tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81763976166996599832012-01-10T12:10:36.920-06:00This is my place to ramble, analyze and expound. All expressions and opinions are the author's and if objectionable -- too bad!Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.comBlogger181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-36627403956820393812010-05-25T10:38:00.002-05:002010-05-25T11:01:38.831-05:00

Well, it's been a very long time since my last post. So much has happened that I don't know where to start. First, Steve, my husband, has been diagnosed (finally!) with diabetic neuropathy. He is rapidly becoming wheelchair bound. It is very difficult to watch him wasting away and in pain all of the time -- especially since the doctors can't seem to help.To help me cope with the stress of my job,

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-43161113674209803892009-05-13T13:47:00.004-05:002009-05-13T14:18:30.558-05:00

As an attempt to "lighten" my stress levels, I decided to try my hand at, what I call, traditional quilting. Now, I've made quilts before, but when it actually came time to "quilt" (the locking of all three layers with stitching) I always fell back to the old standards of a) "stitch-in-the-ditch" which is just sewing a straight line around the block design; and b) "straight line" quilting, which

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-15340217867981802022009-03-12T14:59:00.002-05:002009-03-12T15:08:35.353-05:00

I know I haven't posted in a VERY long time, but it has been hard to motivate myself between the economy, foreclosures (we're just barely hanging on to our wonderful house) and my husband's deteriorating health (and he's only 50).With his surgery last year, his health has not improved -- only gotten worse. The surgery has caused paralysis in his feet and loss of feeling from the waist down and he

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-72007320083522253272008-05-14T11:05:00.002-05:002008-05-14T11:16:00.184-05:00

The Great Escape IIThe birds were driving Shadow crazy! She sat on the screened-in porch and her tail whipped in frustration. So close -- they were so close, and she couldn't reach them."Whoa!!!"Shadow whipped her head to the source of the exclamation to see Inari pushing out a screen from the north side window. Another instant, and she was out the window and outside. Without a second's

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-77381150617760421852008-04-29T15:31:00.003-05:002008-04-29T16:01:48.524-05:00

I haven't blogged in quite a while -- mainly because so much has been happening in my life.In March, by hubby went in for surgery on his spinal cord blood vessels. He'd been experiencing weakness in his legs and was falling down with no warning. After months of testing and finally undergoing extensive MRIs, it was determined that the blood vessels supplying his spinal cord were malformed. What

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-33794109678762904012008-01-14T16:37:00.000-06:002008-01-14T17:19:02.386-06:00

In August of 2007, we experienced heavy rains and flooding in our area of Illinois. Luckily, our home is not near any rivers or streams and our basement, for the most part, keeps dry in the rainy weather. But part of the main street of Somonauk was under water and the lower areas were very wet indeed.I often choose to sit on our screened in porch in the evenings as I love to enjoy the breezes as

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-75046431787809825552008-01-10T16:06:00.001-06:002008-01-10T16:32:53.831-06:00

With the recent heavy rains, flooding and cooling temperatures, I am reminded of another fond childhood memory of winter.As I mentioned before, our street East Riverside, curved around following the Little Calumet River to join with Markham Drive, completing a large U of our neighborhood. On Markham Drive, between the road and the river were trees and pathways that us neighborhood kids used as

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-44199923621972804532008-01-07T13:12:00.001-06:002008-01-08T12:45:59.590-06:00

*The Great Escape IShadow wandered into Inari's room, plopped down on the floor and sighed over her paws. "The fresh air feels so good, but I really want to be outside."Inari glanced at her from her perch in the window. "You know they only let us outside while they're home. They don't want us to get hurt."Shadow smirked, "how can I get hurt on the porch roof! The only thing to get hurt up there

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-88197820167666657712007-12-19T12:11:00.000-06:002007-12-19T12:27:13.807-06:00

Now that I live "out in the country" again, I'm reminded of how it was, living in unincorporated South Holland. So many things remind me of those years when I felt I lived in a rural area -- just 5 or 10 miles from the Chicago city limits. I guess I've always felt like a farm girl.I remember one year, I must have been about 7 or 8 years old. We had an extremely cold winter and the Little Calumet

