Brain training

I got up around 8. I sewed a strip to one of the strip blocks. I drank a quart of water and read e-mail. I did two rounds of lajin. I stopped to take a shower and get dressed for church. I ate a few seed crackers with hummus. Then I put on my coat and went to church.
I got there just as the choir was warming up. We went through the piece several times and it went better than on Wednesday night. I sat with Don, as usual. The pastor gave the announcements and then the service started. I wrote my last check for the monthly offering. After the service, I spoke to Jennifer about choir practice being late during the season of Lent. But she assured me that we would be finished by 8:15 (so I can get back to base before the gate closes.)
When I got out to my car, I called Chris and told him I was on my way to Publix. I proceeded to Publix, parked and got a cart. I started shopping. Chris came in with a cart, but put it back when he saw that I had one. We shopped together. At the end, he got in line while I went back for cashews. Then we went home separately. Because of where I was parked, it was easier to get on Whitesburg and come down Drake. There was no road work. But Chris beat me home even though he had to load the groceries in his car first and unload at home. I helped him put away the groceries. I washed all the cans. Chris gave me a new book of checks. I made and ate breakfast while listening to an audio. At 4:15 I went for a long walk in the neighborhood. When I got back, I ate the remaining cashews with butter.
I went looking for my wedding ring, which has been missing since we moved here. I found my engagement ring so I put that on. I played brain games from fitbrains.com. I got bad relative scores on games I thought I did well at. I got a really good score on one that I thought I did badly at. I ate some ground beef casserole and mushroom soup. I washed the new dish drainer from the humane society thrift shop. I swapped it out for the broken plastic one. I jotted some notes for my blog.
I made a small batch of sleep salve. Because it involved melting beeswax, it took awhile. I put the 180 drops of essential oils in a separate jar. When the was was melted with the coconut oil, I added the olive oil. When it had cooled down slightly, I poured it in the jar with the essential oils. I left it to harden while Chris and I watched three episodes of Voyager. We looked up some of the guest stars. I posted to my blog and then we went to bed.

Sewing Saturday

I had gas again last night and could not blame it on bean soup. So I blamed it on the salad instead.
I got up at 8:45. I could not find the strip blocks, so I sewed two scrap squares together to fulfill my resolution. I took a packet of vitamin C and read e-mail. I made and ate breakfast. I also ate some figs. About 11 I got dressed and packed part of my leaf block project in my rolling cart. I put the machine and tools in my trunk and headed out.
I drove to the Bailey Cove library, where members of the Modern Quilt Guild were having a sewing Saturday. First I helped Amanda hand-sew a sleeve to the back of a quilt that they were submitting to a show. Then I cut my green blocks into triangles. I also cut a bunch of one inch orange strips. I waffled a bit on whether they should be sewn in as strips or as piping. I decided they needed to show up more, so I sewed them to the bias edges of the green triangles as strips. I noticed the intestinal gas coming back and decided it must be the figs. I talked to the ladies while we all sewed. Then at 3:30, I packed up and came home.
I did three rounds of lajin. There was some tapping with the audio I was listening to. I made a big salad and checked e-mail. I watched a video on brain plasticity, then played brain games on the fitbrains.com website. I thought I did alright, but it said my scores were comparatively low. Curious. I played one called Apples to Zebras and unlocked the next level. Chris made a big pan of ground beef something. It had onions and yellow peppers in it. We both had two helpings.
Then We watched three episodes of Voyager. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to take my evening supplements and post to my blog.
* This is Amanda's project. *

In search of crock pots

I had trouble falling asleep again last night. I blame the bean soup. Hopefully that problem has solved itself. I slept in until 9:30. When I got up, I spent some time auditioning piping to add between the side triangles and the intended border. Once I selected one, I felt better. I sewed a strip to one of the strip blocks and turned on the router. I checked e-mail and swished, then drank a quart of water. I did paida and lajin. I made and ate breakfast.
By this time it was after 1. I needed to get going with things on my to-do list. I searched for a long sleeved, but not too hot, shirt and got dressed. I wrote a check and put it in the mail. I went to the thrift shop on Bob Wallace to get a crock pot insert. But the one they had wouldn't fit. They had a whole crock pot, but it was smaller than mine. I went to the Humane Society thrift shop. But they did not have one either. Their crock pots were really small. I hated to leave empty-handed so I looked again. I found a coffee pot that would fit my coffee maker better than the replacement one I have. I also found a metal dish drainer to replace my cracked plastic one. I texted Beverly for a suggestion of where to look and went home. Traffic on Drake was slow, but not as bad as I feared.
When I got home, I decided to go for a walk. Beverly called just as I was leaving. So I walked as I talked to her. When I got back, Chris was home. He had brought me a box from the post office. I opened the box and put the supplements away. I mixed up a batch of seed crackers and listened to some audios. I filled a large bowl with hot soapy water and washed a bunch of stuff and cleaned the stove top. I ate some of the seed crackers with the new batch of hummus. Although I liked the lemony taste, it did not enhance the seed crackers. I made a large salad. I ate it while attempting to watch the latest episode of X-Files. But the Fox network would only give me a 5 minute pass. I tried every trick I could think of, using an alternate browser, deleting recent history and all cookies, and an internet search. Finally I found an article that said the current episodes are locked for 8 days. So I watched a previous episode instead.
It was after 8 when I finished. I took my evening supplements while Chris cued up Voyager. We watched two episodes. He was tired and went to bed. I stayed up to blog.
* This is a pic I took of Bertha's quilt on Monday. *

