Happy Autumn!

 

Autumn is Coming and a New Goddess is being stitched on Slow Sunday Stitching

 Autumn is fast approaching though one look outside and you would swear it was mid-summer.  The weather has been so hot and humid this month. This year the Autumn Equinox 2021 in Northern Hemisphere will be at 3:20 PM on Wednesday, September 22, I look forward to autumn every year and this year is no different even though it's hard to tell when summer ends and fall begins living in Florida, I know it in my bones.  

After the autumnal equinox, the Sun begins to rise later and nightfall comes sooner. This ends with the Winter Solstice, when days start to grow longer and nights shorter.I have noticed this for several weeks now though this week it seems darkness falls faster.

This year, the Harvest Moon happens on Monday, September 20 two days before the autumnal equinox. I love looking up at the moon, I long for the days when the evenings will be cooler and the air just a bit crisp in the early mornings, this usually doesn't happen until mid to late October. 

I am still working on a few of the goddesses for my goddess of the month hand embroidery project.  For September I chose the Hindu goddess Kali, she is a multi armed goddess with images of her ranging from 4 arms to 10 arms.

For my Kali design I chose 6 arms.  She is most often seen with blue skin so I am using DMC 6 strand cotton floss in 995. 

I started working on Kali beginning with the arms right after I finished the stitching the August goddess Ariadne,  I will post a photo of once I removed the stitch and wash product off. 

I am still working on the July goddess Isis, which should be completed in a few days. I didn't expect the wings to take so long. The photo below shows the wing incomplete, when the photo was taken it is now complete and the other side is nearly done. 

I hope to have this completed this week and then I will remove the stitch and wash product from this one and the August piece. I am linking my post at Kathy's Quilts https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2021/09/slow-sunday-stitching_01996286990.html

In the meantime, I am still going to Cardiac rehab 3 days a week, most days are good but some days I am just wiped out after and I am too tired to pick up my needle to stitch.  Last Friday seemed good and I increased my workout and went home feeling great until the evening when my feet started to howl in pain.  I don't know what happened though I think increasing the resistance and my time was a bit too much for me and by bedtime my feet and legs were twitching.  My legs still ache a bit, the twitching is gone and my feet feel fine.

 

It's September, Autumn is Coming

 

Last Sunday in August, A New SAL and Updates

 On Friday I had the follow up with my cardiologist in regard to the heart surgery and how I was doing good the first few visits in Cardiac Rehab and then I hit a wall of fatigue, short of breath and dizzy. I had to stop the rehab until I saw the doctor to avoid falls or other injury which I understand. I just don't feel right.

The doctor adjusted my medications, had me stop the Atenolol due to low heart rate again. I am trying not to panic because any time a doctor tried to stop the Atenolol my blood pressure would spike to well over 200/100 so I am apprehensive but have stopped it as of Friday. 

He is sending me to the neurosurgeon to consult about the carotid arteries and whether they should/could have stents inserted or not. He told me they probably won't because of the danger of blood clots to the brain. On the up note I lost 5 pounds, I can go back to cardiac rehab and my heart sounds good when he listened to it.  

It's Sunday and so far my blood pressure is doing well, my heart rate is out of the 40's and 50's which is good. So after breakfast today I took a nice slow walk at the park. 

I have a photo of my August goddess of the month, Ariadne partially stitched I put her aside to make an effort to work on and finish Isis the July goddess.

I haven't finished the stitching on the July goddess yet but I am nearly done with the August goddess I just haven't taken a new photo.  I am going to link my post here https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2021/08/slow-sunday-stitching_02034189019.html

I signed up for a free SAL which begins Monday August 30, 2021 every Monday a participating designer will post a pattern which is free to download.  Each designer also offers kits, wool etc. if you would rather work with a kit.

It is Wool applique though I have seen them done in cotton fabrics of previous stitch a longs.  There is a Facebook group for anyone that wants to join.  I participated last year have all the patterns and I purchased some of the kits but that is as far as I went.  I think I am apprehensive because I am not too experienced at applique.  Here is the link for the Facebook group if you are interested 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/woolenoak

here is the link for the first look at the first block.

https://www.calicopatchdesigns.com/shop/Woolie-Stamp-Collection/p/January-Postage-Stamp-x59458414.htmh?fbclid=IwAR1FPVM0aEXFq3ZknJTOD2GslPCwhNBSR6eadcwejf2as6_CtefDMHyNb_I

As I mentioned the patterns are free to download each week and will have 12 blocks one for each month of the year. 

