Bigger Steps

 Today I managed to do 2 loads of laundry without John. Empty the dishwasher.  Then pick up around the house.  Yes, it required a nap that was over 2 hours long, but I accomplished all of this on my own.  So I consider this progress.  Just a few weeks ago, I required a 2 hour nap after sitting and eating a meal.  Now if I could just build up my core muscles a little faster.  

After all the chores around the house I did not have the spoons to knit or spin.  Everything has a different priority on different days.  Just in case you were wondering. My to do list was only half finished. The top priority items all got finished.  

A Busy Day

 Today was a day to get things out of the house.  We started out by dropping off 2 cubic feet of socks, hats and scarfs at Flowing Wells School District for their students.  The it was off to Costco to drop of a 4 month old coffee maker that died yesterday.  That was another cubic foot out of the house.  

Now on to the good stuff. We picked up 16 duck eggs from Lee Lee’s grocery store. If you are allergic to chicken eggs I would highly recommend trying duck or quail eggs. They might just surprise you.  We did one more pick up.  I left my husband to put everything away.  While I took a nap.  

Then after lunch I went through my piles of mail and packages that had to be sent out. I will have at least another cubic foot of mail leaving the house tomorrow.  

We are reclaiming space left and right.  Then Tuesday another 2 cubic feet will leave the house unless I can manage to get more stuff done and ready to leave the house. 

All of this would not have been possible without my husband doing all the driving.  If I use myspoons wisely I can get a lot done if I ask for help and take naps. 

I also had to add an extension to my current knitting project.  I also managed to get some spinning done too. 

I gave my appliances most of the day off

 Yes, it was another hot day in the Old Pueblo.  The monsoons are late.  The over night temperatures are not falling much below 90 degrees F.  Which means I have to start the laundry earlier to have the washer and dryer off before it hits 100.  Today I finished the laundry before 8:00 am and it was already in the high 90’s F.  

So this afternoon was spent listening to a book and knitting.  My hand is still very crunchy, but I have more use of it.  I worked on 2 different knitting projects and 2 different spinning projects today.  Nothing got finished.  

Tomorrow it will be more of the same.  Stay cool and hydrated.  

Beading

 Today was spent doing the usual Sunday morning chores.  I did manage to get the bed stripped and into the washer for the second week in a row. This is one step forward in my Hand recovery.  

I spent a few hours making one of a kind stitch markers for crocheting and keep track of the front side of knitting projects. I had a great time playing with my beads. I also went through my bead crafting drawers and am going to destash some findings that I no longer need, because I am no longer doing fund raisers for Eric’s day program.  I use to make between 50 and 100 pairs a year to raise money. That was followed by lunch and a very long nap.  I find that by either using my hand or going to physical therapy both do require naps afterwards.  

Tomorrow I plan on making more stitch markers.  Of course a nap will follow.  

Right on Schedule

 My recovery from this latest round of hand surgery is right on schedule.  It is always slower than I want.  I am doing the usual post surgery hand therapy several times a day.  Now that the stitches have healed, I am also working on minimizing the scar tissue. 

I am at the stage where I have big plans for the day.  These plans go as scheduled until my hand gets tired, sore or both.  That usually means stopping progress dead in its tracks for a rest until my hand feels better.  John and I used team work to make an awesome turkey chili for dinner.  I love how the onion is cut in perfect squares.  He is also on opening cans and bottles right now.  The best part is we only made 1/2 a pot so it’s a 2 night meal.  

I also managed to wash and fold almost 2 loads of laundry and get it put away. I say almost because I ran out of bend in my hand to finish folding the socks.  I put off load 3 until tomorrow. 

Tomorrow I plan on warping the loom before every chore but starting laundry.  If I wait until I finish my chores, my hand is too tired for precision work.  That way if my hand is too tired to spin, I can always weave while watching television.  

All’s Well That End’s Well

 All is well that ends well about sums up my day. I woke up to a really bad body day. I was really hungry after breakfast and wanted a sweet roll but had a half a pound of carrots and celery instead. I then crawled  back in to bed for a nap.

Once the aspirin kicked in the day went better. I finished weaving two more holiday gifts. Then warped a small loom for another. I just have to wind the yarn into a ball or cake.

