More Little Jobs Completed

 Yesterday was a day of snow flurries, wind, and cold. The high got to about -4C with a windchill of -11C. This morning it is windy and -7C (windchill -15C). Today we are to have a repeat of yesterday with a high of -4C. 

Lifestyle

I had massage therapy yesterday morning and I was nervous. I have never had a massage so didn't know what to expect. I did the intake form and went for the massage. The therapist knew about me from the physiotherapist as it is in the same building. The massage was to my back, hip, groin, and knee. It was a mess of tightness that she worked 45 minutes on. There is noted improvement in that area. 

Once done, I got groceries. I got what I needed plus something for lunch. I am ready to make some freezer meals which includes pulled pork and soup. It was busy in the store but I really can't say if it is normal or not. I don't usually shop on Thursday. 

I applied heat onto my leg while I ate lunch. I find the cold winds make it stiffen up. I also get cold easily due to the weight loss I have had in the past year. 

I was out to family's for a few minutes yesterday to deliver pants I had fixed. We bantered and laughed and then I came home to wrap up in a blanket with heat pads on to keep me warm and my leg muscles from tightening up. 

Sewing and Crafting

I spent a bit of time on the never-ending book for the journal. I cut out scalloped circles on the Cricut and temporarily put them on each of the pages. I am not sure if I like them or not or if I need something else on the squares to make everything pop. I am thinking on that. 

I also did another page with a bottom tuck to hold the picture that came with the two puzzles. I glued the doily onto paper, let it dry, cut it out, and pressed it flat. It spent some time under the weight of books before I adhered it to the page. 

The page fits in the doily nicely and is easy to get out when doing the puzzle. 

I spent quite a bit of time in the sewing room. I fixed daughter-in-law's pants which was a tiny rip at the top of the pocket. It didn't take long to fix. It took longer to figure out how to do it.

I quilted on row 3 and got over half of the center row done. I am getting excited to see how it will look when finished. 

Once it is done, I will take a break and make another gift bag, mug rugs and some piping. Then it will be onto my cardinal quilt. I am learning quite a bit doing Elliott's quilt which should help me when doing mine. 

Knitting

I knit on the socks again last night. I have the foot done on the one sock. 

I have to finish this sock before I can start the other one as I am using the last ball of yarn. Socks for grandson and daughter take 3 balls (150 grams) of wool. 

Thoughts

    I am finding that I am really cold this winter. Loosing 60 lbs was great until the cold weather hit. I dress warmer even in the house. I am thinking of buying sweat pants and sweat shirt when I go into Sackville at the end of the month. I am just hoping they have my size in the colour I like/want. I will even look in Walmart the next time I am there. 

    I am still enjoying being at home. It gets lonely at time. I will be going to have tea with my friend in the next couple of days just to break the monotony. I am also not buying extra items and have had a couple of talks to myself about that. I did it in the grocery store yesterday. Use what you have before you do a big restock. I am better at not wanting to get items for the journal or sewing as I have lots on hand to work with. 

    I need to take an hour and cut out a bunch of items for the craft bazaar. I have been so focused on the journal and quilt that I have not done any of that. I will need to watch a video on what to do and do the cutting. The journal can sit to one side for an afternoon. 

Today

I am going to make pulled pork in the instant pot and then cook the rice and vegetables so I can freeze meals. I am also going to make soup which means I need to prep everything for it. This afternoon I would like to quilt and then I am to family's for dinner. I get to pick up grandson from school on my way to dinner. This evening I will knit on the socks. 

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

It's Almost A Quilt

 Yesterday the temperature dropped most of the day. It was -3C most of the day. The wind blew in cold from the west and gave us a windchill factor of about -9C. This morning it is -6C and windy. It did snow a bit during the night. We are to have a mix of sun, clouds, wind, and flurries with a high of -4C. 

