A really good day

I heard the phone alarm but stayed in bed. I was recovering from a dream in which I was holding on to the bumper of a boat and being pulled to a floating pier where slavers bought women. When I realized where we were going, I let go and started swimming to shore. The driver followed me. I screamed for help, but it was far too quiet. I tried again and again as he got closer and closer. Finally I woke up, knowing that I had been fighting the mechanism in the brain that keeps people from acting out what they are dreaming about. Was it good or bad that there was no one to hear me?
I got up about 8:30. The seeds did not look so good. So I got some rain water from the fridge and soaked them with that. When the broccoli and sunflower seeds were soaked, I used that water for the peas. Everything looked better after that. I speculated that it was the tap water that killed the second batch of broccoli. I put out some Terro for the ants. I hated to have it on my diningroom table, but the ants had to go. I swished and checked e-mail. I got a message from Parker saying the contractor had accepted our offer with a few minor changes. Mirna called to say she'd be over with my order of walnuts. I got dressed. I swallowed 6 frozen oil capsules. I exercised and listened to some tapping audios. Mirna dropped by with 10 lbs of organic walnuts. I filed a pile of bills. I blended pumpkin seeds and papaya seeds and ate that. I tapped and did the Tuesday sudoku puzzle. I stopped the tapping audio to vacuum. Did it get so bad because I cleaned without my glasses on? Hopefully I swept up whatever the ants were after. I resumed the audio while savoring a packet of Vitamin C. I picked up sticks in the yard because it was such a nice day. I swore I could smell daffodils, but I could not find any in bloom. I juiced most of a package of kale along with an apple and two carrots. I ate the apple and carrot pulp. I went back outside to rescue the rainwater trapped over the kale bed. I poured it through a coffee filter, figuring if it wasn't clean enough for me, I could still use it to soak the sprouts. I brought the first batch in. I went out to rescue some from the tub in the driveway. But it was dirtier. I 'rescued' the mail. There was a card from Chris. It was a nice surprise. I made and ate breakfast and finished the audio, and started another one. I finished that audio, and noticed that the ants were not interested in the Terro. I stacked the dishwasher and ran it. I ran the rain water through the coffee maker in batches. I ate some dark chocolate with dates, and smooshed ants with my finger. Michele skyped me and we had a very nice chat. Her job is over and soon she flies to Finland to visit a friend before moving to Northern Va. I started reading quotes on Pinterest, and then Chris skyped me. As we talked, I worked on the hexecontehedron. Then he had to check on his laundry so we hung up. I read some more quotes, not sure why they were so compelling. And then it was time to soak the seeds and go to bed.
* This is Shelley's quilt. She is a breast cancer survivor and I think these are signature blocks that the guild did. *

Leonard Nimoy: lived long and prospered

At 7:30 I awoke to the sound of my phone. It did not sound like the alarm and then I realized that it was ringing. So I got up to answer it but did not make it in time, partly because I fumbled trying to open it. Have I mentioned that Go phones are hard to open? It was Parker and I called her back. We talked and came up with a plan to submit to the contractor for a lower price. Then I swished and exercised. I noticed ants on the diningroom table. That was odd because there is no food there. And there was no trail of ants from a window or door. Where did they come from? Did Scotty beam them down? I rinsed all the sets of seeds.
I made another papaya seed smoothie. I juiced carrots and the rest of the mung bean sprouts. I put the carrot pulp in the smoothie. That added a lot of bulk and I was unable to finish eating it. After some time of reading e-mail, I drank some of the juice, and later the rest. I thought Denise was coming at 10 so I got dressed. She called about noon to ask if it was a good time to come over. She was here by 12:30. We talked, and I shared some of my fermented foods with her. I let her finish the smoothie. Then we went downstairs so she could see my one and only jellyroll quilt top. Then she helped me bring in the fabric from my car (which was supposed to go to church for the quilting event which was canceled.) She told me that Leonard Nimoy had died. I was shocked and saddened. Then she went through one of the tubs to find fabric to make a charity quilt. She had brought several ideas on paper. She tentatively pulled out fabric for four quilts, but narrowed it down to two. It was awfully cold in the garage, so we took the two stacks of fabric into the basement, which actually felt warm in comparison. She measured the pieces while I cleared my cutting table and made a stack of the blocks I had been working on. Then she said something that has never been said in my sewing room before - “we don't have enough fabric.” She was referring to donated fabric of course. I pulled out some of mine from a cabinet and we chose several to make up the shortage. Then we laid them out in the TV area to make a sort of rectangle. We talked about how to start the construction process. Then she wanted to know what time it was. So I went upstairs to read the clock. In a minute, she followed me. It was 4 and she needed to go home. First she had to make a phone call. I checked my computer and saw that Maryann was on Skype. So after Denise left, I called Maryann. She told me about her new diet and showed me the books. Her son said 'hi'. Her husband came on briefly to show their whale statue and ask about 5 pointed stars. Maryann asked when we finished Barbara's quilt. I tried to find it on my blog, certain that I had posted a pic of it. After 2 hours, she had to go. By that time Chris was on and waiting for me to Skype him. I told him to call me in 10 minutes and went to make breakfast. While making it, I noticed that the basement door was slightly ajar. In closing it, I saw that the lights were still on. I went down to turn them off, and saw that the iron was still on. I turned everything off and came up. I ate while I talked to Chris. I also worked on my rhombic hexecontehedron. Kurt texted me on Skype while I was talking to Chris. Kurt continued after Chris hung up. I watched an episode of X-Files. I worked the Sudoku puzzle for Monday. I ate some hummus with freshly minced garlic. I put out some essential oil mix for repelling ants. I ate some sweet potato and baked onion. I stacked the dishwasher. I threw out food scraps. I did some tapping as things occurred to me. I checked my phone and saw that Mirna called earlier. I tried calling her back but the call dropped. I read past blog posts for Mondays until I identified the last post that talked about working on Barbara's quilt. It was the last Monday in October. But there was no pic posted. Of course it wasn't finished until someone (Dinah I think) put a binding on it. That would have been November. So here is the last one I took (on Nov 17th) before it was given to her son at a later date.

