Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

We sing this every Sunday. I have been guilty of singing it without even thinking about it. But today I am pondering those words carefully and what they mean to me and my family.

I am a very blessed woman. Three weeks ago, I felt blessed, but today everything is different. The list of people I need to thank and can never make them understand just how important that they are is unbelievable.

Im uncomfortable, but that means the surgeon got it all.I have a pile of dishes to do, because so many have fed my family.

Blew a hole in all record cell phone and text usage, because so many reached and wrapped their arms around us via their words and calls.

I have learned first hand that people want to and will help each other.

Over the next few days, I'll be here posting blessings and thanksgivings. Starting here with MARYANN AND JEN V. You have no idea how badly I want to hold these women close to my heart, cry tears of love and celebration with them and generally love them back, the way they have loved me in the last few weeks.

And The Man at my Address, who even went to get the prom dress. He has been right there thru all this, from hearing that CANCER word dropped rather casually from the docs mouth, to bringing me one more cup of tea. He has even learned the right tension to put this dang corset on. Thank you so much -

This was scary and quick and I am just now finding my way back, but hey, we are on the way now.

Have a beautiful day - I know that I am.

Results are in!

The pathology results are back from mom's operation!

6 cm rapid growth kidney cancer, fully contained. No chemotherapy or radiation. Prognosis for a full recovery.

Is it just me, or can everyone actually start breathing again? RELIEF. :)

~College Girl

Smiling Kidney?

Mother Teresa is doing well! She has been up and awake all day and has cut her pain medications in half! So glad she's starting to return to the normal world again. Now if I can get her out of my very comfortable bed... :)

She was very excited to receive an awesome package in the mail. Probably one of the funniest (and most random) packages she has ever gotten: a kidney. Only Very Mary would think of an idea like that. Mad props. Haha.

Once again, a big shout out to all those praying for Mom! Thank you oh so much.

Oh, and for anyone who has sent her flowers... Our dining room table is now covered with them! We can't even eat at it. But it's not like we ever eat at the table anyways. Thank you for your love, care and generosity!

~College Girl

Home, Sweet Home

Mother Teresa is home and resting in (MY) bed, due to the fact that it is easier to get in and out of my bed. I guess I can at the very least sacrifice my mattress for her. :)

I have heard rumors that she is also wearing what she calls a "velcro corset without the garters", which is basically a device given to her by the doctors to keep her from bending over but to stretch her ab muscles as well. I just thought her description was pretty funny.

She is disappointed that they took away her pole though. No more pole dancing for Mother Teresa!

Mom extends a special thanks, once again, for all your support and prayers. You guys are awesome. Props.

Love,

College Girl

Mom is Rejoining the Living

Mom asked me to update maggiegrace and let everyone know how she is doing. The surgery went well, and she is in the recovery process. Other than being angry about being confined to eating jello and chicken broth, she seems to the doing alright. She has been sitting up and even taking pretty long walks down the hallway. Thanks to everyone for all your thoughts and prayers!

Love, Molly (a.k.a. College Girl)

Don't forget........

I have made this one mine. Last night I sat down and wrote a note in the front of this journal. A note to my friends and family. Not a morbid note at all. See I am fine. Gonna be anyway. I am so very appreciative of every call, every meal, gift, visit, on an on. And, just like everyone else, I say "I'll never forget what you did for me." But I also know that time erases details from our memories. I know that in the next few days, there may be visits or calls or actions that happen without me being fully aware. So I have asked my family to keep this book available for my friends and family - to leave me notes, funnies, whatever. I have added drawings already from my Sunday School kids. I have listed "special angels" who have stepped forward and made things go smoothly. I have printed emails that touched me. (Ellen Kelly - lady you rock.) This will be my touchstone, my reminder of those who helped me carry this challenge. It will be a record of those who danced with me in this particular show. Whatever this book becomes in the next few weeks, starting it and adding the few things I have already added, has shown me just how blessed my family is.

I learned years ago to focus on those blessings, and this will be a fabulous record for those blessings.

Til after this calms down.

Have a wonderful day. ---- Teresa

a finished WIP

And when I looked at this just now, I realized that this is a great phrase to claim this morning.

The Georgia Theatre Art Quilt Project is approaching final call. MaggieGrace has suddenly been sidelined with an unexpected CANCER timeout. Well my surgery is Friday and this needed to be finished just in case, so last night I perched on the sofa (like the Queen that I am) and finished it.

My artists statement includes phrases like repurpose, recycle, mixed media art, explore new ways to use normally toss away materials and I have lots of that stuff. (Most people would call it JUNK)

I took a broken record album - no need for those anymore. and printed a guitar shape and the RISE AGAIN phrase out.


