Progress Noted At Physiotherapy

 Yesterday was another sunny day with a high of 4.6. This morning it is clear and -2C. It is suppose to be mainly cloudy with some sun and a high of 0C. The Nor'easter storm warning has been lifted and we are to get periods of snow and winds tonight only.

Lifestyle

I was out to physio early. It was a bigger assessment day and I am improving. First noted improvement was my gait. It has really improved in the past 3 weeks. Most of the muscles are still relaxed from the needling, my body is aligning nicely, and I am not favouring the right side as much. The therapist was pleased and will continue to monitor the muscles to make sure they don't tighten up. After being put into some moves to help stretch muscles, I rode the bike, did the slider (which was tightened up) and did the leg extenders with weight. The electrical current was hooked up and we found a sore spot. I got 15 minutes of heat and current to help keep everything in good shape. 

I got home and was back out the door to go to New Minas with a friend. We did some shopping and I got 2 new kitchen knives and a bag of cat food. Elliott will be happy as it is the food he likes better than what he is on now. We were home by noon and I had a great time with my friend. 

After lunch I took the car to get washed. I did the full thing-- wash, rinse, rust inhibitor, and polish. The car looks very clean now and will last for a bit. The line up to the car wash was long. There were at least 4 cars waiting in line all the time. 

I did do a bit of housework. I looked at the heat pump head and used canned air on it. Not as dirty as I thought it would be. I swept the dining room and hall floor and it was dusty and full of Elliott's hair. I am thinking he is going to be shedding for the next while. Though I didn't do the all the cleaning, I did get some done. 

Sewing and Crafting

I looked at the smocking pleater and decided I needed to read the instructions. They are scant to say the least so I turned to YouTube. I found one video that I watched and am ready to start. It is going to take me a while to pleat the chemise as they show you how to pleat precisely on the machine. 

I also hand sewed the back of the quilt. It took me almost 2 hours to sew 48". I do tiny stitches that are about 1/4" apart which is slow going. I am now ready to quilt the joined parts. I am making progress on the quilt. 

Knitting

I had a good evening of knitting and have the leg of sock #1 done. I am pleased with the pattern and will be putting it into rotation for more socks. 

Thoughts

    I am happy that the snow storm is only going to be one night. It moved off shore further than the meteorologists thought it would. I will be shovelling once not several times like I had thought. I can handle that. 

    I am making progress with my hip and knee. The cracking was alignment and we are hoping it will stay in place. I have some weak muscles in my right thigh which we need to continue work on strengthening. They may not come back 100% but I am hoping I can get 85%. Something to work towards. At this time, having replacements is on the far back burner. I will have some pain but not a lot. Strengthening the muscles around the joints is helping support both joints. 

    I have put loosing weight on hold for the moment. I am just maintaining. Between low glucose levels, having to shovel snow, and working on getting stronger I needed to have a break and eat a bit more food while doing more activities. I will go back to loosing the last 5-7 lbs towards the end of the month. 

    February is a tough month for people around here. It is usually dull and depressing as it seems to be our "winter" month. I feel it when we have lots of dull grey days. We have had some gorgeous days this year that have given us a break. I love those days and enjoy them. I have also tried to get out a bit more this month on those nice days. When at home I have all the curtains open and clean house with the rooms filled with sunshine. It has helped keep my mood uplifting. 

    I tried one of my new knives to cut cooked chicken. I was able to cut very thin slices which thrilled me. I am looking forward to having sharp knives to cut meat and vegetables. My old ones are worn out. They are 30 years old. One item purchased from my February list and a couple of items left to purchase. 

Today

I have massage therapy late this morning so I hope to do a bit of housework and a load of laundry before I go. Once home, I hope to thread the pleater and start pleating the chemise and do some quilting on the quilt. I want to knit tonight. It is basically a day at home doing a few things I need/want to do.

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

An Afternoon Out For Soccer

 Yesterday was another lovely day with a lot of sunshine. The clouds didn't arrive until late in the day. The high got to 7.2C. This morning it is partly cloudy and 3C. Today we are to have a mix of sun and cloud and a high of 5C. We are under another storm warning which is to bring snow tomorrow around noon. 

Lifestyle

 I got the balance sheet done and it took a while. I couldn't find a sheet of paper with numbers on it. I looked and finally gave up and did the numbers again. Everything balanced perfectly for me. 

I did yoga and was sore for the first part. I did loosen up and felt better. I need to get back to doing them every day as they do help me be more flexible. 

I also cleaned up the spare bedroom though I didn't dust. I was rushing as I needed to eat and be ready to pick up son at 12:45 pm. But the job got done properly and that is what counts. 