And then it was gone

I woke early hearing the call of nature. Then I woke up hearing the alarm. I stayed in bed until 9:30. I could see lots of snow outside, but it was starting to melt. The temp crept up and the white went down. I skipped swishing, but read e-mail and exercised and made another papaya seed smoothie. I hear the third day is the charm. That would be tomorrow, and the sewing event got canceled. So it should work out well. Maryann skyped me and we talked for over an hour. Then she had to go. I juiced, ate the carrot pulp, and made breakfast. I called Lowes and made them explain about the carpet charges. There was a ton of waste because one room was larger than 12ft in both directions. I did the math and it didn't work out exactly. I prepared an e-mail to Ralph but did not send it. I called the church in Southern Pines in case they wanted any of the stuff in the garage for their yardsale. But they aren't having it until September. I made hummus and put some nuts in water to soak for later. I threw out second batch of broccoli sprouts, and washed the container with h2o2. I called Jodi to tell her I got her message. I tightened the screws on my glasses for the umteenth time. I wrote to my sponsored child for his birthday. I checked the mail box, but there was no mail. I kept my coat on thinking I might go to the meetup tonight. Most of the snow had melted. But I waffled back and forth, having seen that the temp would drop to 33 by 8pm. So going there would be fine, but coming back around the mountain could be icy. Then Denise called and I told her there was no sewing tomorrow, but she wanted to visit me anyway. Then Chris skyped me. We talked about him being sent to Maryland and he got mad and hung up on me. I tapped. I read about the benefits of inversion. So I went into the garage and got a plank. I placed one end on the bed and the other against the foot of the dresser. I laid on it upside down. I waited for the benefits to occur. After some time, I rolled off the board and went back to my laptop. Chris skyped me back. We talked for some time. Then he went to bed, and I cleared some e-mail and intended to listen to some more tapping meditations but got sidetracked doing a Sudoku puzzle. Then I listened to some tapping audios from yesterday, and made fermented nut cheese with the nuts that had soaked for 6 hours. I sat and tapped with the rest of the audio. Then it was time to go to bed.

From zero to snow in 60

I woke up really early. I went back to bed. I heard the alarm at 8 and got up to swish. Parker called and I had to spit it out to talk to her. We spent hours on the phone and then she had to go. I exercised, and soaked sprouts. I checked e-mail. I boiled coffee for detox. I listened to a tapping audio but it stopped abruptly. For some reason my laptop decided to reboot itself. I started another audio on the desktop. Parker called back. We talked for hours again, but we got all our decisions hammered out. She promised to lay it out in a pdf for the contractor and to run it by me tomorrow. While we were talking, it started snowing. Within an hour, the ground was completely covered. And it kept coming down. First the Lenten supper was canceled. Then the service got canceled. Later choir was canceled, too. I finished my detox, and made a papaya seed smoothie in the magic bullet. It actually tasted good. My stomach had been rumbling with hunger, but that stopped it for awhile. I started another audio and cleaned the bathroom and hung up towels, etc. I bundled up and went outside to get the mail. Part of me wanted to stay out there in the silence and walk around. Another part thought it was a shame to leave footprints in the snow. In the mailbox was a Netflix Dvd – the perfect thing on a snowy evening. I listened to another tapping audio on tapping with your kids. I ate some liver with sprouts and part of a baked onions and sweet potato. I finished that audio and started another (they are posting 3 a day). I went outside to brush the snow off of the thermometer. It was just above 30. And the scene was stunningly beautiful. Every limb outlined in snow against the night sky. I started an episode of X-Files, and then Chris skyped me. I don't know why, but I worked a Sudoku puzzle while talking to him. We got cut off at one point when the lights flickered and the electricity went out. My computer was still on, but wi-fi went down. I called back when it came on again. After he hung up, I went back to the episode. But I still could not resist working on the puzzle. I had to place it far away so I could concentrate on and enjoy the story. When it was over, I realized my hands had red itchy spots and figured it was some sort of food allergy. Papaya seeds? I put on some lotion and went back to the computer. I read about papaya seeds. I wrote to Michele. I started another batch of seeds in the sprouter that I emptied tonight. The batch in progress smells funny and I don't know what happened. Then it was time to go to bed.
* This picture was taken at night, but the computer software lightened it. *

Headboard: gone!

I heard the alarm at 8 but stayed in bed late. Then I got up to swish, exercise, and soak sprouts. I checked e-mail. I got dressed. I juiced a cucumber, a zucchini and a squash. I drank the juice and cleaned the juicer. I swept the floor. I emptied a bag and dispersed the items to wherever they belonged. I grabbed my purse and hand project. I put Netflix in the mail on my way out. I drove to quilting. I sat with Beverly and talked to her until almost noon. Jane saw my hand project and thought I should put little lights in it when it is finished. Then I drove to the Asian store for kimbap and sprouts. I ate some kimbap in the car, then drove to the bank to get $20's. I had to stand in line a long time behind one couple. Finally someone else came to work the drive-thru and then waited on me. Because I had left my cell phone at home and was expecting a call about 12:30, I skipped going to Michaels, and went home. I brought in the mail, and checked my phone. There were no messages. I ate the rest of the kimbap with kimchi. I called Denise to say the moving men would probably load fabric in my car so she wouldn't have to come over. She talked for awhile and said she'd like to come over sometime anyway. I checked e-mail and tried to read Parker's spread sheet, but my software divided each page into 7 pages. Denise came over to talk. She had to leave at 4. I made and ate breakfast. I finished the tapping audio I was listening to when she arrived. It was titled “the power of No.” Just what I needed to hear. I looked at Parker's e-mail spread sheet again. At 5 a large truck pulled up. It was the moving men who told me yesterday that they get off at 4. They helped me unpack the fish tank and move the opened boxes so I could get to the unopened ones. They also took the headboard. I wondered if somewhere someone was losing sleep over their missing headboard. After the men left, I read up on papaya seed smoothies to kill parasites. Chris skyped me and we talked for hours discussing Parker's recommendations. It was hard to read her spread sheet. We created our own and sent it to her so I could discuss it with her later. I used the Magic Bullet to pulverize some of the papaya seed. I ate it with a few bites of liver to hide the taste. It is said to be like a mouthful of wasabi. I also ate some roasted onion from yesterday. I was tired so I posted to my blog and headed to bed.
* I took this picture at quilting today *

