Kitchen towels and my heart

There are times when I feel like the "Tin Man"
 Or was that "Scarecrow"? 

You know, when he said 

"I do Believe, I do Believe".  

Although I do have a heart, I sometimes want one that is healthy... then I remember there are others in this life that have it worse than me then I'm grateful for what I have.
This past three days I've been recuperating from a bit of surgery. It was time for me go get a newer, more hi-tec pacemaker/defibrillator implanted in my heart.  Today my left upper chest is so swollen, red and  hot and ice is not helping at all. Hard to use my arm but am getting antsy to get into my blog.
The photos were saved to my hard drive but the first two are upside down? Can't seem to get them to turn around so please, bear with me..

 Before going into the hospital I was working on a set of dishtowels.. nothing fancy, just the letter "P" for my daughters married surname.  She wanted it simple and brown in color.....

 This monogram was done freehand with a pencil... I'm not too happy with the way it all turned out, but then, it all can't turn out perfect when we do our crafts.. especially this past few weeks... I always get spooked when it's time to go get work done on my heart.  You see, I have Heart Failure and have been dealing with this for the past 6 years... I have my ups and downs and have outlived the first diagnosis of 1 year... fooled them all, I did!
This is due to finding my hero, Dr Walsh at the Heart and Vascular Institute of Florida... this man saved my life when the first two doctors I saw over in Ft. Lauderdale, sent me home to die. I literally moved to Clearwater to be near Dr. Walsh. Best decision I ever made.

I'll tell you... I'm blessed to have been born a few years later than my brother.. he died from Heart Failure at the age of 42, some years ago... he did not have the pleasure of a new pacemaker with a third lead that go's into the left chamber of the heart to give the therapy jolt needed to make this part of the heart work.  The left chamber of my heart died, they say from a virus?  I have no idea when the virus hit me or even remembering being sick?  I just remember waking up one night not being able to suck air into my lungs.
We did talk about a heart transplant but there are not enough hearts to go around and they said "I was not sick enough" to be on the list any longer... Really, you have to be on deaths door to be on that list, and then it might be too late for some of those waiting!
I would like to ask everyone to please "Be a Donor"! Give the gift of life!

Ok,  The dishtowels are finished...If you notice I added a bit of blue to the little flowers.. I thought they needed something, to offset the dullness of the brown DMC floss.

I'm a bit drugged up at the moment and maybe should not be composing but I love being part of the world of blogging.. I need to feel close to you all tonight.. feeling a bit blue, but oh so happy to be healthy and alive..... 
It's Thursday, raining out thanks to "Nicole".. she is on the east side of the state and giving us a bit of rain on the Gulf Coast.
Enjoy your weekend everyone.. I'll just hang out in the house a few more days.. doc told me to not drive for two weeks.. lets see if my defib go's off ? you don't want to be around me if that happens..it's powerful!

I'm giving thanks tonight and am Tickled Pink  for being alive!

"I do Believe, I do Believe"

xoxo 


I'm linking  this post to Jenny's Alphabet Thursday
B is for Believe

and to Holly's
Tickled Pink 

Sunday Showcase 

The Deck

This will be my last outdoor project for a few weeks or months.. going to get my heart taken care of and wanted to finish my deck....now I can go sit out on nice days. But I'll continue to do simple fun crafts that don't require much physical activity.

 Almost two years ago we put in a new deck. Our old one was rickety and rotting and I was determined to keep it the natural wood look.  So I used water seal and did all that I was told to do, to keep it beautiful. Then the trees got to it!

We have these two very tall Hickory trees that drop something each season.  Leaves in the fall, flowers in the spring, nuts all summer. ( the squirrels drop the nuts like bombs).   The squirrels also munch and drop what looks like snow from their munching.. then the rain lays on all of that and leaves such stains. I did go out at least 4 times a week and wash the deck with hopes of eliminating the mess from leaving brown marks.. well I was not able to keep up with it.

 The Hickory trees directly over the deck are so beautiful and provide shade from the hot Florida sun. But, look what they did to the deck.

.

  

The stained deck.

 Last week I borrowed my neighbors power washer and scrubbed the entire deck, even the green mold that took over in the corners (we have that much rain this time of year, not to mention the humidity).
I chose a good deck stain in chocolate brown. The guy at the Depot said "This will protect and keep it looking good for 10 years and the stains will not show through. We will see about that!

He was right about the paint hiding the stains.

 Our local weather man said "No rain for the next few days" so I got to work.. took me three days and I took my time and only worked in the mornings. Was much too hot after 11am. This past few days they are talking of tropical storm or hurricane Matthew or Nicole possibly coming our way in a week or so. That will give the deck time to cure.

 

The above photo was taken as I inched my way, paint brush in hand, into the house.  I had this silly thought of painting myself into a corner and being stuck out there. ( I actually did that once when painting a basement floor)
 I'm starting to question this home ownership thing.. so much to do and if you don't do it yourself it is so expensive to pay someone to do such work. Besides, I love to do hands on projects!  (don't tell my Cardio doc, he would have such a frown on his face.)

There, it's done! 

Oh no, after I stepped back to admire my work I realized the upstairs balcony also needed to be painted! I forgot that was also replaced! 

Maybe if I smile sweetly I can find some

kind soul who would like to climb up there and paint it....

Ok Hickory trees,,, do your thing!

(and our little friends the squirrels)

I'm linking to these fun parties
click on the links below to see what other crafters are up to

Met Monday