Day 401: Mystery Revealed

I thought today I would just reveal the mystery picture from Monday, but another picture happened today, too.

Kiddo and I were heading in the rose garden this morning to count landscape timbers. The plan is to, after 10 years, finally replace the timbers. They have long since lost their color and in some cases have rotted a bit. So in order to replace the timbers we need to know how many we have.

I followed kiddo right out the door. She had already made it around the corner of the house by the time I got down the steps, but she came back. Quickly. Yelling.

"Ducks! Get the camera!"

After grabbing the camera she and I slowly and quietly made our way back around the house to find two ducks in our backyard. There they stood, looking at each other across the yard. They soon paired up and hung around, only flying back to the river when kiddo tried to feed them some bread.

Hope they bring us some babies next time they visit!

And for the mystery picture (that I thought was an easy one, but guess not) was...A box of Kleenex. The close up picture was taken of the middle of the box where the seam lies.

Day 400

There are a lot of things I haven't done for 400 days straight. I haven't:

• washed my dishes
• driven my car
• kissed my husband
• sewn something
• listened to the radio
• petted the cat
• eaten fruits and vegetables
• exercised
• put on shoes
• worn my wedding ring
• read the mail
• used my cell phone
• taken a vitamin

I can only think of a few things I have done every day for the last 400 days:

• talked to my daughter
• watched tv
• made my bed
• checked e-mail
• drank water
• taken a picture

Day 400 is just like the previous 399. (Except I made my mom and daughter drink some juice. They took a sip of my kale-spinach-cucumber-carrot-celery-apple conconction that they hated, but each drank a small glass of carrot-celery-apple.) And the other exception is that my daughter took today's picture through the moonroof as I took her and my mom on a drive in my new car.

Day 399

We've always been a one car family. With hubby not driving it wasn't too hard. When our daughter started driving it became a bit more difficult. When she moved out on her own, it was even more difficult being car-less. She has been lucky enough to have a grandma close by and a boyfriend with a car, but she's been itching to get her hands on one. Ours.

We have always promised that when we were ready to buy a new car she would get the old one. We (and she) expected that time to come a couple years back. With all the health stuff with me and losing my income it had to be delayed. After getting myself back to work and having more money coming in, it was time.

Time for our almost 24 year old daughter to finally get the car. So tomorrow my mom will be bringing her over. My kiddo and I will be heading down to DMV together, me to register my new car and take possession of my old license plates (I just have to keep my old plates - those things have been through a lot with me); her to get the title transferred into her name (with no mom listed on it anymore) and her own license plate. I've talked to her a few times these last couple days and she sure is excited. And I'm excited for her.

I'm also excited for someone else. Look who is spending her time on the blanket on the dresser. Yup, kitty is trained again.

Day 398: Bonus Miles

I told myself when I started this cross-country bike ride one month ago that if I lost any weight on the ride, I would get bonus miles. One bonus mile for every pound I lost. Since it has been a month now, it's time to weigh in and see if I get myself any of those bonus miles.

After riding 210 miles this past month, I was sure I was getting some weight loss benefits. A couple weeks ago I noticed my clothes were fitting better. Then we started juicing 11 days ago - and we're still going strong - so I really knew there would be some bonus miles. But when I stepped on the scale, I was very surprised.

17 pounds.

210 miles of biking + 11 days of juicing = 17 pounds lost in one month!

Now, that in itself is an exciting thing. But just as exciting is that those bonus miles are getting me closer to Sisters, Oregon. I'm also excited to learn that hubby and I are going to be able to take a real trip to Sisters to coincide with my biking trip. And if all that isn't excitement enough, that trip will be taken in our brand new car that we just purchased last night. After a couple years of talking about it and having to delay it because of injury, then a surgery, and another surgery, and another surgery, then me not able to work, we finally decided this was the right time.

17 pounds and a new car. What a way to start a day!

Day 397: Mystery Monday

I decided to do another mystery picture. The last one from Day 377 turned out to be fun. (At least for me.) I'm needing some fun right now, so here we go again.

