Prayers for Frugality and Stamina needed

Here in Las Vegas, we have had a record breaking summer - we broke all existing heat records for June, for July, for August, and so far, a lot still in September. That means our utility bills are so much higher than before, eating into budgets.

On top of that, after my medical incident in January, it is taking me a whole lot longer than I expected to get back into making some things from scratch, food wise. Haven't yet gone back into crockpot cooking or soups/stews/casserole dishes for the upright freezer so I've been using a lot of TV dinners and other convenience foods which are not healthy for me.

And on top of that, I haven't yet been able to get back into stores to shop, so I have things delivered which of course have delivery fees attached.

That said, could use a few prayers for frugality and stamina. I am trying to cut food costs by starting to make some of my old faves once again - have started my 3-or-6 day veggie omelets, salmon salad in a batch in serving portions in the freezer, and one or two other things. There are quite a few other things I am trying to start again but I need the stamina since this requires standing in place, lots of dishes in some cases, and other things which tire me so I must rest between tasks.

As for general frugality, that's tricky - not much I can cut back on unless I can somehow get back into going into stores again myself instead of having deliveries. My biggest problem with stores is that when I get back to my driveway, I have to carry things from the car, along the driveway, up the back steps, into the pantry, back outside and down the steps and bring another load in, and so on. Same thing if I go to a food pantry. I have to carry it all inside myself. But maybe I could start with little loads...

I think the food changes might help a lot as well as them helping my overall health - I always had great lab results until lately because I used to always make things with lots of fresh fruits and veggies.

So, methinks if I at least add one more old favorite, healthy, cooked from scratch thing a week, one a week for a goal, that might help.

PLEASE do NOT offer suggestions - I have a lengthy list of ALL the things I loved and that were easy for me (except for the standing and dishes) before my medical mess in January. I only want to start re-entering those things back into my diet and routine and life...

Thanks, folks.

Sweet Lord Jesus, you fed the multitudes with fishes and loaves; please help me to slowly but steadily add back into my life those foods that helped me for so long...and please bless those who say a prayer for me.

July 2024 Finished Charity Projects

During July, I managed to at least do a few charity crafting items -
Rolling along...

2 scarves for the homeless

1 baby jacket

One of our at-home workers emailed to say she has a bunch of things as soon as it's cool enough for her to bring them to the clubhouse - she's very productive and has the following items finished (since April)...

9 blankets (some babies, some VA lap covers)

3 baby jackets

9 scarves

10 preemie hats

5 pair fingerless gloves

13 hats for homeless

Can't wait to see them, take pix... will be another month at least and she will have added more to that stash...

June 2024 Finished Charity Project, Me & Louise

Ok - during the month of June, I made and finished these 4 charity crafting items:

2 hats for the homeless

2 pink baby jackets

And Louise, in spite of her troubled and sore hands, made and dropped off:

3 pairs fingerless gloves

1 nice long scarf

1 purple baby jacket

One photo is of my items and one is of Louise's. I'm hoping to remember to post each month's projects along the way now that I'm back to crocheting after my 5 weeks out of commission during Jan/Feb because of my hospital/rehab stays due to my 3 falls.

I am so happy to be doing this again even though I am not as productive as I used to be -

Rolling along.

Prayer Request for Friend's Family

A dear friend in another state needs prayers and lots of them for some members of her family. Her granddaughter, granddaughter's husband, and their dog, have been trying to live out of their car for quite a while now and it is increasingly more difficult. Their car was almost towed yesterday.

The granddaughter wants a job, I don't know if the husband is employed, but they need lots of prayers to find their way back to a normal life.

Please take a moment to ask for God's blessing for them.

Sweet Lord Jesus, please hear our prayers and help this family. And please bless the ones who pray for them, abundantly. Jesus, we trust in you!

May 2024 My Finished Charity Projects

Ok - during the month of May, I made and finished these 4 charity crafting items: 

3 hats for the homeless (adult sm, adult med, adult lg) 

1 nice long wrap around scarf

    I'm hoping to remember to post each month's projects along the way now that I'm back to crocheting after my 5 weeks out of commission during Jan/Feb because of my hospital/rehab stays due to my 3 falls. 

I am so happy to be doing this again even though I am not as productive as I used to be - Rolling along.

April 2024 Made by Me

 
I didn't re-start crocheting, after my medical issues earlier this year, until the first Friday in April, but I'm happy to have been able to re-start my Friday mornings at the mobile home park clubhouse plus working at home. 

