Sewing in the sun

I got up at 9:30, surprised it was so late. I stood in the sun in the guest room and read more of John Gray’s book. I swished and exercised. I checked my e-mail. I looked into he shou wu after hearing how great it was at restoring jing. I juiced, and sat outside where it was 60 degrees. (60 would be considered cold inside.) I took off my shoes and went barefoot. I cut several clumps of monkey grass. I got the mail and opened it. I read that our escrow is going up on both mortgages. I came in to wait for Parker’s call, and made breakfast. I ate it while listening to an audio. I left a message for Parker. I put on shorts and went outside to listen to an audio while handsewing and waiting for Parker’s call. When I came in, she had e-mailed that she was with buyers who called this morning. I cleaned the kitchen floor. It looked like it had paw prints on it. I called Chris to get the cc number for the card he wanted me to use. Then I called Lowes of Southern Pines to pay for carpet ordered in December. The charge was denied by the cc company. So I called the company and they said the charge was denied because it was out of state. The lady put me on hold with authorization department. It was tying up my phone while I was still waiting for Parker. When she called, I accepted the call, not knowing if I was hanging up on Bank of America or not. Long into Parker’s call, another call was coming through. I wasn’t sure who it was but it might have been BoA. Parker and I discussed everything I could think of. She said she would call and meet with the professional handyman at his earliest convenience to discuss what we talked about. Chris skyped me to say that BoA called him to say the charge was authorized. So after the call with Parker ended, I called Lowes back and paid for the carpet. Then I changed clothes (temp had gone up to 70), and ate the remaining ground beef and brussels sprouts. I made up a week’s worth of supplements, then sat down and added up the utility bills for the house in Atlanta. I ordered more supplements, then sat and thought of new things to mention to Parker. I watched the Netflix movie “The Fault in our Stars”. It was very sad. Then Michele got on skype. I texted her and we had a conversation. Then she called me and added Chris to the call. I only wish it had happened earlier because it was after 11 and I needed to go to bed.

Feeling sew sew

I woke up to the phone alarm. I shut it off, drank some lemon water and went back to bed. But as soon as I laid down, I realized I had seen sun on the bed in the guest room. So I laid in there for a while. The idea of sending Chris a card came to me, so I washed my hands and rifled through my collection of cards to find a suitable one. Then I searched my computer for his address. I did not find it, which made no sense. I looked through my address book and there was one for an AA address. It wasn’t the Kwaj address so I assumed it was Honduras. I wrote a note in the front and then enclosed it and dipped my finger in water to seal it. In light of my recent illness, I did not seal it with a kiss.
While I swished, I did my exercises, and read part of the John Gray book on the tablet. Then I juiced, and meditated. I made and ate breakfast and read e-mail. I read that taking silver with antibiotics makes them 10 to 1000 times more effective – says a mouse study in England. I came across a link to “BP spills coffee – A Parody”. Funny video, sort of. I finished breakfast outside, and picked some kale and dandelion. I brought in the mail, scanned and sent it to Chris. I answered e-mail. I wanted to look up my new acquaintance to see if she had a Pinterest page, but I got sidetracked adding pins to my Pinterest site. Then I realized that I had never photographed my December Do.good.stitches blocks. So I went downstairs and remedied that. I posted it to my Pinterest page. When I finished posting all the newest stuff, I remembered to look up my friend, but did not see a page for her. I listened to an audio while working today’s Sudoku puzzle. I went outside and raked and picked up leaves and magnolia cones. Then I went into my sewing room and added borders to the heart block. I put the extra fabric away, then worked on the hexecontahedron. I sewed several diamonds that were made using the glue pen. The fabric was hard and brittle on the edges. Then I made some using a glue stick. I handsewed them together and it went better. So I cut lots of cardstock diamonds, and batting diamonds. I glued the batting to cardstock, then glued the fabric to the cardstock using a glue stick. I got 4 sets of diamonds glued and ready to sew. There is a stitch group tomorrow so I am ready in case I go. I listened to a tapping audio on resentment and kept tapping after it was over. Then Chris skyped me. The call lasted nearly an hour although we didn’t do that much talking. I decided to let him pick the topics of conversation. After the call, I ate some leftovers from yesterday. I also had three figs. They almost put me to sleep. It took all my willpower to post to my blog before going to bed.
* These are the blocks from December *

