A New Plan!

As you can imagine.  I do not have time to lay around. Since I have no choice at the moment, I’ve decided to come up with a plan for myself. I’m calling it my Personal Research, Learning and Development Project. I’m analyzing and researching a few key factors in my life. Basically, I’m a happy person and have been happy with my life—but not always with myself. Actually, I mostly hate my physical self. If I didn’t think I was such a fun, person, I might really feel hopeless. (At least I felt this way prior to my surgery when I thought I was this discrepit old woman who couldn’t even think about leaving the house for fear of walking around and breaking something). Instead, I’ve decided the embrace the good news the doctor imparted to Butch—I have strong, healthy bones! Nothing should hold me back!

I’m taking control of my life—well, MORE control of my life. Here are the key factors in my Personal Research, Learning and Development Project.

Physical—

Activity program—treadmill plus weights (I’ve already started with the weights along with the ankle exercises assigned from the doctor).

Bone health—bone density test; OsteoStrong program 

Establishing a walking club—this will include walking prior to our Movie Mondays and Stitching Tuesdays.

Walking with the family—each at their own pace.

Biking (but that’s a long way off as I gain balance and confidence. I still hadn’t made it off the driveway without falling in to the landscaping). 

Yoga--or specifically working on balance. That's one thing the doctor told me to do when I was recovering from my other broken ankle last fall. I'm a good patient/rule follower, but I didn't get in to the habit of working on my balance. I really need to work on that.

Get in the habit of wearing my fitbit again

Cleaning out this house. I’m putting this under physical because it will be a physical task to do it. Every closet and drawer is stuffed to the brim. I/we don’t need all this stuff. I should also probably list this under spiritual as it will make me feel really good to get a handle on what we have, need, want. 

Nutritional—

Healthier eating 

Focus on protein and calcium rich foods; fresh fruits and vegetables

Continuing to share meals out with family/friends

Limiting meals out—and choosing some healthier options than just the 1/2 order approach.

Continue with Lean Cuisines a couple times a week. I like them, so it’s not that hard. I just need to add a salad or veggie to make them seem more like a real meal. 

Go back to drinking water—just about exclusively. 

I know I should be doing something about eliminating processed foods, but I’m not ready to go there. I’m giving myself time to get a handle on other areas of nutrition. 

Eliminate artificial sweeteners. I only use Equal for my tea. I’m down to about 2 packs a day already, so this should be so hard. I’ll go back to sugar if necessary.

Spiritual—

I’ve been interested in getting in to a Bible study for a long time, but haven’t taken any steps along those lines. Mostly, I’ve never liked the times those things meet. I don’t want to do things at night—I’m a morning person. Instead, I’m turing to the internet. I just want something simple to remind me to think about my spirituality and count my blessings every day. 

Maybe even just dusting off my daily devotional will be enough. Just something to keep me mindful of the fact that there is more to me than just me and to be grateful for that.

I want to spend more time in my garden. I have plenty of nice places to just sit and reflect. But, it’s the mosquitoes and use of bug spray that deters me. I need to change that. 

I also used to say the Rosary every day while on the treadmill. I can add that again.

Learning—

Everything computer related falls under here. I want to watch a lot of tutorials.I think I’m giving up the foreign language thing as I don’t want to study too much.

I love to learn, but don’t really know what else I’d like to learn. I’m sure I’ll make some fun discoveries.

Along the lines of learning and nutrition, I’ll try to focus on simple, yet tasty, low calorie meals. Is there really such a thing? Well, I’ve already signed up with Cooking Light to give it a try. I’ll be sure to share the recipes.

Giving Back—

I’ve been a full time volunteer most of my married life. I officially retired from all of the fund raising in 2000—with just a couple projects since then. I’ve always felt like I’ve “done my part” by the time I retired. And I feel like what I do spend time on regarding organizing my friends and their memory keeping is worthwhile. I try to keep the focus on telling the stories of our lives. But maybe I need to do more.

I’ve already volunteered to head up a committee that would make sure the scholarship recipients at St. Cecilia would be able to more fully participate in options closed to them due to financial need. That’s not off the ground yet, but I have quite a few ideas. And plenty of people to call on to help—there’s winter formal, prom, winterim programs, senior pictures, yearbooks—I want those girls to have the full SCA experience. 