Invoices and Estimates

Last night I sent a message to the contractor asking for estimates, and I sent a message to the packing people. Then I went to bed late, still tapping. I got up at 12:45am when I remembered that the sprouts needed their watering. I had a hard time getting to sleep. I wanted my mother but she didn't come.
I woke up at 8 when the alarm sounded. I stayed in bed until the phone rang. It was the packing company. They said someone would call to pick up the headboard and they would check on the lack of proper packing. I exercised and swished and checked e-mail. There were several from the contractor but none from Parker. Then I called the carpet installation company. The man said he would call Parker to ask about the installation date. Then he switched me over to the front desk who switched me to 'flooring' but those people never picked up. I called back. The lady who answered tried to help me determine if we had paid to have the old carpet removed. She did not think we did, even though we paid $600 for installation. Parker said we had gotten the $35 special. So I asked to talk to the flooring dept again, but never got through. They were supposed to call me back. The contractor sent me his estimates. I printed out his last invoice and the estimates. I had a hard time getting the size right, so wasted a bunch of ink. Then I sat on the floor to compare and write notes to myself for when I call him. Some things he did didn't make sense in light of what he proposes to do. Parker still hadn't called. I juiced a very large English cucumber. By itself it made two cups of juice. I tried to meditate but was too upset. I kept thinking that a plastic bag over my head would solve all my problems and then I could be with my mom. But all my bags have holes in the bottoms. I made and ate breakfast hoping it would help me feel better. I checked e-mail as I ate. I checked the invoice again and decided I would rather be quilting. I called to see if quilting was still on today. It was, so I got dressed and checked e-mail one last time. There was a message from Parker in which she defended herself with how hard she works and how she needs time for her family too, etc. So instead of leaving, I sat to think and compose my response: basically a list of questions and concerns. Then the moving company called to say they could come over to pick up the headboard. I said tomorrow would be better. Then I went quilting, taking only the handsewing project. I took Chris' car. I did fairly well, except for stopping at the light in 3rd, and forgetting to go back to 1st to make the turn when the light turned green. When I got to the church, there were only three ladies. Apparently I just missed the rest. I needed to vent and they let me. They were very sympathetic which was what I needed. They also said to get another agent. I worked on my project, finishing three sets of five. One of the preschool classes came in to parade around in their George Washington hats. They were so cute! At 4:30 we packed up and left. When I got home, I saw Denise had called, so I called her back. I asked if she would read Parker's e-mail and give me an opinion. I brought in the mail which held two bills. I prepared sweet potatoes to go in the oven. I wanted to put the onions in too so I wouldn't have to cook any more this week. I looked up baking onions, and all the recipes called for 400 or 425. But I figured if sweet potatoes could bake at 350, so could onions. And I threw in garlic cloves just for giggles. Parker had sent me several other messages and the g-mail conversation feature had mixed them all up. So I looked through the long list trying to find what was new. She insisted that Lowes had given us the $35 installation, but when I did the math, it did not appear so. And there were clues on the receipt she had e-nailed me, not to mention the lady I talked to this morning said outright that we were charged $600+ for installation. So I composed a response about that. Chris and I skyped. He showed me how to turn off the G-mail conversation feature. He went to bed. I took the potatoes out and cooked the onions some more. Denise called back to give her opinion. Like the ladies at quilting, she did not think we should put a lot of money into renovation because people will have their own ideas about what they want. I did some tapping to the latest Brad Yates video. Jennifer sent me an e-mail reminding me that the EFT summit started tonight. I forwarded Parker's e-mail string to my Yahoo account so I could weed out all the filler. But it wasn't all there. For a bit of escapism, I was going to watch the X-Files Dvd from Netflix, but it was cracked and would not play. I requested a replacement and put the old one back in the mailer.

Hopefully our refund is on the way

I got up soon after the alarm sounded. I remembered to drink the lemon water with clove and oregano oils, but forgot to take the wormwood and garlic tablets, and vit C. I swished and exercised, then made breakfast. I put away some of the laundry. I checked e-mail. I watched several Philosopher's Notes videos on Youtube. I meditated, not realizing that the meditation mp3 was on a loop. I took a shower and got dressed in the den because it was warmer. I put some broccoli sprouts in a baggie for Jennifer.
I got to church by 10:30. I pulled the giving statement from my choir folder. I gave the sprouts to Jennifer. Tim asked me to ask Art about helping with the quarterly statements. So I asked Art if I could help with that and he said it wasn't necessary. Tamara sat next to me in the pew. She was the gospel reader for today. When she saw on the pew check chart that I hadn't checked 'member', she asked me about it. I told her I wasn't Lutheran, I was Church of the Brethren. She said she had a thousand questions and I said she should ask me after church. But she left during the service. After the service, I met Art in the little counting room. There was no cash so he put it all in a bank pouch to take home. I asked when he could show me the ropes and he said he didn't have time. Standing in line to greet the clergy, I had a few conversations. Then I went to the bathroom. I left a dollar there. That makes 4 left where strangers can find them. The challenge was 5 and the next meeting is Thursday. Sadly I missed my next big chance. I stopped at Marshalls to give Mirna a check. But she hadn't come in yet. So I walked to Hobby Lobby, but they were closed. I went back to Marshalls and left the check for her. It would have been the perfect place to leave a dollar in a random pocket but I was so focused on the check that I did not think of it. Then I went to Publix for groceries. Mirna called when she got in and I told her about the check. When I had my food, I stood in line to check out. When I got home, I checked the mailbox. It was standing open and wet. There was no mail. I gingerly picked up a large piece of tinfoil blown into a corner of the yard. Then I brought my groceries in the house. I e-mailed Chris to give him the total from our giving statement. Then I skyped him. He plugged it into the tax software along with the value of the quilt I donated to raise money for the Intern Fund. I had to hang up to put away the food. There was something like pickle juice all over the bottom of the fridge and in the bottom drawers. I cleaned it up except for the stuff that was dried on. I finished loading the drawers with veggies. I was eating some dates, cashews, and a square of dark chocolate when Chris skyped me back. He needed a number for the tax form. When he had finished the form, he submitted it and we hung up. I bought the online package from Tapping Solutions. I played the pre-event audios while sorting out my online purchase file, and paper receipts as far back as 2012. I ate broccoli sprouts with hummus. I crushed a clove of garlic into the hummus and finished it off. As I continued to watch the videos, I crocheted a dishcloth. I put on some meditative music and sat down to tap: frustration and anger and lack of clarity on the best way to resolve the situation in Pinehurst. I worked on the e-mail to Parker (from yesterday) and sent it to Chris. We finalized it and sent it on its way. Then I composed an e-mail to the other agent in Pinehurst. Chris convince me not to send it until I had heard from Parker. I tapped some more. I checked the last handyman invoice and wrote a list of things to tell Parker that didn't make sense. I didn't see where the handyman submitted any estimates beforehand. I plan to go to bed when I am calm enough to sleep.
* This quilt is from Show-n-tell *