Lifestyle

Yoga was first on the list and I did an intense session again. My body rebelled but once it got over the session, I noticed that I have stretched the muscle out. Back to normal yoga until I need to do it again. 

I did 2 loads of laundry and put the fresh bedding back on the bed. I also cleaned the bathroom. It wasn't dirty but needed to be spiffed up. Next was the kitchen. I gave it a good clean and then put liner into 2 drawers. The contents won't move now that is done. I have one piece left to cut and put into another drawer. I still have a roll to use in other cupboards. I am slowly getting that job done. 

I was out late afternoon to put out the garbage. It was cold and I was bundled up. My friend stopped in on her way back from walking the dog. The dog asked to go into the house to warm up. We talked for about 5 minutes and she headed home to get warm. I finished up my job and went in to warm up. 

Sewing/Crafting

I looked at the journal yesterday but am undecided on what to use behind the characters. Wrapping paper or other light weight paper. I am still thinking. I am also thinking of cutting out a shape using the Cricut. 

I spent most of the afternoon working on the quilt. A row takes me over 2 hours to quilt. I got the row done. 

I have gotten into a rhythm of tying off the threads at the beginning and end as I do each row of quilting. When the block is done I bury the threads before I start the next square. 

Row 3 is next. I have to quilt the middle and bottom blocks before I sew it onto the rest of the quilt. I have a feeling I will be another 4 days before I can bind the quilt. Then it is on to my quilt after I sew a couple of other things. I will need a break to make a couple of less intense projects. 

Knitting

I knit on the sock last night and am have about 40 rounds done. 

It is going quicker now that I am just knitting and not worrying about decreasing. If I keep knitting away most nights I will have these done by the end of the month. 

Thoughts

    I have thought about doing Leslie Sansone's beginners walking video. I will have to give it a try. I use to do these when I taught school and we couldn't walk outside in the winter. They are great to do. 

    I have been limiting what I can watch on YouTube. I got myself into a tizzy watching so many junk journal videos that I couldn't decide on which way to go. I have decided to stick with one person - Miss Paintalot. I have been watching some cooking videos and a few others on camping, fixing up old places, and a few ideas on how to do pages that interest me and I know I will do right away. I enjoy watching videos on parts of England. I find I am relaxing more in the evenings. 

    I am going to start freezer meals tomorrow. I will be making soup and pulled pork. I am looking forward to having the soup while it is cold outside. The pulled pork will be a nice addition in the freezer. I will make more freezer meals next weekend using what the meat in the freezer and buying the produce I need. 

Today

I have massage therapy this morning and I would like to get groceries when I am done. Once home, I need to do a bit of cleaning if I am able to. I want to quilt and knit. If I have a bit of time, I would like to play with the journal. I have an idea brewing in my head and want to see if it will work. 

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

Keeping Myself Busy

 Yesterday's weather was more snow than anything else. Then came the rain to add to the mess. The temperature dropped all day to 0C and then climbed up to 1C until 3 am when it shot up to 9C. We had 3/4" of rain and during the night they put us under a rain advisory. This morning it is 3C and we are to have another messy morning with the temperature dropping to -4C this afternoon. 

Lifestyle

Daughter-in-law stopped in for a visit in the morning before she went to yoga. We had a good chat about lots of things before she left. I did have a later breakfast which was fine. 

After I ate, I did yoga. I did every move slowly and really stretched everything. My right hip area hated me but I persisted. When done, I was sore but it wasn't painful. It really needed to be stretched out. Time to stop babying it and get those muscles, etc. into shape between visits to physio and osteopathy. 

Even though I was sore, I finished cleaning the living room area. I didn't wash the floors on my hands and knees but used a mop. I touched up the dining area floors also. I also did the litter box area in the spare room and washed that floor. The house just needs to be maintained at this time. 

I made pulled pork for dinner. I use this recipe using about a pound of pork chops. It was delicious and I had enough meat to have it again tonight. I kept the liquid the meat cooked in and froze it as I am going to do a small pork roast on Friday in the slow cooker and make it into freezer meals. 

