Shopping and COVID19

 Now that the numbers are lower in Pima County.  I am venturing out to the supermarket very early to do a quick shopping trip. I mask up and hope for the best.  For the most part people are respectful of my need for space.  It is still weird to see people older than me not masking up.  The snowbirds seem to be the worst.  When they should be the very people who should be wearing masks.  I just make the assumption that they do not have the vaccine either and give them A wide berth. I have also noticed that these same people seem to be the ones that ignore the no pets allowed only service animals.  Also very few people use masks in the bakery area. When I get back to the car I use hand sanitizer before I get into the car.  After I get the groceries away I am worn out.  I can literally do nothing for a few hours because I worry about space around me. Who is spreading the virus. It is all very trying.  It may sound really weird but I long for the pre COVID19 days when people would just turn their backs to me because they did not know what to say after Eric died.  At least shopping was leisurely and relaxing back then.  

I am also wondering how low the COVID19 numbers need to go before we can resume outdoor dinning for lunch   Dinner is out of the question because the science has shown that the numbers go up as the day goes on. Then when will it be possible to meet up with friends.  Maybe even go to an event with people outside first. Then inside  I am hoping that Omnicron is the last major variant. 

Another thing I noticed is that I had a very bad sinus headache for most of the day.  It was very windy. However when the wind died down the headache went away and I had energy again. I am going to have to ask the doctor about that one.  I have know for years when the barometric pressure went crazy I would always get a headache.  I wonder if the wind thing is related.  

Absolutely no knitting was done today.  It was to windy to walk outside.  Remember the days when the weather was to bad to walk outside and we went to the mall to walk and then have a quick bite? We are still not there yet.  I did get 45 minutes on my Cubii2 though.  

A Rare Good Day

 Any day is a great day where I get 9 hours of sleep the night before.  This lead to a fantastic day of exercise.  I was feeling good after the first mile so I said what the heck.  I started the second mile knowing that if I ran out of steam John was just a phone call away.  I got a little dicey near the end.  I sat on a neighbor’s fence until I caught my breath.  I then finished my walk.  My first 2 mile walk in a long time. I did come home exhausted. Took off my sunglasses. Grabbed a mug of ice water and hit the couch.  I did not move for 2 hours.  After dinner I got a 45 minute workout on my Cubii2.  I am feeling pretty good. 

I am hoping that I have more good days than bad days. I just need a few less days of brain fog   A few more less days of tired hands .  

Faster

I had a very bad night last night   My joints were stiff and my normally soft bed felt like I was lying on cement. I am not sure why my body perceives the bed as being hard when I am sore.  I am sure if I Google it the will be a perfectly acceptable answer. I just don’t want to know know.  I doubt it will make any difference.   Just like I don’t want to know why some flare ups last a week and other are a few months long. 

 Today I managed to shave 3 minutes off my walking time around the block. A 19 minute mile.  I don’t expect progress like this everyday. I really wanted to take a nap but walked instead. Then I came home and took a nap.  I also got 32 minutes on the elliptical after dinner.  I have not gained any weight since November but I feel more puffy.  I need to work on that.  

I also managed to make a small dent in the current skein of yarn on the baby blanket. I think because it has a little more weight to it, it is not curling up.  The knitting is going faster.  

One Small Step

 Today was the first time I was able to walk around the block since I got that weird 24 hour bug in November.  I did the mile in a record setting 22 minutes.  Not bad for a first try in a long while.  Followed by 42 minutes on the Cubii2 after dinner.  I don’t know if it was the long walk or the Sjogren’s flare up but my joints and tendons are very stiff   I hope they are better soon   

In knitting news I have made progress on the baby blanket.  It is looking good.  

My adventures in on line shopping went very weird. They delivered all but the carrots. I thought they were out until I got a message from the store that I needed to pick up my carrots.  So strange.  

A Disjointed Kind of Day

 It was one of those days that I could not figure out what to do.  So I started out sorting laundry, that was a bust, not one full load to do. Then I worked on a scarf and got it through the first color change.  Then John and I did something that we would not have done in the pre COVID19 day.  We voluntarily ate lunch out side while it was in the mid 50’s.  Of course we were bundled up, but we had to take our gloves off to eat. While we were out I worked on knitting another hat. I got through the color change on the hat too.  