Can it really be the last Sunday in August?  I have to admit I am happy to see this month end and in a few weeks Autumn will arrive, I love the Fall and this year I am really looking forward to it.  If all goes well I plan to travel north in late October or early November for some leaf peeping and apple picking. I wish all of you a wonderful Sunday and a great week ahead.

Hitting a Wall, Goddess a Month stitching, New Books

 So last week I hit a wall again with this whole health issue, I was doing so well with the cardiac rehab and then Friday I was hit with overwhelming fatigue and shortness of breath so no rehab.  It threw me this fatigue and by Saturday my blood pressure was unusually low for me 95/58 with heart rate at 44 all through the day I monitored my BP it didn't change much but my heart rate went up into the 50's so that's good.  Sunday most of the day the BP was about the same then finally increased in the early evening.  

Monday, I was so out of it after packing up the orders for shipping. I kept taking breaks I just lay on the sofa hoping the next time I stood up everything would pass, it didn't.  I had called the rehab center and they told me not to come in until I saw my doctor on Friday because they didn't want to chance me falling or worse.  I am so disappointed in all this, I was doing so well in the rehab and walking short walks on the days I didn't have rehab.  I hope I am just suffering some kind of bug.  I started to feel a little better this afternoon so maybe it's passing.  I have a list of questions for the cardiologist, I sure as heck hope he has answers.

On the stitching front, I am behind my goddess of the month project but still making slow progress on the July goddess Isis.

 The wings are all that need to be stitched, I did start the August goddess, Ariadne, but haven't taken a clear enough photo.  The photos I did take were so blurry,  I used my phone and most of the time that happens so I will have to pull out my camera and get a photo.

I just pre-ordered 2 new craft books set to release in the Autumn 2 in October and 1 in November. The Crocheting Witch and Fiber Magick are fiber/needle arts. 

Well that's all I have for now, Friday isn't going to get here soon enough.

Wednesday Workout (Cardiac Rehab Day 1)

 Today was my first day of Cardiac Rehab at the Advent Health Wellness Center here in Ocala.  You can read about why I am in Cardiac rehab here https://deborahsbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2021/07/health-update.html

Last week I went for the initial evaluation where height and weight Blood Pressure and a few simple exercises were used for evaluation so a plan can be made and the doctor could sign off on it before I got started.  The exercise was simple do as many dumbbell curls as I could in 30 seconds-15, get up and sit down in a chair for 30 seconds-11 and walk 8 feet back to the starting point. All the while wearing a heart monitor, which I wear during my sessions.  

Today I arrived at Noon and before I knew it I was hooked up to a little heart monitor that I wore in a pouch around my neck.  Blood pressure was checked and then it was onto this beast of a machine.

Which wasn't a beast at all, it is a recumbent cross trainer and for thirty odd minutes I did a mix of legs/arms, just arms and then just legs.  I forgot to bring my little notebook to log what I am doing but I do remember.  I managed 15 minutes arms and legs moving together, than 9 minutes just moving the arms back and forth, and then 11 minutes just legs,  I was just starting to sweat when it was time to stop.   I am sure I am going to feel it later today and tomorrow but that's fine with me just moving more in a monitored environment has given me a confidence boost, I realize last week when I did a 30 minute walk at the park how nervous I was walking.  I go back on Friday for session number 2.

Tomorrow I will take a walk in one of the local parks to keep the momentum of movement so that once I am working out on a regular schedule again I will have worked through those beginning aches and pains.

On the nutrition note, for dinner last night and last Sunday I made baked salmon, a mix of broccoli and asparagus and half of steamed sweet potato.

Now this may look like a lot of food however it is 3 oz. of salmon baked with a little salt and pepper and olive oil.  1/2 of a small sweet potato (hard to find small) 1 cup of steamed broccoli/asparagus. It was so good. This season I have pushed aside brussel sprouts for asparagus which I can't seem to get enough of.  I still eat brussel sprouts just not as often.  Maybe next time I am going to try roasting the asparagus. 

I found a new to me magazine Saturday when I was checking out at the local Earth Fare store.  I came home and read it cover to cover. I liked it so much I subscribed to it along with a sister magazine,

titled Mantra Wellness which a friend passed me her old issue and an issue of Thrive magazine.

I think I had an older issue of Thrive I passed onto a friend a year or so ago, I believe Thrive is all Vegan recipes.

This year I let several magazine subscriptions run out several of which I didn't order and received as gifts. Woman's Day, Martha, Better Homes, Country Living, Real Simple which ends next month along with Good Housekeeping.  I have been reading these for ages and every few years I switch up the magazines I subscribe to.  I like magazines to carry along to appointments, the beach and to use in collage projects I do from time to time.