Health

Sorry, all - I am truly miserable and while I lovelovelove getting your comments, I am just not up to replying. Arrgh! Thanks you so much for them, they DO help - but I think something is really WRONG. I’m just so tired and feel so HEAVY all the time.

Mr Beloved thought I was up reading too late- nope, even putting the book down and turning of the light and putting on my CPAP mask at a reasonable time, (ie, before himself even breaks away from his computer!) and sleeping right through until about 5-6 am when the dog says she has to go OUT, I’m STILL EXHAUSTED.  So much so that I crashed out from around 2pm til 7 this evening.  THIS IS NOT RIGHT!!

Did a few minor errands today - needed more pattern tracing paper so I can trace off a Jalie pattern - possibly this one - to make up in the $2 metre knit I scored at Spodshite yesterday.

Also got to the library - my turn with the Trinny and Susannah Body Shape Bible finally came up (there were a dozen reserves ahead of me) - but after a quick look through I’m more confused than ever about my shape.

Haven’t lost any centimetres off my waist or hips in the last 4 weeks - but my weight is now down to 107.9 - that’s lighter than when I left Canberra, at the end of 2003. Yay!

It probably would have been a little bit more if I had said no to dinner with the girls before we went out on Saturday night - but hey, ya gotta live, right?

And now - I’m back to bed. For those of you lucky enough to be able to work, I’m sure that sounds like BLISS - it’s not when it’s your whole LIFE!!

Whine whine whine.

Had a lovely night out with the girls on Saturday night - dinner at a Thai place (Thanks, Sue, for bringing wine - yum!) and then off we went with several THOUSAND other women and a few intrepid blokes to see Menopause the Musical. Fun, but LOUD!

I have spent the last two days entirely in bed - Mr Beloved wakes me up and makes me eat stuff, and feeds me cups of tea, but that’s all the energy I’ve had. Pathetic.

Tried to sew a dress to wear for the big night out and it was even more DISASTROUS than the last attempt!! At least now I know that long full sleeves with elastic at the bottom make me look older than my grandmother…. and that the weight of knit fabrics makes a HUGE difference to the alterations I need to do- which I spent AGES on - and which were then TOO BLOODY BIG.

BTW: I HATE THE F****KING CONTRACEPTIVE PILL. It was supposed to suppress ovulation and therefore the pain - NOPE. after some research, did you know that every kilogram heavier you are than 70kg makes the pill less effective? Great. I’ve had 4 migraines and feel like I’ve had PMT all month and THEN been run over by a garbage truck. And the diet? That’s just a loss right now - I think if I even walk PAST food I’m putting on weight, I don’t even have to eat it. I am NOT looking forward to seeing the dietician tomorrow.

Right, that’s about enough whinging from me - I’m off to make a last cuppa tea for the evening and watch CSI:NY.

The old - straggly, unflattering, frizzly, with dye growing out.

The NEW - sleek (and even I can manage to straighten it now there’s SO MUCH LESS HAIR!) and definitely more age appropriate. Hair colour completely natural (I’m growing into my silver hair…)

Whaddaya think?

It’s sort of a modified bob - longer at the front, not severe shaping at the back but enough to keep it sharp. And I feel so much LIGHTER without all that hair - wow - must take that into account at next weigh-in, LOL!!

I love it so much. I am now officially at home here - I have good girlfriends, and a good doctor, dentist, and hairdresser - I’m NOT (touch wood) MOVING!!

Thanks all for your good wishes - the pain is almost back under control - HATE getting a bad flare-up like that!

So Saturday - was FANTABULOUS! Sue, Chriss, and I went to Brisbane and had a lovely time. Sckafs fabrics was amazing - a real Aladdin’s cave of fabrics, trims, hats, and fascinators - swooon!

Here’s what I got: (obligatory fabric haul on bed shot, for the PR girls!)

From Fabric Barn in Sumner Park: beautiful polyester jersey, cream/grey/black dots - 2.1 metres.

From Sckafs in Indooroopilly Shopping Town: the yummalicious polyester jersey in cream/chocolate different scale dots - reminds me of dominoes a bit! Also 2.1 metres - I was being optimistic about the size I was going to cut out, I think. Might have to be some creative piecing now to get this to work!

And the black with red squiggles fabric - from Sckafs bargain bin, $5 per metre: it’s only 1 metre wide, and I got just over 2.5 metres. It’s permanently pleated, (so behaves almost like a knit - lots of stretch), dries in a nano-second, and would be perfect for a reversible top of some sort: I can’t decide if I like the black or the cream with black side better. In any case, the mark which we were hoping would wash out didn’t - so I’m going to have to plan and cut this one carefully. ( I did get a further discount - only paid for 2 metres, and that was the end of the roll, or I would have bought more!)

Also - a couple of pieces of tailors chalk (chipped due to my carelessness, bugger!) to replace the pieces Constance J. Woodle ate (ewww!) and some new pins - nothing worse than trying to sew knits with big old blunt pins.

And today in the mail: Jalie patterns! I’ve been reading everyone’s reviews of them for ages and not been brave enough to order, but Sue and I took the plunge. First up - the twin set, I think. The pattern paper is HUUUUGE, since there are 27 sizes printed on the one sheet, but once I trace off the right size I think it will almost take longer to cut than to sew! I also got Pattern #2804, the Empire Crossover Top; Pattern 2215 (which I ordered for the little skirt with the attached undies, but now I really like the pants and shirt as well), and Pattern #2682, the V neck top.

There’s nothing on TV tonight after Time Team, so if my back holds out I might actually get something made.

Also in the mail today - something I won off ebay. Which I probably didn’t NEED but I really really WANTED - since I have such fond memories of looking at Mum’s copy all those years ago:

I know, I know - totally frivolous! I don’t have kids, I barely even KNOW anyone with little kids - but - *sigh* I am going to daydream about these patterns! Mum was incredibly creative and took the bloomers from one design, the bolero top from another, and the little hat from a third to design my fondly remembered bee costume (hey Mum, any photos?!?)  All the patterns were given as diagrams - it was up to the dressmaker to draft out the patterns in the correct size.

Right, now we’ve had dinner I can go try and clear enough floor space to actually CUT something out!

I missed ANOTHER quilters day. Grrr! I am SO SICK OF THIS PAIN!

