Rayen

Despite my best intentions the only quilting I did last month was my March tote for my calendar project, and there was barely any of that involved (basically some applique of the two fabric panels.) I want to say that I simply ran out of time and month, but honestly whenever I wanted to work on something I opted for crochet, as I'm better at that now. To get myself motivated I've made myself a mini-challenge: make something quilted every week in April. As a warmup for the challenge I decided to use was this flamingo novelty fabric I bought at the county quilt show last year to make a bowl mat for my nephew's dog. I sewed and quilted this mat almost entirely by machine, and it only took a couple hours. It's not perfect, but it turned out much better than I expected. I have to admit, part of my problem with quilting is that I resent having to do so much by machine now. I'm just not a machine quilter at heart. That said, it was a lot less painful th...

When my guy and I go out for a meal -- not very often these days -- I'm ordering the most diabetic-friendly items on the menu, like this chicken cranberry pecan salad I got when we stopped at Bob Evans on one of our day trips. The dressing has a lot of sugar in it, so I get that on the side and use it very sparingly (I only used about half of one of those cups.) My relationship with food is always going to be difficult, thanks to diabetes. In theory I can eat pretty much all the salad, meat, cheese and eggs I want, and limited amounts of rice and pasta now and then, but no bread, baked goods and especially potatoes, which are a trigger food for me. I drink coffee, herbal tea and sparkling mineral water, mostly the latter. I'm also trying to lose weight, so at this time I really can't eat all I want. It's very, very frustrating when I have to watch everyone else enjoy desserts and rolls (and french fries!) while I go without or nibble on a piece of celery. Pre...

Happy Easter to all who celebrate!

This looks a bit weird, I know, but a gift is all about the recipient. For my nephew's easter basket I found an exact copy of the little frying pan I have that he loves and has been threatening to steal when he moves into his new house. He'll be very surprised. I'm going to add some fake grass to the pan and fill it with Reese's peanut butter eggs, aka his favorite candy (I'm writing this on 4/1, so Easter is four days away.) For my guy I'm making a nice roasted chicken dinner and his favorite coffee cake, but no basket. I offered but he doesn't want one. I'm not going to dye eggs because my nephew already makes hard-boiled eggs weekly, and we wouldn't be able to eat them fast enough. As a diabetic there's not a lot about Easter I can consume. I did find a new treat I can have occasionally that is a consolation prize: a low sugar Oreo knockoff called Leos. They're quite sweet and a nice substitute for the real thing. I'm...

There aren't many words I dislike. This is because I need a huge arsenal of them for the day job, and using the majority of them has always made me happy. I think some of the old slang words when I first joined the online writing community bugged me a bit ( snark , podcast and webinar , I'm remembering you) or were what I considered unattractive ( blog , definitely) or trendy but silly ( chiaroscuro , and have mercy, it showed up in almost every SF book I read for years.) I also have names I don't care for or use because of unpleasant personal associations (Ryan is #1 on that list) but I think everyone does that. Who names their child Adolph, right? In any case, I'm a wordsmith, but not one who believes only the educated deserve access to ideas and stories. I avoid using gatekeeping language or any words employed to prevent a certain section of society from understanding what is being conveyed. I think that comes from being self-educated. I don't lik...

I considered doing another no-spend month in April, but after struggling through March (and falling off the wagon) I'm not enthusiastic. I was able to save quite a bit, but I also had to pass on a couple of very nice bargains, and say "I'm not spending this month" so many times I sounded like a broken record. What March taught me -- other than it is really hard not to spend any money for 31 days -- is that some of my behavior has to change. I need to avoid temptation, like searching for yarn lots at the online auction site. It's a fun habit, but it also tempts me to bid. Aside from what I need for one big Wool Ease project and some gifts I have planned for this coming winter, I really have enough yarn now to last me for at least half a year. If I see some sales on Hobbii, or spot Wool Ease for a good price when I'm out at the brick and mortar thrifts, I will buy them, but otherwise I'm good. I also need to find other ways to reward myself for fin...