book club

I went to book club last night and as usual, had a wonderful time. We talked about the latest John Grisham book "The Confession." It is a very good read and highly recommend it if you haven't read it.

We also had some very good food, potato soup, pimento cheese sandwiches and a fantastic cake with a chocolate sauce.

I was wondering if any of you belong to a book club.

We have snow

I got to get out yesterday morning and capture some snow pictures.

Here I come again. I have to face the fact that I am a terrible blogger and I so envy those who have the discipline to be faithful to their blogs. I guess a twice a year appearance isn't all that bad, is it?

We had a beautiful White Christmas, as well as a good Christmas. I really tried to savor every moment since my two sons won't be here next Christmas. Uncle Sam has already told them they will be Iraq during the holidays this years. So, if you have room for a little extra prayers I would really appreciate it if you would include them as well as all of our other troops there. I know I am not the only mother facing this but it still causes me a great deal of worry.

I have found another favorite author to follow, Sandra Dallas. I just finished reading her novel, Prayers for Sale, and absolutely loved it. She writes with a "mountain" kind of sense. I really enjoyed the book, and looking forward to reading her others.

Also, I have some Pumpkin Butter with honey that would love to grace your kitchen table each morning, just waiting to be spread all over your toast or biscuit. If you are interested just drop me an email at: thebackfence@yahoo.com

Well, that is all I can muster up for this go around. Maybe I will be back sooner this time.

Another attempt at blogging

Wow, I am just terrible at this blogging.......and I just can't seem to get back on board so I am hoping to start doing better, but only time will tell.

To the right is a potholder I made out of this adorable Lucy material I found. I have always been a big Lucy fan so I got this and made some potholders out of it. Anyone interested in one, just email me.

We will be headed to Lafayette, Ky. this weekend for "Old Timey Festival." This is a neat and historic little town not too far from Fort Campbell, Ky. or Clarksville, Tenn. If you are free for the day and want a neat little festival to attend this one was great last year and we look forward to attending it again this year.

Since craft shows seem to consume my world I guess that will become the focus of this blog.

Hopefully, today I will get a lot accomplished in the old craft room today. I am soon going to have to do some cleaning and organizing or I am not going to be able to walk through there much longer.

Naturally I have to leave you with two pics of grandkids, they are growing so fast. Have a good day. It rained during the night and so much cooler today and I love it.

Cody, on the left, seems to be in serious thought, and Shelby, always smiling, she is such a special little girl.

Crappy Cold

I have been dealing with the whole gamut of a crappy cold the last couple of days, and I still feel horrible.

I am always amazed how you can be fine, and just all of a sudden it is like a cold just jumps all over you and invades every part of your being. I hate runny noses.

I did finally manage to get my bow tie quilt put in yesterday and got one whole block hand quilted. I am determined to hand quilt this one even though it may take me from until Christmas to do so.

That was about my whole day, lying on the couch taking cold medicine, working on a quilt in between sneezing fits and of course, reading a book.

I am currently reading "Blind Submission" by Debra Ginsburg and it is really good.

Mark fixed talapia for supper. Despite the taste buds being on the out, it was really good.

Have a good one.

addictions

I think the time has come in my life to admit that I am addicted to.............reading.

I have always been a big reader, I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t reading, but as I grow older my addiction grows worse.

I have to have a book in my hand, and I have to be reading something, at all times.

This is why my dishes don’t get washed, my floors aren’t swept, projects in my sewing room go unfinished and canvases are stacked against the wall with no paint on them.

I try to control it, I really do, but right now my pile of works to be read continues to grow and some days I worry it may grow completely out of the ceiling.

Does anyone know if there is a program for this addiction?

Jenni Osborne

Jenni Osborne



After big bump in life’s road, Osborne back on track
By Kathy W. Hathcock

Jenni Osborne was on track to achieving the goals she had set for herself.

She graduated from Logan County High School in 2001. She took a year off before beginning her studies at Western Kentucky University with a major in journalism.

