Halloween Recap

 We had a good Halloween day.  We did just in time decorating.  The Halloween decorations were out for less than 12 hours before they were put away for next year.  We only had 3 bags of candy leftover, so John agreed to take them to work to leave by the coffee pot.  I also found out that kids don’t like marshmallows for Halloween candy treats.  They still loved the pencils, pens, animal erasers, bubbles and assorted Halloween toys.  We had about 40 kids this year. 

I have enough pens, pencils and assorted Halloween toys for next year.  All I need to do is buy more candy.  Hopefully next year we will be back to normal for Halloween.  I really like handing out the candy and treats.  I have had enough of this no contact Halloween stuff.  This was my Halloween set up for tonight.  I kept putting out more candy and bags.  

More Cleaning and Organizing- It Never Ends

 I was in the mood to clean today. So I am filling up a few trash and recycling bags.  I also included 2 loads of hand wash and 3 machine loads of laundry. I am still not 100% so I took breaks for knitting.  I also found my box of stitch markers to repair, so that will be added to my to do list.  I also put a few things away, but more is leaving than staying.  

Since we are not on a busy street I made 50 Halloween gift bags and have the candy ready to put out.  We are doing a no contact trick or treat again this year.  John will decorate in the morning.  I have decided that John will bring all the left over candy to work with him to leave by the coffee pot.  I just have not told him yet.  I am sure it won’t be a problem.  

A Rest Day?

 Since I over did things yesterday, I tried to take it easy and have a slow day.  I almost seceded. Unless I am sleeping my inclination is to keep moving and going.  To that end I used a bag of poly fill in the craft room as a desk. I then proceeded to empty and throw away or recycle most thing. I did find a pair of circular knitting needles that I did not realize that I had lost. Filled up the to be shredded basket that I just emptied on Wednesday. 

I did a little knitting on 2 different projects. One were finished.  We also tried not to watch every show that dropped today.  We did save a few for tomorrow. Well it’s getting late and I am going to call it a day.   

It’s Finally Leaving

 Almost everything that I have worked on since January is leaving the house today.  The count is as follows: 50 hand knit hats, 21 hand knit scarfs, 4 hand woven scarfs.  I acquired 33 pairs of socks and 12 backpacks. I really think the volume of items Surprised John this morning. I  know that I fell short of my yearly goal of 60 hats, but I must face the fact that it was a bad hand year. The fact that my hats are knit on US size 6 & 8’s verses the scarfs which were knit on no smaller than a US size 11. By the way the larger the number the bigger the knitting needles are. This makes them easier to hold on a bad hand day too. 

I used John’s couch to lay out everything for one last picture before they left the house.  I almost covered the entire couch. Everything is now packed up to drop off at The Flowing Wells School District Clothing Bank.  It makes me very happy that I can use my idle time like this.  

Four Hours

 Right now I have about 4 good hours to get things done before i am too exhausted to work.  I just have to decide Whether it’s errands or cleaning.  Life can be so simple.  

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.  

I Srarted A New Pattern

 I am finally feeling better. For real.  Sadly no tea seems to be working.   I have started a new table runner pattern at the request of my student. It would have been so much easier just to walk around the house knitting this pattern.  However, since it is for a student I have to do all the math, gauge swatches, and write every line of the pattern as I knit this pattern.  To me geometrical patterns can be done mindlessly.  Once I start writing things down, I am amazed at how seamlessly  my mind seems to knit them.  

I Over Estimated My Energy

 I managed to get to the grocery store today. I was amazed at all the Snowbirds who were not wearing masks. Most of these people looked really old. I know some people think I am very old, but I could have been their kid.  Some were even frail. Yes, I wore my KN95 Mask from inside the car to when I got back inside the car. 

One other thing I noticed was how many people were treating the store staff as personal assistants. Not many thank you's or have a fantastic days. This is just so wrong these people work hard and don't need to be trampled on. A few kind words to everyone who helps you goes a long way. 

I found fresh tomatillo's so I got every thing I needed for fresh tomatillo soup, The recipe will follow tomorrow. Shopping and making the soup wore me out. Yes, I did over do it.  I spent 4 hours on the couch not moving. Just waiting for the pain in my shoulders to go away. Next time I will wait until I have help with all the prep work before I start the soup.  

Well my typing is becoming very dyslexic so it must be time to call it a night. Just let me know if I need to make corrections. 

