Fluid. Calories. Gym.

I am exhausted. Remember a few weeks ago I was having issues with Water Retention. Well, it's back. Yesterday I drank so much water to try and flush it out. And it started working. At about 11pm... Every 90 minutes in the night I was up and peeing. The good news is that my feet are close to being a normal size again... The bad news, I got next to no sleep and am exhausted.

A couple of weeks ago Ross and I went camping (as you may know). While I was there I had a lot of time to think - considering I couldn't go hiking. One of the things on my mind was my weight.

While I am mostly content with who I am, I can't help but wonder if one of the reasons I not only hurt my Achilles, but also why it is taking so long to heal, is my size. While I was away I decided to do something I always swore I wouldn't do - I decided to try one of those meal replacement diets for a few weeks to try to kick off my new weight loss efforts.

I got the Terry White Chemist ones (cheaper than Optifast) and gave it a go. Turns out I was right all along. Those things are just not enough food... The best I have done is 2 days, before succumbing to mind numbing hunger and bingeing like there was no tomorrow.

So, I am back on Calorie King. Not sure if I'm going to jump back into the forums, although I have said hello on the 50+ one already. My concern is that I will get obsessed again, and I can’t do that to myself or to Ross, it just isn’t fair. I am going to try and be easy on myself. Eat back my exercise calories, and mainly focus on good food and exercise (when I can).  I would like to lose about 18kgs before the Shave – this is a vanity thing, I want a slimmer face. LOL But to be honest, anything will be better than now.

I am looking for a gym. One that has Zumba and Yoga. The only reason is that I want to do both in the new year, and a gym membership that offers both will be cheaper than a casual rate to 2 separate places each week. I have found one that offers both at good times right near where I live, but I will probably be moving within the next 4 or 5 months so that may not be overly ideal. There is a couple in the city, but none of them have both options at times that suit me, so that may not be so good.  There are a couple near work, but will I travel this far on weekends to do a class? I don’t know.

I need to keep researching and hopefully I will find the perfect gym with all the things I need at a price I can afford in a perfect location. At least, I can keep dreaming…

100 Days of Gratitude – Day 15

Today I am grateful for the fact that I have so many choices in my life. I am truly blessed.

xox

Gear Up Girl

sigh....

My Achilles has flared up again. Started hurting on Saturday. By Sunday morning it was swollen. I took the bike out for a spin up and down the street, but no good. It hurt too much.  Which meant...

No Gear Up Girl...

I am really disappointed about it too. I was looking forward to it.

Today it is still sore, aggravated by the fact I had to run for the bus this morning...  The Physio did say this could happen. I was just really hoping it wouldn't. So back to being really careful and doing nothing for a week or so. sigh... I just wish it would get better already. I am not very good at this patience thing.

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 14
Today I am grateful for the public transport in SA, which means I can get to work without too much stress on my Achilles.

xox

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 13

Day 13

Today I am grateful for days off. Two days off, with nowhere to go is definitely something to cherish and be grateful for.

xox

Old Friends

Last night I had dinner with one of my closest friends, M.  M lives in the Northern Territory.  She moved up there a few years ago to do Nursing in remote Aboriginal communities.  She comes back once or twice a year and we try to catch up.

I am spewing that I forgot to take a photo of us together though. I usually do.

Anyway, we had dinner and talked and laughed and even cried a little bit.  It was absolutely incredible to see her.  Makes me realise just how much I do miss her.

It made me think a lot about old friends.  Many of my friends live great distances away.  Some in Qld where I used to live.  But many have just moved away as life has taken them down different paths.

How lucky are we to live in a age where staying in contact is as easy as logging on to the internet or picking up a telephone to call or text. Or even catching a 4 hour midnight $99 flight to visit.  It makes our long distance friendships that much more alive.

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 12
Today I am grateful for friendships that last the distance, both figuratively and literally.

xox

Overwhelming Support

Quote of the Day

Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.
            -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Well, it has only been 2 days since I have announced my intention to participate in the 2011 World's Greatest Shave for the Leukaemia Foundation, but I have received an overwhelming amount of support in that time.