My persistence of measuring and weighing my food paid off. I lost another 1.3 lbs meeting my yearly goal of loosing 60 lbs. I am very happy about that. Next goal is to loose 3 lbs by my birthday. 

Sewing and Crafting

I had another good time working on the Charlie Brown journal. I finished up the two pages I had ready to glue down and then started on a never ending booklet. That one was interesting to do. The first video I watched went too fast. The second one was better. Then it was figuring out how the thing worked so I could get the pictures on correctly. The trick is to turn it one turn clockwise and then fold out. 

Page 1

I bought tape that I can reposition items on the page. The best accidental purchase I made. It was valuable when doing the book as I had pictures upside down. I also could move the pictures around until I got the look I wanted. 

Page 2

I did fool around with the coloured pieces and am happy with the look.

Page 3

I need to decide if I want to leave it on white paper or put it on a coloured piece. 

Page 4

This will go into a pocket. I thought it was a great way to introduce the characters of the book. 

Once done the page, I headed into the sewing room to work on the quilt. I sewed rows 1 and 2 together and did all the correct things so I could sew down the seam on the back. I got it done while watching some TV. 

It is ready for me to quilt the grey and red row. Progress is being made in leaps and bounds. 

Knitting

I worked on knitting the foot on the first sock. I knit until I ran out of wool and joined a new ball. 

I knit a good 10 rows last night before I stopped. 

Thoughts

    I am glad I decided to do the slow movements for each move yesterday. I pushed myself just to the pain and held it for the count of 5. It paid off as I have less pain today. I also applied a lot of heat afterwards and during the day. 

    Using up what I have is getting easier to do. The more I stay home, the more I dig looking to use up what I have. The fabric and craft stash is good for the winter. I will need to do some grocery shopping but it will only be for what I need. I want to make some freezer meals as I love having them on hand. If I meet my goal, I have a reward planned at the end of the month. 

    I really would love to go outside and walk but our weather has been too nasty for that. On the days I can walk, it is either too cold or windy. On nicer days it is raining. I do walk in the house but it has become pacing. I don't always feel like going to the arena to walk as it means going out and doing it. I will have to plan to walk on the nicer but cooler days. 

Today

I have to do yoga first. Then it will be laundry and doing some spot cleaning in the bathroom and kitchen. I want to work on the journal and the quilt this afternoon. I will knit tonight. 

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

Using Up What I Have

 Yesterday it snowed lightly for quite a bit of the day. The high got to -1.3C. This morning it is -3C which is warmer than it was at 3 am (-6C). We are to have wind, snow and rain with a high of 1C today. 

Lifestyle

I was out to physio early yesterday morning. I had to ride the bike for 5 minutes with a high resistance and then use the slider board for 5 minutes. I am going to be getting another piece of equipment next week. We are now working on stretching everything so I can have more mobility when moving outwards on my hip. It was push, relax, stretch with the therapist. It will come as has everything else we have worked on. 

When I got home, daughter-in-law had scraped the snow off the driveway. I so appreciated that. I did sweep the driveway to get the snow that had fallen off. The two times it was done had the driveway clean earlier than other driveways. I did enjoy sweeping the driveway as it gave me some fresh air and a bit of exercise. 

Once inside, I had a rest with heat on my hip. I rested while laundry was going and then got up to do a few little things that needed to be done. 

Sewing and Crafting

I worked on another page of the journal. This one took a bit longer as I had to trace, copy, and colour it. I had fun with it as it came to life. 

I dug out some cute cutouts to use on the page. 

I then decorated the inside of the doghouse after I had traced around it so I had boundaries. 

Everything is just temporarily tacked down. I need to trace around the house in black and then glue everything down. I may move one snowflake on the left side and add a Christmas tree to the outside. I have Snoopy lying down as he is tuckered out from decorating his house. This page was fun to make. 

