I'm in love!

No, that's not why I have been MIA! More about that in a minute.

Seems like forever since I last posted here. I've had a series of health
issues... several bouts with bronchitis/pneumonia, a mammogram scare
(clean bill of health after repeat mammogram and an ultrasound), pinched
nerve and 4 bulging disks in my neck (ongoing physical therapy working
miracles) and diagnosed with sleep apnea. Sounds bad but so far 2008 is
looking good! I went to the doctor originally because of debilitating
exhaustion then all this other stuff happened! That'll teach me! The
PT is down to one day a week (w/ lots of homework including neck
traction) and I'm am starting to get used to the BiPAP headgear which is
surprisingly very small... so all things considered life is better than
the last few months! I can actually sit at the computer again for more
than a minute!

Had a good week or two around Christmas... good thing because I was
crazy busy with orders from family and friends and am still working,
slowly, on finishing up some extra work that resulted from the Christmas
necklaces. I'll post some pictures in a few days when I stop
procrastinating.

Anyway... about the love thing...

He has long grey hair with long white streaks and big black eyes.
He's quiet and happy but not quite potty trained yet!

http://beadfulheart.com/gallery/gandalf/namesake
http://beadfulheart.com/gallery/gandalf/

The promise of a guinea pig was a Christmas present from my mom to my
grandson. I made them wait until I did some research, decided we were
ready for another animal AND found a healthy surrendered guinea pig. I
don't like Christmas pets and refused to be rushed into anything.

But the little guy stole my heart at first sight! He is very shy but
after 3 days is starting to get curious about us. I made the boys limit
how much he was handled (read: annoyed) by them to give him a chance to
acclimate. But the last couple of nights, when the house was quiet, I
wrapped him in my shirttail and just let him be close. OMG he is so
wonderful!!! Regardless of the research, I still have a lot to learn
about him but he seems to be a perfect match.

And since he doesn't steal the remote or leave socks on the floor I am
still happily single!


--
Polly Stewart

"The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that
wasn't there before." ... Neil Gaiman

OMG!! POLLY!!! I'm waving excitedly!! It's so good to "see" you!
And you new love is adorable - I would have melted just as quickly to
his magical vibes. Hee! I'm sure Jerri will have lots of helpful
hints for you about his care and feeding. Will we see costumes for
him too???

And I'm so sorry to hear about all your health problems, but as a CPAP
user of almost a year now, I can tell you that you'll feel
increasingly better as you use the machine more. And that neck!
Wowsa. Sounds like some of Kathy N-V's problems. I'm happy, happy to
hear that the PT is helping. Many gentle cyber-hugs to you, lady.

I'd like to see some pictures of the boys when you have a moment,
too! This is so great to see you here!

On Feb 11, 7:36 pm, "Polly S." wrote:
No, that's not why I have been MIA! More about that in a minute.

Too funny you should reappear (finally!!!) after I emailed Sandy (who
had
also disappeared) with a list of who also went missing, which included
you.

How are your general circumstances now, did you get through all the
'fallout' of Katrina and Rita (finally)? Remembering that you're also
a plant
person, how are your plants?

Maren
HiloBeads: Beads - Beading Supplies - Hand-made Jewelry
http://www.hilobeads.com/
Blog at: http://hilobeads.blogspot.com/

Hi Polly!

Good to hear from you. I'm sorry about your health issues, but it
sounds like you are dealing with it well.

We're dealing with some illness with my 14 yr. old, so I'm no around as
much.

Congrats on Gandalf! What a lovely boy he is!! We lost Butterbean in
Nov., and got another rescue pig, Bella, in Dec. (I should be doing a
Valentine's picture of her today, I hope.) She's a wonderful girl.

It sounds like Gandalf is a cuddle pig, which is what I love. Bella
also loves to be held, and I think it's good relaxation for us to sit and
cuddle them!

--
Jerri
www.beadbimbo.com


"Polly S." wrote in message
...
No, that's not why I have been MIA! More about that in a minute.

Seems like forever since I last posted here. I've had a series of health
issues... several bouts with bronchitis/pneumonia, a mammogram scare
(clean bill of health after repeat mammogram and an ultrasound), pinched
nerve and 4 bulging disks in my neck (ongoing physical therapy working
miracles) and diagnosed with sleep apnea. Sounds bad but so far 2008 is
looking good! I went to the doctor originally because of debilitating
exhaustion then all this other stuff happened! That'll teach me! The PT
is down to one day a week (w/ lots of homework including neck traction)
and I'm am starting to get used to the BiPAP headgear which is
surprisingly very small... so all things considered life is better than
the last few months! I can actually sit at the computer again for more
than a minute!