I am actually quite moved by the responses I have been getting, here, on Facebook, on online forums, and in real life.  I have had offers for raffle prizes, people offering to sell fundraising chocolates, people ready to donate, and just a general buzz that what I am doing is the right thing, even though it is as scary as crap...  LOL

You will be hearing lots about this in the coming months. I am really hoping we can raise the $5000. Not that I want to actually shave my head, but because the funds are so desperately needed. If anyone is a fundraising wizz and wants to help out, please let me know. I will take all the help I can get!

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 11
I am grateful that the people that are in my life are all such amazing supportive people, who are ready to do anything they can to help out. I truly am surrounded by wonderful people.

xox

Question Day

1)  What have you done in the last week to make yourself proud?


2)  Are you a thongs (shoe) kind of person?

3)  What is your favorite cold treat in the summer?

4)  What time did you get up this morning: 

5)  If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? 

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 10

Today I am grateful for my hair. Since I have started telling people about doing the Worlds Greatest Shave I have been hearing amazing stories of people suffering with Leukaemia and losing their hair. So I am grateful that I have the choice to do this.

xox

Insanity

Definition of Insanity...

Yep - that's me.

I have just committed to participating in the 2011 Leukaemia Foundation World's Greatest Shave.

I have committed to colouring my hair, but have said that if I can raise $5000 I will shave it off.

My boss is going to help.  The man who was part of a small team of people who raised over $150,000 for Camp Quality last year....

I will officially launch my fundraising campaign in January, giving myself 2 months to raise the money.  Watch this space.  If you want to see me lose my lovely hair (and I LOVE my hair BTW), you'll have details on how to help out on January 11, 2011.

Watch this space...

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 9
Today I am grateful that I am in a position where attempting to raise money for a good cause is a very real possibility. Being able to give back to the community in this way makes me very proud.

xox

Cycling

Quote of the Day

Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman,
before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.

- John Quincy Adams

Whoodda thunk that 5 weeks off the bike would make such a massive difference.  Yesterday was HARD...  The morning ride was 8kms (normal) which I usually do in around 30-33 mins, depending on how tired I am and how long I wait at traffic lights.  That is because I take my time since I don't want to get sweaty as there are no showers at work.

Yesterday morning took 40 minutes.  And it was 40 HARD minutes. I was so sluggish.  It was dreadful.  The ride home was better.  I did 12.5kms, although I have no idea how long it took.  The 35 degree heat got to me though, and when my water got hot I started to feel quite ill.  I guess it was just the first heat of the year, combined with my general level of "un-fit-ness", that made me feel bleh.

This morning was better.  Took me about 36-37 mins to get here and that was with a killer head wind.  So I am pretty impressed with that. I am feeling good about my riding again which is good.

Which means I will be doing the Gear Up Girl ride on Sunday.  It is only going to be 19 degrees, so I won't have the heat to contend with.  I am a bit nervous as I have never ridden in a pack before. My plan is to stick to the back and as it starts to thin out just find a spot on my own.  It is 15kms, and afterwards I will ride home, so I will easily get the 23kms in I need for my 50km training plan.

As for my Achilles, I am off to the Physio for a check up tonight. It is feeling pretty good though. I went for a 30 minute walk yesterday morning, plus all my riding, and it is feeling good. The tendon next to it (I forget what it's called) is still tight, but it has only been 3 weeks since I started truly taking care of it, so I guess it will take time.  Hopefully the Physio is pleased with the progress.

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 8
Today I am grateful for the sunshine. Although I am a little bit pink right now, I am so glad that the sun is shining as it really does brighten the day in so many ways.

xox

EDIT
I have started a fundraising page for the Gear Up Girl ride, in support of the Heart Foundation. If anyone has a few dollars spare and would like to help out, it will be most appreciation.  Just click here to donate.
Thank you

Bluebell

Since the "kicking" incident a couple of months ago where poor Bluebell got kicked outside my office, I have been parking her in the big empty back room attached to the back of our office. However we no longer have the lease to the back portion, so that is no longer an option.

Since I refuse to put her back out the front and subject her to more random acts of violence, she is now parked inside my actual office. If a client comes in (that is the desk I use for clients) I have to move her so she is in front of my desk. If I then need to access my computer while the client is here, I am screwed! LOL!

Gear Up Girl

Quote of the Day
"Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try." - Yoda, Star Wars The Empire Strike Back

I love quotes and have been thinking about doing a daily quote thing for a while. This morning I decided, no more thinking about it, if I feel moved to share a quote, I will. :o)

I realised this morning that the Gear Up Girl bike ride is this coming Sunday. Oh my...  I haven't been on the bike in over a month!