Designing woman

I had a hard time sleeping last night. Sniffing the towel helped, but the congestion came back after a while. Then I propped myself up on pillows and put a tissue with lavender and orange essential oils on it. Breathing that was not a miracle cure, but I did fall asleep eventually and woke up about 7:30. I blew my nose a lot and was very productive, if you know what I mean. I moved the air purifier unit to the den. I swished with coconut oil, and that brought up stuff from my throat. I called Parker and left a message. I wrote a check and put it in the mail. I got online to look up the best essential oils for congestion. Peppermint was one, so I followed the directions to rub coconut oil on my chest and add two drops of the oil. I put on one of Chris’ old t-shirts. I made hot water in the coffee maker and added licorice tea flakes. I sipped it as I read e-mail. I felt pretty good actually. I boiled all my toothbrushes. Then I sat in the sun in the guest room, looking at a quilting magazine. I did my exercises. Denise called to see how I was doing. She encouraged me to see a doctor in case I had picked up a parasite. I juiced a cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, and carrots. Then Parker called. She said we could have the house on the market before March once all the decisions are made. I drank the juice and cleaned juicer. I started making breakfast. Jennifer called to see how I was doing. She hopes to see me Sunday for the anthem. Finally I ate breakfast. Then I walked outside, looking at newly appeared buds, and picking up sticks. It was a sunny day, but cold. I brought in the mail and the recycle container. I researched oil of oregano. i drank a mug of hot water with lemon and two drops of clove oil, because I did not have oregano oil. I rested and nearly fell asleep. Then I made a small dish of fiber mixed with coconut milk to get things moving. I saw that Parker sent me pictures of countertops and tiles from Lowes. I looked up the most popular counter tops and colors for bathrooms. Gray. Gray? Then I composed note to Parker, and cleared more e-mail. I did the Sudoku puzzles for yesterday and today. I cooked up ground beef with brussels sprouts, garlic, and onion. It wasn’t that great, and will be less so tomorrow when it is cold. Then I got an amazing idea for enlarging the small old master bath by removing the wall between it and the hall bath. I tried to sketch it out on paper. Parker sent me ideas for the bathrooms with pics from Lowes. Chris skyped me. He was falling asleep so the call was not long. I spent the rest of the evening sketching bathroom fixtures and looking online for the dimensions of built-ins. Eight by twelve sounded like a huge space, but getting two toilets in with some privacy and a double sink was a challenge - not to mention it would be nice not to have to move the plumbing.

Hashtags - how do they work?

I had trouble breathing and then sleeping last night. I got up in the middle of the night to lay on the recliner. The backyard seemed very bright so I walked outside to see why. The light was coming from in front of the house, so I walked out the front door. Then I saw the moon: it was incredibly bright and full. And I was incredibly not dressed for being outside, so I went back in. The recliner became uncomfortable after while so I went back to bed. I must have fallen asleep because next thing I knew, my phone alarm was ringing. I ignored it in favor of more sleep. But even though that did not seem long, when I got up it was 11. What happened to those three hours? I got started on my day with swishing and exercise. It was coffee detox day too. I don’t usually eat before it’s over, but I did today, having the rest of the kimchi juice with quinoa. After the detox, I juiced carrots, kale sprouts, a cucumber, and part of a pepper. Surprisingly, it was 3pm! I did some meditations. I had totally missed the mail, so I put Netflix in the box for tomorrow. I checked and read e-mail. I listened to several audios. I assembled the recyclables and put them out for tomorrow. I got a call from Roz. She said she left several messages about needing a ride (none were on my phone). She said she did not need a ride after all but would see me at choir practice. That is when I realized I really did not feel up to going and still might be contagious. I e-mailed the choir director. I cleaned the juicer. I scrambled two eggs, added half the cooked onion and chopped up some green pepper. It concerned me that I still hadn’t eaten breakfast however. I noticed that the red mark on my forehead was back. I sketched a heart block on the back of an envelope and then went downstairs to make it in fabric. I searched my collection for red fabrics with hearts on them. I looked for white fabric with music notations, but did not find any. Then I made a plan, but for some reason ditched the pieced border. I cut squares, made half square triangles, sewed it all together and pressed it. I laid it on top of the black music fabric and decided that might work just as it is. I took a pic, then came up to see if Chris was on skype. He wasn’t, so I checked e-mail. There was one with a video on making the internet a happier place. It recommended #makeithappy. Since I did not know what hashtags were all about, I looked them up. Still not entirely educated on the topic, I followed a link to Star Wars spoof tweets. Then Chris contacted me. We talked for a bit and then he had to go to bed. So I read some of the comments for #makeithappy. Then I made notes for my blog. I drank some water and some coconut juice. I watched a tapping video on clearing a cold or flu. I was reminded that when a person loses weight, the toxins stored in the fat are dumped into the blood stream and can make the person sick. Maybe that is what happened to me? I checked my voicemail to see if there were any messages, and there were four. Three were from Roz. I guess she thinks I plan on giving her a ride to practice every Wednesday night until she calls to tell me otherwise. Now my plan is to sniff a steaming towel and go to bed.

