A Hiccup

 I think I have had a hiccup on the road to recovery.  I personally think the stress of my mom being in hospice and dying shortly after has set my bodies systems off kilter.  I kept my to do list to five activities today. It took me till 9 o’clock at night, but I did finish everything.

I spent a good part of the day resting. Which everybody who knows me, knows it’s not a good thing. I am not a person who’s meant to sit still. I did finish a book today, My Korean Grocery Store. A book that I highly recommend.  It was hard to put down. Then I started another book.  Then I spent some time on untangling some yarn. I also spent some time working on an oak knitting project for me. There will be no pattern written. I am just doodling with yarn and color.  An oak knitting project is a one of a kind knitting project, not to be duplicated ever.  

My Weight Loss Journey

 I find sometimes on a journey I have to stop and weigh things out.  Today was one of those times.  I was at the supermarket of all places when this thought occurred to me.  I was busy picking up distilled water for the roborock, yes it takes distilled water.  The water in Tucson is notoriously hard. Tucson water is full of minerals. My husband has found that using distilled water decreases maintenance time.  

The 1 gallon jugs of distilled water weigh in at approximately 8.34 pounds which is equivalent to 3.785kg. Meaning that picking up 2 at a time is approximately 16.68 pounds or 7.57kg.. if I take the amount of weight I have lost over the last several years, 50 pounds, that would be equivalent of 5.99 jugs of water.  Rounded up to 6 gallon jugs, you just know that they would unceremoniously kick you out of the supermarket if you ask for .99 of a jug of water. That I determined was an awful lot of weight. Just lifting 2 made me think how lucky I was to lose that much weight.

The weight loss has changed the way I move. The size clothing that I wear. My entire appearance. My weight loss journey is far from over. I did however, hit a major bump in the road when I got sick in March 2024. Like the fact that I have been doing a lot of resting at times. Certain medications can make healthy food taste absolutely horrible. More take out food than is healthy. The overall lack of spoons. I have only lost about 5 of those pounds since I got sick. My body has taken the time to make some other adjustments besides weight. This has lead to dropping 2 dress sizes since I got sick.  Remember that inches are just as valuable as pounds in a weight loss journey. 

I made major lifestyle changes. Adjusted the way I view food. By eliminating most processed foods, I did not have to weigh or measure my food or count calories.  The book and program that I use is called “A Pound of Cure” by a local Tucson Doctor, Matthew Weiner M.D.. I personally did not use weight loss surgery. I save surgery to keep my hands useful.  The book can be ordered online.  

I made this decision along with a doctor that I was seeing at the time.  If you like the information and the lifestyle changes in the book. Please ask your doctor to read the book and work with your personal physician. I am not giving medical advice.  I am giving you a peak of my lifestyle changes and sudden realizations that I go through at times.

The Upside of Losing Things

 There is always an upside of losing things in my house.  The first is I tend to find a lot of things to recycle. The second thing is that I find things I have lost and given up of ever finding them again.  So today’s tally is pretty good with one exception, I still have not found the missing gloves.

I did find enough old paper work to necessitate doing 3 rounds of shredding old paperwork. I really hate getting behind on that. 

I recycled a batch of old magazines. If they are 2 to 3 years old and full of current events, the events are not so current. 

I added to our perpetual Goodwill box.  Always a plus. 

I  also found an old knitting tool for my newest student. I also found a small magnet board for putting patterns on for me. 

I also found 3 lost weaving magazines. One even explains how to set up a little loom for inkle weaving. All dated from 2016 to 2022. I did say they were old. They still look new. 

Most importantly found my knitting book from Cat Bordhai.  Unfortunately I did not have the necessary skills to take her classes when she came to Tucson. Now that I have the skills, I at least have her last book “One Dozen Magical Momo Cowls”. I can now also read the charts from the book. The book also includes a detailed explanation of how to do a möbius cast on . I might even try to make one for an upcoming fashion show. 

I would like to leave you with a thought. May your deep cleaning time always be filled with adventure, wonderful finds and a slightly cleaner house. 

This and that

 When looking for something else, I managed to find out why the recliner was not working properly.  Apparently a coloring book worked its way into the recliner mechanism.  It was very difficult to dislodge, however it was accompanied.   The recliner works perfectly fine now.   