I also worked on the cardinal quilt. I got the center section of row 2 quilted. It went a bit faster than row 1 as I have everything figured out. 

I am ready to sew row 1 and 2 together and quilt the area that joins them. 

Knitting

I finished the gusset on sock #2 and did row 1 of the foot on each sock. All is ready for me to knit another 54 rows before I do the toes.  

I will have to join another ball on so will be finishing one sock at a time now.

Thoughts

    The first thing I noticed when doing this blog post is that every project I am working on is using up what I have. Other than joining Sewing With Cinnamon, I haven't bought any supplies since Jan. 5. I hope that I can keep up the good work and if I do, I will allow myself to buy something at the end of the month. Using up what I have has become important to me.    

    I am working hard at getting my hip to be more flexible. I will have to do my exercises daily so I can work on strength and stretching. Having come so far, I need to continue on getting stronger and more flexible. My goal is to avoid surgery for as long as possible. 

    The broken lawn chair I put on the edge of the street was taken home by its owner yesterday morning. It is nice to have it gone though I would have put it into my recycle pile next week if it was still there. 

    I have been going through my food items and will have to do a small grocery shopping this week. I want to make a pot of soup so will get what I need for that. My goal is to use up what I have in the freezer and pantry before I stock up again. This shopping will be mainly for the soup and basics. 

    I lost 1.8 lbs this week which got rid of last week's gain and another .5 lbs. It is slower going now though I am loosing more inches than pounds. I will keep working on the last 1 lb which I hope to have off in the next 3 weeks. 

Today

I have to do yoga first and then finish cleaning the living room area. I want to glue down the two pages of the journal and sew the two rows together on the quilt. I hope to knit tonight. It is a day at home getting things done. 

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

Having Fun At Home

 Yesterday was a mix of sun and clouds. The high of 7.9C was probably at 1 am as it was about 4C at 1 pm. It snowed during the night and we woke to whiteness. It is -3C. We are to have a cold north wind, sun, clouds, and a high of -1C. Windchills are to get as cold as -12C this morning. 

Lifestyle

Yoga was done first yesterday morning. I did it slowly so I could focus on the stretching. There was very little cracking so I am in alignment but I am sore in the groin area. I will keep at it to see if it will help or remain the same. 

I did the balance sheet next and was done in good time. I had to find one small mistake which took less than 5 minutes. No complaining on my part. 

I then went outside to take a broken lawn chair out of the backyard. I hauled it down to the road and left it there. Not my problem and if it is there on the next recycling day, I may haul it over to go. I am tired of dealing with people's stuff after a wind storm. 

Next up was to start cleaning the living room. I pulled both parts of the couch out and swept and washed under them. I did tidy up some and called it done for the day. I can finish it tomorrow. 

Sewing/Crafting

I found an envelope pattern for the Cricut. I sized it down and cut it out. It wasn't too bad though I may tweak it a bit later on. I found the page it can go on and played around. 

I had quite a bit of fun doing the envelope. I used a snowman from a package of hot chocolate for a closure. I was thrilled with how that turned out. 

I have only tacked the little pieces on the page to see if I like them. They come from a package of pieces I bought before Christmas. 

When you open the envelope flap, the envelope lays flat which is what I had wanted to do. When the envelope cut on the Cricut, I had 2 slits put in and I put a ribbon through them tying it into a bow. 

I used the other hand from the snowman as a pull tab to open the comic strip. I am happy with that as was pondering what to use. The snowman is completely used up with the scraps in the trash. 

When the fun was over but not glued in place, I headed into the sewing room to work on the quilt. I quilted and quilted, and quilted some more. Row 1 is done except for the bottom row which will be done after it is sewn to row 2. 

I had to fill the bobbin just before I finished for the day. All the threads are tied and buried which gave me a good feeling. I don't have to do that tedious job which I hate. 

