Finishing the shrubs

I got up at 6:30, having been awake for awhile and unable to go back to sleep. I read e-mail, but my eyes hurt and I had a headache. I drank lots of water but it did not help. At nine my phone rang, but not for long. I picked it up and it told me I had a missed call. I called the number back, but it must have been from yesterday 'cause she sounded like she'd just woke up. Then I realized that the alarm did not go off at 8. I checked the settings and it was set for repeat. I read the manual and it did not explain further. 'Repeat' rings Mon through Fri. I just can't believe there is no way to set an alarm on the weekends, but this seems to be the case. I put away the dishes in the dishwasher. I juiced what veggies I had left. It made about 4 cups of juice. I drank it, and then meditated. But I got so tired that I had to lay down. It must have been over an hour. Then I took a shower and got dressed. I mended my nightgown. I made breakfast. I was supposed to go to a sewing day so I went down to find something to work on. By the time I did, it was 1:30 and I wondered if it was worth it at that point. I drank more water, and worked on several pursuits: a square directrix, sri yantra border with triangles or with an odd symmetrical shape. I still had the headache, so I went outside barefoot. That seemed to help. I pulled up more irises, did some weeding around the tomato plants, a little watering, etc. I came in to e-mail the next person on the list who wanted irises. She did not respond even though I checked off and on while I went through the process of trimming the tops of the bushes with an electric trimmer on a ladder. I also trimmed severely the small tree nearest the house where the leak is. I think it is responsible for making a crack in the wall. I carried load after load of branches to a pile by the street for pickup on Monday. As I gathered the last load, I cut my finger. For a few moments I just stared at it, marveling at how red the blood was. Then it started to sting so I washed it off inside. I checked e-mail again. I was able to make arrangements for the lady to get the irises tomorrow. I made a smoothie using a banana, frozen blueberries, strawberries, rhubarb and coconut milk. I threw in a square of dark chocolate. So good I almost got brain-freeze. I took the laundry down to the machine and heard Skype. It was MaryAnn. During the call I got the machine started. She wanted to make sure I was ok. She hung up when Chris got on Skype. I put the laundry in the dryer. I talked to him and Michele for over an hour. Then I posted and went to bed.

*  This is my sprouting sweet potato.  I hear the leaves are edible.  *

And the day started out so well...

I got up at 7:30, tempted to wait until 8 to hear the alarm go off. I gathered the recyclables together and sorted them into bags. I put them in the recycle bucket and took it out to the street. I put the Netflix movie in the mail. On the way back I checked the garden. The tomato plants are growing like gangbusters and I wish I had planted them farther apart. There are tomato plants growing in the compost pile. I picked up four more green apples. I read more e-mail, watching men do one arm handstands and pushups on Youtube. I turned the phone's snooze feature off permanently because it kept coming back on. I put on a video on detoxing esp. for cancer, and watched it while exercising, drybrushing, etc. I juiced, meditated, and ate breakfast. I took notes on the video. Skype indicated that I got a message from Michele, but when I clicked on her name, there was no message. I figured it had something to do with tomorrow being her birthday so I texted her “Happy Birthday”. I went outside to make mineral water and pour it on the tomatoes. I also picked up all the bush clippings. I used the wheelbarrow to get them to the road. Then I started thinning the irises. I filled the wheelbarrow. I filled a plant tray with dirt from the driveway where the leaves collect. I mixed in some horse/chicken manure. I planted salad greens in it and propped it up for better drainage. I set it where it will get some early sun but mostly shade during the hottest part of the day. When I came in, I posted to Freecycle that I had irises to give away. I took some niacin and laid in the sun. When I came in, there were Freecycle messages in my inbox. I called one and she said she'd be right over. I started mowing the lawn to sweat more. She arrived about 3:30. She brought laundry baskets to carry the plants in. We sorted through them, picking the most likely ones. She said she needed some color in her life, so I also dug up some morning glories, a marigold, a four o'clock and some garlic. Then she told me her sad story. I tapped for her behind my back. After she left, I checked e-mail and posted to Freecycle that the irises were gone. I took 5 charcoal tablets to clear the toxins that the niacin liberated from my cells. Then I got on the desktop computer to draw a parabola and the related geometry and make a quilt block out of it. My cursor was somewhere off to the right when a bunch of purple dots showed up. Beside one dot was written “Looks like I am going to Honduras”. I clicked over to the e-mail screen and there was a message from Chris to me and his extended family about getting the job in Honduras. I was stunned. And then I sobbed. And I tapped. My reply wasn't nice. I tapped furiously and closed windows so the neighbors wouldn't hear me. Chris wrote back, uncertain why I was upset. We traded some e-mails. I tried to eat, but I had no appetite, not even for weeds. I watched part of a video on how to eat to avoid cancer. The tapping must have helped. I stayed up, alternately watching the video and checking for responses from Chris. Then I remembered to run the dishwasher. At 11 I paused the video and went to bed.

*  Raised bed for growing salad greens  *

More pop-ups - wish I could remember what I planted

I got up at 7:30. I read e-mail until just after 8 and then started my exercise routine, followed by juicing and clean-up. How it took me until 10:30 to start preparing breakfast is beyond me. Nothing I can remember took any longer than usual, but how did it get so late? After eating most of breakfast, I called the mortgage company to investigate a HARP loan. A very nice young man answered and talked to me. I had a lot of questions and I think he wasn't used to dealing with someone with a math background. He got called away to a meeting and so promised to call me at 3:30. I went to Stitch-Its and worked on my 16-patch quilt top until it was all one piece. I think I did more talking than sewing. Marjorie told me how she grows lettuce in a potting soil bag. I got home by 2:30 and started using on-line mortgage calculators to verify his numbers, but they did not come out the same way. I opened a spreadsheet to run my own calculations, but used an awful lot of time learning how to enter info in the cells. The “Help” file wasn't much help. I enjoyed running different scenarios until almost 5. Then I stopped to call the man and he did not answer so I left a message. It rained while I was gone, and lightly all afternoon. I got the mail – junk. I checked the garden and found new sprouts. I picked a few things for a smoothie: pea leaves and a pod, dandelion, mint, chickweed, kale, spinach and oxalis.  The chickweed was really hard to find.  I added some broccoli and a yellow pepper from the fridge. After I ate, I investigated sea minerals for improved gardens. It sounds like one of my supplements so I might try that first. I also looked up pocket hoses, which Marjorie also recommended. But the reviews were mostly bad, indicating low quality. I fast-forwarded through some videos on-line, and decided to watch a Netflix video. It was called Made of Honor. It was mostly a cute movie and I would like to recommend it, but there were too many scenes in bad taste. When the movie was over, I checked e-mail one last time, and went to bed, amazed how late it was.

Little green apples

When I went to bed last night, my hands felt hot and swollen. So I propped them up when I went to sleep. I got up at 6:30, then went back to bed. I did not realize it was so late when I got up again at 7:45. I read e-mail while holding a bag of frozen peas in my hands. I finished a video from last night, exercised, juiced and made breakfast. My hands and wrists still hurt from yesterday, so I put both wrist splints on. I printed out a document that Chris sent me. I called the lady at the bank but she was at lunch. I rooted around in my sewing room to find fabric for Sunday and the next guild meeting. At 1, I called her back and left a message. When she returned my call, I told her I needed to fax the document and she said to come down to the bank. So I jumped in the car and drove over, not cognizant of how I must look. I took the splints off in the car but there was nothing I could do about the lack of bra. She kindly sent the fax and went on to the next customer. The traffic on Airport Road was just endless. I put the splints back on. When I got home, I checked the mail and told Chris what he needed to know. I cleared more e-mail and watched another video. I finished breakfast. I went downstairs to cut strips. I came up to see how many I would need. 5. Then I went outside to water the newly planted patches of ground. I picked some garlic blossoms and wild lettuce to eat. I was surprised that the squash had sprouted already. And I found a fully formed pea pod. I also found little green apples that fell off the tree prematurely. I collected them in my shirt and brought them inside. I sliced them thinly to get all the hidden rotten spots. Then I put the pieces in the Bullet with a banana, frozen rhubarb, and coconut milk. It was pretty good but not sweet. I went down to count strips. There were 15, so I had plenty. I wrapped them for Sunday. I also cut 7 strips for the next guild meeting. I watched a video while trying to slow my breath and do some tapping. I made a sprout and broccoli smoothie for supper, but was unable to eat it all. I took my tablet and drove to church for choir practice. It was shorter than usual because we are almost done for the year. The organist did not show up, so we asked the new Jennifer to play when she came in. And with no warning, she did an outstanding job. There was one song with no intro and she made one up that was very fitting. I was so impressed. She is starting a praise band this summer so we talked about that. I went home to check the tablet. I was having a bit of trouble with the piano app. Sadly, that lead to playing 2048. It surprised me when I made it and then asked if I wanted to continue playing. Well, I did. But then I found that after all that wanting the 2048 tile, it becomes a real nuisance on the board. Then it was time to finish a tapping video and go to bed.

