New Projects Begun

 Yesterday was mostly rainy with a high of 12C. This morning it is sunny and 5C. Today is supposed to be mainly sunny with a high of 16C. We are under a weather statement for heavy rain tomorrow. 

Lifestyle

I spent some time early in the garage moving stuff away from the window so I could clean it. I was able to sweep the floor before going to make sandwiches. 

It was a fun session making sandwiches. We had lots of good laughs razzing each other. I did notice I was getting sore so I took stock of the situation. I was bending over to cut the sandwiches as the counter isn't at a normal height. I immediately stood up straight and made sure I wasn't leaning over. It really helped. We were done by 9 am and I was home not long after that. 

I did rest with heat on my back when I got home. I made sure I was moving around and having correct posture all day. I did work in the garage and got one half of the garage window cleaned. It is the ignored window and I haven't touched it for a year. I had to do a lot of scrubbing with the grout brush to get it clean.

I was hunting in the basement for something and I saw this container I was given many years ago. I always thought it was for my yarn but it was too big. I decided to put my onions in it. It keeps my pantry free of onion skins. 

My friend was over to let me know she is moving to Ottawa around June 20. The apartment she is in is rented out starting July 1. She will be able to move into her condo after she gets back from a holiday which is perfect. I will miss her a lot as we have been supporting each other for years and have a special friendship. 

Sewing

I printed off the Bicycle skirt pattern and trimmed it and a top pattern for the Gotz dolls. I pressed the fabrics and laid the pieces on them. I am ready to pin and cut out 2 projects for May. 

The bicycle skirt is on a black and white fabric which I really like. The print gives it tweedy texture. I will need to find 12 button for it. 

The blouse pattern is on a tiny print that I bought a long time ago for an outfit. It goes with overalls I had made when I bought this print. I need 4 buttons for it unless I do snaps. 

I am looking forward to sewing these two projects. Both are intermediate level projects which means lots of hand basting which I do enjoy. 

Knitting

Someone mentioned that I should make a red hat to go with the Edwardian outfit I just finished. I decided to wind the ball of red yarn I used for the vest into 3 small balls with each weighing 24 grams. 

Knitting the pattern with the aim of having 3 strands of yarn held together to get the tension was a gamble but it worked. I am slightly over tension but not enough to worry about. 

Thank you google for searching how many strands I needed of this yarn to make a hat. 

Thoughts

    I watched a Youtube video last night and the person showed Yurly Fedkovych Chernivsti National University. It is an UNESCO site due to its architecture. I stopped knitting to watch and was amazed at how gorgeous it is. The person did an amazing job of videoing it as she walked around the university. 

    My stress level is down as daughter got some help with her situation. What I had told her was what this person also told her. They worked out some of the finer details she needed to know which was great. She also got the parcel I sent her and she was excited about that. She is feeling much better mentally and I am feeling more relaxed. 

    The pain I felt cutting sandwiches was gone by noon. I know it was a posture thing and will have to watch that in the future. I am not stopping making sandwiches as I know what causes my pain. 

Today

I am going to work some in the garage and then outside raking lawn this morning. I am taking advantage of the sunshine. I want to cut out the patterns and see if I can sew a bit this afternoon. I will knit tonight. 

Until the next time..................................................................

Two Doll Blankets Sewn

 Yesterday was cloudy with the sun coming out mid afternoon. The high got to 13C. This morning it is raining and 10C. Today is supposed to be wet with a high of 12C.

Lifestyle

Yesterday morning was busy. I made a batch of cookies and cleaned the kitchen while they baked. Once they were done, I folded laundry and put it away. I also laundered the sheets and made my bed later in the afternoon. I also did month end on the balance sheet. It was another low spend month. I have saved enough to pay my taxes and insurance later this year. 

I was out in the garage to sweep up most of the sand that had come out of a broken bag and then wandered down the driveway to empty the two bags of sand. I poured them down the side of the ditch where it was needed. I put the empty bags into the recycling bags at the edge of the road. Our recycling and compost wasn't picked up until later in the afternoon. With that job done, it was noon. 