Choosing my words carefully

I thumbed my nose at the alarm and slept until 9. The snow had melted and it was raining lightly. The windstorm had blown down the thermometer. I added water to the seeds that soaked over night. I swished and took my pre-breakfast supplements. Then I rinsed the seeds and set them to sprout. I had two more batches: one in a plastic sprouter and one in a sprouter bag. I checked e-mail. I came across a Quora question and answer about the North Korean water park, so I had to look it up. I thought the people in the pictures looked cold. I could tell by their tans that they were used to working outside with a shirt on. Internet Explorer had magically fixed itself and was running just fine, but it had closed my windows, one of which I may not get back. I exercised, and juiced carrots, sprouts and celery. I ate some of the pulp for fiber. I brought in the rain water and filtered it to use for soaking sprouts. I made and ate breakfast. I tried writing a really honest e-mail to Parker, but sent it to Chris who thought it sounded antagonistic. I ran the dishwasher and then emptied it. Chris and I sent the e-mail back and forth as we tweaked it. I watched a video on gov't with big business in financial and agricultural business. I called Denise to get her opinion on how to handle the e-mail to Parker. Her husband was strongly in favor of giving the agent notice of termination. I put in a load of laundry, and got some rain water from a bucket outside for the indoor plants. I wondered if it would be too cold for them, but I watered them with it anyway. I mulled over the e-mail in my mind. I ate liver and onions for supper, and did another load of laundry. I sewed sashing strips onto the DGS blocks, wondering how I am going to get the February blocks done before March, and vowing not to sign up again to volunteer a block. I hoped the lady in charge would let me donate the top to Comfy Quilts so someone else can quilt it. I came up to check on Chris. Not enough people showed up to the game so he was working on taxes instead. To help him, I looked up stuff in the checkbook, e-mail receipts, paper receipts, credit card statements etc. and sent what I could find for charity and health care. After much searching, I concluded that I had done all I could I checked e-mail and then we skyped briefly. We hung up when I realized how late it was.
* This is our raffle quilt for 2015 *

Trying something new

I thought I just barely heard my alarm ring several times. But then it came through clearly and so I got up and turned it off and checked to see if there had been any calls. Nope. I went back to bed. I got up at 9 to make lemon water and to soak the seeds again. They must be sprouting because the volume is increasing. I watched a new documentary film called Bought, which is being shown for free until March 6th. It was very good, but also long – an hour and a half. There was one slide showing 9 graphs of various health problems vs. use of ingredients in vaccines. I wish there had been a way to capture that and post it. They also talked about GMOs, and neonicotinoids and factory farmed animals. I juiced celery, orange peppers, mung bean sprouts. I can honestly say it wasn't disgusting. Is that why I have never been asked to do a commercial for green juice? Then I realized I hadn't exercised, but it was too late. I made and ate breakfast. I found another sprout maker. I left Mirna a message. I noticed the snow was falling and it was beautiful. I checked on my Swanson's order which is taking longer than usual to be delivered. I was still looking for foods, etc that discourage or kill parasites. I tried boiling garlic and adding wormwood capsules. I looked at decorating ideas on Pinterest and sent a link to Parker about painting counter tops. I ate liver and onions and hummus for supper. Then I went downstairs to sew. It was cold down there and I had to put on a coat. I made two long, narrow quilted strips to catch in the basement door and front door to stop the drafts. Then I changed my mind about the sashing fabric I had picked out for the DGS blocks. I settled on another one and ironed it and cut it into strips before I could change my mind again. I thought I heard the skype sound so I came up to check. I had a message from Chris but it was an hour old. I skyped him and we talked for almost half an hour. I worked on my crochet dishcloth as we talked. Then he went to bed. In an effort to close some of the many windows I have open, I tried to exhaust whatever searches I was making at the time. I may have closed two. Internet Explorer stopped working and I was unable to get it back up again. Now it is time to rinse my sprouts and start some new batches.
* This is the dishcloth Pat made and the one I tried to knit. *

Quilt blocks made from steel

When I went to bed last night my back was really hurting and I did not know why. I wondered if I would be able to get up in the morning. I did some tapping so I could fall asleep. When I woke up, it seemed later than it was. I was just barely able to get out of bed and get to the bathroom, and then I went back to bed. Later, getting up was easier. And it still wasn't 8 am. There was no snow, but the thermometer showed less than 20. I turned on the router, swished and soaked my seeds for 5 minutes. I started my exercises. Some of them I could not do. I listened to an audio and checked e-mail. I juiced and drank a cucumber, some leafy greens, and some sweet peppers. Denise called to say she was back from the funeral in Texas, and she wants to get together sometime. I made and ate breakfast. Then I went to Stitch-Its. Pat showed me how to knit a washcloth and Marjory laughed at me the whole time. Apparently I knit left-handed although I can knit right handed, but in either case, the yarn is in my left hand so... she told me to crochet it. Marjory lent me her little Ott-lite and I thought I should have one of my own. They reminded me of the guild meeting tonight. I am not sure when I left, but by 2 I was home and eating lunch. I looked at many versions of Ottlites online. I found a magnifying lamp on Amazon and added it to my cart for future reference. Then Mirna called to make arrangements for delivery of the walnuts and payment. I worked the Sudoku puzzles for this weekend while sitting in the sun. then I watched an episode of TQS. When it ended, I changed my shirt and bundled up against the bitter cold. I took Chri's car to guild. I stopped three times in the first intersection before I realized that I was still in third gear. The rest of the trip was uneventful compared to that. When I got there, Pat gave me a dishcloth that she had already made. But she said I still had to make one of my own. I talked to Jodie at the comfy quilt station. There was quite the stack of donated quilts. For the meeting I sat with Rebecca. I still helped Jodie show off the Comfy quilts. I took a pic of the raffle quilt for this year. The lady in charge challenged everyone to sell 100 tickets. After the meeting, we had a speaker who was the owner of the Steel Quilt Company. He makes quilt blocks out of steel from barns he demolished. A number of ladies went forward to buy one after his presentation. On the way out of the parking lot, I headed uphill. I shifted to 2nd and then to 3rd like I always do, but for some reason the car went so slowly, and then quit. I had to restart it before I got to the top. There were impatient people behind me. But I did not drift back. This time I stayed in 2nd until I got over the hill. When I got to the light to turn left, for some reason that did not go well either. I did not have to stop, but downshifted from 6th to make the turn. I was ok after that. When I got home, I contacted Chris on skype, but there was no response. Then I e-mailed him and he e-mailed back that he was having trouble with his computer. We talked for half an hour, during which I made and drank two cups of hot dandelion root tea. Then I checked e-mail, and downloaded my pics to the laptop. I did some tapping based on one of the e-mails. When I noticed how late it had gotten, I posted to my blog with every intention of going to bed.

