Day 76 of 365

What a day.

Some days I sit down at the computer and am not sure what I want to write about. Today was not one of those days. It seemed that so much happened out of the ordinary that I wanted to write about too many things.

I wanted to write about that fact that we had a frost last night and I'm not sure if our plants made it or not.

I wanted to write about all I did this morning - got up early, exercised first thing (30 days in a row), paid bills, got a load of laundry on the clothesline. (All before 9:30.)

I also wanted to write about how I went to school for a meeting, visited there for a while, picked up a hamburger for lunch, and worked on the computer in the afternoon.

Of all of those things the only thing that is in a normal, average day is the exercise. (Well, that and laundry and bill paying ever so often.) Laundry, bill paying, and all of those other things combined to make it an unusual day.

But since I've done too many me, me, me posts lately, I won't be writing about any of those things.

Today's it's all about the kids quilt I finished. These first few I'm finishing are with material that the quilting for kids organization sent me. Two down and three to go.

Now when I send these five quilts out the door, can I count that as downsizing?

Day 75 of 365

By reading back on my posts, it seems I've been a bit selfish lately. My garden, my to-do list, my exercising, my pain, my fabric, my organizing, my downsizing, my unknown job status. My, my, my.

Time to get back to doing what I set out to do. Be thankful for what I have. Be thankful for being able to, on my good days, do things for others.

So today I finished one of those things I was oh-so-excited about doing a few weeks back. Doing kids quilts for charity. I was so excited when I received fabric, excited when I made the quilt tops, but the excitement waned as the spring garden season came around.

The weather has cooled off again so the work in the gardens can wait (even those weeds).  This week's goal is to get five (yep, 5) quilts finished. All the top parts are ready, but I need to add the batting and backing (which I now have thanks to that fabric arrival a few days back). I'm quilting all of them on the machine, then will wash them and send them on their way. Having them done by Friday might be pushing it, but that's the plan.

Today's picture is one of the now finished quilts hanging on my clothesline. (Which in itself is exciting - my shoulders work well enough that I can hang things on a clothesline now!)

Exercise update: 29 for 29.

Day 74 of 365

I've never been one to write in a journal.

There have been a couple times in my life where I've put pen to paper at the end of every day, but in total it probably hasn't been for more than just a few months.

So I'm surprised at myself for actually writing here each day. And putting it out for all to read. When I first started this blog I didn't know if anyone would read it. Now I have a few followers, a few people who post comments, but according to the statistics I have access to, many more read it every day.

I'm glad I'm writing things down here. Writing down my thoughts and activities, taking a picture of something noteworthy, and keeping track of how many days I'm exercising has given me a project. Something to keep me moving forward and a record of how far I've come.

But most importantly, it has kept me accountable. Especially when it comes to the exercise department.

28 days in a row. 28 days of riding the exercise bike. 28 days of getting my blood pumping. Of getting my shoulders, arms, and legs stronger.

I can honestly say I have never in my entire life exercised for 28 days in a row before. There's an interesting thing that happens when you exercise every day for a month. Your muscles feel stronger. Your clothes fit better. You stand up a bit taller. And you don't feel like you need to eat as much.

Last time when I lost a significant amount of weight, I was on prescription amphetamines. Kept me going all day, kept me up all night. They made me not want to eat, but they didn't necessarily make me want to exercise. So some days I did, and some days I didn't.

But by having people I don't even know check up on me and give me encouraging words does make me want to exercise. And makes me want to do it each day.

So to all who read my blog daily or occasionally, and to those who are on this road with me, I thank you. I thank you for your positive comments, your encouragement, and your interest in what I'm doing. Just a few short months ago, I certainly didn't think I was going to make it out of the mess I was in.

Now I feel like there's a light at the end of the tunnel. (And this time I don't think it's a train.)

I'm like the peas my daughter replanted a couple weeks back. The first batch was planted back on April 1. Those dissolved in the ground from too much rain and not enough warmth. The second batch was planted just 10 days ago. The combination of good weather and enriched soil has them bursting from the ground and inching toward the trellis, looking to grow tall and strong.

And thanks to the combination of my daily writing, picture taking, and your positive support, I'm doing the same.

Day 73 of 365

Some days I have no sense of time.

I used to (when I was working) always wear a watch. I even wore a watch on the weekends. Being on time, knowing what time it was, knowing how much time something was taking - all important. Crucially important. But now? Now that I have nowhere to be and no schedule to keep, time just flies by. On those days I get a lot done, time flies by. On those days where I feel like I get nothing done, time flies by.

And all without looking at a watch or a clock. My watch battery died last year and I have no intention of replacing it. When I was taking down my watermelon things out of my kitchen back on Day 68, I knocked my kitchen clock off the wall and broke it. Haven't fixed it, haven't even thought of getting a new one.

Really, how many clocks do we need? We've cut down the number in the last few years, but we still have a clock in the kitchen (on the microwave), one in the dining room, one in the living room, one in the sewing room, the alarm clock in the bedroom, the one on the computer, the one on the cell phone, one in my daughter's old room, and one in the room off the carport.

In the summer we definitely don't pay attention to time. As a high school teacher, most of the year for my husband revolves around time, specific to the minute. A class might start at 1:13. Not 1:15, not 1:20, but 1:13. So during the year he - and all other teachers - have to be obsessive about the specific time. When summer break comes (five days and counting), all time seems to disappear.

Which is where I've been living for quite some time now. So much time under the influence of doctor-prescribed pain medication. And now, as I'm getting back to living, so much time doing the things I love. Sewing, baking, and gardening. It's been so long since I've been able to get out and enjoy working outside, I am now remembering how much I missed it.