After lunch it was 18 rows of lace knitting.  Somehow 18 rows of lace knitting is all I can do in one sitting.  Then John raided the fridge and made a lovely dinner.  Then it was time to exercise, so I sat down at my Cubii2 and worked on another scarf.  My knitting bowl was not large enough so 1 skein of yarn kept rolling around on the floor.  It was actually great knitting while I was exercising, it made the time go so much faster. I just love multitasking. While watching television tonight, I went back to the scarf I was working on this morning.  

I just could not figure which knitting project need more knitting time    

Tomorrow it’s supposed to rain all day.  So I will try to get out early to get meat for a soup.  It should be a good day to have a pot of soup on the stove.  

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.  

Day 2 Spin Together 2021

 As you can tell from the picture below I am super into Spin Together 2021.  On the right side is my Louet Victoria I am currently spinning a white single to ply with my art yarn.  I will also doing my plying on this wheel. I have never noticed before that undyed arm is smoother and easier on the hands than dyed yarn to spin. It must be something in the dyes that effects the fiber and how it feels.  Now I now why so many spinners spin the raw fiber and dye it later.  

In the middle is my Cubii2  so that I remember to get my exercise in.   On the left is my LendrumDT for do my first spins.   I might even do some art yarn singles on it.  On the fireplace are my 2 baskets of warp and weft for weaving.  Since all my Spin Together 2021 yarn will be for charity work I had better get my loom running too   

I currently have 4 bobbins that need to be plyed.  I have also found that 1 1/2 hours seems to be my maximum amount of time that I can sit and spin without hurting. So I am sad to say that I won’t be adding much yardage to my team’s total.  

It’s time to get some rest so that I can try to have a productive day tomorrow.  

A Relaxing Day

 I spent my day knitting, spinning and relaxing.  I worked on a hat , but did not finish it. I did however find my missing scissors, I managed to put 2 pair in the same bag.   I also added a couple of rows to a scarf, but fit not finish it.  I have to admit that I have been binge watching Downton Abbey.  I find it hard to knit.  I just love all the clothing and the attention to the little details. This includes the food too.   So I watch not to miss anything. 

This evening I finished spinning some purple roving and the immediately plyed it with some multi colored purple variegated yarn.  I ran out of purple at about 8 ounces on the bobbin.  So I have just a little left to ply with something else or ply it on to it self.  I am trying to empty all my bobbins before Saturday’s start of Spin Together.  I have a 1 1/4 pounds of fiber to start things off.  After that I will stash dive.  I still have to replace the footman connectors on my LundrumDT spinning wheel, it’s a two person job.   

I have noticed that if I use my Cubii2 everyday it is much easier to spin for longer periods of time.  Which means I need to start warping the loom more to use up all the yarn I am spinning.  

Bumps in the Road.

 I feel like my body is back in high school with constant sprains and rotating tendonitis.  I really wish I could figure out my own body.  I am not sure how, but I sprained my ankle.  I tried to exercise tonight using my Cubii2.  I lasted less then a minute going very slow. Walking is painful.   I know I will be making a call tomorrow.  

Spin Together 2021 is coming up in a few weeks. I honestly don’t know if I will be able to use either of my spinning wheels.  I have been debating an e spinning wheel for ages,.   I tried the eew mini spinning wheel, I was not impressed.  I am leaning towards the Hanson e spinner.  If I don’t get the e spinner, I will go old school with drop spindles. I might just have a few laying around.  

My First Webinar

 I went to my first webinar today.  The first 2 hours were great. I learned so much.  The 3rd hour was all scientific stuff way beyond my level of comprehension.  I am sure that this stuff was for the medical professionals and the scientists that were on line. The 4th hour was all about raising a special needs child along with 504’s and IEP’s, which was been there done that for me.  I have not had to do an IEP in over a decade.  I have to admit I did a little knitting during the last 2 hours of the webinar. I have to finish the current top before the next one is started. I have about 12 inches of the 21 that I need to knit before the shoulders.

