An Emily Update - Finally Some News!

Dear Friends,
If you've been reading this blog for some time, you know my sweet Emily, age 15 1/2 was struck with fibromyalgia beginning about a year and a half ago.  There are two schools of thought with fibro.  The first is that it is its own disease.  The second is that fibro is a symptom of something else going on in the body.  I choose to believe the second because I want to believe we can "fix" her.

We have been to so many doctors and specialists.  The pediatric rheumatology/fibromyalgia specialist that she sees has tried everything in his bag of tricks.  I've tried everything that has been sent or told to me.  Nothing has worked and all lab results, exams, and testing have come back normal.  Until now...

We had been referred to a medical office that does more alternative therapies of medicine.  We first went a couple of months ago.  Emily first saw a nurse practitioner who spent about an hour and a half going over EVERYTHING regarding Emily's fibro history.  She ordered some blood tests.  I thought to myself, Emily has been tested for everything under the sun already.  The nurse practitioner said I had to go to a specific lab because this is the only lab in the city/state to run some of these specific tests.  While I wait the 6 weeks for the tests, Emily has been back to this clinic for massage, healing touch, she's started yoga, and will soon begin acupuncture.

This morning was our follow-up visit after 6 weeks.  Would you believe there were some lab abnormalities?  I was shocked.  She, the nurse practitioner, spent an hour with us again today and there were three significant findings.  The first thing she said is that Emily has Hashimoto's disease.  This is a disease of the thyroid, the antibodies that the thyroid produces, that is not treatable, but is pain causing.  (Emily's thyroid is functioning properly, just not the antibodies it is producing)  I also question if the other two issues get resolved that possibly the Hashimotos will resolve itself???  Maybe??

Another abnormality that was VERY low was a specialized Vitamin D test.  Not your standard test and Emily has started today on some medication to bring that up.  Low test results here cause pain.

The third abnormality is something that could be carried by ticks.  Not Lyme disease, but related.  It has something to do with her lymph system and according to the nurse, there is only one doctor who treats for this specific issue in the United States and that doctor is in Kansas City.  Again, this was a specialized test and Emily's results were VERY low.  She thinks these three things are all interrelated and all causing her pain.  She also thinks it will take a year once treatment begins for Emily to start feeling better.  Back to the tick thing.  Emily had been bitten by a tick. (I don't remember the nurse asking us about ticks at the first visit and I didn't even think of it at the time.)  She was bitten back when we lived in Florida.  The nurse practitioner thinks that it is possible that Emily has carried something in her body that has remained dormant.  Then when she got very sick 1 1/2 year ago, high fever and so forth at the time all this fibromyalgia started, what was dormant in her body became active starting her pain.

So what happens next...Emily is now on super high doses of Vitamin D that we've started today.  The nurse practitioner asked her to start the Paleo diet, Emily calls it a cave man diet.  I got the book and we are starting it tomorrow.  Tonight I research this doctor in Kansas City and begin the process there.  Emily continues with yoga, massage, healing touch and accupuncture.  Whew....

I have been elated today to hear news that I'm hoping and praying will take us in the right direction with her.  I've been watching the television show "Mystery Diagnosis" faithfully to see if any of their cases are similar to Emily's.  There was a case of Hashimotos on the show.  I remember thinking, well Emily doesn't have anything wrong with her thyroid as it is functioning properly so I didn't pay much attention to that episode.  I'll have to go back and watch it now.  The final thing is that the nurse practitioner wants Emily to have some counseling.  Emily is such a sweet and loving girl, but as you can imagine, being in pain every day takes a toll on her both physically and mentally.  Sometimes it is hard mentally for her mommy here to know that my child is in pain, but we take it day by day.

So with all this said, please Please keep Emily in your prayers that we are doing the right things and finally getting her the help that she needs to remove this pain from her body.  Also please pray that she has the strength to deal with the pain until we get it resolved.

With love and blessings,
Nancy
(Update)  Upon further research regarding Emily's lab tests, it appears that she has Chronic Lyme Disease.  So much was given to me earlier that it is all hard to digest.  The more I read, the more I find people first being diagnosed with fibromyalgia for years only to discover that they have had chronic lyme disease.  Could it be that this has been her problem all along?  Now, what about the Viatmin D and Hashimotos?

Share a Basket sunday

Good Morning Friends,

The basket I wove here has a 9" square wooden handle as one of the spokes.  It looks rectangular in the photo, but it is square.  I used 11/64" accents in hunter green, burgundy and navy blue in the basket and used all three of them again in the braided handle.

 

Today is our church picnic.  The weather has been wonderful lately yet in the late afternoon, the clouds often roll in with showers.  We're hoping for no rain this afternoon.  Hope the weather is lovely wherever you are.