Time flies so fast when I'm outside. My typical sewing/workout/blog writing schedule got skewed today because I was still busy outside, not a care in the world, doing what needed to be done. And thanks to me exercising everyday (27 out of 27 days so far), I'm feeling stronger. Stronger to do my outside work.

But a storm is brewing, and outside work time is over for today. Black skies are all around and thunderstorms are headed our way. Nothing like the pretty clouds billowing up when I was outside earlier.

Day 72 of 365

I spent quite a bit of time outside today.

I still got my exercising done (26 for 26) , got some quilting work on the kids' quilts done, but with the weather heading towards 80 degrees today, I just couldn't resist.

Part of the reason I stayed outside more than usual was because of the issues with the blog. Not just my blog, but everyone who has their blog hosted by Google had service issues for the past couple days. We were able to look at our blogs but not able to post anything. So instead of getting all upset and ranting and raving like some folks were, I decided to ride out the down time outside working on that huge list from the other day, crossing off things as I went.

• Pull tree seedlings out of rose garden and wildflower garden.
• Cut out winter damage in roses.
• Clip back tulips and other spring bulbs.
• Dig grass out of all gardens.
• Cut up broken branch from last week's windstorm.
• Replant herbs (except parsley and oregano).
• Cut landscape timbers to fit around new climbing roses.
• Bring out patio table.
• Put new bench together.
• Plant morning glory.
• Cut branches back from roof.
• Pinch off peony side shoots.
• Empty garbage cans of dirt/weeds.
• Cover woodpecker hole in shed.
• Weed strawberry bed.
• Pinch off blooms from strawberries.

And a clarification about the pinching of the strawberry blooms. We planted brand new bareroot strawberries this year. Since they are in their first year and they are everbearing strawberries (setting fruit more than once), it's necessary to pinch off all the blooms until the first of July. By doing this, the plants will be stronger and healthier and we'll have a better crop next year. We won't have to pinch the blooms again - it's just a first year thing.

As for pinching off the side shoots from the peonies, that's an every year thing. By pinching off the side flowers early, the main flower will be bigger and stronger.

Since I'm starting to feel like a photographer (and a gardener), I started taking my camera outside with me every time I go. As I was cutting back the tulips (not the leaves, just the main stem of the spent plants), I took one last picture of them. I have a few pink ones that are just now coming on, but for the most part the tulips are gone. So one last attempt at taking a close up picture.

Day 71 of 365

I look at what my husband eats and don’t get why I weigh more than him.

Stopping at restaurants he had seen on the Food Network and Travel Channel was a high priority when we traveled coast to coast a few years back. It seems every trip we’ve taken has revolved around food.

Hot Dogs in New York City. Beignets in New Orleans. Barbecue in Memphis. Pukka Dogs in Hawaii.  Reindeer Sausage in Anchorage. Throwed rolls at Lambert’s Café in Missouri. Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream in Vermont.

And my husband always eats more than me. And he doesn’t exercise (unless you count teaching). Yet year after year, I always outweigh him.

Some years I change my eating habits, some years he does. We never seem to be on the same schedule.

A couple years back, we coordinated our change in eating habits. He had some to lose; I had a bunch to lose. I was on a “medically supervised program” (meaning the doctor prescribed me amphetamines and restricted me to less than 1000 calories a day). We both lost weight, but I lost quite a bit more than my husband. But when we started veering from the plan, we both gained it back. And mine came back on a lot faster.

So now that summer is just about here, my husband and I have been talking about looking at an anti-inflammatory diet. Fruits and veggies, fish and some lean meats. With rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation is something I have big problems with, so it might be a good option for both reducing inflammation and losing some pounds. My exercise routine is already in place (25 days in a row now!), so maybe it’s a good time for us to try controlling the diet.

But not tonight. We had pulled pork sandwiches and homemade oven fries. But as usual, my husband had to turn it into Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives (a Food Network show).

Pulled pork, coleslaw, and fries all in one. Yuck.

Day 70 of 365

I sat down today and made a to-do list of all the things that need to happen outside in the next couple weeks.

The list is long:

• Pull tree seedlings out of rose garden and wildflower garden.
• Cut out winter damage in roses.
• Clip back tulips and other spring bulbs.
• Dig grass out of all gardens.
• Cut up broken branch from last week's windstorm.
• Replant herbs (except parsley and oregano).
• Cut landscape timbers to fit around new climbing roses.
• Bring out patio table.
• Put new bench together.
• Plant morning glory.
• Cut branches back from roof.
• Pinch off peony side shoots.
• Empty garbage cans of dirt/weeds.
• Cover woodpecker hole in shed.
• Weed strawberry bed.
• Pinch off blooms from strawberries.

And in prioritizing them, a few projects that can wait a bit:

• Clean out gutters.
• Cut board for ditch.
• Build trellis for tomatoes.
• Put sealant on new bench and rocking chair.
• Finish cement edging in wildflowers.
• Remove landscape fabric/edging around tree.
• Use edging from around tree to edge vegetable garden.
• Finish terracing behind shed
• Re-stain all landscape timbers.

Now that the weather is finally warming up, we're a bit behind. We will hopefully have the high school student help us out with a few of the more labor intensive ones. And two things on the list I already did today. I (finally) weeded the strawberry bed, and since it's the first year for them, I had to pluck off all the blossoms.

Before I did, I snapped a picture of one of them. I see that I missed some weed roots, but the strawberries sure look different than when I planted them as bare-roots back on Day 16.

Exercise update: 24 for 24.