I was tired in the afternoon but forced myself to do things. If not, I will sit and sleep which interrupts my night sleep. Knowing why I am tired makes me keep moving. Moving makes me tired so I will sleep better at night. 

Sewing

I decided to make the two doll's blankets yesterday. I just take a fat quarter, cut the edges so they are straight, serge and hem. It is basically brain dead sewing. It is using up a fat quarter of flannel fabric. It had me off the couch and doing something. 

I did my math and I sewed 4.4 meters and bought 1 meter of fabric this month. I did better than I thought I had. 

I have not done my to-do list for May and need to work on that. I have some ideas in my head but will need to buy fabric for one project. 

Knitting

I did not knit last night. I haven't a clue what I want to knit at this time. I need to think of something for the dolls. 

Thoughts

    I was a bit sore yesterday due to the rain coming in. Not as bad as it usually is. More achy than painful. 

    I noticed that my lilies are popping up out of the ground so I need to clean them up. I will do that on the next sunny day. I will also prune the shrub at the front entry and the rose bush. 

    I am working hard at parking the stress in my life. Most of the stress is about things I can't control. I have to let them go and focus more on being supportive. It is hard to do but I have to realize my daughter is an adult and has to solve her problems on her own. 

Today

I am out this morning to make sandwiches. Once home, I wand to do some more cleaning in the garage. I have to pay bills, figure out my to do list for sewing and knitting and cook dinner for tonight. 

Until the next time................................................................

A Day Dealing With My Car

 Yesterday was mainly cloudy with a high of 12C. This morning it is cloudy and 4C. Today is supposed to be cloudy with showers this afternoon and rain tonight. The high is supposed to be 13C.

Lifestyle

I wrote up the minutes yesterday morning and am ready to read them for the final time today. They took quite a while as they were some complicated parts to word correctly. 

Once done the minutes, I decided to get groceries. When I turned on the car, I got this message - check Hybrid system. 

I talked to my daughter-in-law to let her know and was going to call for a tow truck when she said she would look at it. She got the same message and the same google searches as I did. She called the dealership as they do all the work on our cars. It had to be brought in as it needs something replaced. 

I called the tow truck and got an ETA of 1:30 pm. Daughter-in-law took me out to get groceries. She dropped me off at home and came back at 1:00 pm to help with the car. The tow truck did not arrive until 3 pm. Grrrrr but I kept my cool and remained calm. The car was pushed out of the garage and loaded onto the truck. It is now at the dealership in New Minas. 

I will have to say my afternoon was shot except for a lovely visit with daughter-in-law. I did cast off the scarf while we visited and wove in the ends last night. 

Daughter-in-law and I did take the salt used on the driveway up to the shed and we hauled the sand down to the end of the driveway. I will spread it out today as I have some areas that could use it. I can finish cleaning the garage. 

Thoughts

    I certainly wasn't happy about the car. I know family will take me to wherever I need to go. I just don't have the luxury of jumping in the car and going somewhere on a whim. I will survive this. 

    Tylenol Arthritis is helping. My muscles are not sore like they were which was most of the pain I had. My SI joint hasn't acted up at all. I have had very little joint pain with the storm coming in. I am only taking two doses a day vs three that I can take. I am not allowed to take Advil, etc. as my kidney function is slightly below normal. My doctor is very strict about that. 

    Though we complain about the spring being long and cold, we are having normal temperatures for this time of the year. The trees are not in leaf yet which is late for us. I do know other places are experiencing colder spring also. 

    We got a third emergency alert yesterday stating that the person at large was caught along with a firearm. We can now rest easy and move about freely once again. Though the incident was a 90 minute drive from us, the person could have gotten to our community through hitchhiking or auto theft. 

Today

I have to make cookies this morning for sandwiches tomorrow. I will putter at house cleaning while they bake. I want to sew the doll's blankets this afternoon. I have to figure out and start a new knitting project tonight. If I have any extra time, I will take a few more tools to the shed in preparation to clean the garage. 

