More walls

Robert has been very driven the last week or so. Maybe it is because everyone in the house is hurt or broken so he feels the need to fix something. Anyway, he got the last of the walls framed in. (or is it framed out) This is looking toward the what will be office/storage room and the back door. I can't wait to pick up my new desk from the blue magnolia and have it sitting in here among all the fabric.

This is looking toward the break room.

This is standing in the shop area facing the storage/break/office rooms. The break room is to the left and the storage room/office is to the right.

We moved to Augusta one year ago today.

Thought I would revisit some of the changes in our apartment and shop.

The kitchen when we moved in and now.
Our bedroom when we moved in and now. We definitely have more stuff in it now, as well as color on the walls and shades on the NEW windows.

The original thought was to have our laundry room and closet in this space. But, I wanted to have the great windows in our bathroom and not have to try to work around them for the closet space.

This is the bathroom done, but not painted.

And with it painted the final color.

Here's the mess of the shop area that Robert has been so diligently plugging away at. He is a very driven man.

Wow, what a year it has been.

Today is our 28th wedding anniversary.

Good thing we went to Key West in May and called it an anniversary trip. Because today will be spent with an ice pack on my back and my right foot elevated. Robert will be driving Tallulah to Atlanta to stay with a friend of ours for a couple of weeks.That way Megan's dog Maggie can come and stay at our house until after Megan's surgery. Now that we have two of the four dogs farmed out and walking dogs has become way less complicated. Anyway, back to it being our anniversary. I can hardly believe that we have been married 28 years. It is by the grace of God we are where we are.
Here are a few things we have learned along the way.
Ask for what you want or need, we can't read each others mind.
It takes more than love to hold a relationship together.
Marriage isn't 50-50 it is 100-100.
Be deliberate about spending time together. (your kids will thank you later)
Laugh and play together as well as work together.
Be romantic. It takes a little planning, but it is worth the effort.
Enjoy your children, they are only with you a short time.
Put each other before your children, as your children are only with you a short time.
Have adventures together.
Pray together.
Dream together.
Serve together.
Anyway, we got married really young, but I would do it all over again.
Happy Anniversary honey.

Insulation.

Among all the craziness of the week, we had insulation sprayed downstairs. Here's some before and after shots. The sprayed in insulation was a good choice for a couple of reasons. 1. We didn't have to put it in ourselves. 2. It is a dense insulation. 3. We didn't have to do it ourselves. Yeah for being another step closer.

Surgery date set.

We went to see the surgeon today. Megan's surgery is set for Wednesday July 2nd, at the butt crack of dawn. Some good news she will be in a brace and not a cast. She can swim once the stitches are out. Some bad news is she is non-weight bearing for 12 weeks. Wow, what a week.

The Mullis women laid up.

Legs elevated-check,
ice packs-check,
immobilizers-check,
crutches-check,
adequate back support-check,
computers-check,
books-check,
quilts-check,
pain medicine-check mate.

Psalm 139

Psalm 139
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Here's the story in her own words.

Well, I was riding home from class on my bike, and a woman opened her car door in front of me. I mean, RIGHT in front of me, and I had no time to slow down, just barely had time to turn my handlebars and try to lay my bike down instead of going over the car door. I slammed into her door going about 20 mph, hard enough that she couldn't close her door and the metal was bent. Anyway, I broke my tibial plateau and it will require surgery, but otherwise, just a dislocated finger and some road rash and bruising. I'm not gonna lie, the leg is hurting pretty bad today and I am sore, but things could have been much worse.Thankfully she hadn't gotten out of the car because I would have messed her up bad, and I didn't get run over when I was flung into the middle of the road. My dad was actually out walking the dogs right then (I was right in front of their house) and called the police and stuff. I usually keep my backpack in a crate on my bike so my back doesn't get messed up, but the bungees were broken and so I was carrying it on my back and it swung under my body and I landed on it instead of my shoulder, otherwise my clavicle probably would have been broken, as well. And since Josh has my backpack, I have his and it doesn't have a hip belt or chest strap so it could swing around me, which mine would not have done. Very grateful for that. So, surgery Friday or Monday, immobilized 'til then, and then 3 months at least of non-weight bearing on my left leg, which is very discouraging since I had a sprint triathlon this next weekend and half marathon in October and currently can't even shower by myself or walk my dogs. It will be a long road.

And here are the pictures.

