Home A1C Test

If you have diabetes, then you have to regularly have your A1C tested. This is a blood test that measures the level of blood glucose (or blood sugar) you've had over the last three months. Up until this year I always had to depend on the local lab to give me the test, until I found a way online via a video by Beat Diabetes to test it myself using my blood glucose meter and some math.

First, some disclaimers: I have not worked in the medical profession since the 1980's, and I cannot give you medical advice; this is just something I do myself to stay on top of my diabetes. Also, this is an averaged A1C and should not be used as a substitute for a lab test ordered by your physician. Finally, you should compare your results to your lab-tested A1C to assure you're getting the right readings from your meter.

You do five glucose tests in one day to get your averaged A1C. Here's the schedule of when to test:

1. Just after waking up
2. One hour after lunch
3. Three hours after lunch
4. One hour after dinner
5. Just before you go to sleep

Once you have all five numbers, here's the formula to average your blood glucose: Add the five numbers together. Divide the total by 5. Add 46.7. Divide by 28.7, and the answer you get is your home A1C.

Here are the ranges for A1C results:

Normal level: 5.7 or below
Prediabetes: 5.7 to 6.4
Diabetes: 6.5 or above.

As my diabetes is controlled with diet and exercise as well as meds I perform my home A1C test about once a month. My results are almost always on target, but it's simply reasssuring to me to know I'm on track with controlling my blood glucose. Remember to keep a record of your home A1C tests to track how you're doing with managing your diabetes, and give a copy of your results to your physician when you go in for your checkup.

Image credit: Tesa Robbins from Pixabay

Fin

I have been thinking about when I will stop writing for income, which I had planned to do at 67, the age I'm eligible for full social security benefits (or was. They've changed it again so I might have to wait until 68.) Up until this year it seemed like a fuzzy, not very important deadline, but with my limitations increasing I may need to adjust my finish line to 65, the age I qualify for Medicare. That's about a year and nine months from now.

Before I say anything else I know that (if I can) I will keep on writing professionally for as long as I can, and after that until the very end of my life. This is the thing I do; I can't imagine a life where I don't write. I'll either post it online or leave it for my heirs along with all my other unpublished writing. That said, it is possible that I will not be able to do what I want to if I end up with diabetes stage three: dementia, which also made my mom incapable of writing in her final years. Alzheimer's disease, a form of dementia, destroyed my dad's mind almost entirely before he died. There may be other conditions that prevent me from writing, too. It hasn't happened to me, but the strong possibility that it will is an unhappy, ugly truth.

During my first pro career as a writer for various reasons I was not able to finish several series. Readers have often asked that I go back and write the books that were left behind and self-publish them. If it were a year or two past I probably could, but I am very different from the writer who 24 years ago had her first series shut down by NY (that one I was able to complete a few years later after they got some confidence in me.) Also, while I'm sympathetic to the readers, I have no interest in revisiting those universes. When they told me to stop and do something else, I dealt with the ego blow and did, so I've moved on.

Here's another ugly truth: I put up with a lot of crap when I worked for NY (they better hope I never write my memoir.) Any continuation I self-published would possibly help to pour more money into their pockets. After all my years of dedicated work those people kicked me to the curb without hesitation. Readers also moved on, as they should. That's why the hard, cold side of of me thinks "You had your chance." Now I write for my amazing partner and our business, which I would like to do as long as I can.

I've also thought about when I'll shut down this blog and finally step away from social media for good. I didn't realize until I checked the archive that I started Valerean 5 years ago. Before that I wrote on Tumblr for a few years, and then had the other infamous blog (that shall remain nameless so no one tracks me here) that I wrote for 14 years. Believe it or not before that blog there were two others dating back to when I turned pro. I also have a social media account and another blog that is a 95% dupe of this one minus all the names and personal identifiers. I use those for online acquaintances in the quilting community who don't know who I was (so I can keep it that way.) I don't know when to stop blogging, but I probably should shut it down at the same time I stop writing for income.

It's a bit depressing to think about this stuff, but I've written a lot of stories since the first one 55 years ago. Yes, I've been writing that long. :) For the last 25 years I've written pretty much daily. Writing is so much a part of my life I generally schedule everything else around it. My family does come first, but even when I'm working for them I'm thinking about the writing I need to do. Anyway, the point is that I have written enough to satisfy basically anyone's expectations of what a writer should produce. Anyone but me, I guess.

