I blinked.......

........and there it was, well into the second week of September.  So I suppose an update is called for.

The pancreatitis settled down, my op is scheduled for the end of November.  Up until yesterday I had had no problems, just a dull ache occassionally when I ate a little too much and nausea every morning. I've missed cheese so much, i searched and searched around the shops for a low fat one and ended up buying a packet of kraft low fat cheese slices to stick on my toast.  One of my comfort foods is cheese on toast - thin slices of tomato, topped with a slice of cheese and a liberal dash of HP sauce after its melted.  Yum. Occassionally I'll use mashed avocado instead of spread, mixed with vegemite and then the cheese.  I've cut down on bread, one loaf lasts me longer than a week, I use Shape No Fat milk and a litre lasts me over a week, I haven't had red meat since the first attack, chicken maybe twice and it didn't agree with me despite being careful and fish I now have twice a week, I'm consuming my 5 and 2 with ease.   I've been mainly eating no fat cottage cheese on rice cakes for lunch and snacks and I've discovered SunRice apple and cinnamon rice cakes with less than 1g of fat and low sugar and low calorie so I can get my 'sweet' fix every now and again. I make a weeks supply of pumpkin, sweet potato and carrot soup with added pasta and Borlotti beans - no fat and low cal and delicious. I weigh everything out and I have been surprised just how much food is in a 'serve'. I reckon I put back a third of what the packet says is an average serve and still have enough.   I've lost a total of 5kgs so far and with this latest attack  and continued no/low fat diet I should lose a bit more, I thinks the docs will be happy with another 7kgs at least and I would be over the moon if I could do it by the end of November.

I have noticed with eating less bread and dairy and meat and more veggies and fruit I have had extra energy, I've even been jogging out by the lake and have started jogging on my treadmill.  Though I think I am going to have to invest in a sports bra before I do anymore.  I take the dog for a long walk by the lake in the mornings or the early evenings and can walk further and further each time, I have been sleeping better and deeper despite having to get up three or four times a night to go to the loo.  I can mow the lawns in one hit rather than three or four, when I get restless i go out and rake leaves or weed.  I'm taking advantage of all this extra energy very opportunity I can.

Craft wise I discovered an  artist (Margaret Oomen) who covers river rocks with crochet and as I was so bored I decided to do a few, I'm happy how they turned out, all made up as I went along.  They don't really do anything for me and yes they are pretty but now I've done them I think that will be it. 

 I was so bored with the tele on tuesday night that I decided to recover my footstool (hassock, pouffe, whatever!). I set to crocheting and it was gone midnight when I looked up from my work, I finished it the next day, bunged a flower on top and there you have it. I also made half a dozen ducks/chooks/mutant birds in bright colours, I sold four of them in purples, yellows and blue. I won't make anymore unless asked.  I want to get back to my embroidery, I have half a dozen designs sitting in the craft room just waiting to be stitched up, they were for submission to the mags but I just couldn't be arsed.  So many crafts to do and the time is running away from me.  I won't be working again or looking for work this side of christmas and I have all this time to fill in but before you know it it will be next year and the stitcherys and dolls will still need making up.  I've decided to just go with the flow, to stand still and just BE, I'm not going to fight it, if I want to just spend a day doing nothing but staring into space then that is what I shall do, I have no one to answer to except myself, no one to please except myself.  I have let go of the need to be doing something or going somewhere. I enjoy my own company, my solitude but I also realise that sometimes friends need to be with me, they need an outlet for their thoughts, or just someone to listen to them, so I make time for them and hope that they in return respect my need for solitude every now and again.

Isn't my footstool bright and cheerful, it was so good to actually make something for myself. Just a circle made bigger by increasing 8 sts each row till it fitted the top and then just stripes of closed shells with no further increasing.  Once it was the right length I just decreased for a few rows, slipped it over the footstool and then made a large flower in the stripe colours and stitched it in place.  Two evenings work. The footstool did need filling a bit more and since I didn't have anymore of the filling beads I just used the fill from an old clean pillow. It should have a cord around the middle but I might just leave it as it is.  It would only take me a few minutes to whip one up if I decided to put one on.

Okay, I think thats everything brought up to date now, oh yes, I had a email from my late fathers oldest brothers daughters.  I'm now back on track in my search for my dads ancestors, they remembered me as a little girl but I don't remember them as they were a lot older than me.  It was so good to get in touch with them and we have shared photos and memories of our family.  So I am back time-travelling when I am not day dreaming or hooking.  If you need me I'll be in Yorkshire around the mid 1800's.

Uhru

Jan