Sore And Stiff

 Yesterday was warm, grey, and dull. The high got to 10C. This morning it is raining and 5C. Today is supposed to be rainy with a high of 11C. 

Lifestyle

I was out to physio first thing. The therapist found I was stiff but in alignment. She had me lie on my stomach and worked on my lower lumbar. Within 15 seconds there was a release crack which was lovely. She then had me on my back and worked on the muscles. They were tight and sore. She did help them but they were aching all day. Part of the process. She ended the session with the long leg stretch and my ankle cracked. I go back in 6 weeks. 

Once home, I sat on the heat pad and drank a cup of coffee. I then got up and finished cleaning the kitchen. I vacuumed the floor (careful not to over extend), pulled out the stove and vacuumed behind and under it. I then mopped the floor which was dirtier than I had thought it would be. While the floor dried, I sorted the recycling and took out the two bags of garbage for pick up today. 

After lunch, I got up and could barely walk. My left knee was really sore and stiff. I checked the barometric pressure and it was falling. Once it levelled off, my knee improved to no pain or stiffness. 

When I went to bed, I did my stretching exercise and had both my ankle and SI joint crack. This morning, my muscles are a bit sore but my joints are fine. The weather we are having is playing havoc with my body. 

Sewing

I sat and hand sewed the bottom hem on of the coat and when it was done, I hand sewed the hems of both sleeves. I am now ready to do buttons. 

I am deciding if I will do button holes or snaps with buttons on top of the snaps. I need to buy thread as I am almost out. 

Our Sewing With Cinnamon project this week is to make a tiny purse for the dolls. She has provided the pattern for free. I chose my fabric for the purse with proportion in mind. 

I have a large scrap of fabric left from the coat and am able to get the purse from it. 

I need thread for it and the cloche hat I have to make for this part of the wardrobe. 

Knitting

I finished the leg and got 10 rows knit on the heel flap last night. 

It is coming along quite nicely and I love the mix of colours in this yarn. It is called Nova Scotia Plaid. 

Thoughts

    I fooled around yesterday and made some labels for my sewing. At the moment I am not sure if they are too big or if I need to make them smaller. When I am happy with the size, I will buy the transfer paper to make them for all my projects. I am trying to get them done before my trial with Canva is done. I do not want to pay for it. 

    Our weather is crazy right now. After having "winter" in December, we are having it warm and wet at the moment. It will turn again in a few days to include a rain/snow mix and cooler temperatures. In the meantime, I am happy I don't have to shovel or scrape the driveway. I know I still have a couple of months of that left. 

Today

I have to start a load of laundry and then will be heading out to get thread and a couple of fat quarters to play with a new idea I have brewing in my head. I need to visit my friend this afternoon as she is leaving tomorrow for 3 weeks. I doubt if I will sew but do know I will knit tonight. 

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

Down To Finishing The Coat

 Yesterday was a dull grey cloudy day with a high of 3C. This morning it is cloudy and 4C. Today is supposed to be cloudy with a high of 10C. It is supposed to rain tonight. 

Lifestyle

It was clean the kitchen morning and I got it done. I wiped down all the counters and walls above the counters until they were free of any grease. Any cupboard doors that looked dirty were washed. All the appliances were cleaned with particular attention paid to the microwave. It was a big job but I am glad it is done for now. 

I also laundered my bed sheets and got them dry. I forgot about them in the dryer until after dinner when I rushed around and made my bed. I usually make it in the afternoon but forgot about it this time. That job is done for another week. 

I have the robotic vacuum cleaner vacuuming and mopping the floors every day but Sunday. It is a great help but I do know I will have to start mopping floors one week to keep the areas she can't reach clean. I will start with the kitchen floor today. 

Sewing

I spent some time figuring out the doll's dress I want to make for proportion. The pattern I want to use needs a full 45" width of fabric and most of my quilting cottons are 42". I found a piece of 60" wide fabric but am thinking of putting it away and making another pattern. I am thinking on that right now. 

I worked on the doll's coat yesterday and have the lining installed. It was an easy install as I did a lot of hand basting. I didn't rush but enjoyed the process. 

The lining is a surprise and the fabric was a dream to work with. 

I now need to hand stitch the coat hem in place along with the sleeves and do the buttons. At this point I may not add any bits of appliqué to the coat. I am still thinking on this. 