Her initial goals had been to pursue a fashion related journalism career or possibly working in the country music industry.

It was while she was doing an internship in 2005 in New York City that Osborne began to realize she didn’t quite have the energy level she was accustomed to.

She kept thinking to herself about how she had considered herself to be in good physical shape and couldn’t understand the fatigue she was beginning to feel. She was finding it difficult to stand on her feet for long periods of time. Osborne recalls asking, "Have I really become this lazy?"

During 2006 she described her physical condition as one in which she felt "run ragged."
Her hands kept falling asleep with a continual tingling sensation. She said her legs felt numb. She also noticed a different texture to her hair as well as finding more and more of her hair in the shower or on her brush.

Osborne decided to visit her regular doctor to describe her symptoms. Her initial thought was that maybe she was suffering from an exercise injury, since extensive working out was a big part of her life.

Her doctor told her she needs to see a neurologist. Osborne responded she didn’t have time, it was her senior year at Western and she was on the fast track to finishing her degree.

Osborne had one more class to complete before she could hold that degree in her hand.

The class was Basic Photography. It was in the early part of this course she recalls sitting in class one day and feeling very sick. Her entire body was going numb; she kept telling herself she needed to get up and leave.

Osborne made it through the door of the classroom. Then, the next thing she remembers is is lying on the floor, unable to move, feeling tremendous pain all over her body.

An ambulance was called. Osborne was transported to the hospital where an MRI was run. The test didn’t provide the doctor any explanation for what had happened to her.

The instructor of the class told Osborne she could wait until the fall to take the class if she wanted to do so. Osborne told him no, that she would finish. "Something inside me told me I needed to go ahead and finish this class," Osborne says.

She struggled to complete the class with her mother driving her to shoot the assignments. Then she would be in the photo lab for hours at a time working on getting the pictures ready for the assignments.

It was a wise decision by Osborne to finish that class when she did, since her health kept deteriorating after that for the next two years.

The pain in her legs worsened as well as the numbing sensation. "The cramps in my legs were similar to suffering a charlie horse that would not stop," Osborne said.

There were more MRIs, exhausting amounts of other tests as well as being stuck with endless needles to try to put a name to what had happened to the vibrant 23-year-old.

In January 2007 the doctors did a spinal tap on Osborne. Later it was discovered that the hole where the spinal tap was done had opened up and all the fluids in her body drained out.

"I got up to go to the bathroom and it was like someone had stuck a knife through my head; the pain was that blinding," Osborne recalls. When she lost all of the fluids, she lost the cushioning around her brain. The pain she felt was caused by her brain literally slamming into her skull.
She was immediately given IVs to restore the fluids in her body as well as providing pain medication.

Finally, the doctors gave her a name for what was happening to her, transverse myelitis. Doctors explained it to be a form of MS (multiple scelorisis.)

Transverse myelitis is caused by a virus settling into the spinal cord. Osborne believes she contracted the virus through a cut in her mouth that became infected, resulting in her being hospitalized.

Through different trials with medication, Osborne is now on one that has helped get her illness under control. Even though she is not back to being 100 percent of the person she was, she says life is a lot better.

"I was so out of it for more than two years. Now at least I can now be a person," she says.
Traveling has long been a dream of Osborne’s, and she’s not letting go of those dreams. She traveled to Hawaii in 2007 with the help of a good friend, Madessa Rouse.

This past year she achieved another one of her dreams by traveling to France.

Osborne realizes how quickly something in life can land you on your back. While she is so much healthier, she plans to grab on to every bit of life to the top of her capability.

Mornings are the hardest part of the day. She feels a coldness and soreness in her legs that she must deal with on a daily basis.

Osborne said when she graduated from high school she knew what she wanted to do after graduating from college.

Life changes. Now, she is not sure of what goals to set for herself. She knows she wants to do more photography as well as writing a book one day.

