REPAIRS, THEN SLEEPY TIME TO SHEEPY TIME

Monday, we left the beautiful Brown County State Park in Nashville, Indiana and moseyed on up to the Camping World in Greenwood for an oil change, a new lock on one of our compartments and a new toilet.

Some of you might remember that we had "issues" with the toilet on our trip to the Southwest winter before last.  It was supposedly repaired by Edmundson RV in Taylorsville, Indiana.  Again, Edmundson let us down and we turned to Camping World for help.

Edmundson's service staff trash talked Camping World something fierce and had us convinced that their service technicians were terrible, the service was terrible, etc.  As it has turned out, almost every repair we had made at Edmundson's has needed to be re-repaired costing us thousands of dollars.

What we found the Greenwood, IN Camping World was a service driven  organization that believes that truth and honesty is the best policy! And we did not have to wait for days or weeks to have our work finished.   Kudos to them!

Tuesday, John had an appointment at Indiana University Health Sleep Apnea Education Center where he received a final review with Dr. Damien Patel who is doing his fellowship, and Dr. Shalini Manchanda.  After John was examined and questioned about his sleeping situation.

It has been about a month since he had his sleep study and has been waiting eagerly for this appointment.  Do you think he looks happy to be in their presence - finally?

The next step was to schedule a follow up appointment. Tammy took care of that business.

I looked at Tammy's identification badge and could not believe that she was the person pictured.  I do not remember how much she weighed prior to her bariatric surgery, but it was a lot.  Congratulations, Tammy!

Next, we were off to meet with Jeff Scott, a super energetic and enthusiastic Respiratory Therapist.  It is Jeff's responsibility to explain the need for CPAP.  I had no idea that the heart rate increases tremendously with sleep apnea.

A resting heart rate should be lower than when up and about,  John's heart "resting" heart rate was over the target heart rate if he were exercising!  John was at risk of having a heart attack!  Gee, can we add anything else to his list of problems?

John was given the choice of three methods of delivering the continuous positive air pressure.  The one on the left fits right above the top lip and covers the entire nose.  On the right you see one that covers the nose and mouth.  That mast reminded me of a scene in the movie Top Gun.  These two, were John's rejects.

 This is John's choice.  This has short "tubes" that fit just inside the nostril and has a "pillow" that forms a seal.

At the time, John thought that this would be best for him.  He has used this one every night and continues to have air leaks that wake me up so that I can wake up John and have him re-seat it.  John is sleeping better, but not me.  John now thinks he will trade it in for the one on the left that covers the nose only.

With both of these choices, a chin strap needs to be worn to prevent mouth breathing.

Surely there is a smaller chin strap out there!  This looks as if he has either a neck lift or a tooth ache!

On the positive side, John feels so much better.  He is less tired and his eyes have life in them rather than total fatigue.

Wednesday, was another doctor appointment!  This time John had a growth removed from his leg.  After leaving the doctor's office, we were off to Hayden Physical Therapy so John could say thank you and good bye.

Yesterday, we finished our business with Camping World and finally....I repeat, FINALLY on the road of fulltiming!  First stop?  Allegan Michigan.  More on Allegan and the Michigan Fiber Festival in next post.

For now, thanks for stopping by.  I love your comments .....   God bless!!

THAT POOR ELEPHANT....& THAT VICTORIOUS INCHWORM

You know, I hardly know what to say!  I am dumbfounded, astonished, in awe of how God has worked in John's life and death battle......


JOHN COMES HOME TOMORROW~!!!


The recovery is not complete.  He has weeks of physical therapy to get back to "normal."  But he is coming home!  


The tracheotomy is out, he is breathing just plain ole, normal air, walking without assistance.


He gets confused at time and still has some fine motor skills to work on, but wow, that's nothing compared to all that has happened to him.


He is considering talking to a therapist friend.  His loss of time / space bothers him.  I cannot imagine loosing six weeks of my life.  He talks about tulips...they are long gone.  Easter, April Fools Day, etc.  One nice thing he has missed is all this politics rhetoric! 


One thing that astonished me is how can a man who entered the E.D. / E.R. (they now call the emergencyf room the emergency department) with only the clothes on his back need two huge plastic bags of "stuff" to take home.    


We hope to stay here in the motorhome until the house sells.  We had a showing tonight...of course, no feedback yet.   


