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What I've Been Doing the Past Month or So

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Hello, My Lovelies!  Is anyone here?  

I know, I know....I've been away for way too long.

But when it rains, it pours.  Literally...

May started out lovely.  I celebrated my birthday with my mom and several sorority sisters touring the Symphony Decorators' Show House and having lunch.  Two days later, Shanley Belle graduated from graduate school with a masters in communicative disorders.  So the first week of May was filled with blessings....and then everything crashed.

My grandmother fell due to an undiagnosed kidney infection and was hospitalized.  At the same time, Shanley also got a severe kidney infection (both my grandmother and Shanley have suffered from kidney infections fairly frequently since childhood) that required IV antibiotics. The personnel at Birmingham Infusion were not delightful.  They did not listen to Shanley's GP, and they gave her the wrong antibiotic.  She suffered for weeks, and had a high fever most days.  She had to give up her ballet classes, and she was unable to start packing for her move to Baton Rouge. Finally in mid-June, her GP got fed-up with the incompetence at Birmingham Infusion and referred her to a urologist. Finally she was placed on the appropriate meds and she is so much better now.

While Shanley was recovering, I had to visit Baton Rouge four times to try to get work done on her loft. It's difficult to hire contractors there due to last year's flood.  We literally moved her at the last minute because she started working in the lab at LSU last week, but we wanted to give her a chance to recover as much as possible before the move.

We ended up moving her during Tropical Storm Cindy.  What a mess!  It was a tough move, and I'm not used to driving through so much street flooding.  We literally had to wait during breaks in the torrential rains to unload the truck.  Plus there was some miscommunication between me and the painters. Although we replaced the floors upstairs, we didn't want to replace the tile flooring downstairs, and the painters thought we were and didn't use any drop cloths.  They did an amazing job painting, but they weren't very careful with the floor.  It took me two days to get most of the paint off the floors.



Here's a little peek at Shanley's loft.  Her style is bohemian/hippie/shabby chic, and she wanted a gallery wall in her dining area.

Come back tomorrow for a tour of her loft!



I haven't been home much to garden, and sadly all our million bells died!  That has never happened before.  Yesterday I replaced them with vincas, and I hope I have better luck with them!



I like pale pink vincas!



I also haven't been doing much art, either.  I did add a nice magazine rack and watercolor landscape to the art studio.  



The studio is nice and neat because I haven't been home much to create any art!
*sadface*







My mom bought the painting for me at the Decorator's Show House.  I usually buy landscapes because I don't enjoy painting them as much as other subjects!  




The chickenwire racks hold my Daphne's Diary and Art Journaling magazines.



Now that Shanley Belle is settled and we're back home, I'm art journaling again.  I also want to start posting my pages on Instagram later this week.



Just a peek at my journal


I didn't have much access to the internet while in Baton Rouge.  I answered emails mostly at coffee shops when I had a free moment.  Plus coffee helped give me energy that I needed!  I did get some reading done, and my Summer Reading List has been fairly decent.  I'll share a few of my summer reads with you later this week.





I can only think of one other Independence Day in my life NOT spent at either the beach or lake. That was the year Shelley was born, and she was overdue.  It seems so weird because we've always taken vacation time this week.  However, this year we will spend a week at the lake later this summer and several long weekends.

So, that's basically my story for most of May and June.  We are so thankful that Shanley Belle and my grandmother are better.  We're also happy to see Shanley Belle begin this next phase in her life as she begins her PhD program at LSU.  Geaux Tigers!  We want to enjoy watching more Cubbies games outside on our patio because we've missed many games this season, but the season is only half over. Also, there are a few small home decor projects I'm planning this summer, and a rather large one that probably will happen either late summer or early autumn.  

I plan to visit a few of my favorite blogs I've been missing.  I can't wait to see what some of you have been up to!  

Honestly, although we've missed all the lake festivities this Fourth of July, it's good to be home.

Please leave me a comment and share your most recent activities!


Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill



10 comments

  1. What a busy time you have had!!! I am so glad that your Shanley and grandmom are both doing well. Congrats to Shanley on her new job/adventure.
    I have been away from blogging for a bit, too, with lots going on in my life...just like everyone else, I guess.
    Blessings to you and it is good to have you back. xo Diana

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  2. Well this thing just ate my comment!

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  3. Bless your heart and I hope it's all getting better! We also had to deal with the kidney/UTI thing with my father in law. He was hospitalized for a week. That's terrible and painful.

    I know you missed your studio. Looking forward to that tour. :)

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  4. I am still around, hell I am usually around although the last week has seen me busy and not blogging but things have settled down and I am here. It is extremely frustrating when medical personal don't listen and think they know better then say the GP who sees a patient a hell of a lot more then they do.

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  5. Welcome back. I just re-started blogging again myself. I'm glad things are turning around for you.

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  6. Hello Friend,
    Sending a BIG HUG!
    We have had a crazy few months as well. My dad had a heart attack. That changed many things for our family. He is healing, we are so thankful.
    I graduated from my Master Gardener Class. Yippee. The busy of Summer has us busy as bees.

    I am sending hugs and well wishes to your daughter.
    Lots of love,
    Carla

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  7. Wow, what a summer you've had so far! I'm glad to know that your grandmother and SB are back on the road to good health. How scary! She is lucky to have a mom willing to take charge and get things done. Eager to see her loft. Love the gallery wall. I'm always impressed with your studio. I suspect it always looks neat, even when you are painting and creating. Miss seeing your Journal pages, so look forward to that again soon. Have a great summer!

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  8. So great to see your post. You have been so busy with life. I too have been away from blogging with busy life changes. Glad your grandmother and Shanley are doing better. How miserable for both of them. Hope you enjoy the rest of the summer.
    xoxo
    Kris

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  9. I've been thinking about you and wondering what you are reading this summer. But it looks like you've been busy with everything going on! Hope this month is better and things settle down. Lots of hugs, Diane

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  10. oh no, you have been challenged lately, so sorry!! Your poor sweet daughter, so much to handle all at once! I pray that she will stay healthy now and be able to enjoy her new job and cute digs~ the gallery wall is fabulous!
    Jenna

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I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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