Getting More Done

 I woke up at 5 am with a headache, since it was too early for breakfast I tried the caffeinated tea route. While I was waiting for the caffeine to do it’s job I woven in the remaining ends and did the last seam of the scarf.  Since the scarf seemed dusty, I washed all 3 in that series by had.  I did the right thing the wash water and first rinse were muddy looking.  By the 3rd rinse I put them out side to dry.  

By the time John woke up my headache was gone and we had breakfast together.  We did a few chores and worked in plenty of rest time.  John installed a new toilet seat to replace the broken one.  I got 4 loads of laundry done.  This included folding the sheets and putting them away.  I have to admit that around 2 pm.  I was too tired to move, so I binge watched some Downton Abbey.  

John brought in dinner and I cleaned up.  Then we relaxed until bedtime.  Yes, I am feeling better than yesterday, but not 100%.  I guess I am looking fo baby steps on this one.  

Starting to Feel Better

 I am just starting to feel better.  I found getting things done 30 minutes at a time helped a lot. 2 plants got new pots and John planted a cactus out front for me.  My new sheets got washed replacing a set that I wore out.  I also started but did not finish a new organizing project, I have finally found a place to put all the masks and stuff. I think COVID19 will be here for a while. 

 I did start a new scarf today, so far I am liking that it is a stash buster.  I am 20 inches in and have almost used up 1 skein of sock yarn.  Yes, at one time I thought I would be knitting a lot of my own socks, not so much.  So I am always happy to find a pattern that uses sock yarn up.  I have also used up 1 1/4 skeins of worsted weight cotton yarn.  The cotton yarn is good for 17 inches between color changes so I think 5 skeins should just about finish the scarf. After I finish the skein of sock yarn I will start on partial skeins to change things up.  I will have to finish weaving in the ends of the scarf I finished yesterday so I can drop it off for a friend to take to guild for me.  

Day 3

 I spent most of the day feeling awful.  This however is no excuse not to get things done.  So when I had energy I managed to do a little picking up around the house. 3 loads of laundry,  put away most of today’s deliveries. I almost finished a never ending scarf, it is just over 5 feet long, good for the northern Arizona winter.  I have enough yarn for 2 more, but they will be delivered next fall.  After dinner I started feeling better.  John brought in Japanese food for dinner. I had my favorite cold tofu for dinner.  

I will have to see how tomorrow goes. I am planning another light scheduled.  

Day 2

 I am having another off day.  I think I will lay low for a few days.  

An Off Day

 Today was an off day for my body.  So all I accomplished was shopping for dinner, very early with an N95K mask, 3 loads of laundry, listing a few knitting/ Crocheting books on eBay, working on the endless scarf and I Cubii2 workout.  I spent most of the day resting.  

Since it was a bad body day I skipped cleaning the guest room and any unnecessary work. 

Really Deep Cleaning is Tiring

Today I had a system for cleaning up craft room 1 aka the guest room.  I started out with one bag for trash.. one bag for recycling..lastly one box for charity.   I spent 1 1/2 hours going through everything that I swore I would never touch again. I had everything in boxes to be ignored forever, I don’t think my family agreed with my plan of moving the boxes out of the way with out going through them. So I meticulously went through everything bit by bit.  I threw out projects that were never ever going to be repaired.  I put beads in their places.  I cleaned off resting places for things that I had just not put away.  I put all my broken stitch markers in a box to be repaired.  I stacked boxes for future delivery.  I worked until I was too tired to move.  Most importantly I managed to empty one box. That box will help organize my knitting projects stacked on shelves, so they don’t fall as often   I have one more box that I hope to finish tomorrow. At least with that part. The whole process should take about a week to finish. I might even try to get a bit of sewing done before I need to set up the guest room.

At the same time I was washing the last 3 skeins of yarn from Spin Together 2021. Once they are mostly dry and can be moved into the house for the final drying, I will take a picture of all the skeins.  Some colors did change drastically, others were about the same.  Then I will play with the order of colors to make my next shawl.  I might even spin a few more skeins to get the colors just right.

I even had time to add 6 inches to the never ending scarf..

 

24 Quarts

 I usually count my yarn and batts by the quart or gallon.  I know most people count by skeins,  ounces of roving or yards. So for last week’s spinning for Spin Together 2021 I emptied 2 , 12 quart sweater boxes of hand carded batts.  Since I spun 12 skeins of yarn that works out to an average of 6 skeins per box.  Of course as you have seen from the pictures, the skeins were spun with 1, 2 or 3 batts.  That’s the great thing about art batts, no 2 are alike.  Some can be singles while with others just more go together.  