On the motorhome subject, there are some repairs needed.  As I have stayed here in the motorhome, I have had no "house" lights. The motorhome is plugged into our house electricity so I have a working microwave, electric outlets and the television....but the technician tells me that while plugged into the home power, we should be recharging the "house" batteries.  Something is wrong.  


We used Edmundson RV in Taylorsville, IN for repairs.  But if you have been following my blog for a long time, you will see that Edmundson's service department leaves much to be desired. So much that I would not recommend that you stop there for repair.  


We are going to try Family RV Rental in Whiteland, IN.  They are just south of Indianapolis right off I 65 at the Whiteland exit.  I spoke with them today and explained that John is leaving the hospital tomorrow and asked if we could park there if repairs would take more than a day.  Of all things, the technician said that he would speak with the owner and most likely they will be able to come to us since we live fairly close to I 65 (15 minutes).  


If their service and repairs are good, you will be hearing raves from us.  If not, I will tell you the facts.    


It is getting late.  I need to get some sleep!

Once again, I want to thank each and every one of you for your kind thoughts and prayers.  


The staff at Kindred Hospital all are in awe of the progress John has made!  He makes that hospital look like miracle workers!  But...........we know who the miracle worker is!  And to God be the glory!  


Without your prayers, John would still be in the hospital tomorrow.  The doctors said he would be there  until, at the earliest, the first of June...probably till the middle of June. Tomorrow.....May 2!   


Here we are at the second of May and John is coming home!  To God be the glory, great things He has done!  


Thank you to each and every one of you for your prayers for John's recovery.  I wish I could hug each one of you.  How I wish we all could have a huge cook out to celebrate.  Maybe......someday soon!  




  

Stubborn Silkworms and Frantic Fireworks

We still have two silkworm holdouts.  The third decided to start his / her cocoon last night, but we have two who totally enjoy munching on the Mulberry leaves.  I have learned to not just bring leaves to them, but I retrieve branches with leaves and remain fresh for a longer time. 

Now that most of the silkworms have made their cocoons, the next event to be on the alert for is the appearance of the silkworm moth.  These moths have lost the ability to fly since they have lived in captivity for hundreds of years....so say the scientists.  I just keep wondering if God created them without the ability of flight and the scientists are just assuming that they flew at one time. 

People take what scientists have to say as the truth.  I believe that in addition to science, there is another way than a "big bang", voila, all the species are here theory.  When I view the photos of fellow RVers and see the diversity and uniqueness of the birds, flowers, terrain etc., I know there is a Great Creator. 

Fireworks have been exploding for the past week.  Tomorrow night is the grand finale, thank goodness.  Oliver was fine when we took him with us to our local fireworks.  But here at home, he is quite apprehensive.  Tonight, as we watched a movie and the neighbors lit huge, bright, loud fireworks, Oliver sat under John's chair seeking security.  He would not even eat popcorn with us during the movie.  Poor thing.  I think that tomorrow night we should put him in the car or truck and just go somewhere so he will not feel threatened here at home. 

Rain, Please GO AWAY!

It has rained so much that we have not had a day to mow the lawn.  It is about long enough that we could cut and bale it!  The rain started a week ago as we went to Greencastle, IN for The Fiber Event.  The Fiber Event was great!  Sales were up and I met many new friends and had such a great time talking with old friends.  Dinner at Greencastle's restaurant, Almost Home was again a treat.  A great big YUM! 

After coming home from Greencastle, I taught a felting class.  The class was using a resist in felting.  When one uses a resist, they can make an object with no seams such as a vessel, mittens, slippers, etc.  This time the student wanted to make a saddle pad for one of her horses.  By making the pad by using a resist, she will be able to add padding to the hollow inside of the pad.  This project is the largest using a resist.  I was very thankful that I have the felt rolling machine or we would have been totally exhausted!

Late Thursday, Edmundson RV called and said that the motor home would not be ready for our trip to the Fiber Arts Festival in Kendallville, IN.  (again)  We loaded the truck and were on I 69 heading north.  Since we had such a late call from Edmundson, we arrived with only about an hour to set up our booth, but we made it. 

Friday, we were greeted with more rain and a cold that was totally bone chilling.  Since my silk long johns were in the motor home, I was totally unprepared for the cold and drank more hot chocolate than I had all winter!  Surprisingly enough, the die hard fiber artists came out and shopped for supplies.  I was very pleased that our sales were as much as they were and looked forward to Saturday's sales since it was not supposed to rain before 7:00 p.m. and the show was to end at 5:00.  Saturday's sales were also good and for a first time show, I was mildly pleased with our sales.    We packed up and headed home and of course it began to rain as we approached Indianapolis.  