At least I have food now

I laid in bed last night with two pillows under me so my head was at the best angle for my sinuses to drain. However, my back was not entirely pleased with that posture. So I woke up in the middle of the night and had to revert to the original position. I fell asleep and then my nose closed up. I got up at 6 to drink some water and blow my nose. I did the lymphatic massage and laid in the recliner. But it, too, became uncomfortable after a while. I went back to bed. I lingered long after the alarm went off at 8. Finally I got up to put on my fleece robe and drink as many cups of hot tea as I could, trying to sweat it out. I called Beverly and told her I wasn’t coming today. I called Dad and told him about my findings on dental implants. He was sorry to hear I was sick and said Dr. Del Sordo recommended breathing into a steaming towel. So I put a towel in the bathroom sink and boiled a tea kettle of water. I poured the water on the towel, and draped another towel over my head to catch the steam. It was so hot I could not stand it for long. Then I got the idea to add a few drops of essential oils. It had cooled off a little and was perfect. I could breathe clearly after that. But I boiled another pot anyway. I also put some cashews and sunflower seeds in a jar to soak. I was going to make hummus, but it required fresh lemon juice and I did not have any. I read about vaccs online, and made breakfast. I took a shower, and went to the grocery store. I wore my gloves so I wouldn’t touch any germy surface. There was no organic coconut milk, so I had to get another variety. The organic veggies got moved around. Now they are filed in with all the other vegetables. I brought my groceries home and put them away. I got the mail, but it was all junk. I finished my breakfast. I watched a video on growing sprouts. I worked today’s Sudoku puzzle. I put away the basket of folded laundry. I sorted the recyclables looking for lightweight cardboard. My findings were taken downstairs where I cut them up into diamonds half an inch smaller than the pieces of fabric that I cut a few days ago. I found some low loft batting scraps and cut them to fit the cardboard. Then I glued the batting to the cardboard and glued the fabric over the batting to the back of the cardboard. It was sticky business and I kept thinking there must be a cleaner and easier way. After doing 5, I decided to work on another project. It involved a making a heart block for a lady whose daughter died in December. The colors given were red and black. So I came up to google heart blocks on the internet. My stomach was bothering me a little. Chris skyped me. And then Kurt skyped me. He shared a link of a video with graphics set to space music. I was still feeling sick to my stomach, so I ate the rest of the kimchi. I boiled the quinoa and ate some of it with kimchi juice. I also made fermented nut cheese and left it to ferment over night. Then I sat in my recliner and looked at a quilting magazine. I sat there for a long time, not wanting to go to bed because lying down might make my stomach feel worse. But it felt so unproductive that finally I decided to blog and try going to bed.
* this is a picture of a statue in front of the Tegus airport *