I glued it to the album from the back and cut out the shape with the words attached. I love my dremel. Note - this part has been complete for quite some time. I liked it all black, but then, digging thru the stash, I found some lightweight aluminum and decided to feature the GA. Cut the letters and using old print blocks from my buddy VERY MARY, I textured those letters just a bit.

I printed the Logo from the theatre website and relabeled the album.

What I did last night was sitch down my "light show" fabric, add the studs to the background, and USING some E6000 adhesive, glued the cutout down.

Now - I gotta dig in the boxes to find something I JUST KNOW I HAVE. Years ago, I was given a guitar pick by a guy who had all of his printed "timmy on the bass". Lets say I have had my party years, because I really can't even remember what he looked like. But anyway, I know I kept that and I think it is in a little watch box in the stash somewhere. (Go ahead only you other craft stash people understand that). I want to attach that to the smaller lightshow patch. But the thing can be finished just like it is.

A MaggieGrace update. The stress level is high. The emotion levels are high. The area around me is loaded with land mines. I am positive and upbeat 98% of the time. But approach during that other 2% and the trigger sensitivity is increased. Enter at your own risk. Unfortunately The Man at my Address stepped on one of those this morning. My apology was as immediate as I could do it, but I sure would like to be on the other side of this quickly. I have things to turn over that I do automatically, its hard to remember what they are and who to ask to cover it.

Soccer tonight - pre op tomorrow - surgery prep Thursday - Surgery Friday - Full day from hell Saturday. Anyone interested in switching lives with me right now?

Have a great day --- T

light duty until

eta - Surgery is scheduled on Friday morning. April 16th.


I am at work. STOP ---- THE DOC SAID I COULD.

I cannot lift anything heavier than a coke bottle. I had a few things to tie up. So I am taking care of those. The emergency bleeding is over - so now we will proceed at a little less stressful pace. They will schedule an OR and a team to remove my left kidney.

I will post the date here.

You guys are great. The support from all the world has poured in. I am so appreciative of every comment and every prayer.

Now I shall confess -- MaggieGrace - Teresa - SHE IS SCARED. There - said it - fessed it up - move on.

They are 98% sure this is cancer. A word I refused to bow down to 14 years ago. A word I refuse to bow down to now. Only now I am stronger. Surrounded by better people to support me. While I am sure there are going to be pity party moments in the next few weeks, I know they will pass. Please bear with me.

I will try to post thru the process and will for sure be back as I recover. You may get random posts from those around me. Although I am a little concerned about how giving some people access to this blog could affect what you guys think of me LOL.

Again I thank you for your support -

I hope you guys have a blessed day.

from my hospital bed

I am a blogger. So here we go.

It is quite possible that I have cancer. Kidney cancer. The scans for the stone issue indicate a mass in my left kidney.

I am in the hospital and looking at surgery within a few days.

Needless to say, MaggieGrace goodies may be in short supply.

Please pray.

Running commentary at my facebook. Teresa Atkinson.

a post with no pix

An update of sorts. There is no kidney stone. More than likely wasn't one.

When the xray tech shakes her head. And the practitioner shakes her head. And the doctor shakes his head. Changes are good the soon to be occuring discussion is not gonna be pretty.

There are details that follow this that are medically graphic and pretty much gross..... Consider yourself warned.

I got up around 2am to pee.

Urine stream stops abruptly.

Urine is bright red with blood.

There is no more pee coming no matter what.

phone call doctor - they work me in - 2 hours in waiting room - NO DAMN STONE. Add to this now - they don't take my insurance. Discuss with money people, decide to see doctor and pay this out of pocket.

Add monkey tail (catheter) I get to keep it until monday. Bright red blood. Look at images - nope - NO STONE.

Blood culture - urine culture - tests for abnormal cells (the "c" word) Treat it right now as if it is a serious infection. Teach me care and feeding (just kidding) of monkey tail.

For now - I am uncomfortable - monkey tail is larger than the tube so the constant urge felt to go. Then there are tubes acroos my stomach and down my leg to a bag full of still bright red urine.

The last thing the doc said -- relax, go about your business as normal, have a good weekend, see you monday?

Is spitting the phrase "yeah right" an appropriate way to end that conversation?

Me and monkey tail are headed to concession duty tonight, senior night stuff tomorrow night, and then west georgia college on Saturday for volleyball. Sunday School on Sunday - then maybe answers on Monday morning. Oh and here I sit at work.


YEAH RAH -----

The newest color trend

There is a new color trend here in the south. Houses are being covered in it. Cars too. I have even noticed some floors and furniture this color. Last night, our black lab, Licorice, was in on the color change as well.

Its a bright, chartruese (sp?) almost flourescent yellow green color.

