Sunday Weigh In January 12, 2020

[Barb135]

Good morning... it seems we're into record highs while other parts of the country are having record cold and/or some of the most horrible weather on record for this time of year.  I've seen reports of snow, rain, blizzards, tornadoes and other weather phenomenon, depending on where one lives within the country (or the world).  My prayers go out to those who have lost family, homes/property in the tornadoes of the past day or so.

There's not a lot going on here... we're moving into the New Year pretty smoothly, which is a good thing.  We've been doing a lot of work on my woodworking shop, trying to get more bench and storage space.  I bought a new bench, we revamped another and my husband has been busy building a drawer unit so I can get rid of some plastic units that I've been using for 20+ years, which will free up some floor space.  

I've been working on refinishing on an old cedar chest that was given to me way back in 2006, when a neighbor passed away and his wife  sold out and left the area.  His wife gave me the cedar chest, which badly needed to be refinished... I put it in my shop, with every intention of doing it right away.  I did get started right away and in the process I made a couple of mistake - the first one being that I didn't realize the chest had a veneer on the outside and the first thing I did was promptly sand through it in several places.  Oops - that meant I had to go ahead and remove it from the entire chest, in order to make it look right.  In the process of doing that, I realized there was solid cedar vs just a cedar lining under the veneer, so i went ahead and started stripping the veneer.  Wow, what a job.  

It probably wouldn't have been so bad, but I kept getting side tracked.  Of course, at that time, I was still working full time and taking care of my Aunt, so that meant the only time I had to work on the chest was on weekends and of course, every weekend, I had to make the 140 mile round trip to my Aunt's as well as taking care of my own home, getting groceries, doing yardwork and other necessary things... You can see what happened with the cedar chest, right??  It got pushed into a corner and sat there.  Of course, when I did have time to do woodworking, I had a multitude of other projects to work on, so the chest became a "catch all" spot - if you don't know what to do with something "set it over there", which happened to be the top of the chest... I retired in 2011 and my Aunt passed in 2012, but as you know, there's always a reason not to dig out projects like this.

Finally, last summer, I had my husband help me set it up on saw horses in the middle of the floor and determined that I wasn't moving it until it's finished and I can bring it into the house... I got the veneer off the top and both ends without too much trouble, but have had a horrible time with the front.  I've worked at it sporadically but since then, but for the past couple weeks have been trying to work at it relatively steadily, even while I've sorted other things (wood, tools, etc), we've added a new workbench, some new tools, organizers, etc and I've finally got it completely stripped, except for a tiny bit of stain on some trim pieces.  I'm hoping I can get that done in the next couple of days and begin finish sanding.  I'll only put clear finish on so you'll be able to see that beautiful cedar wood the chest is made of.  I'm looking forward, not only to getting the chest out of my shop, but to getting it finished, so I can use it in the house, as I really do need someplace to store things like blankets and other items that don't get used a lot.  Of course, my next order of business is finding a spot for it in the house!!

Health-wise, nothing really changes... I do have an appointment with the endocrinologist that I got the referral for when I had my physical at the end of Dec, but they're booking appointments way out to April and mine isn't until April 28, so I've got quite a wait. In the meantime, I'll work on getting hold of the gastroenterologist, and see if I can get anything resolved in relation to the digestive issues, which don't seem to be improving any, but then, why should they, when nobody had done anything to change anything... You know the old adage - in order to get a different result, you have to do something different and I've tried everything I know to try... doctors aren't giving me any different resolutions.

I'm still walking almost every day (unless either myself or my walking partner has something else to do, it's too cold/rainy, etc) and I'm trying to watch my diet.  In spite of my efforts, my weight fluctuates on a daily basis by as much as 2-3 lbs.  I haven't weighed yet this morning.  I'll do that a bit later as I've found that it takes time for my weight to stabilize after I rehydrate from the night, etc.

So - that's my story... how has your week been?  I hope you've accomplished what you set out to do this week and we look forward to hearing about it.

~~Wishing everyone a wonderful, successful week~~

[AnnieBrooke]

We're at the farm, but moving back to the school house today. I'll probably have eaten a big meal or two before we get there, so will probably weigh in tomorrow morning. I think (from the way I feel and the way my clothes fit) that I'm in the same range, maybe down a pound.

We're expecting snow for several days in the Portland area beginning Monday night or Tuesday. My son is delighted, and I'm not sorry either because I got called for jury duty this week and next. If we have snow forecast for a week, they are unlikely to call jurors in on Monday (famous last words -- they might just call us all in for the orientation in order to be ready). But certainly if the forecast holds, they won't schedule any trials for Tuesday through Friday. I don't mind jury duty, I've been on two and found it interesting. But the parking is awful near our county courthouse, and when you get there you often wind up just sit in the jury holding room for a half day and then get sent home because cases get settled. I'm not sorry when a case is settled,  often it's less of a wild card for the defendant. But the poor, bored citizens waiting in the jury holding room don't catch a break.

We didn't have much winter wear -- my husband wore most of his out, our son outgrew his, and I haven't updated mine for ten years and don't even know where it all is for sure -- so I got on Amazon and ordered everything. This means today we are going to have boxes arriving at the new house every few hours ... boots, jackets, snow pants, long underwear, gloves, hats. Still being at the farm makes me nervous, like someone will see the bounty on our porch and help themselves. So hubby is going over there now to pick up the first load, and I'm packing our stuff at the farm. Goofy life.

Will get back on when I weigh in and tell you if the news is good, so-so or bad. :)

[AnnieBrooke]

I did check my weight this morning, and it's up, a pound and a bit (like, 1.1 or 1.2). Not what I was expecting, but since I lost 1.8 last week this is just part of the usual pattern. Wish it wasn't usual! lol