Went to the gastroenterologist yesterday - he was much nicer than he seemed last year - thank goodness! Agreed that my issues are NOT his department, and also agreed with the course of action that my GP had already planned. Good to know, but not particularly helpful on the day.

Also - he acknowledged that while I don’t have diagnosable coeliac disease, I do have a wheat intolerance. YAY! Why yay? Well, now I feel justified in avoiding gluten most of the time, but can allow myself the occasional piece of toast if I really feel like it.

No sewing happening either - tried a sleeve from the Rio jacket in muslin and Mr Beloved reckoned it looked like something Frankenstein’s monster would have sewn! Also, the whole tricky seam is on the back of the sleeve, where it can’t even be seen - so why bother?? I still like the look and drape of the vest so I might have a go at that. I might even just put a plain sleeve in and make the jacket…

Sorry no posts with pretty pics - all I want to do right now is hunch over a hot water bottle and moan. I realise that isn’t helpful, but you try exercising when your lower abdomen feels like it has a bread knife cutting into it!!

GRRRRRRRRR!

*Swwooooooooons and has to go lie down with a nice cuppa tea.*

Marimekko “Always Mod”

I have ONE piece of Marimekko in my stash, that I got as a trade many years ago.  It’s lime green with orange flowers and I love it too much to cut it up!

In other news: Today I bought a new book.  Which is very helpful, so I’m off to read some more.  I have got a photo to trace off to see my body silhouette (so very confronting!)  like these women did.

The author, Annabelle van Tongeren, is an Aussie who has dressed a lot of our celebrities, and the book is beautiful.  (And looking at her gallery, I remember seeing one of her gorgeous dresses ages ago in Australian Stitches magazine - but that’s not one I keep, so I can’t tell you which issue.)

You know, when I finally get down to my goal weight, I’m going to find a way to have one of those makeovers.  In the meantime,  I’m going to try and learn and sew as much as I can to keep me motivated.  Only another 47 kilos to go!

As Sue mentioned, there was SUCH A DEAL on Simplicity patterns over at Pattern Review (25% off!, May 5 to May 12)

So I finally after drooling over this design for EVAH (well, not really , just since it was released on the Simplicity site) ordered 2981. No reviews yet on Pattern Review, though, so I’ll be flying solo! I was still hesitant about it since the long sleeved version needs - wait for it - 7 and a half yards of 45″ wide or 5 and three quarter yards of 60″ wide!

But then Sue said “Buy something cheap and we’ll stamp it!” DUH! Of course! That’s brilliant! I mean, what’s the point of having those dyes and fabric paints if I can’t use them to dress up some plain fabric, right?! Clever Sue.

And then, cos I was REALLY ANNOYED when I went into *chain sewing store* that the patterns I wanted were $Au 25 EACH, I ordered Vogue 8120 which looked utterly FABULOUS made up when we saw it recently at the Stitches and Craft Show but is just - blah! - in the illustration:

This doesn’t show you the way the funnel neck hides the fat pad at the base of the neck (yeah, you know what I mean, anyone over about a size - hmmm - 14?)

I may have ordered another one. Or two. Perhaps.

And now I am anxiously eagerly awaiting the arrival of the March Burda World Of Fashion magazine, and Burda Plus (surely THIS must be the month it gets here?) and the latest Ottobre woman mag - and then I will be on a “NO MORE PATTERNS til I have sewn up this lot” regime! (Well, except for the monthly Burda WOF, but I do send most of those on to Mum -right, Mum?!)

And now - to bed. I have an appointment with the exercise physiologist at 9 am for a “Heart Rate Monitored Walk” complete with multiple blood tests for lactic acid production. After which I am meant to know exactly what heart rate I need to walk at to burn fat best. Wish me luck!

It suddenly got cold!  Brrr!  And here am I still looking at things I was “gunnasew” for Summer…

Not much happening here - trying to work out if I can re-schedule a medical scan so I can go to the Stitches and Craft Show in Brisbane instead (scan not urgent, so no panic there.  Just trying to sort out the PCOS stuff *sigh*  I’ve had the pain for months now, another week won’t make any difference!).

And I’d really like to go to the fashion parades at the show - especially with the independent pattern companies, their illustrations don’t really tell you how the garment will look made up.  (Mind you, neither do the big 4 - how many times have I seen a terrific garment sewn up, and been amazed that the drawing was so blah?)

Today’s post brought the Patchwork Quilt Tsushin and Quilt Japan magazines I ordered from New Zealand Quilter.  Lovelovelove those mags!  (Wish I remembered more of my Japanese studies, and that I hadn’t lost all my textbooks to one of the exes or moves, but never mind.)

Look at this beautiful shrug!  I reckon with some trial and error with the diagram I can make something similar.  Hmmmm!

Ok, I’m too bloody cold to stay here and type - I’m off to bed with a hot water bottle, my new magazines, and a notebook…

All those shakes and bars and calorie counting? IS WORKING!! My blood pressure is dropping, and more importantly than just the kilograms lost - my shape is changing!!

When I started on March 26, the body composition measurements (electrical impedance thingummy machine) showed that my Fat Free Mass (that’s all the organs and muscles etc) was 52.9 kg: today, April 29th: 54.9 kg. I’ve put on muscle!! YAY!!!!

On March 26, the Fat Mass measurement was 64.9kg. Today: 57.7! so I’ve lost 7.2 kg of JUST FAT. That’s 15.8 lbs.

My waist measurement has dropped by 3cm, and my hip measurement has dropped by 5cm. (Nearly 2 inches!)

My dietician is thrilled - and so am I. Mr Beloved is also losing weight, because he’s the main cook - and with weighing out my veges and protein, and not having The Phantom Baker* spring puddings and cakes etc on him, he’s already shrunk out of some jeans that I never got around to hemming up (bonus! I hate hemming jeans!)

*The Phantom Baker is a tricky beastie who used to pop up far more often than was good for ANYBODY, and make cakes and brownies and puddings and bikkies and…. we haven’t seen her since March 26, and we are hoping she remains MIA for quite some time yet.

Next week is my heart-rate measured walk with the exercise physiologist. I’m hoping to be a lot more motivated to walk daily after that.

