Pics to Share

Here is one picture of the "faux outhouse" toolshed down by my garden that my hubby and daughter built me for Mothers Day. See if you dont agree its pretty cute! The little wagon was my stepsons when he was small, my hubby pulled it out of storage and helped me fill it with flowers!

This picture is the view of my garden and toolshed from our living room window.

The area I took my recent nasty fall in was the slope behind the toolshed just to the right of this picture.

This pic just gives you some idea of how loaded all my pepper plants are! The one on the left is a purple bell pepper and its already as big as my fist. The plant on the left is a hot pepper plant and its so loaded with peppers its leaning over!

This pic shows you a cluster if roma tomatoes. These are already as big as golf balls and still green, they will be big pear tomatoes for sure!

Miracle Grow is a wonderful thing!

These pics should give you a tiny idea of why I love my garden so and why my leg injury has really "rained on my parade" this season! But on the bright side, my non-gardening hubby is learning how to tie up tomatoes, and water plants, and do all kinds of things he never thought he could do in the garden. He is the best!

Now hopefully I can preserve and freeze these veggies this summer while using my walker or wheelchair!

Love to all and thanks to everyone who has called or stopped by to see how I am doing, I appreciate you more than you know! Also thanks to all who have stopped in and checked on my sis while she is manning the shop solo the past few days! You are all the best!

God Bless!

P.S. I popped in to the store for a few hours weds afternoon and I hope to do the same again today! Come by and say hello!

The Saga Continues...

Oh my where should I start...having spent the last 5 days with my leg and ankle trussed and immobolized and on pain meds lets just say my sense of humor has taken a serious hit! Even getting up and sitting on a small rolling desk chair to manipulate myself in and out of the ladies room has been pushing my limit for amusement. Although my hubby gave me a card that read on the envelope to the "Desk Chair Racer"....and inside it had been "doctored" just enough to make me laugh out loud, ok so that helped and he brought me a single long stemmed red rose too. Nice man considering my hateful disposition the last few days somtimes I think he should try for sainthood!

So today was the big "orthopede visit"...da da da da...... my sis came out to help me dress, dont laugh its hard to stand on one leg and pull up ones trousers....its seriously complicated not to mention very damaging to ones modesty..... anyway she helped me get dressed and then I scooted on my backside (another shot to the dignity) to the steps leading into the garage where I crept along ever so wobbly on a pair of crutches to the car.

After arrival at the orthoclinic the staff informed my sis that their computer was down and they couldnt access the xrays the hospital had emailed over and could she go to the hospital and pick them up....sigh...well that was a bit complicated and time consuming but she managed to take care of it quite well. Meanwhile I sat in a wheelchair in the office with a woman who had broken both legs in a fall, a man who dislocated his shoulder and needed surgery from a fall and a young man who broke his foot in a fall on the beach....geez tis the season for falling I guess.... on the good side I got to watch Tiger Woods on tv win the sudden death golf match! He has a knee injury too, he and I have so much in common, lol well we doo...I mean we are both athletic, ok maybe not, ummm we are both incredibly smart, well umm ok maybe not that, err um ok ok we are both cute there ya go thats it!!! LOL

So once I got back into the examination area I saw two PA's and the DO... all extremely nice and caring all manipulated all asked tons of questions and all came to the conclusion that the ankle injury while way totally nasty isnt broken, just a very high sprain with ligament and tendon pulls up into the leg, (and only a small percentage of these require surgery to repair) which right now they are attempting to structurally support with a "walking boot"... it pumps up like the old Air Jordan tennis shoes. I am allowed to try a wee bit of weight on it on crutches or the walker but must go slow and be careful because... Doc says if any of the walking makes my knee hurt the tiniest bit Im off of it totally until after surgery....the boot is extremely heavy and the sole is very thick which makes it thicker than any of my shoe soles on the other foot very ackward to move in....

The knee news...well lets just say its not so good, they think I tore my MCL and damaged my meniscis and I have a ton of arthritis behind the knee cap to add insult to injury. They are scheduling me for a MRI of the knee and the ankle just to be sure, but they feel strongly that I will need surgery on my knee to allow it to heal properly...sigh...surgery???? surgery!!! Oh man I so didnt bargain for that!!!

Physically I will do what it takes to rehab this leg and get back on my feet but it will take a lot more mental prep to get ready for surgery....sigh...The big guy will have to hold me up on this one.....I get weepy just thinking about it...

