HaPpY HaLLoWeeN!

Carter's first Halloween
Here he is wearing the costume I made for him.
I agree... he's the cutest Lion Cub ever!

Deja vu... I've been here before

Almost exactly a year to the day in fact... I'll be going in for my second VATS procedure. The metastatic nodule in my right upper lobe refuses to stop growing, and the doctor's agree it's time for it to come out. Since last April, I've researched all of my options and surgery is still considered the best bet.

I have total faith in my Surgeon. He told us the 3 options that he may have to do once he's in there. Best case: a wedge resection to get the nodule with clean margins, 2nd: a Segmentectomy, taking out the posterior section of the upper lobe containing the nodule, and 3rd/worst case: a lobectomy, removing the right upper lobe.

I'm hoping and praying for "best case", worried and anxious about "worst case". We take for granted our quality of life. Breathe in... breathe out. Walking, running around, playing tennis and golf. I'm not an athlete, just a Gal who likes to stay fit and have some fun doing it. The recovery may take a bit longer this time I'm told, but I'll be back doing the things I love to do. The most important things... like holding and carrying my grandson will be my first goal.

Another battle in the war against cancer. I plan to fight and win.

creating memories

I have really enjoyed getting back into sewing and the fun things you can create. My latest project is the costume I made for Carter's first Halloween... here's the almost finished progress:

and here it is with the cuffs and legs finished:

and on my cute baby model:
He loves having a tail!
That was the "fitting" and it fit perfectly. I did end up tweaking the hat with a bit more "mane" to make it more lion-like. Besides the trim, I added two strips of fur loops that I made out of the furry fabric I had used for the tummy.
Now he really looks like a lion cub, right?!

Carter modeled the hat at Gymboree class today. It's way too hot in there though to wear the entire costume. He'll debut it all Thursday at his playgroup Halloween party!

The best part is he didn't even mind wearing it!
I can't wait to see him all dressed up on Thursday, maybe even with a bit of face paint?!

I loved expressing my creativity and making it for him!
And... I love that I'm a part of his first Halloween memories!

when the girls were little...

... I would always make their Halloween costumes. Three little girls and countless Halloweens equals a lot of costumes. Some that stand out to me are... Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, a pink poodle, robot, mummy, stuffed pumpkin, clown, ballerina, space girl, a Christmas tree all decorated, Santa's Elf and a boxed gift Package (sister costumes). So fun!
Well, with this being Carter's first Halloween I just had to make his costume. His Momma chose a lion, so a lion costume I'm making! Before I totally finish all the details though, I want to do a fitting tomorrow. Then, all it needs is elastic and Velcro.

This is how I started... I didn't have a lion pattern (because... I waited for the patterns to be 99 cents and the lion was sold out. So... I adapted a mouse pattern with smaller ears, a tuft on the tail and added a mane). I found some trim on mega-sale for the mane!

I may add some longer loops on the back of that mane,
I just want to see it on a cute little head first!

Boo!
Baby C will have a fitting tomorrow...
so stay tuned for more photos and the cuteness that follows!

Roooaaaar!

pumpkin picking

I pick this one!

My little pumpkin!

fall projects in the making...

We've got a few projects in the works at home, all at the same time. Now, we just need to find the time to start and finish them!
We cut out all the white wood balusters and are replacing them with wrought iron. I have the new ones in the garage along with a new blade for the chop saw to cut metal, and the epoxy to set them in place. We're going to try the install ourselves, knowing that if we run into trouble I can call "the man" to do it.

don't fall through!

I sent this chair and ottoman below out to be reupholstered. I want a professional job and didn't want this to be my first attempt at re-upholstery! It should be back any day now, oh boy!

And... the best for last... we are going to re-do the kitchen! My cabinets are ~20 years old and a bit dysfunctional for today's modern cooking. I wrestle to get the pans in and out of the small door openings, and I could use more accessible storage. Because of this, we decided to go for new, modern, oh so functional cabinets. I'm choosing a warm stained finished to warm up the room with our limestone floors. We'll keep the same layout, and my appliances are all fairly new, so we won't replace those, just hopefully put a panel on the dishwasher.

And... for the corner where I currently have my desk, I think I want to add a wine bar!

It will add even more storage, give us a wine fridge, and also be a great feature for future resale value. I'm thinking something like the two photos on the right. Don't you just love it!
I'm most excited about transforming this space.
I'll keep you posted. Hopefully, we can start on the balusters soon.
I just have to stay off the golf course,
which is sooo hard with the beautiful fall weather we're having!

can you actually be "golfed out"?!

I think I am after this week... 2 rounds on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and a final fun tournament on Sunday. Whew... fun yes!, but I can say I need a break from golf. I won't golf again... until Wednesday!

We played a couples strokes and string tournament today

... alternate ball after the drive.