Just Plain Fun—

Stitching

Reading

Netflix

Blogging

Scraobooking—Album planning—develop AYM workshop for 2017 (already done. I’m pretty excited because this new concept is not ANYTHING I’ve seen done yet! My girls will be happy!)

Update Making the Most of My Memories Workshop and get ready to teach it again.

Visits from friends

Fishing—I can’t believe it’s been nearly a year since I fished for the first time in over 30 years. I really liked it, got a new rod and reel for Christmas—and have yet to try it out. 

I’m going to re-design my garden around the pool. I have some ideas, just need to do a little research before I set the plan.

OIrganizing—-EVERYTHING—yes, this is fun to me (So far, I put nearly 400 photos in to an album for Mindy’s wedding. I’ve already cleaned up and re-organized digital photos on my computer. Add to that—I re-organized ALL of my fonts. I added at least a hundred new ones. I love fonts.)

Outings—

I had already planned an outing for September to the White’s Creek Flower Farm. I’ve had to postpone that. Spring might be better anyway.

I need to get the beach trip with my cousins back on the books—since I’ve had to cancel. (Already done. We’re going in March. It might not be the best beach time, but just being together will be fun no matter what we do.)

Reschedule my trip to Charlotte for January or February. (This will be easy to do once Sandy gets the school schedule.)

Plan my winter trip to St. Louis. I like to go twice a year—January and August.

Our girls trip to New York is next spring. I had only done some preliminary planning for that. (I’ve gotten this back on the books and have done some planning).

Our book club has a trip to England on the calendar for next September to visit our friend/member, Diane. That’s definitely something to look forward to. (This is in the very preliminary stages, but I’ve put together a list of things to do when we’re there. For many it will be their first trip to England. I’m determined to get to Hampton Court this time—no mater what!).

So, you might be thinking—this looks like a pretty ambitious plan. Really, it’s not. I’ll just be adding a few things to my life that might be a little more satisfying—giving me the feeling that I am a bit more in control. My hives will continue to be a problem. There’s nothing I can do about that. All I can do is what I think is right for me. Luckily, I have family and friends that are willing to go along with my schemes! 

Love is...

...your friends coming over to spend the evening with you! Linda, Connie, Nancy, Susan and Pam spent their evening with me. They brought (and left) tons of food:

They left our refrigerator "full up!" Nancy made me a jug of tea punch. It's the best and totally southern. Connie brought sloppy joes. Linda left barbecue and queso. Susan brought flatbreads. Pam brought dessert. We definitely have enough food for the weekend. Luckily, the family will be here at the pool today, so they can help with some of the eating!

Karolyn brought these beautiful tomatoes from her garden last week. They were delicious. I cannot get enough fresh tomatoes in the summer.

She also brought me a bottle of Riesling---in honor of the trip that I'm not able to go on. They are on the Danube right now--enjoying some German wines.

Susan dropped by for visit and brought this gorgeous orchid. Everyone knows I love flowers. I don't think I've ever seen one with so many blooms!

 Jennifer had this delivered. The perfect thing for Butch---no cooking involved.

 Nancy brought me these sunflowers. They are huge. I love having something to brighten the room.

Butch put them in a different vase so they would stay more together. I have no idea where this vase came from. He said he found it in the laundry room.

 I got mail! Apparently Evie made me cards!

You can see the sentiment through the eyes of a 3 year old. At the top and bottom: Aunt Bard---with "Get Well Fast" in the middle!!

Josie is a little too small---9 months---to make me a card. So she sent a photo instead! 

So there you have thoughtful gifts and visits this week. Just more reminders of how lucky I am!! I'm grateful for all the special people in my life. Thanks, guys!

Friday Funnies

I'm a "Cockeyed Optimist!"

So, I just got back from the doctor. I’m trying to be grateful, but as is usual with me—I was much more optimistic than I should have been. So instead of just being happy, I’m a bit disappointed. 

I’ve been doing so great, that this is what I thought would happen:

Doctor would say I was doing great and could not only have the boot, but be weight bearing too. Which would mean I could resume all of my normal activities—like swimming, going stitching, movies, play bridge, get my hair done, get a manicure, etc. 

