Tears in my eyes- Thank you

♥♥♥thank you, thank you, thank you ♥♥♥  
(See my last post)  This morning I got up and decided to check on Laura's wish list.  Surprise, surprise, pick myself up from the floor, more than half her list has been purchased and sent.  I have such wonderful family and friends.  It truly brought tears of gratitude to my eyes.  I don't know who sent what, but Laura will when her packages arrive and I'm sure she will tell me.  In the meantime you know who you are and I am humbled and thankful for your generosity. 
Love to all
☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

And the winner is...

First I would like to thank all those who participated in my give away.  I have met some wonderful people in the last few weeks and have seen and felt the support of my longtime Internet friends.  This give away came at both a good time and a bad time.  It was good in that while I was under trying times; I felt the support along the way.  It was bad in that I was not able to comment back or keep track of my friends.  I do want you to know that that the support and new friends are very much appreciated.

The winner turned out to be Lolit.  She was only entered once which just goes to show the luck involved; she is however a long time Internet friend of mine and we communicate over several sites.  Facebook & My Shutter Space

Congratulations Lolit

I'll be contacting you soon

I've also decided to do another give away; there will be details tomorrow

Have a great day!!!

Enjoy

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

Washington's Waterloo

You might be wondering why my post titled Washington's Waterloo starts out with a photo of my daughter Emily.  Well, Washington's last battle that he lost was a throat infection from which he died.  Well Emily has the same kind of infection  that he did.  She has been in and out of the hospital since last Thurs.  The doctor told her that if it wasn't for modern antibiotics she probably would have died.  Personally I think prayers and the well wishes of her friends and mine and a priesthood blessing had much to do with her getting better.

  She was extra ordinarily sick and it came on strong and hard and fast.  What started out as a sore throat at the beginning of the week and turned into a life-threatening infection by Thurs.  She went to urgent care who sent her to the ER.  They admitted her put her on antibiotics, steroids, and morphine and put her in isolation and the waiting game began.  Where they going to do dangerous and possibly life changing surgery, see if just the antibiotics worked or something in between?  She did improve on the antibiotics and they sent here home Sunday morning only for her to deteriorate and end up back in the ER that night.  Different hospital- different doctor who lanced the abscess and drained it.  Emily said it was really gross all that pus being pulled out of the abscess in her throat, but she is now on the mend and home again.  Her cousin John turned into an angel as far as she is concerned for his concern and help even though he had many kids at his house including a six week old baby.  She has had many people help her and pray for her including people she did not even know.

  As her Mom and  being a continent away (she lives and goes to school in Utah and we live in Georgia) I can't think of words of thanks for her recovery and those who helped make it happen.  She is still going to need help for awhile and I would again ask for prayers on her behalf, prayers of thanks and prayers for those who are helping her so they will not get sick and they will know the spirit of joy in her service.

As her mother I have once again learned that you can't ever take for granted the ones you love.

Lolit posted this on her facebook wall and how true it is:

'There are 5 things in life you cannot recover:

A stone... after it's thrown. A word... after it is said.

An occasion... after it's missed.

...The time... after it's gone. A person... after they die.
Life is short. Break the rules. Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that made you smile.
Enjoy Life!!!!'

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

New Toy

For the most part I use free editing software for editing my photos.  The advantage to this is obvious, they are free.  However the disadvantages are not so obvious.  First you have to find them on the net and since they are free nobody pays for advertising.  CNET.com has a pretty nice selection and their downloads are safe but they do not have programs to cover all that you might want to do, so the search goes on for safety and editing ability.  Even with CNET I have downloaded programs only to find that they do not work the way the programmers say they will and I end up deleting them.  Of course I have bought one program that I dearly wished I could have returned and another program I was able to return only because I happened to find a free trial of the program before I opened the package and it would not work with Windows 7.  The hunt for what I want can be quite time consuming and frustrating as I try out each program and learn them without a manual.  