"I have yet to figure out what I can do, if anything, that will contribute something to this world that matters," Osborne says. "Since I got interrupted, I honestly don’t know where I’m supposed to go yet."

All who have been around Jenni Osborne have reason to believe that with her determination, intelligence and perseverance, we will all learn what her role will be in life and that it will affect those around her for the good.

Quilting

I have a quilting class today in Bowling Green and I am so excited. I know what you are thinking, but you make and sell quilts. I make very homespun quilts so I am hoping to "up" my skills by taking a class.

My hand quilting is very primitive and that is about the nicest way I can think of saying it. So, I am hoping through this class to improve that a lot.

And to tell you the truth, I think I just wanted to hang out with some other quilt enthusiasts. It gets pretty lonely around here at times.

Another motivator has been the Elm Creek Quilt series. I started reading the series over Christmas and I am now on book number 3, so I just seem to be surrounding my life with quilt jargon except there is no one to talk to.

So, I am off to quilting class.

Ky. National Guard

If you live in the state of Kentucky or read the news, you know the entire Kentucky National Guard has been called out to help people in the midst of this ice storm.

My son Dusty, pictured above, is now in the Lake Barkley area. When he called Sunday night, he said it is really bad and these people have been without anything since the storm first hit.

We were very lucky here because we were only without power for about 10 hours. However, just 20 miles north of us, the folks in Muhlenberg County are still without power, the schools have been closed until further notice, and they are begging for blankets, water and non-perishable foods. Muhlenberg Co. is so rural, rescue personnel is stated as saying they are really worried about those who have no phone communication or cell phone because they really don't know if these people have survived or not. Keep all of them in your thoughts and prayers.

New job

I have a new job (doing the happy dance) in the background.

Well, not a new job where I have to punch a clock and all that, but a new job where I get to write feature articles and take endless photos. By the way, I am praying for a digital camera, so if any of you happen to find a really nice one laying in a parking lot, hay field, or somewhere and want to mail it to me it would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, a very nice lady in Bowling Green is trying to get a new publication started here called the Logan Independent Journal. It's going to be tough to get this started because we are going up against the current newspaper that has been here for 200 years.

But, if you lived here and could read our present newspaper, you would understand our need for a new one. If you get a chance, check us out at http://www.loganandbeyond.com/
When the page loads, there will be a little icon to your right of some newspapers, click on that, register and then you can read it.

Ice Storm

If you have been reading the news at all, or live in the state of Kentucky, you know that the entire Kentucky National Guard has been called out to help those in parts of Kentucky who are still without power.

My oldest son, Dusty, called last night and said he had been moved to the area of Kuttawa and Eddyville.Dusty talked like it is bad, it resembles a war field and the people there have been without any electricity for several days.

Mark and I did a craft show this past summer in Kuttawa so I at least knew what town he was staying in. Kuttawa is a beautiful part of Kentucky near Lake Barkley, with rows of quaint looking homes, and a just a really nice part of the state to visit or live. So, I am really hoping they are able to recover from the damage done there.

Today, Dusty's unit is going to start with door to door welfare checks. I just pray they don't find anything but survivors who have managed through the storm somehow.

Dusty stated that is he glad he is able to do something to help out. He is now under federal orders and said it may be a month before he gets home.

It means a lot to me that both of my sons are willing to serve not only their country but their fellow mankind as well. They are willing to sacrifice a warm bed, television, and good hot meals to go and help other people.

The flag that shows on top of this page was taken in front of the rubble of the Russellville Middle School. That flag has come to mean a lot in this house. After marrying Mark I adopted an entirely new respect for the flag even though I was raised in a home with a strong military history. Now, with two sons in uniform, the flag flying in the wind will bring tears to my eyes.

We have two flags in this house that mean a lot to the occupants here. One is the flag that was presented to my great-aunt and great-uncle after their son died in WWII. This flag only has 48 stars, each one of my sons has asked for it, so that will be a hard decision one day of deciding which one will receive it.