 

Baskets of Blessings,

Nancy

Around the House Saturday and Fright Night

Hi Friends,
How has your summer been?  It has been very busy around the Jacobs' household the past three months and I must confess, I am glad school has started this past week.  Over the summer we took a trip to Kansas to visit my family.  My mother celebrated her 80th birthday in June.  We also celebrated the birthday's of all my kids and all three are now teenagers!  Mike and I had our 22nd wedding anniversary, I had my birthday and we had many visitors staying with us.  Mike and Tim were also fortunate to get to attend the National Scout Jamboree near Washington DC.  This was the 100 year of Boy Scouts.  It has been one thing after another here and I'm ready for a slow season before the holidays.

Something else that has been cool is the remaking of the movie "Fright Night" here.  For the past two weeks they have been filming in my neighborhood.  One of the girls' friends even got to be an extra.  I must confess, I'm not familiar with the actors/actresses in the movie, but still it has been exciting to see all that has been involved in a real movie production just a few blocks from my house.  They film from 7 PM to 5 AM.  They want the night time setting, but boy they sure use a lot of lights.  One thing is for sure, there is an immense amount of set up and prep work and only a little amount of "action".  You can only imagine all the set up of lights, props, filters cranes and other things and even a rain machine.  I hope the movie is a success with good ratings.  Below is a bit from the Associated Press about the movie.

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) - A remake of the 1985 horror and comedy film "Fright Night" has begun filming in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.
Work will continue through October. State officials say the DreamWorks production is expected to employ about 175 New Mexico residents as cast and crew.

Gov. Bill Richardson says New Mexico's film industry has shown it is versatile enough to handle any kind of production or genre - including vampire films.

"Fright Night" is the story of a teenage boy who is convinced his neighbor is a vampire.

The remake stars Colin Farrell, Toni Collette, Anton Yelchin, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. It will be directed by Craig Gillespie and produced by Michael De Luca and Alison R. Rosenzweig.

I wish I could say that I've been weaving.  I could give you a hundred excuses such as it's been too hot, or company or this or that, but I haven't woven since June.  I had every intention of doing some more YouTube videos this summer but that didn't happen either.  Hopefully this fall will give me a boost in creativity.
 
My garden is looking good and we are enjoying the fruits of my labor.  There is nothing better than home grown tomatoes and roasted veges like zucchini and eggplant.

Around the House Saturday - A Basket A Birthday An Anniversary and A Podcast

Hi Friends,
The past week and a half has been a busy one.  I'm sure it has been busy for most of you as well.
The basket I'm sharing is one I wove years ago and has traveled with us on all our moves.  I think every house we've lived in has had stairs so this stair step basket has been wonderful and so useful.  What I like about this basket is that the wooden D handle goes clear down to the bottom step or the bottom of the basket.  Some patterns you see will use a smaller D handle that only reaches the first step.  I think with it going to the bottom step it gives it more stability to carry heavier items.

The cross stitch design is the same one I showed you in my Hamburger Bun Basket found HERE.
You can see with all the use this basket has received some of the little "X"s have broken.  Someday I should take them all out and replace them.   The handle is braided and gives it another decorative element.

Onto a Birthday...Emily turned 15.  She has been visiting Grandma and Grandpa this week and is now back home.  She is doing babysitting several times a week and ice skating whenever she gets a chance.  I want to add one more thing.  We took her back to the fibromyalgia specialist.  Once again they changed her medication and she is doing so much better.  Praise God!  Grandma even said she did real good this past week.  Emily was feeling so discouraged a month ago so we are all very happy at this time.

Now for our Anniversary...Mike and I celebrated 22 years.  We were actually apart for our anniversary as he had taken the Venture scouts to San Diego for their summer trip.  We will be going out for a nice dinner sometime this week for our anniversary dinner.  After 22 years, it doesn't matter if we don't celebrate on the actual day ;-)

Finally a podcast...I have episode #9 of Making Our Home a Haven available to listen to.  You can listen to it on the audio player here on my sidebar or you can go to iTunes and subscribe and listen to it from there or download it onto your iPod or MP3 player.  Or if you prefer you can go directly to Talkshoe and listen to it HERE.  The topic in this episode is "Loving Up Your Home."  I give tips on using your 5 senses to refresh and love up the home we live in.

I've had a few questions about the podcast that I'd like to answer.  I use Audacity as my audio mixer.  It is a free download.  I have the bird sounds on one track that I have saved and I record my voice on another track.  It does quite a number of things, but it is simple enough for me to mix just the two tracks.  One episode I had a tickle in my throat and started coughing.  I was able to cut the coughs right out.  You can also increase or decrease the volume of just one track.  Other than these little basics, I don't know much more, but I know Audacity does a lot more.