Here is my first attempt with the new program.

Not great.  The original is at the top.  This is way to dark.  So I tried an entirely different setting and got this

Kind of funky looking.  Might not be too bad if the entire thing was lighter but in the same proportions.  Thus far my edits look nothing like the ones on the web site but there are only two and actually I'm still having fun.

It's a good thing I learn quickly; there is obvious improvement in the third.  I think I am really going to like this one.

I found this one on MyShutterSpace.com my favorite photo site.  Great people and great photos.  I have found those people who participate on this site are wonderful sharing people and I have learned much.  Up until now I was one of the few that I knew of who used free programs almost exclusively, but I have now found someone else of like ilk.  He wrote a blog on the site recommending this program. It's nice to have someone else who tries and knows which programs are good.

I am still looking for a program that will do a good sketch edit of my photos to make it easier to do paintings from my photos.

I am glad that I took the time to do this blog- writing my blog almost always makes me feel good; it is a pleasure.  Right now I needed that pleasurable distraction.  I still have that horrid sinus infection and even though the migraines have become intermittent; I woke with one this morning, that and a fever.

The infection has gone into my lungs and tonight I am having a hard time breathing. I have a pulse/oxygen meter at home and my oxygen level is not where it should be.  It's real close to 911 time but I am well equipped at home and have been able to bring it up some, but if it goes down again then I go to the hospital.  I'm still considering, but I do have an appointment tomorrow with the infectious disease doctor who I would prefer to treat me and his hospital is in Atlanta and I would end up in the hospital in Griffin if I went tonight, sooo I sit and chill out and think and chat with my cyber-friends.

I need to take care of myself and call it a day so good-night and enjoy your evening.

Johnina ☺☺☺☺☺

February goals

Last night I was reading through some of my favorite blogs and came upon a post that struck home for me. I was reading mysteries (if you want to read it go to my blog list and click on mysteries) and Jeannette was talking about her apprehension on her daughters first trip across Holland on a train even though she had been riding the trains since she was 11 and her daughter was 17. I have the same apprehension with my youngest daughter as she flies cross-country. The first time I flew with her, but after that she was on her own. At first we did park the car and go in with her and since she was still a minor we could go through securitywith her. But she got independent and now we drop her off out front. Of course we couldn't help her with lay-overs and she always has lay-overs. We also couldn't help when she got to Salt Lake so she has gotten to know several airports well; Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake and when she visits her sister, Pittsburgh. You will notice she goes through some of the busiest airport in the U.S if not the world. I know she is a very capable person and am very proud of her but still some apprehension remains. I guess it's a mom thing. I liked Jeannette's post because it reminds me that I am not alone in my feelings.
I enjoy many other blogs for many other reasons; the beautiful pictures, a different point of view, beautiful artwork, friendship and sharing in other people's lives- how they live and cope-viewing life in different parts of the world, lots of different reasons just like I have many different eclectic reasons for writing my blog.
This month I have set the goal of visiting the blogs and websites of my friends on MyShutterSpace (MSS) and putting in my blog what I like about them. I have found that if I make comments like I do on the photos on MSS that I pay more attention and learn more and enjoy it more. I decided to make my goal of visiting my friends on MSS for several reasons; to get to know them better, we already have an interest in common, and I was surprised at how many had a blog or website and it peeked my curiosity. I am still going to work on my edits but once again the emphasis changes slightly. I'm going to work on improving my blog and my friendships by learning from other peoples blogs with the emphasis on what I like on their blogs.

Sites from my friends at MSS:
http://kulanthapitha.blogspot.com/
http://lovenotionpixels.blogspot.com/
These are both by my friend Kuluth. His blogs are always fresh and interesting. His photography skills are delightful and he tells of his country (India), culture and life. He has a great love for his country and family and it shows through his pictures and words.

