Pearl

You know the saying if it fits it ships! We we aren't quite sure where to ship her to but she does fit.

Pearl, is a special kitty, we adopted her almost 2 years ago after I lost my 14 year old calico, Patches to bone cancer.
I have never had a cat like Pearl... Pearl was a little over 3 months old when we adopted her, she was small for her age and had health issues when she was younger. I understand they almost lost her several times before she finally got healthy enough for adoption.....guess she was waiting for me to decide. I lost Patches in August and wasn't sure I wanted another cat so soon. We were only going to look, when I picked her up she rolled with her belly up and began purring...that was it she came home with us. Pearl will still roll over and show you her belly, she loves a good belly rub. Sometimes we jokily call it her pull my finger position......if you get my meaning. I have to watch what foods I feed her she sometimes get a tummy upset.
Pearl knows no stranger which is kind of unusual for a cat. Any stranger or guest coming into the house gets the exposed belly and that please rub my belly blue eyed look. If your a woman with a large bag, you better keep and eye on it or Pearl will be inside of it exploring to her hearts content in no time. After she gets done exploring all the contents of your bag she then decides its a good place for a nap.
Pearl may have been tiny when we got her, the vet said she would be a small cat. Well something happened because Pearl comes in at a whopping 14.9 pounds these days. Mollie, my Yorkshire Terrior only weighs 5.5 pounds! So yeah! My cat is bigger then my dog! LOL! Don't tell Mollie that though she is the boss and Pearl knows it. LOL! They do play chase from time to time and it is a funny thing to behold.
Pearl loves boxes, hench the reason she is in the box in the photo, doesn't matter what size the box she HAS to get in it. I once tossed a freezer bag box in the floor when I was busy packaging fibers. I heard a strange noise a little later only to look and there was Pearl with her head in the box. If a new box comes in she has to inspect it throughly, although she knows if it has stuff in it she has to wait until I empty it before she jumps in and makes herslf a fort. LOL!
When she wants to be feed she walks up to you and reaches out with her paws and lovingly pats you with her paws.It always amazes me that she can do that without her claws coming out. It is a soft gentle pat and then if she is really wanting attention all 14.9 pounds of her will jump up into your lap,OOOHHHF! LOL! Pearl is a special cat! Just ask anyone who has met her!

more updates

Well the floor jack guys came on the 14th (Happy Valentines) after they cancelled  the 13th because we received a inch of snow over night. PLEEEAASE! For crying out loud the roads were clear! So these guys call at about 8:45 and say they are on their way.........at 11:45 they called to say they were in our town.........at 1:00 they showed up at the door ready to go to work.
Now we have been working on this project since late September of 2011, OK! We got bids from several companies all with good names and reputations, including this one. We finally settled on a company in November after we got all the bids in from the other companies. So since mid November we have been moving out of the house. You have to move completely out so they can drill holes in the cement floor and jack the floor back up in place.
Then in late November I went to the doctor to check on a bleeding problem I was having......he took a biopsy then and there and said, "Mrs. Thomas, it looks like you might have cancer!!" You can only imagine the thoughts going through my mind...... He called the next week to confirm his concerns.....it was cancer!
Well here is where it gets even more twisted, the floor jack guy said he could get to the floor the first of  December.......then he changed it to January and then we got it in writing for the 13th of February. The doctor thought I might be in Stage One endometrial cancer but wanted to remove it as soon as possible. So the surgery was scheduled for mid December.......hold on not so fast says the Oncologist who was to assist, I want to go on vacation! So the surgery was put off until the 27th of January. Are you still with me!!!
So we rented a POD and began packing the house in anticipation of having the floor jacked back up and getting some renovations done around the house. This meant things were being made for the etsy store as well as packing and moving boxes. Dale of course still has his day job and Josh was working days and going to school. Things are getting made for the etsy store but much more slowly then before...
Now for the next twist.....I have high blood pressure and take medication for it which is keeping it in check. I went in for pre-op testing I flunked two of the test....one was the EKG and the other was something in the blood was too high (kretone levels) never can spell that word right. Sooo the surgery was cancellled.....only no one told my doctor!!! I was told by the lady who conducted the pre-op testing that she would give hi the results only that didn't happen. I was also told I would have to go see a cardiologist and my doctor would make that appointment for me..... one hand washing other!!! Anyway I waited 2 days and decided to call my doctor to see what was going to be done about the surgery and the cardiologist. He had NO IDEA what I was talking about!!! He said he would call me back, within 15 minutes the phone rang and I had a appointment with a cardioligist the next day. Now the doctor also told me HE had not cancelled the surgery and it was going on as scheduled. The day I went to see the cardiologist was also the day I was supposed to begin drinking the "GO JUICE" you know the stuff that makes you go so you are cleaned out before surgery. I was told to wait until after I saw the cardiologist........she ran all kinds of test and said there was nothing wrong with my heart, some one had made a mistake. So I go home drank the "GO JUICE" and prepared for surgery the next day. The next morning I had not been allowed to drink anything the day before and could not drink anything after I began preparing for surgery.....so I went in dehdrated! It took them almost 2 hours to find a vein to place the IV fluids in...... After poking both my hands, feet, bend of my arms, wrist and shoulders, and not finding a open vein.....they kept collapsing. They gave me some gas and put me out, they then cut into my right shoulder and placed a cathader in a vein there.......it stayed there until I was ready to leave the hospital. Everywhere they tried to find a vein was bruised and some places are still sore.........
The suregery was "challenging" as my doctor would later tell me...but with the removal of the uterus he aslo removed all of the cancer. I do not have to take radiation or chemotherapy.........miracles do happen!
OH! Back to the floor jack guys.........Dale and Josh had to finish the packing and getting things moved out of the house. The floor jack guys finally showed up at 1:00 and began drilling holes......immediately the floor began to crack, first one the another. I told Dale I didn't like the looks of it.......I had a place out in my converted garage for me to go rest and sit while all the noise and mess was going on in the house, so I mostly stayed there. They spent two and a half days on the house and made all kinds of messses of which they didn't clean up. The base boards are all a mess the walls are filthy and I can't do anything about it. I am still under doctors orders not to do any lifting, or moving, or cleaning of any kind. They jacked the floor up about a inch...it needed 3 in some places.....and then said they couldn't do anymore for fear of busting the cement even more..... Well then why didn't you stop sooner!!??
So now we have to find a cement guy to come fill in the cracks and mud the floor!!?? Have you ever antisipated something so bad and then had it to go terribly wrong.......then you know how we feel.  Dale and Josh are sleeping on mattresses on the floor I have the only bed which isn't mine and is very uncomfortable. We have most of our belongings packed in a POD in front of the house....... We can't move back in until the floor is fixed and new carpeting put back down. In the mean time Dale are Josh are painting the walls and ceiling in the their spare time...........and I sit here wishing I could do something to help......