*  This is from the guild meeting show and tell.  *

Tomatoes are starting to blossom

I rehung the shower curtain last night, then went to bed with a tapping book. I tapped through several 'chapters' before turning off the light. I got up at 7:30, and read e-mail. I watched a video on the cancer epidemic while exercising and juicing. I added trace minerals to the juice, and it was not bad.
I meditated. I thought I had time to eat breakfast so I made it but then had to leave it for later. I put my drybrushing brush in some soapy water to soak. I drove to post to get the mail. Then to the Sew Faithful group to visit them But they had to clear the room for another group so that did not last long. I was talking to Beverly outside when my phone rang. It was the optometrist's office calling to give me an appointment with a specialist in two weeks. Then I went to the Asian store for kimbap. It was made by someone else this week and was not as good. On the way home I stopped for gas. When I got home, I ate all of my breakfast and all of the kimbap with kimchi. I could feel myself in an eating mood, so I needed to get out of the house and away from the food. I went to the bank to talk to the account specialist about refinancing. It did not seem like she could give me a great rate, but she promised to have a mortgage specialist call me. She gave me some homework on finding out a few key things about the loans. When I got home, I e-mailed Chris about the bills. And I called our mortgage company. But they refused to talk to me without written permission from Chris. And they would not accept an e-mail, only a fax. I laid in the sun until the ants bit me.  (That seems so unfair considering how tolerant I've been.)  I cleared more e-mail, getting below 50 unread for the first time in a long time.  I watched an episode of TQS.  I worked on designing a smaller circular border. I cooked a sweet potato in the toaster oven. I put on pants and shoes to try out the weed eater. I was less than impressed with the job it did around the fence, or anywhere. Maybe it takes practice? I also tried the trimmer function. I checked my garden and found a good-sized pea pod, and a tomato blossom. I ate the pod and put the trimmer away and got out the clippers. I started with a plan of clipping one bush a day so as not to overdo it. I could not finish the first bush without a ladder, so I started a second one. And the others followed. I trimmed what I could reach on all of them. By then it was almost dark, so I put my tools away and came in to read e-mail. I listened to Maryann Williamson's campaign speech as I looked through pins of quilts on Pinterest. Then I got a link to a video of tapping for being uncomfortable with money. The tapping expert was using a 635 nanometer laser on the patient's aural acupuncture points. Fascinating. She was also doing muscle testing, and the extra water I have been drinking made it work really well. I paused the video at 10 to write to my blog.

*  This is the red project I worked on yesterday  *

Memorial Day or Chris' birthday, depending on where you are

I got up a little after 8, disappointed that the phone alarm either did not go off or did not wake me. I reset it for 9 so I could hear it. When it rang, it was so quiet and soothing that it wouldn't wake someone on coffee. I read e-mail and went through my usual routine. By the time I got to breakfast it was 11. Then I packed a lunch, and put needles and hoops in my sewing box. I figured I would work on Barbara's quilt and invite others to join me. I also put in the set of red squares as a back up project. I am glad I did because Jodi did not come, so neither did Barbara's quilt. So I sewed all the red squares together and pressed the seams open. Then I ate my lunch, which was significantly later than the others ate. Because it was Memorial Day, they had potato salad and pork barbeque and chocolate cheesecake. Dinah decorated the table very nicely. My second project of the day was to sew the 16- patch squares together. I placed them on the design wall and Laurie helped me reorganize them. Them I started sewing. But I stopped when I remembered that I needed to save something to do for the Thursday group. I took my projects home. I ate some kimchi and finished up the eggs. I was going to mow, but then Dad called to return my call on Saturday and he told me how it was such a bad day 'cause Mom fell. Again. After I talked to him, I went out to rake the tall grass under the magnolia so I could mow it. But it was hard raking, and then I heard thunder. So I went ahead and mowed it before it could get wet and harder to mow. There was power left in the battery, so I mowed the worst of the back yard and some in the front yard and some in the side yard. I put the mower away and thought about the weedeater we bought. Thinking I could just plug it in and go, I opened the box and started reading the instructions. Some assembly required. Groan. I had to install the guard, which did not look like the picture until I realized the trimmer was rotated the wrong way. Then a handle had to be installed. And finally, the daylight faded. I guess it is ready for tomorrow. So I turned my attention to the circular border. I have a plan B, but I remember seeing it used on a quilt in a book. So I got out that book and could not find it in there. But I did see an interesting piecing technique which I was tempted to try. I looked through a few other books, but no dice. Then I came across a book on tessellations. It is not a quilting book, but any of the diagrams could be made into quilts. I realized that I missed supper. So, I came up and made a broccoli and sprout smoothie, with sea salt and fiber powder. It was reasonable. I then remembered that earlier in the day I had had a great idea for a smoothie with a banana in it. But sadly I forgot what went with the banana. Chris sent me an e-mail that reminded me of his birthday. I hadn't exactly forgotten, I thought it was tomorrow (the 27^th), but it already is the 27^th where he is. Happy Birthday, Chris. Faye and I texted each other through skype. I always like hearing from her. But then she had to go to bed so she could get up for work. And it was time for me to go to bed.

Washing the shower curtain liner

I got up at 5:30, cleared some e-mail and went back to bed. When I got up the second time, it was 7:30. I was having a bad dream about kids playing with my trombone, and damaging it. I read some e-mail, and made breakfast. I noticed that even with extra water changes, something was growing on the water my nuts soak in. At 7:54 my new phone's alarm went off. Sadly it was just a vibrating hum. I would have never heard it from the bedroom. I checked and yes it is set for playing an annoying tune. So I don't know why it did not ring. The old phone did not ring. But the screen was still working. Maybe it has developed an allergy to the sim card? I made and ate breakfast, then took a shower. I had trouble deciding what to wear. But I was ready to leave by 9. There was only one person sitting in church when I got there. I talked to her until her husband arrived. We only had one service today which I thought would be well attended. But I saw very few early service people, and lots of late service people. The intern gave the sermon and Pastor Ettraim did communion. After the service, I talked to Jeanne about the altar cloths she wants to collaborate on. When I left, I went home to change clothes, and then to the grocery store. When I got back, I put the groceries away and finished breakfast. I read e-mail, and folded laundry. Some of it was not dry yet. I think it is the humidity. I moved the nut storage container from the garage to the basement which is much cooler. I laid in the sun for awhile, and got bit by ants. I soaked a new Brita filter and replaced the old one. I laid down for awhile. Then I took down the shower curtain liner and laid it in the driveway. It had mildew on it. I mixed some Borax in a bucket, and sprayed the worst parts with stain remover. I used a mop to clean it. However, the pavement was exceedingly hot so I did a quick job it. My poor feet. I left it lying in the sun. If the Borax doesn't kill the mildew, maybe the heat will. In the cool basement, I redrafted the circular border, and added background pieces so it will have an octagonal edge. I was ready to mount it on cardboard to cut up into templates, but my cardboard needed to lay flat for awhile. I mowed the back lawn, and swept magnolia blossoms from the driveway. I put sprouts and broccoli in the Bullet. For dessert I had square of dark chocolate with blueberries. Somehow the bag of frozen berries fell over and a bunch went all over the kitchen floor. I picked those up, but missed the ones on the carpet. Those defrosted and made stains. I read e-mail, and went through new quilt pins on Pinterest. Since I created my own page, I have gained three followers, and several people have repinned some of the pics. It is a nice feeling. At 10, I was ready to write to my blog. I realized that I forgot to make hummus. I googled Bullet recipes and one said it would take 5 minutes. I had 5 minutes. But it was 45 minutes later that I scooped out the hummus into a jar and started the clean-up process. No food gets wasted around here. Whatever I don't eat, the roaches will. Kurt called so I could test my phone.  It works, but not with the ringtone I selected.   NOW I am ready for bed.
*  My PVC drying rack.  Not much good in 84 humid degrees.  *