Don’t worry about the empty boxes.  They will be filled up again by tomorrow night.  I am in the process of cleaning craft room number 1.  My crafts are currently divided between 2 rooms.  I have it on the best Authority that craft room number 1 aka the guest room might just have some guests.  So I do need to finish my top to bottom cleaning of the room.  I got off to a great start today.   Just so we are clear craft room number 2 is shared with our pantry.  At least I have all the snacks when I am working in craft room 2.  

I also learned today that my body no longer likes kale.  So my go to vegetables are carrots, celery, salads, squash, sweet potatoes, daikon radish, soy beans, Lima beans, lentils, Garbanzo beans, beans in general,   radishes, yams, corn, peas and seaweed.  Yes I now count seaweed as a vegetable. It goes great on tofu.  

Below are my empty storage boxes.  I was going to stack them the other way but the kept on sliding. 

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.  

Spin Together 2021 Day 6

 At the end of day 6 of Spin Together 2021 I have spun 12 skeins of mostly art yarn for a total of 2,184 contest yards or 1.24090909 miles.   Not a bad week of spinning.  I did not over do. I included plenty of rest time.  The first picture is of the last 5 skeins.  They are smaller because they were spun with one art batt each.   

The next picture is of all 12 skeins together.  It seems hard to imagine that it is 1.24 miles of yarn or 2,184 yards all spun since last Saturday beginning at noon.  If I have the energy I might and that is a very big if,I might spin another skein or 2 of yarn.  The picture below is all the skeins together.  

The Last of Day 5

 These are the last 2 skeins of day 5 of Spin Together 2021. With a total contest yardage of 480 yards.  I like the colors of Bees the best.   Bees is the yellow green and light blue color way.  This. brings my contest totals up to 1,578 yards.  Since a mile is 1,760 yards I just might have a chance at spinning a mile of yarn this week.  No wonder my calf muscles are protesting.  

Sorry for the second post you know is coming tonight.  

Spin Together Day 5

 As you can tell from the picture below I spent the afternoon spinning mini batts. I managed to spin 5 mini batts today. With the 3 batts from yesterday that is 8 spun in 2 days, waiting to be plyed.  These are 4 ounce bobbins and I managed to get 6 ounces on the front left bobbin. I will try to get them all plyed and skeined after dinner.  Usually plying goes fast for me.   I would have spun more but ran out of bobbins for my woolly winder.  

This is the only plyed yarn that got skeined tonight. I am calling it shades of blue. This is a keeper for a me project.  It has a nice even balance and the coloring is fantastic.  Under traditional counting it has 182 yards. With the Spin Together 2021 rules it has 546 yards.   Which will bring me to over 1000 contest yards.  My biggest bobbins that I plyed tonight did not get skeined because it bed time, and there is always  tomorrow morning.  I also have to spin another bobbin of white plying yarn. I still have 2 bobbins that need to be plyed. I thought 6 ounces of white was going to be enough, I was wrong.  So I will fill another bobbin tomorrow.  Then ply the rest before I spin more batts.  

Spin Together Day 4

 You might have read or seen pictures of all the mini art batts that I made a few months ago in a bid to get my fiber stash under control.  Well I do have my first empty box that I am filling up with hand spun yarn.  I have 4 skeins of yarn in the box I emptied.  As per Spin Together rules I have 552 yards.  Each time the fiber goes through the spinning wheel orifice it counts, so  if I spin 2 singles and ply them together I multiply the total yards times three. To get my actual yardage simply divide the above number by 3.   

I also have 1 skein waiting to be plyed and am currently spinning one of the larger batts. I did not get much spinning done today.  I usually slack off after an eye doctor appointment.  Somehow getting my eyes dilated just discombobulates me so I always sleep afterwards.  I can knit while I am asleep, but I have not been able to learn to spin while sleeping.  I am really hoping to have a second box of batts emptied by noon on Saturday when the contest ends.  Wish me luck.  As you all know it depends solely on how my hands are doing in any point of time.   

All the art batts are going into hand woven scarfs.  The mohair with the exception of the pink skein will go into a shawl for me.  I really did not consider that losing the weight, inches and sizes would mean that I would need new shawls in smaller sizes.  I just assumed that they would fit me better. Some fo,

but most are looking a bit awkward.  That will be for after the contest.  