I will say one thing I have a total new appreciation for anyone with a disability temporary or permanent that impedes their mobility. Trying to get in and out of the bathroom, up and down steps in and out of doors on crutches, in a wheelchair or on the walker have all been difficult.... Cant imagine having to deal with that every day of my life. My hats off to anyone that does. You are strong so strong and now I will look at disabled no longer as disabled but different- abled......stronger in so many ways!!!

Well hopefully after a few more days of some gentle stepping with the boot and the walker I might get to come hang out in the shop a bit! I miss all my friends and I miss the shop! Say a prayer for my family who have just been so supportive in helping me get around the last few days, this thing isnt over until the surgery and recovery are complete!

Thanks to all who have called! Im still kickin...just not with the left leg.......

Dad didnt name me Grace for a Reason

Ok so I decide after my sister and nephew came over for dinner one night this week that I am going to walk down to my garden and water a few new transplants that look parched, sounds simple so far right?
I get about half way down the slope towards my garden and the realization that the grass is dew covered and I am in slick shoes hits about a miilisecond to late as I am airborn for a brief moment and then am dumped by mother nature ever so uncermoniusly on my back with my right leg bent out and upward behind me and the ankle twisted in a peculiar angle ...ouch...ouch...ouch.... my poor husband was out of sight at the top of the hill when he heard multiple @%*%##&* expletives coming from me ...sorry pain makes a person say bad things....he came running only to find me splattered all over the ground halfway down the slope. As my knee bent backwards behind me I heard multiple pops cracks and rips and I knew I was in trouble. By the time my husband got to me pain and nauseau were overwhelming... I managed to roll abit onto my side and grab my leg and pull it back to where it should be, also loads of fun!

After a few moments of getting my bearings and calming down my husband brought a chair out of our garden "faux outhouse" shed and set it up and managed to semi carry me to it. I outeigh my poor husband some 50 lbs so this was no mean feat for him. We then called my son who is an EMT to come and check me out. My daughter was on her way to be part of the whole carnival also! My son arrived and observed the swelling and distortion around the ankle and the swelling and discomfort around my knee and recommended an ER visit to Thomas Memorial Hospital.

Since my son is a big man thankfully outweighing me by some 70 lbs he picked me up in his arms and carried me to top of the hill and our driveway. Kind of emotional realizing I once carried him that way in my arms when he was a little boy!

At this point my daughter arrived after nearly hitting a neighbors horse who was running loose in the dark on our country road.... hey if you have been reading my blogs you didnt expect things to be normal did you? The guys loaded me in the car then my son went home to look after his sick lil toddler while my husband and daughter took me to the ER.

Well the trip to the ER was painful on the leg but the two clowns in the car tried to entertain me. We arrived at 11:30 p.m. and finally left at 5:30 a.m. I was seen by what seemed to be a very good doctor and was given pain meds (ask the family how goofy I acted on the trip home) and a knee immobolizer as well as an ankle immobilizer was applied. I felt like a turkey trussed for thanksgiving! I am to see an orthopede within the next few days and stay off the leg in the meanwhile...sigh.....and possibly will need surgery to fix the damage.

But on the good side, the blessings of my family- my son for dropping everything and coming to triage me and get me moved to a safer area, my husband and daughter for spending the night in the ER with me and coming home to help me at the house...my parents driving 40 minutes one way just to check on me last night and bring me a graham cracker pie from TOPSPOT restaurant (mark that as one of the things you must sample before leaving this earth), and my sister Terry who is now singlehandedly running the shop, doing all the paperwork and just keeping everything going until I can get back! I love my family!!! They are all such gifts from God!

I hope there are people in your family that you consider gifts from God too!!!!

I will try to keep you posted on my recovery! LOL and the adventures the rest of my family have in dealing with it too!

Love to all,

Deb

June???? in the 90"s???

Geesh! Its hot!!! Way to hot for any June I remember....Whats July and August going to bring if its in the 90's now???? My garden has grown like crazy! Between the rain and the heat the garden thinks its in its own little greenhouse and the plants are jumping out of the ground! I have peppers and tomatoes as big or bigger than golf balls and a week ago it seems there were only blooms!

I have some unique plants, black bell peppers, purple round hot peppers, pink tomatoes, yellow tomatoes and other unusual veggies. I like to grow some of the normal expected varietys, roma tomatoes, green bell peppers, cabbage then add a few different ones to make it interesting.

