Two Quilts and a Bunting

Jake's Quilt

More on Mental Health: Addresses to Listen To

I am so helped by listening to online talks while quilting. Here are some on the topic of mental health which may be helpful for you, whether you have these challenges yourself, or are seeking to understand better because of your love for someone else. I have listened myself to those by Jay and Dawn Fox and Alexander B. Morrison , and I heartily recommend them.

Here is the link to the search page.Type mental illness in the search box, and you should be taken to a list of talks, which are available in several formats.

Discussion of Mental Illness: a Link

If you can spare half an hour or so, and are interested in understanding better the challenges faced by our family as we struggle with bipolar disorder and depression, please read this transcript of a televised discussion by some experts in the field of mental illness. There are some good insights to be gained.



One of the discussants composed the music for this hymn. It says so much about how I feel, and how I am sustained through difficulties. I hope it blesses you, as well.

Where Can I Turn for Peace?

Where can I turn for peace?
Where is my solace
When other sources cease to make me whole?
Where with a wounded heart, anger, or malice,
I draw myself apart,
Searching my soul?

Where, when my aching grows,
Where, when I languish,
Where, in my need to know, where can I run?
Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?
Who, who can understand?
He, only One.

He answers privately,
Reaches my reaching
In my Gethsemane,
Savior and Friend.
Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching.
Constant he is and kind,
Love without end.

(Hymn number 129,
Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
1985.)



Thanks for caring.

Holiday Greetings!

The secret is out. We are a family of dancing elves. See here.

Nell's Own Quilt

Sewing Closet Update

Another good thing about having my sewing machine in a closet is that I can hang things from the built-in racks. It's nice to have a place for strips of fabrics just after they have been pressed.

Simple Wooden Toys

FarmBoy and I chatted a bit yesterday about memories of the best play times we had as children. The discussion was initiated by his witnessing my tossing away of three empty (plastic) thread spools. He related that some of his best memories of childhood play were of the imaginative sessions he and his playmates had with leftover wooden thread spools.

Today I saw Soulemama's post about similar play, and I was delighted. Her musings so reflect my own feelings about toys. See her blog here.

(By the way, my own favorite play memory is of a time my cousin Randy and I filled empty soda- pop cans with sand and raced them down makeshift tracks we created ourselves in the dunes along the coastline of Washington state. [Pop cans are not as nice as wood, aesthetically speaking, but we were deserving of points for recycling.] Nothing from my childhood kindles lovely memories like those of a day spent in soft gray sand with the ocean's rhythmic roar in the background.)

Pasta Salad Made Easy

Thanks to Nokiomi (not her real name, but a very cute one) for posting the recipe for one of my favorite things to eat. And thanks to Kate for creating it. See it here.

Regarding George S. Kaufman

I was encouraged to hear the following via an NPR broadcast Friday, on The Writer's Almanac:

It's the birthday of the playwright George S. Kaufman, (books by this author) born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1889), who inherited a terrible case of hypochondria from his mother. She wouldn't let him play with other children, for fear of germs, and she wouldn't let him drink milk either. The only beverage he was allowed was boiled water. By the time he was an adult, he was terrified of being touched and he never shook hands. He was so afraid of dying in his sleep that he often didn't sleep for days. He once said, "The kind of doctor I want is one who when he's not examining me is home studying medicine."

But despite his quirks, Kaufman managed to cowrite more hit plays than anyone else in the history of Broadway, including Animal Crackers (1928), Strike Up the Band (1930), and You Can't Take It With You (1938). His various partners through the years all said that he was a meticulous rewriter and polisher, that he was never satisfied with a script even up till the last minute. Even on the most triumphant of opening nights, he could always be found backstage, pale and terrified that the play would be a flop.

It is encouraging and touching to me to hear of artists I admire who suffered from mental health challenges. How inspiring that the author of the play from which my favorite movie was adapted struggled as he did, while becoming a blessing to so many.

Bayside Quilting

FarmBoy drove me to Olympia today, and while he listened to the Husky-Cal game on the car radio, I visited a new-to-me quilt shop called Bayside Quilting. It is my new favorite place. They had lots of fabrics like these, which I love. In fact they had the most amazing collection of 1930's reproductions, and just about everything else I could have imagined. What a treat!

If you can get to Olympia, Washington, I highly recommend you visit this shop. It is at 225 State Avenue (pretty close to the side of the bay).

Update for Kate's Sake

Jake's Quilt Progressing

Oleo Spread

Love in Blue Quilt

Wuzgonnabee

Here is the Wuzgonnabee Jake's Quilt, with the stack of squares for his new and improved quilt on top. The first quilt just didn't turn out well enough to leave the family, so I am remaking it: same fabrics, same design, more experienced quilter.

Rose Hips

I wish you could see these bright red rose hips in person. They are so big and beautiful this year. (Nice that big and beautiful can be used to describe hips, no?)

Neighborhood: November!