You might have something like this somewhere in your house, so hopefully this one will be easier.

Any thoughts?

Day 396

I'm trying to train our cat again. This time it's not just a fun trick like the one from Day 353. This one has to do with my mornings.

The cat sleeps inside most of the night. In the early morning hours she bawls to be let out (and we certainly abide). Then around six in the morning hubby lets her back in. She eats, she bawls, then she jumps on the foot of the bed. She runs up the bed, up anyone on the bed (me), then uses that person's shoulder (mine) as a launching pad/springboard to jump up on top of the bookcase headboard. She daintily walks around the lamp, the tv controller, and the box of kleenex and parks herself on top of any piece of clothing I might have on my dresser.

And there is where she proceeds to clean herself and fall asleep.

I'm now keeping things off the dresser, hoping she'll get the message and stay off. But she doesn't. She still runs through the same routine, but seems to bawl even more now that there isn't a soft place for her. So now my plan is to get her to quietly sit on a blanket on the dresser and off my clothes.

I'm starting to wonder who is the trainer and who is the trainee, though. Looks like she has trained herself to act like an Easter egg hiding in the grass.

Day 395

It was the nicest day of the year so far with temps in the 70s and beautiful blue skies. A day like this meant it was time to work outside again, but it also meant it was time to put the clothesline back up. Finally.

I sure missed it. A year ago exactly (on Day 29), I made a clothespin bag. That bag made it through the entire summer and will be on my line again this year. Unfortunately, no clothes went up on the line today because the weather turned off bad in the afternoon.

Luckily I captured several pictures before the storm hit.

When we first moved into this house, we had bunches and bunches of Johnny Jump-Ups. But as we tilled soil in our various flower beds, we started getting fewer and fewer of the flowers returning each year. This year we have just one single plant.

While my tulips in the backyard aren't yet blooming, those in the front bed are. I also came across some other flowers in the front bed that are only a couple inches tall.

I checked to be sure the hummingbird nest is still there. Now we just need the mama to come back.

The clouds moved in and the gusty wind kicked up, ending my outside work (and picture-taking) time.

Day 394

I have to fess up. It's probably pretty obvious looking at the rate I'm turning out quilt tops.

I've been sewing more than I have been biking.

I have plenty of reasons excuses why the biking hasn't been taking center stage. The old one broke, the new one was delayed in getting here, we've been juicing, it's spring break, and so on and so on. I should have been at my next destination by now, but I'm not and there is no one to blame but me.

I changed that today. As of today I'm again spending more hours biking than sewing. Too bad the cars on my latest quilt top couldn't help me get down the road faster.

Day 393

My sugar cookie icing is quite simple. Powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. I stir the ingredients together until I get the right consistency. If the icing is too runny it falls off the edge of the cookie. If the icing is too thick it won't flow through the ziploc bag. But last night I learned even more about icing. Not the cookie kind, either. Being that I've never been to a hockey game before, I actually learned all kinds of new words.


I learned that if a hockey player shoots the puck across the red center line and the other team's red goal line without the other team touching it first, there's a word for that. Icing.

I also learned that icing results in a face-off. That's where the puck is dropped between two players, kind of like a jump ball in basketball.


 
A bodycheck is when a player uses their body to slow down (and in most cases, slam) the opponent against the wall. Sometimes those bodychecks turn into fights. And those fights appear to be encouraged.


When one of the team's players gets a penalty and has to go to the penalty box, the team can be outnumbered by one or two players during the game for a power play.

I learned the goalie gets beat up by the puck. Just check out all the black marks.

And I also learned that our daughter and her boyfriend are thoughtful cooks. Knowing we've been juicing, they made sure the dinner they made for us - shish kabobs - were mostly vegetables. Even dessert was on the healthier side - strawberries and angel food cake. Thanks you two, we had fun!

Day 392

Day in, day out, every day has been the same. Hubby home, juicing, biking, sewing. One day is rolling over into the other. Never leaving the house. Nowhere to go and nothing to do.