But this morning I dusted off the cobwebs and rode to work.  My Achilles held up really well, but geez have I lost a lot of fitness. Stoopid Achilles injury... :o(

*stamps feet and has a tantrum*

Ok, I'm better now. :o)

Seriously though, I am not sure how I will go. But I am only entered in the 15km  I think (I'll need to check).  So I'll try a couple of 15kms ride this week and see how I go.  If I go okay (and I don't care about the time) then I'll do the ride on Sunday.  I mean, I have my fancy helmet I won and all. :o)

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 7
Today I am grateful for how flat Adelaide is, making my return to cycling not to painful. :o)

xox

Weekend of Camping

I have had the most amazing weekend. It was brilliant.  And I know I usually share everything, but for some reason I feel like keeping a lot of this weekend to myself.  I had a few personal epiphanies and breakthroughs over the course of the 2 days, and I am still sorting through what a lot of it means. I also received several very loud messages (thank you butterflies, I understand) that I need to work through.

However please believe me when I say it was an amazing weekend.  The 2nd night we actually slept outside under the stars, something I have always wanted to do.  We also spent Saturday afternoon with two very dear friends who live not to far from the Forest that we camped in.  We went wine tasting (and bought several very yumscious wines), and just talked and laughed and truly enjoyed each other.  We haven't seen them in quite a while and it was incredible to reconnect.

My only issue with the entire weekend (aside from having to come home) is that I could not go hiking with Ross.  I actually went a little stir crazy, and spent this morning walking laps of the car park for over an hour just to try and get it out of my system. LOL My Achilles held up beautifully on the walk.  If I keep this up I should be able to hike again come January! YAY!

Here are some pics...

A very rare photo of me in a  very dorky (but very warm) hat. :o)

The nearly full moon shining through the trees.

Ninja Ross with his chiller scarf tied around his head.

Ross chillin' by the tent.

Ross stargazing, beer in hand, dork light on head...

We set up our beds outside Saturday night and slept the entire night out under the stars. The only problem - mozzies don't sleep and we left our mozzie bands home...

Sun rise through the trees. What a beautiful way to start the day.

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 6

I am grateful for amazing friends who love me and support me no matter what.  I am truly blessed to have these amazing people in my life.

xox

100 Days of Gratitude ' Day 5

I am a bit stunned that I have not only phone access out here in the forest, but internet access on the phone as well! Oh well, I guess we are not that far out of the city. And it does make it easier to do my daily gratitude post. :o)

Day 5
Today I am grateful for the bodies healing abilities. My Achilles has gotten better to the point that squatting no longer hurts. Why is this important? Because our camp site is a long way from the long drop so I have to "squat & pee". :o) LOL. Seriously though, although my Achilles is a long way from being healed, it is improving finally, and for that I am truly grateful.

xox

Camping

Ross & I are heading off camping this afternoon for a couple of nights.  It has been ages since we have done this - too long actually.  It is so hard with Ross working in Retail to get free weekends. I think we are going to have to schedule them in next year so that we don't miss this.  I can't wait!

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 4
Today I am grateful for living in South Australia.  Just a 45 minute drive out of the city and we are in a beautiful Forrest setting where we can kick back and commune with nature for the weekend.  Perfect.

xox

Question Day

Yes, today is question day, but I have a few things I want to say first. :o)

Last night we went up to the Hills for our monthly dinner with the Paranormal Group.  As usual, it was a great night. Lots of lively and interesting conversations, lots of laughter, and as always, great food.

Last night I learned something about myself.  I was chatting with C about all things spiritual, and we got to talking abut objects holding energy.  I mentioned that I can't wear used or estate jewelery because I often pick up energies from those who have worn them before.  She asked if I can hold someone's jewelery and get a sense of that person.  I said I have never tried it.

So she gave me her ring to hold.  Almost immediately I get a real tightness in my chest and a real sense of dread.  Dread is a weird word, but is the only way I know how to describe it.  Turns out C is going through a break up and is feeling dread and it is manifesting as chest pain.  Very very bizarre.

So now I am intrigued.  I have heard of people being able to do this.  In fact, the psychic I sometimes see holds a piece of your jewelery to connect with you, but I never knew I could do this.  I mean, I knew I picked up energies from old jewelery, but I never thought that could translate to this.