I use Talkshoe as it is a free hosting service.  Another free service is Blog Talk Radio.  I don't know why I went with Talkshoe.  I just checked into it and it was easy.  I'm all about easy when it comes to the computer.  Talkshoe automatically uploads it into iTunes for me.

The microphone I use is just the one that is built into my laptop.  I've had to buy nothing extra to do the podcast.  Starting at the third or fourth episode I began recording in our closet.  I know that sounds funny, but when I have seen recording studios, they have wavy fabric walls to keep the sound from echoing.  I figured my closet would do the same thing!  We have a walk in closet.  I sit in on a chair in there and face the clothing.  I close the door behind me and make sure the air conditioner is turned off so that it won't start running while I'm recording.  I kind of feel like a little kid in trouble who has to sit in the corner as I record!

As far as using a script.  The first 2 episodes I wrote everything out word for word.  Now I just have an outline that I follow.  My first episode I must have started and restared it a dozen times.  Now I still have to restart the recordings at least once, but it is much better.  Sometimes I just get tongue tied or my thoughts escape me, telling me I need more on my outline.  I just erase my mistakes and start over.  It actually goes pretty quickly and I think making the podcasts is way faster than doing my YouTube videos.

So, I hope that answers everyone's questions.  Have a great week everyone.
Blessings,
Nancy

I'm Starting a New Blog

Hi Friends,
First off, don't worry, Basketmaster's Weavings isn't going anywhere. 
I've been thinking for some time though that I would like Basketmaster's Weavings to stand more on it's own.  I have so many passions, cooking, gardening, crafts etc. that I've been feeling like this blog has been losing it's direction.  That's not to say though that from time to time I still might post some of my other passions here.  I just want to try and get this blog back to its main focus and that being basket weaving.

So my new blog is called the "How To" Homemaker.  It goes along with my "Making Our Home a Haven" podcast and will be covering things such as cooking, cleaning, sewing, saving money and much more.  In the same vain that I've tried to teach new weavers how to weave here on this blog, the "How To" Homemaker is geared to teaching homemaking skills and focusing on the basics.

I hope you will all take just a moment to pop over to the "How To" Homemaker and take a look, leave a comment, and become a follower.  I'd also LOVE it if you would let others know about my new blog.  Hey, I'd LOVE it if you'd let others know about THIS blog as well.

Thanks everyone.  It will be back to basket weaving over here.
Sending you all cyber hugs,
Nancy

My Sweet Baby

Our sweet Katie turns 17 today.  It's hard to believe my babies are all growing up so much.  All my kiddos have summer birthdays so this is the first of the parties starting tonight.
We love you Katie!  Happy Birthday.
Love Mommy

Whew...What a Week

Hi Friends,

I know it is only Thurs. but it has been a busy week here. You've heard me say this before and I'll say it again, May is the second busiest month of the year. There are so many end of the school year activities.

We've had my in-laws visiting this week.

We started building trellises for the grape vines.  That's Mike and my Father-in-law setting the posts.

Going back to Mother's Day...It started off with church. My sweet children had their own surprises for me.

Timothy made my mother-in-law and I brownies and wrote on them "Happy M-Day" complete with candles. Emily wrote me a heartfelt letter. Katie gave me a gift card to the book store. I received a tape recorder/microphone for my podcasts from Mike and he took me out to eat. It was a no cook day.  Yea!

Katie has had another school play she was in on Monday night for her drama class final.

On Tuesday night Katie was confirmed into the church.  It was a very special evening.

The top picture is Katie with Bishop Tofoya and her sponsor Justin who is also the youth director of our church.

The bottom picture is 1/2 of Katie's class.  The other half of the class is getting confirmed next week.

On Wednesday night Timothy had a Court of Honor scouting ceremony and received a couple of merit badges.  That is Tim on the left with the American flag.  He is currently a Star Scout.

This week Emily (who I don't have a picture of here, bad mom) completed her ice skating lessions and has tested and advanced to level 8 which she is very excited about.

Today is a quiet day with nothing unusual on the calendar. I'm catching up on laundry, cleaning and e-mails. School ends in a little less than two weeks now. I can't wait!

Blessings,

Nancy

Around the House Saturday - Casseroles and Ladybugs

Good Morning Friends,
From time to time I make casseroles. They are good for me to make when I want to disguise leftovers or clean out the refrigerator. I always have just a simple formula in my head that I follow:

• A cooked meat such as chicken or ground beef
• A cooked carbohydrate such as pasta or rice
• A vegetable
• Can of creamed soup
• Few spices such as salt, pepper and garlic powder
• Cheese

I combine ingredients and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. It is really just a mish-mash but I just make sure I make enough for our family of five.
Recently I got the book below and there is a really good casserole recipe in it. It is called "Spicy Pasta and Sausage Bake." I used a link Polish sausage that you can see above. It was a great hit with my family and it is giving me a new base formula. It uses my formula above plus a couple of different things.

