Monday Mayhem - 01.09.2014

I have been a bit slack with posting my weekly updates lately. Mainly because I am finding that I am getting to the computer a little too late at night. So this is going to be a bit of a summary of what has been happening here over the last month.

Apart from all the crochet, knitting and knooking that has been happening (which you would have already seen if you have been following my Wednesday and Friday posts) life has been going on much the same as it has for the last few years. Last month I went back for more blood tests and doctor's appointments as a follow to having been diagnosed with diabetes. It seems that I'm not quite bad enough to warrant medication for my sugar levels but, because of the diabetes, the doctor has decided that I should be on medication to bring my cholesterol under control.

The markets last month were a bit of a let down. The one I have been attending regularly in Mt Beauty was very slow with only 4 or 5 stall holders in attendance and not many people looking to spend their money. I also went to the Baby Bazaar for the first time last month and it was quite disappointing . There were quite a few people around but they didn't seem to want to spend their money on my wares. There were a few people that seemed to be interested in some of the items but they found excuses for not buying any of them.

Both Sue and I have had our ups and downs with our health, mainly the usual aches and pains that come with all the itises and other ailments that we have, but this morning Sue had a fall. I had asked her to do something with all the paper work and other rubbish she had been piling up on the floor as it was making it difficult to get into the cupboards and making it awkward for her to get to her desk and this morning she lost her balance while carrying in her breakfast and she fell, aggravating things that she had been having trouble with for quite a while. With her being unable to get up am me being unable to help her (she is 120kg) I had to call for help and an ambulance and police arrived in due course. The result is she has seen the doctor again today and is in more pain than usual, being unable to do much at all with her right arm.

For those that are interested in seeing what my to-do list looks like now, here it it.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Bottle Cosies in more team colours

Teapot Cosies

bag holders

Jacket, Pants and Hat set in blue (need a couple of other colours also)

Sunhat and Bootees in white

Large Jug Covers

Small Jug Covers

Tiny Duck

Tiny Dog

Heather Hippo

Large Witch

Large Penguin

Current Work In Progress:

Toddlers' Rugby Pullover
Trauma Teddies

Tartan Blanket – taken over from Sue

Woollen Baby Blanket using Motifs from Ellen's book

Bootees

Hanging Towels

Baby's Jacket, Pant and Hat set

Christmas Trees

Christmas Stockings

Teddies for a guy at church

Things I'm itching to get started on:

Crochenit Knee Rug (same as Cot Blanket and will also use up some of my stash of 8ply)
Crocheted Slocks
Banner for Stall

Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (currently trying to design the ACT one).

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner

Dinosaurs (bought the patterns from PlanetJune)

Plenty of work there to keep me going for quite a while.

That about wraps it up for August. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 28.06.2014

The last couple of weeks I have been trying to things better. Trying to do my exercises as often as possible although I can find excuses for not doing them (this week my left knee has become swollen and my right knee has been playing up a bit). I have also tried to get my crafting mojo back by setting myself daily targets although I seemed to have missed today's target.

The diabetics educator wanted me to increase the number of times I check my blood sugar levels so I try to make sure I check them first thing in the morning and then 2 hours after each meal. Sometimes that isn't possible (Sunday mornings I'm in church 2 hours after breakfast). I'm still trying to figure out if the meals I'm having are actually having an effect on my bsl because it seems to be different all the time whether I've eaten the same things or not. I will just have to check with the doctor next time I see her.

This week we had the last of our Red Shield meetings for a while. We still haven't got the final figures but we are definitely down on last year. From the figures that I've see, we're not the only corps that hasn't made their target. Our next meeting is in October so we will probably get the final figures then and find out what our target is for next year.

It's getting toward the end of the month so I guess it's time to revue my to-do list, so here it is.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Bottle Cosies in more team colours

Teapot Cosies

bag holders

Jacket, Pants and Hat set in blue (need a couple of other colours also)

Sunhat and Bootees in white

Large Jug Covers

Small Jug Covers

Small Penguin

Tiny Duck

Tiny Dog

Heather Hippo

Large Witch

Large Penguin

Current Work In Progress:

Toddlers Jacket
Trauma Teddies

Tartan Blanket – taken over from Sue

Tunisian Lace Wrap

Knooked Scarf

Woollen Baby Blanket using Motifs from Ellen's book

Bootees

Hanging Towels

Things I'm itching to get started on:

Crochenit Knee Rug (same as Cot Blanket and will also use up some of my stash of 8ply)
Crocheted Slocks
Banner for Stall

Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (currently trying to design the ACT one).