Knitting

I knit on the socks last night and should finish the gusset tonight. As the number of stitches decreased, it was easier to knit and I got faster. I wasn't fighting the tightness of having so many stitches on the back of the sock. No pictures as it is the same old same old. 

Thoughts

    As I was doing the balance sheet, I found that I need to work on my goal of not buying a lot of stuff to do projects. It was reiterated when I was doing the Charlie Brown journal and sewing on the quilt. Use what I have and get only what I need. 

    I watched three videos on people who are decluttering their houses. Each person was so different in their approach. One was doing more of a reset after Christmas and cleaning only areas that were dirty. She had a few items to put into the donate box, some items into trash, and rearranged what was left. The second person had more to do. It was a declutter of all areas; put away items into the right spot, donate, trash, and clean. She had a good method and was very methodic in what she was doing. The third person shocked me. She was decluttering everything into the trash. There was no donate box at all. She kept exactly what they needed and nothing more. She was the harshest of all three in what they needed vs what they wanted. All three had one goal in mind; only have what they needed in their homes. What they needed was very different in each household. 

    Watching those videos left me realizing that I am also only wanting to keep what I need and use up what I have before I buy more. It is hard but I am working on it even the food I have in the freezer needs to be used up before I buy more. I keep reminding myself of this all the time. 

Today

I am out to physio early this morning and once home I will do a few things after I apply heat to my joints. I may have to shovel snow off the driveway. I want to finish up the page of the journal and start on the next one. I should try to quilt row 2 of the quilt and knit tonight. 

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

Another Day, Another Storm

Yesterday started out grey and cool, then it snowed enough to make the ground white, and finally the wind howled in and brought 3/4 - 1" of rain. The high got to 9.2C which happened around midnight. This morning it is 3C. We are to have a bit of everything today with a high of 2C. Snow is called for tonight. 

Lifestyle

With a decision not to go to watch grandson, I decided to clean the entry part of the house. I did my yoga doing it. I was up and the down the stairs putting items away. I was on my hands and knees washing the two sets of stairs and the floor space. I stretched, bent, and did every move I could possibly think of while cleaning the space. 

It is clean with nothing lying on the stairs. I hope to keep it that way. It was the dirtiest of all areas as we enter and leave the house through the front door or the garage door. 

Once done the entry way, I laid down for an hour to have a rest. I was tired from sleeping poorly. It did help get me through the day though the tiredness was in the background all day. 

I did putter cleaning up the kitchen and then spent the rest of my time downstairs. 

Sewing and Crafting

I spent an hour in the morning working on the Charlie Brown journal. I got another page started. This one is another cartoon about skating. 

I saw the idea on Instagram and knew I had to make it. It took a bit of problem solving but I got it done. I love how it slides open and shut. 

I used a left over piece of ribbon from the first cartoon booklet I made and the stickers are old except for the big snowflake. I bought it not too long ago. Next decision is where to put it in the book. It has to be on a right hand side page so it opens off the book. I know I want to stencil the page with snowflakes before I glue it on. 

I did try the envelope on the Cricut and it came out the same as before style wise. I think it is me trying to get the design into design space correctly. I did finish up both envelopes and will put small cut outs in them. I did find some envelopes and a tutorial on Jennifer Maker so will be looking at that. 

I spent a while in the sewing room working on the quilt. I have almost finished the center row. A lot of work but it is looking great. 

The top row needs to be done next and then onto doing the center row only on the next part. I think I will be a few days quilting this one and then I have one that is bigger to do. I won't be bored doing them. 

I am cutting papers for the journal on the cutting table and need to remember to put the scraps into their tub. I didn't do it yesterday due to tiredness and need to do it today. 

Knitting

I did knit last night and every time I do a decrease row, it gets a tiny bit easier to knit. A few more decreases and there will be less fighting getting the stitches crammed together so I can knit easily. 