Today I worked in the garden between bouts of sitting in the shade sopping of the perspiration and flooding myself with bottled water. I moved some "volunteer" seedlings that came up on their own from cast away peels and seeds from last years crop. I also replanted four plants we lost for one reason or another, and then fertilized and trimmed succkers from the tomatoes... Gee in spite of the heat I did accomplish a few things outside. Of course my bright red skin is now paying for the day spent in the sun...such is life....

As soon as I can get them downloaded I will share garden pics....yeah I am excited about my little patch, its therapy to me to just go down there and hoe and weed and let my mind rest from my hectic days....then I sit in the shade of the lil "faux outhouse" and admire it.

Tomorrow my sis and I plan to move some things around at the shop, kinda change up some displays and create some new vignettes. A lot of our customers get ideas on how to decorate their homes just by veiwing some of the ways we display primitives and acessorize them in the shop. Plus we enjoy the "playing house" aspect of moving things around and redecorating. It will be an enjoyable day beating the heat to be sure.

Prayer Requests-

On a personal note please say a prayer for my friend Deb Hodges and her son Seth. Seth is now taking part in military heat training in preparation for being sent to Iraq. I can only imagine how my heart would feel knowing my son would be going to Iraq. I know with our prayers she will feel Gods loving arms around her and Seth as well.

Update on JL - He and his wife Lu are in Boston seeking treatment for his mesothelioma and they are experiencing some rough spots. He had some infection after a biposy procedure which has him hospitalized out there and his strength has to build back up before they can come home. Please keep his health and her strength in your prayers. There is much love in that family and right now while they are in Boston their daughters are back here with their grandmother so the seperation is hard on the family as well.

I wish you all a great week! Come see me in the shop soon!

Only a Quarter

Today I received a story by email that I have to share.

It's called "Only a quarter".....

Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston, Texas. Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area.

When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, "You' d better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it."

Then he thought, "Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as 'a gift from God' and keep quiet."

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, "Here, you gave me too much change." The driver, with a smile replied, "Aren't you the new preacher in town? I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday."

When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, "Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter."

Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is a really scary example of how much people watch us as Christians and will put us to the test! Always be on guard and remember that you carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself "Christian".

Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Wow! How simple yet profound is that???? Something to think about for sure!

Today in the shop was another busy hectic but sooo fun day! It seems the busier the days get the kinder the customers! One would think it would be the other way around....but when we are really swamped and busy customers just wait their turn and smile and we all laugh and joke and have a grand old time! What an amazing change from my former business experience in the 8-5 world. In that old world time limits were short, demands were great and everyone was impatient. I am so glad God opened a window for me to leap through!

Today Tammy our dollmaker was in for a visit and to bring me more lil darling dolls that need temporary foster care until their new family finds them! There were some more different types today that I would bet wont be in the "doll orphanage" to long!

Tammys brother Terry brought us an amazing bluebird house on a rustic log today! It is so perfect! And sooooo heavy! Someone will fall in love with it and take it home very soon! I think we now have him hooked on creating items for the shop too! LOL its like an addiction, once you experience the shop and its atmosphere you somehow just want to be part of it. You laugh but I actually had a customer today say she loved the feeling she had when she walked into the shop for her first time today. She said it felt like you were visiting someplace special and not just shopping. I am sooo glad she shared that with us and sooo glad we made her feel that way! Thats how we want folks to feel, like they are home....

Met a cousins wife and daughter today for the first time. My cousin Mike and I havent lived in the same state until recently and his wife Lora and daughter Kayla are very charming. Kaylas cute lile freckled face so resembled the face I remember on her dad when we were kids. I am soo glad they came in and they introduced themselves. Hope we can get to know them better!

Other friends like Lisa (I should call her a sister???) stopped by today. Some just to say hey and some to explore and buy new things for their homes.

Danny one of our furniture makers also stopped by with some adorable churches and saltbox house for consinging. They are all rustic and handmade and they all light up. Tooo cute! He says he will bring a load of candleholders and such next! Yeah! Cant wait!

We had another small shipment of greeting cards to arrive today and another special shipment of stock is due tomorrow! What a great busy fun exciting exhausting week we have had!

God is good! Tomorrow should be another fun one!!!!! See you then!

Daylight and Dark, Blessings and Changes

I have to start by laughing about the last couple of days and just how different they have been. Yesterday it was stormy, the electric went off and I was forced to close the shop early. Also with all the rain coming down the warehouse in the back of my store had surface water pouring into a hole drilled in the wall by maintenance guys to run new water meter lines. So yesterday was a little hairy to say the least and when I closed the door and locked the shop to go home last night I was concerned about what I would find when I opened this morning.

