Radiation Has Begun

Hi Everyone!  I'm back.  I was sick early last week with some sort of cold/flu thing.  Couldn't really tell which one it was!  But it seems to have passed now and thank goodness!

I thought I'd give you an update on Scott. He's doing very well. We had the feeding tube put in last Wednesday. This is for the sake of precaution, just in case the radiation makes his throat too sore for him to eat and swallow. The Dr. said that most people don't need it but it's better to have it and not use it than visa versa.

He started the radiation on Thursday. He'll get it 5 days a week for 6 weeks. The mild chemo continues on Monday's. If all continues to go well, the treatments will be done by mid-April and then the feeding tube will be removed around the beginning of May. We don't know yet how long they'll wait to take the port out but we're getting there with things.

Thank you again for your kindness, prayers and generosity. I will keep ya'll posted as we complete this process.

https://www.gofundme.com/scotts-cancer-treatment

Love to all, Pam

Update On Scott

Hi Everyone. I want to give ya'll an update on how Scott is doing. Very well actually. The mild chemo treatments don't seem to be messing with his stomach at all, thank goodness! There are some side effects but they're mild so we can deal with them.

The radiation will be starting soon. First, because this is on his neck, a feeding tube will have to be put in which requires surgery. I'm waiting to get the exact date on that. I'm assuming next week sometime.

He's going to be missing a lot of work again. The surgery is an overnight stay in the hospital. The radiation will be 5 days a week for 6 weeks.

Mondays he will be getting the mild chemo and radiation so he won't be able to squeeze in any work time on Mondays. I'm not sure he'll be able to work at all towards the end of the radiation treatments but that remains to be seen.

I'll keep you posted. If all goes as expected, the treatments should be done by mid - late April. We're both stressed and we're both tired but having the medical stuff out of the way will be a huge relief. He's responding very well to the treatments!

Love and hugs!
Pam

Scott's Cancer Treatment Fund

Never Ending Sampler Panel 1 Band 20

Panel 1 of the Never Ending Sampler Stitch Along is complete with this, Band #20.  Here is the complete sampler:

And here is the final Band, #20:

This border is to be worked with Cross Stitches, Backstitches and the Blanket Stitch.  If you're not familiar with the Blanket Stitch, please visit Sharon B's Stitch Dictionary for instructions.

Here is the overlap with Band #19 for placement purposes:

I'll give ya'll a little time to get caught up before we start on Panel 2 which will begin sometime next week.  Have a good weekend everyone!

McHenry Crazy Quilt Block 7 - The Mill Pond

With my husband's cancer treatment going on, I haven't been able to focus on stitching too much lately.  I've been very tired but I did finish up on Block #7 of my McHenry Crazy Quilt.

If you're new to my blog, this quilt is a traditional style crazy quilt featuring old photos of special sites in my little town of McHenry Illinois.  When I complete this quilt, I will be donating it to the McHenry Public Library.

Block #7 is devoted to the Mill Pond:

And here is the photo that I used:

The building in the background is Landmark School which will be my next block.  The school is still there and still used as a grade school today.

This is a screenshot from Google Earth of the same spot today.  Actually, it's as close as I can get to the same area where the old photo was taken:

Since you can't see the school in the above photo, here is a screenshot that's slightly to the east:

And here's a photo of Boone Creek:

Again, this is slightly east of the top photo.

The above photo is a map of McHenry from 1872 showing the mill pond and the Owen Bros. Mill:
Okay, so unless you live in McHenry, you might not be interested in the visual information.  For me it's fun to know where things were back in the day!

If you live near a mill pond, they're not a body of water created by God.  They're man made for the purpose of running a grist mill with water power.  They're usually created by causing a creek to dam which floods the area causing water pressure to run the big wheel on the mill.

In the case of McHenry, the Boone Creek was dammed to create the mill pond.  Boone Creek was named after the Boone brothers, a couple of McHenry's early settlers.  Boone Creek runs off the Fox River and is pretty much all over McHenry!  We really can't go anywhere around here without crossing over it. 

In the winter months, the mill ponds would freez and ice houses on the pond would cut ice from them for refrigeration.

Once electricity took over, water power was no longer relied on for power.  In some cases, the old mill ponds were drained and that was the case here in McHenry.  Our mill pond was created in 1851 and was drained in 1929.

Okay, I hope I didn't bore you with all this.  I just love the history of McHenry!

I'll get on with some closeup photos of my stitching:

As I mentioned above, Block #8 will be of Landmark School.  I'll get started on that as soon as I can.  For now, I'm too focused on my husband's cancer treatment which is going well but it's tiring for both of us.

Never Ending Sampler Panel 1 - Band 19

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I have Band 19 of the Never Ending Sampler Stitch Along for you today!

Here is the entire Panel 1 sampler up to this point:

Here is Band #19 by itself:

And here it is with the overlap of Band #18:

And finally, a closeup of the little flower:

This border includes Cross Stitches, Straight Stitches and French Knots.

I will post the final border for Panel 1 on Thursday.  We will be starting on Panel 2 next week.  In the meantime, Happy Stitching and Happy Valentines Day!

Never Ending Sampler Panel 1 - Band 18

Today's band is a nice alphabet.  If anyone wants to personalize their samplers at any point, this is pretty alphabet to use.  And who knows, there might be a few verses down the road!! 

Here is the entire sampler so far:

And here is Band #18:

And here it is again with the Band #17 overlap:

I will have band 19 next week along with an undate on my husband and an update on my McHenry Quilt.  Have a nice weekend everyone!

Never Ending Sampler Panel 1 - Band 17

Today, I have Band #17 of the Never Ending Band Sampler.  Here is Panel 1 so far:

Here is Band #17:

And here it is with Band #16 for placement purposes:

Work the flower centers with Eyelet stitching.  The rest is cross stitches and back stitches.

Once my husband's cancer treatment is done, I'll get on a schedule with this sampler.  Until then, I'm uploading the bands as I have time.

Happy Stitching!

Update on Scott's Cancer Treatment

Hi everyone,

Scott is doing pretty good with everything, except for the constant running from one doctor to another. He keeps telling me he just wants to work. I can understand that. I think we'll be done with the majority of this sometime in April. If all goes well.

The radiation will be starting in the next week or so. Along with 5 more of the mild chemo treatments.

We're getting there, slowly but surely and he's holding up pretty well despite the fact that this is all getting on his nerves. Mine too. But the treatments are working so that's what matters.

I'll keep ya'll posted.

Thank you again for your kindness and generosity.

Love to all, Pam
https://www.gofundme.com/scotts-cancer-treatment

Never Ending Sampler Stitch Along Panel 1 Band 16

Today, I have Band #16 of the Never Ending Sampler Stitch-Along for you.

Here is the entire sampler so far:

And here is Band #16 by itself:

Work the trees with straight stitches and the stars with Eyelet Stitches.  If you need help working the Eyelet Stitch, please visit Sharon B's Stitch Dictionary.

For placement purposes, this is Band #16 with the overlap of #15:

Happy Stitching!!!