I saw these lovely pansies growing an a large bed outside my doctors' office building yesterday afternoon. This part of Maryland is a fairly clement weather area and hardy flowers bloom quite late into the Autumn/early Winter here. These blossoms looked particularly brave to me flourishing under very gray skies late yesterday afternoon.
Yesterday was one of the very special days that only comes along occasionally. It was first Monday which means Mimi Dietrich's Grad Class met. We've been doing Zoom get togethers for months but last month a few members met at Bears Paw quilt shop in Towson (our usual place since my shop closed). This month sixteen of us showed up to enjoy one another's company. Mimi pointed out that next year will be the 30th anniversary of the group getting together! She has challenged us to make a 'pearl' quilt - something we might not get to but would wish to make in our heart of hearts. :)
I think I will be happy to finish some cherished already-in-progress projects while I take care of myself. :)
It was WONDERFUL to see people in person! I was feeling a bit more steady, too, which was a benefit. I drove with Patty (Barbara detoured to pick up another friend/member Barbara L.) - and we spent some tooth-gritting time sitting in an accident backup on the Baltimore beltway before getting to the shop. Whew!
Besides loving the show and tell and fellowship, I bought a few treasures in the shop. They have a VERY nice sale going on right now (-20% on fabric, notions, fat quarters). Here is my 'haul'
Some more rickrack for the Razzmatazz project
(they let me have the spool, too, since I finished it off;
I will use it for winding/storing binding)
That pretty brown wool felt in the upper right corner will make
two of these little sewing pouches - one for me
and one for a special someone.
I have the two larger sizes of this ruler and decided to invest in the smallest one;
I have used quite a number of curve-template rulers and like this brand best.
These are my favorite sandwich basting pins;
picked up more for small projects
I bought these button packets just because they were cute. :)
Shopping in person was FUN but I had a hard time focusing. I wanted to buy more fat quarters but just could not concentrate enough to choose. :P
After I drove back to Columbia and dropped Patty at home, I had a 3 pm appointment with the dietician at my primary care doctor's practice (Internal Health, Johns Hopkins). It was the first time I've met the lady and I was quite impressed. She was knowledgeable and easy to work with/talk to. We managed to come up with a considerable number of ideas for increasing my protein intake (there is a surprising array of protein-enhanced foods on the market now!) and making meals healthier. She also had two collections of good recipes for bariatric nutrition she shared with me. Win!
Once I managed to get home, I sat in my comfy chair and watched the birds at the newly refilled feeders happily. Faithful Circle had in-person meeting (regular Monday evening group) but I had spent all the doing-power I had for the day!
By way of funny item, as I was leaving the doctor's office to come home, I pulled up to a stop light and blinked when I saw this car in front of me. At first glance, I thought 'why does that car have a pair of Brahma bull horns mounted on its back?' (Remember, I lived in Texas for a couple of years while my Dad got his PhD). LOL
When I got closer the vision resolved into normality of course.
Today was windy, colder and grayer (if possible). I slept late and felt energetic enough after lunch - oh, I am now eating carefully watching the clock so I can avoid eating too fast. Took me an hour to eat my sliced deli ham and protein-fortified hot cocoa for lunch but I DID NOT get nauseas. YEAH! Discipline, eh?
I walked to the mailbox (about 150 yards from our front door - my current exercise goal distance) and back, took out the recycling (takes two trips - one for cans/bottles, one for papers), and turned around the cars in our driveway. Because Skip took the Bolt to work on Monday, I drove the Jeep to Towson. He was already home and parked in our driveway when I got back. I moved the Bolt, parked the Jeep into our carport, and re-parked the Bolt so Skip won't have to do it at oh-dark-thirty tomorrow morning on his way out to work. :)
After all that energetic chore accomplishment, I was done for the day and spent my time reading again.
While I was getting the mail, Patty stopped in her car (she was on the way to buy groceries). I asked her to pick up an amaryllis bulb for me - and she did!! Now I have a goal to clean off the dining table so our flower can grow under the lights (pics later). Happy times!
Had a lovely chat with my daughter via FaceTime tonight. Life is good!
:) Linda
