Keeping Out of Trouble

The longer that John is retired the more we seem to be doing. We worked together on Thursday and Friday to clean house for a party and get the jump on passover cleaning. About all we have to do is clean the stove and polish the cabinets. John and I make a great team. I also got some spinning done and a few more rows of Teri's shawl done.

Today I walked with a friend at the walk for the cure. It was no very well organized, but we had a great time anyway and plan to do it next year. I had 9,000 of my 10,000 daily steps done before lunch today. I am also over 10,500 steps for the day so I am I a roll. I thought I would have some energy after the walk to buy some new summer shoes, since I have shrunk out of all of mine. Can you believe that I lost weight in my feet? There is a little bit of a need to rush this, because all my pants are getting longer again. Even the new ones. YEAH!!!

You will notice a very big jump in my counter as I have finally logged over 1000 more rows to my One Million Row Challenge. Most of it went to fundraising for Eric's day program so they could plant a garden. If I have not mentioned it before, we did make our goal.

I am still a little to tired to tackle the chores. John and I will get them out of the way early tomorrow. Well Eric's aide is here so it is time to get things moving.

A Short Catch Up

It has been a busy couple of days around here. The days have been long and the results are amazing despite Eric not sleeping well.

Tuesday was a day full of appointments. Followed by an afternoon of making jewelry and packing up for Wednesday.

Yesterday was a big day for Eric's Day program, the Taglit group. The fund raiser was to try to earn enough money to fund the garden and nutrition program. The very good news is that the goal was achieved. There are still a few plants and hand knit cotton soap bags available. So Just drop by the JCC between 8 am and 3 pm. Monday through Friday.  Stop by the front desk and say that you would like to buy a plant or a soap bag to support the Taglit program.  Sixty three items left my stash of handmade items to help the cause. Just think about how much yarn was used from my stash.

This means I have a chance to create more items and will have a lot of room for them. My to do list will  go as follows:

1. Teri's shawl ( a home project ). 1 1/2 skeins to go.
2. Project Gratitude scarfs ( my on the go project )
3. Teri's queen size blanket that I started her 1L year. This project has gone a little slower than I would have liked. Yes Teri has finished 3 years of law school and passed the California Bar. But in my defense I did finish the pair of socks that I started when Teri and I were looking at law schools. Yes a very poor defense. ( a dining room table project ) 2/3 left to knit.
4. Some things for me that I have wanted to knit for me.
5. Adding some more shawls to my inventory. ( knitting with girls friends)
6. Knitting a few different style hats.
7. Make some more pretty jewelry and possibly make some shawl pins.
8. To card some of my own batts.
9. Type up and take photo's of new pattern designs.
10. Finish a few new designs.
11.  Last but not least to find some time to spin.

Since I spent the entire day at the Tucson JCC yesterday house cleaning started at 6 am today. I am so lucky that John did the windows and all of the polishing. This let me do the laundry and other work that I needed to do. I got the last skein of Yarn for Teri's shawl wound, but I was much to tired to knit today. Tomorrow will be full of cooking and cleaning. Since Eric is asleep I think I will end the blog post here tonight.

Busy

It was another busy day around here, with no stop action. The only time I had to sit was in class, making earrings and blogging. Everyting is just about ready to go to the JCC tommrow from 10 to  2. . I just have a few things to tag so back to work I go. TTFN.

A Very Busy Day

Well after another long night with Eric, it was nap time this morning when he went to his day program. After a few hours of really deep slumber it was caffeine with sugar time. After that kicked in, I spent the next 2 1/2 hours cleaning and throwing.  Finding a few things I needed but a lot that I did not. At least 4 loads went out to the recycling barrel today. Thank goodness the trash company emptied it this morning or it would have over flowed and they just don't like that. I even inspired John to add to his to do list getting rid of papers we don't need. He now has to keep up with me in the cleaning.

 After being married for so long I never thought it would happen. John has always been the neat organized one. I come from generations of pack rats. Keeping everything because you never know when you will need this gizmo or that empty jar. I am now finding that the neater and less cluttered the house is the more time I have to craft. Plus it takes me a lot less time to find things. I have more free time too.  I have not told John this yet but he is right and has been right all along.

I also had time for some finishing work today. I wove in and trimmed all the loose yarn. When I manage to get everything tagged and photographed I can add over 1,000 rows to my 1 Million Row Challenge.

I did find time this afternoon to start making the earrings for Wednesday. So far 4 pairs are finished. Since I will not have time to make all the earrings that I had hoped to, I will be adding a new component to Wednesdays fundraiser for Taglit. For a donation of $25.00 to the Taglit Day program, I will make you a custom pair of earrings on the spot. You will get to choose the components and no one else will have anything like it. So be sure to stop by the Tucson JCC on Wednesday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. There will also be plants for sale, along with Mothers Day Soap Bags, greeting cards and various hand made items. The majority of the money will help pay for the gardening and nutrition project. Any left over money will be used to cover things that the state does not cover. There is also a wish list of things that the program needs. For cash donations use this link. You can choose other and write Taglit in the box below.