But we are breaking away from that today. Today is the day we are going to our daughter's for dinner and will have some real food. Then we're going on a double date with her and her boyfriend to an athletic event that none of us have ever attended.

So tomorrow's picture(s) should be from that athletic event. Any guesses as to what we're going to see?

No guesses on today's picture though. Another kids quilt top done for charity, this time made from crumbs (those things I wrote about on Day 104.)

Day 391

Juicing, biking, spring break. I'm tired of talking (and writing) about all of it right now.

I'd rather work on quilts. Remember all those quilt blocks I made on Day 329? The ones I turned into a quilt on Day 339? Well, I turned the extra blocks into yet another quilt top.

That makes three quilt tops completed in the last week. I'm aiming for at least three more in the coming week. We'll see if I get tired of doing that!

Day 390

The obsession with juicing is taking over, at least for now. While some folks do nothing but juice all day everyday for months, that's not our plan.

The plan isn't permanent for us. We wanted to reset our bodies, go cold turkey off the bad foods and hit the good foods hard. We were planning on nothing but juice through spring break, but already changed just a bit. We're doing juice for two meals, with the third meal being a salad (either fruit or veggie). The strong need to chew something is overwhelming. The need to continue to pursue the all plant diet is just as overwhelming so we had to make a concession.

We already see how the juice can be a part of our lives once this week is over. You wouldn't think a plate of fruits and veggies would turn out so tasty (and yet so ugly). This version tasted like apple juice.

 

 

 

And for those with no interest in juice here are some words from Ruth, who was lucky enough to captured these photos...

This owl has been in our area for nearly a month. Here he is sitting on a house roof next to the chimney. First time ever in our area.

Day 389

I'm not a napper, but between the juicing and finally getting a new bike and doing lots of miles, the combination wore me out today.

We knew going into the juicing we'd hit a wall. We knew we'd lose some energy and some pep as our bodies were transitioning from sugar, salt, and fat-laden foods to healthy, plant-based diets. It just came earlier than I thought. I was expecting it after four or so days but it hit me here on the third day.

We prepared for it, though. That's why we started the juicing over spring break - so that we wouldn't be obligated to go anywhere or do anything, and if need be we could nap our time away.

So I napped today. I didn't exactly awaken refreshed, but I did feel better. Thank goodness it didn't take much brain power to take a picture of this strawberry before it hit the juicer.

Day 388

My mom called today about the blog. Really, about the juicing. When she called I was in the middle of my bike ride (back to double digit miles - yay!) and in the middle of still working on downing my breakfast. A big glass of kale, spinach, carrot, celery, strawberry, grape, and peach juice.

Yum. Well, not exactly. Yum on the fruits, yuck on the veggies. Even with the fruits outweighing the vegetables in my mix, I could still taste the kale. And I don't like hate kale. But I'm drinking it because I know it's good for me. It's good for my health. All this juicing is probably a good way to rid my body of all the toxins built up with all the rheumatoid arthritis medications. A good way to jump start my system.

So I'll continue. We're planning on doing five days (with a break Wednesday night because we're going to our daughter's for dinner), then back again for at least another four days. Then spring break will be over and we'll see where we'll go from there.

I do have to say that as much as I dislike veggies and the juice isn't the tastiest thing (at least not yet) it does fill me up. Last night I had my juice at 6 PM and wasn't hungry the rest of the evening. That never happens. Same thing today - my morning juice filled me up for the day. We'll see what tomorrow holds. Maybe I'll be starving!

If I starve, I'll just hide in my sewing room and do more sewing for kids. Today I was able to get another kids quilt top done. It didn't turn out as pretty as I thought it would, but I still have more of the kid fabric left so I'll have another shot at it.

Day 387

I usually like being right. But today? Not so much.

I was right about the whole juicing thing. Yep, hubby is planning on doing a juice fast and yes, he remembered I agreed to do it with him. He even put some money into the project. I paid for all the fruits and veggies from yesterday, but today it was another purchase.