I was completely freaked out last night, but now I want to see if this is something I can develop.  Who knows.  Maybe last night was a one off thing, but I am definitely keen to find out.  :o)

The rest of the night was mainly me listening to everyone else talk, which is usually the way.  I do feel like I take a lot from these dinners, but don't tend to contribute a great deal.  Hopefully that will change though.

Our meals took ages to come out last night for some reason. When they finally did the first lot had to go back. The reason? A possum piddled from the tree above us and caught the waiter square on, with the splash landing right into the meals he was holding!  It was the absolute funniest thing. I can just imagine the chef's reaction when the waiter took the meals back - "Are you serious? A possum pee'd in the meals? You expect me to believe that?" LOL

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 3
I am grateful for new friends and wonderfully open and accepting people that have come into my life this year.

Question Day Questions.
1)  What is your favourite sandwich filling?
2)  What's for dinner?
3)  Who was the last person you talked to?
4)  What can you hear right now?
5)  What is your favourite colour?

xox

Test Results

I got all my blood test results back yesterday, and I have to say I am pretty pleased, and also surprised.  The reason I went to the doctor is that I was getting symptoms that I was concerned about.  Firstly I was concerned about my sugar levels as I was pee'ing a lot, and with my history of pre-diabetes in the past and my family history I need to be careful.  Also I was getting hot flushes and a few other things symptomatic of menopause.  Even though I am only 37, with my history, early menopause would not be a surprise.  So we got bloods done.

Sugars - perfect.  Still no signs of diabetes or the pre-diabetes that has shown up in the past.  All good there.

Oestrogen - Perfect. In fact, all hormones spot on.  No menopause.

Thyroid function - perfect.

Cholesterol - spot on.  This was a surprise as I have not been eating that well, but it is right smack in the middle of the good range, with my good cholesterol being high and my bad cholesterol being low.

Vitamin B12 - perfect

Vitamin D - Still low, but a significant improvement from last time, so I will keep taking the supplements for another year and get tested again.

Iron - borderline.  Not anemic, but getting low.  The problem here is that I can not usually take supplements as they make me constipated.  But I have a low dose children's supplement that is "guaranteed" not to cause constipation.  And I am taking only half the recommended dose.  So we will see how that goes.  Plus I will make a conscious effort to increase the green veg and legumes in my diet and try and get there naturally.

Overall I am incredibly pleased.  Most of the symptoms I went for originally have stopped or slowed, so she said to just give my body a few more months to adjust to being off the Pill and to adjust to the fat that the anxiety and depression seems to have gone as well.  If things are still hinky in 3 months I will go back, otherwise I will just let my body sort itself out.

Considering I have not necessarily treated my body properly this year, this is an outstanding result for me, but yet another kick in the butt to remind me that I do need to look after this body.  I only get one in this lifetime, I need to care for it.

100 Days of Gratitude Day 2
Today I am grateful for my health.  My body seems to be doing really well despite how I can treat it.  So I am grateful for that and determined to start treating it the way it deserves to be treated, with love and respect.

xox

Post Office Surprise

I went to collect my mail this afternoon and got a lovely surprise. The pack of goodies that went with my magazine subscription arrived.

I was actually expecting a jelly roll & a layer cake, instead they sent me a pack of 24 fat quarters. I thought about it, trying to decide if I should call and complain that I didn't get what I was expecting, but I have decided that I am happy with the fat quarters. The colours are stunning & I actually have a use for them. So I have decided to keep them.

The Gutterman threads are great and the little cutting mat is also great. So I am pleased with my haul.

xox

100 Day of Gratitude

This idea is floating around Facebook at the moment, where every day for 100 days you post something that you are grateful for.  I loved the idea so I am going to do it here.

100 Days of Gratitude - Day 1
I am grateful for my husbands unwavering love and support. no matter what hair brained scheme i think up, or what over the top melodramatic plans I come up with, he is always there encouraging me and telling me I can do it.

If you want to join in, just put your daily gratitude in the comments section.  I would love to know what you are grateful for.

xox

This & That

I spent yesterday at my Mums working on my quilt blocks. My niece was there as well which was nice. I made my way through 16 blocks which I thought was pretty impressive. Although by the end of the day my back was killing me.

Kayla also decided to do some sewing so we had a good day sharing the machine and making fun of each other.