Until the next time...........................................................

Doll's Shirt Completed

 The past two days have been sunny and warm with highs of 15C. This morning it is cloudy and 4C (frost last 2 mornings). Today is supposed to be a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 10C. 

Lifestyle

I did not blog yesterday. I had blood work on Monday which went better than I had expected. The technician was amazing and did it so quick. I got breakfast and came home. 

The rest of the day was spent helping make an agenda for the community hall meeting that night. I had a short break and was off to help with the food prep for a lunch on Tuesday. I also helped put up tables and set them for said luncheon. That night I was at the meeting and got home at 8:30 pm. No sewing or knitting happened on Monday. 

Yesterday was one of stress. Daughter is upset with her situation and I was trying to help her via text messages. I couldn't rake the lawn and plant grass seed as the company was scheduled to aerate the lawn. That was done at noon. 

I did do some cleaning and finally got the laundry put away. I decided to try out the new brushes I bought for cleaning the windows. I did one of the living room windows and am impressed with how well they work. I still have a bit more to do on it but am happy with what I did. 

I brought the tomato plants in the other day and am turning them twice a day. They are growing fast now that they are in the house with lots of light. 

Sewing

I spent quite a long time in the sewing room yesterday afternoon working on the doll's shirt. I finished it. I do not like the button on the shirt so will be looking for a flat tiny button for it. 

It fits the doll well which I really like. 

I added the red knit vest and do think it is a cute outfit. 

I can now make 2 doll's blankets which are on the list for this month. I have May's list made but need to look at it to see if I want to make any changes to it. 

Knitting

I knit on the scarf last night and it is now 64" long. 

I am going to cast it off tonight and weave in the ends. I'm calling it done. 

Thoughts

    We have had 2 emergency alerts in 5 hours. A dangerous person is on foot in a community just over an hour's drive from here. He is still at large with the police looking for him. The first alert came at about 2 am and scared the heck out of me. The 2nd one came as I was drinking coffee but I was better prepared for it. 

    I have started to take Tylenol twice a day to see if it will help my sore muscles. It has so far. I will stop for a day or two to see if it the Tylenol or if the nice weather has been kinder to my muscles. My joints haven't been sore but that could change as a storm is coming in starting tomorrow. 

    I am feeling a bit scatter brained at the moment. I have started jobs and stopped them. I know they need to be done but other things have cropped up and I don't finish them when I have the time. I know I am stressed and need to work on bringing calmness back to my life. When that happens, I do much better at getting jobs done in an orderly fashion. 

Today

I have to get some groceries this morning, write up the minutes, and try to focus on one unfinished job. This afternoon I will sew and, if the weather is nice, I will prune the rose bush. Tonight I will cast off the scarf, weave in the ends, and start a new project. 

Until the next time.......................................................

Enjoying The Outdoors

 Yesterday was sunny and warm with a high of 15C. This morning it is clear, frosty, and 0C. Today is supposed to be sunny with a high of 15C.

Lifestyle

I spent a good portion of the morning on the balance sheet. I wasn't balancing and when I worked backwards, I figured out it was an error when I moved money around. I finished up the balance sheet, paid a bill and happily put it away. I was done with the stress from a stupid mistake. 

Right after lunch I was out the door to the shed. I checked the rose bush and it is has woken up and showing some growth. I will be able to prune it shortly. 

I spent some time in the shed and put all the vegetable and flower pots but two outside. I put the solar lights out and then started to figure out what I could sell at the garage sale. I have a small pile of items to go. I also cleaned an area for the salt to be stored. I have a few tubs to get rid of and one or two to clean and use. 

Back inside the house, I transplanted the tomatoes into bigger pots. They will come inside today as they needed some time to absorb the water I gave them. They were quite root bound in the small pots so I am glad I did the job. The next time I repot them will be when they go outside on the deck. 

