Have spoon, will travel

I got up around 8. I sliced a gray block and sewed a bright strip to one side. Then I turned on the router and woke up my laptop. I plugged in the speakers and played the interviews from last night's tapping summit. While I listened, I drank water, swished, exercised, performed lajin, and tapped. I put background music on for meditation.
When my coffee morning was over, I cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen and swept all the fake wood floors. I scrubbed the tub because Maintenance is supposed to come by on Friday and check filters, and for water damage.
I put on the Skinny on Fat while I cleaned. Here are today's notes:
See bright light first thing in the morning. Watch the sunset. The colors program your brain for sleep. Fasting triggers autophagy which means it only feeds the healthiest cells and it breaks down all the other ones to use as fuel. But you have to fast for 4 days to start getting that benefit. Some microbes only proliferate at night, they make neurotransmitters but only if the melatonin is right. Women are more prone to circadian rhythm dysfunction than men
Get 15 minutes of sunlight every morning for better sleep. Cancer cells multiply twice as fast when you are sleep-deprived. Avoid sitting disease by moving every 20 minutes. Fidgeting more helps. Walking is good and it doesn't matter if it is 30 minutes all at once, or 10 minutes three times a day. 10 minutes is the minimum and 30 minutes is the high point of return for effort.

I did not make breakfast. I decided that eating is not helping so I am going to try not eating for awhile. Whenever I get hungry, I will tap.
I surfed the internet looking for fabric to match the water pattern fabric I found in my stash. I wanted to replace it if I used it for the background of the banner. But as it turned out, it was too bright anyway. But I had seen sandy footprint fabric online that might just work.
I went for a walk/run. Each run was about a minute. When I got back, I checked the mail and found a St. Patrick's Day card from Mary Ann. I saw where the yard people had mown and the debris had sprayed all over my car. Good thing I hadn't washed it. Next Wednesday the housing people are washing residents cars for free.
I read e-mail. I made a cup of bone broth. I listened to yesterday's tapping meditation. Chris came home during the meditation. My left wrist started hurting. I tapped, of course, then tried a bag of frozen peas. I also tried massage. I took a shower and got dressed for choir. I looked for something to immobilize my wrist. Chris suggested a wooden spoon, so I wrapped it on with a stretch bandage. I went through my fabric collection looking for sandy footprint fabric. No luck, but I pulled a few other possibilities. I took them to the cutting table. I prepared the circles to be moved. Chris offered me a bite of the veggies that he just roasted. I told him I was on a fast. Then I went back to my laptop to look at church fabrics online. I sent Jennifer a text to explain that I wasn't coming to the service, but I would attend choir practice.
When the time came, I left for the church. It hurt to drive because the spoon was in the way and my right hand was getting tired of doing all the work. I arrived before the service let out. I sat in my car awhile, then went inside and used the restroom. I sat in the lobby while they finished the last hymn. Then I went in. I spoke to Don, and then joined the assembling choir. Susan complimented my spoon. She suggested I wear it to bed as well. We sang through our songs and it got late. So I had to run when Jennifer called time. I drove back to base taking Airport Road so as to see the city lights from the hill.
When I got home, I made a mug of bone broth. Chris told me 24 hour fast wasn't long enough to do much. We watched two episodes of Voyager. Chris made his sandwich and went to bed. I stayed up to blog and then retired.
* This is the little quilt top that I finished on Monday for the Modern Quilt Guild. *