A juicer. A highly recommended, five star juicer. And wouldn't you know it, it went on sale at my daughter's work today. 40% off. And wouldn't you know it, she had an extra 20% off coupon she received as an incentive at work. She put the juicer on hold for us as we hopped in the car and drove to Boise to pick it up. And wouldn't you know it, as soon as we got home hubby made a concoction. A concoction I had to pass on. I need one more meal before I start.

So tomorrow morning it is.

But this morning, my daffodils were blooming.

An evening update...

I decided not to back out on tonight, so my first night of juicing is complete. I consumed more fruits and vegetables in one sitting than I probably ever did in an entire day. The taste wasn't too bad, but the color sure was disgusting (no picture of that).  Take a look at the pretty version of everything I just drank.

Day 386

I was planning on taking a picture of my new bike today, but I didn't. I also thought about taking a picture of the next kids quilt in progress, but I didn't.

After an impromptu trip to Costco with my mom today, the picture was an obvious one. Not necessarily because of Costco itself or my mom, but because of my husband.

A little while ago we watched a movie called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. A guy goes across country doing a juice fast - and losing weight - along the way, extolling the virtues of juicing. After the movie my hubby got to thinking and asked if I would do a few days of juicing with him. I agreed. But we never talked about it again.

Skip ahead a few weeks to today. I gave him a call at school before I went to the store to see if there was anything he wanted. Boy, did he have a list. Apples, bananas, berries, lemons, kale, celery, carrots, and on and on. Then he again asked me if I thought I would do the juicing with him and again I said yes.

Only when I hung up did I realize I think he's planning on us starting pretty darn soon. Since his spring break begins tomorrow, I'm starting to wonder if I've eaten my last bite of solid food for a while.

Whether they wind up in juice or not, we certainly have plenty of fruits and veggies now.

Day 385

It's time for a roundup. An update. A look at where things stand.

First and foremost, I've taken myself off all rheumatoid arthritis medications. After the last doctor visit where he suggested sending me to Salt Lake City for further tests and treatments I decided to become a rebel. Or maybe I'm trying to hide or just go into complete denial. I've had enough. I'm tired of the shots, tired of my hair falling out, tiring of feeling icky from the medications. So no more chemotherapy injections, no more anti-malaria drugs, no more $2000+ month TB-causing shots. No more. That plate of pills and shots from Day 352 is quite smaller and I'm happy about it. The absence of all those medications certainly hasn't made me feel any worse, and in fact my bad-feeling Thursdays and Fridays are now better without all the side effects dragging me down.

My biking hit a bump in the road. With the broken bike I was able to limp along a few miles a day until this weekend when it complete busted. My new bike is supposed to arrive today - daily double digit miles, here I come! Sisters, Oregon, 315 miles from my house, is my next destination and I hope to be there next week.

And the most important update - after a little bit of a break, the charity quilts are on the move again. I just finished a top using some of the fabrics from Paula O. I still have lots of the cutest kid fabric in the world that she sent and will start on another one using some of that same fabric.

Paula, thanks again for your generous donation!

Day 384

Patience.

My new word for the week, my new lesson to be learned. As in I'm showing great patience as I wait for my new bike to show up.

Actually, maybe patient fits better today.

I know that it snowed today on the first day of spring, but be patient Mr. and Mrs. Rosebush. It'll be time to bloom before you know it.

Day 383

I finally got my sewing room back together.

I've been dragging my feet for some reason. But after procrastination nipped me in the rear yesterday with missing that pheasant picture, it was time to get moving. I mostly just moved furniture around, swapped some furniture out, and did some re-organizing of things.

I've even found some time to get moving on the next project. I'm making a kids quilt with some of the fabric Paula O. sent me on Day 336.

It was only when I sat down to get back to work on the quilt project that I noticed I had a visitor on my ironing board. (You'll have to look closely.) Guess she thought the best place to be on the last day of winter was a padded surface next to a sunny window.

Day 126

Day 382

I'm mad at myself today. I procrastinated and wound up losing in the end.