Survivor

One of the things that I have noticed as I have gone through my pictures looking for photos that I would like to spend the time doing the extra editing this month is that in my pictures I've been wearing the same clothes for several years. I decided that since I basically have the material, thread, buttons, patterns and all the sewing equipment I need that I would try sewing my own clothes again. This is something I have enjoyed in the past, I like to sew and I like having clothes that are creative and one of a kind. However I found that I was having a terrible time cutting out the patterns, but fortunately I have a friend who will do that for me. Hooray for talented friends. But since it had been several years since I had sewn I decided maybe I should update my patterns and hooray for serendipity there was a sale on brand name patterns for 99cents. I sure like that price better than the regular price of between $12-15. I like it when things work out like that.
While I was at the craft store I couldn't resist looking around. A real weakness of mine. While I was looking around another stroke of serendipity; I found the stamp pictured above which I also couldn't resist. It really resonated with me and my feelings about my life. I hope that there are others that this little quote will touch like it touched me.

Frustration calmed

I have been very frustrated lately almost to the point of being depressed. I have had a real hard time recuperating from this last hospital stay and illness. If I think and add up how long I've been sick or rather sicker than normal it's been over 2 months. My health has been somewhat up and down but even on the up side I've been sicker than normal. I don't know why and lately I've been getting tired of the struggle. I wish I had felt better when my family was here so I could have spent more time with them; as it was they went and did things without me. Although in some ways it was good and some of it I would have done anyway so the siblings could spend time together without Mom around. Emily and Laura have not spent time together for well over a year and it was good for them to be alone together but there were times I wish I could have joined them. Even now I'm still having really rough days where all I want to do is sleep. I had several days last week were maybe I was awake for 3 or 4 hours and even for that time I had to struggle to stay awake. I've wanted to catch up with my friends both here and on the Internet and I've felt guilty for not answering their good wishes and inquiries and because I felt guilty it made it harder to do, the old guilt cycle that does no one any good. I've also missed taking photos. Normally I can go out and take some pictures and get out of my funk, but between being sick and the cold that has not happened like I would like. To top things off our Internet connection has been iffy at best. I would be doing or trying to get caught up and the Internet would go down. Thank goodness the blog saves itself every couple of minutes so I haven't lost to much on my blog but I've lost many a photo download or comment. Anyway enough of the POM I'll tell you what I did today to pull myself out of it with the help of the Lord and my friends, my serendipity.
I woke up today not feeling well and having slept wrong on my ankle so I was in pain and having a HARD time walking, pop, pop, pop. I took care of the ankle, ice and wrap, and got my meds and breakfast. I got back into bed and read my church lessons so even though I could not go I could still get in touch with the spirit and learn what I would have learned at church. It's not as good but still MUCH better than moping and doing nothing. I felt much better after doing the reading; my spirit was lifted up by focusing on the Lord. I napped for a little while than I decided to catch up with some of my friends. I made great progress still not done but progress is being made. This helped relieve the guilt cycle. In catching up with my friends I was reminded of looking at the posted photos and commenting more than just "nice photo" which I had started to do because it's easy and fast. In doing the quick look and comment I was not getting anything out of the pictures. So today I went back to really looking at the photo and analyzing what I like about them and writing that in the comments. What a difference it made; I felt better, I learned more and those I made comments to responded so much better. I even got friend requests from out of the blue, people I'd never had contact with. Serendipity or if you put good vibes out you get good back. There was a new group started today to help with analyzing photos and being able to make meaningful comments, I was one of the first invited to join and I am really looking forward to it. Even the Internet interruptions didn't bother me as bad when the Internet went down I just edited a photo or napped. Just short naps today. The picture above is the photo I edited today.
Photo edit:
I used Corel paint shop ultimate that I download a free trial on cnet.com. I used the HDR edit program that comes with the complete program. This was my second try at HDR, but it still didn't seem right to me. This is a picture of a stream that drains a swamp by my house. I drove by it the day before and it was frozen, but on this day it was sunny and the swamp was thawing. As I was standing there taking the picture I could hear the ice cracking; it was very LOUD and kind of scary. I kept experimenting with the editing program and when I came across this edit my brain said that's it. In looking at it I realized that the photo edit looked like what I would think the BOOM of the ice cracking further up the swamp would look like. Again Serendipity.