It has rained all day and we have had a quiet, thoughtful Easter.  Our California daughter, Jojo, sent me a picture of Joshua Tree.  They are camping there this week end.  Later, she called and we talked for a wonderfully long time.  It is so hard to have a child 2000 miles away.  Her phone call made the day wonderful! 

The rain is supposed to continue all week.  This will guarantee that I stay in the studio and get some work done.  I also need to order more pottery knitting bowls and the knitting lights.  I have sold about 50 lights in a week.  They are truly a hit with knitters, weavers, and those who do other kinds of needle work and reading! 

The end of this week we will be heading for Nashville, IN and the Brown County State Park.  John will be fishing and I will be attending a 3 day crank in for owners of antique circular sock machines.  This is going to be a great time.  I have yet to make a second sock because I keep running into a problem when I get to the increase portion of the heel!  There will be plenty of people to help this newbee cranker.  So far, I have just been a cranky cranker and I plan to leave as a happy cranker! 

Wow, this week is going to be really productive!  I'm going to felt hats and vessels in the studio and then crank some socks!  What else could I ask for other than 2 dry days to mow!  Hey, maybe we will meet some campers in Brown County! 

Till next time.....may the meaning of Easter bless your lives.....He is risen! 

Discouragement & Who do You Trust?

We are to leave for The Fiber Event this Thursday morning.  The motorhome repairs on the toilet leak that ruined carpeting in bathroom and bedroom, the brakes, door and generator were supposed to be completed "in 2 or 3 days".  The motorhome has been in Edmundson's RV for 14 days and counting.  They say they will call with prices "that afternoon" or "tomorrow" and it ends up that I have to call to get estimates. 

Today, we learned that 1. since they have not called us with the estimates, the parts have not been ordered. 2.  they are not standing behind all the repairs for the damages caused by the improper installation of the toilet after the first repair (they don't want to pay for new flooring to cover the damaged areas) and 3.  This comes to another grand total of around $4000.00.  The only thing they say they will do for us is to give us a "military discount".  Big whoop. 

We took the motorhome to them for repairs due to the fact that we were totally impressed with them and their service department when we were shopping for our motorhome.  Mind you,  we just paid the $6000 in January to fix the toilet for the first time, the brakes, new door handle/lock and other things that seemed to come up that they found. 

Now, in all fairness, the motorhome was a super ride out to California and back.  We did not have to stop for one repair (did have an oil change at the 3000 mile interval).  Reading other blogs and finding that many people have to find a RV service, we felt very pleased and satisfied that we did not have a problem like that. (Other than we did discover on our trip out there that the toilet was not working properly).  I called them from California and told them and the answer was, don't worry, we will take care of you. 

So, tomorrow we are going to have a "sit down and discuss this situation" with the powers that be.  If we need to bring Mr. Edmundson into the discussion, we will.  We don't feel that we are being unreasonable asking them to replace the flooring that was damaged. 

As a result of this damage, we will also have to replace the flooring in the front of the coach, but are not asking for that to be included in their repairs.  We are trying to be as fair as we know how.... is there any input out there?  We would love to hear from you if you think we are being unreasonable, then help us see the light. 

On to more pleasant things...The Fiber Event is Friday and Saturday.  (of course, all booth set up and merchandise will have to be transported in our truck rather than in motorhome).  We are looking forward to meeting up with more vendors that we have not seen since last fall.  We started our reunions in Tennessee and Ohio and will see more this week end.

If you are in the area of Greencastle, Indiana this week end, come visit.  You will find some mighty awesome vendors, yarns, fiber and equipment there.   Till then.....God Bless

Back Home Again In Indiana

We were not greeted with warm temperatures when we arrived home.  Today, I read that the temperature in Palm Springs, CA is 85 and that reminded me of the times we were in California checking the temperatures in Indiana.  Not once did we say that we wished we were home.  Daily, we say we wish we were back in the warmth of the south west.  We are already looking forward to warm temperatures in January, February and March makes planning for next year's trip more special.

The Winnebago is at the "Dr" to have its toilet fixed along with some minor tune ups on little things.  Edmundson RV in Taylorsville, IN just off  I 65 south of Indianapolis, is quite service oriented and are taking good care of Winnie. After they finish with her, we will be putting down new flooring, wallpapering and adding new window treatments.  Our Road House is going to be "lookin gooood.