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-29090235133961426342007-12-12T15:48:00.000-06:002007-12-12T16:12:53.176-06:00

Having a large house to live in and explore turned out to be a good thing. But this was something that Inari would NEVER admit to Shadowfax. She sat in one of the open windows of the screened in porch and sighed. This was wonderful -- she felt like she was outside, but safer. She could watch the leaves fall from the trees, feel the crisp air, watch the squirrels gather their nuts -- what could be

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-58043662596178395802007-12-08T15:25:00.000-06:002008-12-09T11:17:18.761-06:00

This is my second winter in the small town of Somonauk, Illinois. Unlike living closer in to Chicago, where all of the roads are cleared daily, when you live out in farm land, even cleared roads become treacherous with blowing snow. Driving 30 miles back and forth to work can be difficult and oftentimes impossible. Luckily, I can work from home, so if things get really bad, I have the option of

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-15576331599081067072007-12-03T11:28:00.000-06:002007-12-03T14:48:00.245-06:00

Inari and Shadow slowly walked through the building, dodging the boxes and furniture."I don't like this. I want to go home," Inari told the grey barn cat."Silly cat!" Shadow responded huffily. "This is our home now. Don't you recognize this table, these chairs -- smell this mattress, it's theirs, you know."Inari hissed at her. "You've been moving all your life. This doesn't bother you. I recently

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-53860537206027001602007-11-29T14:51:00.000-06:002007-11-29T15:22:23.355-06:00

Being a writer at heart, I've decided to write a series of short stories about -- you guessed it -- my life with cats. This posting will introduce the idea and the characters. The stories will all be posted under the heading: Gage Street Cat Capers. I hope you enjoy. Please comment -- I'd love to hear from you.Characters:Inari (female) - neurotic, possessive, but adores her humansSquall (male) -

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-72360715183308709202007-11-02T14:06:00.000-05:002008-12-09T11:17:19.004-06:00

Last night we lost Squall to complications of Feline Urinary Tract Syndrome. He never really recovered from the extensive surgery he had a few months ago and in the last day or so, he's been getting increasingly more uncomfortable and having more difficulty in the box. Last night, he began having massive painful spasms and Nik and I rushed him to the 24 hour Veterinary Hospital in Aurora. The vet

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-80729157142337466712007-10-21T17:59:00.000-05:002007-10-21T18:01:42.847-05:00

Today I finally got the email address for my nephew in the Navy. I'm very proud of him and know that where he is stationed (on ship) is relatively safe. He has learned a lot with the training they have provided and he should be set when he comes out. I hope so, he's had a pretty rough life.

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-34721069588548104772007-10-02T11:35:00.000-05:002007-10-02T11:47:01.269-05:00

I live with cats. Oh, I've lived with dogs, too, but cats and I have a special affinity to one another. If I were into the "furries" movement, I would probably be a cat, maybe not a domestic cat, but a member of the feline family. At this moment, I enjoy the company of six cats. They are not always happy living with each other, but I think they realize that "living together" is a temporary

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-74411920185630430912007-09-22T18:23:00.000-05:002007-09-22T18:30:30.481-05:00

I've been having issues lately. But who hasn't? With the economy is such a sorry state, making ends meet is very difficult -- and I'm in a pretty good income bracket. But we're still living paycheck to paycheck. I can't imagine how people can make ends meet, living in apartments or houses on paychecks smaller than ours. I know a lot of people do -- many at the company I work for. It's a sad

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176397616699659983.post-41482165618229916562007-09-20T14:09:00.000-05:002007-09-20T14:17:51.554-05:00

Well, here's my first rambling, probably offending, post. Get over it!I am a liberal with strong leanings towards Libertarian. I have very little use for the current administration and am one of the "unpatriotic" who believes that the current head of state is a thief and liar. I don't think I've ever sat and listened to more than 30 seconds of any speech that he has given -- my brain just won't

Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10069829768325827512noreply@blogger.com