The annoying Weasel neighbour (it’s a long story) is MOVING OUT - and when he yelled out “Faaaaaaaat girl” today, apart from ignoring him (which burns his butt - you should see him desperately trying to attract our attention, LOL!) I REALLY wanted to yell back “But I’m losing weight - and you’re not getting any smarter!”, a la Winston Churchill’s famous remark (”Sir, you’re drunk!” “And Madam, you’re ugly - but in the morning, I shall be sober.” Possibly apocryphal, but a good story nonetheless.)

And in other news, I wore my t-shirt inside out all day. Nobody noticed. Until Mr Beloved did at the dietician’s office. Admittedly, I wore a jumper (sweater) most of the day, but there were HOURS at quilters when my inside out t-shirt was on display - and nobody noticed. Geeze guys, ya coulda SAID something?! See, that’s what all this “deconstructed” Fashion (read: SLOPPY UNFINISHED RUBBISH!) has lead to. *sigh*

I’m all for desconstructed (as is the author of that blog in the link) where that means: thoughtful rethinking of old paradigms, playing with shapes, opening the way to new techniques. But just ripping holes in a t-shirt and sewing the seams inside out? IS.NOT. DECONSTRUCTION.

Why, when I was young…..

Editors note: At this point, Ms O’Connor was gently led away, as it was time for her stewed prunes and a nap.

Well, that may have been the longest blogging break I’ve had in the last few years!  I’m still feeling crook - but I’m looking forward to getting out of the house (and out of town) tomorrow for some (window) shopping and the 2QAQ meeting down in Brisbane with Sue.

Still have pain - still incredibly fatigued - but I’m getting cabin fever now.  Still got more tests and scans and specialist appointments scheduled.

*sigh*

I’m SO SICK OF BEING SICK!

I’ve been too tired to even read much, let alone sew.  It’s frustrating.  I haven’t been looking at blogs much because EVERYBODY is doing such awesome work and  - well, I’m not!

All terribly boring to read about, sorry.

In other news: Mr Beloved was able to cut into the ceiling of the lounge room this week (There was no manhole!) to check out the termite damage:

I’m very pleased to report that although the plywood ceiling itself has been eaten through, only a couple of the big bits of timber that hold the ceiling up will need to be replaced.  And the cavity wasn’t anyway near as dirty as we thought it could be.  SUCH A RELIEF!!

We’ve priced the replacement materials but are still getting figures together on insulation, possibly skylight tubes, and whirly bird venting.  Stay tuned…

And now I’m taking more painkillers and going back to bed.

I was laughing myself silly the other day when Terry mentioned her excitement when she finally got her hands on the latest issue of Quilting Arts magazine - (”The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!”) and I have to agree - this must be the best issue yet! (Terry’s article on finishing small quilts will be put to use TONIGHT - how good is that!)

Also laughing because one of the ladies at Quilters today said “Where are all these fabulous new garments, Caity? I think you’re making them in fantasy land!” (I dreamed I was….)

Well - yeah, and no - I’ve been asleep most of the last week. Not very productive! But after one of those horrible sleepless nights last night (and a good sleep in this morning, making me late for Quilters) I think I’m just about back to the right cycle. Maybe I’ll get more stuff done this week.

(and BTW - WHY can’t I buy bras like this with good “forward projection”, huh huh huh? It’s EXACTLY what I want. Hrrrmph. Bring back Maidenform’s stitched cups, say I!)

Talked with the dietician today about goal setting. One of my big problems has been that I get overwhelmed by the big end goal - I need to break it up into manageable DOABLE chunks of specific tasks.

I have too many ideas floating about, I need to pin them to the pages of my journal. For example: the new Ricky Tims Rhapsody Quilts book arrived yesterday, along with a book I’ve looked at for ages (thanks to recommendations from Jane Dunnewold, Sarah Ann, and Brenda) - it was cheap on Amazon, so I grabbed it:Notan: the Dark-Light Principle of Design. So I’m doodling ideas, already starting to design the applique for a Rhapsody style quilt - based on our cockatiels. (it makes sense in MY head, trust me!)

And there are so many other things I need/want to do:

• Finish typing the minutes from the Exhibition Committee meeting on the 5th (time flies!) [ETA: DONE, bloody DONE DONE DONE!!}
  
• Find a copyright free image of Toowoomba Violets as background for a flyer (might have to go find some to photograph!)
• Go to Officeworks to buy printer cartridges to print flyers
• Actually finish fitting at least one of the sewing projects in muslin so I can cut it out in the real fabric
• Finish the brown skirt (Just a couple of buttonholes, buttons, facings and hems to go)
• Find brown shoes to wear with new skirt!
• Return library books
• Finish Mum’s quilt for Mother’s Day (I hope!)
• Work on Dad’s quilt (for Christmas 2007 - oops!)
• start walking again for 5 minutes per day initially, building up to 40 minutes
• Clean the house before the dust buffaloes develop sentience and stage a coup
• think about the quilt I want to enter in the 2QAQ juried show
• Think about which quilts to enter in the Toowoomba Quilters show
• Think about quilt to enter into Queensland Quilters Show (uh - maybe not this year…)
• Read the latest Quilting Arts, Threads, etc
• Chase up where the Studios magazine has got to - I’m sure I pre-ordered it - hmmmm
• organise (slightly late!) birthday card for friend J (we’ve been friends 36 years!)
• yada yada yada a gazillion other things!

But right now I’m off to watch Time Team.

(Which reminds me of another thing that makes me laugh - pay tv. Who has TIME?! I barely get a chance to watch the free-to-air!)

I know, BORING, second verse, same as the first… but I REALLY get frustrated by people who criticise internet and tech stuff without even bothering to find out what they’re talking about.  *sigh*

Not a lot else happening here, I’m afraid.  Still haven’t watched the Kemshall’s new DVD; still haven’t finished the brown skirt.

I did, however, buy new slippers today - lashed out and bought the real Grosby ones and not the chain store’s cheap knockoff - so they should last all winter.  Yep, elegant whether at home or on the town, that’s your bloggist.  Didn’t you NEED to know that?  Uh huh.

Mr Beloved went on a hunt and destroy mission for the dust buffalo herd under the bed… only one more corner of the room to go, and I’ll tackle that one tomorrow, perhaps.

Move along, nothing to see here….

If you wanna see some REALLY stylish dresses?  GO here.  Swoooony blog from the Met Museum, all about frocks.