Well there have been a couple of long days in a row. So hopefully Eric will sleep tonight or I will start the day with caffeine.

A Pain in the Arm

I have been having trouble with a sore shoulder for the past week or so. I have had pain to the point of tears. I have tried ice, massage and anything I could think of or find on line. I have been doing a lot of crocheting for the past 2 weeks. I mean massive amounts by my standards. Well really about a gallon of yarn. I have been making useful objects for a fundraiser. I do crochet faster than I knit so, I thought I would get more done. Until tonight I did not realize the cost was the unbearable pain in my right arm that would not go away.

So you might be wondering how I came up with this answer? That was not found on the web. I had originally thought it was moving wrong one night,when Eric was having a rough night. Wrong. After crocheting various coasters and wash cloths today. I decided to pick up my knitting needles which have not been in use for 2 weeks. Yes about when the problem started. After just 2 hours of knitting the pain in my shoulder and upper arm was reduced by 50%, which is huge.

I just managed to do a solo change of Eric for the first time in a week and a half. So those of you who know me well. You have a new job. If I complain of upper arm pain ask me If I have been using a crochet hook? If the answer is yes just remind me how silly I am being.

Thanks for listening. Most of you have probably figured this out already and don't need the post. It’s just a reminder to me that I do have limitations. Did I mention how much I hate limitations? Well that is a blog post in itself.

Can You Donate Your Spare Change?

Eric uses the services of United Cerebral Palsy of Southern Arizona, UCPSA for short.  Since before I hurt my back oh so last century they provided rehab services for Eric. Since I have hurt my back and can no longer lift, they provide attendant care to help Eric with the things that I can no longer do for him, such as dressing, transfers and personal care. We also rely on them for respite services so John and I can have some couple time. With out the help of the wonderful people at UCPSA, Eric probably would not be living at home now.

Since we have been with them a very long time let me tell you what they have done for us recently. When Teri graduated Law School and got sworn into the California Bar, they provided round the clock care so we could both see Teri accomplish these wonderful things. We usually just do the parent thing with Teri one at a time. Eric's case Manager Lisa thought we should both be there for those 2 special occasions. Lisa moved heaven and Earth to make that happen. When Teri need help back in July and I was gone for a week they helped John get through the week.

For the the past several years the state of Arizona has cut back on the money they pay to providers such as UCPSA. Here is where the simply wonderful people at Circle K come in. On their counters they have canisters for spare change. I know we all have spare change laying around the house and in car. What I am asking you to do is gather the spare change from your car and drop it in the canister when you drive by Circle K. Go through the couch cushions and old purses. We all know that we are all guilty of this, and since you were not using the money anyway why not drop it off at Circle K.  That jar of pennies, nickles and dimes that you pull out of your pocket or wallet would make a good donation too. That spare change laying around in your desk would work too. The canister is right on the counter. You can say hi and say that I told you about the canisters or you can sneak in and just drop it off.

Please don't worry that it is only a few coins. A few coins from a few hundred people really add up.  With Washington at odds with one another right now we don't know if this vital service will be trimmed further.  So please do you part and drop that spare change off a Circle K.  There are over a million people who live in Southern Arizona, just think what we could do if we all dropped off our spare change at Circle K.

If you live outside of the Southern Arizona area and would still like to help here is the link to Support UCPSA.

Please feel free to pass this on to friends and family. If you can post this blog at work please do so, but ask first. Feel free to tweet,  face book or use any social media the link to this blog too. We as a family would like to thank you in advance for all your support.

Full disclosure time. I am not employee of UCPSA or Circle K or receiving any compensation for this blog post. All money raised by Circle K  will go to UCPSA.  For the foreseeable future Eric will continue to receive services from UCPSA.

Stash Down

Yes, the title is right. About 30 skeins of yarn left the house today. No not bare naked yarn, that would be just silly. I modified the knit along of a few months back to make it more efficient to knit. This is a very good thing, because 30 finished Soap Bags with I-cord ties left the house today.  I tried to get them all in the picture. They went to the Tucson JCC Taglit Program for a Mother's Day fundraiser this coming Wednesday. We will be right outside the front door. There will also be plants, greeting cards, and earrings for sale. This will fund the Taglit garden project.

In case you were not aware of the Taglit program, I will tell you a little about it and what it means to our family. The Taglit program that Eric goes to is Monday through Friday during the Day. The young adults range in age from 18 up to the low 30's.  Eric gets to hang out with his friends, some of them from as far back as pre-school when they were 4. He also has friends that he went to school and new friends too. They hang out, go on field trips, do community service, work on life skills and have a great time doing it. Eric is learning to ride a tricycle, which is a big wow to us. He also get to go swimming once a week. We on the other hand get a break from the non-stop care and attention Eric requires daily.

Even before the sequester hit money was tight for the extras the young adults like to do. This is where the fund raisers come in. The sale gives the young adults life skills, raises much needed cash and gives them a chance to show off the greeting cards they have designed. With the soap bags they will be doing the finishing work by weaving in the I-cord and putting in the soap. Lastly they will be tagging the bags for sale. Eric hopes to see you there on Wednesday.