I had to stop at 3 pm as the light coming in the window disappeared due to how gloomy it was outside. 

Knitting

I knit on the socks last night and am doing well with them. No picture but will do that tonight. 

Daughter sent me this yarn to make her a pair of socks. The artist is from Alberta and her yarns are lovely. The colour way is Green of Wheat.

It knits up to look like this. 

I am looking forward to knitting these socks for her. I will not be buying more sock yarn until all of the yarn I have in the stash is knit up. 

Thoughts

    I put down my knitting and turned the tv off at 8 pm last night and read until bedtime. I am enjoying reading some each night. I will have to read some of the books I have in the front closet when I finish the book I am on. 

    This week's project for Sewing With Cinnamon is to make a flap purse for the doll. We are to choose a fabric that is proportionally correct for the size of the purse. I will be making something fun using fabrics I have in the stash. 

    I am trying to break the habit of napping in the afternoon. I get really tired to the point that I have to do something to stay awake. After dinner I am fine. I realized that this is from napping in the afternoons in Montevideo so I could do things in the evenings. I will say it is a hard habit to break.

Today

I am off to physio this morning and once home, I want to clean the kitchen floor. I will wash the back door also as I am sure the glass is dirty. I also need to do a load of laundry and take out the garbage for pick up tomorrow. I want to work on the doll's coat this afternoon and knit tonight. I will also be reading this evening. A quiet day for me. 

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

A Lot Of Fabric

 Yesterday was cool with lots of wind. The high got to -1 (windchill -7C). This morning it is cloudy and -1C (windchill -4C). Today is supposed to be mainly cloudy with a high of 3C. 

Lifestyle

I was out the door to shovel the driveway in good time. What I thought was snow was ice. I had a layer of ice on the driveway. I started to throw salt on it using up the bag I had open. This salt has an enzyme in it. I opened up a different bag which is straight salt and threw it on 2/3rds of the driveway. That salt worked immediately. The other salt is slower to activate. I have 2 or 3 more bags of the salt with enzymes in it which I will use up. It was given to me when our friends moved. The driveway was mainly clear by noon which was nice. 

Once inside, I decided to prep the ingredients for the cheddar broccoli soup. I made the soup and it is delicious. The only thing I had to do was add a bit more salt at the end. I used frozen broccoli in which I threw the both the tops and stems into the soup. I did use my immersion blender to make the soup less chunky. I got enough soup for 4 lunches. I will be making this soup again. My next soup is fish chowder. 

While the soup was cooking, I started to clean up the kitchen. I still have more to do as I am preparing it for painting in early February. I need to wash the walls so the paint will adhere. 

Sewing

I am sewing right after lunch at the moment so I have good light to work in. By 3:30 pm the light is dull in my sewing room and I find it hard to sew. 

I worked on the doll's coat lining yesterday. I sewed slowly as I didn't want to make a mistake. I got the shoulder seams done and the sleeves inserted. It was then time to add the front facing. I pinned one side and hand basted it in place. 

I pinned the other side in place ready to hand baste it. 

Last, I pinned the neckline to the collar facing and it is ready to hand baste. 

I called it a day as it was getting late and the lighting wasn't the best. It was trying to snow and was very dull outside. 

I got my Christmas box from my daughter. She gave me a lot of fat quarters to play with. I am excited about the Tilda collection as I have admired it online. 

She also got me some Love Me More fat quarters by Riley Blake. 

And this panel.

And these by Moda

She also gave me two patterns. 

I will be busy for a while using these fabrics. 

Knitting

I did knit on a pair of socks last night. I did about 13 rounds before putting them down to read. 

Thoughts

    I have decided to put down knitting and turn off the TV every night at 8 pm. I am going to read until bedtime. I enjoyed reading while we were in Montevideo and I want to continue reading this winter. I have some paperback books and will read off my iPad. 

    There was an emergency alert of a man with a gun heading towards a community a 20 drive from here. I will be paying attention to the alerts today as that isn't far from us if he is in a vehicle. 

Today

I am going to do some laundry and clean the kitchen some more. I hope to sew this afternoon, do some knitting tonight, and read for an hour. It is going to be a quiet day for me. 