Adult Wednesday

I went to bed late and had trouble sleeping. So when the alarm rang, I ignored it. It was 9:30 when I got to the kitchen, however I had been up looking for something under the bathroom sink. I did not find it, but I did find things to rearrange or throw away. I looked outside and at first, I thought the sun was really bright on the grass, but then I realized that it was a dusting of snow. I put out my rain collection tub. I turned on the router and started my daily routine. The snowfall increased. I put h2o2 on my cut and changed the bandaid. Temp looked to be around 32. The sun came out and the snow melted while I was finishing up my exercises. I rinsed my sprout seeds. My phone rang during detox, so I let it take a message. Afterward, I checked and it was Mirna saying the walnut order would be in on Monday. I juiced sprouts and green leafy veggies and two apples. I ate some of the pulp for fiber. It was much better than yesterday. But it was later, too. So instead of cleaning it all up, I hurried to pack my gym bag and go to the sauna. On the way I saw a license plate that read “0 gas”. It wasn't a Prius, it was a Nissan Leaf. Interesting. I went on post to the sauna, arriving at 2:20. I stayed until just after 4. I tried the steam room, but it was not that hot and only slightly damp. I walked outside with wet hair and nearly froze my head. When I got home, I ate some liver and onions with hummus. Then I remembered breakfast, so I made that. I read through e-mail. I changed clothes and went to church. Cecelia gave me a book of quilt designs that she'll never use again. Five women showed up for practice. Cecelia asked me to sit with her during the service. Mr. Cox wasn't there yet, so I did. Jennifer brought me the essential oils that I had ordered. During the service my phone rang. I thought it might be Parker but shut it off. After the service I followed Art into a side room to see what he does with the offering. Basically he counts the cash and then takes everything else home to count and record. On the way out, I shook hands with our intern. She asked me about my comment on her sheet. I went home and found out that Dad called me. So I returned his call and helped him find a photo that I had e-mailed him almost two months ago. I type-skyped with Chris. When Dad was done, I called Chris and we had some face time. He had a much bigger ash mark than I did. I was going to clear a few last e-mails, post, and go to bed. But Michele had posted an Adult Wednesday video from Youtube, and then I had to watch them all.
* Wednesday is the daughter from the Adams family, all grown up and creeping people out. *
* This is my never-ending triangle block project ready for chain-stitching *

My project is taking shape

My bladder got me up at 7:15. Then I went back to bed. I got at up 8 with the alarm. I turned on the router. I checked the temp – it was 20 and did not look icy outside. I soaked some broccoli seed in rainwater in my sprouter. I put on jogging pants and my Korea parka to put the Netflix DVD in the mail. It was icy outside and lightly snowing. I drank water with oregano and clove oils in it. I checked e-mail and answered a few. I played an audio. I exercised, and swished twice: once with coconut oil and once with tooth powder herbs. I listened to an audio on getting things done while I was sewing. I juiced two apples and a carrot. I ate the pulp and choked on it for some reason. Then I juiced kale and kale sprouts, and a squash. It was ok at first, but then turned so strong that I couldn't finish it. I listened to another audio while sewing, and then made breakfast. After eating, I felt too somnolent to do anything. It reminded me of lunch at Crestar. I never did figure how what caused it. Finally I got up enough energy to walk to the mailbox. Then I sewed until I felt energetic enough to go for kimbap. When I got to the Asian store, I picked up sprouts, but then there was no kimbap at checkout. She said she did not think enough people would come by so come back tomorrow. On the way home, I stopped for gas. I was surprised how cheap it was. When I got home, the blue cover on the kale was askew, so I tried to straighten it. It had frozen in the rain from yesterday, so was hard to move. Someone had written “Fay” on it. I took my vitamin C. I watched a video of “We are the World, which was suggested in an e-mail since it was done 30 years ago. There was a tapping script at the end of the e-mail. It got me started on a deep issue and I tapped until I nearly fell asleep. I rinsed and drained the seeds. It was time to cook the liver and onions and I realized that I did not know how exactly. I did not want to look it up on the internet because I would get sidetracked, so I looked in my cookbooks. Not a lot on that subject. One recipe recommended slicing up two onions thinly and frying them. It crossed my mind that if I put a plastic bag over my head, it would protect my eyes from the sting of the onions. I stopped to jot a few notes for my blog and saw that Parker had sent an e-mail about her doc's diagnosis. She sounds pretty sick. I sliced the onions with a clear bag over my head. Do I look crazy? I did then, but it stopped right at my nose. I fried them in butter one handed after slicing my right hand and having to hold it over my head to stop the bleeding. Then I fried the liver. The cookbook said it would take one minute on each side, but it took a whole lot longer than that to get the red out. I ate some of each and left the rest to simmer. Chris skyped me while I was finishing off the last of the beef and tomatoes. I got some sewing done while he wrote an e-mail. We talked for about an hour. Then he went to bed, and I finished a few open browser windows so I could close them. I cleaned up in the kitchen. I answered an e-mail. I rinsed my sprout seeds. I blogged and went to bed.
* This is about 1/4th of the finished item. *

We need a little heat today

Just before I went to bed last night, I remembered to take the jars of canned tomatoes from the garage and put them in the basement so they wouldn't freeze.
I got up with the phone alarm this morning. I called the Tuscaloosa courthouse even though I had verified yesterday that today was a state holiday. The message system said they were open except for city holidays. I was able to contact a lady who blew it off as a wrong number and said she'd remove it from the system. I went back to bed, and then realized I was really angry about receiving such a call in church on a Sunday when there is no one at the call back number to explain.
I checked e-mail and swished and exercised. I saw a video on Youtube that bashed swishing with coconut oil and promoted swishing with powdered wheat grass. I juiced most of a bag of kale. It did not make much juice but tasted bad. I added two small apples, a zucchini, and a carrot. And a host of powders. It still did not taste good, but that was never the point. I cleaned up but did not throw the pulp out because it was too cold and raining. I made breakfast and ate it. I watched some more 'short' videos, then got dressed and put out my rain tubs. I rolled my sewing stuff out to Chris' car. I drove to the church and was surprised to see how few ladies were there. For the first hour I did not get much done. I explained about getting called to court. One lady did not understand why I would be so worried, but the others understood. Bertha showed me her 'hot' quilt that I have been drooling over for some time. Once the binding is done it will be finished. I worked on the triangle quilt for Renegades. When we packed up to leave, I had 59 triangle blocks. What a chore and a bore! But the pattern calls for 70, unless I cut some in half. I wish it said what size to trim the blocks to. Anyway, it was nice talking to Lauri and Carolyn. When I got home, it was still raining. And cold. But not quite freezing. I was glad I did not have anywhere I had to go. I ate some kimchi, and then a mixture of leftover quinoa and beef with tomatoes. I made up supplements for the week. Chris skyped me. He said he had had several beers, but I did not find him as voluble as in the past. I listened to a tapping audio, and had some saffron/mango tea. I listened to another audio while sewing on the hexecontehedron (Spell check doesn't like that word.) I brought in my rain collection tubs and filtered the water through a coffee filter and then through the coffee maker itself. There was ice on the steps. I got several gallons. The process was interspersed with tapping videos by Brad Yates. And then it was time to blog and go to bed.
* This is Bertha's 'hot' quilt. Those colors just sizzle! *