PLEASE let me know if you’re waiting on an email or response to a comment - I’m soooo tired on this reduced caloric intake and getting up earlier thang…

Too tired to even drink my cuppa!

G’night!

Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday.. Ahh, it must be Quilters day! It was, so I went. Had a lovely time chatting and *gasp* actually managed to get a couple of sets of triangles hand pieced together.

Then when I got home, I found Mr Beloved had done this:

Yep, that’s where the architrave was. The whole door frame had to come off because of termite damage.
And this is what remains of the board framing the doorway. The wrinkly layer? Is PAINT. The little buggers had eaten away every scrap of wood in some areas. All those layers of paint were all that was holding it up.

That’s higher up on the same board.  Sickening.

HOWEVER, it does give us a chance to redesign that doorway - we were going to do a sliding door, but have decided that a good curtain with a pelmet is more practical and will keep that room warmer.  There will probably be a small bookshelf over the door now because - well, we need the shelf space!

You can see in this shot that the termites even managed to damage some of the native cypress - which is supposed to be termite proof!  We’ll see how this looks once it’s had a sanding, though.

(See that hint of the 1940s apple green hiding in there?  That’s the colour the house was originally painted in 1947 when it was built - that colour EVERYWHERE!!  Walls, doors, kitchen cupboards… unremitting apple green.   I like it - but not THAT much!)

Two quilt mags arrived today - and oddly enough, both had feature articles on “Packing for a quilt retreat”..  the May/June Quilter’s Home (my favourite mag!) and the  May issue of Quilters Newsletter.  I took them to quilting, so I haven’t read them yet… looking forward to that this evening.  I notice that Quilters Newsletter have 3 pages of pictures of Gloria Loughman’s quilts - nice to see an Aussie featured, and her quilts are stunningly beautiful.

On the weight management thang:  The “milkshakes” are better than I though they’d be, and I seem to only be feeling hungry about 10 minutes before the next time I’m meant to eat - so that’s fine!  I must say I am really looking forward to my 90 grams of lean lamb and lots of veges tonight, though.

BTW  - I put mascara and a nice new lippy on today.  A friend at Quilters said “Are those new glasses?”  I said, nope, I have mascara and lipstick on today and she said “OH!  That’s why you look so much brighter!” (or words to that effect.)

I WILL MAKE AN EFFORT from now on, I promised myself, to at least do that much - I’m not a spring chicken anymore, ya know, with 40 happening… THIS WEEK!  ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHH!

Think I’ll go read those mags now - see ya later, chickies!

* Yes, I have listened to waaaaaaaay too much Monty Python in my life!

Today I started the medically supervised weight management program. Thank goodness I get to have 2 cups of veges + 90 grams of protein a day - otherwise all those milkshakes would make my teeth ITCH for something solid!

I’m really tired, though.  Expect a proper post tomorrow, k?

Ok, well it might not be a “adventure” to you, but for me it’s a big deal: I’m going to this tomorrow with my friend Sue. And we’re allowing plenty of time so we can go here.

I got peopled-out while window shopping yesterday at Grump Central - got home and collapsed into bed a 4:30 in the afternoon! Slept right through (apart from a nearly 2 hour long phone call with Maria) , and then slept again all day today - I was exhausted.

In other news - apparently cloche hats are IN IN IN this season - HOORAY! They are my favourite ever style of hat (although I will have to work out what to do with all my hair - how do I make a neat low chignon??) . I’m a hat person, and am seriously considering making a cute little cloche to go with the brown outfits. (Or not so little - on fatchicks, it’s all about proportion, after all….)

And the January Burda World Of Fashion magazine had a double page spread on hats - you know, I really REALLY want to do a millinery course sometime. [click to see larger image - it's worth it.]

Speaking of fat chicks: I had my official medical for starting the weight loss thing. I had to sign forms saying my doctor had explained to me the risks of gall bladder, cardiac, and other problems that could be unmasked by weight loss; and that I understood that my hair might temporarily shed more, that I might be hungry (!) and that this is a drastic decision and I HAVE to consume the required amount of calories and especially water; also that if for any reason I need emergency surgery while I’m on the initial (up to 13 weeks) part of the plan then the doctors HAVE TO BE TOLD so the IV fluids compensate; and that my usual medications will have to be even more closely monitored. Eeeks!

So - regular blood and urine tests, weekly visits with the dietician, sessions with the psychologist - on top of my normal rounds with my GP, the pain management specialist, and the physiotherapist. Maybe the idea is to keep me too busy to think about food??!

But it’s this entire re-programming thing, or resorting to gastric surgery - and I don’t want that. So the doctor did all the necessary checks - blood pressure (both sitting and standing, because apparently this sort of weight loss can trigger orthostatic problems - ie, you fall down when you try to stand up); a measurement of electric impedance (tells you fat/water composition, apparently) etc.

She also warned me that any initial loss would be water weight, as my body tries to regain its equilibrium. (Why did the !@*&)#s at Weight Watchers NEVER say that - instead they made you feel like a failure when you couldn’t match that intial loss each week??)

It’s genuinely scary. This is not your regular faffing about diet, this is SERIOUS. I have to do this.

That there’s newspaper speculation over whether Nigella is curvy or frumpy?  YOU HAVE TO ASK?!?!?

She is a GODDESS.  An hourglass shaped goddess.  With three kids (ok, only two she birthed, but still) and a husband and a business and you want her to look like WHAT, exactly?  Sheesh!   She is not a 17 year old (or for a longer in the tooth model, see Kate Moss - ugh!) string bean, she’s a gorgeous, middle aged, talented, busy woman.  And yeah, we could all use some firming up and strength training (as my discussion with the physio made clear!) and so she’s booked in with a personal trainer - good for her!  If I had her money, so would I.

Helen Mirren.  Judi Dench.  Nancy Pelosi.  Even OPRAH, for gawdsake - women who are WOMEN, dammit.  I am so damn tired of society’s all consuming (ha!  NOT!) passion for pre-pubescent figures.

(If you have a naturally slender figure, pleas understand this rant is not directed at you.  Although  you won’t be coming shopping with me anytime soon, ok?)

…”forward projection”. I call it a bloody brilliant “sheepdog” bra: round ‘em up and get ‘em heading forwards!