In two weeks we will be in Greencastle, Indiana for The Fiber Event.  For the first time in 9 years my booth will will be in the heated Community Building!  Oh how sweet it is.  This event is at a time that the weather is so unpredictable.  There have been nice warm breezes to rain, snow and sleet.  Two years ago we had the last three in a matter of a couple of hours.  The Fiber Arts Building has no heat.  The organizers brought in blowers but it didn't make anyone much more comfortable.

If you are ever traveling on I 70 in western Indiana and are hungry, you might want to drive into Greencastle and eat at Almost Home on the town square.  Very good food and a nice atmosphere.  Greencastle is a college town with Depauw University, so there are a few excellent places to eat.

I'm off to finish laundry, shower and to get ready for the NCAA men's basketball games.  Our Butler University, here in Indianapolis, IN are in the Final Four for the second year in a ROW.  After loosing to Duke by two points in the last second of the game, I sooo hope that our Dawgs can complete their mission this year.  Either way, we are so proud of the team.  Those are a great group of boys.  Academic All American, etc.  They are at Butler not only to play basketball, but to get a superior education.  

Until next time, God bless!  Be safe out there.....

“One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.” -Oscar Wild

Wet Felting is my passion. I love to create pieces that people can wear and feel very "special" when wearing them. Teaching classes, teaching people who appreciate fiber brings me joy and brings the student joy.

As I continue to schedule my 2011 felting classes, I think of the joy that felting has brought me and then schedule these classes. The classes can be from making a light weight, drapey scarf to window treatments. From a wonderful messenger bag to a dainty handbag ..... from a warm winter cloche to a stylish "Derby" chapeau.... from a piece of prefelt to an enchanting landscape.....

I am looking forward to teaching at the Smoky Mountain Fiber Festival in Townsend, TN in March, the Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival in south central Indiana (20 minutes south of Indianapolis) in June, then at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in early September.

All these classes as we travel in our RV....the "roadhouse".... While in Indiana, we can either camp at the Johnson County Fairgrounds, or stay at our "bricks and sitcks" 5 minutes away...guess where I'd rather be.....no contest....Anyone want to purchase a home on five acres with two barns and ready for horses, etc?

Gentlemen, Get Ready to Start your Engine!

With the holidays over and the hardwood floors installed in the house, we are a few steps closer to leaving the Indianapolis area and heading on to warmer country. The Motor Home is at Edmundson RV, located in Taylorsville, IN for it's oil change, brakes, new water closet and a few other minor repairs to make our road trip worry free, (we hope) and more comfortable. Since we are new to this lifestyle, we are learning new things every day as we read the blogs of those more experienced. Oh, what a learning curve!

As of today, our first stop will be Savahna, Ga. Then on to Florida to watch the launch of the last space shuttle. Once we have experienced that, we are off to Gulf Shores, Alabama to meet up with family for a day or so then to New Orleans. After that, it is off to California to visit with daughter #2. After this, we hope to spend time in south west TX before heading home for the Smoky Mountain Fiber Festival in Townsend TN March 18 -20. From there, we head to Bowling Green, OH for the Black Swamp Market Day on March 26.

During all this time, we will be stopping off at antique shops and yarn shops seeking our dreams. We dream of any fiber related item, and John, also, of coins. Since I have discovered the antique circular sock machines and knitted my first sock, I'm on the look-out for more sock machines. Oh, my gosh, what fun the sock machine is....and when good at it, I will be able to knit a pair of socks in an hour....did you hear what I said???? AN HOUR!!!! Holy cow! I'm on one pair of socks I started knitting at the Michigan Fiber Festival in August of 2009! These sock machines were popular in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many were sold or given to people to knit socks for the soldiers in the war. Now, these machines make socks that exceed the quality of any sock made in China or wherever.

John has started weaving on his birthday present I purchased at the southern Indiana Fiber Festival in Corydon, IN. He is learning to weave on a rigid heddle loom. I have a 4 harness loom, but he wanted to "start small" and work up...He's about to get hooked!

The drawback to this trip? My niece, who is more like a sister (6 yrs diff), is having total knee replacement. I wish I could be here to walk through the experience with her since I had my first TKR 12 years ago and my second 4 years ago.

Enough for now, but as the "blast off" date grows closer and arrives, there will be more.

quote of the day: "Success if the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." Winston Churchill