• The pasta is cooked in chicken broth
• A can of Ro-Tel tomatoes (get the spicy you like) are used instead of a can of creamed soup
• 1/2 cup heaving cream is added

My casserole formula has changed! I can now hide leftovers more easily once again!
You all know I'm a test cook for America's Test Kitchen who published this book. Most times when I test recipes for them my kitchen is FULL of dirty dishes and it takes me some time to prepare them. This book is simple recipes that can be made in 30 minutes or less and my kitchen has not been messy when I've finished. I've been cooking from it all week and have had a happy husband and kids. One plug I've got to put in for America's Test Kitchen. They test their recipes over and over and over a ridiculous amount of times to find the very best way to cook something. If we don't care for a recipe it is because we just don't care for the ingredients. The only food I really don't like to eat is sauerkraut. I can cook it the best possible way but no matter what, my taste buds don't like it. What I'm getting at is that 95% of the recipes here are a huge hit with my family.
Anyway, if you are a casserole maker, try my formula above and let me know what you think.

On another note. My cherry tree is LOADED with ladybugs. They're everywhere on it. I don't know where they've all come from. I'm happy to see them as I've read they can eat up to 1000 aphids in one day. I hope they stick around and keep my tomato plants healthy. Did I tell you that a week ago last Friday we had snow? I had to cover my tomato plants two nights in a row and lost one to the freeze. Crazy to have snow this late in the season.

This is Katie's thumb with an albino ladybug she found on the cherry tree. Very interesting. She's taking biology this year and took it into the teacher. Yes there is such a thing as an albino ladybug.

That's what's going on here. I have been weaving and am getting ready for another series of YouTube videos that will be up in the next few days.

Enjoy your Saturday,

Nancy

This Post Links to the following Super Fun Blogs:

I Am Only 1 Woman
Crazy Dazy

Creating A Good Habit - Week 2

Hi Friends,
I wanted to check in. Last week's habit for me was to exercise for 30 minutes each day. My plan was to walk 10 minutes three times a day. I did get in my 30 minutes each day! I didn't do it in 10 minute increments though. I would do all 30 minutes at one time.
This was really hard for me and it still is hard. I have so many other things I would rather do than exercise. Most days I walked in the morning. Today, I still have not exercised so just as soon as I hit the publish post button I'm off for my walk. I'll also tell you the first four days I was SORE! I'm not sure my distance because I go through different neighborhoods that the sidewalk cuts through so I can't drive it to check the distance but I am getting in about 4000 steps in 30 minutes so I think that is good.
This week I am adding another good healthy habit. I am going to limit my eating of high fat items to only two servings a week. For me, I define high fat being something that is fried. If I can manage only two servings a week I may cut it back to once a week. I don't think this habit will be too hard which is good because the exercise habit is one I am still really forcing myself to do.
I am so glad to be writing this down to all of you because when I think I don't want to exercise, I don't want to tell you that I've fallen short. You are all making me accountable.
If you have a good habit you are working on, be sure to leave a comment so I can cheer you on.
Blessings,
Nancy
ps. I lost two pounds this week. 13 more to go!
Off I go for my walk now.........
This post links to:
5 Minutes for Mom

Emily's Fibromyalgia and her Diet

Good Morning Friends,
I had received a question from a reader asking about what foods I was giving and eliminating from Emily's diet to help her fibromyalgia.
I read a book titled "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibromyalgia" by R. Paul St. Amand, M.D. and Claudia Craig Marek. It claims to be a revolutionary treatment that can reverse the disease.
For those of you truly interested in all it says, you need to read it in detail. In a nutshell though, it claims that the active ingredient in Mucinex which is Guaifenesin is the treatment for fibromyalgia. The thing is that you have to eliminate salicyates from your diet and cosmetics or anything topical you put on your skin in order for the guaifenesin to be absorbed. Salicyates are found in a number of things so anyone serious about trying this needs to do their own specific research.
The FDA has not approved the use of guaifenesin for fibromyalgia due to the lack of testing at this time. Tests that have been done did not regulate the salicyates and elimination of them seems to be key. Current testing is underway.
I did give Emily Mucinex and we did try to eliminate all salicyates from her diet. She complained of her chest hurting from the Mucinex (possibly a side effect). Anyway, after doing this for several weeks we stopped and did not see any improvement. We've since been to the pediatric rheumatologist who specializes in fibromyalgia and he did not encourage us to continue with the Mucinex. (we may try Mucinex again at another time but she is on a different medication at the present) Perhaps we didn't give her enough Mucinex or perhaps we didn't get all the salicyates eliminated or perhaps we didn't give it a long enough try.
The book did state story after story of wonderful success stories. We are in the process of identifying things that contribute to making it worse or giving her a bad day. The one thing I have found is that keeping her mind off of it is probably the best therapy for her. She loves ice skating and they say exercise is good for fibromyalgia so I'm glad it doesn't stop her from doing what she enjoys.
The book in interesting and I believe there may be some truth to it's claims and I will be following actual medical controlled testing results closely. The Dr. who wrote this book has a fibromyalgia clinic outside of the LosAngeles area. Perhaps someday we may make a trip there but do not have any current plans to do so.
Fibromyalgia seems to be a real mystery disease. I've spoken to others who suffer from it and everyone has a different story to tell regarding their aches and pains. One thing I find is that when doctors cannot figure out a diagnosis that involves pain, then they lump it into the category of fibromyalgia.
So I hope this helps. For those of you who have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, give the book a read and see what you think. It would certainly be worth a try for you and in your case it might just help.
Little Emily and I appreciate all your continued prayers and good thoughts.
Blessings,
Nancy