Very little sewing

I got up before 7:30. I sewed two patches together, then turned on the router. I fired up my laptop and put on the first tapping interview, on public speaking, which was posted last night. I drank a quart of water while listening. I also looked up how to make starch. The two options were corn starch with water, and vodka. I did not have either one.
All of a sudden, I remembered it was recycle day. I ran to get dressed and to put the items in bags to take them out to the curb. Then I continued to listen and tap along. I listened to the second one as well. I looked up how to read blood test results. And I think I got a few chores done.
When the two interviews were over, I ate some butter, then put on a coat. I had a bag of red fabric from last week. I pulled the big pieces out and cut 3 inch strips from them. Then I put the big pieces in a bag along with some of the fabric Rebecca gave me. I drove to the Tuesday group. My handwork was already in the car. So I pulled it from the back seat and grabbed some fabric that was lying on the floor and went inside. There weren't very many ladies present and the room was shrouded in black fabric. Apparently the church was planning an event, but I could not guess what it was. I sat with Beverly and Anita. We chatted and I did some crocheting, in fact I finished all the pieces I had tied together. We talked about having a sew day to make strip blocks. I put the bag of fabric I had gathered, into the fabric room to replace the scraps I had taken last week. I also stopped by the bathroom. I had to take deep breaths before I went in because of the Lysol smell. I didn't quite make it in one breath.
When I got back, Anita and Rebecca were cutting panels. But soon the group broke up. I went with Beverly to get kimbap. Then we went to several thrift shops. I was looking for a dehydrator, but without luck. Clearly it was not dehydrator day. Finally we went downtown and parked. We spent half an hour walking in a big rectangle. It was a nice day. Then she took me back to my car and I went home.
I started watching The Skinny on Fat while I ate my kimbap with kimchi. So good together. Then I had some chicken, and some cashews. Chris came home with no mail, and no news. I went outside to pick some dandelion, and put it in water to soak.
I took notes as I listened:
All salmon in alaska is wild caught because fish farms are outlawed.
More health problems come from eating damaged oils than from carbs or smoking. Frying damages oils. Omega-3s assist in weight loss if you increase fat and lower carbs. Processed oils are damaged. If you increase omega-3's in your diet (provided they're not damaged and don't contain toxins,) you can improve virtually any major degenerative condition of our time.
I made up an order for Swansons and one for Nuts.com to take advantage of sale prices. When the long episode was over, I started listening to the Menopause summit. Then, amazingly, Michele called, just to talk to me. We had a nice chat over skype. Then I went back to the Menopause Summit. While it played, I made copies of my blood test results so I could write notes all over the originals. I made a small salad with dandelion and sprouts and ate it.
I paused the interview from the Menopause Summit so I could play the just-posted new interview from the Tapping World Summit. It was sometime after 8 when Chris cued up the Netflix DVD. I paused the tapping interview to join him in the living room.
We watched a whole DVD of F-Troop episodes. Chris made his sandwich and went to bed. I stayed up to blog.
* I saw this tiny machine at a thrift shop. It looked like a miniature version of a big machine and I wondered if it was actually a feasible option for sewing away from home. *

Progress and fabric

I hoped to get up early to fit in all the interviews that came online last night. But somehow I forgot that directive, and I spent time trimming my nails. By the time I got dressed and sewed a patch, it was 8:30. I turned on the router and prepared a quart of water. I used vinegar instead of lemon juice because it has no calories, so it shouldn't break my fast. I was surprised that it had no calories being it is made from apples.
I cued up the next interview. I drank the water as I tapped along. I put dishes away. during the second interview, I did lajin. I checked e-mail. At 11:30 I made and ate breakfast. By then I was watching Day 6 of The Skinny on Fat. I took notes:
The 5 R's of cellular detox: Remove the source, Regenerate the cell membrane (consume saturated fats and cholesterol – they stabilize the cell membrane), Restore cellular energy, Reduce cellular inflammation, Reestablish methylation – all stress (physical, emotional, chemical) lowers methylation . Most obesity is caused by hormone imbalance due to toxicity. Most people are sugar-burners and have cravings. Fat-burners can go longer without eating. Bad cells don't adapt and good cells get stronger. It is good to change from keto to vegan to paleo, etc. and back. Diet variation.
Go breathe air in nature – it repopulates the microbiome in the upper respiratory system.
I paused the interviews around noon. I put on my coat and grabbed my purse. I did not need to roll my sewing cart to the car because it has been living in my trunk since Saturday. I drove to quilting. The ladies were just finishing lunch. I missed singing the birthday song to those born this month.
I set up at the table in the back. As usual, I had a good time chatting with the ladies as I worked. I sewed the 9 large triangle blocks together. Lauri talked about her experiences working at Publix. Carolyn came and sat next to me. She noticed the marks on my arms and asked about them. I did not know what to say, so finally I told her the truth – ancient Chinese secret. Of course she wanted to know more so I told her about paida. She was very skeptical. She told me she had chest pain and that Tums and baking soda helped.
When I finished the triangle quilt, I turned to the quilt I was working on for the Modern Quilt Guild. I finished putting borders on it and I pressed them. Rebecca asked me to follow her to her car, so I did. She gave me a luggage bag full of fabric she did not want. I couldn't say no and hey, there were batiks mixed in. I thanked her and put it in my trunk. She left. I went back inside and packed up and then I went home.
When I got home, I unpaused the interview. The new speakers came in very handy. I ate some chicken and a banana. I made a salad with dandelion from the back yard. I did some stretches. The Tapping World Summit had a bonus interview and I listened to that. I was able to fix Chris' pants, tie and three socks. I boiled 6 of the eggs I got yesterday. When the episode was over, I listened to the bonus interview. Then I saw a video on identifying vitamin deficiencies by looking at the tongue, fingernails and eyes.
When that was almost done, Chris' alarm went off. We went into the living room to watch Lucifer. Then we signed into Netflix to watch two episodes of Voyager. Chris looked up some familiar-looking characters. He made his sandwich and went to bed. I stayed up to blog and take my evening supplements.