I did get up and move around. John brought my Cubii2 and spinning chair in so I could get my morning workout done.  Which was a fantastic.  After sitting for 4 hours all I was up to was covering my back with ice and not moving until the pain went away.  I was to sore to do my evening workout.  

Dinner was great, we had filet of leftovers.  No cooking involved.  

A Typical Bad Body Day

 I had a very bad body day today.  It took about 3 1/2 hours to get semi functional this morning.  I really hate that. A scattering of chores were started , then just as quickly not finished.  Small bits of headway were made.  Things seem to be slipping out of my hands with regularity lately which makes more work for John.  I am truly sorry about that.  I guess I will have to figure that one out soon.  

The good news for today is that for a couple of chores, more made it to the trash or recycling bin than stayed.  I got a few rows knit on the hat I am working on and about 4 inches done on the scarf.  I am really trying not to over use my hands.  

On the Cubii2 front I found that as much as I love Neil Diamonds music, it just does not get me up to the pace I need for fat burn or cardio workouts.  Although it was perfect for my one workout today.  Sometimes my body and mind do not always agree on the same things.  

10,000 Plus Steps Today

 Today I accomplished something that I have not done since way before my surgery in December.  Between walking and using the Cubii2 I recorded over 10,000 steps today.  I am too tired tonight to explain the math formula. Tomorrow I will include it.  

I also knit for the first time in weeks today.  To be honest though I ripped out most of the back because I found a big boo boo. Then I managed to knit back an inch.  I did not push it.  I also knit very slowly. The funny thing is that when I knit slowly I am prone to make more mistakes.  Go figure.  My hands don’t feel to bad. Only a smidgen of uncomfortable.  I will know more in the morning. 

Day 2

 Today is day 2 on my Cubii2.  I have what I think will be a good routine.  I am trying to do 30 minutes in the morning and evening.  I have noticed that it is easier after dinner.  I have also linked the Cubii2 to my Fitbit.  With the data, I find that as long as the music is upbeat and at least a 4/4 beat or some piano rag the 30 minutes fly by.  I think I will have to add more piano rag to my music play list.  I can easily get into the fat burning range easier than walking, and it does not hurt my back.   I added 3,445 steps using the Cubii2 that I would not have gotten otherwise. I also burned 151.51 calories.  

Then there was the usual stuff.  Laundry and shopping for dinner stuff.  I got some chores done.  My mind wanted to do more cleaning.  My body said it was rest time.  My body won.  I guess the rest helped. I was able to lift the Le Creuset 7 quart casserole pan into the oven by myself.  It was the first time in about a month.  I will take any small victory.  It’s time to call it for the day.  

Something New and Exciting

 Some times it takes a while to buy something new for the house. Yesterday’s delivery was case in point.  I saw the Cubii when the first version was released.  I read reviews. I went back and forth. I bet you thought that John was the only one that did this.  Fast forward to yesterday.  The Cubii2 was delivered. With all the boxes it came in we thought it was going to be huge.  No, we just played the box game.  You know the one. You open the first box only to find another box, only to find another box.  Just like Russian Nesting Dolls.  John assembled it while I read all the paperwork.  Then we put it on the charger for 6 hours.  

This morning despite waking up with a headache, I spent 18 minutes working out after breakfast.  The first workout  was not bad, but some adjustments needed to be done.  After dinner I did a 25 minute workout after one adjustment.  The workout was even better than the morning one.  I am not sure who thinks that you can not get a good workout with something like the Cubii2, but after this evening’s workout I needed to towel off and change clothes.  Best of all no back pain at all while using it.  

John did the research after I book marked it.  He bought it for me in hopes it helps my fitness levels get better.  It seems my fitness level drops after every surgery.  I still have not gotten my stamina back after December’s surgery.  This is easy and fun.  My goal for right now is twice a day for 15 minutes or so. However once the music starts and I get in the groove I just keep going.  I hope that this is really going to help.  

This post was not paid for. John bought the Cubii2 for me.  These are my personal opinions.