My camera has been showing low battery for several days. But since I'm not taking tons of pictures and I'm not doing videos right now, I've kept putting off charging it. And now I'm sorry I did.

As I was opening the living room curtains a bit this morning so kitty could sit in the window, I was excited to look down and see some tulips about ready to open. But then I looked up and saw something even more exciting.

A beautiful, brightly colored boy pheasant walking right across our lawn, just a few feet in front of me.

I ran (I don't run, so it was more of a super fast walk) to grab the camera. I turned it on as I left the den so it would be ready by the time I got back to the front window. But the camera beeped at me. And beeped again, and beeped again. As I tried to take a series of pictures of the pheasant (so I could get the best picture) it only snapped one before it shut off. I tried to turn it back on with no luck. Completely dead battery.

So today's picture is the only picture left in the battery charge. Not the best picture of Mr. Pheasant, but at least I got something.

Day 381: Blue Mystery Revealed

When we first moved to Marsing back in 1987 we lived south of town. South of town meant towards the desert. South of town also meant no city water or sewer. Which then meant well water heavy in minerals and alkali.

While we had a water softener, it didn't prevent the water from developing a rusty tint. It didn't keep our bathtubs and sinks from turning orange. It didn't prevent heavy alkali deposits on everything.

Even though we are now in town and on city water we still have deposits. Nothing like that ugly orange that ruined everything back then, but we do have minerals that leave a white residue behind. It's like that science experiment I did in school - take a pie plate of water and add some salt. Let it sit on the windowsill in the sun and see what's left behind.

So for the answer to Day 377's mystery picture...

While this bowl didn't have any salt added, you can clearly see what happens when just plain tap water winds up evaporating in a blue cat bowl.

Day 380

I tried something new today (and it didn't have to do with my new shoes). It had to do with my camera.

Every day when I take my picture I wind up doing some editing. I almost always wind up cropping it. Sometimes I take out some of the shadows and sometimes I make the color more vibrant. But today I decided to use one of the pre-chosen style/color/format options.

I don't remember what I chose, but I think it makes the picture more interesting. We are having some hard rain - hard enough to make bubbles - which isn't all that exciting of a picture. But I do like it even more now.

Speaking of pictures - tomorrow I'll reveal what that picture was on Day 377. It sure has been fun seeing everyone's guesses!

Day 379

Several years ago I realized I was wearing the wrong size shoes. Ever since high school, I've been buying the same size in all shoes, no matter the style - dress shoes, athletic shoes, hiking boots, sandals. But a few years back when I was buying a new pair of shoes I tried on a bigger pair and found they fit better.

It would have made sense that if a bigger pair fit better, I should start buying other shoes in that same bigger size. But I'm not a shoe person and don't like shoe shopping. Other than that one pair about six years back, all my shoes are old, old. Like eight or nine years old, and in some cases 10+ years. So all these years I've been continuing to wear the same wrong size.

Too-small shoes worn every single day causes bruised toes. Bruised toes bring about bruised toenails. Bruised toenails (sorry for being gross here) brings about a big toe with a toenail that looks like it might want to fall off. And this week I learned that too-small shoes worn for 100+ miles of biking make a big toenail (sorry, again gross) really look like it wants to fall off.

So today was enough. When stopping to pick up prescriptions and some groceries I ran across some athletic shoes 50% off the last marked clearance price. I left with two new pair of shoes in my cart. Guess who is going to wear new shoes (that fit) for tomorrow's denim day at work?

How about you? Are you wearing shoes that fit just right?

Day 378

I think I got the message. It was one of those I never thought of it that way messages. And it was all about Pajama Boy. Between the comments on posts and the e-mail I've received, it seems that PJ boy (AKA hubby) has quite the support from my readers. Ever since I posted a picture of him on Day 374 (a picture he was more than happy for me to take - he wasn't the least bit embarrassed) I've been having to re-think the whining.

I whine about hubby never getting out of his pajamas. I whine about hubby going outside in his pajamas. I whine about hubby going into the casino in his pajamas. Guess I need to stop the whining.