An exercise in frustration

I got up about 7:30. Chris was already up. I sewed two squares together and got on my laptop. I listened to the first interview from the Tapping World Summit. While I was listening, I cut up a jicama for lunch and added a pack of seed crackers. I also looked up fat quarter quilts for ideas and took pics of the screen. When it was over, I took a shower and got dressed for church. I had a little time left, so I started the next interview. While it played, I started a loaf of bread for Chris. I also filled a water bottle for this afternoon.
At 9:10, I left for church. I practiced with the choir. I got a bulletin and used the restroom. I sat in my pew to go over my music. I wrote a check for the offering. Jeanne came by with a hardanger fish she'd made. But it was too small. After she left, Scott came by. He was talking to Don and mentioned fireworks. I love fireworks and soon he invited me to learn how to set them off and be part of his team. Hmm.
We had two temple talks and then the service began. The choir anthem went well. Ceclia played her flute with it and it was beautiful. After the service, I talked to Jennifer and got new music. We discussed the summit. I saw Scott on the way out and he said he'd let me know when the training was. I talked to Paige outside. Then I got in my car and called Chris to meet me at the grocery store. I ate some seed crackers and went on my way.
We shopped together and checked out. Then he took the food and went home. I drove down the street to join Renegades in making quilts for kids. I proudly turned in the top I had just finished. I was all ready to start a fat quarter project but Lynette asked me to make a backing for the quilt top. I selected a long piece of fabric and laid my top over it. I cut it off several inches longer. Then I searched for something to go with it. When I found it, I did some math in my head and cut it into 7 inch strips which I sewed to either side of the length of fabric. But one of the strips was only 6 inches because I cut it wrong.
I took a break to buy a dozen eggs from Tina who raises her own chickens. Then I spread out the backing and put the top on top. It wasn't long enough, nor wide enough. So, I sewed the remaining border pieces together. I found a gold/brown and cut 6inch corner squares from it. But they were too small and I had to re-cut. I sewed that strip on and then I just needed to make it wider. Someone gave me a piece of yellow stripe that was stained. I cut three strips off of the end that was not affected. I sewed down one side just fine,but for the other side I started it upside down. So I had to rip that out and start over. And it was three inches short, so I had to cut another small piece to add to it. Lynette was teasing me and saying we couldn't leave until I finished. Finally I did finish, and I ironed it and folded it and put it inside the quilt top.
I never did sew any fat quarters. People were packing up, so I folded up some tables and ran the vacuum over the whole floor. Then we all left the building. I ate some jicama in my car and went home.
Chris had the chicken out when I got there. I was so hungry I ate it cold. I listened to the rest of the second interview, then started on The Skinny on Fat. Here are my notes:
Dr. Fung : Mental clarity comes with fasting. When you don't eat, the body starts breaking cells down, but then builds them back up again, better than before. Fasting is like spring cleaning for the body. Fasting can be a short as 12 hours – from 7pm to 7am.
Fasting is our most powerful anti-aging intervention. Eating often promotes aging, keeping body in growth mode. The fasting-mimicking diet doesn't trigger the fasting sensing pathways. I think it is called Prolon.
You must fast for 3 to 5 days for tissue regeneration. Fasting can be used as a treatment for a number of chronic diseases.
I paused it at 8pm. We watched two episodes of Voyager. Then I sat down to write my blog. But instead I finished the Skinny on Fat episode and my Solitaire game. THEN I wrote my blog and went to bed.
* This is my quilt top. The backing was just as frustrating as the top, but I didn't take a pic of it. *

