quinta-feira, 31 de março de 2011

First walk by the beach :)


Yesterday I was lucky to have my son around in the afternoon. Funny how little boys grow to be great companions in such a short time... I totally miss when he was a little boy, how cute he was giggling all the time and always in a good mood (except if you put a plate of food in front of him!) but I also love seeing him turn into a grown-up day by day. 


So anyway, he asked "Mom, why don't we go for a walk by the beach, it's such a beautifull day..." 


It was indeed, like it is today. A totally gorgeous, sunny, warm Spring day. And we're lucky to live close to the beach, it's only a 15 minute walk there. I've been trapped indoors for so long fearing a cold or whatever since I've been ill that this felt like heaven! I even walked down to the sand and collected some tiny seashells :) and yes, I'm planning on doing it again today--even though I don't have company today. It will help me recover and not worry--Monday I'll be back for another small surgery before being able to start radiation therapy. But that's something I don't want to think about today.


Here are some goodies for you--a bit of the Portuguese sunshine, the seashore, the wild flowers. And us :)

You can even see the bridge in Lisbon (twin of the Golden Gates in S.Francisco)
Wild flowers along the sidewalk
Mother and son
I hope you enjoyed this little tour of Oeiras :)


xx

terça-feira, 29 de março de 2011

My bag is still on its way...

I've been working on a slow pace this week so it isn't finishe yet :( But the green is turning out nicely, isn't it? I have to get it done quickly!

Laying flat on the table
A bit out of foccus here...

With a jar stuffed in it :)
Now, back to work while I try to "flood" myself drinking water (it's supposed to help drain the excess liquids, right...? Though it seems not to make sense...)


Be back soon!


PS - Sorry about the lousy pictures... I can't seem to find the charger for my camera so my cell phone has to play the part ;) )


xx

sexta-feira, 25 de março de 2011

Spring in full bloom :)

It's not a really sunny day, but it's hot... and Spring seems to have arrived in all of its strength!








Does anyone know what this tree is? The flowers look almost like lilacs... but they don't smell like lilacs! 

Hope you like the pictures :)
Have a wonderfull weekend! 
xx
Teresa

quinta-feira, 24 de março de 2011

Putting my flowers together

I said I wasn't going to blog about flowers today. I wasn't going to, I swear! But I just had to share this...

So... what do you think? Back to the white?

And while I wait for the vote... just experimenting! This bag will be for me... 
I can't wait to try the Japanese flowers in these colors too!

Happy hooking, ladies! :)
xx
Teresa

Cats...


Let me introduce you to 2 of my best friends: Smartie and Pantera. They came into our lives 15 (Smartie) and 13 years ago (Pantera). Both were street cats I brought in--I confess, I am a cat person! Is it from being a Leo...? 


Anyway... some of these pictures were taken a while back. Smartie has left us, he didn't make it to 2010. But he's still in our hearts and sneaks up on us every once in a while in some photo or memory. I love seing Elizabeth Cat's blog because he resembles hers so much...


So today, instead of my flowers (which are coming along beautifull if I may say so) I'll show you some of the best moments caught on candid camera :)


Yes, we do love sleeping on this bed...


But I'm not picky, the couch will do as long as you're close by, Teresa!


Am I overweight, Smartie? Please, plese be honest!

No, I won't look at the scale, noooooooooo!!!
What do you mean, you can't see...???
  
This is so not me... I can't believe she got me posing as the Easter Bunny... Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr
What do you mean, it's not cold today??? It's freeeezing! This is the best spot in the house and it's MINE!

A little tummy massage? Ok, but then it's my turn!

Oh please, please let us rest... we're tired... from napping...

How the heck did she find me up here???? I thought I was undercover...

Well, guess not... I'm out of here!

Watch out, Smartie!

That's right, I'm a black beauty :) aka Pantera

So what... I'm a stunner too...

(Guess what... Pantera is sitting right next to me, looking at the pictures...)

quarta-feira, 23 de março de 2011

African flowers :)))

I'm happy! It's a wonderfull, sunny (and a bit windy) Spring day, the sun is pouring in and I've got a bunch of african flowers to put together for a bag :)


8h30, the sun is still low... but I love seeing all the light come through the window!


...and casting shadows all over the place...
A closer look at the real colors of this variegated yarn...


...even closer...


... and the big question is, do I join them in off white, as I am doing here? Light pink? Pale green? It's going to be a little spring-y bag...

 Hope you like it!
xx
Teresa






sexta-feira, 18 de março de 2011

A bit nervous

I confess... I wasn't quite happy with my blog layout (I'm still trying to decide whether or not I like it!) so I started fiddling around. For now... this will be it.


The weekend is almost here. I'm excited but I'm also anxious... happy anxious, nervous anxious, worried anxious. A bit of it all.




I've been going through chemotherapy since the end of last August. Something we always dread in our lives crept up on me, breast cancer, for the 2nd time. The first time was 10 years ago, it showed up again (a totally new case, the other one is considered cured) last July. It's no news to me--is that a curse or a blessing? I knew all I'd have to go through, so I was prepared, but also knew the consequences, so was a bit scared. 


But I'm one of the lucky ones, I've always suspected it would show up sometime since Grandma had it too, so I've been regularly controlled since I was 37. Both times it was detected at a very early stage, within 6 months of it showing up. Of course surgery was necessary, as well as chemo and radiation therapy because I got a lumpectomy both times. It's a triple negative type, which would seem to be good but is actually bad; they really don't know what kind of treatment is most effective.