Thoughts

    The winds gusted up to 71 km/hour yesterday. It was noisy and annoying. I worried about not sleeping last night but I did. I woke up around 2 am to it being quiet. The worst of the storm was over with. 

    I am happy at how fast I can clean the house these days. Part is being more mobile and part is keeping it tidy on the days I don't clean. I have kept up on taking out recycling and not letting things get out of hand. It means I do some tidying each day but so worth it. I can even miss a day and am happy with how it looks. 

    I have to work harder at doing yoga every day I can. I have been slacking off a bit. I need to work on stretching those poor muscles that are tight. Part of the reason they are tight is I am protecting the hip joint, part is weather related, and part is working on walking with the proper gait. 

Today

Yoga is first and then the balance sheet. Once that is done, I will start cleaning the living room area. It may only be sweeping the floor and washing it in one area. I want to work on the journal, the quilt, and knit. I don't need to go out today so will be busy doing inside things. 

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

Progress Made

 Yesterday was a lovely sunny day with a high of -0.1C. This morning it is -6C. We are to have high winds, ice pellets, snow, and rain today with a high of 2C. We are under a wind warning today. 

Lifestyle

I did yoga first thing yesterday morning. I did the exercises slowly working on stretching the muscles in the sore areas. I think it helped so will continue to do that for a while. 

I cleaned quite a bit yesterday. The focus was the dining area. I tidied up and then started to clean. The floors had a lot of cat hair on it. I swept it up along with sweeping the hallway. Then I washed the floor on my hands and knees. A good workout for the hip. 

When done the dining area, I tidied up the kitchen which was easy. I also mopped the floor as I am trying to keep it tidy. I only have the living room and front entry way left to do and upstairs will be done. 

I was out in the afternoon to fuel up the car. I want it full just in case I need to go out in today's storm. There was a cold draft but the sun was nice to be in. 

Sewing/Crafting

I spent some time in the morning hand sewing the seams on the back of row 1. I was almost done when I stopped for lunch. After lunch I finished it. I decided to quilt vertical rows on the cardinal fabric. I worked slowly making sure I was fairly accurate at having a 1" space between the rows. 

I love the colour of thread I chose. It blends in with the light fabric but will be a contrast on the red fabric. 

I got 2 of the 3 print blocks completed before stopping. I tie off and bury the threads at each end of the rows. A lot of work but worth it. 

I played with an envelope pattern on Cricut and cut it out. The score lines weren't that good so I figure I didn't put the scoring stylus in properly. I hand scored the lines afterwards. 

The back is okay and I would use this if I had to. I am saving up to buy the envelope board so I can do a variety of sizes. 

The way I have it set up, I can size the envelope but it will remain as almost a square. The lady who did the design is a genius and I will thank her today. 

I finished up another page in the journal. I used stickers on this one and after a lot of thinking got it the way I wanted it. 

Not perfect but I am still learning. 

Knitting

I finished the gusset on the first sock. 

I started on the second sock and got a couple of rounds done. It is harder to do as I have to work with a lot of stitches on the heel/gusset part. It will get easier as time goes on. 

Thoughts

    I hadn't realized how much I was worrying about the storm coming in. I have decided not to go to the city today and hunker down at home. We are not to get the snow like forecasted but the winds will be blowing hard. I will be sad to miss grandson play his soccer game but I am not comfortable being out in this storm. I did it once in December and was a mental mess when I got home. 

    I am getting into a groove of doing both crafting and sewing most days. It feels good to move between the two. The area I work on the journal is tidier now that I have a lot of the items in the trolley. I still have a bit more work to do to have it tidier but I am happy with it at the moment. 

    I am fighting the winter doldrums. I want to nap every afternoon and have to make myself get up and do things. It is easier to do when the sun is shining. I am really in hibernation mode this winter. 

Today

Yoga is first on the list. Then I will clean the entry way as it needs to be done. After lunch I will work on the quilt and start planning the next journal page. I have the idea already. Tonight I will knit on the socks. 

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