Valerean

After several scary medical emergencies back in 2018 I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I was not at risk, nor had I any idea I was sick. In fact I had just lost a lot of weight while exercising daily and closely watching my diet. I had probably developed it after my last pregnancy, and my condition went undiagnosed because I had no real symptoms. I would just get shaky or dizzy on rare occasions, but I put that down to my perpetual dieting. Because I was careful with my diet anyway that probably managed it for about five years, until it finally flared out of control as I got older. I was horrified to discover I'd become a diabetic, as I know how debilitating and harmful the disease can be from seeing patients suffering from it during my medical career. The nurse at my doctor's office said "Some people just get a crap roll of the genetic dice." I know she meant that to make me feel better, but since I don't know who my birth parents were that hurt ...

The final steps of making the April tote was to sew on the crochet handles and this gorgeous embroidered quilt tag made by my favorite Etsy seller 14carrot . Here is the finished tote, which I completed on Easter and dubbed the 14Carrots Tote. I worked on it for five days, which made it the fastest quilted tote I've made to date. Another reason I was able to finish it so quickly is that it is an art piece, not something I plan to use as an actual tote. It will be hanging in my home office to remind me of my friend and how much happiness she's brought to my creative life. I also got a much-needed reset for my enthusiasm for my calendar project by making this. I tend to get very, very complicated when I make totes and I need to be less ambitious and have more fun. April's tote definitely taught me that. :)

I can usually read a book in a couple of hours. If the book is on the longer side, at most a couple of days. I started reading History of Food by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat on September 18th of last year. I read at least two to four pages every day, and finished it yesterday. Since the book is 800 pages long it's not an easy or light read, and it's so packed with the history of food that I didn't want to read it quickly. Now I feel as if I've completed a master course on the subject over the last six months. The author takes you on a lengthy journey through the human experience of collecting, preparing and eating food, from the time we were of the tree dwelling variety that picked up anything that looked edible and put it in their mouth. She is not especially enthusiastic (or even kind) about human beings, but she does know and love the foods we have eaten since literally the dawn of our history. The amount of research that went into this magnificent book ...

Here's a truth that fits basically everyone: the older we get, the more often folks online (and in real life!) try to scam us. We've seen it happen to friends and neighbors, and now it seems the financial problems of the present are convincing more and more people to try swindling money out of the unwary. Example: every day I get Medicare junk mail. This is because I'm going to be sixty-five this year and I'm a hot prospect for ANY insurance agent who wants to make money off me. Do they say that in their junk mail? No. They say they want to HELP me. They make this sound like a public service they do out of the goodness of their heart. No, there's nothing in it for them! They claim I'm confused about Medicare and they can explain everything AND they can help me get the coverage I need for the lowest price. Because they're such good people. Sure. I agree that I'm a befuddled idiot who can't read, and I need you to help yourself to my mo...

Unlike the three previous months of my calendar project, during which I slogged right to the very end of the month to finish and assemble each tote, I'm having a lot of fun with April's edition. Adding crochet to this one definitely boosted my spirits. I crocheted and added the yarn elements all in one night. Here are the finished panels. I also crocheted the handles for the tote. I then decided to assemble it before I applied the embroidered carrots tag, just to see how it would look. It looks fine. I think I will line it, as the cutter quilt pieces are pretty thin and worn, so I need to look for some lining fabric. I'll probably use white or a neutral. Onward!

Now that I have the fabric elements for the tote I'm making this month for my calendar project, I actually need some yarn. I thought I'd raid my little stash of artsy yarns to see what I could pair with my cutter quilt pieces. I first selected these hanks as possibilities. The pink on the far left is fingering weight, which is too thin for my needs. The orange and brown hank and the white/darkblue/green/yellow skein don't pair well with the cutter quilt pieces. That left two possibilities. I do love this Juniper Moon yarn, and it would work well with the quilt pieces, but I have only one hank, which probably won't be enough for the project. In the end I went with the orange worsted wool, of which I have four hanks, which should be plenty to finish the crochet portion of the tote. I'm all set. I just have to review the pattern, cake the yarn and then I can get started.