A Good Day

Today was the annual "Stuff the Mayflower" a Tucson tradition host by our local radio station 94.9 Mix-FM. It benefits the Tucson Community Food Bank which serves all of Southern Arizona. The cash donations are double by our local power company, Tucson Electric Power. Other stations of the E. W.  Scrips broadcasting Company also join in this very worthy effort. 

After I picked up Eric from his day program we headed over to the Sam's Club parking lot to drop off our donation.  The same Ticson Electric Power employee that has been collecting our donations for years recognized Eric and took his donation. Eric really enjoyed being recognized.   Eric really enjoys helping other people.  This really made his day.  

So I would like to thank everyone from 94.9 Mix-FM and Tucson Electric Power for all you help in the Southern Arizona Community and the joy you brought to Eric. 

It's Here

Yesterday we finally got the last piece of the kitchen remodel puzzle. The wood panel for the dishwasher door was finally made right. The third time was the charm.  Don't worry about the red light on the floor below the dishwasher, it is there to tell us when the dishwasher is running, yes it is that quiet. The picture is at the bottom of the blog post. 

I started the day with running the first load of laundry and running the dishwasher at 6 am. Then at 8 I dropped Eric off at his day program. Then I did a drop off at Goodwill. Then I ran to Frys to pick up some protein bars for Lisa, the ones that they did not have at Target yesterday.  Then it was more laundry and more loads of Tupperware through the dishwasher.  Not all the Tupperware that I packed before the remodel will go back into the kitchen.  I will pick out the pieces that I want, then Teri will go through and take what she wants, followed by Lisa.  So far it looks like I am elimating some where between 50 to 66% of the Tupperware.  I will also start another box for Goodwill.  

At the same time that I am putting away the kitchen, I am getting ready for the living room remodel. I think it will mostly be the carpet but might include some new doors.  So I have to pack up yet another room. Would anyone one be suppressed if I said that I found more yarn and fluff in the living room? I just don't know where all the furniture is going to go.  I would also like to thank Teri for letting me use her room for a staging area for all the boxes again. 

Now I either must wind down for the night or get some more unpacking done. My gut feeling tells me that I should try to get some sleep.  

A Change of Pace

I am making a lot of progress in reorganizing the kitchen. I have almost all the boxes empty, which is a good thing, because I need to pack up the living room next.   As I am putting things away I am still paring things down. I have enough drawer space to see exactly what I have.  Since I have started putting things away I have managed to fill an entire box for Goodwill. 

Eric went to program today. I took part of the day off and found sometime to knit with friends.  I also found some time to do some shopping. I found a perfect gift for Eric's birthday later this month.  I cut my shopping trip short so the remodeler could put on the new dishwasher panel. It is finally right.  I will take a picture tomorrow when the light is better.  

Inspiration Comes at Strange Times

Eric is still sick. Eric is tired of being sick and I am tired of Eric being sick. I am exhausted. So I started working on a new knitting pattern to try to relax.  Yes, there is a large disconnect to most people between Eric being sick and a new knitting design. Sometimes I just find it very relaxing to play with yarn. Sometimes it just gets ripped out. Sometimes I put it in the charity pile. Very rarely does it result in a pattern. Yes it is a very easy one with lots of texture. It is a one skein project. This one might just be a little out there for most people, but it is very fun to knit. I just have to finish up the sample and add the narrative about how this pattern came about. Take a picture or two. Then edit the final draft.  Hopefully it will be out sometime this week.  

More Progress

Today I started out very early. I emptied 4 more boxes. Then found homes for most of it. A number of things made it into the Goodwill Box. Some even made it in the trash, it was beyond reuse. I now have a diaper box of things ready to go.  Amber also came over and started packing up the living room.  I know it's really weird. I am unpacking the kitchen stuff and she is packing up the living room stuff. This is to get ready for the next stage of remodel. The new carpet in the living room.  After lunch we went through my shoes, there is a good reason for this. Ambers fiancés unit at the base is having a shoe drive. So John and I gave Amber 27 pairs of shoes for the shoe drive.  Yes most of them were mine. No I will never get back into the Aa and A width shoes.  I have lost enough weight so that the wide shoes no longer fit.  So the bright side of this is, the shoes will find new homes, and I have more room in the garage and my closet.  This is what 27 pairs of shoes looks like. Yes that is a large outdoor trash can bag.  

The New Kitchen

I am showing the mostly finished kitchen.  The dishwasher door will be changed and 1 shelf is still missing. Meanwhile I unpacked 5 more boxes and found new homes for everything.  I still have not found the box with the kitchen knifes. Sorry Lisa it was not in the box with the baggies. We also have way too many wine glasses, so the running joke at dinner was how were we going to break some, we are a little behind in breaking them.  We have an even dozen that we still have from wedding gifts.   

The kitchen came out well.  It looks like it might have come straight from Pinterest. Everything was a total colabration, give and take on all sides.  We are a great team.  

I Made My Goal Early

The big news today does not have to do with the house.  Nor does it involve everyone being sick, which we all are.  Not even knitting, spinning or weaving.  It involves a long term goal made when I went off one arthritis medicine which caused me to put on 50 pounds in 6 months.  For those of you who follow my blog on a regular basis I have now lost 1/2 of the weight I put on with the medicine.  Slow and steady is winning the race for me.  

So after much research I went off aspertame and high fructose corn syrup. The first 3 months were very rough. I started using smaller plates for almost all my meals, I still use a soup bowl for cereal though. I eat a lot less fast food. Most of my cooking is now from scratch.  When Eric is home sick and PBS is on all day, I do the excersice breaks with Hooper, which are much easier now. I walk more and do more of my own house cleaning. I set a goal of losing 5 pounds a year, because most people my age put on 5 pounds a year.  I figured that this would put me ahead of the game.  It was a few big changes and a lot of small ones. Today almost a full 2 months early I have hit my 5 pound weight loss goal for the year.  This means that I can now start using my Wii fit again, I am now under the maximum weight. 

The plates below are as follows: The daisy dinner plate ( this used to. be our dinner plate )was the standard size Correlle dinner plate of the 1990's, which is now used as a serving platter.  The yellow luncheon plate by Fiesta is now our dinner plate. The clear glass desert plate is now our lunch size plate.  Usually divided into 25% protein, 25% starch and 50% vegetables.  

Since I have no medical degree, I would recommend that you check with your doctor before making these or any changes to your diet or excersice routine. This blog is not meant to replace your doctors advise.  This is just about my life and what works for me.