vision ...

What’s a good shorthand for bronchiectasis sufferers? People with Crohn’s disease are sometimes called Crohnies. I suggest people with bronchiectasis should be referred to as Bronchies. That of course suggests images, so I drew two:

Until recently bronchiectasis was classified as a rare disease. The symbol of rare diseases is the zebra.

You’re welcome.

The post Bronchiectasis Mascots appeared first on Nina Paley.

I hope you all go back and read the comments that people leave on the blog. Some of them are hilarious! The yellow car? That's like not seeing the forest for the trees! 

And yes, high maintenance is fluffy extra stuff. I'm not a fluffy extra stuff person. I never have been, and I never will be. Some people post videos of high-maintenance routines that would blow your mind. Are they real? I hope not. I came across a woman going on a cruise, and before she did anything, she deep-cleaned the bathroom and everything else in the ...

The post Autoimmune Disease appeared first on Nina Paley.

I got one task out the door last night - well, not out the door, but it was completed, so that was good. I have one more urgent thing to work on today, but I need space to work before doing that. It was not just physical space; my brain needed to see some empty flat surfaces. 

As I pulled out patterns or other needed items, the cutting mat had become the dumping ground. I took photos, and then everything got left. I'm happy to report that the mess on the one cutting mat is done, and I can cut ...

For my 57th birthday I got a diagnosis of Bronchiectasis, a chronic incurable lung condition often associated with Crohn’s disease.

In addition to coughing for the rest of my life and being extremely susceptible to infections, there’s the problem of pronouncing it. The syllabic emphases are like “bronchi-ecstasy,” although it is in fact bronchi-agony.

Or, as my friend Caroline called it, Brontosaurus Ecstasy:

A week ago, the day after my birthday, I went to “Convenient Care Plus” because my pinkeye and nosebleeds had returned and my cough never left. They gave me a CT scan ...

Well it’s been a full month since I posted this, and I’m only sicker now. More than 2 months of coughing, plus conjunctivitis and nosebleeds. Just started my second round of antibiotics.

More pix to come, I’m sure.

The post Sick Pix appeared first on Nina Paley.

 I've been out and about lately.  The other day I traveled down to Waikanae to visit my friend Trish who had recently moved from the Hutt Valley to her new home.  Rather than drive I took the bus down, which is free for oldies like me.  This bus route only travels on Tuesdays and Thursdays, departing from my home town at 9.00am then leaving Waikanae Railway Station  at 3.00pm.  Many locals take this trip down to Waikanae to then get the train into Wellington.

I think we all know the answer to that question. The aging process can't be stopped, but it can be slowed. Even though I was and always have been very active, there were certain things I was NOT doing for my body, and it was starting to show—big time. This was not just because of aging but also the issue with my leg/back—whatever it is. 

So I decided to take back my life! I started stretching more—not enough, but way more than before. I started lifting weights (I'm never going to have a six-pack ...

In March 2023 I got COVID which kept me in bed for 6 weeks. The following month it kept me in bed every other day. After that I got back to normal, except my body temperature remained a degree-and-a-half higher than before and, unbeknownst to me at the time, I developed Crohn’s Disease. I was diagnosed by the end of that year, and the first few months of 2024 I spent with worsening symptoms while getting infusions of Skyrizi, a monoclonal antibody treatment. It kicked in after about 4 months and I stabilized by Summer 2024.

Skyrizi is an ...

Why I am returning to my regular dose of Prozac after 2 years of tapering off.

A few days ago, at a candy store in another town, I asked if I could buy some empty chocolate boxes. The co-owner came out and said no, “we’re a candy store, we want you to buy candy not boxes.” I gave her the 4 homemade saffron-cardamom chocolates I had brought for her — she tried one right there, saying “ooh, funky!” I assured her I was just needing a few boxes to give away my culinary experiments to friends ...

I really don't know what makes Outlook sync. I suspect it's some kind of time thing, or perhaps it's related to activity. I haven't really looked into it, but maybe I will. The more one understands something, the more opportunity you have to fix it when things go wrong! OK, I had a quick peek—I didn't understand a thing. I must go back! 

Yesterday was a brutal day physically! And it wasn't a bad day, just brutal. Surprisingly, my shoulders and arms are not sore despite all the upper body stuff we did ...