When I get home from school, I change out of my dress clothes into my most comfortable clothes -sweats. When he comes home, he changes out of his dress clothes into his most comfortable clothes - pajamas.

When we walked away from the casino with $1500 back in March of last year, most of that money was won by him. In his pajamas.

When the mail is handed to me on Saturday morning, it's because he walked across the street and brought it to me. In his pajamas.

When the lawn is full and green and lush in the summer, it's because he fertilized it when he was wearing his pajamas.

When my crocuses bloom in the spring it's because he watered them in the fall. In his pajamas.

Day 377

The Sunday edition of the Idaho Statesman (the Boise paper) has a contest in the Outdoor section. They post a picture and have readers submit guesses about where the photo was taken. Sometimes the picture is a trailhead, a lake, or some other "outdoorsy" place.

Since my brain is fried after just getting home here at 7 PM, I have a guessing game for you. Unfortunately I don't have any prizes to award, but I hope you have fun seeing what everyone thinks.

What is this picture of? Leave me a comment with your guess!

Day 376

I'm still in a bummed state over my exercise bike. I've worked so hard at getting double digit miles in every day, I just can't give it up right now. Maybe the luck of the Irish will heal it?

Speaking of Irish...tomorrow is treat day at work and the theme is green for St. Patrick's day. Since typically Tuesday is my full day of meetings I might not be able to partake, but I did make a couple green-themed items. A lime jello poke cake (I love poke cake) and peppermint spiral cookies. I was planning on adding a bit of chocolate and crushed peppermints to the outer edges of the cookies, but hubby said they tasted great as is.

Day 375

I have butterflies in my stomach every day. Every morning I wake up and set a time for my biking, but up until that time when I ride I'm nervous. I try and keep myself busy beforehand, but sometimes the anxiousness creeps in.

Every day before I bike the same thoughts race through my head. Will my knees make it? Will my feet and hips and back make? Will I make it? Is my goal too extreme? Can I focus enough to get through it? Is this going to be the last day my body holds out? In the last week I've biked over 120 miles and my knees, feet, hips, and back have not been too happy about the venture. But I'm determined to exercise mind over matter and continue, with the hope that it can only get better with more exercise. Every day when I get off the bike I'm pleased with what I've accomplished and I'm looking forward to having fewer butterflies the farther along I get.

Except I didn't plan on the bike itself being something I should be nervous about. But it should have been. Because for several days my bike has been broken. Multiple attempts to repair the ten year old bike have failed. While I've been trying to continue my 15+ miles a day, the miles are starting to (temporarily) decrease. A new bike has been ordered so until then I'm limping along. (Or whatever the equivalent of a limp would be while pedaling a bike).

With the whole butterflies in the stomach thing going on, I was certain when I went outside I'd find a butterfly. The closest thing I could find was a bee at work.

Day 374

With today's temps being in the 60 degree range it made it the first day of the year that I worked outside.

As I was deadheading the wildflower/perennial garden (how did I miss doing that last fall?) my mind was wandering. Will this summer be better? Will I be able to work more outside this year than last year? Then it got me thinking about why I'm moving onto a year two on the blog. I want this year to be better than last year. I want my life to be more active, more positive, and less pain filled than last year.

It was nice being outside. Nice getting fresh air and doing a bit of work. Hubby even got into action, fertilizing the lawn.

But check out what he's wearing. Pajamas and slippers. Maybe I need to add "getting Pajama Boy dressed" on my list of wants for the year.

Day 373: The Shoe Tree

Tennis shoes. Cowboy boots. Ballet slippers. Heels. Flats. Hiking boots. What do all these things have in common?

They grow on trees. On one tree, to be more exact.

I've biked 80 miles down the road from Homedale and have arrived 17 miles east of Juntura, Oregon. There, right along side the road on Highway 20 stands a lone tree. In a somewhat boring section of a drive, in a somewhat boring section of the state (apologies to anyone who lives there), resides a shoe tree. Hundreds of pairs of shoes cover the tree.