Planting the seeds...better late than never

I got up at 6 not realizing it was so early. I read e-mail until 7, then went back to bed until 8. I heard my phone alarm go off, so I checked it, and it went white screen again. I read e-mail, and put the Netflix movie in the mail. I skipped exercises, but I juiced and meditated. I put my phone in a bag with desiccant packets. I cooked the quinoa that has been soaking for over a day now. I ate most of breakfast, and took my vitamins. I made up another week's worth, then put in a Swansons for those that ran low. I was going to sew, but realized the laundry needed washing. So I put one load in, and turned my attention to the sewing room. I cleaned it up a little, then tried to make a decision on fabrics for the border for sri yantra. I liked them all. But I had to narrow it down. The first load finished, and I made a drying rack out of PVC. I love PVC: it's like tinker toys for adults. I checked the mail and there was another piece for the Bannisters. I decided to tweak the border for Sri Yantra and did a whole house search for the original drawing. I finally found it, and used Openoffice Draw to make it to scale and do a variation. Then I played with the kaleidoscope software. I put the drained quinoa in a Bullet mug with the perforated top, upside down in a bowl so it can continue to drain in the fridge. I read e-mail. I dug up the garden and flower bed to add horse manure. I planted seeds on top, which is a little late in the year, but I have high hopes for the special cucumbers and squash. It was a lot of work. My phone was still not working, so I put the sim card in the new phone. I had to figure out how to get the phone numbers from the sim card to the new phone. Then, the old phone was working ???! I left it on to see if the alarm still works (tomorrow at 8). I set the alarm on the new phone, but it does not have a day of the week option. I fried up some duck eggs and ate a few. They were so filling that I did not have any Bullet smoothie. I skyped with Chris and Michele for about an hour. I closed garage door, and still the laundry was not dry. I put the eggs away and wrote to my blog so I could go to bed.

Fun with photos

I was surprised to hear the alarm go off at 8 because it seemed much earlier than that. I deleted the easily deletable e-mails. I drank water and swished with oil. I tried to get the splinter out of my toe, but there was just not enough light. I tried planking and several other core exercises, but I did not want to take any chances with my back. I listed to audios while I juiced and ate breakfast. Rebecca called to say she was in the area and to invite me to lunch. I had to decline, so she came over with her lunch. After she ate, we looked at the kaleidoscope software. it sounds repetitive, but it was lots of fun and I think she might buy her own. We talked about making one of Barbara, but neither of us had a good picture of her. Then we went down to look at books of quilting patterns for the borders of Barbara's quilt. After perusing many books, we found one we both liked for its simplicity and effect. She left about 5. I ate supper (lunch) and read e-mail. I played around with the software, making kaleidoscopes out of photos on my laptop. Then I made a veggie smoothie with the Bullet. Still not smooth.  I stacked and ran the dishwasher. I went downstairs to watch “Accidental Husband”. Then I came up to look up one of the characters that I think I have seen before, but I don't remember any of the things he's been in. I looked on the kaleidoscope software website for tutorials. And now it is time to go to bed.
*  This is a magnolia blossom which is beginning to bloom in water  *

Bracing myself

I am not sure when I got up because I forgot to check the time. My phone alarm went off at 8 and I wondered if it would have done that without a sim card. After deleting the first round of e-mail, I took a break to collate the recyclables. I took them out to the bin, but for so little it did not seem worth risking my wrist to carry it to the street. When I came in, I got pliers to get the bulb socket out of the light fixture, but it didn't work. So I got a piece of rubber to wrap around the stem and I was able to turn it until it came out. I tried turning on the light, but it stayed dark. Then I began my exercises. I wanted something to listen to, but my laptop was not cooperating and I figured it needed rebooting. I tried to use the tablet instead, but it can't handle my need to skip ahead in the audio to find the interesting parts, and I did not have an hour and a half to listen to all of that audio. Finally the laptop rebooted and I found something to play while I finished exercising and juicing. Getting out the veggies to juice, I found the lemons I have been looking for all week. I made breakfast and ate that and then it was time to go. My box was already packed and I did not need a lunch, so I just rolled my stuff out to the car and drove to Thursday quilting. I worked on my 16-patch blocks. When I had finished 25 of them, I laid them out on the table to get them in some sort of order and then I photographed the arrangement. I asked the ladies where I could buy generic computer glasses, and they told me that regular reading glasses in a weaker strength would do the trick. It was after 2 when I packed up and went home. I had a bite for lunch and then mowed the lawn, finishing that tricky spot under the pine trees and starting the lawn all over again. The wrist support made it hard to mow and chaffed. So I changed to a new splint. I think the first one is actually for the right hand. And this one matches my outfit. I drank water and read e-mail. I did some tapping for various issues and people. I looked up how to copy my phone address book to the sim card in case the phone ever dies again. I went outside to eat the last of the quinoa. I noticed a low branch on the tree by the patio. So I got the clippers and took it off. Then another stood out, , and another one, and soon I was standing back and thinking maybe I should have left it alone. I tried to read e-mail then, but the laptop could not load messages from Yahoo. So I tried it on the desktop. What was on the screen seemed locked, and then the cursor started roaming the screen. At first I thought someone had hijacked my computer, but the pattern was too random. Nothing got clicked. Using the tab key and cntl/shift W, I was able to clear the browser and restart it. I read some e-mail, then stopped for supper. I picked some oxalis and added broccoli and snack sprouts to the Bullet. I mixed it well, but I still had to chew the result. At least it tasted good. I mowed parts of the backyard that somehow avoided the mower. It went better with the second brace. I watched some tapping videos. I took brace off because it got so hot, and applied frozen peas. Then I replaced the brace, wanting to make sure the wrist is completely healed before I give it up. While still listening, I packed up the new phone to go back to the store. I donated to Plan International for their work in the Philippines. My keyboard got so hot that it was uncomfortable to type on. I turned the laptop over, and sat in the den to listen. When the audio was over, I posted to my blog and went to bed.

* This is my brother after his head surgery.  In case some of my readers are squeamish, I did not post the pics of his crescent-shaped scar.    This is for something called a  BAHA  *

Phone issues

I got up at 8 when I heard my phone alarm. But when I tried to turn it off, all I got was a white screen. I plugged it in to recharge and went back to bed. A little while later, I got up again. I wanted to drink water with lemon in it, but could not find any lemons in the fridge. I checked the phone and the screen was still white. I turned it off and on twice, but to no avail. Denise called to set a time to come over. I told her to give me an hour. In that hour I finished my exercises, skipped drybrushing, juiced and made breakfast. I was in the middle of eating when she arrived. She wanted to tap outside, so I took my breakfast and we sat on the back patio. Later we moved to the grassy area and got grounded. I gave her my set of tapping sheets for clutter. We moved inside to get out of the sun. We talked and then tapped. As she left, her phone rang. I went back inside. Later she rang the bell and said she'd forgotten to tell me about how she uses her Magic Bullet. I learned a few things from her, and then she had to go. I called the sewing machine store to see about a foot pedal, but the man who rewires them was gone. I laid out in the sun, working on my tan. I mowed, which was surprisingly short. This time I cannot blame wet grass. I took a shower, then went to Great Clips for a walk-in hair cut. She did well and I did not have to wait. From there, I went to the AT&T store for a new phone.
The salesman told me I would have to go on Ebay to get a phone like the one I have. But I wanted a new phone now, so he showed me what was available. I picked one and he transferred my sim card to the new phone. He told me that my old one had gotten wet. But I couldn't imagine how. After I paid and left the store, I walked to the optometrist office. I told them that my new glasses weren't very helpful since they were only good for reading books and driving. They suggested progressive lenses or computer glasses. Each would involve $150 to $200. Since dollar store reading glasses work just fine for me, I figured I could get dollar store computer glasses – just generic glasses with a different focal length. They also said I expected glasses to make my vision like it was before and that that will never happen. And there are no eye exercises that will help. I kept my opinion to myself and drove home. I read e-mail, and watched a LONG video by David Wolfe on issues that affect health. I paused it at 7 to mow the lawn. The mower did well everywhere except on the grass under the pine trees. The grass is thick but not tall or wet. Still it just can't handle it. I put the mower away, and picked some weeds for a weed smoothie. I put them in the Magic Bullet cup and added some broccoli sprouts. That may have been a mistake. What came out was not delicious. But I chewed and drank most of it. I decided that tomorrow's smoothie would contain neither dandelion or broccoli sprouts. I finished the video and the doorbell rang. It was my Swanson's order. My wrist has been bothering me since Monday night, so I put on a wrist support. That made it hard to type. I did some tapping, finishing up a pdf window that has been open for maybe a month now. My brother e-mailed to say there must be some way to connect my old phone to the computer to transfer the phone numbers. He (recovering from head surgery) wanted to know the model of my phone. I could not tell from the outside of the phone. For some reason I powered it up and the screen came on, asking for a sim card. “But you're dead”, I replied. Still, I opened the back casing and took out the battery. I could see the model number then. I had a devil of a time opening up the new phone. I had to look up the manual online, but even then. Once I got it open, and took the sim card out, I could not get it into the space on the old phone. More searching online. Finally I found a video showing a man sliding it under the casing, which did not work when I tried it. But knowing that that was the proper thing to do, I tried it with a little more force and it went in. I powered up the phone and it seems to be working. I wonder if At&t will take the other one back?