Home from the E.R. and feeling pretty good after the pain medicine.



















The swelling isn't too bad.














Tallulah being nosey.

Sabueso the chicken hearted is afraid of the crutches.

Sleeping.



Sabueso finally being brave enough to get on the couch. He is afraid of her crutches.

another change of plans

Megan was in a bicycle accident this afternoon. She was wearing a helmet. She has a break in her tibial plateau, of her left leg. So, it looks like she will be having surgery next week. We just got home and settled from the E.R. More of the story to follow, but if you know us and pray for us we could sure use your prayers.
kathy

It takes a village quilt.

I saw this pattern when Robert and I went to Quilt Market in October, and I fell in love with it. It is called "it takes a village" by Kitambaa Designs. She has some beautiful designs, so check them out. It was a lot of fun to do this in African prints. However it is hard to find African prints, though I would like to try to carry them in the shop.

Taking the Kellars to some of the places we frequent.

One of the things we did this weekend was to take Bruce and Debbie to some of the places we frequent. If you have visited us you know that we have a few places we like to hang out and eat. If you haven't come on down and let's eat.

Friday night we went to Nacho Mama's for Mexican food. It's a little different take on Mexican food, but we like it. I will say that it is neither Megan or Drew's favorite, but Robert and I like it. I was glad that they were okay with going because I had been craving Nacho Mamas since Wednesday. Then we walked around downtown for the Solstice Stroll, where we knew some of the photographers that had work on display. It was a great time.

Saturday before class, we had breakfast at The Whistle Stop, which is our favorite greasy spoon. We did have a friendly guy in the booth behind us that visited with us quite a bit, so that always makes dining out interesting.

After church today we ended up at New Moon Cafe, it is where we almost always go after church. We all had the scrambled eggs Benedict. mmm mmm I do like that entree, though I will say that I haven't had anything there that I have not liked. Thanks for coming Bruce and Debbie we enjoyed the visit.

The Not So Giant Dahlia Class.

Here's the class that Debbie and I took today. It is "the not so giant Dahlia" The bright fabric is hand dyed by Stacy Michell the teacher of the class. The interesting thing is that she lives about 20 minutes from Debbie in Marietta. The classroom at Branhum's Sewing Center was a very nice well equipped space. We spent about two hours cutting out the hand dyed fabrics. The star in the middle is a 16 point star. That is a big deal in the quilting world. I will say that I felt like the star turned out very well, though it took a lot of time to cut and sew it. I think that this might be the most complicated quilt I have ever worked on with the 16 point star and the curved piecing. But, I am excited about working on it.
So, here is what we got finished. I did get an arc and a half done, but was too lazy to pull them out. Debbie is a faster quilter than I am, so she got four arcs done. Also, she choose the"brights" and I choose the "autumn" package of hand dyed fabrics which were a little more subdued. It will be interesting to see how they turn out. It was fun to take the class together. The sad part for me is that we won't be able to finish them together during a fabric therapy session. But I am counting the blessing of taking the class togher.

The Kellars come for a visit.

Bruce and Debbie came for a visit this weekend.
Debbie and I took a quilting class, so while we were quilting Robert and Bruce took the dogs on a river walk walk and to the farmers market. They got some great veggies, fruit and honey. And, they worked downstairs and then cooked some ribs. mmm mmm.

Bruce working hard cleaning stuff out of the walls to get ready for the insulation guys to come on Monday.

Here's how the shop looks now.

Thanks guys.

28 things I love about Robert.

I was going to do a blog about things I love about Robert on his birthday in August,but since our 28th wedding anniversary is on the 28th I thought I would make a list now.

1. He loves Jesus.

2 He still loves me.

3. He loves our kids.

4. He has a great sense of humor.

5. He is generous with his time, talents, and money.

6. He is loyal.

7. He is smart.

8. He rides a motorcycle.

9. He is a very talented handyman.

10. He is adventurous.

11. He has vision.

12. He is creative.

13. He is a planner.

14. He lets me sleep in on Saturdays.

15. He can cook.

16. The shape of his lips.

17. He holds my hand when we are walking.

18. He can't get to the punch line of a good joke without laughing.

19. He can whistle a tune.

20. He has come a long way from his nick name of "stone face".

21. His calico goatee.

22. He let's me dream big.

23. He is safe.

24. He is a risk taker.

25. He loves my annoying dog, Princess Tallulah Sassy Pants Barks-a-lot.

26. He has saved our kids treasures from their school years.

27. He keeps up with our friends from long ago.

28. He moved to Augusta to so I could my follow my dream, and is downstairs working very hard to make it happen.

Happy early anniversary Robert, I love you.