33 YEARS !!!!

Today Tom and I have been married for 33 years, which I think is quite the accomplishment. I can't imagine not being married to him anymore and our marriage just keeps getting better. However as anyone with a chronic, unpredictable disease knows just because it is a day for celebration does not mean your body will co-operate. Today due to weather changes, extra exercise yesterday and just plain unpredictability I was feeling too sick to celebrate. This is disappointing to me and I'm sure to Tom, also. One thing about a chronic illness it interrupts and causes disappointments in my own life but also in the lives of those around me. Especially my loved ones, both family and friends, which sometimes makes me feel even worse. I have spent almost all day sleeping, if I sit down I go to sleep, which actually has been kind of nice because I've also had a horrible sinius migraine and every muscle in my body hurts. Tom however has been terrific. He made me french toast for breakfast and served it to me in bed and tonight he made homemade fried chicken strips and mashed potatoes. He is really getting to be a very good cook.

I'm just putting up a pretty picture that I like, an art edit that I did before I started writing down how I did them. It is still one of my favorite photos.

Home again, Home again

I'm home again, actually I've been home a couple of days, I just have not been up to my normal speed yet. After running a low grade fever with a high white blood count for six weeks, then having a horrible Fibromyalsia flare, then developing cruddy sounding lungs the doctor decided to put me in the hospital to find out what was going on. As it turn out from the tests I had pnuemonia. For me only having pnuemonia is a good thing. Anyway they started treatment in the hospital and sent me home. I was still running a low grade fever when I left but by then I could do for myself at home what they could have done for me in the hospital even if I was not completely well.

I'm certainly glad to be home and it has made me grateful for some things I normally take for granted, like hot water and the Internet. It's amazing how fast new technologies get accepted as part of our daily life and get integrated into our lives so we really miss it when it was gone. This hospital has no Wi-Fi and even if I knew it going in, I sure missed it while I was there. I can't even imagine what it would be like without TV. Even though I watch little TV in the hospital most others do. You can hear the many different channels down the hall; which is why I wear earphones and listen to music. It's just a cacophony in the hall. Until I learned the trick with the earphones the noise of the hospital used to keep me always on edge. Anyway back to to getting used to change and new technologies in our lives; I remember when TV was a luxury that you paid extra for; now it is a right and loud would be the protests if the charged 'extra' for it. I imagine that in the not too distant future there will be Wi-Fi in the hospital to. Already people bring their computers and use them, not long ago the would have been locked up as valuables or not brought at all. If you think about it Laptops have not even been around that long allowing people the option to even bring a computer. Come to think of it a personal computer of any kind has not been around for all that long either. I was able to do some editing while in the hospital. I was extremely grateful for having just gotten a laptop that I could take with me. While editing I even came across a couple more funny pictures.

The other thing I missed the most was hot water, a little step backward there. They turn down the water temperature so that sick people who are not thinking well can not burn themselves; which left me with cold showers. I hate cold showers and with a fever I hate them even worse. It might have been good for me, look on the bright side type thing but I couldn't think that way with cold showers. I hate cold showers period. I hate them even worse with a fever cuz they give me chills.

Of course I missed my family and Thanksgiving which wasn't fun at all. I did get lots of sleep in between everyone checking on me. I really needed that sleep. I really needed to be in the hospital.

I am really grateful to be here still to be with my family and friends, to feel of their love and concern, to know and feel their prayers and best wishes for me. Many people expressed their concern and kept me in their thoughts and it truly touched my heart. Thank you it was a most memorable Thanksgiving; one truly felt in the heart.