These are the things I finished this month:

Lavender Corner-to-Corner scarf

Pink Baby Jacket

Black/Yellow hat for homeless plus fingerless gloves to match

Ribbed scarf in color blocks of various shades of green

I'm looking forward to what I can do in the month of May...  

2023: Total Items Distributed for Charity Last year

Once a year, I count the previous year's items that we finished and actually distributed. Last year, 2023, we were happy to donate crocheted items, in total, as follows:

Homeless: Hats 65, Scarves 38, Gloves 45 pair

Baby's Bounty: Blankets  9, Hats 57, Jackets 39

That's a total of 253 items donated for the year 2023.

And from when we began in April 2009, we report an overall total of 8459 overall!

It warms our hearts to warm these people who receive our finished items.

Most of our ladies are working from home these days but we are still rolling along...

Charity Crafting Items Documented, Packed, and Photos

I finally found the time to sort and document and pack the items we have finished so far this year. Usually, these days, we do not distribute these until October, except for the VA lapghans which can be any time.

These are from 2 gals who work from home. One has lots of time to crochet and the other, bless her heart, is having more and more troubles with crocheting.

The first photo is what Louise, my long-time gal for over 15 years, brought me earlier this year. She has now pretty much stopped crocheting for charity and tries to do some things for her family and loved ones but she has trigger finger issues and arthritis issues. We are so happy to at least received these from her:            

Louise 1 baby blanket, 5 prs gloves

The second photo are the things the gal with lots of time turned in, 2 weeks ago, Rosemary. We were pleased when she began contributing to the group.            

Rosemary  9 baby blankets, 2 VA lapghans, 3 scarves, 1 baby jacket, baby hats 6, homeless hats 2, gloves 2pr

I should also mention that in March we were happily able to have Louise and her hubby George take 18 lap covers to a VA facility.

            Distribution to VA: 18 lap covers 3/27/24

At the moment, I now have 2 fat bags of baby blankets in the closet for later distribution, and some smaller bags with sorted items.

Most of our ladies are working from home these days but we are still rolling along...

Prayers Requested for Me, This Time!

Ok, most of you know I've been offline for a while. I've had 3 falls in 4 weeks.

The first one was Saturday, Jan. 13th. I had been having a low back pain/ache for about 5 days but kept thinking I was sitting on my computer chair wrong. Then, that Sat. morning, I couldn't stand up straight without pain, and by 5pm, I was in the kitchen and my legs just slid out from under me and I went down on the floor.

I was on the floor for 2 nights and a day, dragging myself through the house by my elbows and hands, my legs useless, dragging behind me, trying to find a way to get up or a way to reach a phone. By then, my knees and elbows had scabs/abrasions on them.

Thankfully, a few months ago, neighbors across from me, and I, swapped keys. After they saw my porch light night and day, they came to the back door and let themselves in and got me up Monday morning.

For the following day I found my family friend's (who I did caregiving for in her final 3 years here with me and her son) old 2-wheel walker which is very big but works. For Sunday, I was fine, but by Sunday night, that pain came back, and Monday morning, once again, I couldn't stand up straight, and that was followed by another fall. Those friends, by now, were watching for signs from their home and came once again and got me up.  This time they talked me into calling 911 and they got me to Sunrise hospital's ER. They admitted me and I also had a kidney infection and was there a week, during which time they never said what the cause was for my two falls. They sent me to rehab and I was in rehab for 3 weeks, again without incident, but my activity level was minimal because you only get OT and PT for a short time each day, never more than 1-1/2 hours total. So rehab sent me home on Wednesday, Feb. 7th, with a walker that was smaller than the big one.

Wed. night I was okay, Thu. evening I began having the back pain again, and the next morning, Fri., again I couldn't stand up straight without pain, and fell again. This time I had my prepaid not-smart cell phone in my pocket - I only use it for when in the car for roadside emergencies. I was able to call my friends and I went back to the ER. The ER doctor didn't take me seriously and wanted to send me home but my ER nurse and I were able to convince him to admit me at least for observation.

Up in my room, THIS time, I finally got a doctor who took me seriously, and also wanted to find the cause and ordered an MRI.

Results yesterday: no spinal injury but I've got "degenerative arthritis of the lower back" - they sent me home yesterday, and I will ask my PCP when I must see him for a follow-up visit, whether a back brace will help. I learned that I must keep better posture, I must rest in between household tasks (I'm not 39 any more), perhaps lose a little weight. Home health care will begin twice a week next week and hopefully she/he can help me do better with posture, etc.