Sherwin Williams, Valspar, Behr all call it the same name ----- POLLEN.




The normally black bumper on my boss' car.

There is no sticky left on this spider web. Look closely - the poor little spider in the middle may starve, all he has captured is pollen grains. When you look across the landscape, even the air is yellow, hazy, almost as thick as fog. (that's Earl and Sugar in the picture)

A slightly different view of the web.

Last night I crocheted squares together on my little granny blanket. After bootcamp. My blue shorts were coated with a granular yellow. My dark green tshirt too. You can even fell the grainy texture on your skin. Nasty.

Happens this time every year. Tomorrow the weather men are predicting rain. And for a few days there will be less of it in the air. Welcome to springtime in Georgia.

Have a wonderful day.

WIP's

I've got several things started. I've got a list of items that people want. I've got a list of "house" things I want to do. So the next couple of weeks are gonna be WIP finishes.

I AM ALSO NOT ADDING TO THE STASH. Hoarding a kidney stone and all that other crap in my studio is bad enough, so this project will be my focus one for right now. (the afghan I spoke of yesterday is the travel project, so I kinda don't count it.)

The great big bag of yarn that the Easter Bunny brought also included these..........


A big pile of granny squares. I am not adding to the stash.... repeat.... I am not adding to the stash. So I grabbed a vinyl tablecloth and flipped it over, to make a tacky (as in sticky) design surface and went to the front porch on Sunday evening. In the sun. Yummy. I arranged these in a random (kinda) pattern.

The problem with these is that they came with lots and lots of tails.

Have I mentioned that I hate to weave in tails? I hate it enough that I always weave mine in as I go, because I can tolerate one at a time much better than bunches of them. But after I spread these out, I sat in the porch glider and proceeded to turn those tails into this..........

A little pile of ends. I am about a third of the way finished. I will be making a small "baby" sized granny blanket out of these and three skeins of worsted weight yarn from the same bag. The blanket will go with our church mission team to Mexico. No stash hoarding. I'll be updating you as I get closer to finishing this.

Also on the target list is my quilt square for the Georgia Theatre Project and Soccer Senior Recognition night materials.

Have a wonderful wonderful day.

happy hooking

Wonder how that's gonna affect my search stats.

Thrifted and free yarn normally enters my life in bits. Tangled knarly bits. I'll dump it out and clean it up then add the small bit to my scrap basket.

But sometimes the Easter Bunny is really good to you. Softball Princess came home from soccer on Friday afternoon with a big bag of yarny goodness. And I do mean goodness. Look. Entire sleeves of lustersheen yarn. The purple and orange are really not my colors so I'll be making market bags from them. But that neutral varigated in the back ----- MMMMM. This is from the stash of a lady at church.

So while that is patiently waiting on the corner of the dining room table, I am trying to rid the stash of this bag. Two ply herschnerrs afghan yarn. Some full skeins, some pieces.

I cram a few skeins into my travel bag and at ballgames and other waitings, I add a few stitches. College Girl had her wisdom teeth cut out this weekend so in the waiting room and then at home all weekend, I stitched. It's a quiet activity so I didn't disturb her. (The boy was there most of the time, so I didn't have to do too much. He has been very good to her.)

I posted about crocheting on my facebook and Dana asked what I was working on. This will be a scrappy blanket. The kind we toss in the car for bleachers and ballgames that go on into the cool of the night. It might find its way onto the sofa or a bed - never know.

There is no pattern here. No plan of attack. When I get to the end of a skein, I tie on another and keep on keeping on. That purple you see there - is about a 20 inch little part of the row.

We have several of these floating around. Made by my mom. All of us grab one from time to time and love them. It feels good to snuggle under - by yourself, with somebody, or occasionally the random animal.

While I can read patterns, this is not one. I crocheted a chain until it looked good lengthwise. Double crochet in each chain, chain three, turn, back and forth, mindless, meditative work. MMMMM.

I'll post a picture of it when I finally finish. Meanwhile I got a couple of WIP's that need my attentions this week. More on that tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day.

(College Girl is fine. She's back at work this morning. Still tired and sore, but well on they way to being back to norm. )

Thank you thank you thank you.

Cell phone picture snapped during the happy dance last night.

Those yellow roses were on my door steps yesterday with a card that says....

"To celebrate you, 50lbs lighter, and to bring some sunshine into your day to take away the pain:) Love, Me"

Oh ME - I love you and your gesture of kindness and friendship has just blown me away.

I did celebrate - I danced - I giggled - I am so blessed and I recognize that.

Oh ME - did I already say that I love you.

(Besides all that the flowers did for me. Have to say a large part of the celebration was over the look on the Man at my Address face. :) LOL)

I hope your days are full of fabulous surprises.