If I can, however, I will write until I take my last breath. If there is a heaven for me, it will be a place where I can write forever.

Colors of the Year

When Pantone announced Mocha Mousse as their color of the year for 2025, I was not just underwhelmed again, as you can see from my rename. Baby poop brown, okay. Guess calling it a dessert makes it more palatable. Kona will save me with their choice, right?

Nope. They picked Mom's favorite shade of purple for 2025.

So that I'm not always thinking about changing diapers or tearing up and missing my mom, I am picking my own color of the year: Beachcombing Magazine's sea foam.

Image credit: The third image in the post was copied from Beachcombing Magazine's article about sea foam colored sea glass, which is linked (and super interesting.)

Dietary Tweaks

Over the spring and summer I tried intermittant fasting, but it just didn't work for me. I was hungry all morning (my most active time of day) and tired, which is never a good thing. It did help my blood glucose numbers, but not significantly. I also gained weight rather than losing it because I ate too much during the time I was allowed to eat, which I think is mainly why fasting didn't work for me. So I started tinkering on my diet plan again.

All diabetics have special concerns with foods, and since I'm trying to control my disease with diet and exercise I can't eat like most people do. I don't use sugar, and avoid products that have it added. I limit myself to a max of 25 grams of carbs per day, which eliminates most bread and other baked products. I also have to abstain from eating potatoes, which jack up my blood glucose like crazy. I don't have the same problem with rice, but I still limit that and other grains. Tracking the food I eat and its effect on me is a daily task.

Some diabetic trivia: Did you know that corn is a grain, not a vegetable? It's used to make the much-dreaded high fructose corn syrup, which is 100% glucose. But boiled corn is just 52 on the glycemic index, so if you're fairly stable like me it's okay to have a little now and then (always check with your diabetes doctor or nutritionist to be sure.)

Since stopping intermittant fasting I try to eat smarter and get in three small meals a day versus skipping one and eating too much. Here's what I ate for breakfast this morning: scrambled egg beaters = 2 eggs, two links of chicken sausage, two slices of almond flour bread that I baked myself, and a small glass of low-sugar cranberry-grape juice. It looks like a lot of food, but it's only 422 calories, which I can work off when I walk my dogs. Here are the nutritional details for each ingredient:

Egg beaters: 6 tablespoons, 50 calories total, 5 grams protein, no carbs, no cholesterol, no sugar.
Chicken Sausage: 2 links, 50 calories total, 30 mg cholesterol (10% of RDR), 4 grams of protein, no carbs, no sugar.
Homemade almond bread (recipe here): 2 small slices, 262 calories total, 6 grams carbs, 5 grams protein, 12 grams unspecified fat, no sugar.
Cranberry-grape juice: 10 calories, 1 gram carb, 1 gram sugar.
Not pictured: 1 tablespoon of plant-based margarine that I put on the almond bread: 50 calories, no carbs, no sugar, no cholesterol.

The whole meal has just 7 grams of carbs and 1 gram of sugar, with 14 grams of protein (protein is really important for a healthy body, but for diabetics we need to stay in the 14 to 21 grams per meal range.) After I eat this breakfast my blood glucose level usually drops, too, so it's a very good breakfast option for me. I'm also full after eating it and not tempted to snack before lunch. That's half the battle with any diet, avoiding snacking.

Art for Cheap

Back in November I came across a lot of art supplies with a set of paint I wanted, and won it for the minimum bid with no challengers. Let's see how I made out.

It's an eclectic mix of painting, sewing and stenciling items that are even more intriguing unboxed.

The project bin was full of painting and embroidery stencils, sports stickers and some miscellaneous things.

The 72 watercolor paints set was never used, as the tubes are still sealed. It retails for $20 to $30. It had a lot of colors, which is why I was okay bidding on this lot.

There's a Fons & Porter wool table rug kit with no instructions (evidently they were in an issue of their magazine) from 2002 marked $25.00.

It's completely intact, so if I can find the instructions online somewhere I'll make it.

I also got seven yards of this brand-new cotton cheater cloth.

Altogether the lot is easily worth $150.00 retail. I paid $20.00 for everything. Savings $130.00.

