...that life is going to slow down...it keeps throwing punches! With my full time teaching assignment coming to an end just before Christmas, I thought...after the Christmas and New Year's Holidays, I will be able to do 'my thing'...meaning of coarse, spending time quilting and getting back to blogging.
Well, things didn't work out quite that simple. Just before Christmas, we got news that my MIL wasn't doing well and needed to have surgery. To complicate things...she lives on the family farm in a remote area of Norway. She was taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital and then transferred to a bigger hospital due to her situation. She ended up with 2 surgeries and after a good time in the hospital, was transferred to a nursing facility near the family farm. News did not sound good as she was very weak and on many medications. To further complicate things, my DH and I have been planning a trip to Hawaii for about a year and we were to leave at the end of January. So, a decision was made that we would make a extended weekend trip to Norway to see her.
We made our travel arrangements and the very next day, we got a call that our DD1 was hurt and that we needed to go to the ER. We spent the rest of the day in the ER with her waiting on the physician, tests, and results before she came home with us to be 'watched.' The next day she was not doing better so a call to the ER resulted in a return trip, more tests and a referral to an ophthalmologist. Then a second opinion and being fitted for a temporary correction device until her brain can heal. Yes, it was scary and she is doing better but complete healing could take a year. Thanks to our great friends that took her for a second opinion and helping out, we were able to go to Norway to spend time with my MIL.
Winter in Norway isn't the best time to travel. We arrived on time in Stavanger and my SIL picked us up from the airport. We headed directly north to the family farm only to find the ferries stopped due to bad weather. We turned around and spent the night at my SIL's place. We set off north again Saturday morning to once again find the ferries stopped. The ferries didn't start running again until late Sunday afternoon...too late to go north. My SIL was able to take off work on Monday and we headed north, stopped at the family farm and then headed to the nursing facility. We finally were able to get to visit with my MIL! It was good to see for ourselves her condition. Although she is very weak and can not get out of bed without help or walk, we are hoping she can regain enough strength to move to less than 100% managed care. It was a marathon day as we all needed to get back to Stavanger that night. It was well past midnight when we got back to the city for an early 6am start to the airport to fly home. On a positive note, we had time to visit with our nephew's and their families.
Arriving home, we had 3 days before we left for Hawaii! Packing once again and off to the airport for 2 weeks in beautiful Maui! More on Maui later.
When I got home, (to cold and snow) and finally picked up the mail (my battery was dead after so long in the cold without being started)...it was a glorious mail day! Not just one but TWO surprises from Annie! Annie is a fellow quilter, blogger and just so talented. I can't remember exactly when I started following Annie's blog (http://freezeframe03.blogspot.com/) but it has been a while! At the beginning of 2013, while reading Annie's blog, I was introduced to the 365 day calendar journal challenge. Annie's pages are fantastic but some of my favorite pieces Annie creates are her postcards.
Here is the one Annie made for me!
Isn't it just lovely! The details are amazing and the quality of Annie's work is impeccable. I did mention 2 surprises! Annie also does fantastic envelope art. She has this fantastic stamp...the Sissy stamp...that she creates with.
Absolutely gorgeous!
A mail day that put a smile on my face!
Well, all the travel and watching the Olympics when I can, allowed me to get quite a bit done on my hexie quilt (shown above). I hope to show you more soon. Thanks for sticking with me on this very long post.
