SWIMMING IS HARD WORK!

Whew! Why am I so tired?  Does practice at power kicking, deep breathing, and repeated practice every day make you tired? It does me.

Several reasons prompted me to decide to take swimming lessons in my old age. Obviously one was the safety factor, getting fit and strengthening back and legs another and the possibly losing weight and getting better toned always counts.

Learning to float and breathe is one of the hardest things I've ever done; it is exhausting and terrorizing all at once. As for the condition of my back and legs, the back feels better but ham-strings ache and pinch. The only plus thus far is losing two and a half pounds last month.  So - I'm back in the pool practicing over and over again. Recently I heard that "Confidence builds Competence." Getting an increased level of confidence while swimming with my face under water is still in question.

The underwater floating part is actually fun but the launch and stopping is harder than expected and I still get frantic if something uncontrolled happens. For me the notion of feeling comfortable in the water is still a long way off.  But I refuse to give up, some things in life must be learned - press on regardless.

Missed using the time for Open Studio yesterday. The Art Room on campus is available Wednesdays from 1 - 5 but I was tired from morning swim practice. And colleague Carol was not available.  Began to assemble the Flynn Multi-Frame System at home and found that the set-up requires considerable hand work. Still trying to get fabric for a test run attached and then I need to re-arrange the sewing table and machine to accommodate the width needed.

Expect to make progress today clearing a space to work and getting the fabric rolled on rods to tighten tension keeping fabric smooth and straight. Only then can the process of free-motion stitching begin. Have reviewed the DVD instructions a couple of times and still need another run through. Am looking forward to trying it out, using the machine to do the decorative part of quilting. The next quilt show is over a year away but will that be enough time to negotiate this learning curve?  Practice makes perfect, so I am looking at a lot of practice.

Must share this if you are not aware:

Some smart techie has created a quilt show website for travelers  for the country so travelers will find listings by month and city. The legend is a little hard to follow but click on the 'month'  rather than the date and you will find all the info about the shows for that state. Note this website for future reference. Quilters Travel Companion.

Remember the great barley soup that friend/neighbor Mrs. S made last weekend?  Mrs. S is not well and having surgery later today. Must get busy and find some flowers for her. This was totally unexpected and I do hope making the barley soup was not the cause (?).

Busy making a poster for print and E-use for Sue's upcoming Cardio Light class beginning in September. Slated for Saturday's right after lunch means I may be able to swim and do the class on the same day. If I live - - -  stay tuned.