Yep, after the AGONY (and sweat - ugh, is it just the physicality of trying to get bras done up, or is it the whole nerve-straining experience?) of trying on over a dozen bras…

SUCCESS!!

Three new bras - all the same style - two in “toffee” (a not totally disgusting beige, as pictured here) and one in a very pretty (but less practical) sky blue.

The Fayreform “Charlotte”. Padded straps - oh, bliss! Full coverage! Less jigglement!

Most of the other bras I tried on had an unfortunate tendency to squish my boobs towards my armpits. And while my boobs do like to lie down and sleep there at night, by day I want em paying attention and looking straight ahead, thank you very much!

Even with the embroidery, this bra doesn’t look like”I have lichen growing on my boobs” under a t-shirt (and a big thank you to DebR for that memorable phrase!)

And Mr Beloved, bless his cotton socks, went out a got me a full length mirror. (altogether now - awwwwww!) so in a little while I’ll go have another try at that pattern.

If it turns out that the bra doesn’t fix the whole issue, I have found the pattern alteration solution in a back issue of Threads - gee I love their online index! (If you’re interested, it involves measuring the bust point and drawing a line from the mid shoulder down to intersect half that measurement, on a line parallel to CF - aren’t you glad you asked?!)

Then I got to go to playgroup (quilters!) for just a little while… before rushing off to the physio. Who was super nice and HELPFUL - turns out the wee problem? Is connected to the hip problem; the hip problem’s connected to the ….spine problem, the spine problem’s connected to the fibromyalgia, (are you humming along yet?!) … now hear the word of the specialist! Dem Docs dem Docs gonna…. DANCE around….

Yeah. So in fixing each little bit of each thing hopefully we’ll get to a healthier whole. EVENTUALLY. And there’s also the small matter of using better strategies for both my brain and my bladder. We’re workin’ on it.

And now - got the new Burda WOF in my hot little hands (the January issue - with this skirt - at last!) and all the fabric for Maria’s Miranda bag washed, ironed, and ready to sew. So why am I still at the computer?!

Oh, I forgot to tell you - the electricity substation EXPLODED this morning! Which meant that the big transformer on a pole 20 metres from our place id a big FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMP!-y surge and we lost power, half way through breakfast. But it’s fixed now, obviously.

I shall forgo my customary Easterpest rant (formerly called the Australian Gospel Music Festival) - suffice it to say that it’s very difficult to have a quiet and contemplative Easter when there are THUD DOOF DOOF DOOF SCREAM YELL noises coming at you from all directions.

Now that we have a new council (Queensland just did the mega-merger thing that NSW did 20 odd years ago) I will be petitioning for the damn “festival” to be moved OUT of our central city park, and far, far away.

Grumph.

After much consideration I ordered three things from Hancocks of Paducah last night:

The All in One Quilter’s Reference Tool (C&T Publishing) - my friend Sue showed me this at Quilters a few weeks back and since then I’ve been thinking “Dang, if only I had that I wouldn’t have to be sitting here puzzling out how wide to cut this @*#$&)* strip/triangle/block…” It was only $13.95 US - and the cheapest I could buy it online even in Australian was $33. Worth the share of the postage, yes?

Second thing: I’ve been a fan of Suzanne Marshall’s beautiful applique for as long as I’ve been quilting. I deeply regret selling her “Take Away Applique” book - not because I wanted to make her patterns, but because the gallery of her quilts was so gorgeous - and she included both the positive and negative judging comments for each quilt. Ah well, I needed the money at the time…

Anyway, I ordered her new book Adventure and Applique. $20.98 from Hancocks - $21.56 is what I would have paid as a member on the AQS site - except they won’t accept orders that go to post office boxes (so you can imagine what THEIR shipping costs!) To buy the book in Australia (even if I could get it) the cheapest price is $33 + postage (fishpond.com.au) - but it would be AT LEAST twice that if I bought it from a quilt shop.

And they wonder why I shop online?!

Last,but possibly most deliciously - some Hoffmann fabric. 4 yards (fingers crossed, it’s not confirmed yet!) of this lusciousness from the 2008 Hoffmann challenge. I’m thinking it needs a truly groovy shirt pattern - just got to find one that I love. Maybe one of the Sewing Workshop oriental-inspired shirts? (I would have to grade up the pattern to get it to fit me currently, I hate doing that…)

Any pattern recommendations,please? I’m also considering using it to make this top (size 2x only needs 2 yards…) - it’s not like this is an actual stripe that needs to be matched, after all, it’s more of an overall texture.

Right - off to watch the prancing; then later on the Malaysian Grand Prix - even though my beloved McLarens have been penalised AGAIN (we suspect it’s mostly for Not Being Ferraris…) - I know Lewis will still drive his cute little butt off!

later edit: Bloody prancing had this SUCKY “look how far they’ve come” show on - I have NO interest in seeing that, I want to see DANCING, dammit!

At least I got to talk to my parents tonight (Mum loves her new bag, hooray!) and had a surprise phone call from Robert who was sitting at the Qantas lounge waiting to fly to Tokyo, lucky thing! 

So - here it is. Quilt-as-you-go strip quilt, finished. (ok, except for a few loose threads that I need to deal with, but sooooo close, ok? Oh, and a label, Yep.)

I managed to make 12 blocks at the strip piecing party at Quilters; the other 8 I made at home. So some of the blocks are completely from my own stash - still, I tried to keep it random.

My favourite part? The way I totally miscalculated how much fabric I’d need for the sashings and binding - hence the bright orange binding. Special, yes?

In health news: MY HIP IS F’ING KILLING ME!! The lower back pain has been helped considerably by the spinal block injection; but my hip feels worse. It’s probably not, it’s just that it’s no longer competing with other pain just at that level.

And update on TheAuthorityWhichControlsOurLives: There is no update.

That’s part of their own special brand of torture - you’re not allowed to know the outcome of the interview. You just get to hang around in a panicky limbo, wondering whether the next pension payment will hit your bank account and let you do wild and crazy things like - oh, I dunno, PAY THE ELECTRICITY BILL and continue to buy no-brand generic tinned food from the StupidMarket.

Grumph.

I’m still exhausted. The interview at TheAuthorityWhichControlsOurLives was really draining on Monday - I sat and bawled my eyes out for an hour.

So much so that I was at Quilters today for less than 90 minutes.

