Square by Square
7:26 p.m. - 2012-02-21


That poor neglected afghan is finally getting worked on again. I was reading some Australian craft blogs and seeing the nice things some of the ladies were crocheting made me remember that poor project in the sewing room. I fished it out and decided that what was annoying me most about it was the slapdash way I was sewing it together. Half-sewn-on squares were flapping away on the edges, and it looked so raggedy and unkempt. I have most of the finished blocks sewn together now so that the unfinished afghan is a solid block, looking much more organized. As I make more squares, I will sew them into rows and only attach complete rows to the afghan. I still have a lot of yarn ends to sew in, but for now they are on the back and I can ignore them.

Today was taken up with shirt ironing, a very little laundry, and bread baking. I made a loaf of rye bread and am now baking a loaf of whole wheat buttermilk bread to which I added a little cornmeal and oatmeal. It's tax time, and you never know if the spouse will be home early or late, so dinner was just chicken noodle soup, salad with homemade vinaigrette, and egg salad sandwiches on freshly baked rye bread. I call this a 'Dinner From Nothing' meaning that I just used what was in the cupboard or fridge and that no big hunk of meat was involved.

I'm trying to get started on another sewing project, so I remembered that blouse I have all cut out and embroidered for M, so I guess I'll hunt up some matching thread and actually sew it.

When I worked in an office building, I used to walk up and down the stairs for exercise every lunch hour and often on my breaks, but now I have no stairs to climb. We recently got a stair stepper on sale at Sears, and I have been using it every day. My legs are getting stronger, but boy, you can really feel the burn when you use this piece of equipment. I've managed not to fall off of it yet, but it is early days still.