I also found out that if you fill the paper shredder to capacity it automatically shuts off and won’t work anymore until you empty it. My house work today  consisted of emptying the dishwasher and taking out three bags of recycling. I should not forget about the trip to the grocery store. Am I the only one who still wears a mask inside anymore?

Chores

 I had a rare quiet day at home.  So before breakfast I ran the foot and calf massager.  Then over breakfast I made my to do list in hopes that the Tylenol would kick in so I could try and finish my list.  I worked on it till exhaustion caught up with me. I then crashed and took a nap. I don’t care what anyone says, adults need naps.  I got a few more things done after my nap. When John got home I took another break and watched one of my shows.  

I did not make 10,000 steps today but will settle for 6,000. 

Sunday

 The day was spent doing a little cleaning, laundry,and knitting.  A lot of time was spent Zenning.  We also went to a store that claimed that they just got a shipment of Tilly hats and had one in John’s size.  A knock of is not a Tilly hat with proper ventilation.  A tiring but productive day.  

My Self Cleaning House is Missing

 Today was spent on chores and deep cleaning. Followed by an evening of knitting.  The most eventful event was getting out the hand vacuum to catch the dust bunnies.  They hide every where given the chance.  

I am stating to feel better, but still tire out very quickly. So it’s equal amounts of chores and rest.  I really want that self cleaning house of the future that G.E. Promised in the 1960’s.  It’s 2022 G.E. I really want my self cleaning house.  

Allergies and more.

 I spent the day going between resting and doing light chores.  I would like to state for the record that deal with an allergy and Sjogren’s flare at the same time is not fair. Stamping my foot kind of not fair.  The end result is my face is so puffy that even if I smile you just can not tell.  I think the plants are still in deep drought mode so they are sending out extra pollen.  

Tomorrow I will try to get as many projects off my knitting needles as I can.  At least until my hands say stop.   Have a good week everyone.  

My Ramblings

 Its Girl Scout Cookie time and I have place my order. Two of my daughters nieces are selling cookies this year and they both got an order.  I kept it equal.  Their mom is an absolute saint for agreeing to keep the cookies that I ordered for her kids.  I think this is a win on so many levels. First I don’t have cookies at my house. Second she has extra snacks for her kids. Third it helps the girls.  Fourth I don’t have cookies in the house.  

I have still not been able to get duck eggs.  I got up early and went to Lee Lee’s. Lee Lee’s is still out.  I wish that I knew who else sells them in Tucson. Its not a COVID19  thing, this was happening long before COVID19.  Specialty foods like duck eggs and goat cheese seem to have a natural cycle. I just have to live with it.  I know they will be back soon.  

Winter has hit in Tucson, not like back east. It is expected to get into the 20’s tonight. No snow or rain in most of Arizona, with the exception of the mountains.  We have left a tap running so we will not need a plumber tomorrow.  I am so glad that I have my new gloves to keep my hands warm tonight.  I am also glad that I have a Bluetooth key board for my iPad.  Now I don’t have to stop typing to warm my fingers up.  The iPad touch screen is not very fond of cold fingers.  I just have to remember to hit the shift key for capital letters. 

Despite a very bad body day I did manage to get a lot of things done around the house.  I did however fall asleep near the end of folding laundry.  I did feel better after my nap. I have one load left to fold.  Not to bad in my humble opinion. Don’t get me wrong I still have more laundry to do but there is no more room on the cloths line. I did sleep through dinner preparation time so we did a freezer dive for dinner.  This leaves the last of the chili for dinner tomorrow.  Yeah, I don’t have to cook dinner tomorrow night.  

A Weird Kinda Day

 Despite wakings up to a very bad body day the day turned out okay in the end.  By evening I was feeling better.  I managed to get 6 more rows of white knit on the baby blanket. No, I did not quite reach the color change yet.  Maybe tomorrow.  I know I have been saying that for a few days.  It is one of those infinite balls of yarn that just seem to stay almost the same no matter how many rows are knit. I also managed to get 50 % of my to do list done, although truth  be told John  did 50% of my work today.  

