Hi everyone! As you may have guessed, I have been at work...a lot! Many times, the hospital calls and needs nurses...and that overtime pay is a good thing! Now I am enjoying a little time off...yahoo! Above is the current Primitive Gatherings block of the week. Working with these wools is just heavenly...I love the blocks so far! This is the second one....and still needs lots of stitching and pieces and parts added; that is the fun part!!
I have been sorting through my gifted scraps, and I made this block. I have a bunch more cut out, as you can see. I was going to make a big quilt, but now have reconsidered. I am going to make a 12 block quilt and gift it to one of our sick patients...somehow, these patients tug at my heartstrings, and I feel I must help them more than I do. Every bit of love can't hurt, can it, when a person is critically ill?
Lookie, lookie!! Lyn sent me the most gorgeous fabrics...I have been admiring them...they are so pretty, I just want to keep them just like they are!! Thank you so much, Lyn...these are going into my Dear Jane quilt!!
Another thank you...plaids!!! Thank you so very much for these...one of our lovely pink fabric quilters sent me some plaids too!! I love them...I really love them a lot!!
And blues too!! I thought I was almost finished using up all my blues...and look, here are more!! I love them, and will definitely enjoy them so much...thank you so much, and you know who you are!!
OK....so what else has been going on? I have been cutting...wait for it...batiks!! I am going to make a batik quilt!! I know, I know, this is far from what I usually use, but I could not resist the pretty pattern, and the prettier fabrics!! Stay tuned...I will show you what I am making next post.**********A thought for the day*************************
Out neighboring nursing unit always posts a thought for the day...I loved this one!
"Fear less, hope more.
Eat less, chew more.
Whine less, sing more.
Hate less, Love more,
and all good things will be yours. "
Attributed to a Swedish Proverb.
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A Nurse's Note
This is a theoretical story...may or may not have actually happened, but just see if you can catch the flavor of this nursing story.
There was a Marine...from long ago, married 50+ years to his beautiful bride. Bouncing around the whole world, they made a life of love and happiness and service. This man was the nurse's patient. He had had some chest pain....wrote it off as being "heartburn". Finally, he went to his doctor's office...the office nurse placed him on the EKG machine...and promptly called an ambulance. The EKG showed an acute MI...heart attack! 5 stents later, he was doing fine...until..."Code Blue" was heard, a couple days later! He was in V-tach, a fatal dysrhythmia, if not treated stat. With in 60 seconds, the patient was shocked back into a normal rhythm, and regained consciousness...and said "What happened?" Three times this happened within a few minutes...and off to the cath lab the patient went again. NO blockage was found...so this dysrhythmia was caused from the scarring on the heat from the first heart attack. Meanwhile...a crying wife clung to the nurse...terrified. The patient got a defibillator too...and all was well with the Marine and his bride.
Meanwhile, as all this was going on, another patient's family came out and put loving arms around the wife and comforted her. Got her a drink, stayed with her, loved her...as the staff was all crazy busy saving her husband. (This is representational of 99% plus of all families)
All this is very loud, and causes a tremendous loud commotion is the nursing unit!
Contrast this to another family...whose spouse stood at the door, watching the nurses and doctors run in and out, trying desperately to save the patient...and yelled" My husband needs his lunch tray...now!!!" She very well knew what was at stake, and what was going on....(less than 1% have this kind of behaviors...)
So the point is...what makes people so different? What is the magical thing that makes one family loving...and another cold and snooty? Just askin'......
Remember this is all just a story, something to ponder, all in a day's work for a nurse...just something to think about.
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Have a great day!!
Julie
13 comments:
I am not getting the wool applique blocks that you are participating in but I certainly like what I see.
Working means more money for quilting but then not as much time to do the stitching.
In my opinion, the major difference in the two families is Faith: the loving family witnessed their Faith through compassion and empathy, and the demanding wife witnessed selfishness. I am glad that both the Marine and his wife were in good hands at that moment. Angels are all around us.
Being a nurse "in a former life", I have seen that scene played out numerous times. I think one of the differences is empathy. When one has experienced depths of grief and pain, they are much more sympathetic to the pain of others. I know that's true in my own life. I lost a daughter that only lived a few minutes. I can somewhat understand the grief someone in that situation experiences. My understanding would not have come close before that.
Love the plaids!!! I have none at all in my stash and I have no idea why LOL!!!! One day I will do a project using plaids!!!!
Re: your story, I have found that 'demanding' relatives are usually anxious and fearful, they express their fear through being demanding and critical which is not always easy to deal with, but they are the ones that are often the most fragile. It is a way for them to maintain some control over a situation they feel completely overwhelmed by. Just what I have observed over the years!
I too just love the look of wool applique. I have a BOM that I umm never did but will! It is wool on cotton blocks. :O)... Your block is lovely...
Right now I am canning so much I haven't had time to get back in my sewing room. Sure not complaining, am thrilled to have so much to put up!
Hope your staying cool, summer is so here is it not :O).
You kind of wonder if they are trying to ignore "death" by being rude and acting like nothing is going on...it is very sad. I hope the marine makes a full recovery...hypothetically speaking.
Now, where in the world are you getting all your quilting energy!? Will you send me some please? You've got some gorgeous projects going on!!
I always love to see what you've been up to in the quilty life, but especially appreciate your nursing stories too. I always seem to see people at their worst - sick and feeling sorry for themselves (although seldom critical by any means - it is a general practice after all)and they often grumble along about the waiting time (usually between 30 minutes and an hour) and this is a very low cost service for them (like free or a $10 gap). Thankfully, most of the people, most of the time, are quite lovely and appreciative of the doctor's trying to help them.
Take care and enjoy your time off...
PS where do you get your plaids from? Not much on offer here in Oz -
In nursing you see the very best of people and the very worst. I am always amazed at your quilting so many small pieces.
Such an awesome gesture for you to make a quilt for one of your patients who needs to comfort. Your thoughtfulness will go far in that recovery I am sure! Blessings! And I love the wool blocks you are doing. Did you sign up on their website?
quiltinggranna
Your wool block is lovely--and your gift fabrics are a fun addition to your stash.
The observation of what makes people tick is a fascinating thing. I majored in sociology for a couple of years and many assignments involved observing and recording interactions of people in a variety of settings. It never got old to me.
And I concur that those who are the hardest to love are the most in need of it (kind of what Lori said).
Hello Julie, lovely additions to your stash.....I tend to agree with Merilyn's sentiments........Hugs Lyn
Julie, you have a heart of gold, and you have a beautiful soul. I don't have the answer to the last questions you asked, but I know that you shine like a beacon in the dark.
Love your wool blocks. I even went to check out the BOM but I think it's too late to join that. :/
I can think of NO ONE who would enjoy the fabric gifts any more than you OR who would use every tiny scrap of that fabric. :D Go enjoy, girlfriend.
Maybe Mrs. Lunch-Tray could have used a reading of the Swedish proverb . . . just sayin' *s*
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