Spring Pallet Patchwork Spread

Healing in Patches

"Depression is not due to an unwillingness to accept responsibility, fears of coping with reality, laziness, cowardice, or weakness. It is an illness. To be sure, there are things you can do to make yourself feel better or at least stop your depression from worsening. . . . Distracting yourself in a positive manner means seeking out, and engaging in activities that keep you busy, give you pleasure, and help keep your mind off your pain and anguish."
---David J. Miklowitz, PhD, The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide, page 217

It is no small matter to me that I can get up in the morning and find this on my quilting table, waiting for me to turn it into something warm and useful and beautiful for my home. How thankful I am to be able to quilt.

Coolest Cake Ever

Check out this cake.

Don't you love it?

Lotsa Bobbins

I love having a big spool of thread for sewing my quilts, but it doesn't fit as-is onto the posts on my machine, so it tends to jump off and roll across the floor from time to time. I bought a new spool last evening, and this time I am going to transfer the thread on the tube all to bobbins. I can then feed the thread on my machine from a bobbin on the top post, as well as from the bobbin on the bottom. No more flying spools. This may make sewing a little less exciting, but more efficient, for sure.

Beauty

Here are some of the most beautiful shots of fruits and vegetables that I have ever seen. ( I happen to think that fruits and vegetables are one of the most beautiful creations ever!)

Thanks to Jane Brocket, London, England.

Two Videos to Inspire You

My husband sent me this link to clips from, of all things, "Britain's Got Talent." To my delight, these little videos absolutely made my day. I plan to watch them over and over again, to lift my spirits. I suspect that you will, too. See them here.

Sunshine Quilt

Strip of Squares for Jake's Quilt

The Lamictal Rash

My daughter got the dreaded Lamictal rash. During her fourth week on a Lamictal starter kit, she was putting on moisturizer one morning and noticed two small purple blotches on the underside of her chin. Since she was due to visit the psychiatrist in a couple of days, she continued the Lamictal until her appointment. From day to day the blotches made no change whatsoever. At the doctor's advice, she stopped taking the Lamictal and switched to Depakote. The rash was completely gone in a couple of days.

It's good that there are options available. The Depakote seems to be fine. Now I'm on Lamictal myself, week two, and I am carefully watching my skin.

Scott's Quilt

October at CloudCover Cottage

Whacky Fun

Need ideas for something to do with your friends? Check out Kiki's activities here.

Identified

After four sessions with a PhD Psychologist, the diagnoses are in: I have bipolar disorder and AD/HD.

I'm glad to have that part completed, and to soon begin medication and therapy. Stress plays a huge factor in my symptoms, so I am looking forward on learning how to better deal with the parts of my life which are beyond my control.

If anybody knows of a book out there titled something like How to Parent Your AD/HD and Bipolar Drug-Addicted Adult Child When You Have Bipolar Disorder and AD/HD Yourself, please let me know where I can buy it. (Unfortunately, I don't think that such a book exists.)

I am thankful for informed and kind professionals, for modern medications, for books and experienced others, and, especially, for a loving God who hears and answers prayers. I have great hope for a shining future. I'm on my way.

FarmBoy's New Quilt

A Marsh Morning

FarmBoy and I took our Saturday morning walk into the marshes again this morning, and we were delighted to find a path we had not been on before. As soon as we stepped onto it, we realized we had disturbed two little brown rabbits. One darted immediately into the bushes alongside the trail, but the other scurried for many feet down the middle of the path ahead of us, in full view. I am pretty sure that was so that we would be certain to acknowledge that he was sporting a truly fabulous and unusually large white tail, which was worth risking all to display.

Before turning around at trails end, which was a sidewalk and a road, we breakfasted on wild blackberries, which were growing so high as to look more like a blackberry tree than a bush. Then, on our way back from where we had come, we were surprised to realize, in the lowest-lying part close to the marsh, that we were walking among numerous shiny yellow-green frogs. There must have been hundreds of them, thumbnail sized, springing like popping corn for several yards, among the tall grasses on either side of the trail. We walked ahead single file, with our eyes fixed on our feet, to be sure we didn't step on any of the little guys.

Back in the woods closer to home, we saw a tiny squirrel, gnawing away on a nut as he perched on a tree branch. Nothing surprising in that, but a joy to witness all the same.

Health Update

So, what is my life like these days? Here is a little of it. I have wanted to post something about this for a while, but couldn't figure out how to do it just right. The bottom line is that in getting help for my daughter's depression, it became clear that both she and I have bipolar disorder. We are both being seen by a psychiatrist and a psychologist, and we feel very hopeful about getting healthier in the days and years to come. (After all, we didn't just get it, we have had it, and will now get help.) Anyway, as I am pretty mind-numb just now, my daughter agreed to tell you what having bipolar disorder means for her. (I am sure I will have more to say in future posts.)

Here she is:

Uhh.. okay.
Bipolar, for me, is a fluctuation between four different things: a depressed state, a manic state, an anxious state, and a "normal" state. Then there's also differences and fluctuations in physical, emotional, and mental energy.