Called into court

Last night I put on three corners of the sheet. Hey, it was late and 3 out of 4 isn't bad. I had to wear pajama pants under my nightgown to keep warm in spite of all the quilts on my bed. I got up at 8 with the alarm to lay in the sun on guest bed. It was false advertising. It looked warm but it wasn't. The outside temp had gone down to 20. I swished and checked e-mail. I exercised. I washed my face with oil and took a shower. I got partially dressed, and then made breakfast. I read e-mail as I ate breakfast and even started an audio, but there wasn't time to finish. I left my breakfast and finished getting dressed. I grabbed my choir folder and grocery list and drove to church. I put the cross for the cross wall in the office. Art gave me my giving statement for last year. I opened it while waiting for choir to start warm up. Then I put my coat and purse in the pew. As we sang, JenQ stood beside me just in time to sing the notes I didn't know. After the warm up, I sat to peruse the bulletin. Rachel handed me a form to answer questions about her sermon. I reluctantly agreed. Tim V came over to ask me to see Art after the service to learn how he does the offering. Then my phone rang and I rushed to open it to stop the sound. When I heard an automated voice, I nearly hung up, then pulled the phone back to my ear to make sure it was a telemarketing call. The voice said I had to report to the court at 8:30 or have my license revoked. What?!? It gave a number but I could not get a pen fast enough and then it was over. I turned my phone off so that if it called back, it would have to leave a message. I told myself this couldn't be right. Surely if it was jury duty, I would have been notified by mail. Then again, our mail gets misdelivered sometimes. Did I break a traffic law on the way to church? During the sermon I listened carefully to be able to answer the questions on the sheet. But my mind kept going back to the phone call. After the service, I jotted down a few answers, and then grabbed my purse to go catch Art. But Paige came over to ask about my trip to Honduras. And Art left. I composed an answer to the last question, and then folded the paper. I put it in Rachel's box because she didn't say otherwise. I looked in the fellowship hall to see if Art was there. He was not. Several people asked me about Honduras. Then I put on my coat and went to Publix. I got the groceries on my list. They were nearly out of jugs of water and low on organic English cucumbers. Supposedly there is a storm coming. Should I be worried? I was more worried about the phone call. When I got home and carried my food inside, I got the number from my phone and googled it. It belonged to the Tuscaloosa Courthouse. I called but got an automated message about hours and such. I looked it up on a map. It was west of Birmingham. I was pretty sure I had never driven through there. I resolved to call tomorrow, but then realized that tomorrow is a holiday. I finished breakfast and put the groceries away. I listened to a meditation. I nearly fell asleep. I went outside to wrap up the kale for the really cold weather. I finished the gut audio. I called Terry but spoke to her husband. I made hummus. I ate some with broccoli from kimchi. I listened to another audio. I finished blanket-stitching a little ornament from the December guild meeting. I worked the Sudoku puzzle for tomorrow. Chris skyped me. I did the Sudoku puzzle for Tuesday and cleaned up in the kitchen and unstacked the dishwasher. I ate some aloe leaf. 'Leaf' hardly describes it though. I folded the laundry. I was going to sew, then watch an episode of X-Files and then tap before going to bed. But I thought I could sew by hand while watching X-Files. And that episode ended with “To be continued” so I HAD to watch the next one as well. They were too interesting for me to to anything but watch – and sip some tea Jennifer gave me. Then I packed the DVD back into its red mailer. I listened to some Rife audios on Youtube while reading BeMore magazine and looking up triacontehedrons. I found out that the length and width of the rhombi involved are in the golden ratio, which is why the acute angle is 63 degrees.
* These are the heart blocks donated on Thursday *

Making my own medicine

I got up with the alarm at 8 and laid in the sun on the guest bed. Later I woke up the laptop to check e-mail. I swished and exercised. I cut up some scraps for a future rug. I had just rubbed Vit C all over my arm when the doorbell rang. I figured the delivery man had left a package. But no, two male Jehovah's Witnesses stood there, seeing me still in my nightgown. I told them now was not a good time, but that there was no point in coming back either. Several minutes after they left, the doorbell rang again. I wasn't sure it wasn't them again, and there is no peephole in the door. So I opened it hoping for a package this time. And there was one, being handed to me by the postman. I just smiled and thanked him. After listening to an audio while juicing, and another one while making and eating breakfast, I decided to go outside. I had heard it was going to be 12 degrees today, but actually it was closer to 60. I got dressed and went outside to pick up sticks, and to add leaves to the compost pile. I wanted to rake leaves from the grass, but I am letting them degrade in place to feed the lawn and build more topsoil. The daffodils are closer to blooming and the foliage from the surprise lilies are up, too. I opened the bill that came in the mail, and there was a $10 late fee. I called GNG and they said they received an overpayment, but it was 4 days late. I looked through my sent e-mails and saw that I had notified Chris of the bill in January when I got back and he said he'd already paid it by computer. It was due Feb 4th. So it makes no sense. I read that freezing castor oil capsules will allow the oil to make it to the latter part of the small intestine where it smothers parasites. So I filled a bunch of empty capsules with leftover cod liver oil and coconut oil and put them in the freezer. I read more about what people have used to combat parasites. Turpentine? Really? I ate supper, and meditated several times to catch up with the ones sent out this week. I wondered where Chris was since he did not respond to any of my e-mails. I researched tapping for parasites. I did some tapping. I watched an episode of X-Files, and put laundry in the washer. I checked e-mail until Chris skyped me. I put the laundry in the dryer. Michele was unavailable for skype. I worked the Sudoku puzzles through today. The last one was rated EVIL, but it really wasn't. Now its time to put the sheet back on the bed and hit the hay.

The urge to wallpaper something

I heard the alarm at 8 and I got up to shut it off. I went back to bed. I had a dream involving my mom and Michele as a little girl. So I stayed with it as long as I could. It was 10 when I got up. I drank some lemon water with clove oil in it. I opened my laptop to discover that it had updated and rebooted again. I went into the settings and changed it to notify me before rebooting. I don't know how it got changed to automatic. Maybe that is something 'they' slip into updates, like congress puts riders on bills. I swished and exercised and watched Yotube videos on 'parkour'. I can't define it, but it involves risky acrobatic stunts. I had to pull myself away by closing that tab altogether. I cleared e-mail. I listened to a gut audio on parasites while I juiced and drank. The speaker said 8 of 10 people have parasites and those need to be cleared up before any other issues are addressed: metal toxicity, yeast or fungal infections, EMF sensitivity, food allergies, fibromyalgia etc. Parasites can even cause tooth grinding. After listening, I made breakfast and ate it while listening to another one on SIBO – small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.
I brought in the mail, which was junk plus Netflix. Chris skyped me when he got to Soto Cano, then went to bed. I looked at kitchens on line, and textured paintable wallpaper. That made me want to wallpaper something. I had permission to do the small bathroom downstairs, but when I looked at it critically, there were too many trouble spots: things that wouldn't come off the wall, and an encasement strip that went all around the old wallpaper. I could not see how it was attached. I disassembled a project structure from at least a month ago. I ended up in the garage. So I decided to unpack a few boxes. The first box held several smaller open boxes of paints. So it was quite the mess inside since everything had shifted. It was the original box from the shed. The packers did not repack it or pack it inside a better box. It was water-damaged too. I took pics as I went. I kept thinking “We paid for this?”. The miter saw was wrapped in brown paper. It seemed to be broken and disassembled. I found some pieces of it in a box with Chris' army and computer stuff. I saw the fishtank, but did not unwrap it because it was upside down and I did not want to chance breaking it.
I thought it was enough for one day. I went upstairs and answered e-mail. I looked at pics of complex polyhedra online, listening to another audio. I ate a sweet potato, and read a pdf on parasites. It suggested several labs for testing, but they all require the involvement of a doctor to order tests. I looked up the lab I got for hormone testing, but that one doesn't do other kinds of tests. I watched an episode of X-Files. It had Ryan Reynolds in it (although he is the first person to die). So I looked him up and saw he did a movie called Buried. I looked that up. Apparently it is an intense film with an ending that most people did not like. I couldn't decide if I wanted to rent it to find out exactly what it was or not. I watched a Youtube rife video for parasites.
* This is the back of the quilt I posted yesterday. *

