Where Have I Been?????

Can it possibly be since September since I've been here??? I guess it has. I planned to keep this updated once a week but since September life got in the way. Now things are finally the way they are going to be for a while and I plan again to update once a week. I have been busy to say the least. Instead of going back to September I'll just go into the last few weeks and tell you the latest fiasco.......

Well my poor mom ends up in ER with appendicitis at age 72. I guess she just couldn't wait any longer! Well ER doc checked her and told her they'd do the surgery that night and she'd go home the next am. Then the surgeon came in and said he wasn't sure it was appendix becuase her WBC were so very high. He keeps her in overnight for OBSERVATION................Loads her up with morphine and says he'll be in to see her at 5 am. Well the morphine zonked her out. He shows up at 10 am and the darn thing had BURST!!!!!!!! SO MUCH FOR OBSERVATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She than ended up in the hospital for 9 days of pure hell. They also diagnosed her with COPD which we knew something was wrong. She had lost a lot of weight and was under 90 pounds and very frail and had trouble breathing but would not go to the doc. Well seeing her so sick when I never ever saw my mom sick was really really hard. She was so embarrassed and shameful and guilty and talked to me and said it was all her own fault becuase she smoked for over 50 years. I tried to talk to here that in her day and age in the 50's everyone smoked. Well she should have known better. She was so very sick. After about 9 days they sent her home on oxygen for full time for 3 weeks. She hasn't been out of the house and she is very unhappy being cooped up on this O2 and hates it. Her being the Christmas person that does all the cooking and entertaining she didn't have the energy to do anything. So for Christmas Eve I did the traditional Clam Pot Pie so we didn't miss a beat and Christmas dinner my brother Todd did the turkey, Nina his wife did the bread/potatoe filling and I did the sweet potatoes. Dad did the veggies. We didn't miss one thing this year. Every thing went perfect. I think it all gave us an idea of what she goes through every year preparing all this stuff. Now we have New Year's Day with the Pork and Kraut which I think I'll be doing. (Can you tell we're PA Dutch????)!!!!


So that was the recent fiasco. There was so much more. There was a period of loss I went through and I am happy to say I am now through it and even though it seems awful at the time in the end it's a lesson and you learn and realize that it leaves you feeling so much better and blessed that it happened and the loss it well...................lost! If that makes any sense, it probably does to many of you. Time heals all wounds and it took time to understand why and see the bigger picture and now I can honestly say I am blessed to have these people in my life move on and now I can reach a newer calm and contentment. Life is difficult. Sometimes choices are hard but it's worth it to sieve through the sand to find the pearl.

So now I'm back hooking, knitting, punching and trying to balance all three. I am going to a gym now 3 times a week too so that's hard finding time. I need to try to find the balance. I enjoy the gym though. I go with a good friend and we work hard and then get in the pool and just relax and talk and laugh and have fun.

So with that being said I would like to wish everyone a wonderful, joyous, happy and healthy new year and hope 2009 brings you all the blessings you wish for. I will try to update weekly and show you what I'm doing. Much more pics of the family and pets and friends and what I'm doing. I don't sit much anymore. I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and have a wonderful safe Happy New Year. Blessings my friends.........................Cyndi

Give Aways Galore!!!!!

Hello my dear friends. Sorry I have been away so long. Way too long. Life has just gotten in the way of blogging but I plan to be back very very soon. Sooner than you think so keep your eyes open. I have lots to show and lots to talk about.

First thing I want to say is that in the groups I am in there are so many generous caring ladies. There are give aways galore and one of them that is really special is from Terri at http://www.thistlehouseprimitives.blogspot.com. It's a beautiful penny rug that is just gorgeous and made out of an old army blanket. Go take a look. You won't be disappointed. Until I get my act together here, give me a chance to get on my feet and I'll be back with pictures and news.

Also...thanks for all the birthday wishes. It made turning a year older worth it!! Blessings to all..........Cyndi

MY FRIEND BUZZ GETS A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH!!!!