Sewing Saturday

I got up at 9:30. I got dressed and trimmed all the strip triangle blocks to 19 inches. I rolled up that project and stuck it in my cart. I checked e-mail while listening to the remaining interviews from the Tapping World Summit. I wrote a check and put it in the mail.
I rolled my cart out to the car and loaded it in the trunk. I went to the Bailey Cove Library where the Modern Quilt Guild was having a charity sew day. They were having lunch so I sat with them while they ate and a guest came in and showed off her quilt. After lunch, we moved the lunch table back to the sewing area. I set up my machine and put borders on the Renegades quilt. Then I asked for charity work. They gave me pieces of batting to sew together for a quilt top. After that, I made backing for another quilt top. Then I took a small top and added borders and blocks to make it bigger. For the final border I took apart a valance that was in the fabric box, and unstitched it then cut strips. I got one strip sewn on and then had to pack up as it was 4:45. And then we were gone.
When I got home, I put on Day 4 of The Skinny on Fat. While I listened, I made and ate breakfast. I had a few other things as well as they were discussing what was good to eat.
I had to stop it several times to write down some notes. I finished it around 8. Here are my notes:
Dr. Steven Gundry: Lectins are bad for you. American lectins are nightshades including gogi berries, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and chia. American beans also have lectins: peanuts and cashews (which cause rashes, etc), and are part of the poison ivy family. Get your vitamin D levels up; take more omega 3 fish oil; get a lot of olive oil in your diet; get rid of grains and beans ( unless you use a pressure cooker), if you eat nightshades, pressure cook or peel and deseed them to get rid of lectins; fruit should only be eaten in season and from a local source. Reduce animal proteins.
Dr. Felice Gersh: We need to fast more often to signal autophagy. 30 percent of our genes are clock genes – live in tune with the rhythms of your body.
James Chestnut, DC: today's chronic illnesses are not genetic since our genes haven't changed in millenia. We are genetic superstars, having survived this far. Eat for your species.
We watched three episodes of Voyager. The last one was part 1 of 2, and the last episodes of season 6. Afterward, I took my evening supplements and posted to my blog.
* This is one of the quilt tops another lady was working on, made from an orphan block. *

A day for daffodils

I had a hard time getting to sleep last night. I woke up early when Chris' alarm went off. We both turned over to go back to sleep. He later got up and showered and went to work. I stayed in bed for what seemed like a long time, both too hot and too cold, trying to get comfortable. But when I did get up, it was only 7:30.
I cut a strip of dark brown and sewed it to the other strip of dark brown to make a strip long enough to go all the way around the circle of bread. I stitched 1/8th inch from the edge until the bobbin thread ran out. Then I gathered the edge with a very slight gather to go around the circle.
I turned on the router and the laptop, and poured myself a quart of filtered water. I boiled a small bit of water to steep the kava tea bags from last night. I look at images of communion banners online to get an idea of a better color for the background. I cued up the Day 3 episode of The Skinny on Fat. I took the following notes:
Dr Kate Shanahan: There are more pufa's in our body fat now than back in the 1940's. Saturated fat took the fall for heart disease from smoking. Our mitochondria can't burn pufas so we are hungry even though we have 10's of thousands of calories in storage. Insulin locks the fat closet thus no body fat is burned. A vegetable oil diet is full of pufa's (polyunsaturated fatty acids). Have fat for breakfast. Body fat is the best fuel, burns more cleanly and gives more energy. The first result people on a high fat/low pufa diet notice is increased mental focus and brain function.
Dr. Thomas Seyfried: Cancer is a metabolic disease, not a genetic one. Cancer cells require glucose and/or glutamine to survive. Cancer becomes easy to manage through metabolic therapy. Dietary fat is burned or excreted, not stored. It is the excess carbs that are stored as fat. Better to eat your carbs in one meal than to spread them out throughout the day.
Dr. Tony Bark: The best thing you can do for your mitochondria is either immersion in cold water, or going into ketosis (a fat-burning state)
I did lajin and paida while the audio played. I made breakfast, then got dressed and paused the episode. I went to the church rummage sale. I was hoping to find a dehydrator, but what I got was some fabric, a twin mattress pad, and some laptop speakers. Then I tried the thrift shop on Bob Wallace. I got some pillowcases there, but no dehydrator. I also tried the one on Johnson Road. No dehydrator but I found more fabric.
When I got home, I unrolled the fabric to look at it. I put it all in the washer, along with the new wool dryer balls from Amazon. I ate a banana with cinnamon. I finished listening to the fat summit. The last speaker recommended salt on fat fast.
I ironed the fabric when it came out of the dryer. Chris came home with a package from Swansons. I put the contents away. I found an extension cord so I could plug in the speakers I bought. They seemed to be louder than the laptop itself, which was what I hoped for. I went for a walk and timed it to see if that route could be done in half an hour. I saw daffodils growing in odd locations that might mean houses used to be there. My right sock kept sliding down into my shoe. Was it the sock or the shoe? I exchanged the socks on my feet and discovered that they were not a match. But there was no sliding after that.
When I got home, I picked dandelion to make a salad. I also heated a chicken leg and a turkey burger in the toaster oven. I watched an applique video. I texted with Wesley. At 7 I listened to part of the first interview of Day 5.
At 8, I paused it to watch Voyager with Chris. We saw three episodes from season 5 of 6. I wished it were season 7 of 9 – bwahahaha.. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to blog. I drank the kava tea from this morning as I recounted my day. After posting, I went to bed.