*  Here is a pic from the guild meeting  *

The magic bullet

I got up at 7:37, and read a little e-mail. I wanted to go back to bed, but I tapped and focused on drinking lots of water. I exercised, and drybrushed. When I stood up, my hand brushed one of the light bulbs overhed and it broke. I wondered how to unscrew the base from the light fixture with no bulb to hold on to, and without cutting myself. I juiced a cucumber, celery and carrots. I took yesterday's block and drove to post to get the mail, then went to the quilt group. I wrote my name on the block and put it in the basket. I talked to Jane who assured me that there should be free home health care for the elderly in Virginia like there is in Alabama. Then I talked to Beverly and Jodi. They wanted me to stay for the potluck, but I had other things to do. I stopped by the Asian store for kimbap, then came home and ate it, thinking it was better than whatever was on the potluck table. With kimchi, it tasted so good. I mowed on the side and in the front. It seemed like such a short time before the battery ran down. I laid out in the sun in my bathing suit. The sun felt like a long lost friend. I read e-mail. I tried to find contact info for my mother's doctor, knowing I had seen her e-mail address on something my father sent to everyone in his address book, but could not locate it. Jennifer called to ask me to tap for her son, and told me about his situation. I drank more water, then went outside to tap. Of course that led to yardwork. I raked under the magnolia tree and mowed under there, and in the side yard. I did not finish the yard, but maybe tomorrow. I found two marigolds growing on the property line. Where they come up shows me the flow of excess rainwater. I wonder if they were growing in the neighbors lawn before he mowed it. I picked some kale, spinach, dandelion and pea leaves. I must be the only person who tries not to mow over dandelion. While it soaked, I read e-mail, then washed and dried the greens and put them in one of the magic bullet containers. It wasn't very smooth. So I looked online at Youtube videos. Some people thought it was crap, and others used it for fruit smoothies which I wouldn't do. But I did learn that there are two blades and I used the wrong one. I cleared more e-mail, and watched a Youtube video of Marie talking about her experiences in the state department.  I also watched some tapping videos and the free material that came with them. Finally it was time to post and go to bed, but I thought about staying up to tap some more. Being so well hydrated really makes the tapping work much better.

*  This is Bertha's latest Project Linus quilt top  *

What to do with leftover half square triangles

My day started sometime after 7:30. I squeezed some lemon into a pitcher of water and was drinking that and reading e-mail when my phone alarm rang. I only need it on Sunday but forgot to turn it off. Tapping videos came in my e-mail, so I did a few of those. I put the Netflix movie in the mail. I played a music audio while exercising and drybrushing. I tried to figure out the blender system Faye gave me. No instructions were included. I considered turning on the heat since the house temp was down to 67, but I planned to be away all day so it seemed a bit wasteful. I juiced cucumber, celery and green beans. I cleaned up and meditated, using one of the chants. I mowed as much of the back lawn as the mower could handle. Then I packed a lunch and some purple fabric and scraps in my sewing box. It must have been about noon when I got to quilting. I was very warmly greeted. The others had finished their lunch. I set up my sewing machine and Rebecca arrived. I gave her the card with the kaleidoscope of a quilt on it. She wanted to see the software that created it, so we set a time on Friday for her to come over. She ate her lunch and I ate mine. Then I worked on the purple patches. I had some leftover purple and white half square triangles which I trimmed to 2 inches. I made a few more to add up to 12. Then I trimmed an equal number of green hst's. I made little green and purple diamonds by sewing them together. I needed more purple to finish it up. So I turned my attention to the blue and white cross project. I feel compelled to finish it even though I have decided that it is too big and I should start over in a smaller scale. I guess I have to prove to myself that I can do it. I talked to Rebecca a lot so consequently did not get more done. About 5:30 I packed up. When I got home, I ate the last piece of salmon, and the rest of breakfast. Then I mowed until the mower had had enough. If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I might have a chance at finishing the lawn. I pulled wild violets out of the flowerbed and replaced them with the marigolds that came up in the driveway. I raked a barrow full of leaves and called it a day. I came in and ate half a sweet potato and some quinoa. I jotted some notes for my blog. After reading the latest e-mail and doing some tapping, I decided to finish the block I started. It is due tomorrow. I thought it would be quick, but when I came up for air, it was almost 10. My foot pedal made sizzling sounds and will need to be replaced. But the block is done and I can go to bed.

Look what popped up

I heard the phone alarm go off at 8, but was too tired to get up because I stayed up so late last night finalizing a Swanson's order. Eventually I did get up and started reading e-mail. I started comparing brands of colostrum and used up so much time that I had to shower and skip breakfast to get to church in time to warm up with the choir. I was still a little dubious about the piece, but Jennifer promised to sing beside me. At the beginning of the service, Tamara asked all those who helped with Sunday School this year to come up front. She gave each of us a gift card to Starbucks. Later in the service, there was a program for all of our graduates, and some treats afterward. I went to the grocery store for the usual. When I got home, I put all the veggies in the fridge. They almost did not fit because of all the containers of rain water. I took some colostrum, and then made the breakfast that I skipped this morning. I put two turkey burgers in a baking pan along with three sweet potatoes (the ones I did not know I had so I bought more), and a piece of cod. While it was baking, I picked a long scape and sliced it up thinly and sprinkled that over the food. I burned my arm when it touched the oven door. I put a small sweet potato in a jar of water. After eating breakfast, I took the cod out, cooked the burgers a little more, and then left the sweet potatoes in for another 40 minutes. I got out an offering envelop for next week and wrote “9:30” on the calendar because there will be only one service next week. I read e-mail and did some tapping. It rained this morning, but by 5pm it was somewhat dry. I mowed inside the fence and then in the back yard. Last week I promised myself that if I could not make good headway on the lawn in four days, I would call Charlie. When the mower ran down, I pulled weeds out of cracks in the driveway. I noticed a new dog at the house across the street – just the size that might leave a pile of crap like on the one on my porch. I picked up leaves and used the wheelbarrow to take them to the yard waste pile. I noticed the tire was flat, so I hunted down the bicycle pump and inflated the tire. It is a new wheelbarrow, so I wondered how it could be flat so soon. I planted another sweet potato which had sprouted while I was gone. I found the marigolds that were missing from the flowerbed. They came up in the driveway. I picked some greens to add to my salad, and ate it while reading e-mail. Then I watched the Netflix movie that has been waiting since I left. It was called “No Reservations” with Catherine Zeta-Jones. I really shouldn't watch romantic movies with Chris gone. But I enjoyed it, and was sorry to see it end. I came up to write to my blog and go to bed.

