Stay-at-Home - Day 43 - Limping Along, But We Have Cake!

I'm getting used to working with my crutches with no weight bearing on my leg. The Podiatrist was quite adamant about that, so I'm trying to be good. I meet with his partner, the ankle specialist, on Thursday morning. I can tell you this - I'll never forget this birthday - limping through the Pandemic with cake. 

His cake wasn't quite this pretty, but it tastes absolutely
fantastic. I'm going to gain weight with all of this food
and no ability to exercise. 

DH baked yesterday, my birthday cake, although we indulged in our first portions last night. He did a vanilla cake batter with lemon curd filling and a buttercream frosting with more lemon curd. Super good (not thinking about the calories). He'll do the grocery shopping today and I'm hoping I remembered to put everything onto the list. Personally, I'd be all in favor of shopping with one of those electronic carts that they have, but he's rather I stay in and I'm fine with that. 

I'm looking forward to getting my knee scooter. I have a feeling
that's going to be a lifesaver at the shop. 

I'm actually not having a lot of pain, taking Tylenol Extra Strength for overnights, but staying away from any pain meds during the day. I am keeping my leg elevated as much as possible, though. I'm trying to do everything I can to avoid having a hard cast put on. I think I'm doing well, but I haven't had to work yet. That comes on Monday and I'm not looking forward to it. I suspect that's when I'll be hurting, so as much healing as I can get before I have to work, the better. 

I adore owls - they are funny, charming, stealthy hunters,
silent flyers and so beautiful. I might send in the registration
application anyway, just so they get the money, but I doubt my
project will be finished on time. 

I just can't concentrate well, and even though I don't have a lot left to do on my Owl project, I haven't been able to settle and take care of it. The deadline is looming, and I suspect I won't have it finished on time. It's OK, There are other events I can display it at, but I'm disappointed to not support my favorite birds. I have to be in the right frame of mind, though, and right now, I'm just not. 

So, on that note, I'm going to take it easy today, and if I can, I'll slap a load of laundry into the wash. Easier said than done since that's another short flight of stairs I have to negotiate. *sigh* Have a truly glorious Spring/Fall day (depending on who's reading this) and I'll be back tomorrow, although tomorrow will probably be a late post, not an early one. As always, Stay Safe, Stay Home and Stay Well. 

A Lazy Sunday and Sunrise Pictures

It was a lazy day yesterday, even though the temperatures creeped up and actually touched 60F (15.5C). It's early March, so a bit early for Spring, I fully expect at least one more serious snowstorm before we can call the winter finished. However, the birds are quite happy, the trees and bushes are starting to look "fuzzy" with buds starting to appear along bare branches, and the massive piles of snow are diminishing. They're not gone yet, oh no. But they are shrinking at a rapid rate as we experience our own mini-version of global warming. 

Because of Daylight Saving Time, I'm going to give you photos
of sunrise because I love the dawn. Enjoy! 

It was the return of Daylight Saving Time early on Sunday morning. The "Spring Ahead" never gets to me as much as the "Fall Back", even though I lose an hour of sleep with the Spring rotation. Still, it's nice to have more light in the evening, and I'm quite used to standing at the door for the gym in the dark, so no real changes here. 

I love a misty sunrise on a rural road. So pretty! 

I didn't get any beading done yesterday, and DH is making noises about the fact that we haven't worked on the house for the past two weekends. I'm waiting for one more package of charms to arrive at the shop today. Those should be all I need to step into the next section on my owl project. I know what I need to do and how it will all work, but I need the charms first. I could have made charms of my own with metal clay and my kiln, but cast ones will be fine for this project. There's a limit to how much expense I want to put into this piece. 

Here in the Frozen Northlands, our sunrise will often have a lot
of mist on the ground because of our high humidity. This picture
is a lovely mix of sun and mist. 

So, after a lazy Sunday I'm getting ready for a busy week; chiropractor this morning, accountant for our personal taxes tomorrow night, and work - always - just to keep me occupied. I hope you all have a wonderful Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Sunday, B2MeM and Thoughts of Dad

It was a lazy Sunday, which I really needed. I did get some beading done on my Owl Project, but not as much as I had wanted. I'm into the final two rows of the main body and it needs to be right. I did a full run across the bottom, then decided I didn't like how it was laying, so went back and pulled out three inched on each side. I like it more, now. The next step is the fancy drops, and those have to be perfect - they catch the eye and they make the piece work. I've had the components on my desk for a few days now and I'm still undecided about them. So, *sigh*, I didn't get as much done as I had wanted. 

