Friday Progress Report.

Been stressing all week about yesterday's dermatology visit. Didn't get hardly any sleep Wednesday night. W called me Tuesday and offered to drive me there. I accepted.

Took about 90 minutes to get there. Very easy drive with only a couple turns at the very end. Was early so had to hang for a while. Got a diagnosis: Sebopsoriasis, which is where I have symptoms of both seborhhea and psoriasis. Wrote me three different prescriptions to use to clear this rash up. Finally! 

The doctor also removed the growth from my nose. Will have the biopsy results in two weeks.

More fun times on the horizon. Have to meet with a lawyer to draw up a mortgage for the land this trailer sits on and the out building W built for my storage. Will be signing papers at the end of the month. The I'll be watching my pennies for the next six years until it's paid off. Hopefully I can pay it off sooner and nothing major goes wrong for the next six years.

Scary. This is a really big commitment for me. W and I had a bit of a argument about it. I wanted to wait until the work on the shed is completed. He took offense saying I didn't trust him to do the work. Which I don't. With good reason. Had a crying jag after we hung up. He told me "I have feelings too." Like he ever takes my feelings into consideratipn...

Anyway, I need an affordable place to live so I'm going through with it.

In other news...

I've been on a bit of a buying spree lately. Bought some embroidery floss so I can try needle painting and stump work. Then I picked up a fig plant and a Krasavitsa Moskvy lilac from Tractor Supply. They are tiny. Less than a foot tall. Then I bought two James Macfarlane lilacs and a Weigela from Graham Greenhouse. The lilacs are about three feet high. The Weigela is about a foot.

Friday Progress Report.

Other than a touch up and a couple coats of polyurethane, the sign for W is complete. Turned out quite nice.

Switched Bandit over to chicken and rice to try to start him losing weight. Have been walking him locally; trying to get in two miles a day. The warm days we do pretty well. Not so good when the thermometer falls below freezing.

My personal diet was going well until I made spaghetti sauce with meat.  Next couple days will be high calorie as well. The sauce becomes Spanish rice and stuffing for the last of the green peppers from the garden. Supposed to be in the 60s the next few days, so perhaps I'll be able to work off some of the extra calories. 

Friday Progress Report.

Not much progress was made on the denim stained glass quilt over the last week. Partially due to the weather, mostly due to sewing problems. Had to rip back one of the sash seams three times due to my own stupidity (all because I was in a hurry and not paying attention). 

Also had trouble with the machine tension that took hours to fix. Don't know about anyone else, but I have to walk away from SNAFUs sometimes. Too frustrating.

Got the blue checked flannel out to determine if there was enough to back the quilt and I guess the answer is maybe. Turns out there are two different dye problems with the fabric itself. Will see what other fabrics are in the Rubbermaid tote. Really don't want to have to purchase more fabric. (yeah, right)

My Aunt says she uses sheets purchased in thrift stores. Great idea now the average yard of good fabric sells for $14. Ouch!

Bandit and I are both a bit foot sore after the last couple days of walks. Yesterday we walked a total of two and one half miles. A long way on snow covered ice. 

Snacking at night is still a dieting problem. 

This rash is driving me crazy. I don't like to take medication every day. Don't like to itch all the time either. A little over a month until I find out what it is and how to treat it. Hope this dermatologist is good.

Friday Progress Report.

Woke up this morning to find little two inch square pieces of denim scattered throughout the house. Evidently they are the perfect size for kitty toys. Made me smile and gave me a good memory for the Blessing Jar.

Got a lot accomplished this week with much more to go. 

Reorganized some of the hand sewing supplies. Still have to string the embroidery cotton so its not on those little cardboard tabs. The tabs seem to put kinks in the thread making it tangle. Usually not a big deal - unless you're working on a big project. Have to get in the shed to grab a paper punch. Once they're organized I can do an inventory and restock.

Ripped the seams on the first denim stained glass quilt section; replaced with a two inch block strip which completed section one. Ripping back black thread on black fabric was a load of fun. I liked it so much I did it again on the next section. 

NOTE TO SELF: Only three of four squares need the black strip. The last black strip will join the pieces together. 

Two sections complete. Four sections to go. Then I need to decide whether to back it with blue or red flannel (I have both). Will stitch in the ditch to finish.

Winter weather has disrupted our daily walks. Both trail and town are hard walking. 

Diet and snacking are going well. Started a food log Monday. The way my eyes are today ( itchy and swollen) wheat might be a contributing factor in this rash. The rash on knee and elbows that was looking better yesterday morn has flared up. I had four slices of homemade oatmeal bread yesterday - the slices are small. Still something has made this bad enough I took a Benadryl last night and am going to be take another soon.

