Day 1 of isolating at home again

I went out yesterday. I needed to pick up prescriptions. Okay, I could have done that via the drive-through, but was curious what was going on inside the grocery store. Plus, I needed an onion. I put on gloves and went in. First thing, no onions except a few scraggly looking red ones. I got 2. There were a few bags of salad of several types, so I picked up a couple of those. No bananas, potatoes, regular onions, and barely any of their presliced items. This was Harris Teeter in Lightfoot, by the way.

I didn't look at the meat aisle or the egg/cheese refrigerators. I should have as I now know that eggs are scarce. I walked down a few aisles and, as expected, paper products were gone, water was bought out, and there was, get this, one carton of regular milk. It was skim milk, but it's milk.

The freezer section was stocked relatively well, but soap and wipes and all things hygiene were picked over or gone. I did not go down the pet aisle, but again, maybe I should have as I hear today dog food is being hoarded. I had ordered Abbey's food online as she was out and it was her time.

This shit is just so very strange. As Trevor Noah says, "Is this how we're going to die?" It's freaky. It's hard not to panic when the world is panicking around me.

On another note, though I'm cooking well, I'm eating shit way too much. I am my mother's daughter. Food I have. Pantry, frig, freezer, and garage freezer are all full. And yet, I have a niggling thought in the back of my mind that it's not enough.

I'm not smoking, but boy, do I want to. I won't, but the urge is real. And if we're all going to die, why bother staying quit? See the stupid rationalization/logic that runs through my head?

I have more pot than should be allowed and will keep cooking and baking.

We had groceries delivered last night. As I put them away, I realized it was mostly junk food. 12 cartons of ice cream. No eggs. Richard and Winnie are on an egg hunt today. I sent him out with a cold bag and she went out just to see the world.

That's coronavirus for today. I'm going to sew in a minute. I need to melt down first. 

Sewing in the new year

Happy 2011!

There are a lot of big changes in my life and one major resolution. My resolution is to sew every day, even if it's just one piece for my hexagon scrap quilt. I'll post about that in a minute. The big change in my life is that I have a new left knee. I'm three weeks out from the surgery and doing great. I'm walking with a cane, off the pain meds, and able to concentrate enough to sew again. P.S. I still don't smoke after having quilt on the Great American Smokeout in 2010!

I have a sub-resolution as well and that is to attempt to make a garment for myself each month as I continue to rehab, exercise, and lose weight.

Here's hoping you have a great time with your stash and that you use your scraps like a madwoman/madman! Sew them up and enjoy the use of something small turning into something large. Why buy a piece of fabric when you can make your own with scraps?

Sewing and quitting smoking

I quit smoking on November 18, the Great American Smokeout. While preparing to quit, I decided to make a quilt by hand. I've made them by hand before; in fact, I've made a Grandmother's Flower Garden three times - once for my daughter when she was two and once for my nephew's daughter. This one was made of denim and strawberry fabrics, and the blocks were outlined in red zig-zag stitching to make it extra strong. I also made one doll sized in Halloween fabrics. I use it for a seasonal decoration.

Now, I'm doing another one. It's my quit smoking quilt. The hexagons are 1.5" (as are the ones in my nephew's daughter's quilt) and each one is a different fabric to give it a truly scrappy look. I collected a 4" square from every fabric I have that is suitable (cotton or cotton blend). I also printed out hexagon graph paper to use for the English Piecing method which I use when constructing anything with hexagons. Sunshine Creations blog has a great tutorial on English Piecing to which you will be led if you click on the link! Mine is not quite as tidy, but the method is essentially the same. It's a great way to make small pieces into a larger project.

The good news for me is that I'm not smoking. I've spent a lot of time cutting paper hexagons (NOT with my good scissors) and fabric squares, and trimming the fabric before basting it onto the paper. (Google will lead you to tons of tutorials about Grandmother's Flower Garden designs, probably the most popular of the hexagon quilts.) Hand quilts like these or Cathedral Window are a great way to do a little here and a little there and make it last for a while.

Smoking is a nasty habit. It will be nice to have a beautiful reminder of what one can do instead of smoking. I believe this quilt will be a keeper.

TKR and not about sewing

I ran across a blog while I was researching rehab for total knee replacement, which I am slated for on December 14. Add that to the mayhem of quitting smoking, which I did on November 18 (The Great American Smokeout) and you have my life in a nutshell of late.

In the blog, there was the best animated gif I've ever seen; it defines me recently.

Oddly mesmerizing, I'd say.

As I prepare for the total knee replacement, not only have I quit smoking, I'm getting my house in order,  moving furniture to the "other" room and preparing for delivery of recliner furniture in my living room. I am thinking that I will be downstairs for a good part of the time, at least in the beginning.

The consensus on partial resolution of my research is that the operation is a piece of cake, the hospitalization is a breeze, but the rehab is a bitch. Good drugs at first weaned down to eh. And then they expect you to bend again! Lily have even said it hurts like hell, but if she can do it, so can I. Folks who have gone through it say it's worth it. That's what counts for me, that it's worth it.

And so we prepare. I will have a hand sewing project to do, I've ordered some paperback books, I have a television at the ready, and I can take my laptop outside if need be.

In the meantime, I tap my fingers.