I was the "party planner" and chose pink and green for the theme.
The favors were koozies and the prizes were 3 different sizes of
Tervis Tumblers
Here are the smaller 3rd place prizes, pink for the gals and green for the guys.
I had the tourney date put on the back.

It was an absolutely beautiful day...
everyone survived, and all marriages are still intact!

This photo is from our Friday/Saturday girls tournament. Do you love my knee socks? I did! The perfect layering accessory for a cold morning... later in the day I striped them off when it warmed up. I just may have to make this my signature look!

taking a two day break from golf...
my house could sure use a bit of attention!

fun times...

golf, tennis, more golf, and babysitting my sweet grandson... what could be more fun! My partner and I won our ALTA match today (we are undefeated so far this season), and our team took 3 points against the first place team! Golf Wednesday was not a stellar round for me, but golf does have it's ups and downs for sure. Somehow... we keep comin' back to the challenge! There's a 9 hole championship tournament at our Club tomorrow and Saturday that I'm participating in. I wanted to see how I would be under the "pressure". And... Sunday, we have our couples GalPal and Guys 2010 Tournament, always a good time. A golf filled weekend.
But tonight I got to babysit Carter. He is so much fun! I love his sweet baby smiles, and his sweet baby talk, and just everything about him! Grandchildren are all what they say they are!
I have no photos of golf or tennis, but I have plenty of pictures of Carter... so here, enjoy the cuteness!

stress is exhausting... isn't it?!

I keep very busy. I was especially busy last week into this week, mostly doing the things I like to do. I even managed to ward off the typical "scanxiety" I get every 3 months before my impending CT scan. My loving family, beautiful weather and good golf helped that tremendously!

Yesterday's test was actually better than my usual because they were just doing my chest and not a pelvic too, so I didn't have to drink the 2 "yummy vanilla" Barium shakes. The benefit was: no havoc reeked on my digestive system. Thank.you. I did have a mammogram too though, which for me is always a long drawn out thing. In a second time to the machine to get squished, a sonogram thrown in just to be sure, and only 1.5 hours for all that. Makes the half hour CT scan seem like a breeze!

I got the results this afternoon. The lung nodule that we are watching is still growing, and is now up to 12.5mm (consistent growth of ~ 2mm every 3 months). But the good news is... there are no new ones to worry about. I am sooo relieved about that. I know sooner or later that I'll have to have lung surgery to take out the one that's growing, but for now, I think the doctors will say "watch and wait" like we've been doing. I see my Oncologist on Friday.

the battle wounds when they can't find your vein

So... ahhh. A good cry and a release of emotion to get it all out.
No more stress! I'm riding on the good news!

I love this game!

Of Golf! Somehow, I made it through the summer heatwave of "schwetty" golf, where we'd come in after just nine all damp and glowing. This summer was sooo hot, hard on the players and the course, they had to close all the greens in August so the grass could recuperate.
But... It was all worth it... now we're being rewarded with perfect green grass, beautiful sunny skies and warmer than normal fall weather. Great golf weather.
I've wanted to break 100 for awhile now and had given myself until the end of the year to make it happen. This week I.did.it! I shot my two best rounds ever. I shot a 98 on Friday!
When you have a goal, it's always on your mind. When we started play on Friday the first two holes were not my best, so I said to myself... "your best will just happen, you can't plan for it". So I relaxed and enjoyed the company of friends and just played. When we added up the scores, I was a bit shocked, I hadn't been keeping track. But, my chipping was dead-on and my putting good too. It's definitely the short game in golf that determines your best score.
Today I golfed the front nine with hubby and friends and the back nine with just hubby. My front 9 was another PB, a 44! Yikes! 5,5,5,3,5,6,5,4,6 = 44.

This time my putting was the ringer! I was making 10-15' putts! But then the back nine started badly, and I lost a bit of energy and ended up with a 52. But still, a total of 96 for 18!
Maybe... just maybe, I've finally become "a golfer". Wow... let's see if I can keep this up! (fingers crossed xxxxx). It's definitely a challenge and it keeps you coming back!

a great distraction too!
helps me to forget about my 3 month scan tomorrow

sew... what's new?

When we painted the great room at the Lake house green a few weeks ago, I decided it would be good to add a bit of that green around the room. This weekend I sewed new curtains for the door and a valence for the kitchen sink window. close-up of wall color and fabric

the finished door curtain

adding contrasting tabs to the stripe for the sink window

the finished valence

both curtains together with the green walls

The white behind the sink is an "Anaglypta" wallpaper I put up years ago.
It looks like the design on old fashioned tin tiles and is on all the walls in the kitchen counter area.

It was a gorgeous fall weekend here in Atlanta, so I sewed with all the doors and windows open, enjoying the fresh air as if I were sewing outside!