There's something to be said for the occasional lazy day. This
was rather like my Sunday, but without the pool or the
drinks (still on antibiotics and didn't want to mix liquor
and medicines). 

We also took it easy for dinner, getting Chinese from our nearby favorite Chinese restaurant. It's always yummy, and it gives me three days of meals, but it's a bit higher in calories and sodium than I should probably indulge in. However, we don't do it often. There was a time when we had Chinese every weekend. We're not quite that crazy these days, but their food is so good, it's tempting. 

My favorite meal is Kung Pao Chicken, extra
spicy. Hubby prefers General Tso's Chicken, also
extra spicy. Our local restaurant gets the spice
just perfectly, and with the portion sizes they
have, we have enough to carryover several
more meals. 

B2MeM has started, the final year for the project. I have things perched at the back of my head. I'm unsure if they will be put to keyboard and cyberpost, but probably some of them will. Will I do all 31 days in March? That, I doubt. I have had several years of B2MeM when I have written a story each day, but most of the years, I only wrote a few. My month is rather packed, so I'm not sure how many I'll end up posting, but I'm sure I'll do some. I have always enjoyed it and am sorry to see it end. 

I love the large variety of banners and userpics designed for this
year's B2MeM, but I especially loved this one. So beautiful
and evocative. 

My thoughts turned to my father, yesterday, on the anniversary of his birth. He lived and died within a single century, never seeing the years turn from one century to another. He lived a full life, filled with a lot of accomplishments and joy, but it wasn't an easy life and there was plenty of fear and sorrow to balance out the love and kindness. He was a refugee, as was my mother. I wonder if he would be allowed into the USA these days? We're becoming insular and rather unwelcoming. 

That's it for today, though. I'm heading out to the gym, and might see about writing a quick item for one or the other of the prompts for B2MeM. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

After Almost a Year, I'm Almost Back to Normal

Tonight is Project Runway, and if things run the way they have been, I'll be posting the photos and results on Saturday. But I'll be watching and making notes tonight. We're down to six designers now, so it's much more cutthroat. 

Yesterday's "day off" was productive, but I didn't get any beading done. I did, however, spend a lot of time thinking about the next step for my Owl Project and I've pretty much figured out the direction I need to take this for the wrap-up. There's still a lot to do on it, but I was at a point in the project where a serious shift in design had to be added, and I wasn't sure how I wanted to approach that. I think I've figured it out now, so I'll try to begin implementing this on Sunday. 

It's time to add some cascading fringe ala Givenchy's
offset fringe on this slip dress. Of course, I'll be doing
it in beads, and the appearance will be quite
different, but the concept will be similar. 

My visit to my Physical Therapist yesterday morning went very well. I went in with a printout of the exercises I've been doing and told Joseph that I needed these consolidated. the schedule I had was based on five days of gym work, but I'm now able to swim two days a week, so my gym days have been cut back from five to three. We went through each exercise and tossed ones that were duplicated in other ways, fine tuning things dramatically. He thinks I'll be able to go through the exercises in twenty minutes now, I think it will take me longer, but either way, I think it was the thing to do. 

When I first started seeing Joseph for my shoulder injury, I
couldn't lift my arm much higher than the 59 degree mark.
Now I'm closer to 100 degrees, and we're pushing for the
full 110 degrees that swimmers usually need. 

He checked my range of motion and mobility and I'm almost back to where I need to be on my shoulder. Rotator cuff injuries are so common for swimmers that it's often nicknamed the "Swimmer's Shoulder". I've recovered almost full rotation, only ten degrees yet to achieve. He said that would be fine for most people, but those in sports that require wide, full swings like swimming and tennis need that extra flexibility. Makes sense to me. 

I don't enjoy having a very messy desk. It does tend to get that way quickly
because I'm dealing with so many things on a daily basis. But I'm
trying to keep it under control. Time for a quick clean again to tame it a bit. 