My sewing machine is not back from getting serviced yet, so I'm going to have to go back to Mums in a couple of weeks before I can do any more. I really don't mind though. I am enjoying going and spending time at Mums to sew. In saying that, I am looking forward to being able to pick it up whenever and just doing a bit here and there.

Today has not been so great. I woke up feeling a little nauseous, but headed out for work anyway. By the time I made it through 6 stops on the tram I knew it was a mistake. So I got off the tram and got on one going the other way, then spent the day in bed.

Tomorrow I have my doctors appointment to get the results of the blood tests I had last week. Nothing major, mainly just routine stuff. And hopefully I am feeling better by then too.

xox

Saturday

This morning started early-ish.  Due to my water "issues" I was up early.  Actually, more to the point I got so sick of getting up and going back to bed that I decided to stay up.  I got to work on my 3rd Stitchery.  I finished the 2nd one last night.

This morning I got through the 3rd.

So now that these are done it is back to my hexies.  I have done one more so now I only have 21 flowers to do before I start cutting the 700+ light green ones to join them all together. :o)

All this stitching was interspersed with householdy stuff.  As many of you know we are living with my MIL at the moment.  We have a little room that we have converted into our own living room (in addition to our bedroom).  Over winter it has turned into a junk room and I decided to get it back.  About half way through the day I realised that we need more drawers or storage tubs or something to get everything off the floor.

So I jumped on the tram and headed to Glenelg to get some storage tubs.  I ended up getting this instead...

Of course, I didn't think it through and had to bring it back home on the tram.  The tram ride was okay, it was carrying the 15kg awkward shaped box back home that was difficult...  I managed to get it home, although my Achilles is now flared up again. Sigh... I really can't wait to be back to normal again...

Anyway, I got home and assembled it myself, then got back to work on tidying and sorting.  I also filed 4 years worth of paperwork.  Yes, I was a little bit behind...  LOL  But now the room, although not finished, is usable again.

So now I am sitting here watching Buffy Season 1 (for about the 50th time) with my feet up.  I'll try and get another hexie flower done, although I am pretty exhausted so who knows.  Tomorrow I am off to Mum's to do some more on the Bento Box quilt.

xox

Water Retention

Megan, I just want to start by saying thank you for your comment and advice yesterday. Here's how it went down... :o)

Megan suggested the way to get the water moving through my body was to drink the concoction of Dandelion Tea and Cranberry Juice. What can I say. I was desperate. So around 11am yesterday morning I headed out in search of ingredients.

I had already drank 2 x 600ml bottles of water without any significant trips to the loo, but I made up 1.5 litres of Megan's wee concoction and started drinking...

By 1.30 I was finished, and still hadn't been to the loo. My stomach was over full (which worked out well when it came to lunch as I ate a lot less than normal) and somehow my feet were swelling more & more. If I thought they were painful yesterday morning, I knew nothing. They were so swollen the skin was shiny.

By 3 I was somehow thirsty again, so I started drinking more water. Finally I got to go to the loo, although certainly not as much as I would have liked.

After work I drank another 1.2 litres of water before I really started to release the fluid. I was up about 6 times in the night. I also drank another half a litre. This morning my feet are about half the size they were, although they are still clearly swollen. So I am going to make up another Dandelion Tea mixture and try and get a couple of litres of water in as well. I am hoping that if my body starts to recognise that it is not going without that it will release the rest of the fluid.

So, I know this post contains way too much information for the average person, but I figure if you read and enjoy the same types of blogs as I do, then you are anything but average. :o)

xox

Achilles Update

Well, the Achilles is still very sore.  Incredibly sore actually.  As such I have not yet got back on the bike as the pressure is hurting it.  I am back to the Physio next Tuesday so hopefully I can get some sort of relief.

I am sure it is not helped by the fact that I am retaining so much water at the moment that my feet literally feel as though they are going to burst through the skin.  I have never felt such incredible pressure in my feet before.  I have also never seen them quite this big before.  Even my thongs are tight...

So today I am trying to drink as much as possible and try to stay as far away from sodium as I can.  Hopefully I will start to "release" some of this water soon which will hopefully take some of the pressure off.

Any tips for getting rid of this water will be gratefully accepted.

xox

Question Day

1)  If you eat cold cereal what one is your favorite?