Instead, this happened:

Doctor said I can have the boot, but I am still not weight bearing for another month. That means I really can’t go out. Okay, it’s not all bad. I have already been out on the front porch. I can do that. 

I can shower.

I can sleep without the boot.

I only have to wear the boot when I’m getting around—not when I’m just sitting. I didn’t even bother to ask about the pool because Butch “shot me a look!”

I guess, since I’ve been through all of this before, I think I know better than the doctor!! Really, I’ll do what I need to. I’m a good patient. I do get to start some ankle exercises the day after tomorrow. And the stitches are out. And I didn’t have to have that horrible cumbersome cast. 

Really, it’s all good!

What's Keeping me Busy...

lots of reading:
Just finished "Obsession" by Nora Roberts. I wasn't blown away by any means. My favorite part was the rehab of the house and re-purposing old junk. I could really see that in my mind's eye. The storyline was pretty dark. I hadn't read anything by Nora Roberts in years. This seems like a departure from what I remember her writing. Serial killers and a stinkin' dog. Believe me, I could smell that slobbering dog. Plus, it didn't help that I figured out the ending about mid-way through. I try not to really think about how a book might end as I prefer to be surprised. But I felt like there was a lot of filler in this book which gave me too much time to think.

watching Netflix shows:
I discovered a BBC production that I am in love with. It's called "Land Girls." It's about the woman's effort in England during WWII. I love period pieces anyway. This one is really good. I don't know how old the series is or if it is over. I'm midway through season 2. There are only 5 episodes per season.

I'm also watching "Friday Night Lights." Sandy and Greg have been talking about this show for years. I'm midway through season 2 and loving it. I'm obsessed with Kyle Chandler since seeing him in the Netflix series "Bloodline" (excellent). I also love Connie Britton (currently on the show "Nashville"). Anyway, I'm actually learning a lot about football which has been an unexpected fun side effect.

I just finished watching "Grease" while I was sorting and putting 400 of Mindy's wedding pictures in to an album. I did not realize the appropriate-ness of this until the "hand jive" scene came on. It was about the exact time that I had come to the father/daughter, dance pictures. Mindy has been obsessed with everything "Grease" since she was about 4 years old. She knew the dialog of the entire movie. Her first email address was "missgrease." She knew that she wanted to incorporate "Grease" in to her wedding plans. So, when it was time for the father/daughter dance, Butch and Mindy started with a waltz to "Edelweiss"---a nod to Butch's Austrian roots. After a couple minutes, the music switched to the "hand jive." They pulled it off beautifully. It was totally unexpected but so fun.

I'm re-watching "The Wonder Years." I haven't seen it since the 80's, but loved it then and love it again! The music, the clothes, the houses, cars---all my time frame---1960's. Plus it's only 22 minutes long--nice little something to slip in.

watching old movies in TMC:
I watched an interesting documentary on Jean Harlow. I have several of her movies taped.
I like the old black and whites.

stitching:
I've already finished 3 of the candy corns. Photos coming.

thinking:
I've put together what I call my "Research, learning and development plan." More on that later.

visiting:
with friends. Last week, Connie, Nancy A., Nancy E., Karolyn, Linda, Susan, and Joanie stopped by. They've brought flowers, food, fresh veggies and mostly their good spirits. Love them all. More coming this week.

Well, I guess that's about it. I don't go back to the doctor until Wednesday. It was supposed to be 10 days post-op, but that's the first appointment. That makes it 13 days. I'm anxious. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I have a feeling I'm going to be able to be "weight-bearing." I have absolutely NO pain. You wouldn't even know I had anything done. That sounds like a good thing to me.

Later...

Forgotten Manners

I read an article this morning about forgotten manners. I'm thinking that young people today are just not taught some of the common courtesies. Here are a few from the list and my thoughts.

1. Don't clean your plate.
First off, I never knew this was a rule. I grew up where you HAD to clean your plate--even if that meant sitting alone at the dinner table by yourself for an hour--only to have said plate re-appear at breakfast. I wish I hadn't been raised this way. As a result, it's just a habit to eat everything on the plate. I'm trying to be more cognizant of that as why bother wasting the calories--especially if you are not enjoying it. It has always bothered Butch that people nearly lick their plate clean.