So, as I wrap this up and begin to get into an exercise mind set, I'm looking at my desk and realizing I need to clean it up once again. It's actually still in pretty good condition from the "major" clean-up I did a few weeks ago, but it's a flat surface and things accumulate. Time to dig back down to a true desktop once again - LOL. Have a wonderful Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Snow and Fashion and Beads - A Pretty Good Sunday

Starting around midnight on Saturday and extending into mid-afternoon on Sunday, we were supposed to have gotten 4-6 inches of snow. By the time it actually stopped and DH was outside clearing snow from the roof and snowblowing the driveway, we had gotten approcimately five inches. He said six, but to me, as I shoveled the driveway edges and the front and back sidewalks, it looked just a bit less than a true six inches. Still, it was a good storm. The next one is due on Wednesday, and I hope it won't mess up with my errands for that day. 

I love Billy Porter and his sense of fashion. I adored the
"feathered" sleeveless jacket he sore, and the fabric of
his skirt was stunning and just my colors. He always makes
a splash on any Runway. 

Natalie Portman could have taught several of
the Project Runway group how to work with
sheer fabrics. If you get a chance to see the
neckline of her gown, the lacework/embroudery
is spectacular. The gold dashes running down
both sides of her cloak are actually the embroidered
names of female directors who were snubbed in
the voting this year. Not a single female director
ended up being nominated for Best Director. 

I spent most of Sunday working on my owl project. I probably owe a picture to all of you. I've been taking regular progress shots, I'll see about getting one loaded into my computer to share. I usually don't share works in progress, but I might this time. I'm pretty happy with how the colors are working out. 

Brie Larson's outfit was classic and stunning. I loved
the fabric choice, which only accentuated her
height and slim figure. The removable cape
complimented the sleeveless gown. Very nice! 

The Academy Awards were on last night. DH was upstairs watching hockey, I was downstairs watching the Travel channel while working on my next row of beadwork. I did look through the fashions on the Red Carpet, and Billy Porter's was totally marvelous. I looked with an eye at Tuxedos this time - how were they different, what would I change to make an updated, haute version of a tux? I must admit, however, that when it comes to a tux, I appreciate a classic look. 

I loved Mindy Kaling's classic look in bright
saffron coloring. It worked very well with
both her figure and her skin tone. She looked
just lovely. 

I've put several of the Academy Award fashions up here for all of you. There were some very nice ones, and some really horrid ones. Of course, that's usually the way things go. There are bunches of places on-line to see them, so I'm only giving a smattering here today. Go take a look for yourself, many of them are well worth the look. I'm going to get bundled up and head over to the WBL YMCA for some floor work before I see my Chiropractor at 6:30 am. It's the start of another week, so Yippee! (Positive thoughts heading out to my friend Shirebound and her Mom. who has been feeling under the weather.) 

A Printer For Free - Yippee!

Yesterday was a day that I actually accomplished a lot. To start with, I purchased a new printer for the shop. After going to the office supply store and talking with a sales associate, we compared two printers I had found on-line side-by-side (virtually, since they were both on-line ordering only). I decided on the newer model which was on introductory sale from $59.99 reduced to $29.99. After being told that it was an on-line offer only, and some back and forth about my business account, I returned home to order it because all of my sign-in codes were at home. 

I'm not fond of HP printers, but if I keep my eye open
for sales, it's usually the only ink I can get on sale. Epson
printers and inks are rarely on sale. So even though
I prefer Epson as a brand, I'm getting an HP for economy. 

Success! It will be delivered on Friday. The best part of the sale was that I had a Rewards credit with the store from DH's purchase of my new chair and carpet mat for the holidays, so my printer was FREE! Also, because I'm a corporate customer, my shipping was also free. I'm getting this Bad Boy for a total of $0! Score! Total bliss, a basic printer that can handle my shipping labels and whatever else I need to get printed at the shop, and when I don't need it, I not even out any money. Best Thing EVER! 

Just to remind all of you, last week Chelsey Carter, one
of two designers from Chicago who are in this season's
group, was eliminated. I liked her. She had sass and was
quite talented. 

Grocery shopping went smoothly, laundry progressed, and I pulled out my Owl Project to continue working on it. By the end of the day I had completed Row 2 and almost completed Row 3. When I step back from it to look at it, I'm pleased. So far the color gradation is subtle, and that's how I wanted it. That will change as the rows increase downward. I won't get any work done on it tonight, though. It's Project Runway night tonight, and we're down to seven designers remaining. I can hardly wait. 