In the afternoon, son and I went to the city to watch grandson play soccer in a men's team. He got invited to join in the morning while at training. The team he played on yesterday consisted of team mates he played with last summer. The keeper was from another team and is fabulous. We had admired him when we saw him during the summer. He did an awesome job and talks to the team constantly. I understand he is wonderful teaching keeper skills. He is well liked and admired by the soccer community. 

Grandson played some and did a great job. He was on his toes and doing plays that he was suppose to. He thrives playing on this team and pushes himself hard. His team lost but they played a great game. 

We got home just after 4 pm and I was in a great mood. I was happy that I had gone to watch the game. I was also happy that I stood for the game with very little pain. That is a first for me to stand for an hour. Progress is being made. 

Sewing and Crafts

I did not sew yesterday as I was at the game. I did do a page in the journal. It is a simple page that I enjoyed doing. 

The snowflake blends into the paper too much so I need to decide on how to fix that. I may use a pen I have and trace around the snowflake so it pops out. Gluing the tiny snowflakes onto the tree was a pain but I got it done without destroying anything. 

I like how it goes well with the page beside it as this is the center fold of signature one. 

I did play around and found a round ornament to use for a shaker in one of the other signatures. I need to work on it more so I can cut it out on the Cricut. I know I need to buy acetate for this project and then figure out how to do the page. 

Knitting

I knit on the sock last night and am making good progress. I had to stop as I got too warm having heat on my hip. 

I have 45 rounds knit on the leg and 20 more to go before I start knitting the leg on sock 2. I love the yarn colour and know these will match the hat I knit for daughter. 

Thoughts

    I am not looking forward to this storm coming in. Though it is to last only 24 hours it could dump a foot of snow on us. The only good thing is that I will be finished my appointment about the time it starts to snow. Then I can come home and prep for shovelling snow. 

    I am happy that I was able to watch grandson play soccer yesterday. Most of his games are in the evening and I don't like to be out that late. It was great that is was early afternoon and we had such a nice day to travel. 

    With warm temperatures the last couple of days, the snow is melting slowly. Areas of the lawn that didn't have a lot of snow are now bare. The areas that drifted have lots of snow but not like it was. More snow should go today before we the next storm. 

Today

I have physio this morning and will get cat food and have the car washed while I am out. I want to clean the head on the heat pump as I know it is full of cat hair and fluff. This afternoon I would like to hand sew on the quilt and thread the pleater. Tonight I will knit on the socks. 

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

Focusing On One Job At A Time

 Yesterday was another day in which we had plenty of sunshine. The high got to 9.7C. This morning it is 2C and calm. We are to have a mix of sunshine and clouds with a high of 6C today. We are under a weather warning as a Nor'easter is to arrive on Tuesday. 

Lifestyle

I chose not to do yoga yesterday as I was cleaning my bedroom. It was an all morning job. I started out cleaning the closets and then all the doors. Then it was moving the bed around so I could sweep floors, dry swiffer, and mop them. Baseboards were cleaned and dirty spots on the walls washed. I turned the mattress, wiped down furniture, cleaned the ceiling fan, and finished the room before lunch. I was tired but happy. I did put clean sheets on the bed at 4 pm as I had laundered them while cleaning the room. 

I forced myself to focus on cleaning that room. I did not let myself do other jobs as I am trying to do one job at a time rather than flit around doing a bit here and a bit there and not accomplishing a lot. It took me a while to get into the groove but when I did, I was able to focus on what I was doing and not on other small things I could do later. I know I have lots to do but I need to work on not pressuring myself to do some here and some there and then being unhappy with what I accomplished. 

I did do a few other small things. I wiped down some of the kitchen and put bags into the recycle containers. I also swept a bit of the spare bedroom and the hall. Though not a lot, it was enough to make me happy. 

Sewing and Crafting

I looked at the journal yesterday afternoon and planned another page. I need to pick the background paper and put it together. I also have to finish the cat cross stitch picture so I can put it into the journal. 

I hand sewed the back of row 2 and did the quilting I needed to do. I then sewed rows 1 and 2 together and have it ready to hand sew the 48" seam at the back. 

I have an afternoon or two of quilting after the seam is sewn. Once I get started, it will go quickly as I have the pattern figured out. 

I worked on the doll's chemise and did French seams where the sleeves attach to the body. I finished the neckline at the front and folded down the neck hem, hand basted it in place and pressed it down. It is ready to be smocked. 

I drew some lines on the very front of the chemise and will iron them off. I am thinking of drawing one line around the neckline so I can follow it while putting the fabric through the pleater. 