Choosing Your Fam

South Korea finally did something to get back in my good graces: they remade Go Ahead, one of the first Chinese dramas I ever watched (and loved) into their romantic drama Family By Choice, starring one of my favorite actors Hwang In-youp (who was brilliant as always), Jung Chae-yeon (a very luminous and talented young lady) and Bae Hyun-sung (another inspired choice) as the two brothers and sister who are not blood related but via tragedy are brought up together as siblings with two fathers (Choi Won-young, one of my favorite older male South Korean actors, and Choi Moo-sung, who stole every scene he was in.)

The drama stays faithful to the story for the most part, although it tidies it up and condenses it so that it can be told in 16 episodes. It's done beautifully, and the trio of actors who play the brothers and sister worked so well together and in their roles that they floored me. Hwang In-youp was absolutely perfect as San-ha, the tortured and abused son of an evil narcissistic controlling bitch of a woman who blames him for all her mistakes before she abandons him and his father. Bae Hyun-sung is a new-to-me actor, but he was so perfect Hae-jun I can't think of anyone else who could have portrayed a troubled, terrified little boy abandoned by his mother, who shortly thereafter goes to prison, forcing her son to be raised by strangers. Between the two boys is Ju-Won, the motherless little girl who just wants a brother and is everyone's ray of sunshine.

I cried through this drama so many times my eyes are still red. It's that good. I knew the story so there weren't any surprises for me and still I held my breath at the crises points. This is a wonderful, emotional, wildly romantic drama. but most of all it reminded me of how fortunate I am that I was able to rid myself of all the toxic narcissistic people who just used and abused me in the name of family. Building a new family and surrounding myself with people who genuinely love me is the best present I ever gave myself.

Family by Choice is, hands down, the best drama I've seen in a couple of years -- maybe since Happiness. Available on Viki.com.

15 and Then Some

A friend asked me to source fifteen yards of thrifted fabric for a beginner quilting class she's teaching at her community center. Any type of fabric will do, she said, if I can stay within her tiny budget, which resulted in a new round of wannabuts (thrifts I want but only at the minimum price.) Whatever is left over will be gifted to the students.

Here's the first fabric lot, which includes what looks like some vintage embroidered pieces. It's 11 lbs., which is roughly 33 yards, so there should be plenty for her to work with in the class.

The second lot is more quilting cottons, with obviously new pieces judging by the tags. This lot is 6 lbs., or approximately 18 yards.

I already know I probably won't get this 12 lbs. box of quilting cottons, but I thought I'd give it a try. There are probably 36 yards of fabric in there. Stay tuned to the blog to find out if I win any!

All the images in this post came from the original auction listings at ShopGoodwill.com.

Braking

This was part of my little haul from the country quilt show back in November. I also purchased some holiday gifts for friends and my favorite person. For myself I bought some oven mitts, some used magazines and a book, a couple of fat quarters of fabric, and a kit to make a little gift bag. It was all super cheap, and allowed me to show support for the guild and some of the local vendors.

I saw a lot of things I loved, but I stopped myself from buying them, especially kits and patterns. I already have more kits and patterns than I probably will ever make. It's definitely time to put on the creative shopping brakes.

This didn't make me sad, oddly enough. I'm at peace with the fact I'm a senior now, and living the last part of my life. Of course I'd like to stick around for twenty or thirty more years, but given my health issues that's highly unlikely. How I spend the time I have left on the planet is what's important to me now -- not what I accomplish.

Why I Thrift Clothing

I thrifted this cream-colored knit pullover because it looked a bit more solid in the listing than it does in reality (just means I'll have to wear a t-shirt under it.) It's oversized for me, which I prefer to fitted/clingy clothing, and has a nice subtle gold netallic thread accenting the knit here and there.

As you can see from the tag Chicos sold it to someone for $99.00 who didn't even wear it before they donated it, or Chicos donated it to Goodwill because it became deadstock. I'm more likely to believe someone bought it, never wore it and donated it.

That's a pretty hefty price tag for such a thin pullover. It takes my breath away sometimes to see what's being charged for clothing these days; I could buy a knit pullover like this for ten bucks back in the day when clothes were still well-made and affordable. I'm also dismayed by how many new-with-tags I'm finding in the thrift stores and online auctions. That's why I was okay to thrift it for $9.99.

Seeing it in person makes me a little sad, though, and not because it's so sheer. Like all fast fashion it's not well-made, nor was it made from quality material, so even with careful laundering I don't expect it to last longer than a year or two.