Spilling the beans

I had trouble getting to sleep last night because of gas. Probably from the bean soup. So I fell asleep late and woke up several times during the night. Finally I fell asleep. I woke up at 10am. I auditioned some green fabrics for the border, but was not satisfied with the choices, so I went looking in my fabric room for more candidates. I sewed a strip to a strip block, then turned on router. I checked e-mail and did lajin while listening to an audio. I rinsed the garbanzo beans, and gave them fresh water. Then I made and ate breakfast. I checked e-mail again. I got dressed, and packed the leaf block project into my rolling cart.
I headed out to Stitch-Its, but had to turn around at the entrance to go back for my purse. Resuming my course, I stopped at the gas station. Normally I don't like putting gas in my car so I made up a little song about how wonderful it was. When I left the gas station, I ran into road work. It made traffic extremely slow. So I arrived much later than I intended. I gave Pat her books and the list I had typed up for her. I laid out the leaf blocks on the pool table. I looked at the two choices for border, but still no decision. I sewed the rows together without the side triangles, and cut more purple strips. During all the sewing, I visited with the ladies and looked at what they were doing.
At 3, I packed up and came home taking Bob Wallace to avoid the road work. There was some rain along the way, but it was not raining at home when I arrived. I pulled my machine out of the car and rolled it inside.
I put a bowl of bean soup in toaster oven. I carried the crock pot of remaining bean soup back to the fridge and attempted to open the door. It was heavy and it slipped. It shattered into a big bean mess. I cleaned up the mess, which was not what I wanted to be doing. Then I put on an audio and did some lajin, while I answered texts from Kurt. I did some paida as well.
Chris came home, and he cooked the chick peas. I looked up how to avoid gas with beans. Then I ate the bean soup with seaweed and turmeric. I made a large salad. After eating the salad, I started making hummus using the chick peas that Chris cooked. But I could not find any tahini. I asked Chris to go to the store and he agreed. I cut up part of a head of cauliflower and stuffed the pieces in a jar of pickle juice. I read more info on paidalajin. Chris returned from the store at 6:55, an hour later. There was not time to finish the hummus. I moved my laptop to the guest room. I contacted my tapping buddy and we tapped on her issue for an hour or so with much success. Then I finished making the hummus, making more than usual because I had soaked too many peas. In the second half I put lemon peels and I liked how it tasted. I put the hummus away, then the remaining chick peas, then cleaned up all the utensils and such.
Chris called up the next episode of Voyager. We watched it together and he was falling asleep by the end. So he made his sandwich and went to bed. I stayed up to blog.
* My peace lilies look much better today. This is the quilt Mary was binding. It was beautifully quilted. *

Water may not be the answer

I woke up at 8, and did some intention work. I sewed a strip to one of the charity strip blocks. I exercised and tapped. It was a good coffee morning, without wi-fi. I am not sure if that helped or not. I listened to a soothing track on the desktop computer. Afterward, I mixed kefir grains with aloe, vitamin C, and goat milk for a shot of nutrients. It made more than I thought. I watered the drooping peace lilies. They did seem a little dry, but I can't believe Chris did not try watering them. The one I checked seemed rootbound, so I removed some of the root-bound ball, and added dirt from another pot. I cleaned the bathrooms and the kitchen. I did three rounds of lagin. Then I made and ate breakfast. I read e-mail and listened to audios. I sent one to Jennifer to listen to.
I watched a long documentary covering many subjects, including the ills of a monetary-based economy and how to build a resource-based society. It was almost three hours so I did not listen all at once. I did a lot of paida. Afterward, I took a shower and dressed for choir.
Chris came home while I was still watching. I paused it and went out to check the mail. I got another $2 from the Neilsen people. I sat down to have a deep discussion with him. It was going well but the doorbell rang. Two men had come to fix the refrigerator. I did not know that Chris had called in a work order because it was dripping water in the back. The men took the food from the freezer and removed a large quantity of ice. I worked on my blocks, ironing the latest set of strips and auditioning a border. When they left, I resumed my discussion with Chris. It went well and I think we reached a new level of agreement.
I heated a bowl of bean soup in the toaster oven. While it heated I made and ate a large salad. Then I ate the bean soup. The documentary ended about 6:15. Soon afterward, I left for choir. The parkway was backed up so I did not arrive early. I returned Jennifer's notebook, then picked up the new music and laid down the old one. I sat with the altos and rehearsal began. Some of the music went well, but not the one we are planning to sing on Sunday. Still, she dismissed us right at 8. Doris told me about her koi pond.
I went home via Bailey Cove so I could see the lights of the city, and to avoid traffic on the parkway. When I got home, Chris pulled up Voyager and we watched 2 episodes. He made his sandwich and went to bed. I stayed up to blog and then headed to bed myself. (Peace lilies are still drooping)
* This is another one of Laurie's quilts from Monday. *