Every year when we would head out to the Oregon Coast for spring break, we'd pass by the shoe tree. But since we always left home in the wee dark hours of the morning, it was still dark when we passed by the shoe tree. Then when we headed home from the coast, we were always dog tired by the time we got to the shoe tree and never stopped. But one year we did.

And we're glad we did. Because since these pictures were taken, vandals have burned the tree and the shoe tree is no more. We have yet to come across another shoe tree in our travels, but I'm sure there are others out there, just waiting to have their picture taken. I hope you're lucky enough to see one first hand.

Next stop - a long jaunt to one of my favorite places, some 226 miles away from the shoe tree - Sisters, Oregon.

Day 372

I do appreciate how blessed I am. While things aren't ever perfect and something always comes up to throw a wrench in things, there are a lot of good things in my life.

• I have a home that's paid for. A new roof over my head. I can look out the front windows to the river or look out the back window to the rose garden or the mountains. I can look out the sewing room window to the soon-to-be vegetable garden.
• I have a cat who has become a lap cat. No matter where I am or what I'm doing, she's either along side me or plopped down on me.
• I have a daughter who is self-sufficient. Who can pay her own bills and not ask for anything from her mom except advice.
• I have a husband who offers to make breakfast for me every morning. If I take him up on it and I'm awake before he leaves for work, he brings it to me in bed. If I'm asleep, he'll leave it for me to warm up.
• I am able to serve others through my quilting. I can remain at home, yet provide comfort for kids in need.
• I have this blog and the people who read it. Making this past year's struggles public has made me stronger. It has held me accountable for my thoughts and actions and has motivated me to be a better person. 
• I have a job that I go to where I feel respected and valued. The position fits within my limitations, fits within my schedule, fits with my strengths. A job where on my drive each morning I have views like this.

Day 371

I'm not a vegetable fan and I'm certainly not a carrot fan. But yesterday something made me change my mind about carrots. Well, at least one kind of carrot.

Every morning when I go to school I check with the school secretary to let her know I'm in the building for the day. Yesterday before I got a chance to turn around and go to my office, she stopped to show me her huge carrot. Her huge, gorgeous, vibrantly colorful carrot.

Even though she used the carrot last Easter and thought it was fine, she pulled it out again last Saturday. She needed something to do and didn't want to go to town and get something new, so out came her carrot. And she finished it. She's SOOO glad she did because she likes it even more now!

It was a quilted carrot tablerunner.

According to her, it was really a quick and easy project. It may have just taken her longer to pick the material out than to sew it, but it doesn't matter much. Whether she uses it as the tablerunner it is, or opts for a wallhanging option, it's the prettiest darn carrot I've ever seen.

Don't you agree?

Day 370

I had to give something up. To bike, to sew, to work, to keep trying to focus on the positive meant I had to cut something out.

Tuesday Tutorials.

I know they've been popular and I've gotten lots of warm and fuzzy comments about them (and I love those comments!), but I have to temporarily (or maybe permanently) stop doing them. It's a combination of time constraints and a lack of creativity. My creativity has been slowly draining away and what creativity I do have left I want to spend on trying new quilting techniques for the kids' quilts. And the time issue? Probably kind of obvious.

Trying to focus on the positive becomes another draining activity. I'm doing my best to keep my mind off rheumatoid arthritis issues. I hope my writing reflects more positive thinking this year than it did last year.

Something that is just like last year is the rose garden. On March 7 of last year (Day 5) I awoke to the rose garden covered in snow. Since yesterday's temperatures were in the 60s I didn't expect today, March 6, to see snow. But I did. Here in March, almost to the exact date, the garden is covered in snow. I didn't snap a picture of it this year, though.

I went with the Amaryllis that is blooming (again).

Day 369

I was oh-so-close to going to work today.

It wasn't a work day for me but I almost went in anyway. The pile of things that need to be done this week keeps growing and without the scheduled work days to do them, I am getting a bit antsy. But I held back. I did what I needed to do for me.

