As tho it wasn't bad enough that I'm getting to that "Social Security" age; now I have computer-glasses, too. The regular bi-focal-lenses just were not doing the job so I gave in and ordered a pair of reading/computer glasses with a shorter focal distance for close-up work. Just another benchmark in the demise of my physical being.
Yesterday was my consultation with Personal Trainer April at the UNC Wellness center. P.T.April says "more walking." More Walking?? For three months I had focused on weight-resistance training, getting into machines and even trying out Pilate's; and now she says 'walk.' So the new plan is this: the only TV show I actually like is Jeopardy at 7 pm, just after dinner. Four or five nights a week, I will head to Ed's upstairs loft and walk on the tread mill for thirty minutes. About two hours a week, plus yoga, plus dancerCIZE, plus ballroom and my usual running about should begin to make a real difference. I just have one question: does anyone ever get past 65 and NOT exercise fifty percent of the time?
And for what did I join the Wellness Center? Walking on their indoor track is BORING. Walking on the tread mill is BORING. Walking outside is great EXCEPT during the summer months when the temperature rises to Eighty Before Breakfast (EBB). As soon as the summer heat breaks I will resume my early morning walks about the UNC campus, really lovely in the fall; maybe that will add up to two hours a week. Meantime tread mill it is.
This morning was my monthly appointment at the hairdresser's followed by lunch at Merlion. The S.E.Asian-Singapore-styled restaurant in Southern Village offers a terrific Pad Thai with Tofu. That with a cup of Fragrant Tea make a perfect once-a-month treat. That started my day while Ed was taking his step-daughters to Mama Dips for breakfast. Find Mama Dips cookbooks:
[Mama Dips Kitchen , c. '99 and Mama Dips Family Cookbook, c. '05, both by Mildred Council, see amazon.com].
Remember the Wednesday lunch I was fussing about? Never happened. Just as I was putting the finishing touches on a BIG salad bowl, the girls (thirty-something?) called to say they got off to a late start leaving Charleston, SC. No matter, I headed off for my appointment with April and then joined them for dinner at Acme Cafe in Carrboro. Even better was the special Grouper that Chef Kevin offered.
Guess what we are having for dinner tonight? Right you are, the leftover salads made with leftover BBQ brisket from Sunday night, served up with leftover bbq sauce made into salad dressing. And maybe again tomorrow night.
This morning's mail brought a new surprise. In the form of the latest issue of Thread's Magazine (Taunton Publishers), an article on "Paper Garments Guide Your Sewing"(Nov. vol. 133,p. 53), using the scanner to pull the image from a pattern envelope into a graphic computer program.
Then scan the fabric or color of your choice and apply that to the area inside the pattern. OR sketch the pattern shape and use that as the outline guide. CorelDraw12 works great for this and I can clip or trim to shape. Then enlarge or reduce the print, stripes, color blocks to fit the garment shape and VOILA! You have a paper guide.
During the afternoon I pulled pattern envelopes from a collection dating back to the early 60's, ancient I know, and began scanning the jacket patterns. Now I have enlarged, color print outs to sketch over or mask and pull into another program.
This quickly replaced 'paper dolls' as my new favorite plaything. AND it works perfectly for gauging that jacket pattern that I keep saying I want to make up in scrappy patchwork and never seem to get started. This made my day.
As for sewing without almost no pattern, here's my solution for a long evening skirt. Take a basic four-gore, A-line skirt - four pattern pieces, right? Now to add some glamour, cut six gores. Sew two together for the front, simple and smooth. For the back, sew four together and fold into deep pleats until reaching the designed waist size. Affix with a fold-over plaque or zipper and add a waist band. The skirt hangs straight in the front, the folds move as you walk and open as you spin in dancing, giving fullness in the back instead of gathers at the front. This construction made in rich royal blue, synthetic with a silk-like-slub, will be my outfit for Saturday night's Wine Dinner at Governor's Club. The top? A white, simple fitted shell in satin with lots of silver jewelry. Earrings? can't decide ...
Did I hear this right? A TV fashionista was talking about "grey being the NEW black?"
Who do they think they're kidding? Grey was the new black in '58, in '74, in '92 and now? Grey is the proverbial new black and somehow black always makes a comeback. Or is that a comeblack? And I was hoping that 65 was the new 50!
ciao, bb
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