2. Don't talk with food in your mouth.
I can't say that I really see this as a problem, Most of the people I know don't talk with their mouth full. Sometimes, just at the moment you take a bite, someone asks a question and there you are.

3. Eat slowly and deliberately.
I'm a slow eater--I think mostly because I am talking. But I think it is a good idea to enjoy what your are tasting rather than wolf it down. I know a few kids who chow down, but not many adults. Maybe it's something you "out-grow."

4. Send thank you cards.
This is a "BIGGIE!" I really hate that handwritten notes are falling by the wayside. I get that it takes time and effort. Thank you notes can be a pain. But there's nothing like a handwritten note to make the "gift giver" feel appreciated. Side note: to my family and friends who have visited, dropped food, or flowers--during this recent hiccup in my life--my email "thank yous" and mentions on my blog will have to suffice. I can't get upstairs to get notes or stamps. Yeah, that's what I'm going with. I'm pretty sure the post office will be defunk within 10 years anyway.

5. Offer your seat.
This is actually a BIG pet peeve of mine. I'm not talking just adults---but about the adults that have not taught their children the common courtesy of giving up their seat. I see this across the board (even my own grandkids are sometimes guilty of this). Kids can easily sit on the floor. When I was growing up, it was unthinkable for kids to take a spot on the couch when adults were present. I'm not saying kids don't have rights, I'm just saying kids are more flexible and need to be taught that. And whatever happened to kids sitting on their parents laps? Disney is the worst for that. You are exhausted, and sometimes wet when you get on the resort shuttles. All the seats are taken by little kids who could easily climb on a lap and make a little more room. Most men will still get up and vacate their seat for women, but I think that may be gone by the next generation.

6. Hold the door.
It's been my experience that most people still hold the door for the person behind them.

7. Use "may I"
Well, I guess they are referring to the fact that most people say "can I" when the proper usage is "may I." Not a big deal to me.

8. RSVP
OMGosh! This might be the rudest thing of all. Luckily for me, most of my family and friends respond in a timely manner. But I know for a fact that the younger generations are terrible about RSVP-ing. I  DO NOT understand what is the big deal about this. It's pretty simple. When you receive an invitation, you have two decisions to make. #1. Do you want to accept? (If not, just respond you are unavailable. It's not a lie if you'd rather stay home with a book---you're not available. #2. Can you accept? Pretty simple: LOOK AT YOUR CALENDAR! There really is NO excuse to not respond quickly. Yes, I get that sometimes things can be a little more complicated, but it doesn't take a second to let the "inviter" know that you are working out a problem and will get back to them. It makes it pretty darn hard to plan when you don't know until the day of whether people are coming. It's just plain RUDE!!

9. Make eye contact.
I've definitely noticed lack of eye contact during conversations. Sometimes I realize that when I'm talking, I only make eye contact with one or two people in the group. I try to pay attention to that.

10. Say "hello" when you enter a room.
Okay, so I added this one to the list myself. My bridge partner and one of my sisters will make comments like "so and so didn't even say hello." I can see that it might seem rude, but for the most part, when someone comes in--I'm probably the greeter! As said sister says of me, "Barb you're the friendly one." Yes, I am, but more importantly, I want people to feel welcomed and that I'm happy to see them. When my bridge partner or sister say this to me I usually respond--"well, did you say "hi" to them?" Now what I really think is rude is when someone comes in--and--although is not part of the current "group"--just ignores them as if no one is there. To me it's common courtesy to step in and say hello for 15 seconds--then be about your way.

What about you? What types of manners do you think are falling by the wayside that need to be put back in place? I'd love to know.

Let's Talk About Stitching

There's been quite a bit of stitching going on lately!

Nancy A. picked up this little number to be her travel project for when we went to the beach. She didn't quite grasp the idea that a travel project was supposed to be small! I didn't want to discourage her since this pillow was so cute. It's her first Halloween piece.