I also spent some time spinning today. I went old school with drop spindles.  I finished off one spindle and started another.  After spinning this project on and off for more than a year the first phase is almost finished.  Then it will be time to ply it  I also got to spend some time with a fellow artist.  We talked all things spinning for a while.  

All shopping was done online today 

Another Scarf Finished

 I finally figured out a very good solution for the 3 pound cone of fluffy fingering weight yarn.  I combined it with a double knit. I then used a U.S. size 13 knitting needle.  The first’s scarf came in at just over 50 inches long.  The colors are terra cotta and a variegated blue.  It looks and feels wonderful.   I am sure a teenager will love it.  

I also spent a little time organizing yarn stuff again today.  The priority projects to finish are on the fireplace.  Teaching bags were emptied and sorted.  Some patterns went to the giveaway pile.  I also found time for a lot of rest too.  

I still have not found the missing fingerless gloves. I really hope that they show up   They just can’t walk off inside a silver Della Q bag, can they?

The Number of the Day is 3

 As in 3 loads of laundry finished, now we are not counting folding the laundry. That is because “No laundry shall be folded before it’s time.”  1 bag of trash and 2 bags of recycling out which equals 3.  And most importantly 3 chores finished around the house.  Alas, that did not include my knitting.  I did not complete any knitting projects today.  I can say that I am almost finished with another scarf.  

The day also hit an interesting note. The grocery store up the hill from us has decided to do an upscale makeover.  Really does anyone really need an upscale bohemian grocery store when they are looking for their Orville Redenbacher popcorn? I looked all over the store for it. Turns out the country’s best selling popcorn is no longer good enough for them. I also got the you aren’t the right fit for our grocery store look. All they had was some upscale $15.00 a bag popcorn from back east.  They have also gotten rid of most of the made in Tucson or Arizona products. It’s a-shame because most of the hotels drop their guests off at the mall to do some shopping.  In my humble opinion people flying in from the east coast don’t want to buy, what they can get at home cheaper to give as gifts.  Something made in Tucson or Arizona would sell faster. 

They also did something that I have never seen before at any meat or fish counter. They weighed my purchase, but did not print the tag. Then they wrapped up my purchase in a lot of butcher paper, more than they use to use. Weighed my purchase again and then proceeded to print the tag. So what ever the meat or fish cost per pound, I was paying the same price for the paper per pound. Most stores figure in the cost of the paper into overhead, which is fair. That really has me tempted to look up the state law on that. Maybe even proceed with it. 

 My usual summer sundress with an oversized cover up and silly socks was not appropriate wear by the looks that I got from the staff.  It’s summer in Tucson, we do not get dressed to the 9’s to go grocery shopping.  Come to think about it, we never get dressed to the 9’s to shop in the winter either.  Are they going to be disappointed if they expect us to dress up to shop.  

The popcorn solution was to make an online order at Walmart to be delivered tomorrow.  It’s worth paying the delivery fee not to leave the house and get some extra rest.  I might have over done it today.  

TTFN

Tinking Yet Again

 I tinked another scarf today.  I did not like how it was turning out.  So I combined the original terracotta yarn with a variegated blue yarn which was slightly thicker.  It has a distinct southwestern flair. Then I went from a U.S. size 9 knitting needle to a 13.  I started another Broken Rib scarf.  I am past the point in the terracotta yarn, when I decide to tink it out.  

I am so glad that I made the decision midway through the project to change it.  Even if I have to say so myself. It looks so much better.  The combination of the yarn and the stitch pattern adds so much depth to the scarf.  Even better is that I have 3 more skeins of the blue yarn.  That will be 4 scarfs in total for this color combination.  Since the terracotta is on a 3 pound cone I will have to look for more coordinating yard. I am beginning to wonder just how many scarfs that I will get out of 3 pounds of fingering weight yarn.  

Below is a picture of today’s progress after tinking.  Just in case you were wondering, the scarf is currently 31 inches long.  

That is not all I accomplished today.  I actually got some deep cleaning done too. I did not quite fill a full recycling bag, however John felt it was a good start.  I still have not found my purse gloves. The decision has been made to start a copy of both pairs.  Maybe then I will find them.