The next job was to get the needles into the right grooves on the pleater. Most of the needles fell out when I went to do the job but I got it done. I am now officially ready to thread the machine and pleat. 

I swept the sewing and family room floors before going upstairs. I am trying to keep the rooms neat and tidy. So far so good. 

Knitting

I did knit 10 rounds on the socks last night. I was out for a bit in the evening so 10 rounds was more than I had expected to get done. 

The pattern is very easy to knit and it showcases the yarn. I could have done a more complicated pattern but am happy I stayed with simple. 

Thoughts

    I am settling down after realizing that I was over thinking things and trying to do too much. I am working on doing one job at a time rather than flit. I am also realizing that I need to set limits on how much I do in a day. Making lists helps me stay on track.

    The fog rolled in at 7 a.m. and it is low and thick. What is amazing is the sky is clear above it in the east. The sun is starting to come up and I am sure the fog will be gone once the sun is fully up. 

    I am wanting to buy a couple of items to help make craft fair items. The items are expensive and I need to make a list and buy one a month. I am thinking of starting with the envelope board. I also want to buy a stencil and ink for signature 2. I can use these for other projects I plan on making.  

Today

I am doing yoga today as I need to do it. I'm not sore so should have a good session. I have to do the balance sheet and then clean the spare bedroom. I want to work on one journal page, thread the pleater and do a trial run on it, and start hand sewing the back on the quilt. I want to knit tonight. 

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

Why Am I A Wreck

 Yesterday started out cloudy and then the sun came out. The high got to 3.2C. This morning it is clear and -4C. We are to have sun with increasing cloudiness and a high of 7C today. 

Lifestyle

I did not do yoga yesterday morning. I was not mentally wanting to do much of anything so I skipped it and wish I hadn't. I went and got groceries instead. 

I struggled all day feeling tired and out of sorts. My IBS flared up and that annoyed me. I wanted to sleep, I was restless, and I felt stressed. I could not put a finger on the why and the what. It felt like everything was building up and I had no idea why. I couldn't even work my way through it. I was a mess but held it all together somehow. 

I was awake during the night with the IBS and was able to think about the why and the what. I still have no idea what food I ate that could have given me the IBS attack. I thought a lot about that. I have been stressed and worrying a lot lately. I have put pressure on myself to get a bunch of sewing done and that could have triggered both the IBS and the tired feeling. I have been worried about family as they have been sore and hurting. And to top it all off, I could be having the winter blahs that can hit at this time of the year. Once I settled those thoughts, I slept deeply and for about 5 hours. I am hoping I am over the worst of this. 

The other thing that may have made me off is my body and mind are tired of having low glucose levels. I scrapped my eating plan and had extra carbs for lunch and I was still in good shape at dinner time. I was actually full so had a small portion a high carb dinner. 

I was out for dinner at family's last night. I picked grandson up from school and took him home. I really enjoyed our talk last night while coming home. We had a lovely lasagna dinner and a good visit. I was home early so daughter-in-law could rest and have heat on her sore hip and back. She and grandson had to be up at 5 am to play a 7:30 am soccer game in the city. 

Sewing and Crafting

My thoughts turned to why I was feeling like I have been and part is pushing myself to finish projects by a given date. Though I am enjoying the projects I am working on, I am pushing myself to get things done and my timelines may be causing me some stress. 

I worked on the doll's chemise and got it cut out and the front opening done including the hand sewing. 

It needs a good pressing. I am not ready to sew the sleeves to the front and back (French seams) and then pleat it. 

I then worked on the cardinal quilt and hand sewed the seam together and then quilted it. I also have sewing the two pieces together and have that seam to hand sew. 

I am pleased with how the row looks so far. 

Once the red piece between the cardinals is quilted, I can sew rows 1 and 2 together. 

This quilt has been a bit of a stress factor in my life this month. I want to finish it up by the end of February so I am pushing myself to get it done. I love sewing the blocks and quilting as I go but I need to realize that I may not finish this quilt by the end of the month. If I don't I can't beat myself up for not meeting my goal. It was something I thought about during the night and I must be kind to myself. I have no deadlines to meet as this is for me. 

Knitting

I did knit last night and got 21 rounds done on the first sock. An easy pattern to knit once you remember you are not knitting ribbing. 

I have made knitting into a stressful thing by setting a goal to knit so much each night. I have to stop that and relax and enjoy the process. 

Thoughts

    There was a bit of a thread in my thoughts at midnight last night. I am setting goals each day to meet and I am stressing myself to meet them. The stress and worrying is a big factor to me having severe IBS attacks. I look back at shovelling the driveway. I had to have it cleaned off in case of an emergency. My OCD kicked in and I am now trying to turn it off. I know using my planner will help me focus on how much I should do each day vs trying to do it all at once. 

