Une Balance

I had forgotten how complete the concentration was with the 1200 calories a day. Deciding what to eat, when. If I have this now, can I have that, later. It is day four. I have been hungry only in the deprived "I want that" sense. I want bread.

I went back and read my food diaries from the 365 days. The first diary had the best food choices. An actual breakfast of toast and an egg. An actual lunch of soup or a sandwich-- with bread. Dinner was usually a large salad. Later diaries had a slice of cheese and 15 almonds as lunch. For the same calorie count I could have had a few ounces of good bread and an ounce of 50% reduced cheese. Or an apple. In the first diary, I always had an apple with me, in case. so I have packed up all the other diaries and have the first one sitting next to my journal. These next few weeks will be noted in the regular journal. As I won't be thinking of anything else anyway.

I bought my plane ticket and will be visiting K in Atlanta later this month. Riley will go to the kennel to run with the "big dogs" and G will get to come home from work and sleep on the couch after eating restaurant meals. In other words, we all get to do what we enjoy.

I will be returning to work after I get back from my vacation. I miss working. It adds stability to my days. Purpose. And I get everything else done in the time after work.

I am now considering what sort of project to take with me on my vacation. I usually bring some sort of applique. I have a French inspired quilt top I have wanted to make. All I need to do to get ready is cut out squares (need to decide on the perfect size square) and cut out freezer paper circles (that fit on the chosen square). Then iron the freezer paper circles onto more squares. I'll hand stitch a circle onto each square and when they are all finished, sew all the squares together. Simple. The fabric is the star. And since I truly, deeply, adore fabric, this seems like a good small project. I can make 5 or 6 each evening while watching television.

When I made my chicken quilt, I stitched a chicken head each evening for 12 evenings. My dad would watch me work and I always gave him the finished work to look over. He would run his hands over the surface, concentrating on the design and technique. I loved sharing my work with him. And in the afternoons he would come by the front bedroom in his house (I had made it my workspace) and watch me cut and select the applique pieces for that evening's chicken. Later he watched me piece the 13 baskets and start putting it all together. I have it on my wall, right here, where I see it each and everyday. An emotional journal.

We bought some ShamWow! towels at Target on Monday and they have come in handy as the woodstove brick fireplace has water running down the back wall. And I need to keep soaking it up and wringing the towels out into a pail. I called a local woodstove company and they repair chimneys (???) so I have them coming out next week to look see. Probably a cracked flue liner along with a number of broken and cracked bricks on top. I would really like the whole thing removed (even though it is beautiful) as I don't like the woodstove (dirty and smelly), the smoke makes it hard for me to breath (allergy to smoke), and we only use it in ice storms. I would prefer a gas fired stove if we have to have one, and, really, I would rather have windows where the brick fireplace is now. We will settle for the solution that is least expensive. And after the chimney is repaired ( or removed) we will have new roof shingles put up. I think there are a few places near the many skylights where the shingles are leaking. The shingles up there have lasted, in good condition, for 24 years. We'll replace them with the same quality shingles.

And a new furnace. And a new refrigerator. Both because a newer one will be more cost efficient. The furnace is 24 years old and the fridge is 18 years old. And I have hated that fridge for each and every one of the 18 years. As you can see, I will be doing my part to stimulate the economy. Une Balance in everything.