Day 3 Spin Together 2021

 I have other skeins in progress.  This is my first completed skein of art yarn.  35 yards multipled by 3 give me 105 yards for the contest.  Tomorrow will be better.  I had a very bad body day today.  

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.  

Spin Together and more.

 My body and I are not, not on speaking terms, more like a major disagreement today. Since it is fall I did not think it was weird to put a shawl on my shoulders and cover myself with a blanket after dinner.  Being all nice and warm really helped with the aches and pains.  

My first day of Spin Together was pretty good. I filled 4 bobbins.   Now I just have to spin some white ti ply with the art yarn.  The are going to be small skeins of yarn.  I am starting with all those bits and pieces of fiber that I made into mini batts.  The yarn will go into hand woven scarfs and maybe a shawl or two.  

It has been a busy day so I am officially calling it over.  

A pretty good day.

 I did get a lot of things done today.  I managed to get 1/2 my to do list completed and a few extras too.   I have a busy day planned for tomorrow so I am hoping for a good night’s sleep.  

My Local Yarn Shop

 I woke up feeling fantastic today.  I had a good day and taught 1 knitting class.  I got help from Michael in fixing my Lendrum Spinning Wheel, the squeaky footman are gone.  If you are in Tucson or just passing through Michael at Grandma’s Spinning Wheel can help you with most of your spinning wheel problems.   Also for those of you who plan to do the Steven West Make along shawl, Sandy the fantastic in house dyer at Grandmas Spinning Wheel has dyed up several different colors that have been put together in sets for your convince.  If you would like to choose your own colors that is an option too.  This is something that needs to be done as soon as possible because Sandy is dying the yarn to order.  

If you are in Tucson the group will meet in Friday’s at the shop.  If you are in an area without a Local Yarn Shop you can still get together with friends for this make along.  You can also order your yarn from Grandma’s Spinning Wheel for your project.  

Just to let you know, Grandma’s Spinning Wheel has a large selection of yarns, fibers, weaving supplies and notions for all. Just use the link for you shopping convince.  

Happy Fiber crafting to all.  

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.  

I Hate Colds

 I woke up early with my first cold of the season.  So after 2  24 ounces tumblers of ice water, 1/2 mug of ice tea and oatmeal I went back to bed and slept almost to noon.  John made me chicken soup with a pumpkin bagel for lunch.  Then it was couch potato time.  

Another mug and a half of ice tea was consumed while binge watching Downton Abbey.  A little knitting was accomplished.  As of this evening no projects have been completed.   No spinning or Cubii2 we’re done either.  I figure exercise is not good when I am sick   

My plans for this week are to lay low.  Only if I feel better will things get done.  My to do list from today will wait.  Of course things will get added.  

Getting Things Done

 I am starting to get back into sync. I spun again tonight. More plying. I will have plenty of yarn for hand woven scarfs.  I did some knitting while waiting at my doctors appointment today.  They were so slow that I finished the brim and started the pattern.  I am almost halfway done with the first repeat.  

I am finding that as long as I write a to do list, I get things done.  So tomorrow it is to do list ho.  

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.  

A Good Day.

 I actually had a good day with a few whole hours totally pain free.  I hope I get more of that time in the coming weeks.  

This to Shall Pass

 Just another very early morning, waiting for the aspirin to kick in for the flare up that refuses to leave.  I am resting, eating right getting Exercise and getting plenty of sleep, just not straight through the night.  I honestly feel like I am in high school again with the pain jumping Wiley Nelly through my body.  

Tonight it’s just that low level of pain that refuses to let me get comfortable.  My hands are too tired and sore to knit.  I can’t concentrate enough to read. So here I sit and wait.  Other people my age don’t seem to have as much pain or have various parts of their bodies stop working for no apparent reason.  It is my honest wish that the doctors and scientist come up with multiple cures soon.  

I really wish that COVID19 was long over so I could go and get a massage.  That usually helped in the past.. The thought of going in an enclosed room with poor ventilation just does not sound good right now.  Yes, I am fully vaccinated, but I am going with the science on this one.   I think I need to chant that this too shall pass throughout the day to convince my body to feel better.  

My Car

 My car did something amazing today.  This is the first day that I have driven my car in the rain. Yes, I know that I have had the car for about 18 months, but there is this thing called COVID19 that has kept me home an awful lot.  