    I relaxed a bit this morning when I saw the rain for the weekend isn't happening. The snow forecasted for Wednesday has been reduced from periods of snow to flurries with some snow. I was worrying about both.

    I have decided to continue with the "use what you have" for sewing and crafting. I am enjoying going through the stash looking for fabrics to sew. The doll's chemise is yellow and I am hoping that I can use purple for next months's project (a dress). I have fun pairing up the Christmas fabric to make bags that we can use or I can sell at a craft bazaar. While doing these pairings, I am relaxed and having fun. There is no need to be buying fabric when I am having fun at home. 

Today

The focus today is to clean my bedroom. I will do as much as I can and then finish it tomorrow. I will do yoga as I really want to. Today's sewing will be the French seams on the doll's chemise, hand sewing the seam on row 2, and attaching it to row one. No more than that. If there is time, I want to play with ideas for paper crafts on the Cricut. Tonight I will knit and watch TV. I plan on trying to relax today in hopes of feeling better. 

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

A Busy Day Doing Fun Things

 Yesterday was full of blue skies and sunshine. The high got to 0.6C. This morning it is -9C. We are to have another day of sunshine with a high of 3C. 

Lifestyle

Yoga was done first thing and I hurt, especially my back. Nothing went crack so I knew everything was in place. I pushed through blaming the weather as we are to have rain. I took Tylenol which did help some and all was good by the afternoon. 

I cleaned up some of the living room. I moved couches around, swept and washed floors, and fluffed blankets. I swept under the dining room table as Elliott's hair had accumulated in a pile under it. I still have a bit of work to do in the living room but it is basically clean. 

I went out to friend's late in the afternoon and gave the two boys gift cards for helping me so much during the storm. They were excited to get them. I know they were doing the good neighbour thing but the boys worked hard helping me and they deserved it. I also visited my friend for tea. We talked for a while and then I came home to have dinner. I had a headache which meant I had low glucose. 

Sewing and Crafting

I worked on the journal for over an hour yesterday. One page got done and it took me ages to design. I am happy with it. 

It goes well with the story. 

I also made a belly band using a cup band. This was a fun make which will hold a Dear Santa letter. 

I started off sewing by hand sewing the openings on the wine bottle bags. They are done ready for me to stitch on the ribbon and add all the bits and pieces. I then sewed the backing down on the quilt. 

Once the backing was done, I quilted the two pieces and then started on the next two blocks. They were quilted and trimmed ready to sew together. 

Daughter texted me at dinner time to say she was at a fabric store and did I want ribbon. She bought me some really cute Christmas ribbon that was deeply discounted. 

She was so lucky to have found them and I am excited to be getting them. Usually Christmas items go fast in that store but she said there was lots of ribbon and bolts and bolts of Christmas fabric. 

Knitting

I knit on the second sock last night and got the cuff done on it. 

The pattern I am using is Vanilla Latte which is free on Ravelry. It is an easy pattern to knit; a combination of knit and purl. 

Thoughts

    I got out the fabric for the doll's chemise and printed off the pattern. I have to add 1/4" to the seams so I can do French seams. I have decided to use my smocking pleater to gather the neckline and sleeves. Why do it by hand when I have the equipment to do it. 

    My friend is making great progress on her goat wall hanging. She is working 4 hours a day on it and hopes to have it done by the end of March. There is a lot of hand sewing, fixing parts she isn't happy with and lining some pieces so other fabrics won't show. I admire her creativity as it isn't something I would ever think to tackle. 

    I am recovering from all the snow removal. We have snow next week but only a small amount that I can tackle easily. 

Today

I am grocery shopping this morning after I do yoga. I want to sew on the doll's chemise and the quilt. I want to knit tonight. If I can, I will do a bit of housework but that is planned for tomorrow. 

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

An Afternoon Out

 Yesterday was cloudy but in the afternoon we saw sunshine. The high got to -1.2C. This morning it is cloudy and -5C. We are to have sunshine with a high of 0C. 

Lifestyle

My plans changed yesterday as I went to Bedford with daughter-in-law. I was surprised to see that the further we went towards the city, the more snow had fallen. Daughter-in-law told me that going towards New Minas the snow was less so we must have been near the edge of the storm. 

We went to Value Village to get grandson an outfit that looked 1980's. We had fun looking for the items required for the costume. I did look around for items that I might have wanted and found nothing. They had a big pile of Little Golden Books but none were Christmas stories. I bought nothing. 