The solar lights were really nice to look at last night. One did not work so I need to look at it today. I do enjoy the solar lights and am always sad to put them away. 

Sewing

I did spend some time sewing on the doll's shirt. I got the cuffs on and hand sewn down. I also got the collar hand basted on. 

My hands were tired from all the pinching I had to do while fiddling with the small pieces. 

Knitting

I did knit last night and got 48 rows done. The scarf is about 54" long. 

I do like the scarf a lot. The basket weave pattern gives it a lot of texture. 

Today

I am rushing at the moment as I have to get ready to go for blood work at 7:20 am. Once home I want to do a few things in the house and a bit outside. I may get to sew a bit. I have to be at the community hall at 4 pm to set up for the luncheon tomorrow and then have a meeting after that. I may get to knit some tonight after the meeting. 

Until the next time............................................................

A Day Out of The House

 Yesterday was a mix of sun and clouds with a cold north wind. The high got to 9C. This morning it is clear and 5C. Today is supposed to be sunny with a north wind and 12C. 

Lifestyle

As I waited for daughter-in-law to pick me up I started to fold laundry. I got some done as she arrived early. I got into the car and we were off to the city. We chatted and laughed and before we knew it, we were turning off into Lower Sackville. Our first stop was at Giant Tiger (a Canadian store opened in eastern Canada). Daughter-in-law picked up 2 flats of canned ham for sandwiches we make at the community hall. I picked up a flat (24 cans) of turkey for me. They were on sale for 57% off. We also bought ourselves new purses. 

It was back in the car and off to Halifax. More chatting and laughing. Our next stop was the big Walmart store. It was grocery shopping time. The big sale item was canned tuna which daughter-in-law bought 3 flats for the community hall. They were on sale for $.98/can which was another good savings. We got most everything there and headed out once again. 

Our next stop was just down the road to a wholesale place. We buy a lot of the food we need for catering dinners there. This time we needed a lot of beef roasts for 2 dinners. Both of us were standing on the upright cooler arranging the roasts and pulling out the ones we wanted. One thing we can be proud of is that meat display was way neater than it was when we got there. By the time we got finished buying for 2 dinners, the cart was full. We checked out and decided to head home. 

We stopped on our way home to grab a bit of lunch at Tim Hortons. It was busy there as it as almost noon. We were doing take out as we were going to eat on our way home. When daughter-in-law started the car, it said the small battery was dead (she has an electric car). She boosted it and made a mental note to tell the dealer. This happened when she last visited me. There are still issues with the system in the car so she takes it in for another session of work. It is still under warranty. 

We stopped at the community hall on our way home to unload as many of the items as we could. It starts out putting things away and ends up with us bagging cardboard as no one does it except us. We unloaded all the meat and a few other things at her house as she will smoke/cook the roasts tomorrow for a catered luncheon on Tuesday. She took me home after that. 

Mid afternoon, son and daughter-in-law arrived at the house to put the new lock on my front door. It was a bit of job but son got it done. We are all finger coded in and they have access into my house when necessary or if they come to visit me. No more texting "I'm coming, open the door". 

I got weighed this morning and am down about 3 pounds. I am happy with that and will continue working on loosing more. I know that weighing less will help my joints. I also feel better eating more healthy foods even if it costs more to have them. 

My muscles have decided to cooperate and not be too sore. I walked quite well yesterday which was a bonus. This morning they are not too sore so I am hoping I will have some less painful days this week. 

Sewing

I did get a chance to sew for about an hour yesterday afternoon. I put in the 2nd sleeve and sewed up one side seam and pressed it open. 

It is a pretty boring shirt but very basic for the doll's Edwardian wardrobe. It is a very finicky shirt to make as you add tiny sleeve laps and a 2 piece collar to it. My hands ache as I have to pinch the pieces in place due to how tiny they are.

Knitting

I kept my hands busy last night knitting on the scarf. I did 54 rows and have 330 rows done. 