Have I jinxed myself?

Dear Friends,

This past week I've been painting my guest room. Now that Laura has returned to Germany the room is empty for a couple of weeks until my in-laws come for a visit. Perhaps it is spring calling me, but I've had the urge to get it painted.

Here's the funny story though. It has been a longstanding joke between Mike and I that every time I paint the last room of the house we end up having to move. Then I have to start all over again. The guest room was the LAST ROOM OF THE HOUSE for me to paint.

Mike knows I don't want to move and I don't believe he wants to move either. I feel really blessed where we are at right now as this home fits my family like a perfect glove. A couple of weeks ago I planted eight asparagus plants that my mother gave me. I planted them thinking, "Why? What's the point?... I should have planted these asparagus plants three years ago when we moved here. Now it is going to take two years until they produce. I'll never get the fruits of my labor with them. (woe me do I have the wrong attitude) Typically throughout our marriage my husband's company has moved us every two years and we've already been living here for three years now.

Ok, seriously, I don't believe in anything like a jinx. I'm only kidding here. I believe the good Lord has a plan for us along with having given us free will. Should an opportunity for us to move arise, it is our free will as to whether or not we would take that opportunity and and no matter our decision we will do our best to live as Godly children and to trust in the Lord to take care of us.

So I am hopeful that just because I painted the last room in our house this does NOT mean we will be moving anytime in the near (or distant) future. I've decided that my next project is to repaint my kitchen (see, I'm really not finished painting). I've never been happy with the color of my kitchen. What looked pretty as a paint sample is really kind of a pukey color (excuse my language). Actually it looks prettier in the photo than it does in person. I'm planning to paint it a light melon or coral color probably this fall sometime.

One more thing, as far as putting my home on a diet, when I painted the guest room I removed and took to goodwill a large trash bag full of stuff. I already had the paint and the only thing I did buy to decorate the room was a $16 bed skirt. Yes, I hide things under the bed and there never had been a bed skirt on it before. So for $16 I updated my little room.

BTW...The cabinet to the left of the bed is a computer armoir which is where I do my blogging and check my e-mails. This was also the room where I was growing my little seedling plants by the window when no one was visiting us. So this is kind of like MY room and therefore it is the girliest room in the house. (It's even more girly than my girl's rooms) My mother made the quilts, I did some of the needlework on the pillow (I'll have to take a close up of it) and I did the flower arranging. There is a couple of my baskets in the room as well that I made but the photos don't show them.

So this was my project for the week. I can't believe it took me three years to get to and paint this room. Did any of you do a project this past week? I'd love to hear and read about it.

Have a blessed Sunday,

Nancy

This post links to:

A Soft Place to Land

Between Naps On the Porch

The Girl Creative

Trendy Treehouse

Sumo's Sweet Stuff

My Frugal Family

Today's Creative Blog

Blogger Chix Designs

5 Minutes For Mom

Beautiful and Busy Springtime

Dear Friends,
Spring is my favorite season. It could stay spring year round as far as I'm concerned. Here are a few pics from my backyard.

The high school play has been in full production with Seussical the Musical which is a compilation of Dr. Seuss books. Ok, I'm going to gush here, but this has been the best high school musical I've ever seen. The vocals and choreography were amazing. Mike and I were smiling the entire performance. Perhaps we're just proud parents. Here is Katie as one of the Whos from Whoville. Her picture was on the front page of the paper today. (I bought 2 copies)

I have made this bunny cake every year since the kiddos were babies. It is a tradition to have this with our Easter meal.

Below are some pictures taken on Easter Sunday.

Top left: Katie is alter serving at a special outdoor mass.

Top right: Getting ready for the egg hunt. (Katie, Laura, Tim and Emily) Laura has been our German foreign exchange student from near Frankfurt. The group of exchange students were here only 2 weeks. I took Laura to the airport this morning. It was a sad farewell as she was such as sweet girl and fit in perfectly with our family. We will miss you Laura. You will ALWAYS be in our thoughts and prayers.