The other flag holding a special place of honor is the one that draped the coffin of Mark's dad, Kenneth Hathcock. He, too, was retired from the Army. One day the decision will need to be made of who to pass that flag onto. This flag holds a very special place in Mark's heart since he followed his dad's footsteps of a career in the military.

My mother still has the flag that draped my dad's coffin. He was a disabled vet and instilled in all four of his daughters a love for this country. I guess when the time comes to find a new home for that flag we will just have to put our names in a hat and see who gets drawn out.

I am very proud of my sons, and all three of my children, because they are always so willing to give to others. Their unselfishness toward others is one that fills my heart with pride. They don't look at situations and ask what they can get out of anything. They aren't the type of people that believe in the "I" mentality.

the weather

I guess the weather is pretty the main topic all over Kentucky. It is hard to believe that I took this picture above less than a week ago (if you know what type of a grass this is will you please let me know.)

We were pretty lucky here. We were only without electricity for about 12 hours. There are parts of this county, however, that are still without power. The county north to us, Muhlenberg, is in really bad shape. Some estimate it will be at least two weeks before the juice is flowing through their wires once again. The Red Cross has stepped in to provide people with blankets, water and non-perishable foods. I think around Louisville there may still be people without lights, heat, and all the good things that go with electricity.

We have a lot of Amish in this community and I am sure their life went on as usual except there weren't grocery stores open either.

So, during this down time I started reading the Elm Creek Quilt series. I have long wanted to read this collection but wanted to start from the beginning. So, with one of my hand little Barnes and Noble gift cards that I received for Christmas I ordered the first four in the series. I have to say I am really enjoying it. I just love these types of books that just tell a story.

My daughter doesn't go to college today so I am babysitting free. I think I will try to get my hair cut, get my sewing room warm and just see what the rest of the day holds.

For those of you able to read this, I hope you have a good rest of the day, for those of you without electricity, I am sorry and will be keeping my fingers crossed that the magic of the light bulb will once again shine at your house before too much longer.

weather?

Who knows what this weather is going to do today? I can hear the rain falling, the temperature is right at freezing, so who knows if it is all going to turn to ice or not.

Today is my daughter's first day back at college, 30 miles away, and my grandmotherly babysitting duties start again. Naturally, I keep thinking they need to call off classes but then college seldom calls off classes, so I guess we will just have to see.

I spent the day yesterday running errands for everyone else, don't you just love those days. I took my sister to a cardiac rehab and I seriously wondered at times if I would get her there without inflicting bodily harm since she kept telling me how she did not want to go.

Anyway, I am off to turn on the news, and grab my much needed handwork for the day ahead.

New quilts and a terrible blogger

Well, I think it is no secret that I am just a terrible blogger. I come sneaking in here every two or three months to say hi, then disappear again.

It was even one of my resolutions for the New Year to do better at this, but you can see how well I keep my resolutions.

Oh well, there is always tomorrow, right?

I actually have some good news, shouting from the roof tops. An opportunity has presented itself to me this past week that will allow me to somewhat get back into the newspaper business. It will actually be more on a freelance type of writing but at least I get to get out and meet people again. I get to walk around with a camera strapped to my shoulder, a notebook in hand and ask people to tell me their story. Hooray. Hopefully it will become a profitable adventure for the person behind this brainchild and won't go down the drain with the rest of the economy.

As you may have noticed, I also have new quilts that need to find a new home. The top one is done in mint green with a blue backing featuring horses in each one of those blocks. The blocks are six inches inside and the quilts is 11 blocks across by 13 blocks up and down.

Of course, my favorite ones to make are the homespun patchwork ones. This is a pretty good size quilt. Once again, the blocks are six inches with 14 going across and 16 up and down.

If you think you would love to give a home to one of these quilts you can email me at thebackfence@yahoo.com

Who knows, I may even make it back tomorrow. Have a good one. It's cold here in Kentucky, how about your neck of the woods?