Rainy spring day

I stayed in bed late, because it was raining and because I fell back asleep and had another dream. I was riding with someone to a quilt retreat. Part of the route included driving on a vertical surface. I closed my eyes and tried not to think of the laws of physics which required that we fall off the road. We made it, but then I discovered that I did not have my sewing gear. Someone offered to drive me back to my car to get it, but I could not face the vertical road again.
When I got up, I was surprised to see that it was almost 10. I had lost valuable hours of listening. Thus there was not time to go to the Thursday group. I turned on the router and sewed a seam while it sorted itself out. Then I turned on my laptop and got a quart of water to drink while listening to the first speaker of Day 3 of the Tapping World Summit. During the second presentation, I did lajin, and mixed up a new batch of vitamins C.
Then I listened to Day 2 of The Skinny on Fat while making breakfast: 55% of Americans have diabetes or is pre-diabetic. Eat whatever you're going to eat in three meals with no snacks. Add fat to every meal - two thumbs. Eliminate grains. Insulin is more important than blood sugar. Fat burns cleaner than sugar. This is hormonal dieting. Cravings go away. Body fat can't come off until the organ fat is burned off. In autophagy, bad cells get broken down for parts. Then the body makes new cells from stem cells.
It lasted long enough for me to finish breakfast and check e-mail. I read a few articles. I did paida while listening to bluegrass music.
The rain had finally stopped. I needed some exercise so I would be able to sleep tonight. I put my keys in one pocket and my phone in the other. I went for a walk around the neighborhood to see the daffodils. There is one street where most of the houses are gone and the two that are left are in disrepair. That is where I saw the daffodils before and they were still there. I took pics and continued my walk. Two houses in the populated part had daffodils in the yard.
Finally I made it home, surprised that Chris had not yet come home from work. I checked the house mail and there was nothing. I went back in and sat down at my laptop. I realized I hadn't finished the tapping meditation. I started listening. Soon Chris arrived, with no mail from the post office either.
When the meditation was over, I worked on the strip triangle project. I had my laptop near the sewing table so I could hear it while I worked. But halfway through the interview, it just stopped. I moved the laptop back to the dining room and plugged it in again. Somehow it had completely run out of battery power in maybe half an hour. And the top was closed, too! All open windows were closed as well as the file for my blog. Thankfully I was able to get my notes back. I got some fabric to audition for the border. I took pics of the options.
Daylight was fading, so I went outside to pick dandelion from the back yard to add to a salad. I also spread the coffee grounds out in the front yard. I made a double-size salad. Then I watched the rest of the episode of the season premiere of X-Files while eating my salad.
I listened to the first interview of Day 4 of the Tapping World Summit. It ended right about 8. So then Chris and I watched two episodes of Voyager. Chris looked up one of the guest stars. He went to bed, but then got back up to make his sandwich for tomorrow. As usual, I stayed up to write to my blog before heading to bed.
* The pic of the daffodils was unimpressive so here is one of the trees. *