Bottom left: I thought this was such a sweet picture of Emily as she is hunting for eggs. (As for Emily's fibromyalgia, we're trying a new medication. She has good days and bad. I think the best thing for her is to keep her mind off of it)

Bottom right: Tim found a grand prize hiding in the grill!

I hope each of you are enjoying the warmer weather.

Love and blessings to you all,

Nancy

Last Year's April Fool's Day Prank

Those red drinks look yummy, right? They're really JELLO!!!
My son Tim was fooled. The other members of the family saw him take a drink so they knew what was awaiting them in their glasses. Hahaha We all had a great laugh.
Somedays I have to remind myself not to be too serious about life, so the kids were surprised that mommy pulled one over on them.  Do any of you have a great prank I could play on the kids this year?
Blessings,
Nancy

Making a Differnece

Dear Friends,

I have some exciting news that really makes me happy.

My YouTube videos are going to be shown as an educational program for children in southern India. It is through the World Crafts Council and the Crafts Council of India. Volunteers help teach these children thing such as palm leaf weaving and shell crafts. The volunteers help these children understand what is involved in creating these crafts and getting them to market as well as the difficulties the craftspeople encounter with them. You can read more about those organizations by clicking on the links.

What makes me happy is something that has been on my mind for quite a while now (read quite a number of years) and something that has been truly in my prayers is I've wanted to make a difference. Those close to me tell me, "You are making a difference by just raising your family. Your tithing at church and volunteering at church is a good way to reach others." Ok, I agree with that, but in my heart I've wanted to do more.

My wanting to do more is why my podcast of "Making Our Home a Haven" has been coming to fruition and I have great hopes that this podcast will help strengthen families which is something I've felt a calling to do.

Anyway, I'm excited and thrilled to think that just possibly, in some small way, my YouTube videos are helping to make the world a better place.

Blessings to all my readers.

Nancy

Strawberry Planting

Good Morning Friends,
I tried planting strawberries last year in the little pots above. They are four pots placed on a piece of re-bar that has been stuck in the ground. It looked pretty at the time last year but I got very few strawberries. I think the pots were to small to hold the moisture and strawberries need a good drink.

I was in Big Lots and ran across this hanging planter. I've seen these before but have not tried them. I'm going to give it a go. Then wouldn't you know, Walmart already had strawberry plants in the store. I bought some to go in the planter and I'm going to hang it on the patio. I think it is too early to put them out just yet so the plants are sitting in my kitchen. The nighttime temperatures are still getting down to 30 degrees. It's been nice though in the afternoons with temperatures 55 to 60. I can't wait to start playing in my garden!

My little plants I started by seed are still growing indoors but they sure look spindly. I hope they will produce.

Have any of you started your gardens yet?

Baskets of Blessings,

Nancy

Spring Break Week

The kids are out of school and I'm enjoying a week of family time. I'll be back on Friday.
Blessings,
Nancy

Around the House Saturday - a special day

Dear Friends,
I'd like to introduce you to two very special people in my life, my mom and dad. Yesterday was a very special day. It was my parents 54th wedding anniversary. They live in Kansas and I'm hoping to visit them in a few weeks. I am so blessed to have them as parents and in my life and I wish we lived closer where we could see them more. We love you mom and dad.

Have a wonderful weekend everybody.
Nancy

(Part 3) How I began Basket Weaving and then some....

Today I finish my story about how I began basket weaving. You can read part one HERE and part two HERE. I'm also going to mention where I think basket weaving is going to go in the future.


Just before this last Christmas I started developing my own website, http://www.basketmasterweavings.com/ . I have some ideas on where I want to take the website but I'm having trouble actually implementing them. Quite frankly the website has been stagnant and I'm not happy about that. I genuinely feel that God is calling me to reach out to others with His word. Over quite some time but the past year in particular, I've been so saddened with things I see, lack of human respect, the divorce rate, child abuse, the list goes on. It is nothing new, but these are things that have touched me greatly lately. (Perhaps I'm thinking more of these things as my own children are getting older. I pray my kiddos find good spouses and then I pray for the welfare of my future grandchildren.) I know my marriage and home life are far from perfect, but it is good and it is stable. I'm feeling a tugging that's hard to explain in that God wants me to use what I know to teach others. I know there are a lot of women (and men) out there who are just clueless about some of the important aspects of life. Back when I was working in the hospital I helped two 12 year old girls give birth to babies, yes 12 year olds. I had a handful of 13 and 14 year olds and more 15, 16, and 17 year old patients than I can count. Many of these girls were addicted to drugs, cocaine, methadone, heroin, etc. and then I had to take care of drug addicted babies. You can only imagine what their family situation was like. I'm a believer that things can change.