One year old kambucha

Eating the fig last night did not put me to sleep. It seemed like the night went on forever. Then I let go of the grounding wire and sleep finally found me. I heard the alarm go off at 8. I got up to lay on the guest bed because of the sun hitting it. About 9 I got up to check the time, and to collate the recyclables. I took something downstairs and ended up cutting more diamonds for the hexecontehedron. I also cut some batting diamonds. When I came back up, I folded laundry and swished. I found my computer had rebooted in the middle of the night to update Windows. I swear I have automatic updates turned off. Since the router was off, how did it do that? Anyway, I listened to another gut audio (fibromalagia) as I exercised. Then I juiced, adding an apple to make up for the kale taste. I also made and ate breakfast. I drove to the Thursday group in Chris' car. All I brought was my hand project, but it was enough because I talked to ladies there to catch up. Pat agreed to teach me how to knit dish cloths so I promised to bring my cotton yarn and needles next week. Before three I drove home. The neighbors mail was in our box, so I walked it over to his house. I listened to another audio, this one on fermented foods. I investigated several jars of kambucha in the back of the cupboard and found one still good ( in a really strong way!). I auditioned some fabrics with the DGS blocks. It was pretty darn cold out there in the garage. I cut more batting diamonds and glued them into 'sandwiches' ready for sewing. I listened to another audio on bacteria in the gut. There was a meditation on wealthy thinking so I listened to that and fell asleep. It was supposed to be 25 minutes long but it seemed to be over in no time. I waited for Chris to skype, but did not hear the sound when he did. Then I waited for him to check in online for his plane trip tomorrow. I plugged my laptop back in, and made a salad for supper. We talked for a while until the call got dropped for some reason. Then he called me on the phone to say he needed to go to bed and get up really early. I ate a sweet potato. Then I checked the pics I took of the fabrics I auditioned. I decided which one I wanted, and went downstairs to iron it in preparation for cutting. But there was no room on my cutting table, so I had to finish all the cutting for the pokey sphere (as one lady put it at quilting today). After I cleaned up all those pieces, it was late, so I came up to blog and go to bed. I have a bit of a head ache. Maybe that kambucha wasn't so good after all.
* This is the quilt Annie is working on. *

Sweatin' in the sauna

I got up at 8 to discover that the thing I hoped would never happen again, had. I cleaned up as best I could. I read a chapter of the John Gray book standing in the sun in the guest room. He healed his own Parkinsons, and ADHD.I swished while clearing e-mail and exercising. I boiled coffee and rebounded. I washed my face with oil as suggested by the lady I met in the airport in Honduras. I detoxed, and listened to two gut audio interviews. One of them mentioned that he brushes his teeth with activated charcoal and MCT oil. I juiced, and put on my bathing suit. I packed my sauna bag and went to post. I sat in the sauna by myself for some time. I tapped for getting the sweat going. Then Brenda came in. I had met her in there before Christmas. We had a good time talking about health practices. We ended up talking outside the sauna. She asked if I had read the book on eating for your blood type. I hadn't so I made a mental note to look it up. I took a shower, and gave her my card. I got dressed and drove home. I washed three sweet potatoes and put them in the oven. The other two I put in jars to sprout. I threw out the dead former sprouters. I browned the remaining half of an onion, and added ground beef, minced garlic, then a jar of tomatoes. While supper cooked, I made and ate breakfast. I listened to another gut audio interview. I looked online for some kind of curtain to be hung in a closet to replace missing doors. And I looked for a bathroom cubby to fit between double sinks. I took my choir folder and tablet and went to church. Although it was over 60 today, after dark it went below 40, so I wore a heavy coat. I was there just early enough for Jennifer to show me her collection of essential oil samples. She gave me a sample of a mixture called Holiday. Then she got called away, so I sat near Doris and got my tablet ready to play. We sang some new songs and I really needed the extra support to get my notes. Jennifer Q asked to see some pictures of Honduras, but I did not have my camera with me. I forgot that I had some on my tablet. After practice, I came home to skype with Chris. I cleared some e-mail and looked up prices for hot tub covers. I wondered if I could get a used one somehow. I ate a square of chocolate and some dates and then a fig. I worked the Sudoku puzzles for yesterday, today and tomorrow. I decided to hit the hay.
* Just can't get this pis to go where I want it. These are samples Jane brought in for a class she will teach us in April. It looks like something I saw at Terry's house. *




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It's totally cool

I got up during the night to breathe into a wet towel because my air passages were so dry. I had a hard time getting back to sleep. The alarm went off at 7:30 and every 10 minutes after that. I called Parker at 7:50 and left a message. My voice sounded terrible. It was almost 9 when I got out of bed to swish and check e-mail. At 10:05 I went to quilting. Ladies came by to see what I was doing. When I explained how the pieces of hexecontahedron fit together, they asked why I would want to make one. I told them I needed a handsewing project. But really, I just think it's totally cool. Jane showed me her panel quilt. After the meeting, I went to the Asian store for kimbap, kimchi, sprouts, and nori. The lady apologized for the kimbap, but I assured her that my absence was due to visiting my husband and not to the quality of the kimbap. I ate some of it on the way home. I ate the rest with kimchi at home, and put the rest of the kimchi in a jar to ‘age’. I listened to a gut audio while I saved all the pictures that Parker send yesterday. I ate a fig and nearly fell asleep. I forced myself outside to clip some monkey grass. I could see more daffodil buds. I checked e-mail again. Parker called. She answered all the questions I could think of, and promised to e-mail Mr. John for installation prices. I made my breakfast and listened to another gut audio. There are four or five a day so I had to pick carefully since I can’t listen to all of them. I skyped with Kurt regarding his tooth, his whole tooth and nothing but his tooth. Sadly he had a root canal yesterday. I noticed that the red spot on my forehead seems to be gone now that air purifier is in the den. Or it could be the clove oil. I turned the Christmas lights on by the kale since the weather had gotten cold again. Jennifer called me to talk about essential oils. She was ordering some so I added oregano oil to her order. Then Chris skyped me and I filled him in on Parker’s call. I went back to skyping with Kurt. Then I went downstairs to fold laundry. But instead, I ironed a piece of fabric, and auditioned it for the DGS blocks. I did not like that, so I tried a dark gray, but the blocks still seemed to float. I put them aside, and cut up strips of heavy cardstock from the junk mail. I made 5 sets of 5 diamonds. Then I gathered up the laundry and brought it upstairs. But it’s time for bed now.
* this is Jane's panel quilt *