I understand the need to make money, and also the need to dress well on a tight budget. We all have those needs. By pursuing both the fashion industry and today's consumers have crossed over into dangerous territory, however. Rapidly making garments that fall apart so fast has compounded the problem of cheap clothing and its environmental impact. Today's consumers aren't seeing the many, scary, long term consequences of purchasing cheap fashion, including the fact that they're poisoning their childrens' future.

I don't want to be part of the problem. I stopped buying new clothing many, many years ago, mainly because I'm not especially fashionable, I didn't like the poor quality available, and I felt I had enough for my needs. When something wore out (usually t-shirts), I began shopping at thrift stores and flea markets for a replacement that had been made before fast fashion. Now I only thrift my clothes. I even recycled my old t-shirts into a throw quilt which was a real sewing challenge but turned out nicely. I especially like shopping at independent thrift stores versus Goodwill for clothes because they're usually cheaper and have better stock.

The next time you need some new clothing, try thrifting it first. You'd be surprised by how nice some of the clothes are, and how many things you can find new with tags. Then you can stop contributing to the problem of fast fashion.

Cheap Silk

In order to get silk fabric but not pay an arm and a leg for it, you can opt for thrifting vintage scarves. I bid on and won a lot of them last year; let's see how I did.

There are nine scarves in the lot in all different sizes and styles.

The colors and patterns are even prettier than they were in the auction listing.

Vera Neumann scarves are quite collectible. This one is a newer design, probably from the 80's. If you see a scarf with Vera and a lady bug next to the signature, grab it. Those are the most valuable.

Pure silk scarf by Jones of New York.

Another 100% silk. Someone tried to launder this one, judging by the dye migration.

I ended up with three pure silk scarves out of the nine in the lot. If you want to wear vintage silk scarves, it's best to have them dry cleaned. For my purposes hand-washing is fine.

Also, do be careful of dye migration when laundering vintage scarves. This Bill Blass designer scarf bled purple dye everywhere when I hand washed it.

Most of the scarves in the lot are in good to mint condition; one has a couple brooch pin holes in it (silk is also not especially forgiving.) Most vintage silk scarves run from $25 to $50 resale, so at the bottom line my three are worth at leasst $75.00. The rest are easily worth ten bucks each, so I'd place the total value of this lot at $135.00. I paid $7.99 for the lot. Savings: $127.01.

Bingo Again (or not)

Unfotrtunately I did not get a bingo on my art quilter's bingo card in 2024. I did manage to do eight challenges, which at my speed these days was pretty good.

I've taken up the game again for this year, and rolled over the challenges I didn't accomplish last year before adding some new ones. Should be fun.

January Thrift Bonanza

For my first thrift of 2025 I went to our local brick and mortar Goodwill to see if I could find a few things, like this holiday and party cookbook. I need some inspiring recipes and I like Taste of Home cookboosk because the recipes are easy to adapt to our low-fat and sugarfree preferences.

I also cruised the craft aisle and found a mystery bag of brand new patterns. I've been wanting to try making clothes again, so this was too tempting to pass up.

I think the universe just gave me the thumbs up on that, as there were 33 unused patterns in the bag.

They include a few children and family patterns, but most are for women and all of those include my size.

The thing I love is that some of the patterns are for things I want to make, like aprons and pajama pants. Just the perfect bundle for me.

The cookbook was $1.99, and the bag of patterns was $7.99 (or about twenty-four cents each pattern.) With tax that came out to $10.68.

Added: I have changed the theme of the blog to a newer/simpler layout to give it a fresh look.

An Idea

I've been thrifting vintage textiles for a couple of years now, all for a project I hoped to do once I had enough.

Ideally I'd like to make a quilt entirely out of thrifted napkins, tea towels, tablecloths and even doilies and lace pieces.

I have used doilies before (once) on my first recycled linen quilt, so I can claim that much experience.

I've also used vintage napkins and handkerchief for stitch practice pieces.

With my latest Goodwill linens jackpot I believe I have enough textiles collected that I can make a good-size quilt this year. Now I need to think about design and execution. It's best to use only the sturdiest of vintage textiles for this kind of project; you'll be cutting, stitching and perhaps even embroidering the piece. My idea was a quilt-as-you-go project where I could work on small sections that I could then piece together with strips of fabric. What I might do is try a scaled-down miniature version of my idea to see how viable it is, and also how the linens will look joined together. Stay tuned to the blog to see how I do.