I have read the National Institute’s of Health report on inflammation and weight loss. Yet I am still perplexed as to why my clothing just keeps growing in the closet.  Like the pants I got around Mother’s Day.  When I bought them they sat at my waist and were 2 inches above my ankle. The bottom of the pant leg now sits at my ankle and the waist just hit the bottom of my rib cage.  I have not lost a pound yet.  I have also read that the body reconfigures it self after losing x amount of pounds and then the weight loss starts again.  This is the second size down without losing any weight.  I am going to propose a different theory on the subject. It is just as absurd.  It is the desert air that is making the clothing grow.  It is also changing the size tags on clothing at the store so I think that I am buying smaller clothing sizes. This is just as crazy as the 2 vetted and published articles above.  By the way I will wait until the pants go halfway up my rib cage and then I know that I am down another size. Then it’s clothes shopping again. 

I got the strangest call from the car dealership today.  Since I have less than 4,000 miles on my 2 year old car I should let them buy it back so that they can sell it to someone who will love it more and drive it more.  Haha, in this car market they have got to be crazy.  Besides Tessela, which does not come with leather seats, heated seats or steering wheels which is fantastic for arthritis. I am not sure about the padded steering wheel’s which are great for arthritis.  What other car is there on the market.  Most of the car makers are still paying the price for canceling those computer chip order’s at the beginning of the pandemic.  You’ve got to hand it to them they do have gull. I am keeping my car. 

My Ramblings

 I finally felt well enough to get some work done around the house today.  I did 3 loads of hand wash and 1 regular load.  I also caught up on a little bit of folding.  I found an hour to block the new pattern.  Found an hour to work on a present.  Spent a couple of hours sleeping after a walk. It felt good. I have not walked this far in a while. It still leaves me a bit winded.  Maybe we will have an answer soon. Placed an on line order and got most of it put away   

I did not catch up on paper work including typing the new pattern.  Well there is always tomorrow.  But for now I will call it a day. 

Almost Done

 The sewing tables have been folded up.  The sewing machine put away.  I am leaving John in charge of vacuuming and dusting.  I just have to find a home for some blankets.  They are washed and bagged. They are too small for the V.A. , Project Linus does not take cotton blankets.  So I will call a friend tomorrow.  

I just need to wrap a few things , put some baskets away, fold up one table, sweep and mop the floor’s, clean the bathrooms along with my usual chores and we will be ready for company.  I am exhausted just thinking about it.  

The best part of this companies coming is that I tossed a lot of things rather than just put them in boxes and baskets for later.  I hope that this puts me ahead of the curve.  

A Busy Day

 Sometimes the perils in pattern writing is the the letters and numbers dance around the page like a Conga line dances through a room.  My current pattern fits this to an exact T as in T Square.  Today I tried to figure out if I hit that magic sweet spot of pattern section repeats.  I simply could not figure it out.  So I will keep knitting and working the pattern out row by row. I just have to have things add up to my magic number and maintain the angles, it’s really not that hard until I can no longer walk, talk and knit at the same time. This sitting down to write  patterns down is sometimes very hard work.

If I take this pattern row by row it is a very delightful knit.  Just enough change from row to row to keep the pattern interesting.  My student whom I am writing it for, loves the pattern so far. She is on section 2 around row 8.  She likes the fact that after so few rows knit and purled stitches a pattern is visible.   That makes me so happy.  I am only 2 full sections ahead of her so I have to find more time to finish this.  

In other news the bathroom is now painted.  I just have to pull the tape off the grab bar.  Give it a few days to dry. This is where a second shower is very helpful. Then put everything back where it belongs.  Also just a few projects to go before craft room 1 is ready to become the guest room.  My new storage containers for craft room 2 are somewhere in Phoenix. Hopefully they will arrive tomorrow, they were supposed to be here today, alas this is the season of shipping hiccups. 

I also came up with an innovative way to put my shoes away. I slip on one pair and walk to my closet   Take the shoes off and put them away. I repeated this process until all my shoes were put away while bring laundry from the clothes line to the closet’s. I got 2 chores done at once and added steps to boot.

I am hoping despite be sore all over, all day that I will sleep tonight.  Wish me luck.  