Today is Wednesday

I just wanted to share this image with those of you who stop by. This is a photo of my son Daniel, who graduated from basic training Oct. 31 and my granddaughter, Shelby. I just love the picture even those it has nothing to do with anything I was thinking about this morning except that I just love the picture.

I have decided that I don't have the dedication or devotion, whichever word you think best describes my inability to keep this blog up to date. I am an avid reader of other blogs which I do enjoy but for some reason I don't quite have in my power the ability to put words on this screen day after day.

I enjoy the computer but I just don't enjoy sitting here for over 15 minutes at a time. The husband can sit here for a couple of hours but that is certainly not my cup of tea.

So, today is Wednesday, Dec. 15. As of right now it is not raining, but the clouds look as if they could open up once again and give us a good drenching at any time.

Yesterday I started the day with taking the two grandkids to Koffee and Krayons. This is an activity in which they get to run around a gym, throw some balls and made a snowman out of coconut and raisins. They were cute but I have found giving glue to a two year old and three year old is always an adventure, one that usually ends up with the adult getting sticky from futile attempts to keep the children from getting sticky.

After returning home I spent the day in my haven, otherwise known as the sewing room and finally finish putting together a quilt that I believe I have been working on for three or four months now. I am hoping I will have it ready for our show this weekend in Louisville. I also spent the day watching reruns of NCIS.

NCIS seems to be my latest obsession. For some reason I never did watch the show in its regularly time slot of Tuesday night, so all of these reruns are new to me. Which is a good thing, because I would not be watching them otherwise. I am one of those people who cannot reread a book, watch a movie twice (except for the Family Stone), or hardly watch a television show twice.

Anyway, I enjoyed listening to the rain and watching it, and getting the quilt finished except for my sore fingers this morning.

As usual, I am rambling, so I am now off to the sewing machine to make potholders then I will try to put the binding on the quilt, iron it and pack it up.

So, how did you spend your rainy Tuesday.

Blessed rain

It is raining here in southern Kentucky and it sounds so soothing to sit and listen to the sound of it falling. It is a perfect day to clean, which I have a full day ahead of me doing, because it is cloudy and I can't see all of the dust that I miss.

I stopped to take a picture of this little creek the other day but I can't decide if I like the vertical shot better or the horizontal one.

Which one do you like the best.

Glendale, Ky.

This was the Model T that hailed from Green County, Ky.

Just one of the crowd shots. Booths are lined up

everywhere as well as the people.

Aren't these jackets just adorable?

Here is the husband with out booth.

I just loved these old pots or old canners painted to look like

pumpkins. They were just so bright and cheerful looking.

The Amish are always there with their crafts.

Of course, you have to get some playtime in.

The third weekend of October always finds us in Glendale, Ky. set up at the Glendale Crossing Festival and this was the 30th show we have done this year. The crowd at this show never ceases to amaze me.

The weather was a little cool but other than that it was a great day. There was an Amish booth behind us that sold homemade doughnuts and I think I may have gained 10 pounds that day from eating her doughnuts.

At this festival you will find a little bit of eveything, from antiques to crafts, to wonderful food. It's a great place to visit and if you didn't get to make it this year maybe you can next year. I am sure you won't be disappointed.

Wise words to live by

"An elder Cherokee was teaching his grandchildren about life.

He said to them, 'a fight is going on inside me, it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
One wolf is fear, anger, envy, greed, guilt, arrogance, self-pity, resentment, lies, false pride and ego.

The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, humility, kindness, truth, faith and compassion.

This same fight is going on inside you and every other persoon too, he added. The grandchildren thought about it for a minute and asked 'Grandfather, which wolf will win?'

The elder simply replied, 'The one you feed.'"

Does the ugly in this world ever stop. No, but we certainly don't have to feed it.

Several things has happened around here this week and I have been truly been amazed to the point of gasping at how ugly some people can be. Hurtful words have been spewed, nasty tales have been told, and yet it all continues.