I will finish up the ball of yarn I am on and cast off the scarf. It will be plenty long for someone to wrap around their neck.

I am really proud of myself as I have not bought any yarn and have knit/donated 3.35 lbs so far this year. 

Thoughts

    The wind was cold yesterday. It went right through you when you were outside. It is still from the north this morning but it is supposed to calm down which will be nice. It has been a cold late spring this year. I think it's the latest we've had since moving here. A year ago the tulips and magnolias were starting to bloom. This year, the daffodils are just starting to bloom and the trees do not have their leaves out.

    I really enjoyed my day out with daughter-in-law. We had some really good discussions and some good laughs. I needed the day away from the house and am ready for the quietness once again. I come home ready to be alone and quiet. 

    I am so proud of how much yarn I have knit/donated to date. I still have 14 lbs of yarn left to go which I will not get knit up this year. I am hoping to get a lot more knit with hopes of having 10 lbs knit by the end of the year. I think it is a realistic goal. 

    I am plugging away at the fabric stash. I sewed 3.9 meters so far this month. I may get another .5 meters sewn if I have time after the doll's shirt is made. I still have a lot of fabric in the stash and keep reminding myself it is less than I have ever had for many years. 

Today

I have to do the balance sheet this morning. I have to finish folding laundry and take out some recycling from the lock. My goal is to get into the shed and get some items out for the garage sale. I also want to put the tomato plants into larger containers as they can't go outside for quite a while. I want to work on the doll's shirt in the afternoon and knit tonight. 

Until the next time.......................................................

Half The Kitchen Is Cleaned

 Yesterday's weather was cloudy, sunny, windy, and there was even a snow squall. The high got to 7C. This morning it is cloudy and 3C (up from 1C at midnight). Today is supposed to be showery this morning with sun and clouds later on. The high is supposed to get to 6C. 

Lifestyle

After doing my stretching, I worked on cleaning the lower cabinets. They are all done. I did get rid of a few things most of which came out of the drawer that holds the storage containers. I spent time cleaning the outside of the fridge and the pantry door. The pantry door had some dust on the bottom but otherwise it wasn't too bad. 

I had to go and measure the corner desk in the sewing room. Someone asked about it. I also took everything out of it and cleaned it well. It is now ready for the person to look at if they come this weekend. 

I was quite sore yesterday. It was weather related. My SI joint is a bit sore this morning so I will be doing the big stretch to see if it is out or if it and a couple of muscles are just sore from the weather. 

Sewing

I worked on the doll's shirt yesterday. I got the tiny sleeve placket in the 2nd sleeve and one sleeve sewn in. I had to leave the sewing room very quickly as I was having an anxiety attack. I did not take any pictures of my progress. 

Knitting

I knit on the scarf last night and it is about 39" long. On Thursday night I had 240 rows knit and I am now at 276 rows. 

I will knit it until I use up the ball of yarn I attached last night. 

Thoughts

    The anxiety attack I had was caused by the thought of the old desk in the sewing room could be sold sooner than I expected. I felt guilty and anxious when someone expressed an interest in it. It has been in our homes for about 35 years and the Spousal Unit loved it. I left the sewing room and did some mindless things until I calmed down. I had a little talk with myself and am ready to let it go. 

    I am happy the bottom kitchen cupboards are done. I did a lot of stretching while doing them as they require me to be on the floor. As I did them I thought about what I need to replace. My flatware needs to be replaced as it is about 30 years old and showing some wear. I need to replace the bbq tools as they are rusting from old age. I am slowly replacing all the plastic storage containers with glass ones. I also need some kitchen tools to replace the old ones that are wearing out. 

    The top cupboards are next and I am working on a plan for them. I do know 2 casseroles will go into the yard sale. I have not used them for a few years as I reach for two others. I will decide on what else I need as I clean each cupboard. 

Today

I am heading into the city with daughter-in-law. When home I would like to put the other sleeve into the doll's shirt. I will knit tonight. 

Until the next time.............................................................