Like I said, I know my household is not perfect but I'm feeling that in some small way God is calling me to reach out to others and teach them. I don't know that my website is the way to do it, but it will be a start. I don't know how others will even find me and if they do will they be interested in what I have to write and say? I want to include my baskets and my crafting and homemaking skills on it as well. I'm just having trouble visualizing how I really want the website to turn out. It's a process. Then there is the question of if I should have a website AND a blog or just move everything over to the website? I guess time will tell with that.


I'd also like to sell some of my work on my website as well as some of my patterns. I've just been so timid to take the plunge. When I teach and had taught all those basket classes, I would write all my own patterns so I've got a notebook full of about 75 or so. I'd like to learn the process of running my own business. I'd like to sell other things I create besides basket related items. I'd like to try my hand at an Etsy shop. I'd like...I'd like....I'd like.... Every time I think I'm ready to take the plunge I present myself with all kinds of objections. And then I wonder how can I incorporate what I feel God calling me to do with my crafts?

So where do I think basket weaving is going to go in the future? I'm glad you asked. In the last 365 days I've seen a considerable leap forward in the handmade industry. I think handmade and homemade has been growing over the last 4 years or so, but in this past year the bell curve has skyrocketed upward. I see people more interested in crafting now than ever. I see people more interested in cooking at home. People want to make it themselves. They want to grow it themselves. I'm here to teach them what I can.

As one added side, people want to be green. They want to use what they have on hand or have access to. Every week for the past several months I've had questions asked to me about working with willow, grapevine, grasses and other locally grown materials. I know a few of you out there use these materials and I have you listed on my blog sidebar. I always direct the readers with these questions to your websites as it is an area that I have no expertise in at all. The sheer number of these questions leads me to believe that this style of weaving will be increasing immensely. I'll leave that teaching up to you.

So, if you've continued reading this far over these last three days you now know my story. If you get a chance on your blog, perhaps you will write your story. I'd love to read yours. Let me know with a comment you are out there and what you are up to and creating these days.

Please know that I pray for my readers every day. I am thankful for each and every one of you that you are a part of my life.
With love and blessings,
Nancy

(Part 2) How I Began Basket Weaving and then some...

I had ended my story at my first class thinking that I would never get involved in basket weaving. You can read about it HERE.

Well, at the end of class, I had a basket. My first basket. I was so proud. It was far from perfect but it wasn't half bad. I took it to work the next morning and I showed the other nurses and workers. They were impressed and surprised that I could make that in one evening. Then....after my very first basket....one of the girls said to me...."Could you teach me how to make one?" I said, "sure I could teach you how to make one, but I don't have any supplies and I really wasn't planning on getting any supplies." I didn't have room in my home for a huge mess of reed like I saw in class. By the end of class three in that first series I had signed up for the second series of classes which was 4 weeks of making square baskets. Before that second series of classes had ended I had placed my first order for reed. I had also checked books out at the library on basket weaving and was learning on my own better techniques to improve the looks of my baskets. Before Christmas that year I had taught my very first class to the girls at work and I hadn't even woven 8 baskets yet! Look out though, when my reed arrived you couldn't stop me. I was fascinated with dying reed and loved to watch the color deepen during the dying process. I LOVED working with dyed reed and various color combinations within a basket. I loved cutting stakes and spokes to different sizes and just weaving away trying different things just to see what I could come up with. You would have thought each of my creations was a masterpiece the way I set it on the counter for display or presented it as a gift to someone. I had to weave a basket in green. Then I had to weave the same basket in blue and red and peach color and so forth. It was a bit overboard I realize now, but it was just downright fun.

Soon we moved to Wichita, Kansas. I knew we would be having our 3rd child so I wasn't to interested in going back to work doing eight or twelve hour shifts that are required of nurses. I'm an ASPO certified Lamaze instructor so I continued teaching childbirth classes just in the evening when Mike was home to take care of the babies and I was now home during the day. I continued reading and learning more about basket weaving and took some of my baskets to the local parks and recs in town. They were happy with what they saw and hired me to teach basket weaving for them. This was now fall 1996. My classes were full, over full. I said I would take 12 students, but the old students kept signing up for more and more classes so to give new students a chance sometimes my classes were as many as 18. The older students knew how to read my patterns and it was a chance for them to socialize in the evenings so really the large classes were not a problem. I was now teaching basket weaving one or two evenings a week, a Lamaze class once a week, and sometimes a specialty basket class on the weekends. A very dear friend of mine, Connie who took all my classes and was also an employee of the Parks and Recs. said to me that we should form a guild. So we did. The two of us formed Basket Weavers on the Prairie in Wichita, KS. I don't know if this guild is still in existance, but it was quite active for a number of years. Perhaps one of you reading this knows and could let me know. Thanks.