Help, I'm pinning and I can't stop

I got up at 7:15, thinking that our account was strangely deficient. But then I looked at the statement and figured out where some of it went. I read e-mail, then exercised, unpacked my suitcases, emptied the dishwasher, juiced, and made breakfast. After breakfast, I started a pinterest page so I could have all my quilt pics in one place. Loading pics took a while, and was unnecessarily difficult because the pics were in the wrong date files.  And then the laptop got confused and said it could not find the internet. I switched to the desktop. It had pictures that the laptop did not have. But eventually it got confused too, but in a different way. By then the laptop had sorted itself out. As I was pinning, Denise called, and I talked to her for awhile. I went out to check the mail. You'd think with a new mailbox, we'd get better mail, but it was the same old junk mail. Bob did not replace the pole which is falling backward, but he did shim the box so that it is level. The grass was not so wet, so I decided to mow. The garage door on that side would not open. It does not seem to be connected to the opener. So I used the other side. I mowed in the back yard until I realized that I was flattening the grass, not cutting it anymore. It was a good time to quit. I turned the mower over and removed the blade with a wrench. I took 'before' pics in case I had trouble reassembling it, but there was no confusion.  I tried to sharpen the blade with the electric grinding wheel that the landlord left in the garage.  But it was turning the wrong way, and mounted such that I could not get the blade into position.  So I had to do it by hand with a file.  I hope I did it right. After I finished, I swept up the clippings from yesterday and raked some of the leaves under the magnolia tree.  I found turds on the back deck. It must have been a large dog to leave something that size. I ate a piece of fish for supper and collected some dandelion, pea leaves, and spinach for a salad. I washed the greens and put quinoa in a pot to cook. I went back to 'pinning' my quilt photos on Pinterest. It was a most addictive activity. There are 163 pic on my page now. Just as I finished the pic from the file that was open, Chris and Michele skyped me. They had been playing with the voices again. It was good to see Chris (who had video going) and to hear Michele (who was audio only). After an hour of talking, I had to finish up and go to bed. There is church tomorrow.

Getting back to the old routine and learning something new

I set the alarm on my phone for 7CST for Cecily, hoping I would wake up before that. I woke up at 6:30. I was going to go back to bed, but then Cecily got up early ,too. So I checked e-mail and chatted with her as she got ready to leave. She pulled out about 7:38. I hope she did not get caught in school traffic. I loaded the dishwasher and ran it. I put some quinoa in a jar to soak. I read more e-mail – it just keeps on coming. I played through the choir piece for Sunday. It is one I haven't heard before since I missed the practices. I went outside thinking to get in an early mowing, but the grass was still wet. I read more e-mail and watched a cooking video for thyroid function. I put on a longer audio to play while I bounced, exercised and drybrushed. I made cucumber/carrot juice. Then I meditated. I made breakfast and ate it all. I went to the bank for cash, and ended up talking to one of the managers about rental problems. She has had them, too. Then I went to the fish market for salmon and cod. When I got home, it was time to mow. I raised the deck, but somehow it did not stay raised. I got about the same amount done as yesterday. I slid my finger along the blade to see how sharp it was, and it wasn't sharp at all. But then, I don't know how sharp mower blades are supposed to be. I ate a piece of the salmon. I parsed out 9 days worth of supplements. I took one day with Vitamin C water. Then I laid out in the sun for a little bit. When I came in, I made notes for my blog. I planted two carrot tops. I replanted a sprouted carrot top into the flower bed by the fence. I checked the pea plants and was able to eat some pea pods. The spinach was bolting, but I pinched off the flowers. I pulled weeds growing in the cracks of the steps. I trimmed things to big to pull. I dusted some ant hills with Amdro. I found some marigolds growing in the cracks, so I replanted them in the flower bed. I was tempted to trim the bushes but decided to leave them for another day. I read e-mail for awhile, then played around with my kaleidoscope software. At 6:30 I started the detox process by taking 500 mg of niacin. The flush started soon afterward. I went out to mow again. I got part of the side yard done and a few rows of the back where it is pretty tall. It wasn't really the kind of exercise that breaks a sweat. So then I put the hottest water in the tub and got in. But that did not make me sweat either. So I drank water and wrapped up in my warmest robe with fleece socks and got in bed. Still no sweat. I made and drank some hot tea and went back to bed. But still no sweat. I went downstairs to watch a video, then came up to find something more productive to do. I experimented with printing out kaleidoscopes on regular paper and photo paper. The printer needed a new color cartridge, but I couldn't remember how Chris replaced the last one. I looked it up on Youtube, and although there wasn't exactly what I wanted, I learned just enough to do the job. It took me two trys to get the paper in the right way and print one out. Then it was time for bed.

Coming home and sew on

I woke up at 7:15. I read e-mail, and did my exercises. I woke Cecily at 8 and took a shower. We went to the breakfast room at the hotel. I got an orange which I took back to the room to eat with my leftover breakfast from yesterday. I packed, then brought up the rolling trolley to load our stuff. Cecily watched the weather channel to see what was ahead. By 9 we were on the road. I read the GPS aloud to Cecily as she drove. We stopped at a Subway west of Chattanooga for lunch. On a whim, I pulled out my tablet to e-mail Faye, and it connected to their wi-fi instantly. Cecily thought she would like to be able to do that. Then we drove on into Huntsville. When we got to the house, I could see that the lawn needed mowing and there was a new mailbox, but not a new pole. The old pole was covered by a bush that must have grown there after I left for Virginia. After we unpacked the car, I watered the houseplants, which looked amazingly good for going two weeks without water. I unpacked the food box and put out a dish of nuts to soak until tomorrow. I brought in the mail and separated it. I checked my garden and saw that everything had grown exponentially except the spinach. We took Cecily's car to post for that mail. There was not as much as I expected. I wrote the amounts and due dates on the envelopes while Cecily put gas in her car. Then we stopped at Kroger for groceries. They did not have much in the way of organic greens. I got just enough food to last me until Sunday. When we got back, I turned on my desktop so Cecily could send e-mail, and play Freecell. She lost a game and ruined my perfect record. I e-mailed Chris about the bills. I put on my suit and laid in the sun. Clouds kept interrupting so I did not stay out long. I redressed, and checked my e-mail to see what was due at guild meeting tonight. I wanted to enter the challenge, but there was too little time left. I went into the basement to cut strips and make 2 blocks. I asked Cecily for her purse so I could re-sew one of the corners. After finishing, I ate some kimchi, chicken, and a kiwi. Then I got out the lawn mower and used it in the front yard. I did not get as far as I usually do because the long grass wore out the battery more quickly. Cecily made herself a salad for supper. I checked e-mail one last time, then went to the guild meeting. When I got there, I realized that I had forgotten to bring a tab-top can and a fat quarter. Oh, well, at least I brought strips and blocks. During the business part of the meeting, I sorted all the donated strips and mixed them up. I took mine back to my seat. The program portion of the meeting was 4 talks by longarm quilters. They talked about how they got into the business and some things the rest of us should keep in mind. The quilts they held up were beautiful, but I could not see the quilting from where I sat. After the meeting, I talked to Rebecca. She asked why I did not bring my mother-in-law to the meeting and I had no response. It literally did not occur to me to ask her, but she might have enjoyed it. Then again, Cecily was asleep when I got home. I let myself in, and proceeded to check e-mail and listen to one last thyroid audio. Then I posted to my blog and went to bed.

*  from the guild meeting  *

Over halfway home

I woke up at 7:15, turned on the router and drank a glass of water. I read e-mail and listened to a meditation from Oprah. Cecily got up at 8 and looked in to see if I was awake. I dressed, shut down my computer, and ate half of my breakfast. I put the rest in a small container to save for tomorrow. We were in the car and on our way by 8:45. Cecily knew the first part of the way, so she did not turn on the GPS until our first rest stop. For our second stop, we ate lunch at Cracker Barrel. During the driving, we talked, and then sang with the songs on CD's that she brought: Abba, John Denver, Phantom of the Opera, and Peter, Paul and Mary. Though rain was forecast, we did not encounter any. We stopped at the Comfort Inn just north of Knoxville. My large jar of kimchi in the trunk area had fermented and overflowed even though it was doublebagged. I tried to dab it all up with napkins. I ate some of the kimchi to make space and we put it in fresh bags. Then we walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Cecily noticed that the mark on my forehead was back. However, by the end of dinner, she said it had disappeared again. She speculated that it was all the water I drank during dinner. We walked back to the hotel. She watched the food channel.  I booted up my computer and it applied over 16,000 updates.  (Just tellin' you what it said.)   I read e-mail and listened to thyroid audios. She went to bed and I stayed up to finish on the computer.

