A Busy Day

Yesterday was a cool damp day with a high of 3C at 4 pm. It got warmer after that which was surprising. There was only 1 small shower in the late afternoon. This morning it is 6C and we are to have a high of 8C, sunshine, clouds, and some showers. 

Lifestyle

I spent the morning cooking and cleaning the kitchen. My first job was easy -- jello and fruit. Next I made 2 different salads. One was the usual cucumber, tomatoes, and red onions which I put Greek dressing on. The other was cucumber and red onion which has a white wine and dill dressing. Lastly I made BBQ pulled pork and rice in the Instant Pot. 

The pulled pork was delicious. I rubbed a blend of spices and a bit of brown sugar into the meat, sautéed it in the Instant Pot and then pressure cooked it with BBQ sauce and chicken broth. The rice was good but I will do it a bit differently next time. I followed the directions of 1 cup rice to 1 cup water and used the rice setting. The next time I will do it with 1 cup rice to 1.25 cups water and use the pressure cook button with medium pressure and 17 minutes vs the 13 minutes on the rice setting. In all it made a wonderful dinner with 2 more in the freezer. 

I did not walk in the morning as the road was wet and slushy. I did walk in the afternoon as the road was dry. I did .7 km on that walk and enjoyed being outside even though it was cold. I bundled up good with winter mitts and a hat on. No one else walked yesterday due to the storm. 

I am still monitoring my blood sugar carefully and will move on to monitoring it once a day next week. I am within the range of having normal blood sugar. I am loosing weight which means I have my diet and exercise fairly well balanced. Family knows so I can move forward with a healthy life style. 

Sewing

I hand sewed the backing together yesterday afternoon and then started to quilt the center row. I still have more to go on it before I start the last row. 

As I work on this quilt I keep reminding myself that it is my first attempt at this type of quilting and not to do this pattern again for a while. I am enjoying the process and remind myself the mistakes are all part of the learning curve. 

I am plotting the next quilt and know that I will do some things differently. The block will be this one. 

I will be using 3 fabrics on this one with the 4 corner blocks not being the center fabric.

I will be making the 12" square and will need to figure out how much of fabrics A and B I will need. I know I will be starching the fabric to stabilize it and cutting the pieces bigger and trimming them back.

Knitting

I worked on daughter's vest and got the ribbing done on the back section and the first 8 rows of the pattern done. 

The cables are easy to do and I just need to watch that I pull up the 2 purl stitches after doing the cable stitch. The yarn is soft with almost a mohair texture to it. 

I checked on the yarn for the doll's sweater and I need a thicker yarn for it. I will be making it later on when I decide on what yarn to use. The yarn I used will be made into another outfit for the dolls when I have the time. 

Today

I need to give the kitchen a final wiping and wash the floor. I also want to do the dining area and hall. It needs doing also. I will be going out on 2 walks today and will see if I add one more power pole to the distance. Sewing will be on the quilt and knitting will be on the vest. With no stores open today it is a stay at home day. 

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