WWQP Bulletin Board Chat

Where Is Everybody?

Hi, Jane here with great news. As of Thursday's WW meeting I am down 15.2 lbs in the 7 weeks I've been participating. Since vigorous exercise allows one to eat more humanely I'm also stronger and more aerobically fit. I'd like to lose at least another 15# and if I do I shall shoot for 5# increments until satisfied. Sadly and stupidly I did binge late last night. Haven't done that since I started the program. Oh well, this morning I'm back at it with a sensible breakfast and before that a short but seriously uphill hike down hill to my mailbox which is almost a half mile. Coming back up is a looooong quarter mile which involves panting and having to remove the outer layer of clothing, in this case a sweat shirt.

I have also reduced my stress level by about 97.623% by disengaging from a relationship with a seriously bipolar woman whom I befriended a few years ago. Despite active treatment she got worse and worse in the past six months and she had become very dependent on me. I was literally losing sleep with the feelings of rage about her dominance over my time and emotional stamina. It became clear to me that I wasn't helping her but the situation was, well, sucking me dry. I finally wrote her a letter one midnight when I was, once again unable to sleep because of this whole scene, telling her this as gently as possible. My chronic anger was more about feeling trapped than it was truly at her. She can't help her sickness nor can I. If I could help her I would. I have heard that she has been hospitalized for the second time in two years since then. I hope so. Her husband, bless him, tells me he understands my position completely and the last time we spoke before the severance of the relationship he intended to ask the doc to hospitalize her as she was getting closer and closer to harming him or someone else. Throwing furniture had become her response to whatever. Poor thing, she and everyone else around her suffer. Did I say all this in a previous post? I apologize if so. Actually, what I am saying is that while I'm not completely free of her influence on my mood it has improved immeasurably and I've been truly enjoying life recently in a way I don't remember doing in many years.

Got a charity quilt done this weekend. We bring scraps to the chair of the outreach committee who relishes the job of grouping fabrics and batting is donated for the jobs and there are some fantastic ones coming out of the project. Mine, however, fails to meet that standard. The entire thing is made up of ugly bubble gum pink blocks and really ugly over cooked pea (canned) green only lighter. The blocks were already cut when they came to us. The back is non descript but hardly attractive. I just alternated the colors. The batting provided was extra loft poly(donated). Silly girl that I am thought I'd machine quilt (should have tied). Additionally, I tried to do it in bias lines across the blocks. It was a disaster so I went out to a Wally World about 35 miles away where they still have a sewing dept. and bought some really cheap so called "traditional" poly batting, picked out the previous quilting and started over again. By that time some of the blocks were distorted from the bias sewing even with the even feed foot and decided that I wasn't going to spend any more time on it and it would just get more distorted. I resorted to some of my own repro fabric in a more pleasing depression green for binding. Glad to get that behind me and return to the boys' Christmas quilts. There will be weeks of cutting on the seam allowances and time's awastin'.

DB will come visit once his pooch is released from vet ortho surgeon in a few weeks. He wants to help me with chores and has offered to bring his chain saw. Chain saws abound here and I gave Al's to a neighbor with borrow back (with man attached) privileges. I have a gas log and don't need that kind of help but since his hands show no signs of arthritis I'll put him to work on the seam allowances. Ha, little does he know. Right now though, the weather is perfect for asettin' on the porch and that's a good plan for such chores. Maybe I'll spring for another pair of those special scissors and we can commune and reminisce over the seam allowances.

Well, time to get working on a Joleen block. I set the fabric out last night.

Cheerful in the mountains
Jane

posted by Jane in NC @ 8:12 AM