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

Thinking About Design Elements

 Yesterday started off with snow and turned to rain by 8:30 am. It rained all day and the high got to 1C. This morning it is cloudy and -1C (windchill -8C) and the ground is covered with snow. Today is going to be cloudy with a high of 0C (windchill -10).

Lifestyle

Before going to make sandwiches at the community hall, I did shovel a bit of the driveway and salted it ready for when I came home. The drive to the hall was okay and highways was out scraping and salting the main roads. By the time I got home, the roads were good. 

It was fun to make sandwiches yesterday. I cut and arranged them on trays. I then helped do the basic set up in the hall for the celebration of life in the afternoon. 

Once home, I was out to scrape the driveway of the snow and slush. It took me 30 minutes to get the driveway clean and salted. But I was proud that I had got it done. I was also proud that I did a 3 foot piece of the road in front of my property. All was good. 

I was out to help at the celebration of life at the hall. Daughter-in-law and I did some cleaning up as we waited. We are trying to get things organized as our brains work the same way. One of the volunteers came to help us which was nice. We served coffee and tea to people after the small service and then monitored the food area. After getting 85% of the clean up done, the volunteer and I left. Daughter-in-law had very little left to do. 

I had my friend over for dinner last night. We had gnocchi with meat sauce, a salad, garlic bread, and raspberries. We really enjoyed ourselves and had great conversations and many good laughs. 

Sewing

I didn't sew yesterday as I was too busy. But I did do some prep work for proportion on doll clothes. It is about visual balance when looking at clothing. It is about scale of the pattern, fabric print, and accessories. It is not a science but more of how does this look. 

This month, we are to choose a pattern and sew it. You can design it if you want to but I decided to choose Butterick 6431 to make. 

I made this pattern 8 years ago for the fabric store I worked in. It was to promote some fabric and this pattern which worked. When I look at this pattern today I see

    The break at the bodice, it is 1/3 the length of the front of the skirt. I know this as I measured it. 

    The fabric chosen for the skirt is too big for the pattern. It looks overwhelming on the doll. 

    The flower at the waist is just too big as it is on the purse. 

I would not have sewn this pattern looking at the envelope if I saw it today. I did look at the line drawing and it was more helpful but I am not sure if it is to scale. 

I am still deciding on what fabric to use. I have a cotton fabric that I like and may use it. I also have some satin that is perfect for the dress but it is in cream. I would have to look at fabrics for an overlay. I have them in the doll's stash. 

Knitting

I knit a few rounds on the socks I have set up. I also ditched the scarf I was working on and have found a new pattern for it. I was too tired to go looking for the right size needles last night to start the scarf. 

Thoughts

    We had enough snow fall last night for me to shovel the driveway sometime today. I will get it done and salted for safety reasons. My SI joint hates me shovelling but I can get it to release with my stretching exercises. I need the exercise which trumps over the SI joint. 

    My allergies are getting better but the cough is still lingering. It isn't a cold but it could be the dry air in buildings.  It isn't the horrid cough I had in Montevideo but it is still annoying. 

Today

    I am going to do some cleaning upstairs this morning and clean the driveway when it isn't as windy. I have to make soup this morning so I will focus on cleaning the kitchen. This afternoon I would like to sew on the doll's coat. Tonight I want to knit. A quiet day for me. 

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

The Driveway Is Clear of Ice

 Yesterday was sunny with a high of 6C. This morning it is snowing lightly and 0C. Today it is supposed to snow and rain and we could have freezing rain also. The high is to get to 3C. 

Lifestyle

My first job of the morning was to finish cleaning the driveway. That job took about 20 minutes of hard work as I was chipping through 2.5" of solid ice. It is a good thing that I had salted it well as the salty water ran under the ice when I got it lifted a tiny bit. It lifted the ice just enough for me to chisel my way through it. The driveway was clear of all ice by 9:20 am. 

Once inside, I set about making a meat sauce for the gnocchi. It is very similar to spaghetti sauce except it has less spices in it. I left it to cool and put it in the fridge. 

Daughter-in-law picked me up and we went to Dartmouth to get a few things for her parents who arrive tomorrow. We also did some snoop shopping. We had a lot of fun looking at the discounted Christmas items of which I bought 2 black ornaments to decorate and she bought two small boxes of chocolates. We got a few things we needed at Dollarama and the rest was food at Walmart. We were home by 1:30 pm.