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner

Dinosaurs (bought the patterns from PlanetJune)

I have added a few toys that I sold ages ago but never got around to remaking.

I think that's it for this week. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 31.05.2014

This week has been about getting back to normal (whatever that may be) after the business of Red Shield. I'm not real sure what normal is at the moment or what it should be since my recent diagnosis. It seems to involve checking my blood sugar twice a day and losing weight, at least that's what the doctor would like to see.

Since I have to change my lifestyle a bit in an effort to control my diabetes I have started an exercise program. It's one I found on the internet. It involves 9 exercises, each one done for 50 seconds, so it's only a short program. The first day I did it I was puffing like an old steam train after the first 50 seconds. I intend to keep it up for a while, hopefully extending it with other exercises as my fitness improves. I will see how it goes.

I saw the diabetics educator this week and she wants to see all my BL figures also. So far they are up and down like a yo-yo, but that is to be expected apparently. She gave me some reading material which explains where my readings should be and a few other facts about diabetes and I am slowly reading through them. I get to see the dietitian next time I go so we will see what she says.

Other than the stuff I have to do because of my diabetes and my crochet and knitting there isn't much else happening around here so that's about it for this week.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 24.05.2014

Twas the night before Red Shield and all through the shed, people were preparing for the long day ahead.

It has been a busy week this week with doctors visits, crochet class, Red Shield collecting and a wedding. Sitting at tables, smiling at passers by and thanking them for any donations that they care to give has given me plenty of time to work on my projects which can be seen in my Wednesday WIPs post, but that's not all that has been happening.

First, the doctors visit. This was a follow up to the blood test I had last week and it has been confirmed that I have Type II Diabetes. Not really what I wanted to hear but not unexpected. At this point in time the doctor hasn't put me on medication, she just expects me to do something about it myself to start with. This means getting back into some form of exercise, which isn't particularly easy when you have two dickie knees. I also have to test myself twice a day and watch what I eat. We will see what happens with this.

Red Shield collecting has had its moments this week including a fight that broke out near the table where one of the participants picked up an item off our table to throw at his opposition. On another day someone decided to take off with the bucket but didn't get anything because it hadn't long been placed on the table and no donations had been received yet. At another location someone else had moved into our spot and taken our table for the day. It turns out that the position had been double booked and, since we turned up late, we missed out. There have been some good moments also like collecting more than normal today at the same venue we missed out on collecting at yesterday.

The wedding today was lovely. The bride wore purple and the bridesmaids wore white and the bride was given away by her eldest son. Not exactly a normal wedding but it was a beautiful ceremony none the less.

Tomorrow, if you hadn't guessed with my attempt at poetry at the start of this post, is Red Shield Sunday here in Australia. It is a day when we send groups of people out into the community to knock on doors and collect donations on our behalf. It will be a long a busy day, giving out receipt book, handing out maps and counting money. The bank will even open for a short time so that we can deposit our takings and not store all that money on the premises. I will, of course, be doing my part and I urge all my Australian readers to please give generously.

That's it for this week. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 10.04.2014

How is it that I can't find time to do everything I want to do even though I'm not working? There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day! I think I slept in on a couple of occasions so that didn't help.

This week, amid all the shopping, craft'n'cuppa and crochet classes both Sue and I had blood tests and doctor's appointments. Sue's blood test came back pretty good but it seems that I may have been eating a little too much sugar lately. The doctor wants me to go back and have another blood test but this one will take two hours.

Today we had the launch of the Red Shield Appeal. This marks the start of the busiest two weeks on the Salvation Army calendar. If I haven't got something more important to be doing then I will be spending time at one of four collection points around the city. I'll make sure that I have a project or two with me so I can get some work done.

That's it for this week. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.