This time chemo didn't work out as well as expected, too many side effects--total loss of white blood cells and platelets, anemia (of course the usual other side effects, like total hair loss and some nausea), and when I switched to Taxol my hands suffered the most from the neurotoxicity. It's odd how we can have no sensitivity in our fingers and yet have them hurt so badly! And yet the doctor is happy because I endured this better than most my companions! 


Anyway... 
Today is my last chemo treatment, the 12th. And I'll be free from this. Monday I have the radiotherapy appointment to schedule the treatments, which should start in about 3 to 4 weeks and last for 6 to 7 weeks, I think. The pain, the numbness should begin to fade away after a while.


Yes, I'm anxious. I've been fighting for almost a year now. I want to be back to my normal, silly, calm life, and be able to go outside for a walk (arghhhhhhhhh I've got about 5kg to lose, from the cortisone!) without worrying that I'll catch a cold and have to postpone my treatments. And feel the sun in my face. And not feel tired all the time. And get my hair back. Stupid, silly things like that...


Thank God for my family, they've been with me every step of the way--Hubby makes a point of not missing one single treatment, since the beginning, and Mom is always trying to find a way to help, my Son is always kissing me and telling me how beautiful I look no matter what :)


And for my crafts and your blogs, they've helped me keep my sanity and stay foccused while at home, since I've had to be on sick leave! 


So girls... think PINK! Prevention is the most important thing! And have a wonderful weekend!

quinta-feira, 17 de março de 2011

The granny stripe blanket and so on

Just thought I'd post a couple more pictures of the boys' granny stripe blanket (oh my, this takes soooooooooo long!!!)

Together with the pillow cover in hexagons... that started out to be a blanket!


On its own...

All of a sudden I decided to deviate from the pattern... threw in a couple of odd rows and went back to the partial rainbow pattern.

Why do the colors seem so blahhhhh when they're so bright?? :( I suppose it would help if it were sunny out... but the sun seems to want to keep hiding! They say temperatures will be up in the 20's in the weekend, I sure hope so!

Ok, here's another one... just testing, I promise!


The big boy's room is undergoing a bit of restyling--now that he's almost 18 I guess it's ok to take away some of the kiddy stuff that's still lingering around... not that he complains, mind you! I think wouldn't care if his old favorite stuffed animals "lived" in his bedroom forever (while dressing black Metallica t-shirts...) just for old times's sake. He's funny that way... no problem showing he cares about his old "friends" at the same time he goes out dancing with his pals or gets all psyched about the bands that will be playing here this summer.
So... we agreed on a red wall (one! and half) and the others ivory, and I just got him a bed cover in shades of grey. 
When I started the younger boys' afghan / pillow I began toying with the idea of making him an afghan too, in these colors:
I got these Patons Behive yarns many years ago on a sale and thought of turning them into sweaters, but obviously didn't finish the projects... They should be more than enough for the afghan, 10 balls each the red and the grey! I'll need to get one or 2 more black, maybe off-white too, but that's it :)So... the big questions! One or 2 rows of red? Should I make all squares the same or alternate the grey and red inside and out...?  

quarta-feira, 16 de março de 2011

Slowly...

Slowly but surely Mom's bag is progressing. A couple more flowers completed, but it's becoming harder to crochet. Day by day my fingers are more swollen and the tips hurt more, it takes me forever to complete a stitch, but I WILL not put it down. I guess it's from the accumulation of neurotoxicity after 11 weeks of chemo.
Friday is my last chemo session, after that I just hope that things will start getting better. 




Spring is almost here, right??? I just can't wait to see my hydrangeas like this again...

segunda-feira, 14 de março de 2011

WIP

I just recently discovered what this means... that's what you get from being bilingual but not quite up to date on both languages! It took me a while... and then I discovered it's the word I've known all my life. I have a terrible tendency to fall in love with a zillion projects and want to make them all at the same time! So I start one and jump off to another then add a few more rows or flowers or squares or whatever to the first ones... but I guess you know as well as I do what I'm talking about, right? At least most of you... :)



So... here's the amigurumi penguin for A's teacher, halfway done... an hexagon cushion cover ready to sew thanks to Mommy's help darning the ends, for the boy's room... and a bunch of hexagons ready for another... a granny stripe blanket barely started, to go with the cushions... a flower using Elizabeth Cat's tutorial... a bunch of flowers for a flower bag... a Queen Anne scarf almost ready...
Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp!!! And there are about one million other beautifull things I'd love to start right away!
Crochet helps me calm down. It makes me feel peacefull, relaxed, not think too much about being ill or having to go to my treatments. It helped me breeze through to the last one (I hope!) which will be on this Friday, the 18th, and hopefully will help me get over the remaining side effects that will take longer to disappear and radiotherapy, which is yet to come.
Yes, crochet and knitting are blessings for someone like me :)


Welcome!

I created this page about 3 years ago, but then forgot about it, never came back... until now. 
I keep following beautifull blogs, simple or elaborate news, things that bring to me people from all over the world that remind me of what we keep forgetting... we are all the same, we all love beautifull things, there are so many people who love to create and we can learn from! And believe me, I have learned so much lately...
So... I hope you come by, stay for a while and enjoy the little things I'll be posting here :)


Welcome!

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