Juicing

Day one was a snap, for breakfast I juiced oranges, pink grapefruit, and two small apples. Dee-licious. But then I made a second juice of beet with greens, kale, apples, carrots and celery. It came out very red and to me super good, but Dave wouldn't have any. So much for getting him to try veggies.
Later I made a cucumber, carrot, kale, celery and apple mix and it was also yummy. But then I love veggies.
That was all for the day and I had no hunger. Hmm.
So this morning I tried a big combination of kale, spinach, carrots, grapes, apples, basil from the garden, tomato, cucumber and celery. I got a lot more juice this time, a disgusting khaki green but o so yummy again.
The Cuisinart juicer is easy to rinse clean and so there is no down side so far. Feeling fine despite not having my daily coffee start. No salt involved and of course no refined sugar. That's gotta count for something.
I will stay on this for a week and see how I feel.

YIPPEE!!!

Yes, we signed the contract and we close on October 26th, God willing. What a relief!! We are happy with the deal, price wise and even happier to know we can put owning two houses behind us. We've finally found our proper place in Chattanooga.

So it was Dave's birthday and we had steak, sweet potatoes, pan grilled zucchini and poblano peppers and corn. For a birthday cake, I bought Dave a cheesecake sampler. His fave. But I forgot to mention the wine. In June Dave's sister Carol and her husband Dan had left us with a wonderful bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Spain, 14 % alcohol...um, I haven't had any wine since June, and 8 ounces later and I was tucked into my bed at about 3 in the afternoon.  Slept all night there and woke up at 5:30 to feed the hungry dogs. Some birthday.
++++

I watched this documentary Fat Sick and Nearly Dead on Netflix and was convinced that we need to start eating more veggies and fruit and by we, I mean DAVE! He watched it too and said he would go along with me on this eating healthier path. So I ordered a juice extractor, because this way he can drink his veggies and get off the starch and sugar diet he lives on currently.
 We got this Cuisinart and it arrived five days early so we will start today. Lots of recipes are available online and I am off to the store to buy stuff I never used to buy. Woowoo!

At Last!

It is finally chilly in the mornings, and thank heaven for that. Today I wished I had donned a coat when I walked the dogs. Woowoo!
Today is Dave's 62nd birthday and we planned a lot of things that are now on hold.
We got a contract on the Hixson house and we sent a counter offer, so we are waiting by the phone to see if the buyer agrees to our terms.
What a great birthday present if he agrees.
I'll let you know what happens.

I Did It!!

I began this diet on June 25th and today I weighed in and lost 30.5 pounds! An average of 10 pounds per month. I am so happy to have decided to take off this weight. All my clothes fit so much better and my knees and feet feel the effect of less Mel walking on them.
Here's what I did;
I used the Loseit.com site to log in what I ate and how many calories were consumed. The program asks for your goal and calculates the calorie budget for your weight loss.
In the beginning I was given about 1400 calories per day and could discount any exercise I did from that total. I walked the dogs twice a day for 15 minutes each.
My choices were simple. I knew to stay away from all breads, pasta, rice etc and wine! and to keep my protein to 4 ounces per meal. But I was in a hurry and ate just two meals a day.
Breakfast was coffee, bran flakes, and almond milk which is only 30 calories for 8 ounces.
Lunch was veggies and 4 ounces of meat. Snack? an apple or peach. That was it  for the day. Less than 600 calories. I was never hungry. Seriously. Without the sugar I didn't experience the highs and lows and could keep on track. And it is the protein that satisfies cravings.  I tried to eat my lunch around 2, and having an apple at 5 helped for the evening.

It amazes me that life has become so simple when it comes to shopping and stocking the pantry. I love to cook, but that is a dangerous to me hobby. My husband makes his own meals because he eats day and night. He has gained weight but isn't the least concerned because he is still a stick.
Now I can make a small roast and it lasts for days. Lots of veggies and salads, and fruit in our house and I discovered a salad dressing that is delicious and very high protein and low calorie.
Mel's Salad Dressing
3 tablespoons fat free Greek Yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt, pepper, garlic powder and
one packet of Equal.
Mix it up and drizzle on greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and anything else you like in a salad. Dee-lish!

Diamond Panel Jacket #7

 This jacket was knitted for Katherine Mc. The yarn is Noro Silk Garden, and Knit One, Crochet Two wool. Mother of Pearl buttons.

 

I am in a knitting daily spurt. It may have something to do with a NEED for AUTUMN. Yesterday it rained for hours which was so needed. So today it will be under 90 degrees for the whole day, a real treat.  Lucky for my knitting is that Netflix has been so entertaining. I have been enjoying Shameless, Vicar of Dibley, Luther's new episodes and of course Morse.

Magenta October Gift

 

Magenta October Gift
Hand dyed cottons and silks, fused, machine quilted and hand embroidered. 11.5x24"
Made for Leslie K.
I seem to be travelling in the wayback machine, remaking older designs. This version is number four in the series, and the only one that got the fancy quilting treatment. I was given magenta as the background theme and found some gorgeous colors in my stash, just waiting for this moment. The leaves came from scraps my sister Brooke dyed and let me keep.

Tulip Party Revisited

Tulip Party Revisited
Hand dyed cottons, fused, machine quilted.
16 x 21.5" $400 Email me.
I first made this quilt as a smaller version of the larger Triumph of Tulips which was a 1st prize winner at the AQS show in 2004. Triumph was sold before it was shown in Paducah, so I didn't have it long. In those days I used an overhead projector to enlarge or shrink a drawing and still had the original and just shot it smaller to make this size quilt. I kept that pattern and so it was great fun to find colorful fabric to remake it.