Little Time For Quilting

No posts for a while and I suppose the reason for that is I've done precious little sewing/quilting the last several weeks. Life gets in the way......

I've had to deal with a cold, hard fact head on the last week. Michael has a lung disease that will kill him. The pulmonary therapist was at the house last week and advised him that he needs to be on oxygen all the time. He does not want to go to work with the portable device. We need his income and he hasn't earned enough social security credits to qualify for disability. So, he went to work this morning without his "air". The therapist stressed he needs to keep active, so NOW he wants to go to the gym with me. My word wasn't good enough for him! If he quits work, I predict he will sit around all day, doing nothing and that in turn will decrease the time he has left in this world. Of course, he claims he could help with housework, cooking, etc. But he does none of that stuff now, except an occasional meal. I've spoiled him.

There have been changes at work too - it's as if everyone is sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the next problem, complaint etc. Defensiveness rules the day. There's one manager in particular who lives for the opportunity to file any complaint against underwriters. Trouble is we have a spineless chief underwriter who won't stand up for us even if we are in the right. We've been bought by our sister company, business is as usual, or so they tell us. We're in the midst of changing from a total paper environment to all on-line. There has been little to no systems investments for 30 years! The good thing is the ability to work from home is there at the end of the rainbow and trust me, I'm grabbing that opportunity with both hands!

As if there isn't enough stress in my life, I've been working with personal trainers at the gym to figure out why Weight Watchers isn't working and has not worked for some time. According to the test results, I'm not eating enough????!!! Yesterday, the trainer did a test which told me at what heart rate my body more effectively burns fat. Aha! So now I have a handy-dandy little heart monitor that will tell me when I'm in that fat-burning zone during a work out. I have to admit since being told I wasn't eating enough, I increased my intake a couple of days and oddly enough I feel better - no headaches or dizzy spells like I had been having. Now, don't go into a fit thinking I'm giving up on WW, I'm not - I have to stick to the weigh ins at least until May to get my fees reimbursed from my employer. Speaking of that, they also reimburse a portion of my gym membership if I go at least 24 times in a quarter. Every little bit helps!

Hey, this is a quilting blog, ok, ok. I finished the piecing for a wedding quilt I MUST have done by the 28th and got the first border on before the phone rang last night and I ended up talking to my brother for an hour. I fell "off the wagon" again on Saturday and bought some remnants in the sale bin at Hobby Lobby. I know, I'm weak! They are pretty though! I'm starting to ponder on what projects to take with me for the retreat next month. So much to choose from!

My daughter and I went to the Taft Museum in downtown Cincinnati on Saturday to see the exhibit of movie costumes currently on display. I was really amazed by the details on the gowns from various movies, several of which are amongst my favorite films. Several outfits worn by Colin Firth and Alan Rickman were there! Another thing that struck me was how tiny the women's gowns were in the waist. I know Nicole Kidman's a thin woman, but give me a break. Nobody my age is that small! All in all we had a good girls day out - lunch, the museum and shopping afterwards.

Keep little Andrea in your thoughts and prayers this week. She's taking the high school graduation test for Ohio. Danny (aka Tattoo Boy) is taking finals this week - remember his efforts too!

And I promise to post more. May not be about quilting. But I think you understand......
Hugs,
Cathy