Feel free to pop over to the Toowoomba Quilters blog and see a quick slideshow of what we did on Saturday…

Strip party went ok - thanks to Di’s wonderful organisation.  Taking my own chair has DEFINITELY helped - but I think I was just upright for too long at once today.

Night.

Still no quilty news here… OH wait, my fabric arrived from Emerald City Fabric and Craft - yay! The paisleys were larger than I had expected but it’s gorgeous - and the background was chocolate rather than black, so I’m going with one of the greens/turquoises from the print for the other fabrics in M’s Miranda bag.

Yummy?

Speaking of chocolate, I just made another batch of my infamous gluten free choc fudge brownies - just as well Mr Beloved reminded me, I was busy cutting fabric for the backing squares for tomorrow’s strip party.  I think it’s going to be a hoot - although there will always be someone who can’t cope with the Rules of Engagement!

If that happens we’ll just hand them a chocolate brownie and smile, yes?!

I didn’t buy the pecans I usually have in the brownies -so they have been christened “Eunuch brownies….”

I realised as I was packing my machine etc tonight that I have one needle left in the packet - and one in the machine.  Oops! Sure hope I can find a packet of 90 sharps first thing tomorrow morning…

I’ve been a bit distracted by pain today and by my visit to my doctor.   Came away with two new referrals - one to the physiotherapist (for the “Trouble with Dribbles”, as Mr Beloved joked - arrgh! Once a trekkie, always a trekkie …) and one to the gastroenterologist.

Again.  *sigh*

Because I am losing iron even though I take the supplements every.single. day.  ARRRRRGH!   In the last 4 blood tests, my ferritin levels have dropped from 39 to 15 to 13 to 8… normal range is 30-150.  Guess who probably has to have iron injections?  Problem is, we have to find out WHY it’s disappearing.   Or if I’m not absorbing it, to start with.  If it’s not one thing…

Look for pics tomorrow - I have spare batteries in my camera and I’m not afraid to use them…

Well, not literally true - there were only three teeny spots of blood.  (Two injections in my back, and the whacking great cannula in the crook of my left arm.)

But the OW! is fair dinkum.  My back actually feels WORSE after the procedure… bugger bugger bugger BUGGER!!

Apparently this happens - it’s supposed to settle down “in a few days.”

Grumph.

As pre the doctor’s orders, I was out at the shops after being released from the hospital - walking; and I did about 10 minutes of vacuuming; but now sitting up again is NOT nice and I am going to go lie down.   And take more painkillers.

OOOOOOOOOOOW!!!

Still, beats the alternative:

So, for weeks I’ve been psyching myself up to go to hospital this Wednesday. But when there was no phone call from admissions by 6pm, I got a little bit freaked out. How would I know when to turn up? Where was I supposed to go? When could I eat? Panic panic panic!

So I phoned the hospital’s pre-admissions call centre number.

“Um, I’m meant to have a day procedure tomorrow but no one’s called?”

[after asking for information] “No, I’m not seeing you on the lists..”

*panic panic panic!*

“Which doctor, dear?”

“Dr H. For xyz?”

“That’s on THURSDAY dear! Tomorrow’s Wednesday!”

“Oops! Lost a day there! My mistake! Thanks! Bye!”

*hides head until pillow until blushes calm down to only being visible from MARS…*

Yep… that’s me folks, unable to read a calendar.

I *did* remember that today was shared lunch day at Quilters, and that I was doing a demo - you can see it over on the Toowoomba Quilters blog if you want. Foundation pieced flying geese.

It was NOT good - I am NOT GOOD at doing talking in front of people these days. I got terribly flustered and embarrassed and rushed and got myself confused and left stuff out… I am much much better in writing than in person.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnd to add to it all (and I can’t believe I’m telling you this, dear reader - it may be TMI (Too Much Information) but I have a new and wonderful symptom that is complicating my life just that little bit more….

It’s been a bit of an issue since The Fall in 2002… I didn’t pee for over 24 hours and then - ahem - needed assistance. But now it’s - well, a little less controlled.

Could be from the whole “OH MY GOSH YOU’RE FAT!” thang (gotta love this: “Q. Does weight have an effect on bladder control?” A.”Even a few kilos can make a difference. A five to ten percent weight loss can help improve bladder control by reducing intra-abdominal pressure.” Colour coded just like the packs - Oh, goody!)

Add a side of tomato juice (who knew?!) and some stress and … well.
Good thing I’m seeing my doc on Friday, eh?

BEGIN RANT:

So there I am in bed this morning, having had about 3 hours of sleep (bad pain and mind-whirring night) when my phone rings. Hmmm. “Anonymous” as the caller ID- don’t like that.

“Can I speak to Caitlin O’Connor”

“Who’s speaking?”

“This is [Faceless Droid] from TheAuthorityWhichControlsYourLife *. You have to come in for a medical review. Is 3:30 today ok?”

“No, it’s not.”

“What about tomorrow?”

“No, I can’t make it tomorrow either.”

[by this stage faceless droid is getting REALLY uppity and annoyed] “This IS compulsory, you know, you HAVE to come in. What about Wednesday?”

“LOOK” I said, trying to be polite, and probably only JUST managing, “I’m not trying to be difficult, but I already have appointments this week. Wednesday I’m in hospital, for a procedure which will leave me incapacitated for Thursday and Friday. I can come in next week, ok?”

“Next MONDAY, then,” triumphs the Faceless Droid. You must be at TheAuthorityWhichControlsYourLife at [time] next Monday. If you don’t come your payments will be suspended.”

WHAT I wish I’d said: LOOK, Just because I get a miserly payment from the government doesn’t mean that I don’t have things ON! How DARE you assume that my life is empty and meaningless because I’m not employed? How DARE you believe that I can just drop everything at your beck and call and get myself to your office (where there aren’t even any public toilets) when I can’t even DRIVE today because of the pain?

Would YOU be free for an appointment that could possibly ruin your life at the whim of some underpaid-quasi-doctor if I called you up with less than 6 hours notice? I DON’T THINK SO!

