Saturday, August 17, 2019

Friday Things on Saturday

I haven't actually gone missing. Somehow my rib area and the attendant muscles that run from the front along the side have me in pain. This is muscular not cartilage or an injury, but pain nonetheless.  I'm honestly not sure if I did this overdoing it and moving wrong on the cross trainer or by doing something crazy while I was asleep (I rotated the mattress and am back to the extra firm newness).

Anyhoo, I've severely limited my activity the last few days. I had to stay home Thursday and Friday anyway for a legal piece of mail that needed to be signed for (delivery date unclear) and then today I passed up my opportunity for a day of driving from yarn shop to yarn shop around the state because I didn't want my complaining and occasional whimpering to affect the trip. I do plan to do a few errands today and spend a small amount of time on the machine just to keep the muscles from stiffening too much.

I'm off to do a few weekday things on Saturday thanks to the above soreness-getting some groceries, doing a couple errands, walking or working out. Before I do, a few thoughts and notes from the week:

1.  While I'm not sure what the fitness gurus would have to say about this, I'm only "working out" every other day as of this week. I'll increase the time I'm doing so, get as many steps as I can on the days I'm home and walk when I'm up to it and in the mood in the neighborhood. This meshes with my desire to make my at home days really at home days-as opposed to "at home but leaving for an hour or so each day to work out or do errands". I understand many folks are of the do something out of the house daily persuasion. I'm off the be completely at home immersed in something (or nothing) persuasion, or be out among the world all day.

2.  A side effect of those "completely at home" three day a week goal is that other days will be busier and that is fine. My Wednesdays include a morning church service, working out and then heading to knitting and happy hour.  I just need to remember to take my own food when possible on the busy days, so that I am not hitting up the local Chick Fil A or Which Witch (I love egg salad and rarely make it myself). For the sake of the wallet and the waistline.

3. We are wanting to order in at least once a week and eat out once a week, without increasing the food budget as such.  So I'm taking some money out of the "food at home" and adding it to the "food out". Since we don't want to starve and we do want to eat healthy my solution is to buy almost exclusively in bulk from those sale items on the front page, and cook everything more than double so that I can freeze meals. Tomorrow I'm putting two boneless chucks ought on sale and making Italian beef sandwiches, which I'll freeze. Along with the cheese bought on sale to go with.

4. That one room a day cleaning thing is not working for me cleaning wise-I need to accept it for what it is. Instead, I've mainly moved onto the "doing things as they need doing and mainly doing them as part of something else" kind of attitude-and letting someone else vacuum twice a week.

5. I'm trying really hard to be less of a flitterer when I work on projects. My attention span needs to have at least two things going (one of them portable). But in the past I have had a quilt, a knitting project, a sewing project, a major writing project and more. I've decided for now to work on only my landscape quilt experiment and my practice knitted top. I need to see some finishes in the creative process occasionally, if you know what I mean. Especially as we move to the holidays and gift giving creativity.

6. My son has lost more weight and is cleaning out the tools and such of his former landscaping world. I am eliminating clothes in good condition and replacing them as part of my capsule clothing thing as well as downsizing other stuff. We've been listing them on a couple sale apps and Facebook Marketplace. Today I decided that everything but the bike will be donated if it has not sold by the end of the week. I'm not a keeper and I am more of a "I care about the stuff being out of the house more than making money" type of girl than the opposite. I prefer the stuff out of the house, no matter the method.

7. While I still love traveling by myself, I've realized I don't love DRIVING by myself as much as I used to necessarily. So as I look to more travel for the rest of this year and in the new year (bye bye college tuition!!!), I have one cross country drive (aside from the Texas adventure), one train trip and I'm actually exploring the possibility of a cruise-even if I have to pay a single supplement. I'll let ya know.

8.  One of the sustainability or re-use areas I come close to failing at are "wipes", mainly because of my lack of ability to bend and reach, but also laziness. I have facial/body wipes beside my bed, I use Bona floor wipes on my wood floor and I use the occasional Clorox wipe on kitchen counters and the like. Replacements for these won't happen overnight. I've purchased a bunch of washcloths for the nightly cool down required in the summer, but also I made a basket for recycling of said wipes-to see if I can paint on them and use in collages or use them for paint wipes and the like. Next, to look at reusable covers for said mop.

9.  My dress may not need to be hemmed, and if so I will cut it along a lace design and have a scalloped edge at the bottom (no fray check needed because of the stitching on the lace). That's what all the dressmakers would have done and charged me an arm and leg. I'll try it with a slightly higher cushioned sandal and see what happens. On the other hand, the son who wore a gray suit with sized forty pant a year and a half ago at a wedding will now need a size 34 pant in navy blue. His expense, but I may have to do the measuring.

And so it goes.....

9 comments:

  1. Your son is doing great on the weight loss!

    I have friends who MUST go some place every day but it makes me feel like I'm living in a hotel without room service to do that. I like having blocks of uninterrupted time for projects without having to watch the clock.

    Hope your get some relief for your pain soon.

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    1. Im actually feeling much better today, thanks!

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  2. For the cooling down wipes, you might try a cooling towel. I was given one in the spring, but didn't try it until I was desperately trying to cool down to sleep one extremely hot, humid night. Oh my, where was this towel my whole life?!! The one I have is a thin synthetic fabric that you wet in cold water and wring out. I drape it across my shoulders and neck or sometimes across my forehead.....the only way I fell asleep on some seriously hot nights this summer. I don't think they're expensive, and here in MN, I've been seeing them on summer clearance.

    Regarding the at home/out and about days, I do the same. I try to keep moving at home - taking breaks from the sewing machine, not being so "efficient" with at home tasks (ie, several trips rather carrying everything at once, etc.) But mostly, I've made peace with some days having more steps than others :)

    Hope you feel better soon!!

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    1. those sound lovely and I may get one, but I am actually cleaning off before bed. Living in Colorado you may not need a shower every day but you do need to clean up and I am even looking at making a sollution or spray with baby bath wash to use with cloths....we will see.

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  3. Sorry you're not feeling well. I hope the muscle ache is short-lived.

    I love to cruise and would do it more often, if I could afford it. I don't know what cruise line you prefer, but Norwegian offers solo cabins (they are interior) which are connected to a solo lounge. There is also a concierge who assists the solos in arranging activities on the ship.

    Another great place to find no or low single supplements is on a Cruise Critic board for Solo Cruisers (not single cruisers...that's a different group), called "Post Cruise Line Single Supplement/Solo Bargains HERE". I've found more than one great option on this thread.

    Congrats to your son on his weight loss. He has done very well!

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    1. Its not something I would do often, but I belong to a travel group that is considering going on the cruise at the end of January.

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  4. Hi, Barb,
    You are a busy person but, I think the secret to a rich retirement is to stay busy. Nevertheless, a cruise would be a great way to take a break and explore new vistas. I am looking into a "re-positioning cruise" where the ship needs to be moved from its home port (like Jacksonville) to some port in Europe for the beginning of the season. There are not as many amenities, but the prices are extremely reasonable. Hope your aches go away soon.

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    1. So then you'll explore Europe after wards? I never went on a Cruise when I was in Europe because I never wanted to s tay only one day in any port, but I can see doing that in the carribean.

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  5. I also try to schedule things out of the house on the same days if I can. I have a lunch date tomorrow so I’m also making a few more stops while I’m out. I love having days at home with nowhere to go. Today is one of those!! 😊

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Thanks for stopping by! I love to hear from others, and I also love to hear all points of view.. Just leave the profanity and insults at home, OK? Thanks!!