Hanging out with friends

I heard the alarm go off at 8, but stayed in bed until 8:22. I got a good start on the day with swishing and exercising. Then I checked e-mail and juiced. I got dressed and put the Netflix in the mail. There was already a bunch of mail in the box and I wondered if it had been there all weekend. Later it occurred to me that maybe the mail was really early today. I made breakfast and ate it, then meditated. Suddenly it was noon. I grabbed my sewing box and machine, rolled them to Chris’ car, and drove to the church on Whitesburg. I was warmly greeted by all the ladies. I talked about my trip. I trimmed the Do.Good.Stitches blocks to three sizes – 12.5, 12.25 and 12.0. Then I was going to move on to my next project, but no other ones were in the box. So I sat and talked to the ladies and watched them work on their projects. Walter came by with a pair of pants he wanted hemmed. He gave me the two dollars he owed me from last time and he asked if I wanted another project and I said no. But Alice said she would do it for free. So that worked out well for everyone, except maybe Alice, but she didn’t seem to mind. It was after three when the last of us packed up and headed out. Instead of going straight home, I went past our street and around the block for a little extra practice. I noticed that the flag on the mailbox was still up, so it must have gone early. I put my sewing stuff back in the basement and added the triangle project. I put the Do.Good.Stitches blocks on the cutting table to await the choosing of a sashing. I checked e-mail and saw four from Parker. She had met with the professional handyman and took pics of some of the things that needed addressing. She also sent a list of comps that sold recently. But that was a link that did not look like a link at first, so I wrote back to say I did not get the pics. Her post of recommendations was the same e-mail she sent four days ago, so I remarked on that. I composed a list of responses and questions based on the new pics of the house. I took a break to cook supper. I browned half an onion and added two eggs. After the eggs, I tried some fermented nut cheese with chocolate. Nah. I guess complementary foods do not have the transitive property. Chocolate goes with dates, dates go with fermented nut cheese, but chocolate does nothing for the nuts. Having eaten, I finished the comment list and sent it. I read some e-mail and listened to a meditation and did some tapping. I called Parker but it went to voicemail. I tapped for frustration. I reread her e-mails and discovered the link. I looked at the comps. Then I read her comments about painting the inside and outside of the kitchen cabinets and putting in new countertops in order to get the lower price she has been saying we could get all along. I was listening to an audio on gut health and parasites when Chris skyped me from his hotel in Texas. We talked about the whole getting-the-house-on-the-market situation and how I feel like I have to keep poking our agent to get stuff done. We had connection problems several times and I spent the interludes cleaning up clutter on the dining room table. Then he had to go. I tried to check her pics again, but for some reason most of them were not showing up anymore. I took notes for my blog. I finished the audio. I decluttered more of the dining room table. I set my phone alarm for 7:30 so I can try my call again. And then it was bedtime.
* This is Lynette's triangle quilt. *

An end to my self-imposed exile

I got up at 9:15, after praying for a rousing thought, a reason to get up. I wasn’t back to normal and so not sure if I was going to church after all, but I still needed to get up. I saw the dishwasher sitting open to dry, so I put all the clean dishes away. I took a shower and put in earrings. I was congested and knew it would clear up, but I wanted that to happen before church. So I boiled water and saturated a towel in the sink. I shook a bottle of peppermint oil over it, but could not smell the mint, so I didn’t know if any came out. I did it twice to get to a point where I felt well enough to go to church. There wasn’t time for breakfast and I missed the choir warm-up. There was just enough time to greet a few people and relax in the pew before the service started. Jennifer gave me the music before the service so that when the choir went up for the anthem, I was able to sing with them. It was scout Sunday, so a young girl scout read the old and new testament readings, and a cub scout did the canting for the psalm. He was so adorable. Later they collected the offering and for communion, brought up the elements and arranged the altar rail and kneelers. They did such a good job. After the service, I put a can of beans in the food pantry. Jennifer gave me more music for the upcoming Sundays and a sample size bottle of essential oil mix called ‘Breathe’. I tried to put the cross from Honduras in the cross wall basket, but that table had been commandeered for the chili cook-off. I put it back in my purse and drove to Publix. I got what groceries I could think of. I hid two $1 bills, one near the cans of beans and one in produce. When I picked up my purse to allow the bag boy to roll my cart out, there was the bar of 90% dark chocolate. So we stopped at customer service for me to pay for it. Then we took the groceries out and put them in my car. When I got home, I carried them in in two trips. I had to change my shoes for the second trip because the new black ones were falling off my heels. After putting the veggies away and leaving the cans of coconut milk (still no organic ones) in the bag, I checked e-mail and made breakfast. I watched short videos on ‘Philosphers Notes’, where Brian reads self-help books and summarizes the main points. I looked up essential oils for infected teeth for someone else. The Sudoku puzzle for this weekend was labeled ‘evil’, but it wasn’t. I finished it and then went outside to clip monkey grass. It was over 60 but overcast. I checked e-mail again. I texted with Kurt through Skype. I watched more Philospher’s notes videos. I stripped the bed and washed two loads of laundry. I meditated. Then Kurt called from the grocery store, but the call got dropped. My phone was low so I recharged it. I took out the garbage. I was reading about pyroluria when Chris skyped me. Then Kurt called. So when I hung up with Chris, I called Kurt. His phone was not having a good day. He ended up skyping me. I finished my laundry in the dryer. I ironed some of the fabric. The pieces from Honduras were nice and soft coming from the dryer, but when I ironed them, they became stiff again. I don’t think they are cotton after all. I took the sheets upstairs and put them on the bed. I put the covers back on, too, but somehow they ended up in a different order. I posted to my blog and went to bed. I’ll worry about the covers tomorrow.
* I didn't take any pics today so here is one from Honduras. *

Sewing in the sun

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

Feeling sew sew

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

Designing woman

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

Hashtags - how do they work?

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

At least I have food now

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

Still not well

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