I also think I weakened those lower back muscles, etc., from my really old "sunken seat" couch which I used to nap on or sit and crochet on. I'm going to ask my one neighbor who is our MH Park's maintenance man and also a friend, whether he has a big hard piece of wood, maybe even cut down an old door, and see if that will make the couch usable.

For now I'm using an old recliner which is not comfortable.

The neighbors who found me are also cat people and came in every day and evening to feed Silkie and do litter duty for me. They ran to my pharmacy today to pick up Rx's from the hospital, one for "spasms."

I'm sorry this is so long but it was a complicated month...

So, please keep me in your prayers for wisdom on my end for resting and posture, etc., and for some strained back muscles which my Dr. said will take some time to heal.

I must see my PCP for a follow up visit a week from now and will ask him if a back brace will help. My insurance will cover the ride to and from his location and I'll use a walker when I get there.

That's it for now - again, I apologize for the long post but it was a complicated 4 weeks.

Rolling along...

New Prayer Request for Cancer Victim

A friend's brother-in-law has prostate cancer and it seems to be in an advanced state, and she asked for prayers.

She said they don’t know if it’s already spread through his system. He was tested and now they have to wait for the results. The way her sister said, they are afraid that it’s going to be too late for treatment. Her sister said the doctor told him that if it spread, at his age he didn’t recommend any kind of surgery or treatments.

Please take a moment to send up a quick prayer for the best medical team and a surprise turnaround for this man in finding a treatment that will work.

Sweet Lord Jesus, our healer, we know that even if we just touch the hem of your garment, you can cure. Please look compassionately upon this man and help him in any way you can, and help his family, as well, to be able to deal with this. Please also bless those who pray on his behalf. Jesus, we trust in you!

Prayers Needed Again for Little Adam

Remember that toddler with the seizures and other issues along the way the past year? Well, he's having troubles again. He's in the hospital with RSV and is not doing well. His family is very worried about this.

Prayers for this little fellow much appreciated!

Sweet Lord Jesus, you love little children as we all know. Please continue to look after this little boy who is having so many medical issues at such a young point in his life. And please bless those who offer a prayer for his recovery. Jesus, we trust in you!

Another Distribution of Our Handmade Items

Yesterday, Baby's Bounty picked up several big white 13-gallon bags of crocheted baby blankets, hats and jackets for mothers/babies in need.

We were happy to be able to pass along the following:

Baby Hats 57

Baby Blankets 9

Baby Jackets 39

This organization supplies mothers/babies in need with diapers and many other things that are donated from local companies/businesses but they tell us that their mothers always love the handmade items especially.

Prayers Needed Again for Toddler with Breathing Issues

Back on 10/25/21, we asked for prayers for little Ella who was only 1-1/2 at the time and is now 3 years old. She is once again in the hospital with breathing issues!

Back then, she was in the hospital, on a ventilator, from RSV with pneumonia plus urinary tract infection which is a lot for a baby to handle.

But your prayers at that time were answered and on 11/17/21, not quite a month later, she was off the ventilator.

I don't know much about RSV but it would appear that either this is a long-term side effect of it, or the double whammy of RSV and pneumonia weakened her lungs. She needs your prayers big time once again!

Sweet Lord Jesus, you love the little children. Please shower your compassion and your healing power on this little one. And please bless those who say a prayer for her as well. Jesus, we trust in you!

Latest Distribution of our Handmade Items for the Local Homeless

On Sunday, the 12th, we were happy to drop off 4-1/2 big white 13-gallon bags filled with crocheted hats, scarves, and gloves to our contact. Diane and her friend will now take them to the priest(s) before Thanksgiving. It is already cold out there on the streets at night.

I paced myself and packed those big stuffed bags into the trunk of the car yesterday and today it was an easy drop off. The priest(s) hand them out directly to the homeless. Sorry to say I forgot to take photos this time.

This time we donated:

Hats                74

Scarves           38

Gloves            45 pr

We really love passing these along to them. Thanks for the items made for this drop by Louise, Evie, Malinda, Rosemary and Randi...

Rolling along...

Update on Request for Prayers for Patient with Lung Mass

Back on September 29, we asked for prayers for a friend's high school friend who had a lung mass they feared was cancer.

We are happy to report that they have since confirmed it is NOT cancer, but it is still serious and we ask that prayers for healing and great treatment be continued.

Sweet Lord Jesus, we thank you for easing our fears for this person in that it is not cancer. However, please hear and answer the continued prayers for a great medical team and safe resolution to this person's illness, and please bless all those who take a moment to say a wee prayer. Jesus, we trust in you!