I'm a Grandma! finally! ok, step grandma, but I'll take whatever I can get!

My stepson's wife just had their baby this morning. A 9 lb. 14 oz., 22 inch long baby boy named Parker Hub Wright.
Mom had to go Cesarean Section but seems to be doing OK.
I'll get to see her and baby in a few days, I hope.
The new Dad says little Parker Hub is blonde.
If you know Cody, the dad, that's a real duh... Cody has nearly white hair
and his wife is dish-water blonde -
so no dark hair, dark eyes like Grandma Brenda.
Oh, well. I can still spoil him crazy!

Just a thought on "use-it-or-lose-it"

Yeah, I'm getting older. I don't mind it really, in fact it would be funner if I didn't hurt so much whenever I try anything.
Case in point: My shoulder has been giving me trouble for about a year and a half. It really got bad this last spring so I thought with all my scientific wisdom, I said; "I'll just try not to use it as much as possible until it heals". Sounds good right? WRONG. Don't do it. By end of June, I could barely move my arm at all. No motion whatsoever. No overhead movement so I couldn't even shave my armpit. Now that is the pits! Couldn't touch my back, couldn't comb the top of my head when the blow dryer was in the other hand. Great! So off to the doctor and to the physical therapist. I now do exercises twice a day, ice my shoulder and finally I can lift it once again, can't touch my back much yet, but I'm getting there. (My niece is a physical therapist and I think I must now tell her publicly how much I respect her occupation!)
Then I found an old book I've had for years, a book of stories and poems on old age called, "When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple". Are you familiar with this?
Here are a couple of my favorite poems from the book

A Place for Mother by Joanne Seltzer

PRELIMINARY ADVICE
Remember how you once went shopping
for the right nursery school
and when the teacher asked you
if your child was toilet trained
you lied and said she was.

Use the same strategy
in shopping for a nursing home.

Later - when you are told
of Mother's incontinence -
you will clench your fist and shout:
"What have you done to my mother?"


MORE ADVICE
Have a daughter-to-mother talk.
Ask her what she wants.
If she doesn't know
ask her if she's happy.
She will either say
she doesn't know
or she will be silent.
Tell her how much you love her.
Promise you won't forsake her.

To top it off, why not have a necklace made for her with your words on paper made into beads for her to wear, or even better: vice versa, have your Mother write something for you and have that to keep to remember her forever.... just a thought -
see www.bowenwright.com for ideas!
email me at: bbwright98@hotmail.com

Don't read the book, "Stuff" unless you have time to clean!

I just finished the book, "Stuff, compulsive hoarding and the meaning of things". I read it in two days - very, very interesting. Case studies of people with hoarding problems of all kinds were discussed, then how they were treated (if they could be treated), and what might have started their hoarding. But what it did to me was make me feel guilty. I don't form deep bonds with stuff but I do get lazy and defer sifting out unneeded stuff until I need the room or I'm re-modeling or something. But as I would read this book, I felt the need to get up and clean something out - like all my old saved letters and cards. Those of you who got some really old letters returned to you, I hope you can pass them on as historical treasures to your offspring. It's not that they didn't mean anything to me, it's that now they need to be returned and not simply destroyed like my closet full of useless cloth scraps. I'm just not going to make that quilt I always thought I would! (I didn't throw away ALL my scrap paper for making beads! but it is whittled down to a manageable size now!)

I'm still only doing special order paper bead necklaces as I take it easy this summer. I hate not being at the People's market and other fairs but I found that the heat really bothers my head and headaches so check out the links to pictures of necklaces I have made and see if there is something you need for all the ladies in your life to make them true RECYCLERS!

New info on Intracranial Hypertension

http://www.wix.com/ihbrainpain/race

For those of us held down from carrying the burden of a medical condition called "Intracranial Hypertension", here is a web-site for a big fund raiser going on in September for this disease. I would LOVE for a cure in my lifetime - I say, "No more CSF leaks", no more headaches!

Every day, women, men and increasingly, children, are
diagnosed with intracranial hypertension.
They suffer with this "invisible" illness,
and battle the pain, vision loss, as well
as devastating financial and emotional impact.
Most feel that they are alone in their struggle.
But they are not.

IH Awareness Month is a TIME FOR HOPE AND FOR ACTION.
And...it is only 3 months away! This September,
please join us and make your own
personal pledge to spread the word about
intracranial hypertension and the need for research
to find better treatments and a cure:
www.ihrfoundation.org   

Since now you know someone with it - ME!

I enjoyed a wonderful trip to Ireland because of new surgical techniques and new
drugs for my condition. I think there are many more out there who need to be
diagnosed and need treatment.  Thank you to my doctors for finally getting
me back to a working condition!
(See archived posts in Mar 2010 to view my CSF leak caused by IH).

New ideas for recycled paper pendants from Ireland!

So yes, I am home and ready to get back to work making necklaces from recycled paper. I searched Ireland high and low for ideas (and for fun). I have to practice a bit but I think I found the perfect idea for pendants that I can make from paper - St. Bridgids Cross (or as they say in Ireland: Cros Naomh Bhride). We'll see how that goes and get some sample pictures on the blog ASAP.
I think I need to open a little shop in Ireland and sell my beads, of course I'd have to live there year round - wouldn't that be heaven!
I have pictures I will post every now and again so as not to bore the readers but one of my favorite is a video I took of a 5 day old Falabella pony. This is the smallest breed in the world (from Argentina) but there was a little family of them at the Irish National Stud. This is a farm where world champion racing horses are kept and breed. It was an amazing place but I had to take the video of this little pony that was 8 lbs when it was born!
Here are some other beautiful pictures of Ireland:

last 2days in Ireland... no one has screens on windows because of too few bugs -is this the perfect place or what!

Hi from Derry, Ireland - also called Londonderry, All I can say is GORGEOUS!