She knew that she wanted it to be sparkly so she picked out lots of fun fibers. At the beach, I made up a stitch guide for her so she could try some new techniques. The background was supposed to be white, but I didn't like that for a Halloween pillow. I suggested she do it in black. I knew it would pose a problem when she got to the spider and black cat. For the spider, I suggested she try her hand at beading. She chose some black iridescent beads that worked perfectly. She took to beading right away and really enjoyed it. I think you either like beading or hate it. I happen to like it. As for the cat, my idea of letting the fuzzy fiber carry it---didn't quite work. I tried outlining it in white---didn't like that either---much too stark of a contrast. I ended up using a grey which set it off perfectly. She added green beads for the eyes.

We took the needlepoint to my favorite pillow finisher---Emily at Textile Fabrics. There we picked out the fabrics and trims. The needlepoint itself was about 18"x12" so we didn't need much fabric for the top. We thought this monster stitched mouth seemed like the perfect thing. It turned out great. She's keeping it out now until Halloween.

At the same time we took Nancy's needlepoint for finishing, I brought this piece that Sandy finished. I have a deal with my 3 daughters and now 4 granddaughters. I will pay for everything needlepoint related as long as they finish their project. They don't get a knew piece until the previous one is finished. I've already learned this lesson the hard way. Nothing that a few months of being laid up didn't solve last fall! Anyway, we loved the non-traditional aquas and reds in this pillow. 

The fabric on the back of the pillow is adorable and just made for this piece as it matches the little snowman on top. I would have preferred to use it as a ruffle, but it is a tiny pincord and wouldn't really work for ruffling. I would have preferred if the blue ruffle showed up on top a little better too, but when you have to go with pre-made trims, you have to "settle" a lot! One of my favorite things to do is to pick out the finishing materials. Luckily, my friends like me to help with that! I've learned my lesson the hard way--when I had a pillow finished at the discretion of the finisher. I was so disappointed. It cost me $125 for a plain velveteen pillow. As I explained to the gal that owns the shop---the finisher took an extraordinary piece of needlework and turned it in to an ordinary pillow. I had that pillow re-made and have never turned back. I will ALWAYS pick out my own materials!

Every year, or sometimes twice a year, Connie and I pick a project to do together. We have just finished our samplers. Stephanie and Mindy are doing it too. We all picked our own colors. This is Connie's above. She is making hers in to a picture.

I love the charm she attached. I'm going to do that on mine. I tried several different things and ended up tearing it all out. I do not like what I'd settled on, but wasn't going to re-do it one more time. Mine will be a pillow.

And then, there's this. I saw these at the needlepoint store last week and fell in love with them.

I bought 6 of them and have finished the first one. These are what I truly consider to be a travel projects---something small to tuck in your luggage. I had planned to take in on my---sigh---river cruise---sigh! It's about 4.5" tall by 4.5" wide. It's one of those illusions---looks taller than it is wide. This one only took me 3 days last week.

 I'm starting this one next. I spent an hour and a half this morning pulling out fibers for it.

 This is the finish work that sold me on these. They are the cutest little stand-up candy corns.

It sits on top of wooden beads. I will definitely have the shop do the finish work on these. 

So, since now I realize I'll whip through these pretty quickly, I fell for this:

Not as you see it here---although it is adorable. But, I do not need any more "sitting around" things at Christmas. This is a club that is 3 months long. Each month, you get a canvas, stitch guide and the fibers to complete it. I really wasn't going to do it---until I saw this:

I am absolutely loving pillows. Everyone can use them. In this variation, they have taken the 3 canvases and mounted them together to form the pillow. I like the finish work they did here, but most likely I will still want to choose my own trims and fabric. 

I have been lusting after this---but absolutely do NOT have any place to put it. The finished piece is probably 30"x 16". It would make much too large of a pillow. And I do not have any wall space for it. But it is spectacular. A friend of mine, Susie (who I play bridge with) stitched it for the shop example. 

And then, there's this. The last remaining piece from my stash. I'm going to go ahead and do the candy corns and then get on this. It's a large piece---about 20" x 16". And no, I don't really have a place to hang it. I guess I'll just put it next to the last room I did.

 So this will be me for the next couple of months! I'm tellin' ya'---it ain't all bad!