I'm pretty sure my mom and I are fast-cycling in our Bipolar. For three or four days we will have a baseline of one of the four states. Then within those days, there are other, maybe "mini states" that happen. For example, I'll be feeing a baseline depression, a manic state on top of that, and have low physical energy. I think I go through three different cycles within a day. Usually normal in the morning, anxious in the afternoon, and manic at night. Depression just likes to turn up whenever it can.

I have no idea if I'm explaining this well. Umm..

When you're depressed, you feel hopeless. Everything looks dark. You can't possibly feel happy, and when you do, it's extremely short-lived.

My manic state is usually what people would consider "hyper". I have fast moving thoughts, and I'm generally pretty perky. I laugh a lot. The downside is that I am agitated. I twitch and move a lot. I'm also quick to anger and I lash out without thinking.

Anxiety is just that fluttering, scared, unsettled feeling. I guess that could be part of manic, but it gets so extreme for me, I put it in a different category.

And normal. ♥ Normal is when nothing is really taking you over. You are generally in control of your emotions and impulses. When I'm normal I'm at peace and pretty happy.

A couple weeks ago I had a baseline normal state and I'd go through mini cycles throughout each day, but life was much more manageable. I'd feel anxious, but it wasn't overwhelming.

I guess the big sucky part about bipolar is that you're REALLY overwhelmed by any type of emotion. It's like you're feeling it as strongly as you possibly can, and there's nothing you can do about it.

I'm on a medication called Lamictal. It helps to keep my lows and highs at a less extreme level. Instead of constantly switching above or below the line, swinging like crazy, I can stay pretty close to that happy medium.

But I guess.. even though I'm feeling bitter about it today, bipolar is also a really cool thing. Since you experience all type of emotions and fatigue, you can really empathize with other people's problems. I think there was also some study that bipolar people are more likely to be creative, but I don't know about that.

That's enough. I tried, mom.

Wall Hanging Revisited

I got the wall hanging back and quilted it with quilting thread. I am renaming it. It is now Ethan's Quilt. I feel much better about it.

Never Give Up

Sans Auto's post today has a link to one of the most moving videos I have ever seen. Proof that things are never hopeless, when there are others who care (as there always are). Follow the link to the video here.

A Favorite Quilter and Mommy

I just love Amy (and her little Bea). Here is her latest post, with a great new quilt to love.

Fairly Inspired

The Texas quilts are in the mail. FarmBoy and I visited the Western Washington Fair in Puyallup yesterday. We ate scones and checked out the quilt displays, and I couldn't wait to get home and get started on this next project.

Conviction

Bryan posted a very moving passage from a book today, about a young man who stood by his convictions in spite of intense persecution. Perhaps you will be touched by it, as I was. See it here.

The Texas Quilts are Finished

Homemade Crunchy Wheat Cereal with Flaxseed

I have been making my homemade cereal with flaxseed added. I simply make the cereal, as shown here, but I stir in a couple of cups of flaxseed meal before the final baking. When the cereal has been transformed from a "cake" into "nuggets" by the blender and are on the pans ready for the oven, I pour some whole flax seeds into the blender and let it whir them into meal, which I then stir into the nuggets before baking. It works great and the flaxseeds are a very healthy addition to an already healthy treat. I eat a cup of the cereal with yogurt every morning.

Inspirational Decorating

Jane Brocket continually amazes me, and now she has shared some photos of her beautiful home. Wow!

Three Shirt Quilts

This is where I have been lately. Whenever I have had a moment, I have been working on these three quilts, each pieced together with different shirts once belonging to FarmBoy's father, who just passed away. I made one for each of my husband's siblings, and hurried to get them finished in time for his sister's visit from Massachusetts. Tonight we all shared a meal at a brother's home, and I surprised the family with the quilts, which were tied and laundered in the knick of time, just this afternoon.
As shown in the close-up, I left labels on some of the shirt pieces, and used the buttons from the shirts to embellish the spots where the quilts were tied.

Fun Stuff

Here's a link to Allsorts for a silly name-generator game. Have fun!

Sweets in the Air

I love September! The weather here is perfect. Today as we took a morning walk, a breeze rustled in the leaves of the trees, making the most calming of music. But the highlight today was the smell of the forest. Something happens in September to make the air smell like spun sugar at a country fair. Except, this sugar is colored gold.

Collection Complete!

Today my husband gave me the sixth plate (upper left) to complete my collection of Villeroy and Boch Cottage salad plates. I am delighted to really have all six for my very own! Thank you, FarmBoy!

Grandpa's Funeral

Grandpa's funeral was this afternoon, and it couldn't have been nicer. He had a military farewell, here at the Tahoma National Cemetery. He will be buried very close to my dad, and we were able to put flowers on Dad's grave today, too. What a blessing to have such a reverent and beautiful place for our fathers.

Grandpa is Gone

Grandpa passed away early Monday morning. What a blessing that he was here on Father's Day, as were relatives from far away. How we cherish this four-generation picture captured that last time we were all together. Rest in peace, Grandpa.

Two Quilts in Progress, Texas Bound

The Newly-Painted Walls and Such