Catching up with Dad

I got up at 8. I sewed some sashing strips together and put some on blocks. Then I checked e-mail. I listened to an audio while doing some paida and lajin. I ate some seed crackers with hummus. Then I got dressed and went to the Tuesday group.
I met Jody as I walked in. We talked for a while, then she had to go get something from her car. Beverly came in with her quilt top made of squares from baby outfits. It was nice. But I had forgotten my phone so could not take a picture. I pulled out my fleece rug and cut strips to crochet. I socialized for hours. The other ladies left and April came over. So it was April, Beverly and me. April did not want to go for a walk, so she left, and Beverly and I turned off the lights and walked out.
We went for a walk in the neighborhood behind the church. I was glad to have my heavy coat on.. She suggested maybe we could walk downtown sometime.
I went by the Asian market for kimbap, but she said they were sold out. It seemed pretty early for that. Then again, kimbap is a guilty pleasure so it is not a big deal. I went home.
I made breakfast. Then I did 8 minutes of lajin before eating my breakfast. I also had lunch. I copied Jennifer's notes and put her notebook in my car so I wouldn't forget it.
I checked the mail – none. I read more e-mail. Then I finished sewing strips of sashing and cornerstones to my rows. I pressed them all. I laid them out with green background fabrics to audition for side triangles. Several were good and some were completely eliminated. I chose a green tone-on-tone with leaves. Then I sat down to figure out how big to cut the squares for triangles. There were two ways of doing it and I drew sketches of how it would fit on the fabric. In the end I decided to go with the 17 inch squares cut in half because I did not have a 24 inch square ruler. I used the calculator on my laptop, which made it too easy to check e-mail again. Chris was home by this time and engaged with his laptop. I called my Dad to ask about his cataract surgery and his dentures. He finally has dentures but they don't work so well. And his surgery is tomorrow. I hung up so he could get ready for tomorrow. I heard Chris made his supper. Then Michele called him and they played the dinosaur game. I put on headphones and did a tapping video for strengthening the immune system. I looked up why peace lilies wilt and root rot was suggested, was was being root-bound. I did not want to check the plant while Chris was in the room since he might take issue with it. He seems very impatient with me lately. I typed up my blog post so far.
I cut strips for the set-in triangles. Looking at my diagram, I was able to sew some onto the outside edges of the outside blocks. When that was done, I told Chris I was calling time. He concluded his game with Michele. I got water ready for tomorrow. Chris went to the Fox network and streamed the Lucifer episode from yesterday. We watched most of it, but then something went wrong and it stopped playing. Chris pulled it up on his laptop and we finished watching it there. Then he called up the next episode of Voyager and we saw that. But he fell asleep near the end so we did not see a second one. He went to bed and I stayed up briefly to blog and take my evening supplements.

Quilting

I woke up and 9 and got up right away. I was in a pretty good mood, possibly because the sun was shining brightly. I sewed a bunch of cornerstones to sashing strips. Then I checked e-mail. I did some lajin and paida while listening to audios.
I made and ate breakfast. But by then it was after noon. I got dressed and packed my project into my cart. I rolled it out to the car and put it in the trunk. Then I drove to quilting. It took a couple minutes longer than usual because of road work.
When I got there, the ladies had just finished lunch. I chose a spot to work, but got to talking and did not set up my machine for a bit. When I caught up with everyone, I got ready to sew. I laid out the squares and rearranged them until I was satisfied. Amazingly it did not take that long. Then I laid out the sashing strips and started sewing in rows. The ladies left a few at a time. Then it was just Laurie and I. When I realized it was 4pm, I packed up. She stayed to work on her quilt. I came home and found Chris on his laptop. He told me his interview went really well and that they intended to make a decision this week.
I checked e-mail and ate. I had some chicken, then made a salad, then had two handsful of nuts, and a bowl of blackberries. I guess I had the munchies.
I took my laptop to my fabric room and shut the door. I did paida on my hands, knees and feet while I watched a video on taoist medicine. It was after 8 when I finished. Chris was waiting in the livingroom with the TV on.
We watched two episodes of Voyager. Chris was tired so we stopped there. He made his sandwich. I checked e-mail and saw that Jennifer was trying to call me so I called her. She was making a Swansons order. Chris sat at his laptop the entire time she and I talked. Then he went to bed. I stayed up to write to my blog. I got caught up in an unfinished game of Solitaire from earlier in the day. It was almost midnight till I tore myself away to go to bed.
* this is the quilt Laurie worked on. *