And by the way, you have NO RIGHT to get snooty at me with your whiny voice and your cranky manner, or to treat me like I’m an idiot just because I get a d1sab1l1ty pens10n.**

GRRRRRRRR! Do the faceless droids and their bosses think that I LIKE being poor and sick? I would LOVE to be able to make them live a fortnight in my shoes, on my money, in my house that we can’t afford to repair the bloody termite damage on yet, with no !&*@#%& cable TV or fancy wine or expensive cuts of meat and we’re better off than MOST people who have to do it on a p3ns10n, I can tell you, SHEESH!!!

*More familiar to Aussies as C#ntr3l1nk - aka federal government welfare administration.

**Possible overly-paranoid, but apparently they have people who just sit around and read blogs, to see if someone’s been WORKING when they say they can’t. l33t (leet) stops the googlebots which are scanning through the web for any mention of the organisation’s name and associated words.

END RANT.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have brownies to bake.

I’ve been ASLEEP.

*sigh*

Remember I told you about the horrible chair at quilter’s? Well, that set me up for several days of worse than usual pain, which buggered my sleep patterns, which made the pain worse - and round and round and round we go, where it stops nobody knows!

At least I got out of the house and had blood drawn on Thursday. Back to the doctors next week to see the results.

I have managed some sewing - more Mirandas - and since Mum doesn’t have internet access at the moment (she’s in Adelaide, with Dad, visiting my brother & his family, and going to all sorts of exciting things like the Adelaide Festival and Womadelaide) I’ll show you her Miranda bag, too. (She knows she’s getting it, she just hasn’t seen it yet!).

This is the inside of Mum’s Miranda bag. I added a hooky thingummy (What ARE they called?) for keys/phone - as soon as I can find some more I’ll be adding them to my bag, too! I actually finished Mum’s bag and book a while back, but there was no point posting it to her yet because they’re away. I adore this fabric - it’s long gone from the shops now, though. (Chez Moi for Moda, “Fresh Air”. Too too yummy!)

Then I did two Mirandas using the same fabrics in part of them - I think they came up well.

This one’s for J, in Oregon, a late birthday pressie. Might have to wait until after next pension day to mail it though! and that’s another little (A6) blank book covered to match.

Here’s the inside: more of that yummy suns/moons fabric (which I’ve had in the stash for ages) and some clouds for the pockets. The stripes are another stash find - I’m using up fabrics that I’ve held on to FOREVER Because they were “too good” to use up. Nope, off they go - into the world where they will (hopefully!) be enjoyed!

And finally, here’s A’s Miranda. Same sun/moon and blue fabric for the top half, but with a wild orangey swirl for the bottom. Because I’m pretty sure A works in a big visual diary, I decided to cover an A5 brag book - room for 80 photos - instead.

and Here’s the inside of A’s Miranda - hand dyed fabrics, because A is a hand dyeing GODDESS. This one’s going in the post whenever I get out of the house next - probably Monday. (I can afford to post within Australia this week…I think… eeeks!)

And now - I need to write up my tutorial for Quilters on Tuesday. Just a quick demo on Flying Geese - and some paper pieced variations. (I’ll pop it up on the Toowoomba Quilters blog after Tuesday, too.) I know there are other quick ways to do flying geese, but honestly - paper piecing is so quick and accurate - and no bias triangles to deal with (because they’re stabilised by the paper, you can ignore fabric grain if you want to) .

I’ve made this pattern of offset little geese just 1 inch wide… no way would I even ATTEMPT that without foundation paper piecing!

And there’s V8s on later - wooo hoooooo!

Well, for those who care: It’s scary.

Not quite as scary as having lap band surgery (which is about the only alternative I can see - I just keep getting bloody BIGGER.) With a BMI of 41 point something, I am now classified as “morbidly obese”. (Yes, I know there are problems with the whole concept of BMI: First assume a two dimensional patient….. but even so, as a measure it’s pretty shocking.)

Thinking about doing this program is scary because it costs so much (A LOT. More than you’d think.) I’ll be doing the Lifeshape 12 program.

But that price includes seeing a dietician every week, so at least if things aren’t working we can change tack quickly. (and that’s been a problem in the past: things HAVEN’T worked but there’s been no help to change them.)

Mr Beloved and I had our first meeting with Jeanna the Dietician on Friday and she’s very down to earth and sensible - no airy fairy impossible promises, and together we set a reasonable goal weight to aim for: 80 kgs.

I currently weigh 116.5 kgs. I take a size 22-24 (or 4x to 5x if I buy mens sizes.) - and I’m bigger than a size 26 in the major pattern companies sizing. Bigger than a 52 in Burda patterns.

(Let’s face it, I’m not 21 - I’m unlikely to ever be a size 10 and weigh under 65 kgs ever again.)

At 80kgs I can wear size 16 clothes, which would give me a MUCH greater choice and be heaps cheaper than trying to buy stuff to fit me as a size *mumblety*. (Fat chick clothes are at least twice the price, and not because they have twice the fabric or sewing involved - but because retailers and consumers both seem to think it’s ok to PUNISH you for being fat.)

It’s also scary because for the first time I’ll be completely under someone else’s control with what I consume (for at least the first 4 -7 weeks) .

But that’s good because at the moment my eating is so weird and out of control, I need SOMETHING to break the cycle. I reckon it’s much easier to stop habits that aren’t necessary, like say, smoking - but I haven’t found a way to give up EATING , you know?

This should be like pushing the big red re-set button on my computer. Then we gradually go back to ordinary food - just with better portion sizes and choices.

And I feel confident about doing this because it IS medically supervised - lots of tests, medical check-ups, and psych appointments etc. They’ll actually take into account the things that are an issue for me - the poly-cystic ovary stuff, the medications that make ANYBODY gain weight, the injuries I need to work around. And as we re-introduce real food, we’ll be checking for allergies and intolerances - so that has to help.

I’ve got to find out if the health insurance I pay through the nose for is going to cover any of it (if it does, it’s unlikely to be much) but luckily Mum and Dad have generously offered to pay the bulk of it. It’s cheaper than having me in hospital, I guess… and just the price difference in clothes will just about cover the costs if you look at the next 10 years!

Mr Beloved won’t be doing the official program - but is being incredibly supportive about cooking and exercising with me. I think he finds my overeating really hard to deal with, feels like he can’t say anything about it - so I’m hoping by breaking the bad habits he’ll be happier with me too.