A Dumb Mistake

 Here I sit at 2 a.m. waiting for the aspirin to kick in.  All because I. choose not to wear my tendon isolation band while knitting last night. As you know I have chronic tendonitis do to arthritis.  It just seems to jump all around my body. Currently I have knitting elbow also know as tennis elbow.  Since I do not play tennis anymore, I call it knitting elbow. 

My arm was feeling good all day. So I thought that I was lucky That it went away very quickly.  Yeah, I am not that lucky. So here I sit at 2 a.m.  waiting for the aspirin to kick in.  I am wide awake.Pain  has away of doing that to me. So I might just do some chores while I wait. Since I did not get many things done yesterday.  I was having a bad body day except for my elbow. Then again I can feel the aspirin starting to kick in, so I just might be lucky enough to go back to sleep.  So maybe I will just get a jump on the day and start a load of.  By the way, I am so predictable that the prediction  program on my blog had picked out I was going to start a load of laundry before I even had it typed in.  A very good algorithm, way to go programmers.  

Saturday

 I have had my most productive day in a while.  I even started 2 loads of laundry and put things away during the 8 minutes that my breakfast was cooking.  Not one spot got cleaned, instead a whole lot of things got got trashed or moved to where they were supposed to be.  

I was going to take a walk when I got frustrated by my new design.  I am not sure how, but it is easier to walk, talk and knit this pattern than it is sitting down at a table with pen snd paper, writing the pattern as I go.  There was just one little glitch.  There was a coyote wandering around.  I make it a point not to venture far when wild animals are roaming the streets.  So I did the sensible thing and watered the new cactus we planted last weekend.  

When I came back inside, I was a little more relaxed.  I figured out it was not the written pattern that was the problem rather I did not count right when casting on yesterday. So I tinked it. Cast on again and everything is ok.  

I picked up some wonderful salmon for dinner. It came out perfect.  Nice and buttery.  No, I did not use butter when I baked the salmon.  I use the juice of one lemon, salt, white pepper and dill.  I let it marinate a few hours. Add a bit of water before cooking.  Bake at 350f for about 35 minutes.  I buy enough to cook once and eat for 2 nights.  

Charity knitting happened after dinner.  The scarf that I am working on will take at least 7 skeins of yarn.  It is called the Stash Dive Scarf by Summer Lee Designs.and is available on Raverly.  This is number 4 with this pattern.  

How is this Sunday Night?

 I woke up feeling great.  

Which lead to a lot of chores getting done. 

Which lead to over 10,000 steps. 

Which lead to a total fat burn workout on my Cubii2.  That was 30 minutes.

Which lead to 2 out of 5 knitting work in progress projects getting finished tonight.  

All in all a good day.  

Now for another goodnights sleep.

Which will lead to another almost pain free busy day tomorrow.  

Feeling Better

 As I have for the past 2 days I ate breakfast and went back to sleep.  The difference was that today I actually felt better when I got up from my nap.  I did 1 load of hand wash, 1 load through the washing machine and folded one load.  All that took 2 session with an hour rest in between.  I tried really hard not to over do it and get everything done.  The maybe good news is that my to do list is still long.  

I finished the hat I started at the doctors office on Monday morning.  I am calling the hat Boredom , because the doctor was running late, did not have all the right equipment ( next time I am bringing my own blood pressure machine just in case they only have a very small cuff and not for anyone larger than a petite person) I was supposed to see the doctor but got they PA instead.  They were very slow and disorganized.  So I started messing around with the hat I was making.  John thinks it looks like an ice cream cone.  Let me know  if you want me to write the pattern up.  

As you can tell besides binge watching Downton Abbey, I also got some knitting done.  I almond finished another scarf and cast on another hat because I did not want to let the stitch markers get lonely.  

Keeping Things Mixed Up

 My body is definitely giving me a run for my money.  My ankle is feeling better, but I am going to give it a few more days to heal before I stress it.  My hands seem ok today.  My one major glitch is that I am moving as if I was made of 2 by 4’s.  

So I got caught up on paperwork. That resulted in 3 full bags going into the recycling bin.  That is always a plus.  Then it was off to play pick up and put away while John was walking for exercise.  We both got about the same amount of steps; however, I got a lot of things put away.  

One thing I did notice today is that when I finished my chores today the results of today’s work is at the top of tomorrow’s to do list.  Oh well, it’s time to rest up for tomorrow.