Now back to my car. As I left the house it started to rain. Me being in a funk for most of the time I have owned the car, I have not read the owner’s manual.  The 1st car that I have not read it from cover to cover. So as I was trying to remember what the salesman said about the wipers and how to turn them on, they just started up on their own.  They stopped too.  Then started again,. Kept up with the rain by going faster and stopped again.  I thought that this was so cool.  I could keep my eyes on the road.  

Tucson drivers freak out in rain. They forget how to drive and that they must slow down.  I am not talking about the usual snowbird stuff like stopping dead in the middle of the road in the right or center lane blinking for a left turn expecting everyone to stop for them.  When it would be safer to move over to the left lane and make a u turn further down the road.  Then making a right turn on the right street.  Tucson drivers just don’t get much rain to practice with.  

I really want to thank the Volvo engineers ho came up with this idea and then implemented it.  It really is a very cool feature.   Thank you.  

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.  

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.  

12 Years, the Quick Weight Loss Journey.

 Are people really reading The whole  tweet, Instagram or Facebook posts.  Many do, but an equal number do not.  Remember yesterday’s post.  The one right below this post.  The one saying that I started my lifestyle changes in 2009. This morning I got a Direct mail inquiry asking if I wanted to share my quick weight loss journey and secrets. I kid you not.  

My question is simple.  Is a dozen years, that’s right 12 years now considered a quick weight loss journey? In my most humble of opinions I am going to say it’s not.  I just might be putting myself a little outside the conventional thinking on this one.  

The next questions are do I answer? Do I ingore this one entirely.  Do I really want to put myself out there for random people to question my choices about my body and lifestyle? I have not even heard of this person before.  Is she trying to gain her 15 minutes of fame off of my work? If she was really interested in my journey, she would have gone back to my blog posts from 2009 and starting reading them by herself.  She would have done her homework.  If she wants someone to spoon feed her story material she should hire someone, preferably a professional with a degree.   

So the quick answer to a long post is no, I am not going to left her feature me in a story about quick weight loss.  I tried quick weight loss for years starting when I was 12.  My mom put me on a diet because I was 2 whole pounds over my “ideal weight “.  She taught me how to binge.  Explained how broken cookies had no calories because there was no way to measure out a cookie from a bag of broken cookies. Also explained that if you ate just a sliver of anything it did not count, because it was not a whole piece. How to eat couipous amounts of sweets.  Taught me that exercise was bad because it put on weight. I now know that muscle weight is better than fat weight. Muscle weight is also firmer. Muscle weight is heavier by volume.  How drinking  diet soda was better than milk or water, my preferred drinks at the time.  We are supposed to trust our parents to give us good information   

If you have children of any age all I can say to you is do not let your kids diet.  Have healthy foods around all the time.  Indulge them in the produce section of the store, even if it is a budget buster.  Teach them about walking and finding ways to stay active.  Teach them to live a healthy lifestyle.

Let them be like my daughter.  I once thought she liked cookies. When we went grocery shopping she would carefully pick out cookies to add to her lunch.  I did not find out until a couple of decades later that she would trade her cookies for fresh fruits and vegetables.  Certain cookies had a higher fruit or vegetable to cookie ratio. She was the sole reason her elementary school started  a no trade policy at lunch time.  

So if you like start your own lifestyle change journey..I will cheer you on.  Please remember it will always be your journey.  

The Shawl That Grew in the Closet

 It may not seem like it at times that I am making progress.  In 2009 I started making changes to my diet and lifestyle.  I cut out aspartame and all artificial sweeteners. As time went on I made more changes like cutting back on sugar and carbs.  Recently I cut out red meat and most fats. I also started moving more.  The more I move, the more I lost and the more I moved.  It’s a very slow cycle.  I was trying to to do anything to make my arthritis better. I did a lot of reading.  I was not even trying to lose any weight.  At about the same time I knit this shawl in the largest size.  It barely fit. I used a small knot to hold it in place.  I was a size 4X at the time.  

Fast forward to September 2021, I am no longer a 4X.  Depending on the designer I wear any size from medium to XL. I am on a lot less medication and don’t have to take aspirin all the time. This was my main goal.  Everything else was just a bonus.  The shawl that just fit, well just look at the way the shawl fits today. It’s down at my hips.   I know that my face is a bit square today, that’s what my Sjogren’s  looks like during a flare up. So no smiles today.  