*  From Paducah show  *

A day of Sudoku

I got up at 7 and drank two glasses of water, then turned on the router so I could read e-mail. I tapped for the frustration that I am not at home mowing the lawn and tending the garden. I said a prayer for my houseplants. I did a load of laundry so I would have a pair of shorts to wear. Then I sat outside in the sun doing the killer Sukokus. When the laundry was dry, I folded it and took a shower. I did more Sudoku. I ate my last two eggs for breakfast at lunchtime. No more chick surprise. I read e-mail, and got it down to 60 unread. That is progress. At 4 I took my empty kimchi jar and walked to the Korean convenience store to buy a full jar. I indicated that I liked it sour and she told me to leave it out for a day. Then she gave me a small plastic container with sour kimchi in it. I opened it and tasted a piece. She said “You eat now” and she took me behind the counter and got out a very large spoonful of rice from her fridge so I could eat it with the kimchi. She tried to microwave the rice, but I asked her not to. Then she went to help a customer. I wasn't sure what the polite thing to do was, so I ate some rice and kimchi, and then put some of the rice in the kimchi container. Knowing Cecily was making supper, I could not eat it all. I thanked her and walked back. I told Cecily the story and she laughed. We talked as she made supper. Al grilled a pork loin. We ate supper and watched Jeopardy. Al's package did not arrive by 8 as it was supposed to. Cecily and I packed our suitcases. I made up my last breakfast for tomorrow so the food box could go in the car. Then I got on my laptop to delay the mail another day, and check for e-mail from my husband. I plugged in my electronic devices to recharge, esp. the tablet in case we get lost.  I watched some NCIS with Alfred, then went to bed.

Catching up on e-mail

I got up sometime after 7. I read some e-mail, and exercised. I talked to Cecily. She gave me all the specialty Sudokus in the back of her book. I ate breakfast,and we talked some more. I put on my bathing suit and laid out in the sun in the back yard. Then I took a shower. I made some notes for my blog later. Cecily helped me make some notes for a letter to the doctor about the kind of help Mom needs. I ate turkey wrapped in lettuce for lunch. I listened to two thyroid audios. I worked 2 Sudoku puzzles of the kind with no numbers entered. Cecily cooked supper while I watched a video on net neutrality. Then we ate rotisserie chicken, baked tomatoes, asparagus, and spinach salad. We also watched Jeopardy. I heard that Alfred's computer should arrive tomorrow evening, and he wants to be here to sign for it. It looks like we'll leave Wednesday morning. I spent the rest of the evening catching up on e-mail and tapping. 

*  This pic was taken at the show in Paducah  *

Mother's Day is no walk in the park

I got up at 7:45. I got Mom dressed in her bathroom, rolled her out to den, and fixed her hair while Dad got her pills ready. I fed her Ensure and water with pills. She watched TV while I took a shower and got dressed. Then I ate a pre-made breakfast from yesterday. I threw out the rest of the expired food to make room to roll the wheelchair through the utility room. I started packing up my stuff, but was not able to finish before Dad took Mom out to the car. I put her in the car while he locked the house doors. Then I drove us to church. We were actually early. I put Mom in her wheelchair and Dad rolled her into the church. He went down to warm up with the choir and I put Mom in a pew and folded the wheelchair into the foyer. Faye joined us in the pew. During the service I watched Dad struggle to stay awake up in the choir. After the service, I fed Mom in the multipurpose room while Faye and Dad went for subs. Floyd put acupuncture needles in Mom's ears. He did the same thing to a teenager sitting near Mom. When Faye returned, she gave me a salad. She and I ate our lunches, but Dad said he was not hungry. I was thinking “Who are you, and what have you done with my father?” Then we drove to the mall. Dad ate his sub there while Faye and I pushed Mom around the inside. After 4 rounds, Faye took her to the bathroom and changed her. After 2 more rounds it was time for the walker. I went to the car to get it and found Dad just waking up from a nap. He tucked some crackers in his pocket and carried the walker into the mall. We went to a seldom-used entrance. Faye helped Mom with the walker, and stretched each of her legs. Then I called the Damours to say we were on our way. We put Mom in the car. I said goodbye to Faye, and drove us home. I got Mom into her wheelchair and into the house. I finished packing. Alfred came in the back door. He must have rung the front doorbell and gotten no answer. After awhile, Cecily came in, too. We talked about harnesses for wheelchairs. We got all my stuff loaded in their car. They (and I) drove about a block away when I realized that I had left my blue bag. So we went back for it. Then we drove to Chester and unloaded my stuff. We talked for just a little while and then went to Outback for supper. I got the crabmeat and tilapia. It was very salty. Cecily gave me her sweet potato. The topic of conversation was what Mom's doctor needed to know to order skilled home health care for Mom at home. When we got back, Al showed me pictures of Marie's new house. Cecily talked about how easy it was to fly from here to Huntsville and back. I called Portia to see if I could catch a ride with her husband, but he was already on his way back to Huntsville. Then Cecily wanted to see my tablet because she was thinking about getting one. I showed her 2048, Skype, GPS, e-mail, Kindle app, piano app, camera, etc. Then she and Al went to bed and I stayed up to post to my blog.

Making a difference

I got up before 9. I turned on my tablet to get the time, and ended up playing 2048. I stopped at 9:06, went out to greet Mom. I fed her pills and Ensure, then changed her shirt from long sleeves to short sleeves, and put her in a pair of coolots. I told Dad we needed to run a fan. I exercised, and juiced, making enough for all of us, using up all the old veggies. Alfred called to say they would rather fly me home. I needed time to wrap my brain around that idea. I made 4 breakfasts, not knowing if I would need all four. Mom said she had to go to the bathroom and it took two of us to clean her up. Then I took Mom outside and read to her. We came in when the rain started. I filled a garbage bag with some of the expired food, picking the most likely to grow moths. It went into the garbage can. Then I cleaned the countertop by the breadbox. It looks better and there is a little more space. Dad was sleeping so I made some command decisions on what should go. Then I rearranged pots and pans under the countertop, moving rarely used items to the back and needed items up front.  I finally felt like I had made a difference.  I cooked a pot of rice for Dad. Mom was ready to go to bed early, so we took her to the bathroom for her bath. I put on my bathing suit like last week and sprayed her down in the tub, then soaped her up, and rinsed her off. Dad held her up and helped her out. I dressed her for bed, brushed her teeth and put on her splints. Dad placed her in bed, and I tried to find her favorite radio station. Then Dad and I sat at the kitchen table to write cards and checks. He ate rice while I wrote the checks. We finished after 10 and he started on his Saturday night checklist. 

*  This is the quilt block I made for Annual Conference.  I was hoping to get a second, more elaborate block made, but there were more important things to do. *

Too tired to swallow

It's hard to remember now what happened this morning. By the time I drybrushed, and fed Mom her pills and Ensure and the rest of the cruciferous juice, it was late. I wore my bathing suit because the house was so hot. I took her outside for awhile for some fresh air. I saw an ant and an inch worm struggling together. The ant wanted to carry the worm to its hill and the worm was determined not to go. But eventually they fell between the cracks in the boards of the deck and I never found out who won. Then she wanted to go to the bathroom and bed, so I put her in the bathroom. I made some veggie juice for all of us and tried to give her some, but she was too tired. I pushed her down into a relaxed position in bed. I sat and watched her for awhile, then I checked on her intermittently while I cleaned the juicer and drank my juice. Then I heard a sound like she had fallen out of bed, but it turned out to be William. The last time I checked on her, she was sitting up and wanted to go to the bathroom. So I helped her. I made my breakfast and ate it keeping an eye on her. That was about 1pm. Then Dad helped me get her up and into the wheelchair and sat her in the den. Dad called in a donation to the public radio station and they announced his name and some others after the current concerto was over.  Mom was slumped over, so I put her to bed. Dad asked me to wake him in an hour, and fell asleep under the desk. I sat in the hallway by the bedroom and listened for motion from Mom while ripping seams open in Dad's hole-y jeans. I cut some patches and pinned them to holes in his jeans and a pair of Faye's pants. I finished patching the three pairs of pants. Dad finished his grocery list and went shopping. I took Mom outside for some fresh air, hoping it would help her swallow her evening pills. That did not work. I did some tapping for her, which did not work either. I think she ate so much yesterday that she just isn't hungry today. When the daylight faded, I brought her in. She wanted to watch TV, so I turned it on. Cecily called and we came up with a plan for Sunday. I went through the pantry cabinet and pulled out all the food past the “Best by” date. I brushed out the moth debris and the webs the spiders built to catch all the moths. Then Mom was ready for bed. Dad came home at that point so I told him about the outdated food. Then Patrick stopped by and wanted to talk. Finally I pushed Mom to the back for her nightly routine. It went well until after toothbrushing. She was thirsty so I gave her water, over and over. Sometimes she could swallow it and sometimes not. It was a long struggle. After over an hour of this, I put her splints on and took her to bed. She might have wanted more water, but seemed too tired to swallow it. I told Dad where Mom was, and about Alfred's plan for Sunday. Then I posted to my blog and hopefully went to bed.
*  This is Mom with the petunia plant Faye gave her for Mother's Day  *

