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.