No wonder I'm tired all the time.

Friday Progress Report.

In spite of frigid temperatures Bandit and I have been getting close to two miles if meandering on the trails every day.

Nighttime snacking has been decreased and a gradual switch to healthy snacks in progress.

No. The pillow isn't finished.

That is all.

Friday Progress Report.

Yesterday was above freezing so Bandit and I took a walk on the Blaisdale Emery trail from Browntown Road north toward Custer City. It's one section of the nearby trails we frequent year round. About fifty yards from the entry is an old railroad bridge with a nice swimming hole that Bandit likes. On the Custer City side is a big marshy area where beaver have dammed one of the Tunungwat Creek tributaries. There is almost always wildlife around on this section of trail. Especially in Winter when fewer folks are out. In fact, I saw my first wild mink there about a month ago. Pretty cool.

We usually head toward Custer City, but rarely make it that far in the Winter... Snow can be rough to navigate on uneven surfaces. Well, maybe not for four-paw powered pups, but for us old farts its challenging. I keep telling myself that the marsh us going to be pretty - as incentive to keep going. Encouraging words don't help much when your body aches.

Yesterday we started earlier than normal. Took our time and made it to the frozen over marsh. Lots of birds out singing their the sun is shining! song. Bunny and deer tracks all over the trail. Was surprised that there is still open water on the creek. Then again, this winter has been rather mild. Same as last year. 

All told we walked two and a half miles yesterday. We were both feeling our age by the time we got home.

PROGRESS:

The diet is going better now the Oreos are mostly gone. Been trying to have a real meal more often. You know, meat, vegetables, fruit. Trying to eat more fruit. 

Some progress has been made on the Jacobean pillow. Hope to finish the needlework this week.

The sourdough seems to be turning into something I like to put off. ? Se la vie.

Friday Progress Report.

Where did the week go? Oh, yeah. Benadryl.

Fourteen degrees this morning and with the wind chill factored in it feels like minus seven. We're going to have to venture outside eventually. Not looking forward to it.

Very little progress was made this week. Cleaned up some of the stuff in the guest room. You can actually see the floor now. 

Researched how to make Roman blinds. Spoke with Sue twice. Wayne stopped by to pick up the rent check and plow the driveway. 

Was going to go grocery shopping but the only thing that was on sale that I need is 95% ground beef. Will look at the sale paper tomorrow and decide what to do.

Friday Progress Report.

Not a whole lot has been accomplished this week mostly due to the side effects of Benadryl. But, gosh. It works pretty good.

Six out of the past seven days I met my exercise goal of at least an hour a day... usually when Bandit and I take our morning and early evening walks. 

Sometimes I forget my phone, which is what I use to track my exercise. Thought if I got one of those smart watches folks talk about that I wouldn't have to worry about the phone being in my pocket. Ordered one and it arrived on Wednesday. Biggest, ugliest watch I ever saw. Plus, the software to connect it to the GPS in the phone wouldn't load. Got mailed back from the UPS Store when I made my rounds yesterday. I don't want to spend a bunch of money on something that is a "want" rather than a "need". Will do some more research into it, but I'm pretty sure I'll pass on it for now. There are better ways to spend my money.

Speaking of mail, was pleased to find an invitation to Carolyn's baby shower. It's not until March, so might be an option if I'm able to get vaccinated (twice) - which might not happen until later in the Spring.

Diet went better yesterday. By that I mean the night-time snack wasn't as full of calories as usual. 

Apparently peanuts, eggs, fish, wheat and milk can cause an allergic reaction in some people and may be a reason for this dang rash. Am going to hold off on eating peanutbutter and eggs (which bother me anyway) for a while. Milk is already barely used. 

Am pretty sure sourdough is exempt from that. STILL haven't re-started a batch, but I have to make bread today - so it might happen. Aunt Judies Oatmeal Batter Bread is on the slate. 

Perfect breadmaking weather. Will make the house smell glorious along with helping keep us all warm. Gonna be a cold one this weekend. Overnight lows in the teens with a high for the next few days below freezing. 

Friday Progress Report.

When I was a little kid there was a comedy team that aired on TV called Laurel and Hardy. One of their tag lines was "that's another fine mess you've gotten me into". That pretty much sums up how today has gone. No one to blame but myself.

A few months back I moved the cat litter boxes out of the bathtub in the guest bath and into the closet in my room. Today I decided to move the clothes hanging there into the office closet and to totally reorganize the house. *sigh* 

What was I thinking?! 

What I've finished so far looks great, but this project is gonna take days. 

In other news:

The diet and exercise is going okay. Portion control is better, snacking is still a nightly habit. 

Haven't gotten as far as desired on the Jacobean pillow. Progress is pictured.