Still not well

Before I went to bed last night, I realized I had some unfinished business on my computer. I composed and sent two e-mails, attaching pictures to one of them. Then I ran the dishwasher and went to bed. But I could hardly breathe through my nose and that made it a long night. I tapped, I prayed, I sniffed each of my essential oils, I tried breathing outside, I brushed my teeth with baking soda and sipped vinegar. But nothing worked. Eventually I did sleep, and woke up hearing the alarm, and feeling a dry spot in my throat where the bit of air coming in my nose was irritating it. I stayed in bed for over an hour after the alarm went off. I got up to see if I had gained back any of the weight I had lost. I hadn’t and it occurred to me that I was back to my pre-engagement weight. I really really wanted to go to the Monday group. I’ve missed them a lot. But I don’t want to be responsible for making any of them sick. So I stayed home again today. I made hot water, to drink tea. I meditated, swished and tapped. I boiled all my toothbrushes. I read e-mail, and watched videos on tapping for congestion, followed by videos on lymph massage to drain the sinuses. I did another vitamin C facial, then made breakfast. I also ate the last piece of fish. I watched an episode of TQS, and then took a shower. The day was sunny but too cold to go out and enjoy it. I checked e-mail again. I did Sudoku puzzles until I caught up to today. I was going to go to the grocery store then but decided to go at 7 thinking there would be fewer people there. So I watched the last episode of X-Files, timed to end at 7. You could not have paid me to be in that episode. It was full of roaches. Then again, Fox was shirtless in one scene... The episode involved an entomologist who thought UFO’s were alien insect swarms, and a scientist who thought the future of space exploration was robotic insects. To top it off, the methane plant exploded just as Fox and Dana ran out. They were caught by debris. The sheriff told them to get some rest because they looked pooped. Har, har. Just as it ended, Chris skyped me. He could only talk for a limited time because he had to go to the office for an interview for a job in Korea. He suggested I use a neti pot for congestion. I can’t get over putting water up my nose. Only a roach would be worse. After he hung up, I laid on the floor for a while. Then I started eating some hot peppers. It went well at first, but then my mouth caught on fire. I drank water. I went out to get the mail. While I was out, I picked some kale and chickweed. I washed it and ate it when I came in. Then I opened the mail. There was a valentine card from MaryAnn. And a credit card bill. I e-mailed the bill to Chris. I found six eggs in the fridge and an onion in the cupboard. I cut up the onion and browned it in a pan. I took most of it out and put two eggs in. I found some leftover cheese to throw in, too. It did not look like much when I finished, but it was hot and healthy and I ate it. I also put some quinoa in a jar to soak overnight for tomorrow. And I took a package of brussels sprouts out of the freezer to thaw. I wrote up my blog notes for the day, and checked for new e-mail. I wrote the dental implant notes in an e-mail to Dad. But it was too late to call him to tell him to look for it. I washed the frying pan and went to bed.
* this is a pic I took with my tablet from the plane as it was landing in Huntsville. *

Slow, rainy day

Although I went to bed late last night, I woke up early this morning, even before the alarm. I was having trouble breathing and I had to admit that going to church was not a good idea – either for me or for them. However, going to the grocery store was almost an imperative. I drank various cups of water with amendments – teas, honey, royal jelly, vinegar, sea salt, mineral drops. I listened to an interview on vitamin D. The researcher recommended 5000 - 6000–IUs per day from all sources, and said meat was recently found to be a source. I did some tapping, and it occurred to me to do a kimchi cleanse. I knew if it worked, it would make me unpopular. And if it didn’t, no one would know. I tapped until I was so relaxed that I fell asleep. When I woke up, I checked new e-mail. I made breakfast. I wanted to get groceries, but it was raining and I couldn’t face it. I worked a few more Sudoku puzzles, hoping to catch up. I researched dental implants for Dad, and took notes. I added hot water to a packet of seaweed soup and sat down to watch X-files. Chris skyped me so I took the call in the computer room. After we talked, I went back to the den to watch the DVD on my laptop. The soup was good, but it was the last packet. I went in the cupboard and found one last sheet of nori. I tore it up in a bowl and added hot water. Then I found garlic powder and parsley. That was not as good, but still satisfying. I had a cup of tea, too. I watched 3 episodes. I wrote to my blog and hoped to go to bed after stacking and running the dishwasher.
* these are the budding daffodils that I saw two days ago. *