Surgery is done!

Well, my surgery is finally done! I am having a hard time being good with this one, because I'm not as scared this time. I know what I can do and what I can't. My biggest problem is that I got used to using my left hand for everything after the surgery on the right hand, and so I go for the left without thinking and then I yelp when it hurts!

You can tell that I haven't been such a good girl. Boy is that bandage dirty!

But I get to take the ugly bandage off tomorrow and the stitches will come out next Tuesday. Yay!

Before the surgery, I started a post about Pinterest. I LOVE Pinterest! It is addicting and fun and you can learn a lot of stuff there. And you can get mega ideas! So many ideas it's hard to choose what you want to do.....I guess that's why there are boards you can pin the ideas to for later perusal. Anyway, I decided to start a Pinterest Challenge for myself. Every month, I will choose something from Pinterest to make for myself or as a gift. I will show you the pin and then show you how I made it. I hope you like this idea, because I think it will be fun. So, my first Pinterest Challenge is this:

A Girl's Survival Kit. I found it on my friend LoriAnn's board and the original is here, on the Tidy Mom blog.

The pinned item was mad from a lorge potholder with a pocket on one side. I couldn't find a hot pad with a pocket, so I just got a regular extra-long hot pad at Wal*Mart. It cost me 97 cents. A bag of snack bags was about $3, and some black grosgrain ribbon I laready had. The cost of the goodies to go in the pockets will depend on whatever you put in them. I already had a lot of the stuff, so I didn't spend too much.

Decide how many pockets you want. I put twelve snack bags, 6 on each side, so the friend I'm giving it to can add other things if she wants. I lined them all up and pinned them in place. I left about 1/4" space between the two sides, because it gives more room for the stuff in the pockets. Use a zigzag stitch to attach them to the potholder.

It looks pretty good as long as your stitching is straight, but I like to cover it up anyway. I used a length of 1" wide grosgrain ribbon, cut 1/2" longer than the width of the potholder. Turn under 1/4" on each end and stitch it to the back of the potholder. Be sure to move your bags to the side you are NOT stitching on, or you will make you bags too small to hold anything.

Now it looks more finished! Add a large button on the side with no loop and line it up with the loop so your clutch will button straight.

There you go!  All finished and ready to use or give. The one from Pinterest used the outside pocket on the potholder to hold a little notebook, but I just put mine inside. At least I think I remembered the notebook????? Oh, well, she might just have to get her own.

That's enough typing for today. One-handed typing is a real bummer. I hope you liked this Pinterest Challenge, and I will be doing more in the future, so keep an eye out. And remember this.....the greatest artist was once a beginner, so don't be afraid to try everything! Until next time,

More research....

Whew! We are having a really busy time right now. My husband will be having another surgery on October 4th and he has tests and blood work and pre-op, etc. I never saw so many doctors in such a short time in my life! But, I have a lot of time to read while all this testing is going on, so I'm trying to learn some new things. I'm also getting brave enough to experiment with a few things, hence the Recipes list on the side bar. I tried a few ways to get it right, and I finally got it to do what I wanted it to. There are probably easier ways to do it, but this way works and I can do it! So its all good.
I'm also back on the diet roller coaster. Oooooh, fun. I put a little diet ticker on the sidebar, too, so you can all follow me in my progress, (or lack of, sometimes). If I get off the track, you can let me know you've noticed and send me a message to get back with the program! Keep me in line, OK?
And as for the Etsy thing, I will be exploring the Etsy scene in the next few days, or maybe a week, looking at shops and some of the best-selling items to try and decide if its the thing for me. The more I read, the more I like the sounds of it, but I want to actually look at it first. If you have an Etsy shop, let me know the name so I can look at it, and let me know how you are doing with it.

Making paper with the grandkids.
We made Tic Tac Toe boards, and they had a lot of fun. They want to do it again!

This is a short post, because I have to get back on the heating pad. My back is killing me (I think I need a new mattress) and the heat seems to be the only thing that helps. I think maybe I need to slow down a little, but its so hard to do! Gandhi said, "There is more to life than increasing its speed," and I think he may be right. So here is a slower Gramma G saying....see ya next time!