Once home, I did some cleaning, folded laundry and laundered the 2 pieces of fabric I bought. My friend will be over for dinner tonight and I am better prepared for her to come tonight than last night. 

Sewing

I did not sew yesterday as I spent the afternoon doing jobs upstairs. 

When I was at the quilt shop, I saw the apron pattern I want was in stock. 

I will be buying it at the end of the month or in early February. I love it made up. 

It takes 1 yard of the main fabric and 3/8 yard of the contrast fabric. I have fabric in the stash for this project. 

I also have a Mary Mulari's Crisscross apron pattern to make up this year. I want to make a few aprons for myself and for sale before November's craft bazaar. 

Knitting

I started a bowtie scarf for the dolls and hate it. I am going to rip it out and try another scarf pattern. Part of trying new patterns to see if they work or if they don't. I am using left over yarn from socks. 

Thoughts

    My allergies are settling down and I am coughing less often. I think I had a reaction to snow mould when we got home. I will have to be careful this spring and summer as I will probably react to a lot of pollen. 

    We are under a weather warning for rain, snow, freezing rain, and what ever else Mother Nature will throw at us. I have to salt the driveway first thing this morning so I don't get ice forming on it. Our weather is all over the map for the next few days; cooler, wet, warm, sunny, and everything else in-between . 

    I am slowly getting back into a routine and will be working on cleaning the house (up and down) and enjoying sewing and knitting projects. I do want to get out some each week so I don't feel cooped up and depressed. 

Today

I am out early this morning to make sandwiches, home to do a few things to get ready for dinner, back out to help serve the sandwiches, and back home to make dinner for my friend. It is a busy day but I am looking forward to it. I won't sew but I may knit tonight for a bit. 

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

Progress In All Areas Of Life

 Yesterday was a mix of sun and clouds with more sun than anticipated. The high got to 3C. This morning it is cloudy and 7C. Today is going to be cloudy with a high of 8C. 

Lifestyle

After doing a bit of ice removal and salting the driveway, I headed out to New Minas. My first stop was Walmart for groceries. I wandered the store looking for items as I hadn't been in it for over 8 weeks. I was use to shopping at Disco in Montevideo. Had a couple of chuckles while shopping. 

My next stop was the office supply place where I asked about the USB hub. They don't know why it stopped charging my phone. I'll buy a new one next month if a different cord doesn't work. 

The next stop was at the quilt shop and I got 2 pieces of fabric. One for the Edwardian bicycle outfit and one for a dress I am making to show proportion. 

The last stop was at Dollarama. I got a couple of things I needed but they didn't have one item I wanted. I'll look at other Dollarama stores as they could carry it. 

Once home, I scraped more ice off the driveway and put down more salt. Between the salt and the rain that fell last night, I may have a small amount of slush to shovel this morning. And I may not have anything to shovel. 

The sky last night was beautiful. 

We didn't see these types of skies in Montevideo. 

I did spend a couple of hours reading before dinner and while eating dinner. I am enjoying the fun mysteries I found on Amazon. They are light and easy to read. 

Sewing

I did sew yesterday afternoon. The sleeves were hand basted in to the coat and then sewn. I spent a lot of time pressing them to look nice. I then sewed the side seams and pressed them open. 

I am pleased with the how the coat looks though I am going to shorten the sleeve length a bit. 

The collar is pinned ready to sew together and attach to the coat. Then it will be on to the lining. I am not rushing this project and am enjoying the time I spend working on it. 

Knitting

I knit last night and finished the sock. 

I am now going to knit something for the dolls. Then it will be on to knitting another pair of socks. 

Thoughts

    The temperature is supposed to drop today and we will be back to cooler weather. It is supposed to snow some so I am glad I spent a lot of time cleaning my driveway. It will be easier to keep clean. We had a lot of snow and ice in December which is unusual. One wonders how much snow we will have this month. 

    I am slowly getting back to feeling better. I still get tired but am not exhausted like I was when I first got home. I think part is the cloudy weather and part is my body recovering from the allergies I had. 

    It was great to get out and go to New Minas yesterday. I did enjoy my little trip. I hope to do a few small shopping trips this month. I know I will try to shop after I have osteopathy on Jan. 21. I know getting out to shovel snow and for small trips helps keep me from feeling depressed in the winter. 