Had a good week or two around Christmas... good thing because I was crazy
busy with orders from family and friends and am still working, slowly, on
finishing up some extra work that resulted from the Christmas necklaces.
I'll post some pictures in a few days when I stop procrastinating.

Anyway... about the love thing...

He has long grey hair with long white streaks and big black eyes.
He's quiet and happy but not quite potty trained yet!

http://beadfulheart.com/gallery/gandalf/namesake
http://beadfulheart.com/gallery/gandalf/

The promise of a guinea pig was a Christmas present from my mom to my
grandson. I made them wait until I did some research, decided we were
ready for another animal AND found a healthy surrendered guinea pig. I
don't like Christmas pets and refused to be rushed into anything.

But the little guy stole my heart at first sight! He is very shy but after
3 days is starting to get curious about us. I made the boys limit how much
he was handled (read: annoyed) by them to give him a chance to acclimate.
But the last couple of nights, when the house was quiet, I wrapped him in
my shirttail and just let him be close. OMG he is so wonderful!!!
Regardless of the research, I still have a lot to learn about him but he
seems to be a perfect match.

And since he doesn't steal the remote or leave socks on the floor I am
still happily single!


--
Polly Stewart

"The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that
wasn't there before." ... Neil Gaiman

Beadbimbo wrote:

We're dealing with some illness with my 14 yr. old, so I'm no around as
much.

I sincerely hope it's very temporary and that all will be well right away.

Congrats on Gandalf! What a lovely boy he is!! We lost Butterbean in
Nov., and got another rescue pig, Bella, in Dec. (I should be doing a
Valentine's picture of her today, I hope.) She's a wonderful girl.

Sorry to hear about Butterbean, she was such a part of so many lives and
brought so many smiles... sometimes when they were greatly needed!

It sounds like Gandalf is a cuddle pig, which is what I love. Bella
also loves to be held, and I think it's good relaxation for us to sit and
cuddle them!

I was about to start 'yelling' for you a few minutes ago... I had him in
my lap, petting and scritching behind his ears, when he started making a
strange noise! I've heard of 'popcorning' (?) but this was more like a
deep rumble/purr/growl!!! I worried for a moment and thought
"Jeeerrrrri!!!" Then I decided it was just contentment. He has been
so quiet and shy that it was a great feeling to feel that rumbling from him!

I've never been a huge dog/cat person. Our cat is the typical
independent sort who rarely accepts affection and only on her terms! But
this little guy is AWESOME! You don't know how many times I have thought
about you and Butterbean through all the researching guinea pigs and
deciding to do this! Don't know about dressing him up though!

Mj wrote:
OMG!! POLLY!!! I'm waving excitedly!! It's so good to "see" you!
And you new love is adorable - I would have melted just as quickly to
his magical vibes. Hee! I'm sure Jerri will have lots of helpful
hints for you about his care and feeding. Will we see costumes for
him too???

LOL I'm not so sure about that!

And I'm so sorry to hear about all your health problems, but as a CPAP
user of almost a year now, I can tell you that you'll feel
increasingly better as you use the machine more.

Just have to get used to using it. I am so used to drifting off to sleep
reading (waking up with glasses on and book on the floor!) it's weird to
have to be more awake just before sleep! And I find myself being too
conscious of my breathing and trying too hard until I do drift off. But
the Swift II is really so much smaller than I expected that wearing it
is not too bad.

Wowsa. Sounds like some of Kathy N-V's problems. I'm happy, happy to
hear that the PT is helping. Many gentle cyber-hugs to you, lady.

Thank you and back atcha!

I'd like to see some pictures of the boys when you have a moment,
too! This is so great to see you here!

I really have to get it in gear as far as taking pics. I set up my light
box in a more permanent place and got an awesome tripod for Christmas
and still I procrastinate! My cell takes such great pics (of the boys
mostly!) but I need to upload them. That's me... Queen of Procrastination!

Its good to be back. I missed SO much but there were just far to many
messages to read.


--
Polly Stewart

"The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that
wasn't there before." ... Neil Gaiman


http://beadfulheart.com/

Hey!!! How are you doing!!!??

Maren at google wrote:

How are your general circumstances now, did you get through all the
'fallout' of Katrina and Rita (finally)? Remembering that you're also
a plant person, how are your plants?

We're doing good... We found a great house with a huge yard in an
awesome neighborhood! At the time I found this place there were not a
lot of options. Unfortunately rents have gone through the roof and I'm
paying more than double. I've thought about moving but hate to leave
where we are now (1 blk from Austin's school and 4 blks from main
library) so I've cut back a lot in other ways (no more browsing ebay
when I'm bored ).

I have a large carport that I closed in with visqueen so all my plants
are inside for the winter... such as it is down here. We've only had 3-4
freezes, none below 28-30, and will probably have only one more. They
are so packed in the carport on stands and tables and hanging that it's
like a jungle in there. I am SO itching to start moving them out
again!!! Need to get dirt under my nails!