Updates on what is going on around here.

Well, I went for my pre-op testing yesterday and so far so good, surgery is scheduled for next Wednesday. For those who don't know I have been diagnosed with endomertrial cancer.......hopefully stage one. The doctors won't really know until they get inside.......

The move with the house is still going on as planned, this will be my last weekend to help pack stuff up. We have to move out of the house so the floor jack people can fix the fallen slab of our house. The outside walls are fine it is the inside floor that has fallen. So we have spent 2 months slowly packing the house and its contents into a pod. Then they will spend 3 days to fix the floor and we will spend 3 months moving back in.......or longer since I won't be allowed to help. I have always been a better supervisor anyway. LOL!

That is why we are so slow to get things into the etsy shop right now, Dale is working on inkle looms at the moment. He has found he likes the Ambrosia maple and as long as we can get it we will use it for the inkle looms. He is also going to make a floor inkle out of the Ambrosia maple and Walnut.  He will work on spindles when he gets caught up on Inkle looms and shuttles.

Joshua, is back in school (college), working part time and still making support spindles and other items for the shop. Speaking of support spindles he was recently asked to submit a spindle to be critiqued for a book a lady is writing on Supported Spindles......so he will be mentioned along with his spindle in the book......more on that later.

I hope you have all found us on the ThreadsthruTime Ravelry group if not go check us out. We are a very friendly if somewhat laid back group. You can watch the shop announcements for soon to be listings on spindles, fibers, inkle looms, and all of the other items we make. Hope to see you there.......

What a year it has been!?

What a year it has been from record snow to record heat wave and then earthquakes  all in one year. In Oklahoma we rarely get more then 15 inches of snow all winter long, we had that much in one day this last winter. Then we had record rains and then no rain when we really needed it. The temps in the summer can go up to 102 for a few days and then drop back down into the 90's. This summer we had temps for up to 115 degrees and stay in those 100 degree temps for weeks. We had very little rain and we saw drought conditions as bad or worse then in the dust bowl days of the 1930's. Then we had record setting earthquakes, now I have felt a jiggle or two in my time but not the shaking that this produced and the noise and it was only a 5.1 earthquake small by most standards.

Then to top it off I had to have a hernia removed in February and then while recovering, I dealt with my 80 year old mother who had to have thyroid surgery. To make matters worse they found a blockage in her carotid artery and we had to have extensive testing done for that. Mom lives 2 hours from us in a very small town. Her doctors are all in Tulsa, 12 miles from us, so she stayed with us for nearly 3 months while all the testing and finally the surgery was done.