Today

I have to check the driveway first and then will be making cheddar broccoli soup. I want to invite a friend for dinner so will be making gnocchi when she arrives. I would like to do a bit of sewing on the doll's coat and may do some knitting tonight. 

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

Doubting Myself

 Yesterday was a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 2C. This morning it is cloudy and 1C. Today is supposed to be a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 4C. Tonight we are supposed to get rain. 

Lifestyle

I was out to get a hair cut first thing and it felt good to get 8 weeks of growth cut off. I felt human again. 

Once home, I set about doing the balance sheet. It was a curse session once again until I realized my bank statements were short 2 withdrawals. I found them online. Once that was figured out, I sped through December and am up to date to yesterday. 

The balance sheet I use is from Money Coach. I taught this to a few people when I did adult literacy in Ashcroft. At the bottom of the page, I downloaded the Microsoft Excel 97-2003. When you open it up, it takes you to the Budget Calculator Worksheet. The last tab at the bottom of the Excel worksheet says Spending Planner and that is the spreadsheet I use. Over time, I have changed some of the categories to suit my needs. As you enter your spending, it tracks what you have spent. What you have left over each month goes into the Expenses/Savings/Other so your monthly balance at the bottom is 0. I do go over each expense weekly so I know where I am over spending or what I have spent a large amount of money on. This month I paid for my lawn care for the year. This program was developed in British Columbia and is now under the Credit Counselling Society. I feel it is a great tool for anyone to use. 

Once I was done with the balance sheet, I took out all the garbage to their proper bins and did a bit of tidying up. It was lunch time. I had the last of the chicken soup which I really enjoyed. While watching a show while having lunch, I lost wifi. I left it be for a while and tried again. No wifi. I finally called my provider and found out it was down. I also found out that a courier service hit the fibre optics line at a house down the road and the company was out fixing it. It was back on later in the afternoon when I saw 2 repair trucks turn around at my street. 

I was over to see my neighbour (she told me why I had no internet) to give her and the boys their gifts from Uruguay. We had a nice visit and I came home to put down more salt at the end of my driveway. It is still icy but getting better. I will salt it more today and scrape tomorrow when it is going to be warmer. 

Sewing

I spent some time working on the doll's coat and have the back side pieces sewn to the back. I did stitch up the side seams with a basting stitch so I could try it on one of the dolls. 

I like the fit but I am questioning the appliqué pieces. One lady commented on Facebook that they looked too big. 

I tried another smaller appliqué that I quickly cut out. I am not sure what I want to do now. 

I don't like it as it is white and I wanted the darker colour on the coat. At this time, I am going to remove them all and try again once the coat is finished. 

For Sewing with Cinnamon, I have taken out 3 patterns to look at. One of the dresses I have made before. One pattern I made the plain dress but am looking at a long dress with ruffles and the third is a western outfit. I need to look at them for proportion. I may make the dress I made before as I really liked it. 

My hair dresser told me that all the clothes I made for her neighbour's granddaughter have been passed down to another granddaughter and are equally as loved by her. I am so glad that this family is still enjoying the outfits I made. 

Knitting

I did knit a lot last night and got the foot done on the sock. 

It could be done tonight. Then on to another pair of socks and maybe a little scarf for the dolls. If I don't use the appliqués on the doll's coat, I can use up some leftover yarn to make a scarf for the coat. 

Thoughts

    I am feeling better every day. I am still sleeping a lot every night which means my body is healing. The cough is almost gone. Between the lack of sleep as we came home and my body over reacting to pollen and dust, I realized I was a wreck. 

    I am hoping to get my driveway cleaned of ice tomorrow while it is warm. I want it clear before we get more snow. It will make for easier cleaning if I have no ice left on the driveway. 

    I am enjoying soup for lunch so am going to make Cheddar Broccoli soup next. I will share the recipe once if it is a good one. 

    I got the USB hub to work for my passport (holds all my files) and a USB thumb drive. It will not accept my phone which is strange. I will take it with me to ask questions where I bought it. 

Today

I am going to put a lot of salt on the driveway before I go to do some shopping. Once home, I want to sew this afternoon and knit tonight. If I have time, I will make the cheddar broccoli soup. 

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