Life almost lost

I was having a busy day after Thanksgiving gearing up to clean house and get ready for Christmas. The phone rang and it was the daughter of a friend who watches our farm sometimes. Her mom was not answering the phone and she was worried. We live about 10 minutes away from her mom. Her mom lives alone with several horses, a few cats and two dogs. The daughter did not have a car. 

So I got in my truck and drove to her farm. Her mom was not in a good way, she was in bed in the middle of the day, high fever and the house a mess. This is a woman who works, farms and is pretty tough. Appointment was made but most places were closed. I went and got her up, fed, washed and cleaned her house. Got her on her meds, rehydrated and fed. After about 4 hours she was talking. She thought she had food poisoning but it was not that. She was fine overnight but she called me twice thinking it was time for her doctor visit. The next day I took her in and she drained 2 bags of fluid and was told she needed to be in the hospital. She was not having that. But she went down and blood was taken, badly. She had what was going around these days and severely dehydrated. She was very underweight. I was given her Rx's to get, a list of foods she must eat and drink, and I left her in my truck so I could shop for her as she was not able to stand. I got her home and made her a meal. She went to bed. I called her daughter and kept her informed. The next week it was doctor visits, meals, cleaning and keeping her healthy. The next week was more meals, animal checks, winter prep and laundry. She was stronger and she cleaned her house. She had no memory of the Dr. office visits nor the late night calls. Her fever broke and she got stronger. We installed propane heaters as she no longer trusted her wood stoves for heat. By Christmas week she was her normal self again. We picked up feed for her herd and checked fences. She went back to work after spending Christmas at our place. I am glad we had a short winter storm. The weather was perfect the rest of that time. I was able to get to her farm and take care of my farm thanks to mild days. We never would have known she was feeling this bad. I am grateful she did get over this.

 

I want to restore that

Over the Christmas break I binged watched some Chinese soap operas. They had the most gorgeous costumes and hair jewelry. After communism all this stuff was destroyed or hidden away in China. I only saw these photos in textbooks. Now they are making a comeback at least in shows. 

I want to buy a damaged one of these and restore it. I have saved blue bird feathers just for one of these.

And I want to get into goldwork. I love how the dragons come alive with metal threads and stump work embroidery. In the meantime I am learning how to make the stitches. How the layers are built up and what threads were used. So much to learn about. 

 

2023 and sew much sewing

I have been sewing since November of 2022. Then dove into Christmas with more sewing.

Mostly repairs, restorations and new sewing for our church.

The decorations inside our church have not been updated for over 20+ years. I consulted with the priest and sent him photos of options I made. Since the church is a far drive, texting works best. I get instant communication and changes.

All put together. I made new drapery behind the crucifix, new altar drape.

And even dressed up the baptism font. The poinsettia were not set up yet.

Thankfully with Lent about to start soon I can take a break from all this sewing. I really want to work on personal projects but I still have left over work unfinished from last year thanks to illnesses. But my husband is doing much better as he avoids beef and pork products. We can get back into fitness thanks to VR and gear up for spring planting.

 

Alpha Gal and info

 So when I deep dive into the study of any topic I go to real studies and papers that are supported by research. One great read is this one.

Needle in the Haystack is a good read about all the studies done about this problem for humans and animals. This is not "bullshido" but references data collected.

Alpha-Gal November

 

This is from an article about Alpha Gal

My husband was diagnosed with Alpha-Gal. I took him off red meat, animals meats but he still drinks milk. And he has gotten stronger and feeling better, except for his face. He has a beard and it hides the painful sores, hives and pain he feels on his face. We do not know what is causing these sores, painful weepy wounds. We got off any and all medications as they were not helping and were causing more pain and more sores.

A chart about what things can trigger an allergic reaction found here: 

Still getting random meds from various doctors are all misses. They just do not know how to treat this disease. He also got it from chiggers not a tick, which is also possible, same family of bugs.

Here is what he has tried or was given and it made things worse.

So I am still reading and trying to figure out what will make his life more normal and pain and med free. I think the culprit is hidden ingredients in the foods he eats. Whether at home or out to eat your food is at risk to a reaction you might not see nor be aware of. He is not on anything as it was not working and the side effects of many drugs is quite bad.

In the meantime farm life is going well. We found a new hay source and wow I am happy. Huge bales of fat cow quality hay for my horses. Huge as in 7ft x 6 ft bales! Full string wrapped seed heads . I have a hay maker who also sells beef cattle. His huge fat cattle are proof he knows what his is doing.

I am busy sewing all new liturgical decorations for our church. I also love my walking foot for this. Janome walking feet are $$ but worth it.

When you get tested

So on this hot and humid morning I was doing chores looking forward to getting indoors. I settled in front of my computer then my phone rang. It was our priest in one town over. He had Covid and needed help.