In 1998 we moved to Germany for Mike's job. It was only scheduled for us to live there 18 months. Well his project got extended again and again and we were there almost 4 years. As a family of five, we lived in a small 1500 sq ft duplex. (it was actually measured in meters over there) I knew our living quarters would be small (my kitchen refrigerator fit under the kitchen cabinet) so I didn't take my weaving supplies with me. Before moving I had become involved in scrapbooking so I really wanted to focus on scrapbooking our time overseas and had decided that would be the only craft I'd be involved in.

Upon our return to the states in 2002 we moved quite a bit, Kansas, Arizona, Florida, New Mexico. I'd teach a basket class here and there but we were never in one place to really get classes up and truly running. Another thing that had changed since I first began weaving is the look of home decor. When I started weaving the Country Clutter Cute look was in style with dusty rose and dusty blue being the colors of choice. Now people were interested in clean lines, leather furniture and so forth. I do feel that played a role in why I struggled with getting classes up and running as well at this point. There just has been a decreasing interest and the look of baskets did not mesh with the style of home decor as well.

Somewhere along the way in the last four years or so I discovered blogging. At first I thought, I could never do that. As I read more and more I thought, why not give it a try. Other than sending e-mails and simple word processing, I knew nothing about computers. I used my very first computer at the university to type a paper. It was on a floppy disk. What I'm getting at is that I didn't grow up with computers. Now I'm going to back up just a tad here. When I first began weaving and I'd show Mike what I made I'd say, "Look at this! Look at this new technique I learned." He would say, "Well you are the Basketmaster." When he very first set me up with e-mail he didn't consult me as to the name of my e-mail instead he just set it up as basketmaster_nancy@yahoo.com and I've had it ever since. This is where the name Basketmster came from. It was from Mike. When I decided to give blogging a try I thought about what I'd be writing. Basket weaving has been one of my favorite things I've ever done and still enjoy so I knew that had to be included. I also wanted it to include some of my other interests as well as a bit about the family from time to time. Hence, Basketmaster Weavings was born about a year and a half ago.

Part three of my story will continue tomorrow. Yep, it's not over yet but tomorrow is the final chapter.

May you have baskets of happiness today,

Nancy

How I Began Basket Weaving and then some... (Part 1)

I first learned to weave baskets back in October 1994. I was pregnant with Emily at the time. My story begins much earlier than that though.

I was born August 26, 1964 in Hutchinson, Kansas and I have one younger brother. (I told you my story started long ago.) I've always been involved in craft projects of one form or another. When I was a young child, about kindergarten so age 5, my mother taught me to embroidery a simple chain stitch on tea towels. After that I remember my mother coming up with a craft for me to do each summer. One of the first summers it was making Plaster of Paris molds and painting them. The molds had flowers and Strawberry Shortcake designs. Many of you are too young to remember, but McDonalds plastic lids for their drinks used to have embossed images of Ronald McDonald, the Hamburgler, Mayor MacCheese etc. I would pour Plaster of Paris into those lids and then paint the characters after the plaster dried. One summer it was decoupage, another summer I learned to wheat weave and the next year it was needle point and more embroidery and crewel work. I used to think this was great fun. Looking back as a mother now, I realize mom was a smart cookie for coming up with things for me to do to keep me out of her hair during those long summer months of no school to keep me busy. I would make hundreds of creative creations every summer. Around age 10 I learned to use the sewing machine and away I went with fabric.

Mike and I married while in college. At that time, my creativity consisted of painting t-shirts and actually selling them in some local boutiques. One year for my birthday, we lived near a stained glass shop that had classes, Mike got me a series of stained glass classes and the equipment needed to do stained glass. Only trouble with that class is I was pregnant with Katie at the time and the smell of the flux used in stained glass triggered horrible morning sickness during class.

While working as a registered nurse, I saw in the Parks and Recs brochure, a class for basket weaving. It was just before Christmas and the brochure promoted making a basket as a Christmas gift. I thought, well, I've never done that before why not give it a try.

It was a 4 week series of classes on just round baskets where we made one a week. Looking back, I realize that the instructor herself was rather new at making baskets and I really wasn't taught proper technique at that time. Anyway, for the first class the instructor brings in two of those huge black trash bags that you rake your leaves into FULL of reed. They're huge. She dumps them out onto the floor. It was a major mess. She shows us what we are to make and then lets us pick out the reed from this mess of stuff on the floor. I was lucky to find a piece of round reed longer than 3 feet. I truly remember thinking, ok this is interesting, but I'll never get really involved in making baskets.

As I continued writing, it was easy to see that this post was too long so you will have to wait until tomorrow to read my continuing story.

Baskets of Blessings,
Nancy