I stayed home. I stayed home and biked. I stayed home and worked at putting my sewing room back together. My mom and I are trading pieces of furniture - I get an armoire she doesn't need and she gets one of my bookshelves. The plan is to put the armoire in the sewing room, but it's not here yet. My daughter and her boyfriend are doing the switcharoo tomorrow so I'm in a bit of a holding pattern.

With the sewing room in a holding pattern my sewing is in a holding pattern, too. That one thing that grounded me, kept me thinking about others and kept my mind off my own issues isn't there right now. I need to make sure once it gets up and running again I get my behind in there.

I don't want it to turn out like the sunsets. For months the sun in my eyes over the computer screen bugged me like crazy. It may have bugged me, but it gave me the opportunity to see lots of gorgeous sunsets. Unfortunately now that I have curtains up I haven't even thought to look out the window.

I'm glad I caught what I was doing and started looking out the window again.

Day 368: Homedale, Idaho

It seems that if I'm planning on making an official cross country trip I need to start at one coast and go to the other. Being that I'm in Idaho, I guess it makes sense to start at the west coast.

My mom and I were talking on the phone yesterday, laughing about me probably having to do some multi-tasking. For as many miles and hours that I'll need to ride, I'll have to be doing something else at the same time. Something like biking and sewing.

While I didn't bike and sew at the same time today, I did bike and fold a couple loads of laundry. I don't think my husband was all too pleased that he had to hand me the items. I just couldn't figure out how to take things out of the basket, fold/hang them and return them to the basket, all while trying to balance the basket on my lap. That multi-tasking - and plenty of miles - wore me out so much today that as soon as I came upstairs I took a nap. I was darn tired!

But thanks to multi-tasking like that, in two days I've covered 33 miles so far. I was only planning on biking 11 miles to get myself to Homedale, Idaho but it seems I overshot it. So no story on Homedale, just a pic I took on my way to work the other day.

Next stop, a roadside attraction outside of Juntura, Oregon some 80 miles down the road from Homedale. Might be a while for me to get there. Or, if I can figure a way to sew and ride, maybe not.

Year Two Begins

Thanks to all who stopped by yesterday as I finished up Year One. It sure was nice hearing nice comments from the nice people out there!

Now it's on to Year Two.

With another year comes another goal. A huge goal. A goal bordering on unattainable. An I can't believe I'm aiming this high kind of goal.

It started with an inspirational story I saw about a guy named Steve. I don't know Steve but I read his story here. Steve joined an "Everest Challenge" where participants climb enough stairs to equal the distance up Mt. Everest. He was the first participant to reach the "summit", climbing up to 440 floors in a day. But that's not the most inspiring part. Steve did this while a patient in the hospital, not long after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

So it got me thinking. I can't do stairs, but I can do the exercise bike.

What if someone like me - someone who is looking for a lofty goal and needs to find a focus, someone who loves to travel but needs to stay close to home because of health reasons, someone who certainly could use some exercise and doesn't mind the exercise bike - rode that exercise bike mile after mile?

And what if those miles added up? Added up to equal a cross country trip?

So, here we go. I'm heading out on my exercise bike with specific towns, cities, and destinations in mind. I'm only traveling to places I've been before and I'm only "riding" on roads I've driven before.

I hope you join me as I head out on the year-long trip. You'll get to learn about this great country as I make my stops. Being that I've been to all 50 states, the possibilities are tremendous. Just check out the map of everywhere I've traveled!

Day 366 of 365/366

Today is it.

One year.

I have no words for how I feel about today, but I need to say thank you. Thank you for your support, advice, and words of encouragement. Thank you for caring, for reading, for commenting. Thank you for being part of my life for the last year. I wouldn't be in the land of the living instead of the land of existing without this blog and without the people who read it.

And if you've been here a while you know about my love of Peeps. I just couldn't resist buying something I found at the store for my special treat for today.

But an even bigger treat would be hearing from you today. Please leave me a comment - I really would love to hear who is out there!