I planted 5 trees (acacia, palm, Japanese Magnolia, shefflera, hibiscus)
and a sago in my yard last year and they are doing pretty good. The
small palm froze back a bit but is coming back. The acacia was blown
down in one early storm but I went out in the pouring rain and cut all
the heavy blooms off of it and staked it back up. I hated cutting it
back so much but it was that or lose it. All my cannas got some kind of
fungus so they were cut down to the ground and are already coming back
out. I lost a passion flower vine and a sweet pea but am waiting to see
if they come back. It's so hard to know what will make it through our
mild winters!

See what you did!!! Ya *never* should have gotten me started talking
about plants! Now I REALLY want to get out there and get dirty!


Maren
HiloBeads: Beads - Beading Supplies - Hand-made Jewelry
http://www.hilobeads.com/
Blog at: http://hilobeads.blogspot.com/


--
Polly Stewart

"The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that
wasn't there before." ... Neil Gaiman


http://beadfulheart.com/

On Feb 13, 7:54 am, "Polly S." wrote:

Unfortunately rents have gone through the roof and I'm
paying more than doubled.

Here too. I have a new office mate, he's straight out of college, and
he's renting a _room_. A computer engineer with a college degree.
I'm so glad we got this house when real estate was still cheap here,
we couldn't buy this house anymore now, old as it is and work that
it needs.

I have a large carport that I closed in with visqueen so all my plants
are inside for the winter... such as it is down here. We've only had 3-4
freezes, none below 28-30, and will probably have only one more. They
are so packed in the carport on stands and tables and hanging that it's
like a jungle in there.

Sounds great! But, yes, I can see that driving you stir crazy after
winter.
I'm getting a bit like that after the 30" rain we had this month. Like
picking coffee when it's only drizzling rather than pouring.

I got some canna seeds last year, and 2 of them are actually
growing. I'm getting kinda excited about what color they're going to
be, even if most of the seeds came from yellow flowered plants,
there were a lot of red ones in the area where I got the seeds, and
there has to be some cross pollination ...

See what you did!!! Ya *never* should have gotten me started talking
about plants! Now I REALLY want to get out there and get dirty!

Eh, I got you writing ggg.
How cold and/or soggy are you down there? (Actually, looking from
here I should say "up there" g)

Maren
HiloBeads: Beads - Beading Supplies - Hand-made Jewelry
http://www.hilobeads.com/
Blog at:http://hilobeads.blogspot.com/

--
Polly Stewart

"The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that
wasn't there before." ... Neil Gaiman

/

With a hairdo like Gandalf's who needs costumes? LOL He's adorable.

--
Karleen Page
Member International Jewelry Designers Guild (IJDG)
Vibrant Jewels web sto http://www.vibrantjewels.com/jewelry/welcome.htm
Vibrant Jewels JustBeads Auctions:
http://www.justbeads.com/search/ql.cfm?s=21770
CLICK HERE to join myYahoo Group:
Ebay Auctions: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZvibrantjewels
"Polly S." wrote in message
...
Beadbimbo wrote:

We're dealing with some illness with my 14 yr. old, so I'm no around
as
much.

I sincerely hope it's very temporary and that all will be well right away.

Congrats on Gandalf! What a lovely boy he is!! We lost Butterbean in
Nov., and got another rescue pig, Bella, in Dec. (I should be doing a
Valentine's picture of her today, I hope.) She's a wonderful girl.

Sorry to hear about Butterbean, she was such a part of so many lives and
brought so many smiles... sometimes when they were greatly needed!

It sounds like Gandalf is a cuddle pig, which is what I love. Bella
also loves to be held, and I think it's good relaxation for us to sit and
cuddle them!

I was about to start 'yelling' for you a few minutes ago... I had him in
my lap, petting and scritching behind his ears, when he started making a
strange noise! I've heard of 'popcorning' (?) but this was more like a
deep rumble/purr/growl!!! I worried for a moment and thought
"Jeeerrrrri!!!" Then I decided it was just contentment. He has been
so quiet and shy that it was a great feeling to feel that rumbling from him!

I've never been a huge dog/cat person. Our cat is the typical
independent sort who rarely accepts affection and only on her terms! But
this little guy is AWESOME! You don't know how many times I have thought
about you and Butterbean through all the researching guinea pigs and
deciding to do this! Don't know about dressing him up though!

Vibrant Jewels wrote:
With a hairdo like Gandalf's who needs costumes? LOL He's adorable.


Thanks... he's just so shy but the best animal family member ever!

shhh don't tell the cat!

--
Polly Stewart

"The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that
wasn't there before." ... Neil Gaiman


http://beadfulheart.com/