Things began to smooth out and we began planning on doing some remodeling in and around the house. We got the roof done and we are waiting our turn after the earthquakes to get the floor jacked back up. It had actually been falling before the earthquake but I'm sure it didn't help it any. Then we got the rug pulled out from under our feet........I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer. I am in stage one or so the doctors tell me, we won't really know until I have surgery the end of January. Seems like during the holidays the doctors like to take vacations and spend time with their families. On the flip side I just want the thing out of there and for this to all be over with.......

We will be closing the etsy shop for a week from December 22nd though to about the 27th to spend time with family. We will again close the shop the end of January when I have surgery for about 2 weeks while I recover from surgery.

We want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, and  Feliz Navidad.
Thank You for supporting us through this last year and we look forward to visiting with all of you this next year. We have opened a group in  Ravelry called funny enough ThreadsthruTime, come join us for a chat and to see shop updates.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass;
its about learning to dance in the rain.

Something new for me...

I have been learning a new trick, I always thought it was just plain weaving but apparently there is a little more to it. The ladies at Mirrax looms have been giving on line weave alongs and I have been participanting in them when I can. Want to see what I have been doing........

The top two are bracelets and the bottom one is going to be a sampler........I am learning quite a bit and having lots of fun doing it. It takes my mind off of other things going on around me....more on that later.

Listed four new colors and one we haven't had in awhile.....all are in mediums. We now have a ThreadsthruTime group on Ravelry go check them out when you have time..........

The new colors from front to back are Field and Stream....left middle row is Sunny Skies and Dakota. In the back row from left to right is Earth and Sky and Agate.

horrible things happen!

Most of you know I have chickens, ducks and geese and they are part of my passion. When life throws me a curve ball I go outside find a spot in the shade and watch my critters. In a matter of moments I can feel the days frustrations fade away if only for a little while....
So imagine my horror, when early in the morning as first light was hitting the grass, I let my little dog Mollie go out for her morning romp and saw a dead goose and feathers all over the place. Then over by the rabbit barn I heard a strange dog bark........ohh!! my God!!! I got Mollie back in the house threw my clothes on as I ran screaming through the house for Dale and Josh to get up, we have strange dogs in the yard. We are not strangers to other animals in the yard but we do take extra precautions to maintain our fence line. Once outside we were accosted by barking and growling dogs in our own yard, and the fog was rolling in......
Oklahoma, is in a bad drought one like most of the younger then the 1930's crowd has only heard of, we haven;t had rain in a couple of months not a real rain. The night before we had a thunderstorm and I guess it spooked a lot of the animals. Our own cats ( we have 2) ran and hide under the beds, Mollie stood and barked at the sky light every time lighting flashed or thunder boomed. The angora goats hid in the barn as did Jax the herding dog.......so they were witness to nothing.
 Probably, the two dogs that dug under the fence were just trying to escape the storms wrath. Once the storm was over and daylight found them in a strange yard with all kinds of feathered animals just waking to the daylight hours, they decided to give chase. They killed in all 2 full grown Chinese geese (Hank and Hun), I will tell you about Hank later. They killed 2 of my Old English Call Ducks, 2 are hurt, and the other 2 flew over the fence into the front yard. We think the two hurt ones will survive, the two in the front yard gave a loud call when they heard us and were shooed back into the back yard. My beautiful, Gold Laced Cochin Bantams are all dead. I have raised these chickens for 20 years so we go back several generations. They are my pride and joy, Joshua won many a ribbon with at Fairs and 4-H shows with them. I lost them all, 20 dead chickens and not a one was eaten. I found one still alive under a thorny old rose bush and 2 more are missing.
I had 9 young chicks in a separate pen, with a cover on the top, the dogs tried to dig under the pen to get to them but did not succeed. I have them at least to carry on the line, next year I will find some more to go with them. It doesn't bring back Hank and Hun, and it doesn't diminish the fact that I have lost so much. We spent the rest of the day cleaning up feathers and burying or attending to the wounded. I'm not a crazy person I just love my animals. The chickens lived in a barn with a heater and a fan, they had heated water in the winter time and a light that came on to give them more daylight hours. My rabbits live in a barn with heat and air-conditioning. The goats also have a swamp cooler and heat lights if they are needed. I pamper my pets all of them..... they have clean bedding, hay and grain and it is a lot of work.
I was sick most of the rest of the day, literally sick, throwing up and upset stomach.....today I am just sad. My yard is empty...........no honking geese, or quacking ducks, no chickens scratching in the grass. The cats got to go outside for the first time today and even they seem to sense something is not right. They usually stay outside awhile and play but they came back in the house with me after I checked on the wounded ducks. I don't know what else to say.....I'm just a big gooey glob right now...........


We will try to get some work done out in the wood barn later tonight........