It's all about BALANCE

I hear you about the paper -- deal with it right away. I try - I really try. But here's what I face. At the retreat, I made a list of things I needed to send to people. The list is half complete. I bought a magazine and wanted to share an article with a colleague - it's still sitting on the desk. I must finish writing some documents - the paper is still on the desk. I must follow up with emails - some of that paper is still on the desk. I got a book from the library to help with one class. Guess what? Yep - it's still on the desk. 

That's my biggest issue - I need to take the time to make phone calls and write emails, but it's a very time-consuming thing, and well - I'll get through it - it's just going to take time. 

Have you ever noticed that life is all about balance? How much time and resources do you have? Then, you must decide how to spend your time, money, or whatever the resource is. 

However, another type of balance is equally important. Today's blog is a bit late because I was at the gym. This was the first morning with the personal trainer, who emailed me last night to see if I could come at 5 a.m. Sure, I can do that. 

While I think I'm in good shape, I'm not! Yes - all the walking and the cycling, with nothing else, has been a naughty thing on my part. I needed to stretch and build ALL my muscles, not just a few. So, it was an eye-opener this morning. I'm not weak - I can use 10-pound barbells for shoulder presses - just! 

But what about the other stuff? Like lunges? Oh boy, we had to modify that one—the knees and legs just didn't want to dip deep! Brooke was very kind and supportive as I went through those motions. 

However, I excel at one thing—balance! I had to stand on one of those half-bouncy balls (a BOSU ball). I was a little shaky the first time, but soon, I could do 30 seconds on either leg with zero movement in my arms! 

Physical balance is critical and can prevent falls, increase longevity, and reduce pain. Some studies indicate that the better your balance, the better your mobility, and hence, the better your longevity in life! Funny - we were just talking about balance at the retreat! If you try doing the balance thing with your eyes closed, it's much more challenging. Since I can easily do 30 seconds with my eyes open, I need to work on 30 seconds with my eyes shut! 

Here's hoping the strength training and stretching will become as good as my balance, and I'll be ready to go!

Once we finished the routine, I got to try the compression legs! The what? Yep, compression legs. They are like very long booties that you put on, and then, like a blood pressure cuff, your legs get compressed. It's the weirdest thing, but sitting there for 15 minutes while your legs are squeezed is pretty cool!

Compression legs

It was a weird feeling, but it was relaxing. Hence, I'm late because of the leg compression routine! 

Yesterday, Muprhy was in her glory, with all the wind and leaves blowing around. Then she found some pine cones, which she tried to convince me were indoor toys. They are NOT! She was not too happy but content to play outside with them. 

MOM - pine cones are for indoors! 

MOM - I'll play outside with them, but it's not as fun!

The birds are still wary of the suet feeders but love getting water from the pond! 

A giant birdbath

There are so many things I want to learn - there is NOT enough time for it all! I made significant progress on the homework to present tomorrow, but today will be busy. There will be no embroidery or quilting going on! It's all about taking pictures, sewing, and taking more photos and loading them into PowePoint. 

I better get going - the girls are getting anxious to get on their walk! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Personal trainer approved!

WOW—I'm surprised at the response about the personal trainer! Thanks for reminding me that this is an excellent idea! 

I've worked with personal trainers in the past but just got out of the habit. I think we got stale, and it was time to find someone new, which I did NOT do. I'm anxious to see how it works out. Brooke was recommended to me by another trainer I've known for a long time. Maria is stepping back as she wants to enjoy more free time and has no time to pick up a new client.  

The gym is "sneaky" in that it gives you a complimentary meeting with your chosen trainer. But all you have to go on is their background. I hadn't even seen a picture of Brooke, so I had no idea what to expect. I didn't feel a connection the last time I met with a trainer a few years ago, so I didn't go back. 

But this time, even though Brooke and I are very different, I think we can work together. And although she's younger, she totally gets the aging body. So I must get myself organized and do those exercises at home and the gym. I am now ACCOUNTABLE to two people! I was flat on my back—well, not exactly, as I had the foam roller with me, and I was doing my thing! Murphy soon got bored and left me! It's no longer a novelty!

This will be short this morning as I'm prepping to leave for the retreat, and there is MUCH to do. OK - that's a lie. All I have left is to pack the food and throw everything into the car. That might take a bit. While a lot is going out, I hope that about 1/3 of it will not come home with me! The Pony Express is alive and well!

I had a couple of twin-sized duvets that became clumpy after several washings (I don't remember how many). Hmmm—do they need a good shake? We hadn't used them in a long time, and it was time to deal with them. So I cut them in half and serged the ends closed. I'm donating them to an animal shelter.

It appears that a layer of polyester batting was sewn between the two layers of the duvet. Over the washings, the batting broke down, becoming lumpy and clumpy. 

Clumpy batting

Wow, I wonder if that will happen with some of the batting we use. The answer is YES! But what I suspect happened is that the batting they used was not graded for the density of stitching. The squares in the duvet were about 12" square, which was all the stitching on the duvet. Much more dense stitching was required to hold that particular quality of batting together. 

The batting broke down

So let that be a lesson. If you are unsure what batting to use, check how dense you want the quilting and buy the batting appropriately. If your quilts are quilted by a long arm, that's probably not an issue since the quilting is dense. But for those who quilt on their domestic machines and try to get away with minimal quilting, it's IMPORTANT to check the label of the batting. 

I think this next story started at a retreat this past year. If not, it may have been the year before. One of the ladies came back to the house from a shopping trip, all excited about this new way of paper piecing. I could not make heads or tails of what she was saying, so I looked it up online. I was intrigued, but it still made no sense at all. 

So I went to the store and purchased a couple of patterns (I know—shame on me). Each package contained a ton of paper, and they were not cheap. 

After perusing the pattern, I was going to write a letter to the company saying that half of the paper in that package was waste! Thankfully, I never did. 

This fall, I asked Paula at Thimbles and Things if I could teach a Legit Kit pattern, as she had just started stocking them. Only a few people signed up, but we went ahead with the class. 

WOW -- I'm hooked! I LOVE these patterns, and the result is fantastic! And those extra papers that I thought were wasteful? Oh no --- They are the most IMPORTANT part of the pattern! It's all about understanding what you don't know. 

I taught this pattern in the class. It is only 15" by 20" and was an excellent first pattern. We did NOT use a kit but fabrics from our stash. The kits are costly, and using my stash worked just fine. 

Orchid Mini pattern

I've accomplished this so far and only started paper piecing the other day. I got all the pieces for the remainder of that section sewn and threw them in my retreat bag so I could finish piecing this section! That will be 1/4 of the pattern together. When I get home, I plan to continue paper piecing. I'm in love with them. 

My progress so far

Yes, they take a bit of time to set up with all the colors, but I found a great system, and I'm on a roll. So, if ever you wonder if the Legit Kits are good patterns, yes, they are. Now, perhaps I can start one of the other two I have!

On that note, I'm off to finish packing, grab a quick shower, walk the dogs, and load the car! I tested my new laptop for Zoom yesterday, and all seems to be good. So, I'm taking only that laptop with me, and let's hope for the best. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!