Next up was Walmart and we got what we needed there. Mainly groceries and a few craft items -- ribbon and embroidery floss. We also went to another grocery store to get a few more things and then on to Upper Sackville where daughter-in-law had her osteopathy session. 

At home, we had one more stop to make before I got dropped off. I put out the recycling first thing and then got groceries put away. It was dinner time. What a wonderful afternoon I had out. I really appreciated spending the afternoon with daughter-in-law. 

Sewing and Crafting

I spent 90 minutes in the sewing room. My first job was to find tags for the wine gift bags and I succeeded at that. 

I even found a few little ornaments to attach to the ribbon (which I bought).

You can hardly see the little star and bobble but they do add something to the bags in real life.

Once I had the bag idea sorted out, I worked on row 2 of the quilt. I got 2 blocks quilted, trimmed, sewn together, and ready to hand sew the backing down. 

I got more done than I had expected to. 

Knitting

I got the yarn up before I went shopping.

After dinner I set up the next pair of socks. I have 10 rounds done on the cuff of sock #1. Six more rounds on it and I start the ribbing on sock #2.

I have chosen a new pattern for these socks and will knit them in my usual fashion. These are for daughter and I told her that Elliott may be knitting her socks. 

Elliott's expression is that I am making them and he is supervising me to make sure they get done. 

Thoughts

    I was happy to be out with daughter-in-law yesterday afternoon. I needed an afternoon away from the house. Other than buy ribbon and embroidery floss, I refrained from buying any other craft items. I got some groceries I needed. 

    My glucose level was low at dinner time and I had a bottle of ice tea that was loaded with sugar. The low glucose headache left and I felt fine shortly after drinking it. The bottle of ice tea wasn't what I had wanted; I wanted the zero sugar one but in the end it was what I needed. I am struggling with low levels and am not sure how to get more carbs into my diet. On the plus side, I am not pre-diabetic any more.

    My weight has stalled at 59.1 lbs lost. I cannot move it downwards at the moment. I may have hit a plateau and need to be patient. I know I made some muscle shovelling snow. My hip and knee have less pain and I am more flexible than I have been for a few years. I will continue to eat correctly and monitor everything carefully. 

Today

I need to do yoga this morning. I want to clean the living room area and do some laundry. I plan on hand sewing this afternoon and begin the next 2 blocks of the quilt. I may have time to work on a page of the journal. Tonight I will knit. It is a stay at home day for me. 

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

Fun Sewing Afternoon

 Though yesterday was cloudy, it wasn't dull. We had very few flurries which was nice. The high got to -0.2. This morning it is cloudy and -3C. We are to have some flurries, wind, and a high of 2C.

Lifestyle

I headed out the door to shovel yesterday morning. The big snowflakes had turned tiny and very wet. I was worried about freezing rain on the snow making it dangerous to walk on. I scraped the driveway and did the back deck on my own. By the time I was done, I was dragging the shovel behind me to the garage. I was really tired but happy I got the job done. I was the only one out shovelling so was probably thought of as crazy. 

After resting, I did a load of laundry and tidied up the kitchen some more. I did what I could and rested lots. I wasn't going to push myself but I wasn't going to nap. 

I loader came down the street widening it. He pushed snow into driveways on the other side and went back and cleaned them out some. Hard to do when your bucket is open an open grid design. He didn't touch our side of the street as the snow is piled up far from the pavement. Saved from having to shovel wet snow. By that point, my driveway was clear of the residue/ice. 

I had fresh chicken noodle soup for lunch and it was delicious. I so enjoyed it that I savoured every mouthful. I have lots of soup in the freezer to enjoy this month. 

Sewing and Crafting

I spent the afternoon in the sewing room. I made piping first up which took me about an hour to make. 

I think it would look perfect on a black shirt.

Daughter said hoard but has promised me she will try to use one piece a month. 

I decided to start on the wine bottle bags and sewed on the toppers. I checked the time and decided to work on them until 4 pm (about 2 hours). The last piece of lining required was dug out of the stash and cut out. I did sort of an assembly line sewing on them. All the side and bottom seams, and press. I then did all the box corners sewing each bag's corners before starting the next one. Then it was put the bags together. Before I knew it, the three bags were done to having the turning hole hand sewn up.

I need to buy red ribbon for them and will hand sew them on with 2-3 stitches at the back. I will add something to ribbons - bells and a card. I will be making more of these bags as they are easy to make -- no interfacing required. 

I looked at the journal and have 2 ideas mulling around in my head. I need to work on them in the next couple of days. 

Knitting

I was so tired last night that I didn't knit. I didn't even look at patterns. 

Today

I need to go grocery shopping so will do that this morning. I want to work on the quilt and the journal pages this afternoon and try to knit tonight. 

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