Mother-daughter Banquet

I got up and drybrushed before 9. Mom watched me exercise while waiting for Dad to get her pills. Then I gave her Ensure, then cruciferous juice with pills, and another Ensure. I put a load of dark laundry in the washer. I made vegetable juice, then put in light laundry. I cleaned up the juicer and the area. We all drank some of the juice. I made breakfast, and read e-mail. I put a large patch on one of Dad's shirts. Then I had to open a side seam on his pants in order to patch a hole in the knee. I put on a double patch, decided to patch ahead. I offered to make his long sleeve shirt into short sleeve shirt as better option than patching his worn out sleeves. I laid out in the sun for a little bit while Dad took Mom to the bathroom. I helped him write checks. Then we got Mom dressed. I combed her hair and oiled the flyaways. I took a moment to get myself ready, and then checked e-mail until Faye arrived. She brought me a Bullet (small blender) and coconut water and a pair of pants to mend. Dad took Mom out to the car. Faye helped and I came along for the ride. Dad stayed home. We got to church after the banquet started, but all they had done was have soup. The men of the church were cooking and serving the meal. Carol showed us where to sit, and we were served soup. While the ladies were waiting for the main course, Carol gave out prizes. One was for the mother whose daughter came the farthest. (I think it was a set up.) So Mom got a geranium for that. For the main course, we got a plate with green beans, pork, and cheesy grits with peppers. I skipped the grits. For dessert, they handed out very large strawberries dipped in chocolate. I skipped that, too. Beginning with dessert, two men with guitars played and sang songs. Some were by request, and others were ones that they wrote. Two were John Denver songs. We all sang along with “Take me home, country roads”. Mom ate a lot, but not everything. A man brought us some plastic wrap so we could take it home for Dad. After the gathering was over, I went to the restroom and got caught in a conversation on the way. Shirley told me how impressed she was with how Faye helps my parents and the church. Faye put Mom in the car while I carried the geranium. It was 9:30 when we got back to the house. Mom was ready to go to bed, so we took her to the bathroom, and dressed her and brushed her teeth and put her nighttime splints on. Faye pulled her into bed. Mom did not want any covers because it was so hot. Faye and I were hot, too. Faye stayed to talk about stuff, like her mending, and the locker organizer, and the plan for Sunday. She left about 11:30. I was amazed, knowing that she has to be at work at 7:30am. I wrote to my blog and now am headed for bed.

The Surprise inside

I woke up at 7, had to cope with flooding, (if you have to ask, you don't want to know), went back to bed until 9:30. I was feeling tired and achy. I gave Dad the outgoing mail and fed Mom Ensure and pills, and then cruciferous juice. She sat in the den. I juiced veggies for Dad and I. Then I worked on breakfast. Dad took a nap. Mom called out from the den to ask about Carol, and then said that she was ready for lunch. I gave her Ensure, a date and some kimchi. The kimchi might have been a mistake. I read a lot of e-mail, One was from a lady who sells toothpowder, I thought I had ordered 2 oz, but only got one. She said they put one oz in a two oz jar so that was why the jar I got said one oz and the order said 2 oz. I told her that next time I will order the Dr. Christopher's because their 2 oz jar is full and twice the size of her 2 oz jar. I washed up and got dressed, apparently the flooding is subsiding. At quarter of three I took her to the bathroom to make sure she was ready for Carol at three. As it turns out, Carol was standing outside the front door thinking we heard her ring the doorbell (which doesn't work). I watched her do strengthening exercises and range of motion exercises with Mom, talking to her and to me and answering my questions. Then she walked Mom in the livingroom and had her read out loud and read to her. The three of us sang together. After she left, I put Mom to bed to rest. Carol said it was better for her to sleep in bed than in the wheelchair. I sat in the wheelchair and read while she slept. I also did some energy work over her. I don't know if it did any good, but it couldn't hurt. When she got up, I gave her a bottle of Ensure to drink because Carol said Mom could hold a glass and drink from it. In fact, Mom drank 2 glasses of water while Carol was here. But it did not work out well. Mom dropped the bottle and it soaked through her pants. What I thought she swallowed came back out. I spoonfed her what was left. I changed her pants and put a clean bib on her. I ate a banana, an egg (not the one in the picture), and some cheese. I read e-mail because Dad wasn't quite ready yet. Then I washed the two dirty bibs. Around 7 we got Mom in the car and I drove us to choir practice. It should have been that easy, but the roads we needed to get there were blocked for repaving. It was a long way 'round. But we got there almost on time. Floyd put acupuncture needles in Mom's ears. While the choir practiced, I read “The Hormone Cure”. Afterwards, I took the needles out of her ears. One bled. Dad put them in bottles in Mom's purse. As we exited the church, Floyd was telling Dad how to stand up straight. This went on for awhile. Floyd turned to go and as Dad pushed Mom, she fell forward from the wheelchair. She was not buckled in. We caught her before she hit the pavement but had trouble getting her butt back in the seat. We got her back to the car and I put her in. We drove home another way. I tried to put her to bed, then, but she was tired and unable to cooperate. I washed her off, and did my best to brush her teeth, but she kept sticking her tongue out. Then it was Dad's turn to get her into bed. I wanted to quickly write to my blog and go to bed, but the laptop had other ideas. I think I have convinced it now to behave.

 *  One of our farm fresh eggs would have been a chick  *

It's the little things that count

I got up a little after 8. Mom was waiting for her Fosamax. I am not in favor of it, but … So I gave it to her and some water, but she very quickly became unable to swallow. I did my exercises, and made veggie juice. I had two glasses, Dad had one and Mom got a spoonful. I then gave her an Ensure, which after a while went down really well. So Dad gave me her pills. She swallowed one and that was it. It was so frustrating. I made and ate my breakfast, then tried to give her pills again. I washed my hair and got dressed. Somehow drybrushing got left out. I checked my phone and there was a missed call so I googled the number to see if it was a telemarketer and it appeared to be a personal number but Spokeo would not tell me who unless I paid them money. I guess if it was important, they would have left a message. Because I was on the computer, I took a moment to check e-mail. There were over 200 unread. I tried to feed Mom again, and she took a few more pills. There was a black cat on TV which reminded me of a black cat I saw on our walk yesterday. We crossed its path so I wonder if it will have bad luck? Anyway, as long as she wasn't swallowing, I decided to take her for a walk. Dad put the foot rests on the wheelchair, and away we went. We took a longer route than yesterday, but still it did not seem to take long. Dad and I talked in the kitchen then, while Mom enjoyed the fresh air. Then I brought her inside to finish a bottle of Ensure. Kevin arrived just after 2 with cooked chicken breast. Then I sat out on the porch with Mom and checked my e-mail. I fed her an Ensure, then took her to the bathroom. Due to the sudden onset of female troubles, I had to put on a pair of her disposable underwear. Kevin brought me a glass of fresh cruciferous juice. I had a taste and fed the rest to Mom. Then she was done in the bathroom and I brought her out to the den where Dad was watching TV. I went outside to rescue my laptop which had run out of battery power. Apparently that outlet is not powered. Mom asked for her sweet potato to be put in water to sprout. I listened to an audio, then got out of Kevin's way so he could clean. When he was done, he chatted with us, I wrote him a check, and then he went home. I got to talk to William for awhile. Dad was busy with his Lotus program. He agreed that the curling rug in the foyer was not needed, so I rolled it up and William put it in the shed. After he left, Dad and I agreed that it was time for supper. I fed Mom one last Ensure and her night pills. I put the kale in water to perk up. I ate an egg, and some cheese. I put some of the Dr. Fuhrmans vegizest in a shaker and Dad labeled it. I put some on my veggie casserole, then used some nori to make wraps with it. I did not notice the taste of the vegizest. I checked e-mail while Dad continued to eat. Mom asked to go to bed, so I took her to the bathroom and got her ready for bed. She chose clothes for tomorrow. Dad put her in the bed and I said goodnight to her. Then I came out to check for new and urgent e-mail, write to my blog, and go to bed.