The whole group of contestants as they were introduced to the
workroom so many weeks ago. Why am I showing the group,
many of whom have already been eliminated? Because if I
recall correctly, some of these designers will be back in this
week's episode. I don't remember why, but do remember seeing
some of them enter the workroom doorway. 

I'll warn you ahead of time that I'm just going to consider the Runway photos as not being available to show all of you until Saturday. That's the way it's been for the past two weeks, and unless they are suddenly speedy, they're sticking to that schedule. So ... count on my synopsis in Saturday's post. 

I'm heading out to the gym pretty happy, despite a twisted knee that still aches a bit. I've finally lost my Christmas and Super Bowl weight. Now to get back to my pre-Thanksgiving numbers. I'm much happier at the lower point of my range than the upper, but at least I'm back to my acceptable range once again. Have a wonderful Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow! 

I Am An Alarm Clock - Who Knew?!?

I never bring my cellphone onto the gym floor with me. I think it's rude, for one thing. But my gym doesn't have a policy against doing so, and many people do bring their phones with them to listen to music or audio books. I listen from a separate iPod, not my phone, but I wouldn't be kicked out of the gym if I were to use my phone instead. 

I use my cell phone for my alarm clock every day. I usually have it set
for several times to keep me on track so I'm not late to the gym. I
also use the timer feature when I'm cooking or doing laundry so I don't
forget the oven or to switch the clothes from the washer to the
dryer. DH, however, turns his ancient cell phone off overnight and
recharges it. I guess I'm his alarm clock. 

That's lucky, because DH needs a 6:00 am wake-up call and I'm still working out at that time. He has an 8:15 doctor appointment and apparently has to get up at 6:00 am to get there on time (it's a 20 minute drive). I have no idea why (1) he has to get up more than two hours early and (2) why he can't set his own alarm clock, but apparently it's beyond him. So I set a 6:00 am alarm in my phone for today and I'll phone him when it goes off. It's a good thing my alarm is a friendly sound, not super annoying. But still, it'll screw my concentration up while doing my floor exercises. 

I continued cleaning my desk yesterday, going through a bunch of papers that were stacked on the right side. Almost every one of them were old and unnecessary to keep, so I shredded them and rearranged my workspace. I pulled out a beading cloth and my pin board and started work on my own project. After an hour, I looked at what I had done and thought to myself, "Self ... you probably better double-check "the book" about buffer beads and when to add them." Checking "the book" led to the realization that I needed to scrap the previous hour's work and start again. Buffer beads needed to be added to the top and bottom of every longer bead. Oops! I started again. 

Well, I wasted an hour, but at least it was at the very beginning
of the project and was easy to restart again. I sacrificed
some time and some thread, but pulled apart what I had
messed up and the beads are back in the bag for use
again. I think it's going to be a pretty project, but when
I start inserting colors into it in a row or two, I'll have to
be very careful. 

I did manage to get as far as my discarded section but not a lot farther before I called it a day. Still, as I look to my right and see my board standing up waiting for me to pick up my needle again, I'm pleased. I've got a start on the project and I think, in the long run, it's going to be pretty awesome. At least, I think I'm going to enjoy it. 

The beaded broad collars rarely go up the neck, they rest
at the base of the neck and encircle 2/3-3/4 around, tying at
the back. I have one I made years ago that I still love and
still wear, and I love making this style of item. It always
looks so elegant. (This is NOT my older piece, just a photo
of another style of beaded broad collar.) 

I won't get to work on it tonight, though. Tonight is Project Runway, and I will be glued to the television, taking notes as I progress through the episode. It's time for Episode 8, and we're down to eight designers in the workroom - Brittany, Chelsey, Dayoung, Delvin, Geoffrey, Nancy, Sergio and Victoria. I must admit that I love my Thursdays while Runway is on. If the Runway photos have been posted, you'll get a look at the fashions on Friday, but if not, I'll have to push them out until Saturday once again. Not a tragedy, just a shift in the schedule. 

Have a terrific Thursday. We're supposed to get a little snow today, but only less than an inch, and then we're bounding into warm temps for the weekend - above freezing all the way! Whoot!! I'll be back tomorrow so have a great day!