In the past when contemplating something as huge and scary as this, I’d probably go on a massive binge before the start date. So far that hasn’t happened and I’m feeling pretty much in control - or at least I was until I saw that photo taken of me at quilters yesterday - YUK! So there’s no more chocolate in the house. (The dietician did say she understood about period chocolate, but mentioned that most of the satisfaction you derive from food happens in the first three mouthfuls. So there is room for cake and chocolate - but in smaller portions and at better times. Phew!)

My medical is scheduled for March 26, and staring the program on April 2. I’d like to do it sooner, but with sorting out the financial stuff and getting the day-surgery thing out of the way, that was when I could start.

Tomorrow: Throwing out the worst of the saggy baggy OLD stretched out clothes - I won’t be buying or sewing many new ones just yet, but there is a lot of emotional baggage and clutter that I’m ready to lose.

I’m busy being quite boring, Beloved Readers - doing lots of mental preparation for the week ahead.

Monday - library trip is needed, (nothing to READ!) and a trip to the “Let’s pretend we aren’t REALLY ripping you off” medical refunds place; and checking the post box for an eagerly anticipated cheque… and to post some SURPRISES! and I have to go to the bank to get money so I can pick up my sewing machine from the repair man… and - big procrastination item , this next one: I have to find out EVERYTHING I need to know about this weight loss program.

The things that didn’t work about WW for me should be addressed if I go ahead with this one:

1. The leader refused to help when I was STUCK on a plateau for ages - there was no support.

2. And she was - well, not so bright, and would perpetuate incorrect info sometimes. Yes, I know, I’m picky. See cartoon below.

3. When I started walking a lot and put ON weight, again - no support. Grrr. No “Hey , well done, you’re walking!” either. If I’m paying money, I want CHEERING, dammit.

Also, my wonderful GP (general practitioner, my primary care doctor) would be doing the medical support side of the program - I feel like I have a better chance of success with her actually taking the allergies and injuries and other medications into account, you know?

BTW, I get REALLY REALLY tired and pissed off with people who try to tell me that weight loss is “A simple energy equation” and that if I “eat less and exercise more” the whole thing will be solved. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Let’s just ignore the chronic fatigue/back injuries/depression/coeliac disease/polycystic ovaries, and thryoid issues then, will we? FUCKERS!!!

Ahem.

Tuesday: Quilters. Don’t know if I’ll have time to prepare what I want to do as a demo on flying geese - we’ll see. Actually, aiming for NEXT Tuesday would be better, cos then the club AGM will be out of the way. Good.

I’ve made some more progress on my Tuesdays and TV quilt (here’s what it looked like a couple of months ago) by stitching during the boring bits (ad breaks and safety car laps!) of the V8 Supercars today, and again during the boring bits of the prancing. The LQS might even have FINALLY got more of the precut paper triangles in, since the ones I have are quite battered after being pieced over and pulled out three or four times each.

English Paper Piecing is the perfect activity for Tuesday Quilters meetings, cos I can do it while I’m talking. And if I can’t chatter to my quiltgals while I’m there, I might as well stay at home and sew by myself (and that would be BAD, cos I get a bit cabin-fever-ish after a few days.)

And that’s as far as I’ve got in the planning so far.

So what have I been doing?

Well, I’ve made another Miranda bag - here’s a sneak peek. (dontcha hate that you never see those stray threads until photography? Arrgh!)

Got to post two on Monday, and I was hoping to get a third done but - it’s too HOT.

And today was the first race of the V8 Supercars season - wooohooooo! Because it’s a 500km total race, the second 250kms will be run tomorrow. Can’t wait!

Tuesday I overdid things and it’s taken me until Saturday arvo to really get back on top Was going to go to the movies (and possibly see the delicious Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd) but all three of us were way too tired - so we had tea and chatter at Vicki’s instead. Chriss and Vicki are both newish Toowoomba quilters, and lots of fun.  But coming on top of spending 10- 3ish at Quilters, I probably should have slept in between, not gone racing round on errands…

Wednesday I went to the doctors - still haven’t gone and got the bloodwork done, oops - and I’m coming round to the idea of at least finding out more about this new medically managed weight loss program. Problem could be the $$- it’s not cheap.

Today is the hottest day of Summer so far (35 inside the house - although the Bureau claim 31. Nope! Yesterday wasn’t far behind at 34/ 30…)

We have Western facing windows in the bedroom, bathroom and sewing room- which means on hot days, those rooms get hotter and hotter - it’s just not bearable to go into them from about 11am until around 9pm. I’m hoping we’ll be able to get some sort of blinds/awnings to help with that….

It’s finally cooled down enough to go to the sewing room - I’m off to cut some sheet acrylic.

Off to Quilters tomorrow - hopefully this week I will get some actual sewing done! Ive dragged out Elspeth, my poor little Scottish Featherweight (Singer 221) who has been sadly neglected since the Sisters Pfaff arrived in 2004. Little Pfaff (the 2034) has been in hospital and I can’t afford to get her home until Wednesday - oh noes! She was well overdue for a service. The Goddess Pfaffalina (2144 with the 2170 upgrade) is due for her grease and oil change next…

It’s so long since I’ve sewn on Elspeth that I have no idea where the quarter inch foot has gone. I gave her a warm up this evening to get the lube flowing again, and downloaded a threading diagram (yes, it’s been THAT long!)

(this isn’t Elspeth - just a generic pic from somewhere. But Elspeth looks like this.)

She was made in Clydebank in 1951 (you can tell by the serial number, which starts with EH - hence ElspetH) and sews very sweetly. One of the things I love about old straight stitch machines is that they only do one thing - sew forwards and backwards in a straight line - but they do it so very well. I’m quite looking forward to playing on her tomorrow!

I was hoping to get a lesson plan and printouts done this week to have a demonstration at Quilters (foundation pieced flying geese, with variations) but I slept instead. I was wiped all weekend and slept for another few hours this arvo. Sheesh! at least I have a quilt top section that shows one of the variations - just got to dig it up from the sewing room to take.

I did manage to get my hospital admission (day procedure) sorted out though - just waiting on pre-admission to call me back for the medical history on Friday. One more thing OFF the procrastination list! Oh, and bought more interfacing for another couple of Miranda bags - long overdue gifties.

Right - tomorrow is a long hard day. There’s an anniversary to deal with, quilters, and then movies with the girls - I better get my beauty sleep!