 * Paducah quilt show  *

A great find

I slept in until 9. Mom was dressed and waiting, so I fed Mom her pills and Ensure. Then I exercised, brushed, washed up and dressed. I made and ate breakfast. Then I fed Mom Ensure and cruciferous juice. After that, I took her outside. It was cool so I put her prayer shawl around her. I replaced the boards at the end of the ramp with new ones, but they did not sit flat because of the large gravel there. I took her for a walk around the neighborhood. I had to wipe blood from her nose, wondering how it got there. I had her practice pulling the chair forward with her feet. I picked dandelion and wild lettuce that I found behind the shed. I washed it and ate some, giving some to Mom, but she did not swallow it. Dad took a nap while we were walking, then was eating. He took her blood pressure, and it was 127/60. I checked my e-mail and listened to part of another thyroid audio. I gave Mom her Parkinsons' pill. I cut out a block and some corners for the Annual Conference quilt. I ironed the pieces. Dad left for Fresh Market to get there before it rained, but it started raining as soon as he left. I put bowls out to catch it. I sewed two corners on the block. Then Mom needed to go to the bathroom, so I took her. When I brought her back, I sewed on the other two corners and pressed and trimmed it. That is when Dad came back from Fresh Market. I took a pic of the block, and put it in her purse. I took her splints apart to soak while the first load of laundry washed. Then they went in the washer with the rest of laundry. I helped Dad write checks. I listened to another part of the audio while Dad got more checks. Then when most of the checks were written, I stopped to feed Mom two Ensures. She sat and watched TV while Dad and I dealt with laundry. I read e-mail, trying to catch up. At 10 Dad and I got her ready for bed, then made the bed so we could put her in it. The splint parts were not dry so we put them back in the dryer. I did some new tapping videos, and then the dryer was done. But it was so late that I did not feel like dealing with reassembling the splints. I just wanted to post and go to bed.

*  two more quilts from Paducah  *


pf

From bad to good

After I posted to my blog last night, Chris and Michele skyped me for a little bit.  Then I went to bed.  I woke up early when I heard my tablet making the notification sound. I thought Kurt had turned it off. I tried to go back to sleep. When I did get up, it was almost 7 EST. I went through my usual exercises and brushing. I turned the tablet off to save energy and stop the sounds. Then I took a moment to check e-mail on my laptop and do some tapping. I made my breakfast and ate it. Dad brought Mom out and I tried to feed her Ensure and her pills. I think she got the pills down but not much Ensure. Then I washed up and dressed for church. I tried to feed Mom again, but it still did not go well. I brushed her hair. I got her out to the car and finally Dad came along. I drove us to church where Faye met us in the parking lot. She put Mom in her wheelchair and got her situated in church. I sat beside Dad and noticed him sleeping between hymns. It was youth sunday and the youth led the service. They did a great job, especially the youth minister who gave the sermon. After the service, the congregation held a 'roast' for her because her contract is almost up and she is moving on, having just completed her degree. So all of that made us late getting to Subway. The clerk recognized Dad and knew what subs he needed. I got a salad with avocado. We took our food to the mall to eat. Then Dad went out to sleep in the car and then take a walk. Faye and I rolled Mom around the mall. We stopped to shop at the dollar store. I bought sunglasses. We also stopped at Payless but did not buy anything. When we got back to the food court, it was after 5. Faye fed Mom Ensure and then called Dad. He arrived soon. It was almost 6 'till we pulled out of the lot. Faye went home and the other three of us went directly to Martin's for groceries. I went once before and the trip took 3 hours. But today we did it in less than two. Mom got some sympathetic glances. When we got home, I fed her while Dad brought in the groceries. She ate easily, then was content to sit while I ate and read some of my e-mail. At 9:45 she asked to go to bed. So we went through the process. She was so alert that it went easily. It seemed like a shame to put her to bed when she was so communicative. Dad got her situated in bed, and I put eye shades on her and bid her goodnight. Then I listened to a thyroid audio and wrote to my blog while Dad ate, and then got the garbage ready for tomorrow. 

*  Another quilt from Paducah  *

And so it begins...

I got up at 7:30 EST. I completed my exercises and drybrushing before 8 and took a shower. When I got out, Faye and Kurt were up. I checked my e-mail and then packed. Faye went to the office to see about the continental breakfast. I think Kurt went after his shower. We left about 9:30. There must have been some problem with the Garmin because the diagram wasn't changing and when I noticed it and tried to fix it, it then told us to turn around and go the other way. We did some backtracking, and stopped to really check it out. So we lost some time there. It had to recalculate and we stopped for lunch at Wendy's. I ate carrots and celery that I had with me. Kurt drove up to that point and Faye drove after that. We got to my parents house about 6ish. Patrick came over to talk to Kurt. Then Kurt went home with Faye. I took Mom out on the porch to drink Ensure, but she wasn't ready yet. I tapped for her while she slept. Then she took the Ensure. I took her for a roll around the neighborhood. I parked her by the flowerbox, and she watched me pull weeds out and plant vinca in its place. She wanted to sit in the driveway, so I rolled her down there. The last car in the driveway used to be mine, and it was dirty. So I used the watering can and rainwater to wash it. I found a piece of cardboard to use as a cloth, and then found a rag. While I was washing, she asked to sit in the car. I told her that the car wasn't going anywhere, but she wanted to sit there. The seats are comfortable. So I put her in and finished washing. Then I went in and found Dad swatting moths. The kitchen and utility room were full of them. We discussed putting all non-perishable food in sealed containers to solve the problem. I brought Mom in. It was 9pm so I ate some of my veggies for supper, then gave her another Ensure along with her pills. Dad was eating so I took a moment to check e-mail and start my blog. When he finished, we took her to the bathroom to clean up. I put on my bathing suit and we sat her on the shower seat in the tub. I stood in front of her and washed her and rinsed with the handheld shower wand. Then we got her out, dried her off, cut her toenails, and dressed her for bed. After brushing her teeth and putting on her splints, we had her ready for bed. Dad did most of that. I changed out of my wet suit and bid her goodnight. It is almost midnight and I am so ready for bed.

*  A quilt from the show at Paducah  *

Getting out of town

I thought I was mostly done after I posted last night. The kaleidoscope software I purchased at Paducah had an add-on that I was to download from a link that was only good for 10 days. BUT, in order to download it, the software had to be installed and registered, etc. And the add-on came in 5 pieces, each of which had to be downloaded and registered. It must have been close to midnight when we went to bed.

   I got up at 7:41. I checked some e-mail, knowing that I am so far behind at this point that all the time-sensitive audios will never be listened to. I drank water, put a hold on the mail, wrote down the address of the hotel, boiled eggs, packed another suitcase, found a cord to fit CD player so we can use Faye's car's tape player, etc. They had trouble getting everything in the car. I put some kimchi in small jar to avoid taking the whole bucket.

We left around 11:30 or noon. Faye drove first, then I drove and then Kurt drove. While one drove, the other two played 2048. We had both Faye's Garmin and her tablet telling us where to go.  We made good time but did not check the time of arrival. After unpacking what we needed from the car, and plugging in all our electronic devices to recharge, we discussed options for dinner, finally deciding to go to Happy Star, a Chinese restaurant that Chris and I have been to before. The food was quite good and delivered in a reasonable time. Then we went back to the hotel. I read e-mail, watched a video on thyroid health, and did a meditation by Oprah and Deepak.  I anointed Kurt's head with oil.  I tried to be in bed by 10 CST.