2)  What kind of vehicle do you drive? 

3)  have you been in a car accident?

4)  Do you have any tattoos?  If so what are they are where are they?

5)  Do you like Broccoli?

xox

Finished First Stitchery

I finished my first stitchery tonight. I am pretty pleased with it, even though I know there are a lot of places where I could have been neater. It didn't take very long and I really enjoyed it. I will finish the other two I got then decide what to do with them.

xox

Cycling

You know what I realised - I have not been on Bluebell in about a month.  I do believe this is the longest I have gone without riding since I seriously got into it over 2 years ago...  It feels strange.

But tomorrow I am allowed back on the bike. YIPPEEEE!!!!

I have been giving a lot of thought to my fitness while I am not allowed to hike or run, and of course, I am lead back to the bike.  Old faithful.  The thing I started on and the thing I keep coming back to.

My fitness is not great.  I can no longer just pop out and do a 50km ride.  And I miss that.  So what to do.  Well, get that back is what to do! There is just under 8 weeks till the end of the year.  Can I do this?

OF COURSE I CAN!

If I stick with this by January 2 I will have my 50kms back.  I am building up slow, just adding 10-20% to my long ride each week.  My commute to work is nothing, I can still do that half asleep (and often do).  I am sure I will be able to crank out 20kms this weekend (I hope so anyway).  And from there is is just hop, skip and a jump to 50. :o)  That's my theory anyway.  Would love to know what you think of the plan.  And I will keep you updated - remind me if I forget.

xox

Fun at the Fair

I would just like to preface this Blog Post by stating I am absolutely exhausted from my day at the Craft Fair, so please excuse any and all spelling and grammar mistakes, and if anything doesn't make sense (as it has come out of my jumbled mind) just ask and I will explain.  :o)

So my day started early.  The Fair opened at 10am, but Ross & MIL were going to the Farmers Market at the other end of the Show Grounds, so they dropped me off early.  I sat and waited... :o)  I jumped in the queue about 9.45 and waited.  About 10 minutes later a whole heap of the stall holders came out and lined themselves up along the line.  The Macarena started playing and they were off. They then pulled people up from the crowd and got everyone joining in. It was a fun (and funny) way to start the day!

10am and in we go.  My plan was to get the lay of the land so I could earmark the places I wanted to go back to. I had one job to do for MIL, who wanted me to go to the $3.50 FQ stall to get a fabric to match a flower scrap she had given me.  I found that fairly quickly and there was no one else around, so I ducked over and got her fabric.  I also got a few for myself for the next hand piecing project I am planning.

At 10.30 I had my first workshop. It was on Jelly Rolls and Bali Pops.  I really enjoyed it, got a lot of great ideas and jotted down some notes.  After the workshop I went and got a book of patterns and some great Jelly Roll Templates.

From there I found Mum and her friend and we sat down for a coffee.  After the pit stop, which included Show & Tell, we headed our separate ways again.  I prefer to do the Fairs mostly alone, as then I can go where I want when I want. I wandered for over an hour and bought a pattern (the one in the middle which is a little mail folder, very cute) and some water soluble markers.  The picture here also shows 2 patterns I bought later and some little scissors Mum got for me.

I ran into Mum again just before lunch and she got me this Better Homes & Gardens Show Bag which was filled with lots of lovely little bits and pieces.

Sitting down for lunch was a lovely relief to get off the feet, and we did another Show & Tell of all the things we had bought since morning tea.  :o)

After lunch I headed off to my next workshop, which was on raw edge appliqué.  Some really interesting stuff in this one, but it is very complicated as well.  Not sure if I will be trying this any time soon.  It was great to go and see though.  After that I went to the Quilt Show that was there.  OMG, there were some absolutely amazing quilts.  Stunning in fact.  One of them I fell in love with.  I have photos but I am not allowed to put them on the internet so I can not share them unfortunately.  The lady who made it was there giving a little demonstration.  I chatted to her for ages.  I then ran into Mum again and found out she knows her, they are in the same guild.  So Mum introduced me and she is going to give Mum some bits and pieces so I can learn her techniques.