Final demo

This is the last demolition downstairs. The bathroom framing has started and should be ready next week for the plumbers.

Still more work on the floors as there was a lot of adhesive left from the linoleum. There were three layers of flooring to remove.

Some lessons from the boot.

It's okay to ask for help.
It's okay to move at a slower pace.
It is sometimes necessary to be still.
I can use crutches.
It's okay to sit down.
I am not as independent as I think I am.

One of these things is not like the other.....

So, last week on Wednesday my right foot was really hurting me, and it really didn't get much better as the week progressed. So, I asked my PA student what she thought it could be...and after some questions she said she thought it might be a stress fracture of my fifth metatarsal. I went to the sports medicine clinic today and the doc there said he thought I had a stress fracture of my fifth metatarsal, so I am in this lovely boot thing for two weeks, then we re-xray it and decide what to do from there. Oh, boy. The good news it that my foot feels better in the boot, the bad news is my calf and hip don't.

The stitches come out.

Robert has been using an industrial scraper thing and breaking up the tile in the shop, and his hands have been sweating inside his gloves. Therefore, four of the stitches were only holding one side of the skin. I asked Megan if she wanted to take them out and she said yep. So, even though she didn't get to put them in she got to take them out. Not nearly as exciting.

Hot summer river walk walks.

My dogs really love to go to the river walk to walk. I like it too, but it has been hot hot hot the last couple of days. Their tongues are hanging out long before we get to the river walk. This is Sabueso, exhausted and trying to stretch out to cool off.

Making the dogs "bow" before dinner.

We always make our dogs "bow" before we feed them. It is always hard for Sabueso as he is so excited about dinner that he can hardly contain himself. They don't usually face each other though, so it is funny that they ended up that way this time.

The good and the bad of a day off.

Good
sleeping in
getting to have my quiet time when it is light outside
taking my dogs on a river walk walk
eating lunch in front of the TV
quilting
having dinner ready when Robert gets home
a surprise visit from Megan
short snippets of conversations with Drew
doing some laundry before Saturday

Bad
not loading the needle right in my quilting machine and now having to take it to Columbia to get it fixed, bummer.

Cardboard testimonies.

I was forwarded this link this morning it is very moving. I sat at my computer crying.

This is incredible! Some of you know Tommy Politz (our previous Pastor at
Stonecreek) , but for those of you who don't, this is a clip from a service
a few weeks ago at our former pastor's new church in Amarillo, Texas.
The lady with MS is his wife Donna


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ

Hot and humid days and Wednesdays.

Tuesday at work was a light day, even with three add on blood transfusions, we had time to have a real lunch and were done in the infusion room by 2:00p.m. Today as I was getting ready for work and running a little late, I thought "okay it is Wednesday be prepared for it to be a rough day". Sure enough I get to work and there are 22 patients on the schedule and by 9:00 we have added three more and we are short one nurse who is having to work on the clinic side and one nurse is having to help out in the lab. So, needless to say no lunch and I really did not sit down to chart until 3:30p.m. As the day progressed we all get a little more prickly. Which is a bummer for the staff and the patients. A couple of times I wanted to cry. So, I prayed simple arrow prayers for strength and peace and a good attitude. I'm thankful that God answers arrow prayers. I emailed Robert and about dinner, because my feet were killing me and I did not want to face cooking. Robert, Megan, Drew and I got to go to Mexican at Theresa's we had a good time laughing and talking. (the margarita helped me attitude and my feet) Then we get to community group and once again God lifts my spirit and blesses me with Himself in the midst of our community group. So, though I am tired, and it is way past my bedtime, my spirit is lifted.

Pink and brown scrappy heart.

Yeah, the "scrappy heart" is finally quilted and bound. This is a fun pattern. The colors in this quilt reminds me of a box of chocolates. I have two more smaller quilts in this pattern cut out, 12 squares this one is 36 squares. One is blue and yellow and one is red and white.

Notice the faithful dog wanting to be in the picture as well.


A little closer shot.
A picture of the quilting. It is swirls and hearts.

When your son is a cool chemistry major nerd....

...this is the kind 0f shower curtain that they want in their bathroom.

Not boding well for real summer.

Enough said.