I read stories or watch on television about real problems some people in this world are having to deal with. The sickness of a child, loss of a parent, losing one's home or job, real problems yet others want to dwell on a drama that is going to yield no winners, just more accusations, more lies, more hurtful words that can never be taken back.

I will never understand why people want to hurt other people so much.

I guess the gnashing of teeth is just part of life and always will be.

Pointing the finger, continuing to throw vindictive words out for the wind to carry or worse putting them in print, is certainly not accomplishing anything in this world.

But it won't never stop, will it?

There are still good people left in this world

I just want to tell everyone that despite what you may have come to believe about mankind there are still decent and caring people left in this world.

This point was driven home to me once again a couple of weeks ago in Metropolis, Ill. You know, the home of Superman.

After Mark and I had finished our craft show in Grand Rivers two weeks ago we drove up to Metropolis to spend the night.

We drove into Metropolis the next morning to look around a bit, then stopped at a fast food store to get some gas. As we went to pull out of the parking lot we realized we weren't going anywhere, we had a flat tire that not even a can of fix a flat was going to fix.

So, we unload all of that stuff out of that trunk to get to the spare when we should discover that little cubby hole holding that spare and jack was full of water. Don't ask either one of us where the water came from, or how long it had been there because we don't know.

Needless to say, the jack was rusted beyond use. Now, here we are in Metropolis, Ill. on a Sunday morning with a flat and no jack. The little doughnut spare is usable but we had serious doubts about driving all the way back home on that little spare.

During all of this worry and concentration on how to deal with this problem this man pulls up and inquires as to what is wrong. We go through our dilemna with him when he tells us he will go home and get a jack. While he is gone, another man pulls up, asks us the same question and tells us he will be back in a few minutes.

Man number one shows up with the jack and man number two shows up with a practically new tire. Mark asks him how much he wants for the tire and he replies nothing. Can you believe that, in this day and time someone just shows up with a tire and gives it to you? We thanked him endlessly and told us not to think a thing about it.

Now we have a tire, but need to find a place to get the tire put on a rim. We decided that our little spare should at least make it to Paducah where we could surely find a tire store or a Super Wal Mart open.

At this time, the man with the jack, Keith, makes a phone call to his friend who owns a garage. Much to our surpise the guy agrees to open his shop, put the tire on a rim and put it on the car for us.

Talk about guardian angels.

We follow Keith to the shop, John puts the tire on the rim, and gets ready to put it on the car when he feels a pin hole on the side wall of the tire. Ouch.

But our luck hadn't run out yet. John checked and he had a used tire that would fit our car. So, he takes the other tire off of the rim, puts his tire on the rim and then puts it on our car. The amazing thing about this though is that he did all of this for only $35.

By now our mouths are falling to the ground with wonderment at the kindness of these people and thanking the heavens above for these men who were willing to lend a helping hand to two strangers from Kentucky. Talking about going the extra mile, those three men certainly exceeded any expectations we had of finding help with our problem.

There are still good people left in this world, and there are those who are always willing to lend that helping hand to others. Believe me, we realized how lucky we were that day and will be forever grateful to Keith, John and the man with the tire. I just know secretly one of them had a big S on their chest.

Busy week ahead

It's going to be a busy and full week around the old homestead this week.

My daughter has reached a point in her life where she is finding it necessary to move back home with her two little munchkins, pictured to the left, and I guess that little old border collie will be coming along also.

She is attending college full time and her getting that college degree is a very high priority on my list. Life as a single mother is rough at best, I know, been there and done that.

I will never understand men who can just walk off and leave their precious children behind, and just leave the mother and kids to deal with it the best they can. But it is his loss, that is all I can really say about it.

So, we are having to clear out two bedrooms (and this is only a three bedroom house), clean out closets, relocate furniture, and trying to make it child proof. It has been a long time since I have heard the pitter patter of little feet so it is going to take some adjusting to once again.

If any of you have an extra prayer this week, send one up for all of us, I think we are going to need it.

Have a great day.