I had another wander, but didn't find anything else that was jumping out at me.  I was actually looking for some sort of stitchery Block of The Month type project, but none were leaping out at me.  There is one coming up next year at the place where I do my Wednesday Sit & Sew, and I think I will do that one.  Nothing else I saw even came close to how lovely this one was, so I will wait.  :o)

Caught up with Mum & Edna again for another coffee.  Then the 3 of us went to a few stalls together.  We went to the Janome stand to have a look at the machine I am saving up for as Mum wanted to make sure it had a few things she thinks I need - it does.  We also went to have look at a pattern I was thinking of getting. Mum ended up getting it for me (the one on the left in the picture above).  It is a round quilted basket, which will be perfect for taking my stitching to class in.

After a few more stops for Mum & Edna we decided to head off.  We went outside and went our separate ways.  A few minutes down the road and I decided I did want the little light I had been looking at after all, so I turned around and went back.  :o)

It clips onto your embroidery frame and directs a really lovely light directly on to your project. I also decided to pick up these few stitchery's.

Like I said before, I am going to do a Block of the Month of stitchery's.  But it has been about 25 years since I have done any embroidery (yes I was a young teenager then).  So I got these little ones (they were 3 for $10) to practice on. The last thing I grabbed was another pattern (the one on the right above).  It is actually for a book bag, but it is the perfect size for my little Netbook.  Most lap top bags for for the regular sized laptops.  Mine is so much smaller than those one (it's one of the little EeePC's).  So this is absolutely perfect.

Then I was done.  Money pretty much gone, legs and feet killing me.  I rang Ross who had been at a Knife Show for the afternoon to see where he was, but he was nowhere near me, so I trudged to the Tram stop and waited for the tram.  As soon as I got home I showed my MIL my haul - she was very impressed - and now I am sitting here ready for sleep... LOL

I had a brilliant day, and can't wait to get stuck into all my new projects.

xox

Flower 50

I have finished my 50th flower for my Grandmothers Flower Garden. Only 22 more to go! I am firing through these!

xox

Started Sewing my Quilts

I finally got started today! I got up early and caught the bus to Mum's. First things first, sort out the colours. I had 2 Jelly Rolls & 1 Layer Cake with the same fabrics.  I needed them paired up, 40 different combinations of light and dark. That took a while. :o)

Then I looked at the pattern, decided I did not like the way it was put together, and set about working out the measurements for the way I wanted to do it.  By the time I did that, and got a few blocks cut, I only had time to put together 4 blocks.

Obviously I still need to quarter them, and rejoin them to make the Bento Box pattern, but I won't do that until I have done all the blocks. The pattern actually has you put them together by the quarter, but to me that seemed like a lot of extra work. I think they do that because they only had 2 quarters the same anywhere in the quilt. Because I am doing 2 quilts at the same time, I can do it this way which is much easier.

I am going back next Sunday to do some more.  And hopefully my old machine, which is in getting serviced, will be back so I can do some at home after that. :o)

xox

Question Day

1)  What do you like to do in your spare time?

2)  What is your favourite 4-legged creature and why?

3)  What is something you have done in your life that you are proud of?

4)  What country would you most like to visit and why?

5)  How is the weather where you are right now?

xox

Physio Appointment

Well, I have finally been to the Physio regarding the Achilles pain I have been having for the last few months. There is good news and bad news.

The good news is that there is no tearing or permanent damage. There is some severe inflamation in the Achilles and surrounding tendons, but the damage itself is in the Achilles. It is repairable, but it will take time.

The bad news is that I am on some pretty severe restrictions with regards to what I can and can't do. For the next week I am resting. As of next week I can ride my bike (yay), swim, and go for short walks on flat ground. I will progress from there. I am not allowed to go hiking for at least 10 - 12 weeks. I am not allowed to start running again for at least 4 months, possibly up to 6 months. I have exercises I have to do twice a day to strengthen the Achilles and surrounding tendons.

Tom, the Physio, is optimistic that I will heal. My main concern is that I can't hike for 10 - 12 weeks. The next Rogaine is in 16 weeks. And our rescheduled Heyson hike is only 6 months away. That doesn't give me a lot of time to focus on my hill work which I was going to start working on asap. Tom knows the Rogaine is my next goal and said he will help me get there.

Overall my prognosis is good. I just have to practice patience. Something I am not very good at. Mid-January is my goal to start hiking again. I need to follow Tom's directions, do my strengthening exercises every day. Work on dropping some weight. And I will be ready to Rogaine and Heyson.

xox

Happy November 1

Love Kimba & Shiva

xox