Ten Days & Counting

In ten days I will have a new left knee.

This is a short animated video of the procedure.

There are videos of the actual surgical procedure and I have watched one, but they are not for the squeamish. Still, it's an amazing procedure.

A year from now, I plan to be hiking and walking up and down stairs, among many other things. There is a lot of work for me to do between now and then but this is my last chance at greatly improved health and I'm going for it.

Here is the most important reason for making this change:

MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

And John.

And quality and length of life.

Here is the motivational Pinterest board I started. Probably trite, but that's ok. It's for ME.


:-D

"Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'...into the future..."

Wow! I had all but forgotten about this blog. It's been 4 years since my last post. Its amazing how many little spaces we can occupy on the Internet - so many that it can be difficult to keep track of them all. I recently tried to compile a list of all of my website passwords. That was a daunting task. I know I didn't get all of them. Not by a long shot!

A lot has changed in four years. The name of my blog, Daisy-a-Day Designs no longer reflects the etsy shop I had at one time or the quilling hobby I used to have.

A little over a year ago, I changed jobs for the (much) better. I still work at the same community college but I'm no longer working in the library, nor do I ever expect or want to work in one again. This was a great change that came with a significant cut in both income and stress. We turned our house over to the bank and are now renting in the far south part of town where all manner of God's creatures visit, from rabbits to hummingbirds to mustangs. Wild horses in your front yard? Not in Tennessee!

John and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary this year, too. Time passes so quickly these days.

I hope that this year - next month - will see the replacement of my knees. There are so many things I want to do and am not able to right now, going all the way from taking a real shower more than twice a month to hiking the beautiful mountains of the area with my husband. Right now it's sponge baths and washing my hair in the sink. And just walking across the campus at work leaves me winded and in pain. I'm waiting to hear from the surgeon's office to schedule an appointment.

It's hard to believe that my mom will turn 70 next year. I still picture as being in her 50s. How blessed I am to have a mother who loves me more than she loves herself.

The Steve Miller Band got it right back in 1973:

"Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' into the future..."

As Bob Ross used to say: "Bye bye and God bless."

Pampered Pumpkins

This was the beautiful display of Pumpkins at the Reno Whole Foods Market today. They definitely have the art of retail displays down pat.

Here is the picture I took in the same location last year:

Happy Fall!

Nevada City, California

John and I took a day trip to Nevada City, CA today. It is a beautiful little historic tourist town about 60 miles northeast of Sacramento. The historic district is the main attraction. It is several square, hilly blocks of beautifully-preserved buildings that now house unique shops and restaurants.

We at lunch at Las Katerinas. It was, surprisingly for a tourist town, one of the few places serving lunch at 11:30 a.m. I am glad it was, however, as the Mexican fare was some of the best I have ever had.

After lunch we strolled around, visiting various shops and a seller of rare books.

I enjoyed visiting My Favorite Things, which offers a large selection of unique and handcrafted items. Their displays are beautifully staged. I loved these large glass jars with bird-shaped knob handles. They held little birds and flowers that could be used in crafting or decorating.

I really thought about taking this little cast iron guy home. Isn't he sweet?! Maybe on our next trip. There will definitely be a next trip. I did come away with a small bag of beautiful ribbon and tiny boxes for my crafting.

Here are some shots from around town:

Beautiful produce at the Farmers' Market.
Click on the image and look at the size of those radishes!

 

 Hand-crafted baskets for sale

 Historic building with pretty gingerbread details

So, you might wonder how a town in California came to be called Nevada City. According to wikipedia.org,

It was first settled in 1849, during the California Gold Rush, under the name Nevada (meaning "snow-covered", a reference to the snow-topped mountains in the area). In 1850-51, it was the most important mining town in the state, Nevada County being the leading gold-mining county in the state. The town of Nevada was incorporated on April 19, 1856. In 1864, “City” was added to the name to avoid confusion with the State of Nevada, and since that time, the town has been legally, “Nevada City.”

We ended our day with a wonderful cup of joe at Java John's. They serve a really nice coffee out of Seattle called Herkimer. Very smooooth.

It was a lovely day. I'll leave you with a rose blooming in the front yard of a residence tucked in between two shops. Be well.

"We Do"

I have always wanted to learn how to quill script and I recently decided to give it a try. I am working on a larger version of my wreath design for a new Wedding section of my etsy shop. This wreath will be about 4.5" wide, an inch wider than many of my other ones.

I'm really happy with the way the script turned out:

Now I'm adding in the vines:

I'm hoping to get it finished and up for sale this weekend.