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.  

Taking Bets

 I started a new summer hand knit t-shirt in cotton a few months back.  When I started the t-shirt I took my measurements and started knitting to my then current size.  Even though I had the measurements perfect when I started the t-shirt appears to be growing.  It matches the first half exactly.   Will it fit or will it be too big.  If it’s too big shall I steek it or should I make someone else very happy? These questions will be answered soon.  I am almost done with the second half.  Then will block both half’s stacked so they are perfect. Then the sewing will commence.  

I have had this problem since 2009 when I started adjusting my diet.  The scale is steady for now, however the inches are departing. Even faster with the Cubii2.    What do you think will happen?

Risky People

 It seems to be becoming a very bad habit. After a mad dash through the grocery store. Yes today we masked up and went to Trader Joe’s.  I was like a crazy lady dashing around the store filling my arms with what we needed. Finding John and the cart and dashing off again.  We got stuff for dinner and a few extras.  I did however in the mad dashes forget the dates.  Oh, well there is always the next time  

My reason may sound as flaky as a croissant.  There is this thing that is happening in Tucson and as I tend to be a magnet for the crazy people, it happens to me often.  Unmasked and most likely unvaccinated come up to people wearing masks and tend to get as close as possible without knocking us down or shoving us.  I really, really hate this.  I really don’t know who raised this selfish, ill mannered people, but this has really got to stop.  Don’t they know after a year what a safe distance is. I find it hard enough to leave the house on a good day.  No, I don’t have a fear of being outside.  I have a fear of getting sick.  Yes, and please stop trying  explain to to me what an autoimmune disease is.  I think I get the picture on that one.  

Most of the time after the stuff is put away I tend to crash into a solid 2 to 3 hours of sleep.  Stress makes me tired.  I could have done so many things.  I hear it’s not going to get better any time soon the county health department said that vaccine rate for first shots has slowed to a dribble. With the stanch Opposition to both the masks and vaccines it is going to be a long road to recovery, not months but maybe years.  

I feel we should do what parts of Europe are doing. No vaccine equals no dining out, no theater, no travel, no in person shopping and the list goes on.  The only exception to the rule are medical requiring a doctors signature and paperwork to back that up. No religious, political party affiliation, or hair brained excuses. We have to work together as a world to solve this.  Please be part of the solution.  

Life with Sjorgrins

 I am a little shocked that none of my older friends have had a 3rd dose of the COVID19 vaccine yet. Nor are they currently eligible.  I really feel like the odd woman out. My goal is to be as healthy and active as possible. To push the limits where ever possible.  I know it’s not always possible.  Just the fact that it was recommended makes me feel a bit fragile. I really don’t like to feel weak in anyway.  “I am woman, hear me roar”.

Yet here I sit at the kitchen table after midnight waiting for the aspirin to kick in. I know I should have taken it with dinner, but I wasn’t in any pain then.  My left shoulder is sore, the one I got the vaccine in.  All the while thinking as long as I am up I should be cleaning.  My other inclination is to go knit, but it’s past bedtime.  But what I really want the most is to be in bed sleeping.  I am starting to get sleepy so it is off to bed with me. I still hurt but the pain is getting duller.  

P.S. I did manage to get in 2 30 minute workouts today. 

My COVID19 Booster and more.

 I woke up at 4 am with an achy body.  My arm was to be expected. What I did not expect was achy joints in not arthritis pain.  The headache seemed to comeback too.  So I went to my comfort drink, chai with vanilla soy milk hot.  I added a few Carr’s Whole Wheat Crackers and a few Deglet Dates, I figured this was a better choice than going after junk food.  When the pain goes away I will go back to sleep.

After breakfast I went back to bed with a heating pad   I was achy and miserable most of the day. I spent most of the day sleeping or out of it. I was not that hungry.  Although after dinner it was like a switch turned of and I was feeling better.  I was also hungry so that meant we had our nightly popcorn early. 

I did manage to get 2 15 minute workouts done on Cubiio2.  I also put the tension back down to 2.  Tomorrow will be better. 

In knitting news I am beginning to wonder if by the time I get the summer hand knit tank top finished if it’s going to be too big because of all the inches that I am losing.  If so, someone is going to get a nice top.  No I will not make it again.  I think I will blame the pattern for not anticipating my loss of inches.  As a knit ware designer this sounds very reasonable to me.  Just don’t expect it in my patterns.   