He gave me a list of things he needed, I changed my farm togs and got in the truck. I was able to get all his request done and get him meds and food. I was not feeling 100% but I soon forgot that. I walked his dog so he could rest and stay out of the heat. I stayed to review any things he might have forgotten. See we both had the Covid so we are immune. The rest of our church is not. 

I was just thinking how could I help someone in need when I felt this bad. I got my answer, you just do it. You get dressed and get going. You will find the strength to get it done. Chicken soup, juices, vicks vapor and kleenex go a long way. I was able to park get in and out because I was on a mission.

Sometimes you get tested when you least expect it.

 

Skull renew

I picked this resin skull with glass eyes. It is a bit bland.

After some brown paint wash and purple LED tealight a whole new look.

 

Peaches and Pears

See all that dry pasture? But look at the peach tree it is loaded with a ton of peaches. These survived a late frost, drought and heavy rains. Now it needs to make it past the wildlife. Might have enough to can this year.

More peaches

And this is the first time my Asian pears are making it! 

 

Upgrade Recycle Purse

I bought this while thrift shopping. I love the colors and the embroidery but it is a very flimsy purse with a silk strap. The good news is that the liner was easy to take apart. I added craft foam using contact cement under the removed liner on all sides and bottom of the purse.

Next the magnetic clasp was useless so I turned the strap into a snap closure.

Next I used old belts and copper rivets to hold the belt strap to the bag.

This old belt is now a cool strap for a purse upgrade. The liner I resewed and set back into the purse.

 

Three of a kind

I need a tuna purse. Can't find it so going to make it.

 By special request going to make a Fizzgig purse

And this will be something a bit better and made by me. It needs to be brown and with a studded collar to make it that much better.

 

Modern Farm

Our young guest getting told what is expected every morning by the herd. It was 103 outside and 103 in my brain but the farm does not get sick days. She was a big help with chores.

Here we show her the  glow forge and using Gimp to set up the art. She needed no lessons in this simple program. It was a whirlwind visit but we enjoyed her company.

It was nice to have company and we are looking forward to more visits hopefully in the cooler time of the year.

 

Covid Comes to our farm

Well, in a flurry to clean our house up for a guest bam, we got the Covid. It had been at our church but we could have gotten it from anywhere. We had to pick up our young guest from the airport and we both felt off. Luckily our guest had it already. A week into it and 103 body temps and cough, shivers, fatigue and tiredness. We did the hikes, rivers and kayaking as per normal and took turns with our guest on the farm. It was a super human test to stay upright and active. After 8 days she flew home with a good visit under her belt of farm life. We drove home and slept for 2 days. We have not gone out except to get farm feed and that was no contact. I lost my voice and have fluid in my lungs. My husband is doing better.

I still get up and do normal things but sleep a lot. 

One sad thing is that I have had no response from family. Complete strangers have offered food and farm help but not family, not a peep. When they got the Covid we sent flowers, meds, called to check in and snacks. I am old enough not to care but it still sucks. I have too high expectations from people.

At least I have many friends who have come to our aid and call to check in on us. And for that I am blessed to have.

On farm news, chicks hatched and ducklings are on the way. All this heat has made very broody hens and ducks. The drought here in the Ozarks took away most good pastures. We will have to feed winter hay soon. My garden is not faring very well, but maybe this fall I can still get something from the garden.

Projects in the works, 3D purses, TBA.

Restorations of the old and new life for used things.

Life goes on not matter what. And I am glad to be a part of it.

 

Trauma Mama

I finished the true story of what a Narcissistic mother is capable of. If You Tell by Gregg Olsen is the true story about a truly evil mother- Shelly Knotek who is about to be released from prison in 2022. This is a hard book to read and not for children.

The thing is I went through some of the same type of childhood trauma. Possessions taken away when I cam home from school, furniture removed forever, clothing taken away, moving often, locked outside for hours, controlled every minute of the day. I thought it was something I had done wrong, but this book sheds light on the madness of some mothers. Worth a read if you want to understand why some adult children are estranged from their parents. The part about the mother being very good at finding things and being a different person at work was very close home.

One time we moved to another state and when the movers unloaded everything, I had nothing. No furniture, no clothes, no toys, everything was missing from my new room, no a single box of my possessions. My mother said she gave it all away to a poor family right before the move. Really? I thought we were poor. I had to start a new school soon and had no clothes. My younger brother had all his stuff. I ended up wearing his clothes and dumpster diving for the rest. And even though I was 5 years older than he was I could fit his clothes. I was very undernourished as a child, though I was called fat by my parents. And my father was too busy to care. I wondered why so many people tried to give me food when I was growing up. I guess they saw what I did not. I discovered how undernourished I was when a dentist studied my teeth. He showed me the signs in my teeth and x-rays. The body does not lie while my folks did.

This is a very disturbing true book and shows the horrors some children go through. Growing up with lies, threats, mind games, constant stress and fear.