This morning when I opened the power was back on, the water had subsided in the basement and just some puddles stood where a few inches were running yesterday. But the telephone was not functioning because one of the extensions had been under water. This was quickly fixed by my wonderful hubby and all returned back to normal. Then two big shipments came in one before we opened, one soon after, leaving my sister and I to scramble to get them unpacked, priced and on display for customers to enjoy, all the while helping moms and das shop for their childrens school teachers! LOL some of our adventures today were just plain fun! There was the nice lady and two very nice boys who wants some special handmade items for their teachers as well as their school nurse who was moving away. We were able to handpaint some peices and personalize some as well as provide then with pleasing special gift bags to put their treasures in. I know we made some new friends there because the parent "tipped" us when we wouldnt let her pay for the gift bags and included them gratus. What a nice gesture her tipping us was. Its so nice to be appreciated. But even nicer to know we made some new friends there!

There were so many new people in today! Quite a large number in fact! I wonder if our new advertisement in the Metro Putnam helped with any of that? I know that someone in the gift shop at the local hospital sent some new customers to us today and we thank you whoevere you are! We meet the nicest people when our customers refer their friends and family to us! We appreciate that more than they can know! Word of mouth is our best advertisment!

We received a great old farm table and some great old primitive chairs today and sold one of the chairs not long after it arrived! So many of our really nice antique and vintage items come from friends who keep their eyes and ears open for us! We are so grateful for this too!

Today a dear friend has almost finished building our very first ever webpage for the shop at www.countrygatheringswv.com. She has been working full time, going to graduate school full time online and ohhh did I mention she has three tiny boys, a husband who works shift work and keeps and immaculate house all at the same time while building our webpage? And she is a spunky little redhead who always manages to make me laugh every time we chat??? I am thankful for her friendship too!

Today was another blessing from the man upstairs! God is so good to us! And we do our best to honor him and share his blessings with all we come in contact with!

Come see us soon! You will enjoy the visit!

Confessional

Wow I feel like I should be in a confessional...Its been 30 days since my last blog! Yikes! But life has been sooooo busy! I have planted and started babying an amazing 900 square foot garden! It has lots of tomatoes and peppers of all kinds (for salsa making) and onions, garlic, melons, cucs, zuchs, squash, peas, corn, green beans, herbs and other yummys! It sure will taste awfully nice this summer fresh, and all winter frozen and canned! Cant wait to start harvesting! I go out and look at it every evening even if I am not working in it! I will try to attach some pics later.

Then the other crazy thing that has kept me away from the blog is this cute lil Mothers Day present that my hubby and my daughter let me help them build. Its a tool shed near my garden to store all the necessary supplies so I dont have to keep going back and forth to the garage to get tools. The cutest part about the tool shed is it looks exactly like an outhouse! Its painted barn red, with the sloped roof and the moon shape cut out on the door. It also has enamelware hanging on rusty hooks on the outside. Its jut way to cute! The neighbors out here in the country think its a riot!

My hubby also got out his sons little red radio flyer type wagon and drilled holes in the bottom so I could plant flowers in it and then he placed it next to the outhouse. The whole vignette is just to cute! I will attach pictures later when I get them downloaded!

Then the shop has been very busy lately, lots of new customers, some from quite a distance away as well as lots of local repeat customers! Everyone is shopping for cute stuff for the outside of the house as well as the inside. Right now we have just finished some hand made birdhouses and they are positioned right outside the shop door to catch the eye as folks drive by! They are in almost every hue in the rainbow! Some have themes WVU, Marshall, some are just bright colored like beach houses, and some look like log cabins!

And lets talk about our new sign out in front of the shop is just toooo sweet! Tina painted it and everyone thinks its beautiful! My husband set up solar flood lights on it and it looks sweet even after dark! (The picture is above.)

Family is all doing well, grandbaby just as cute as ever, and everyone buzzing around locally getting ready for graduation and my alma maters baseball team made the state playoffs so lots of craziness and excitement here since graduation ceremonies and the playoff games are both this weekend! Go Bison!!!!!

Please on a personal note put the Toney family in your prayers. They are friends of mine, and the father JL is dealing with just getting the news that he has a form of mesothlioma.The family needs all the prayers, love and support they can get!


Dont forget to stop in and see us soon!