Well I have a day of catching up to do tomorrow.  So it’s time to call it a night. 

Lifting Weights and A Booster

 Yesterday I lifted weights for the first time in like forever.  I kept it reasonable at 2 pounds for each weight. I kept the workout short, under 10 minutes.  With only one rep of 10 for four upper body workout exercises. Then why in heavens has my body taken this opportunity to wake me up at 3 am to yell at me?  Every muscle in my rib cage is screaming out in pain? I have taken aspirin and am waiting for it to kick in. Then I will go back to sleep. 

I did not get much of a sleep in.  I had to get up to go get my COVID19 booster shot.  All you have to have is one of a long list of illness or a stupid autoimmune disease.  Lucky me.  I did not really feel anything until just before bedtime when my arm got sore and my head started hurting. I think my laundry folding binge and knitting helped keep my arm moving. Aspirin has been taken and it should kick in in a few minutes.  Just because I got my booster shot does not mean I can spend time at the mall or do a leisurely shopping trip to the grocery store.  It’s dash in and out   Also order shelf stable items for home delivery. Also go very early. I am still staying home most of the time.

I fell short on using my Cubiio2.  I did not do my morning 30 minutes because of the booster shot.  By the time I got to my first session it was well after 3pm.  I did not have time to recover from the afternoon workout in time to do a 7 pm workout.  I was also a little bit sleepy. I promise I will only do 2 workouts tomorrow.  I won’t over do.   

More laundry tomorrow and maybe some crafting, or if it’s a bad night sleeping.  

Sleep

 I think my Cubiio2 has an added benefit of me sleeping through the night.  That is leading to a reduced level of pain.  I knit today for almost an hour with no pain.  So all in all a great day.  

10,000 Plus Steps.

 For the 3 rd time this month I got more than 10,000 steps.  With very few exceptions I have done 2 - 30 minute workouts on my Cubiio2 every day.  Plus additional walking. 

I did not post during the first have of the holidays because I was having a hard time.  I found out that I am part of the group that will need a third COVID19 vaccine because of health issues with one of the forms of arthritis that I have.  I am not able to gather in large groups and need to wear my mask in public. That lead to some very down days.  

Knitting is still iffy.  I still have to talk to the doctor, but want to get the 3rd vaccine first.  My hand is doing better with rest but still troublesome.  

And life goes on. Que Serra Serra..What will be will be.  

A Warped Warp

 There are times I can tell a weaving project is a no go.  What I mean by this is that there is a structural problem with the warp.  I have been making scrappy scarfs with odds and ends.  Yes after 22 years of knitting and spinning, I have lots of odds snd ends.  If paired right these odds and ends make fabulous one of a kind scarfs.  They in turn are used as holiday presents for kids who go to the clothing bank I support.  

This scarf turned into a problem child.  I suspect that one of the 100% cotton warp yarns was mislabeled.  My personal guess is it was a cotton rayon blend.  Rayon does not hold up to the tension I put on the yarn when adjusting the loom after each section is finished.  I started having tension problems with the right 1/3 of the warp.  Most of the time it is a little hiccup that disappears in a few inches.  This just kept getting worse. This just seemed to be getting worse. I could have just cut out the bad part, then pulling out the bad warp yarn and put new yarn on. That’s a lot of work so I just cut it off the loom. Dumped the scraps into the next dog pillow.  Then I will start a new warp for the next scarf.  Sometimes a clean slate so to speak is the best solution.  

10,000 Plus Steps Again

 Despite waking up to a bad body day, things went as smoothly as could be expected.  I fought with my body all day long.  I still managed to get laundry done, go through my craft books to decide which books need to go, I had some duplicates too.  When I got to tired to move I had an 18 inch pile of books to go. I Will try to get them listed tomorrow. I managed to get the 12 inch pile of new knitting books off my dresser too.  I also started organizing the books.  That will take more time.  I will probably destash more books through this process. 

We went out to lunch today.  Then shopping at Bryn Walkers 70% off sale.  If you have not tried their clothing line everything is made for comfort and made in The U.S.A.   So I go 2 pair of pants in a smaller size, 1 skirt, 1 top and 1 jacket for less than $200.  I love a good Ganga.  

I said I was going to save my knitting for after dinner. Boy did that backfire on me.  By the time I was ready to knit and watch television, my hands were to tired to move.  Well there is always tomorrow.  

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.