Monday morning and we are sipping champagne. Just had to finish a bottle opened this weekend so the last half-glass does not go to waste. Over the weekend I retrieved my laptop from DH and began to journal late at night while he's sleeping and TV is in reruns and boring. So I pasted the notes below. Afternoon Ballroom practice today, so I need to eat something to offset the champagne and get dressed for the afternoon. Ah one, anda two anda . . . . . bb
29 August 2010
First thing this morning I began to study the .PSD lesson plan for text on curved paths & shapes. Ideal! Read it through once and then opened the DigitalDesigners’ "Tip of the Week" and found ‘Dissecting Circles with grids’ (a great fit for using the text on curves).
Wonder of wonders, Connie Stanton responded to my inquiry about identifying faces in the class reunions photos taken in June. NO one had helped fill in the blanks for classmate or spouse (?). Connie at least had the sense to respond that she did not know them either. I made some comments about the other classmates, some good, some not so, which will undoubtedly be circulated in quick time. Do I care? Not really. The real question is would I ever go back to another one? Not going to happen.
Jan and Rich should be home this evening from a NJ trip to care for Rich’s dad. Once home Jan will begin packing for next week at the mountain cabin. And I have to devise four sympathy cards for Mother and my cousins; Aunt Betty died Friday. She was Mother’s sister-in-law whom we last saw two years ago when I drove Mother from St. Joseph to Springfield MO to pay her a visit. They have known each other longer than I am old, she was married about a year before my parents and Cousin Meredith is about year older than me. Betty was the widow of mother’s brother, Ed, who died about ten years ago.
Continued to search for, sort through and cut fabric strips to add to set 4 of the scrappy log cabin blocks. Bonnie K. Hunter (www.quiltville.com) will have nothing on me when my fabric bins are all sorted by color, size and value. Meantime I am finishing the first 24 blocks (4 sets of six), and ready to think about the next four sets.
The SHAG routine is in revision – we practiced the TRIPLE BASIC, the BUM WARMER and reviewed the SIDE PASSES this afternoon. DH was able to keep the first third of the routine straight, now we work on getting another third down, hopefully will know enough by Friday night that we can enjoy the dance and not embarrass ourselves.
Constant concern for a cramping right leg and ham string muscles have me massaging the leg to keep it loose and limber. The pinching sciatica nerve is unpredictable and even after doing dance-warm-ups and stretching, I find that massage works just as well. I keep it warm with an ACE bandage and have lotion nearby to massage the calf muscles and lower femur. The dilemma is whether to see Dr. Minchew again knowing there is really nothing that he can do for me, except drugs which I already have. Bummer.
Dinner tonight was watermelon, fresh berries, mango teamed with cottage cheese mixed with chunk pineapple. DH loved it and I loved not having to cook anything. After ballroom dance tomorrow, we’ll finish the fruit and add figs with prosciutto. Or maybe I’ll toss a big salad. Waiting for DVD of “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” to arrive.
August 28, 2010
Saturday afternoon aquacize with Noriko today, then home to practice Shagging with DH before my back ache takes control of me. After 8 weeks of shag lessons, we began a routine of Shag figures because DH does not feel confident enough about our dancing to wing it; so we set up a routine of 8-10 figures in a do-able sequence we can practice until we know that much by heart. After than he can wing it as long as the music plays.
Called the GPI reservations this afternoon inquiring about a Spa massage time for Sunday afternoon, Sept 8. As DH had actually indicated he would enjoy one. Nothing ... much too late to book the Labor Day weekend. AND I asked the Sports Complex (comp to GPI guests) about gym classes on Sunday but there is no class schedule for Sundays. Bummer. Guess we will just have to Shag all day and all night!
My work on the wonky, wobbly crooked “Log Cabin” blocks continues; doing six in a set the first three sets are done and the fourth is reaching the halfway mark. The more I search, the more scraps of favorite fabrics (ff’s), and the more varied the blocks become. Because I have difficulty keep the dark-dark and then light-light sequence going; the values are as mixed as the colors and it still looks good . . . to me at least.
Naturally there is a simple blue-white stripe I used only last week that I have searched for and cannot find, and a smokey blue napkin scrap that I thought was gone forever – found the very LAST piece and used it immediately. Did a temporary sort of blues – reds – and purples but that was nearly a waste of time; thirty-minutes later it was a scrap heap again.
My big effort this morning was cubing two eggplants, salting and draining to make my favorite Eggplant Caponata. DH was not always as enthused I was but with the summer heat and wanting a light, tasty, vegetable salad – it’s the best. Still warm by lunchtime, I spread it over my veggie-burger instead of ketchup and it was WONDERFUL!
DH hubby continues to work up our financial statements for the CCC* applications, mainly to convince himself that we are still solvent. Until we have the file complete and ready to schedule an interview for the “Ready” list, it keeps him from worrying about other things. Plus he has done so much dogged work on the d*_*_ de-humidifier over the past six weeks, anything to keep him OUT of the hot crawl space and the dusty HVAC vents.
My calorie-counting app on the iPod/Touch is “Lose It!” and thus far this week has been one of the best (i.e. lightest) weeks of the summer. Still only half way to the year’s goal: 7.5 lbs in 8 months to date. Am willing to take 10-11 pounds by holiday time as an acceptable revision.
*Continuing Care Community
26 August 2010
LEG ACHING There’s good news and there’s bad news.
My right leg is aching, has ached all night and we have yet to do today’s dance practice. So, you ask why not take a pain pill? The cause last night was two-fold; one my sciatic nerve is pressing on the ham string and creating a muscle pinch AND I had eaten both light and healthy yesterday which caused my kidneys to work to the max. I always know when I am losing weight (the good stuff), as my legs ache. But equal to that is a stressed periformis muscle that causes the sciatic nerve to press (the bad stuff), on the ham string causing my leg to ache. Since I had taken a pain pill just after dinner I could not take a sleeping pill for at least four hours but by midnight I was alternately dozing, waking and dozing. This happened for most of the night. No, I did not weight myself this morning but I did go to the 10 a.m. “Stretch & Tone” class thinking it would work my leg muscles, stretch the ham string and alleviate some of the ache. I was wrong. Bummer. Enough venting. I would like to know if anyone else equates weight loss to leg aches, or other physical symptoms related to a body under stress and re-adjustment. Obviously a change in fluid levels will cause joints and muscles to adjust – but how painful need that be?
This at the same time I have under taken a new process for scrappy quilting. Those of you who know what “Log Cabin” quilt blocks are will appreciate my tactic. I set up SIX sets of center patches, one of which is red with the other being either lighter or darker. To that pair of patches I begin adding strip piecing around the four sides, one side at a time (the same way you built a log cabin). My aim is to make six blocks with the same center but not necessarily the same patches beyond the first two. My speed level thus far is about a day and a half to complete the six. To date I have three sets of blocks (18 total), and about to begin the next set. What’s all this for you ask? I have no idea. The purpose is to use up, cut out, make do with as much of the collected scrap pile as possible. Real progress was made when I pull out some tiny scraps and actually threw them in the trash. With the planned move in the next few months and the continued downsizing, it is either use it up and dump it before moving. Bummer. Throwing out fabric is like cutting off your clothes – in public. To waste precious fabric after years of scraping and careful buying and loving every inch of purchased fabric – who knew the time would come when I would have to abandon the ‘stash?’
Will not say anything but the TV in my sewing studio is still not connected. The point was to have the TV company to listen to while I worked. IF the cable is not by this time next week, I may have to speak up – loudly!
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