Well I can't tell you how happy I am to post this particular post. Many of you know about my friend Buzz and his struggle with lymph node cancer. Many of you have been kind enough to send him cards and have lifted him up in prayer when I asked. As of August 18, 2008 he got a clean bill of health from his surgeon at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!!!This is what we have all been praying and hoping for and our prayers have been answered. I cannot thank you all enough for every little kind thought and prayer you had for Buzz and every single card you sent to him when he faced so many challenges this past year. Geez... it's now 3 am here and I am so happy I can't even begin to sleep. I wish I could talk to him right now because I found this all out on his website and you know I gotta now have 100 questions to ask. I seriously now need to talk to him to find out everything. I'm not sure if he's eating normally again or if he still has the feeding tube or how things are going but I do that that he is debuting his new band, JAZZ IN PASTEL, on August 29 in New Jersey. Greg and I won't be going to that show because it's a bit far for us with Greg working, however Buzz will be here near our hometown on September 6 and we will be going that night to see him live with his new band and it will be soooo good to see him behind the drums again. We even are invited to the post-gig party afterwards!!! He has lots of new things happening in his life. He is back to living at full speed. Now the problem is trying to catch him. When he was so ill and could not even think of eating the Quiznos commercials drove him nuts. He wanted to eat a Quiznos sandwich in the worst way. I told him then I would be his Quiznos girl and when he could eat I would treat him to a Quiznos sandwich, so I'm really anxious to see if he can eat and then take him for a treat and watch him just sink that whole sandwich!!! So thank you, each and every one of you that sent a card, said a prayer, emailed me with encouragement or just thought about him sometime during your day. We rug hookers are a strong bond and together with the power of prayer I think God heard us.....I KNOW God heard us and he answered our prayers. Here are some great pictures of Buzz that you'll enjoy. Blessings my friends.............Cyndi

~~SHE SEEKETH WOOL.......~~

Well she's back. My plate is now all glazed and fired and she still looks the same! I thought when she was glazed, fired and all finished up for some reason she'd look 100 times better but she still looks the same so she still has way too much hair but I guess that's why I'm a hooker and not a potter. Next year when I do this I'm going to be much more prepared and have my design all drawn out and ready to transfer to my plate when I get there. When I picked her up Ned Foltz told me he really still likes this plate. He loves the "primitive look".....yes I'd say she does have the primitive look, that's for sure. So there she is... the mascot for my blog... She Seeketh Wool...... I think the sheep are running that way...............Blessings to all....~Cyndi

~~PAY IT FORWARD~~

Let's continue this great game my friend Ginger of Primitives by The Light of the Moon came up with. The first 10 people that leave a comment on here will receive a surprise!!! I have some goodies all ready to go out so be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you and get your snail mail address to mail you your goodie!!

To keep this going you then post this PAY IT FORWARD on your blog and keep it going. Just keep your gifts small (something that can fit in a manilla envelpe or just a regular envelope) It makes you feel good to send something to someone and make their day and bring a smile to their face!!

Thanks Ginger!!

Blessings to all............ Cyndi

~*Kreativ Blogger Award*~

Dear Friends......My blog has received an award.....WOW!!! That amazes me! Ginger, of Primitives by The Light of The Moon

was kind enough to award my blog the Kreative Blogger award. Thanks so very much Ginger!!

There are some instructions that come with this award:

1. I may put the logo on my blog.

2. Put a link to the person you got the award from.

3. Nominate 5 blogs.

4. Put links to the blogs.

5. Leave a message for your nominees.

It is so very hard to just pick 5 bloggers because there are truly so many talented ladies out there with wonderful blogs full of lessons and beautiful pictures, but since I may only pick 5, here they are:

1. Kelley of, With Hook and Needle

2. Bren of, That Thing I Do

3. Dulcy of, Dulcy's Doorstep

4. Jacque of, The Doodles of My Mind

5. Tammy of, Skip To My Ewe

OK....not go and enjoy the blogs of these talented ladies and I'm off to give these friends their award.

I'd also like the thank my great friend Betty of Primitive Bettys for all her help in teaching me the world of blogging and html, hyper links etc. etc. etc. Thanks a million Betty! Without you I wouldn't even have a blog. I so appreciate it.

Many blessings to all..........Cyndi

My Friend Buzz

My Friend Buzz

Geez.... where does the time go?? It's about time I get back on here. Life has definately gotten in the way of blogging, hooking and everything I want to be doing this summer. I need to really keep at this blogging because when I come back to it I have no idea what I'm doing.

Thanks for all the comments and encouragement in this venture I'm trying to accomplish with a million other things I'm also trying to accomplish. Over the next few weeks I am going to start introducting my family, my furry kids and my redware plate will be finished this weekend and I'm so anxious to see the final product and I am hoping that poor woman looks better glazed and fired then she looks in the raw stages.

First issue at hand is my friend Buzz. Many of you know of Buzz as I have asked you all for prayers as he took a leap of faith when he was diagnosed with lymph node cancer in May 2007. He went through an awful year and I tried and tried to help in any way I could to pull him through. I hope I did. You also know that I hooked him a Leap of Faith rug which was my first blog entry here and can be seen in the older posts.

Well I am proud to say and happy to say that Buzz is back to life and living it at it's fullest. He is back to his music and new projects and flying by the seat of his pants!!! He is smiling and happy and a whole new person. I cannot be happier for him. He is busy busy busy with so many new things happening in his life. He now has a website on My space. You can see that and see the many new things he is doing by visiting at www.myspace.com/BuzzSaylor. Hope that link works for you.

I am also going to post a picture of this great guy here for you all to see my friend Buzz. I'm so proud of him with everything he had to endure this past year. I honestly do not know how he kept the faith and made it though each day with the challenges he faced but I know and believe in the power of prayer and I thank you all for all the prayers and cards you sent his way. He was truly moved by this gesture from the rug hooking community of people all over the US that did not even know him.

OK... that's about all for this week. Next week I'll try to have a picture up here of my hubby Greg..... I think I'll put up our wedding picture and then after that I'll start with my family and introduce you to my parents, brothers and their wives and then my furry kids. Try to get a rug or two in there too!! Have a great rest of the summer!!!

Many Blessings.... ~Cyndi

She Seeketh Wool

Well I took on a little bit of a new project last week. I went to a favorite potter friend of mine. He was having a little workshop where you could design your own 7" plate. It then stays with him for the firing and glazing and you can then pick it up the end of July. I have pictured here the "rough" plate I did which I hand drew and remember now, I am not a good drawer. After the finishing is through I am hoping to love the plate. Right now I'm drawn. The potter is Ned Foltz and in this area and many areas beyond he is very well known. He does this once a year for his regulars as a thank you. I have several items of his and they are shown in many museums worldwide. I haven't been able to add to my collection as his prices have increased tremendously over the past few years. What I could purchase for $75.00 a few years ago is now well over $250.00+ right now. His items are beautiful and I love redware. I collect from many collectors but some have closed their business and others are gone but redware, yellowware etc. are my favorites. I am hoping that I will be happy when this is fired and glazed and then will use it in my heading. Right now I think she looks a bit like Wynonna Judd or Tina Turner. Way too much hair. I kept trying to "fix" it and it just got bigger and bigger!! It was a fun day though. Greg came with me to make his own plate and I had an idea of a really nice plate for him to make but men have their own ideas and he made an eagle... (not my idea at all). Ned actually loved my plate saying it was very "primitive" which to me meant "Lady you can't draw".... and another gentleman said to me.... "You have to live with it".... which to me meant... "OMG you poor thing".... LOL So there you have it!!

I finally gave Buzz his rug and he was thrilled. He cried when he saw it and read the back of it. Would you believe I had my camera in my purse to take a picture but he was so emotional I forgot to take the picture. I talked to him since and he said he will be glad to have me take a picture of him holding it, so it's just a matter of tracking him down. He seems to be doing so much better physically. Mentally he is still having trouble which is understandable. He's been though so much so keep your prayers coming for Buzz.

I'm still hooking odd and ends and whipping up things that need to be finished off. So for now I will close and wish everyone a great weekend. See you all soon!

hugs
cyndi

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

Well I'm finally back. This blog post is for Alice! LOL... She wants me to blog away and tell you what's going on in my life!! Well I don't know that much exciting is going on to actually tell you about but I thought I'd at least post my yearly Memorial Day Greeting!! Also thanks to all of you that have commented nicely about my rug or emailed me directly. I appreciate your kind words. I put a lot of work into that rug for Buzz. I hope he loves it. And thank you for the welcome to the world of "blogging"!!

I plan to get some pictures up here very soon of my family, my furry kids and some rugs. Greg is working this whole weekend including Monday but he took a vacation day on Tuesday.. Yippee.... Finally maybe we can do something. He's been doing yard work and trying to get the yard to look good since the winter and I am busy trying to wash laundry on sunny days when I can hang it out since my dryer died. Luckily it died during the warm months and I can wait a month or so to get one but seems like all it does is rain here in PA since my dryer died so I am now watching the weatherman every day to see when I can wash and hang. Otherwise I wash here and drag it to the laundromat to use their dryers which is a pain. Wet Laundry is very very heavey I found out when I took 3 loads to the laundromat to dry them!! Much easier getting it home then it was getting it to the laundromat.

I still have not seen Buzz to give him his rug but I'm hoping to insist that I see him this week coming up to give it to him. I've talked to him a few times but he's not feeling well at all. I worry about him but it's all out of my control. Please remember him in your prayers. I'm hoping to get a picture of him holding the rug to post here.

So that's what's exciting in my life. I'll be back soon. I planned to do this weekly but find I don't have anything to say every week. Such excitment here!!!!

Have a wonderful safe holiday weekend my friends. hugs ~Cyndi

Here we go.....

May 7, 2008


Well it's only been a year since I typed that "new blogger" and I still do not know anymore than I knew last year but I'm going to try to give this a whirl. I'd like to share with you a rug I made for a dear friend. His name is Buzz and he has lymph node cancer. He is a full time musician for a wonderful band called Simon Apple. He is their drummer and also the lyricist for the band. Buzz was diagnosed May 07 and had surgery which was successful. He then went through 35 radiation treatments that were brutal. They had to be very aggressive with this cancer. Buzz is 48, same age as me. He had a feeding tube placed in November 07 and still is not eating any real foods. All his meals go through the feeding tube. Unfortunately the affects of the radiation have taken their toll on him. He is also suffering greatly from depression.

I decided to hook a rug for Buzz to give him hope and something that would be uplifting. Now I do primitive folk art so this rug is a huge step out of the box for me. It is called Leap of Faith. First because that is what he took when he put himself into the hands of the caring doctors at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Secondly Buzz wrote a song called "Leap of Faith" many years ago and he never knew it would come to mean so much to him. I envisioned this rug in my mind almost to a tee but not with these bright colors. The colors came into play when I found online a website for Jane Evershed. She had painted a painting called Leap of Faith. I immediately asked her if I could use some of the elements of her painting in my rug and she immediately said yes. THANK YOU JANE!

I probably would have hooked the cliffs in browns but seeing her painting so vivid in color made me take that giant step away from primitive. I placed an apple on the ground where she had a city, the apple being for the band Simon Apple. I then wrote "Leap of Faith" in the beautiful blue sky and put a small bee there since bees go Buzz. The man is leaping from the bare cliff with no life to the cliff with the beautiful tree where there is life and wellness. It was truly a labor of love for Buzz. I then put a beautiful sentiment to him on the reverse. Also Jane Evershed had written a poem for Leap of Faith:

It's Yours, Take it,

Leap like a lunatic

Over the chasm below

Erupting as you go

Your true self awaits you

NOW you will know.

~Jane Evershed

I then took Buzz's song and printed the first verse on the reverse of the rug:

Stand On the Edge of a Moment

Looking out but I never look down

Aware of the chasm before me,

Where the Darkness of doubt can be found

Fear is what has become me

As the time is now close at hand

Praying for someone to join me

On this leap of faith I have planned....

~Buzz Saylor

The hand dyed wools were dyed by Tammy Burks of Skip To My Ewe and it was hooked in an 8 cut. Whipstitched around the edges with 100% wool - navy. I dedicate this rug to my friend...........Buzz Saylor. Each loop was a loop of love, friendship and prayer for your return to wellness. Blessings ~ Cyndi