Another Birthday and Sweet Friends and a Rant

 Does anyone else use Picasa to upload photos directly from the "blog this" button?  Well for the past couple of weeks IT WILL NOT WORK!!  It is so frustrating.  Is there someone out there more bloggy technical able to instruct me on how to upload photos without first having to compress them?  Picasa does this automatically, but it seems a lot of people are having issues with it right now and Google hasn't fixed it!!@@@???!!!


My birthday was about 2 weeks ago, but I am just getting around to blogging it.  Life seems to be getting busier and busier instead of the expected slow down. 
One of the sweetest ladies in Blogland, Judy, from cjstitching and blooms sent me some wonderful gifts for my birthday.  All the way from Michigan.  Thank you so much, Judy.  Big hugs to you.

Some beautiful fabric, a special pin which she made herself, and a laying tool which her husband made and it is painted in my fave colour:-)  That is the really neat card on the right of the picture.  A town being covered in a whirlwind of quilts.  The card is from Sisters, Oregan.  Looks like a great place to visit - well one can dream!

My younger daughter sent me these lovely flowers and the older one gave me this gorgeous vase from House and Garden (oooh love that shop). 

 P.S.
 Shirley is still in hospital and we hope she is going to be discharged tomorrow.  We will have to just see how her blood test comes back in the morning.  She is feeling much much better and itching to get home and start reading all her emails and messages.

Shirley

For those of you who read my blog and are also friends with Shirley from Shirley's Twisted Threads it is time to give you a heads up on her whereabouts.

(SHIRLEY RELAXING IN HER NEW ABODE)

Shirley is currently in an Intensive Care Unit in hospital.  We managed to get her settled into her new home, did a bit of fun shopping as she showed on her blog and then - Whammy! - last Friday she suffered a heart attack (atrial fibrillation).  Fortunately, her new unit is just a short distance to the hospital and she received emergency life saving treatment and was discharged on the following Monday.  Alas her 'freedom' was short lived, and she was back into hospital with an infection early hours of Tuesday morning, treated with antibiotic and released once more.  Then.....it doesn't stop there......she was called up by the hospital next day to come back for further tests as she had 'bacteria in her blood'.  So, she has today been transferred to a private hospital and will be there for approx 2 weeks to clear this very bad infection.  Bad luck seems to be following Shirley at the moment, but her spirits are high and she still has her wonderful sense of humour!  Pray she will be well soon and back doing her wonderful stitching.

 
(SHIRLEY IN HER GARAGE WITH OUR LITTLE LILIAN)

 This is the scrap quilt I made for the Flood Relief community quilting at Toowoomba Quilters Club. There was a whole bunch of 4" squares which had been donated to our fabric cupboard so I just joined them up in a nine patch in various colourways. The scrap quilts the ladies are making are just amazing.  Pop over to their blog and have a goosey gander.  www.toowoombaquiltersclub.blogspot.com