New Year Decisions

I had some other decisions to make for 2025, most of which I've now finalized:

Blogging: I do like my daily online journaling, but my content is now being read by supposedly thousands of visitors instead of a few dozen. Since there is no way I've boosted my appeal that much, it seems as if I'm being raided. I am not going to provide free content for others to use as they like and profit from while claiming they're the creator, so I may shut down Valerean and its clone blog. I will post a notice in advance before I do.

Budgets: I was able to thrift almost everything I needed last year, including books, clothes, shoes, housewares and materials for my creative endeavors. I want to continue that in 2025. I did not budget myself in this during 2024, however, so this year I will set $ limits on my thrifting. We budget food, gas and other necessities, and do pretty well with them, so no changes are needed there.

Creativity: I have my calendar mini-quilt project for the year ready to go; I still need to think about what more I want to accomplish with my quilting, crochet and embroidery. I will probably stick to small projects or depend more on the sewing machine as my dexterity continues to degrade. Instead of planning everything before the year begins I'm going to let this evolve naturally over the next twelve months.

Friendship Questing: I've been trying for several years now to be more social and make new friends online, which admittedly is pretty hard for a shy, older person like me. I still have trouble understanding why people are the way they are, especially at the present time. I've also come to the conclusion that I'm never going to fit in anywhere due to age, disability, personal opinions and overall social awkwardness. Since I have tried and failed so many times (which is exhausting) I believe that it's okay to stop trying.

Preparedness: I do tend to plan ahead a lot, and if I learned anything in 2024, it was not to underestimate the power of Nature and the narrow-mindedness of people. I was able to build our emergency pantry last year, which I will continue to use and restock. I'll continue to enhance our hurricane season preparedness, and also learn more about ways in which we can look after ourselves during any kind of emergency situation so that we are not a burden to others. This is super important to me because my preparations worked so well this year.

Resolution? None. I'm focused on being kind, grateful and mindful however I can in my daily life (an ongoing goal versus an annual resolution.)

Social Media (which is related to the friendship questing issue): Events in 2024 have seriously tempted me to leave social media altogether. I don't care to be exposed to hatred and anxiety every single day; it's toxic. I also think there will be a lot more hatred directed at women (me), free thinkers (also me), non-group-joiners (sooooo me) and those who refuse to bow down or cater to popular opinion and/or oppression via online manipulation (my personal motto is to walk away, not bow or cater.) In hopes that the situation improves, I will stay for as long as I believe that I'm safe and the platforms I use are not turned into soap boxes or weapons for darkness and evil. If that changes, as it did on Twitter, I will walk away without a qualm.

Work: I'm about to propose my next big work project, and if that's approved I'll have five major deadlines to meet. Since I've been able to meet those same deadlines for going on four years now I'm confident that I can do the same in 2025.

Finally, my hopes, which are always with me: #1 -- I hope I can be a better partner and parent this year by remembering to be considerate, coming out of the batcave now and then, and doing what I can to help, inspire and love the people who matter most to me. #2 -- I hope I can get more exercise and lose the weight I need to, and stick to my diet. #3 -- I hope the world can survive what's ahead this year and find paths to peace and understanding.

Depression Weapons

While Katherine was visiting in November we went by The Writer's Block bookstore in Winter Garden, where I picked up another blind date with a book.

I've never read this author, but I love anything based on Jane Austen's work (even when it's fantasy-romance) so I set this aside to be my first read of 2025.

I'm going to try to read more books this year, as I think that's a really great way to battle depression, and maybe add a widget to the blog so visitors can see what I'm currently reading. Should be fun. :)

Downsizing and Simplifying

One of the reasons I chose to do 52 mini quilts as my calendar project this year is because it is less ambitious. I want to do more with my creative time than just one project.

Also, I'm probably going to go in and out of depression this year for reasons that I will not discussion openly online because of the search and destroy mentality of the people who created them. I am sad and scared and terribly upset and I likely will be for a long time.

Back in November I found this marvelous old bamboo basket for two bucks in a junk shop that perfectly holds the 52 cutter quilt pieces I cut for the project. I also have room in it to toss in some trims and embellishments.

I'm not making any plans on with what or how I'll turn these into mini quilts. I want to be spontaneous and improv the entire project.

Having an entire week to work on each mini quilt this year will also take the pressure off me so I can slow stitch to my heart's content. It will likewise permit me to take off a day or two if I need to when my hands aren't working too well.

Wishing You

Happy New Year from Valerean.

Image credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay