Friends

There is a bit of good news. I managed to get about 5 hours of sleep (with no drugs) - well, I had taken a Celebrex earlier in the afternoon. I felt much better than the previous day when I slept less. It helped that I was able to get 50 minutes of naptime once I came back from walking the dogs. 

The worst part of the day is getting out of bed and waiting for that morning walk. Yes -- I could walk when I get up, but at 3 AM? A little bit of stretching, a little bit of muscle relaxant. I don't know if I need more medical intervention? I'll wait a day or two and see how it goes. 

Once that muscle (or whatever it is exactly) warms up, it seems to allow me to function somewhat normally for most of the day, although sometimes sitting for long periods (more than 15 minutes) is not a good thing. Anyway, the intense muscle spasming is past; let's hope it doesn't return. 

This reminds me of another time I had a very similar issue. I was on my first long-distance bicycle trip, riding from Vancouver to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. We had left Dawson City and were on the Dempster Highway—800 km of wilderness, with one truck stop (and electricity) about midway. 

I got a cramp or whatever it was in my left buttock, and it was extremely painful to ride. I had no choice but to ride because there was nowhere to go. Can you believe my luck that one of our wilderness guides was a massage therapist or something in that field? So after dinner every night for a week, I lay on the picnic table while she worked magic on my butt. It worked! I continue to ride each day! 

A steady group of friends popped into and out of the Virtual Retreat all day. At one point last night, we were regaling each other with stories of funerals, celebrations of life, and memorial services. As one person said, when was the last time you laughed outrageously with friends on a Sunday evening? It was a hoot, and I admit that we've had quite the gambit of topics. It's a great community! 

Some people are not a fan of Zoom. I honestly think that it was a gift given to us from the pandemic. The people I've met and continue to stay in touch with are amazing, and what I've found is that it doesn't matter where we're from. We could be in a somewhat isolated community in Northern Ontario or live in a huge metropolis (which can be just as isolating as a northern community), but we've all become fast friends!

But that doesn't mean newcomers can't stop by. A big welcome to Tish from Alabama, who stopped in to chat yesterday. Oh my—I love her accent, and she almost didn't need to tell us where she was from! 

Yes, anyone and everyone is welcome to the Virtual Retreats, and I know that when the gang is on the screen, I'm never alone, and who knows what topic will come up! 

The next one is scheduled for December 28 and 29, but we might throw in a couple of hours of sewing on Christmas morning. I think we did Christmas Eve last year. No, we did New Year's Eve last year. I'll see how it goes, but having a drop-in on Christmas morning might be fun. Let's face it—Christmas Day can be a tough day for many people, and if we can bring a cheer to someone, then let's do it!!

I managed to get some work done! I am a bit behind on my writing, but I decided that I needed a break, so I took the weekend off. This was good, as my brain needed time to adjust to working with this little issue called pain. 

Another community project quilt is done. I was up and piecing the back when I couldn't sleep the previous night. I had pieces of green flannel left, so with about four seams, I had a great backing for the quilt. The batting was also made from four pieces of batting. Little by little, I'm whittling that pile of batting down! 

Community project quilt

The pile of quilts to be quilted (community projects) doesn't seem to be diminishing! And now that everything is trimmed, there's a stack of quilts to bind. 

But progress is being made, and going forward even slowly is better than not moving forward at all. 

This is the UFO that I inherited and is slated for Project Linus. The small four-patch blocks were done last week; I completed these four patches yesterday. Now, these need to be sewn into one more four-patch. Then the blocks are together, and it's a matter of assembly. I think this one will have to wait until next Christmas to donate, as I don't have time this week to finish and quilt it. But that's OK. I'm still hoping to finish my twenty quilts by mid-December, even if it means going into my quilt stash to get what's missing. 

Four-patch blocks

It all has to go, and having small goals is better than saying I have 300 quilts to quilt. I don't think I ever counted how many Diane made in total, but it was close to 300. 

I got my latest Virtual Challenge medal in the mail. Well, since there is a strike, I'm not sure how it arrived, but it was on my doorstep on the weekend. It represents the Great Wall of China, which was 3,513 km long. I started it on January 29, 2024.

Great Wall of China medal

I mentioned the other day that it wasn't as exciting as the mapped ones, but I totally get that Google hasn't (can't) mapped this route!

I'm currently "walking" The Great Barrier Reef (2,119 KM); for obvious reasons, this one isn't mapped either!

Now that I'm getting all the mileage from my Fitbit daily, I shall easily make my targets for the year. Then, I need to figure out the next year's goal. A bit more cycling? Less walking? 

Well, my day is going to be topsy-turvy. I have a medical test this morning (not for my leg), and I'm walking to the hospital for that. Then I'm off to the gym for a lecture and then back for the remainder of Monday sewing. The next quilt is loaded, and I hope to get that done. I must also get back to that final writing assignment. 

On that happy note, I'm out of here!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!