Dad and Quilts for Kids

I talked to Mike tonight about Dad. Dad had called me and I got the whole "Shauna?" thing again LOL. However, he didn't seem as distant and disconnected as he was last night. Mike said that Dad had called him early this morning and told Mike that he needed help and asked him if he would help him. Of course Mike told him he would be right there. As it turns out Dad had been up most of the night with urinary tract problems and by early morning I think he knew he had to have help. Mike told him that one of the medications that he had refused to buy the day before was to help with the urinary problems. Dad then asked Mike if he would go buy it for him. Yea! Isn't that so like most of us? When things are going pretty well we think we can get by - but when the problems return it is a whole different story LOL. By afternoon Dad was feeling much better and things should be on the upside if he will continue to take his meds. However, taking his meds is not as easy as it seems. Mike doles out his medications in the weekly containers in hopes that Dad can keep things straight - but that is continuing to prove very difficult - so Mike or Shauna have been trying to get in there every morning to ensure that he gets them. Bless them.

Mike is also concerned with Dad having been off the aricept for these few weeks - we hope that memory and cognitive function return (at least to the state before he came off the meds) but we just don't know for sure. Mike told him he couldn't drive today and that caused him to be a little frustrated. I know when I talked with Dad he admitted that his driving "isn't what it used to be" but I don't know that he is aware of how impaired it is. Truly we are going to be facing some hard decisions soon.

We are expecting a winter storm tonight, tomorrow and Saturday. We had thought that we would head up to spend some time with Joey and Carlie this weekend (actually we were planning on going to a commissary and the nearest one is about 2 1/2 - 3 hours away and so we reasoned that if we were going to drive that far we might as well drive an addition 2 1/2 hours and see them - I know - that is such Bainbridge reasoning, huh?). But with the storm and the weather north is supposed to be even worse and for just 1 1/2 days? So, upon looking over the calendar we discover that next week is a 3 day weekend for Rich (President's Day) and so we're changing our plans and going then. Maybe I'll get the quilt done!

Speaking of quilts - Last Friday I went to a quilt store in Knoxville and the owner asked me if I wanted to see a quilt - when don't I? She took me to the counter and there was a gal there with 3 quilts (child size) that she had pieced and the owner had quilted on the store long arm. They were cute kids quilts. What was remarkable was the fact that she had received the fabric and pattern from a charitable organization called Quilts for Kids and it is teamed with Downy Fabric Softener. This organization is trying to provide quilts for children and hospitals throughout the United States and they have organizations that provide the funds for the fabrics but need quilters. I signed up on Saturday via e-mail and I received a kit on Tuesday. I put this out there because I know that there are times when we want to help and we have a half hour a day but that doesn't seem like much time to be really "charitable" but a half hour a day would complete one of these quilts in a week or two. This is a great way to provide service, hone skills, and spread the word through our friends and families, even church groups or friends...I got to thinking that I could do one for the church humanitarian projects with some of my quilt stash the same way and double my efforts. If anyone is interested you can go to http://www.quiltsforkids.org/ to check it out. I'll post a photo when I am done with my quilt. Hey! Bekah and Rachel, Joseph and Gideon - you guys could even do this! :)